John Culleton

Trump has sealed his own fate by his multiple misdeeds and broken promises. He can’t run against Hillary Clinton because she won’t be on the ballot. In all likelihood his opponent will be Joe Biden but any of the top five Democrats can beat him.

The recent spate of mass murders by mentally unstable individuals indicates that the Second Amendment rights should be limited to members of militias.

Our current president has declared himself the greatest holder of that office in history. There is a sermon in the New testament that warns against such self-glorification. More recently the poem “Ozymandias” by Shelley makes the point.

John Delaney has positioned himself as a unifier, pledging that as president, he would work to resolve America’s increasing political polarization.

It is difficult to see how any citizen can continue supporting a president who uses the abuse of abuse of children as a political tool.

Biden is my favorite for the usual reason — he has the best chance of trumping Donald Trump.

Trump and his supporters have one huge advantage over their opponents. They are not bound by any moral code.

Turning to to the Democratic field, former Vice President Joe Biden leads the pack and is my personal choice for presidential candidate.

Previous successful presidents from that party can be exemplars of what we should look for. The founding president for the Republican party was Abraham Lincoln. He showed great empathy for people of color. A modern Republican president should do no less.

Believe it or not I have a relative who is as loyal a Republican as I am loyal to the Democratic Party. We do agree on two things.

Our president should set a 48-hour deadline for the withdrawal of these troops and the immediate cessation of arms shipments to Venezuela. If the deadline is not met, the USA should remove them by force. However, our president will not offend his Russian heartthrob. Putin helped get him elected.

There is debate over how much of this climate change is caused by human activity. But the massive increase of the use of fossil fuels is a likely suspect. If we switch from fossil fuels to electric power the degree of climate change may be slowed.

Unwelcome messages to the family house phone fall in two categories: sales calls and scams.

Paul Anderson once said that “A fanatic is a man who, when he's lost sight of his purpose, redoubles his efforts." President Donald Trump is such a fanatic.

The Christmas edition of this column suggested that readers share the guidance and examples of parents in addition to traditional presents. The reply cited below should educate and inspire all of us.

This is the season of giving gifts, particularly to children and other family members. But those of us who are parents have the opportunity, indeed the obligation, to give to our children another gift all year round. It is the gift of ourselves. I offer a few examples from my family.

Annoyed by unwanted phone calls? Welcome to the bulk of us. On some of them we just hang up. Those that state "don't hang up" make it very simple to do so. Others can be warned off if you say they are violating the federal Do Not Call Registry and that you have their number and will report them.

Vladimir Putin likes to use the phrase "useful idiot" to refer to those in the West who are his dupes. You can guess who is his chief current example. President Trump has developed his own variant, the useful lie.

The elections are over although some recounts are still in progress. If they were a referendum on the president, then he lost big time.

This is an election year and the electronic media is loaded with political ads. My favorite (I have viewed two different versions) warns voters that if they vote for a Democrat some "bad things" will inevitably occur. The joke is that all the "bad things" would be welcomed in this household.

Perhaps the time has come to move up from the least powerful form of county government to the code home rule form. It is too late to get such a change on the  2018 ballot. So Carroll will continue to have the form of government most suitable for small rural counties.

Over his judicial career, Brett Kavanaugh has expressed views that are unacceptable to many citizens concerning the office of the presidency.

Upon his death, the life and service of national hero Sen. John McCain was indeed fully praised beginning on Wednesday in his home state of Arizona continuing in our nation's capitol on Friday and Saturday, and concluding with a private burial service on Sunday at the Naval Academy.

There is so much national news it is often difficult to sort out the main issues. But currently the most important issue is the ongoing interference with our state election systems.

Unless the Republican Party separates itself from the Trump Party we will see no relief until January 2019, when the Democrats take over one or both houses of Congress. I dread the damage done in the interim.

Today is primary day for Maryland, and the most important day for Carroll County voters. Our Republican voters will, essentially, decide who our county commissioners will be. All primary voters will have a say in which candidates for the Carroll Board of Education will appear on November's ballot.

Many Americans are concerned about people coming to this land without permission or being invited. This is not a new phenomenon.

Trump will kill the Mueller investigation before it renders a report. Removal by impeachment will never get two-thirds votes in the Senate for the foreseeable future. The only hope is conviction of his nibs of a significant felony. Trump and his son-in-law may have committed just such a felony.

President Trump loves to bask in the admiration of his supporters in campaign-style rallies. At his latest rally the crowd broke into his campaign chant of "Drain the swamp." Now that is a cause I can support.

We live in times of changeable weather and changeable politics. For the weather, this household practices old fashioned solutions. In politics things get more complex.

Some people call Donald Trump a liar but that is not exactly correct. He has no concept of truth. When he makes a statement it is whatever he thinks is most advantageous to him at the moment.

Saturday changed everything. The huge demonstration by teenagers against gun violence held in Washington, D.C., was echoed by supportive demonstrations across the country and around the world, 800 in all.

The American people are usually critical of their government and periodically they change parties in power just because they can. After the Obama years, people were unhappy with government so that many voted Republican.

As a nation we have more guns in civilian hands than any other. We tend to ignore uncomfortable statistics like these or assume that, like the weather, nothing can be done about gun violence because of the Second Amendment to the Constitution. This assumption is false.

Retired dentist Dr. Paul Burkett is making his first run for public office by running for Commissioner in District 4. He agreed to be interviewed by me last Friday.

At this point, we don't know all that Donald Trump is guilty of. But it is likely he is guilty of something big. What is my evidence? There is one sure sign. If Donald Trump says it is "fake news," then we can be pretty sure it is true.

One does not need to criticize President Donald Trump. He criticizes himself every time he opens his mouth.

Current polls show that the Republicans will lose in a wave election next November. But comparable polls showed that Hillary Clinton would beat Donald Trump.

There is an old saying: "Virtue is its own reward" attributed to the Roman author Claudian. In today's politics, we can state that the reverse is also true — vice is its own punishment.

When a member of one's family shows increasing signs of mental illness it is a sad day for all concerned. When a national leader shows signs of intermittent mental illness it is not only sad for the family but also dangerous for the nation.

Sex, politics, religion and nepotism; they make a fierce combination. Let's start with nepotism.

The proposed Republican tax bill will probably increase the annual deficit and hence the debt. We are borrowing our way into runaway inflation.

Culleton: From where I sit, Eldersburg doesn't need to change

Culleton: Semi-automatic weapons have no legitimate role in hands of civilians

There is a saying, "An honest politician is one who when bought, stays bought." Thus far the current Republican regime hasn't delivered that tax cut yet that their wealthy donors were paying for.

Culleton: Build less, build smarter and lesson spending

Culleton: Cost-effective, free-market health care don't mix

John Culleton opinion column: We face a bunch of crises, and we can’t afford to let political cant or prized mythology prevent us from taking effective action against all of them.

What is the greatest threat to your family and mine? Is it climate change? Is it politicians from that other political party? Is it foreign enemies like North

It is the Fourth of July and we need to celebrate not only the Declaration of Independence but the Constitution, not only the heroes of 1776 but the heroes of