In the Nov. 17 Ogle County Life, Reed Harris asked “When do we start winning?” He posed a lot of questions for our consideration. They were more than questions, though.

Framed in a manner critical of the current administration, they make me ask questions, such as when did we become smarter than the State Department and Secretary Rubio? Who thinks we have all the information to know better how to handle foreign affairs? America does not go to the world as a beggar, but with solutions.

Perhaps, instead of being tired of National Guard deployment, be alarmed at the ignorant impediment to federal law. If the law and our civil structure were respected, the Third-World illegal border crashing migrant invaders would not be in America to be arrested. A true believer in “our democracy” would come through the front door and not jump the line ahead of those that do. Truth is, they brought “their democracy” here and America is sending it back.

Somehow soybean prices cause finger pointing at the current administration. Who has checked soybean futures for the past five years? It peaked in 2023 and down skidded for two years. Now it is on a rise. Who orchestrated those two previous two years? Why does it look like a change did America good?

Is there more to No Kings than scare tactics? Today’s issues are complex. No single protest sign provides an education of these issues. The beast of Obamacare is from the Democrats. No Republican in the House or Senate voted for it back in 2010. Medicare, Social Security and healthcare are all government meddling in the public market place. Fear and ignorance produce emotions, not reason and solutions.

I am concerned about “blowing up” boats in international waters. It is Congress that sets the rules for the President to enforce. Congress needs to be informed and be in concurrence, but beyond the media spin, where is the assumed proof the Caribbean boats were innocent and no rules of engagement were applied? The military uses drones, helicopters, radar, spies, radio transmissions and other surveillance tools to gather intelligence. To arrive at “troops forced to violate their oath” is a strong statement requiring validation. Where is the justification to repeat such an extraordinary indictment to the public? Pablum of the press?

Ask yourself if armed troops are the only types of warfare used by enemies, foreign and domestic? Is there such thing as economic warfare? Is it used against America and its allies? There are forces actively working to destabilize South America, including the Argentinian Peso. Check your facts. There was no $40 billion sent to Argentina. There was a $20 billion credit swap offered to Argentina of which $1.5 billion was used. Imagine an economic attack on Argentina was in progress by bad actors and this offset it? This is not a giveaway. It is a hedge to an ally and will be redeemed by swapping back.

The faithless comment about holding our breath waiting for economic turnaround is plain wrong. Economic turnaround is in progress, but the resistance is formidable. What has taken decades to subdue us may take decades to resolve. The revelation of USAID and similar grift institutions are but an example of what needs undoing. Too many spoons are in the money trough.

My questions: Where is our sound money that was usurped by fiat currency and Gresham’s Law? Where did the wealth of the devalued dollar go? Why was there no personal income tax until 1913? What is inflation? Who benefits? Where is my representation in Congress? What happened to House districts of 50,000? What happened to state’s rights when the Senator is elected by citizens? Why are there 42 million VISA or Temporary Protective Status holders? Why are non-citizens counted in the census? Why are non-citizen numbers allowed to skew citizen representation? A foreigner has allegiance to his country. Why would his child be any different, no matter where it is born?

The answers to these questions are the America I voted for.

-John Dickson, Oregon