Our own ignorance is destroying us. Mark Twain wrote about this in his autobiography, where people base their opinions on the opinions of others rather than the facts. That is what has been going on in our country for a very long time. Our “intellectuals” can’t think; our “scholars” parrot each other; the self-educated fixate on idiotic theories; no one studies original source writings; and The People jump on every bandwagon that rolls by.

There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think of the brave men and women who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way to defend the values that our country holds so dear. We have both a duty and an obligation to ensure that our armed forces are fully equipped both while they are actively serving and after they return home to their families and communities.

America has allowed themselves to be deceived by the mainstream media, so much so that they believe that young students across this country are accepting of all forms of immorality, when in fact they are rejecting it. Amidst a generation that suffers the highest suicide rates, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, abortion and anti-depressant usage – this is hardly the case. This is a generation of survivors, and rightly so.

The Politico has an article about former South Dakota governor and 2014 U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds. The article discusses his candidacy, the fact that U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) declined to back him when he asked her last year, and provides some insight on where Rounds might stand on some important issues.

When certain things are commonly portrayed certain ways in the media — TV, movies, comics, etc. — it could be argued that this influences how people think about these things. At the very least, though, it reflects how people want to think about these things. Portrayals are frequently highly inaccurate, however, leading us to base opinions on flawed visions of “reality.”

Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman has come out in favor of same-sex “marriage” because one of his sons has announced that he is homosexual. My heart goes out to Sen. Portman and his wife. As the mother of a homosexual child, I understand how Sen. Portman feels. It is not easy, but as a responsible parent I must stand firm in my belief that marriage must remain as that of a man and a woman.

The son of one of our clients brought a bill and a note to me on December 26, 2012. The client wanted to know why he got a bill for $145 on a medical bill for $260 when he had both Medicare and a Medicare supplement insurance policy which he bought through this insurance agency.