Gary Loftis
Gary Loftis holds an MA in International Politics and is a graduate of the DoD's National Security Management Program. He served 21 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Major.
He is a professional communicator whose credentials span print, broadcast, live presentation, marketing, and Internet media over four decades. His work has earned or contributed to significant professional recognition, including an Edward R. Murrow Award (Best Local News, KSLA-TV, 1987) and a Blue Pencil Award: Best Professional Journal in North America (Air University Review, 1986).
He has written or consulted for corporations in the telecommunication, financial, sales, and entertainment industries, producing user manuals and training materials, marketing and trade show collateral, internal communications, and web content. He was a regular guest essayist for The Orlando Sentinel for 20 years, and his work has appeared in regional, national, and international periodicals.
Articles by Gary Loftis
July 10, 2009
It is reported that, upon exiting the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked what form of government the convention had settled on. His response was "A republic … if you can keep it!" Today, we are at great risk of losing it!
Although we often refer to America as a democracy, it i...
April 21, 2009
More insidious than nationalized health care, national regulation of power sources and generation has the potential to reduce the US to Third-World status in a generation.
April 17, 2009
Perhaps it´s too much to ask for Ms. Garofalo to actually try to learn something about a subject before she issues an opinion or condemnation. But, it doesn´t seem unreasonable for MSNBC to try to find qualified commentators.
April 10, 2009
One does not negotiate with an occupying force; you must crush it not only to regain your territory but also to send a message to future aggressors that any such action will be met with decisive force.
February 28, 2009
Mr. President, you were elected to serve all the people of the United States. You are not a king and your margin of victory does not constitute a mandate for radical change.
October 10, 2008
...you apparently didn´t hear the message in Wisconsin on Thursday. The good man with the mic was afraid -- as so many of us are -- of the socialist philosophy that the nationalization of America´s financial industry represents and the socialist programs that an Obama presidency portends.
September 30, 2008
If something is badly broken, we should fix it, but we should do so in a careful, measured way that will fix the problem, prevent recurrence, and appropriately punish those who are responsible. Short of that, any "rescue" or "bailout" will be as effective as a bandaid on cancer.
September 04, 2008
Why not VP Palin? I can´t come up with a single reason!
July 12, 2008
...adding more language studies to satisfy some elitist academic´s notion of education would add nothing to the mix. Worst case, it would take even more classroom time from math, science, and history. Best case, all other factors unchanged, it would yield students ignorant of more than one language!
June 13, 2008
The American government was not constituted to enforce some arbitrary concept of fairness -- any such measure is innately arbitrary and subjective -- but to "...secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity…" (Preamble to the US Constitution) Liberty, it seems, has dropped from our sights, replaced by self-interest and greed. The concept of liberty having a cost is now as foreign to many Americans as is the idea of a monarch, but tyranny has many faces. There is no difference between a tyrant who wrests control of a nation and one elected by an uninformed electorate. And there anything more bereft of principle than a people who are unwilling to go to war to defend their own freedom.
May 06, 2008
There are 300 million people in America, some of whom actually have shred of common sense and an idea how to approach actually fixing the problems that are slowly dragging the greatest country in history into the pit of mediocrity. Isn´t there some better way to find a leader? I think there is!
February 27, 2008
If God is loving, omniscient, and omnipotent, would He allow man to destroy his Creation? Every Christian must resolve that question for him/herself.
January 23, 2008
American conservative voters have lost their voice in the Republican Party. There is a way to make their presence known.
January 19, 2008
What, exactly, is a leader? Do any presidential candidates qualify?
January 15, 2008
"It ain´t over ´til it´s over." (Yogi Berra)
I loved to hear Yogi Berra´s take on baseball and life. While he was stating the obvious, he was, at the same time, declaring a profound truth.
We Americans relish our reputation for being optimistic, independent, and stubbo...
January 03, 2008
I grew up in Texas. As a small boy, I spent a great deal of time on my granddaddy’s farm in Waxahachie, where I was exposed to the kind of folk who settled and produced a living from the land clear across our heartland. They were hardworking and serious, because you can’t sell what you didn’t grow. ...
December 31, 2007
The campaigns are in the final stretch. The Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary are but days away. In just over a month, the presidential nominees for both major parties will be effectively set, and a nine-month contest for the leadership of our nation and the power to choose between starkly d...
December 21, 2007
“Government solution” should qualify as an oxymoron. Governments by their very nature suffer from inertia, stubbornly applying yesterday’s remedies to tomorrow’s problems without regard for the consequences. The politicians who lead the governments stake out grand goals, like ending poverty and peac...
November 21, 2007
(This essay is the second in a series prompted by watching Democrat presidential debates.)
All of the Democrat presidential candidates envision a role in which government levels the economic and social playing fields. From Hillary Clinton’s $5000 “investment” to Dennis Kucinich’s pledge to return...
November 06, 2007
Wealth Redistribution - A Bad Idea
(Watching the Philadelphia Democrat presidential debate reinforced my commitment to conservatism. While the candidates disagreed on specifics, they all agreed on three core principles: governmental redistribution of wealth, the desirability of federal interventi...
November 01, 2007
After 5 frustrating hours trying to find the necessary paperwork to complete my tax return, I was ready to punch the wall, the dog, or the door, so I went to the driving range and beat the h*$&*^##&& out of a bucket of golf balls. On returning home -- much relaxed -- I envisioned where golf really b...
October 17, 2007
I am a Texas “good ol’ boy,” born, raised, and educated in Dallas, Texas. After nearly 21 years as an Air Force officer, following assignments in Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, we settled in Florida.
I am an Evangelical Christian and I vote for conservative, Republican candidates ... when I get...
October 08, 2007
“Mercenary” is a loaded word in the modern lexicon. Mercenaries are generally viewed with suspicion because they fight for money, not patriotism; but, as events in Iraq are unfolding, our real concern should be accountability and responsibility -- their accountability and our responsibility.
Blac...
October 05, 2007
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” (President John F. Kennedy, January 20. 1961)
I remember that inaugural address well. America had entered a new era. A new generation was entering the White House, and we were optimistic ...
Articles by Gary Loftis From Other Sources
June 04, 2008
published in The Orlando Sentinel