I’m afraid I might lose my conservative card this week.

There have been two major issues in the major news media in recent days and I have strong opinions about both of them.

The first is Pres. Donald Trump’s decision to weigh in on NFL players protesting by kneeling during the National Anthem. Now, this has been going on for over a year and until this weekend a majority of Americans were likely opposed to multi-millionaires protesting oppression.

And I was certainly one of those. 

I think grown men who are firmly in the 1 percent protesting oppression is a joke. It started with Colin Kaepernick, a man making more than $20 million a year last year. 

Can someone, anyone, explain to me how an economic or political system in the United States oppressed a man who made more last year than anyone I have ever met will make in their lifetimes? If Colin Kaepernick is oppressed, what does that make me and virtually every other person in the United States?

So yes, I was offended when Kaepernick decided to kneel during the National Anthem. And frankly I felt the fact he wasn’t offered a job this year was fitting.

But when Trump jumped into the fray over the weekend, he went way too far. If Trump had just wanted to say NFL players should stand and honor the flag, I would have been fine with that. But the president took it a step further. Trump also said those protesting should be fired and urged conservatives to boycott the NFL.

Personally, that may be more offensive than any of the people kneeling. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are at the core of our country. Everything we stand for starts right there. Saying someone who is legally expressing themselves, even if I disagree with their opinion, should be fired is going way too far.

Now if an NFL owner chose to fire anyone who didn’t stand for the National Anthem, they could do that. The Constitution only applies to government, not private business. But when the president urges business owners to fire people who view things differently than he does, that is going way too far. 

Trump is wrong on this issue, and it appears to be backfiring on him. I guess time will tell. I won’t stop watching the NFL over this issue, but I’m just one person.

The second issue all over the news is again healthcare. I’ve made it clear I am not a fan of Obamacare. My opinion is simple. 

The federal government should get out of healthcare completely. Let the private sector run healthcare and prices will fall and quality of care will go up. 

But having said that the current effort by many Republicans to replace Obamacare is just flat wrong. The reality is it doesn’t change a whole lot. It feels to me the effort is a way to take away whatever credit Obama is receiving just to spite him.

If Republicans want to present a good bill that will reduce or eliminate the federal government’s role in what should be a private-sector business then I’m all for it. But rushing through a half-ass measure just to hurt a former president is a joke, and I’m not afraid to call it that.

I don’t buy into the scare tactics from the left. People won’t die, millions won’t perish if the law changes. That’s also a bunch of crap. But replacing one bad law with another bad law is a waste of time. 

If Republicans want to improve things, write a real bill and get the federal government out of the way. Until then, don’t waste any more of my time.