Opinion Line (Dec. 10)

Anyone with a lick of common sense knows to obey the orders of a law enforcement officer. Unfortunately, many cannot or will not use that sense due to excess rage, the influence of drugs or alcohol, or mental impairment. The officers have to sort that out in a split second.

The cop in Ferguson should be charged with criminal stupidity and machoism. He should have stayed in his car and kept the suspect in sight until backup arrived. It wasn’t as if the young man was a mass killer running down the street with an assault weapon.

Officers deserve our thanks. Putting their lives in jeopardy to protect ours is a thankless job. If you don’t want problems with law enforcement, don’t break laws. There are instances where force may be excessive, but how would you react to constant verbal abuse and lies from those breaking the laws?

There are biased, scared, gun-equipped police who kill unarmed persons, shaming their communities and creating vengeance. And there are biased, scared, drone-equipped nations killing unarmed families, shaming their nation and creating vengeance.

The “do-nothing” Congress is not by accident. Republicans want to eliminate the federal government, and by doing nothing, they will.

I’ve got the perfect present idea for your liberal friends and family this holiday season: humble pie.

Money isn’t everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch. Merry Christmas.

Business owners who advertise for us to buy “holiday gifts” instead of specifically “Christmas gifts” recognize that not all of us celebrate Christmas, but there are those buying Hanukkah and Kwanzaa gifts this time of year. Get off your high horse.

I appreciate the businesses that do not say “Merry Christmas” in order to sell flat-screen TVs or violent video games. What do those have to do with the birth of the most unmaterialistic person to ever walk the face of the Earth? I reserve the phrase “Merry Christmas” for individuals.

As I was checking out at a store, the male cashier stopped, pulled out his cellphone and left me standing there waiting to pay while he was texting someone. Am I old-fashioned or is this unacceptable?

As a serious but amateur photographer, I wanted to say “thanks” to The Eagle photographers whose work we see daily and may take for granted. The calendar in the Sunday Eagle reminded me just how good their work is on an ongoing basis.

This story was originally published December 9, 2014 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Opinion Line (Dec. 10)."