Opinion

We don’t use datelines at the Citizen because we are a hyperlocal newspaper because, as a general rule, we do not publish anything that is not related to Levy County. If we did, then the rule is that a dateline should tell the reader the basic information for the story was obtained in the datelined city. There are 30 American cities that stand alone without state names. All of those cities have a global identity for one reason or another. I could argue that Columbine, Newtown and Parkland could be added to the list because those three cities have a global identity.

I am not advocating for the government to come and take someone’s gun and neither am I advocating for someone with a gun to take away someone’s child.

I love spring.

The other seasons are OK, but spring is — as Muhammad Ali described himself — the greatest.

I like the boiling heat of summer. We always joked in Oklahoma and Texas that it was so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk, but I’ll bet in Florida that you could boil an egg in the Gulf. I wish the Watermelon Festival was in a cooler month. I guess it would be if melons were a winter crop.

I couldn’t tell much difference between summer and fall during my one full year here in the Sunshine State. I didn’t like winter too much. It was much colder than I thought it would be, but it wasn’t as rainy as I imagined. Also, deer come out during the wintertime and stand alongside roads; staring, daring. At night, they’re hard to see with flat dull coats; they give me the creeps; ghosts with big eyes glowing red in my lights. Deer along the roadside instill fear in me until I pass it by. Then, dread starts to build again and I pray I’ll see the next one in my headlights.

I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now, but never seemed to get around to writing anything about it. But, while going through the police reports, I was reminded again that it takes someone unlike me to be a police officer.

Police officers see good people at their absolute worst and — they also see bad people at their absolute worst. Fortunately, most bad people who commit criminal acts are either really dumb or careless and get caught sooner than later.

To help those who have a propensity to break the law, I have come up with a few tips that might help you stay out of trouble.

First tip: Anyone who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs should always perform a complete vehicle inspection before driving through Chiefland.

Second: Highway 19 is wide and there is absolutely no reason to cross a yellow line into oncoming traffic unless you’re high.

Third: You’re still high if you think you can speed through Chiefland.

The first paragraph of a story in the March 10, 1892, edition of the Memphis Appeal-Avalanche stated that not since the race riot of 1866 has the community been in such a fever of excitement as it was yesterday.

The story described the lynching of three black men: Tom Moss, the owner of People’s Grocery and two clerks, Calvin McDowell and Will Stewart. The store was located in a mixed-race neighborhood known as the Curve. A white grocer named William Barrett was apparently losing business to the nearby People’s Grocery. One narrative tells of rumors and trumped up charges sending a large group of armed white men into the store. Gunshots were traded and several white men were injured. An accounting of events by Damon Mitchell stated a racially charged mob grew out of a fight between a black and a white youth near People’s Grocery.

A story dated March 10, 1892, in the New York Times stated, “today showed a decided reaction from the excitement into which the city was thrown yesterday by the lynching of the three negro rioters Tom Moss, Will Stewart and Calvin McDowell …”

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt felt that the future peace of the world would depend upon relations between the United States and Russia and devoted much thought to the planning of a United Nations, in which, he hoped, international difficulties could be settled, according to White House.gov

As the war drew to a close, Roosevelt’s health deteriorated, he died April 12, 1945, while at Warm Springs, Georgia, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

When President Roosevelt delivered his historic fourth and final state of the union address Jan. 20, 1945, in a United States that was much more homogeneous than it is now. The 1940 census showed the U.S. population was 132.2 million; 89.8 percent were white and 9.8 percent were minorities. So, when he delivered his final address, he was speaking almost exclusively to white people.

He said, “Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice president, my friends, you will understand and, I believe, agree with my wish that the form of this inauguration be simple and its words brief.

By Ed Emrich

I hate trash. I really do! I notice how people discard items out of their vehicle windows or how they allow trash to blow out the beds of their trucks. Take a look around during dear hunting season and you will see an increase of empty plastic deer corm, dog food and ice bags along the roadside. Are some hunters unconcerned because they believe that the plastic bags will be picked up by road crews or picked up by concerned citizens who work to keep the Nature Coast natural. Maybe "Litter Bugs" believe that the plastic will eventually dissolve into the landscape and disappear. So what is the life expectancy of plastic trash? How long does it take for plastic to deteriorate and disappear into the landscape? According to my research, the short answer is NEVER! Plastic trash is in fact IMMORTAL!

Today, Jalen Hurts will not get the ESPN coverage. His image will not be plastered over Sports Center and other news programming. People will not be inundated with his heroic performance of throwing a perfect back-shoulder pass or some long beast mode type run to win the game.

No. Those accolades will go to someone else- and deservingly so. However, in an age of “me, me” and “I have to get mine,” Jalen Hurt’s response to being pulled at the half of the national championship game will go highly unnoticed.

Only a year removed from nearly pulling off one of the greatest plays in history for a true freshman quarterback until another great player and Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback upstaged him in defeat; he was devastated once again by being benched.

While he clearly wanted to be in the game on that final drive evidenced by him visibly shaking on the sideline as adrenaline flowed; he stood there, cheered for his teammate, and once hugged the guy who had taken his place.

After the game, he was all smiles and displayed genuine happiness for he and his teammates.

It's no secret that President Donald Trump admires President Andrew Jackson and recently, when the president invited the Navajo code talkers to the White House, a portrait of Jackson was hanging prominently on the wall in the background.

I know it doesn't count for much, but in my opinion, that was a calculated staging by the president, someone on his staff or both.

So, it wasn't much of a surprise to me when I read Jackson's 1830 address to Congress and found that it was quite similar to Trump's speech on Dec. 4.

On Dec. 6, 1830, in a message to Congress, President Andrew Jackson called for the relocation of eastern Native American tribes to land west of the Mississippi River in order to open new land for settlement by citizens of the United States, according to archives.gov.

The article stated, “With the onset of westward expansion and increased contact with Indian tribes, President Jackson set the tone for his position on Indian affairs in his message to Congress. Jackson’s message justified the removal policy already established by the Indian Removal Act of May 28, 1830.

Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Does anyone care?

There are tons of written information, movies and historical information on the sneak attack perpetrated against the U.S. 7th Fleet and other military installations on the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

It was a Sunday morning, much like this Sunday morning Dec. 3 at 7:50 a.m. as I try to put into words why remembering Pearl Harbor is so important these 76 years later. It is important for many reasons pertaining to national security, public policy, foreign affairs and many, many other governmental decisions. On that sleepy Sunday morning, the Japanese bombers from the “land of the rising sun” laid waste to the U.S. 7th Fleet and killed 2,403 Americans. That was the dawning of the era in which the United States became the dominant world power.