Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.

The craziest things heard on mainstream media this week were “Patriotism is a perversion” and “It’s our job to control what people think.” So in the eyes of the ultra-weird-liberal-left media a love of God, country, flag and national anthem are now perverted views. There really is not much to say about such statements. Anyone who thinks — a love for Jesus Christ God Almighty and the United States of America — are deviant viewpoints is beyond help. They are adrift on the ship of fools sailing blindly into 2018 and beyond.

President Donald Trump’s job approval ratings as of Friday ranged from a high of 43-percent to a low of 35-percent, according to polls conducted by Gallup and Rasmussen as reported on Real Clear Politics. But it’s only the 35-percent rating that gets reported. These ratings are only a snapshot in time and very well may not be anywhere near accurate. But they remain fodder for mainstream media to exploit in their continued biased reporting of Team Trump— in refusing to give credit where credit is due.

Take for example the apparent near extinction of radical Islamic ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Thousands upon thousands of extremist young men have been killed by the U.S. military and allied Iraqi troops since President Trump took office. There are no accurate figures of the numbers of dead ISIS. Nobody knows and apparently nobody cares.

Defense Secretary James Mattis took off the gloves and has pursued these criminally wicked people to their graves no matter where they are found. This fight is long overdue and long from over as this radical Islamic evil exists all over the world under different names. 2018 will see even more determination from the U.S. military and allied troops as there will be no backing off this cancer on humanity like when former President Obama pulled U.S. forces out of Iraq too soon allowing ISIS to expand, recruit followers and take over much of Iraq.

Accurate up-to-date information on the numbers of captured ISIS prisoners-of-war being held in Iraq or elsewhere is hard to impossible to find. What scant information there is — remains old — dating back several years. But it’s easy to find on the internet news reports and videos of Iraqi army brutality against captured ISIS forces showing extreme revenge. Obviously there is a ‘take-no-prisoners’ attitude within the Iraqi military. Graphic videos of Iraqi military conducting beheadings, throwing hog-tied men off high buildings, shootings and hangings abound. Even these evil people deserve humane treatment and due process in captivity, but nobody seems to care what happens to them. There are no increases in the current population of ‘enemy combatants’ held in the Guantanamo, Cuba military prison that President Obama tried and failed to close.

It’s the Iraqis’ fight for their freedom from evil and they are taking care of their business in their own way. The lack of reported POW numbers seems to support the notion these ISIS fighters battle all the way to the end – in other words — they don’t often surrender.

Another area of no recognition from mainstream media is the Social Security increase of 2-percent for 2018, the largest rise since 2012 that President Trump approved this year. For the average recipient that means an extra $25 per month or $300 per year. That’s a big deal when you live on a fixed income. This voting bloc will not forget that later in 2018.

Mainstream media can publish and broadcast all the anti-Trump news they want. These low approval ratings are meaningless. President Trump’s base is secure and they well know that mainstream media hates Trump along with establishment Democrats and Republicans, but unlike the Democrats the Republicans wisely united and supported Trump’s tax cuts because they know their constituents vote their wallets.

What’s on mainstream media these days is slanted far beyond straight news reporting — fair and balanced on both sides of any issue. Most of the news reporters these days are also ad-lib commentators blending their opinions with actual news and apparently this trend is just fine with their liberal editors and publishers.

It used to be that working reporters were required not to outwardly show political leanings. No bumper stickers on cars. No political signs at home in your front yard. No attending political events unless you were working. No protesting downtown holding up signs advocating ‘The Earth is Flat’ or ‘Men Never Walked on the Moon.’

Here’s something else that you won’t hear on mainstream media. According to the Hollywood Reporter of the three top cable news networks for 2017 — Fox News Channel remains in the number one spot — for daytime and prime time ratings, followed by MSNBC a distant 2nd with CNN a far-back distant 3rd. Liberals and Democrats dislike Fox News but their faithful viewers don’t. Fox News fans actually show up on election-day.

It’s easy to see that 2018 will be a challenging year for everyone involved in the process which includes an end result of voters rejecting mainstream media and ultra-weird-liberal thinking.

Liberal New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is hinting he may run for president in 2020. Last week he was speaking to Progress Iowa – a group of Democrats – in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa is the traditional site of the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus votes every four years.

“We have to be uncompromising. We have to be strong. We’re the party of working people. We believe in the labor movement,” de Blasio told the estimated 200 people. Only 200 people showed up – not exactly a packed-to-the-gills Trump rally in a 20,000-seat arena that opened with a prayer and the National Anthem. They also reported a group of de Blasio’s own unionized police officers followed him to Iowa and protested his anti-police views on the sidewalk outside of where he spoke. Now that’s a knee-slappin’ hoot.

P.S. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – 2018 – Bring it on!

 

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.