Illegal Immigrants Causing Major U.S. Hospital Crisis

One border state alone spent $700 million last year to medically treat illegal immigrants and a high-ranking hospital official says the toll is causing a meltdown of the state’s healthcare system. U.S. taxpayers have for years financed the exorbitant cost of medically treating illegal immigrants.

In the last few years, it has transformed into a crisis that has forced many hospitals in borders states to actually close.

This week, outraged California lawmakers provided details illustrating the situation’s severity as they fought a congressional proposal that would drastically cut federal reimbursement for the healthcare of illegal immigrants in their state.

The mostly Democratic group said almost half of California hospitals are operating in the red and provided specific documentation of how the state’s 430 facilities spent $700 million to treat illegal immigrants in 2006. The burden is deeply affecting Americans who may need emergency or urgent medical care and must travel further to find it.

Even though federal law mandates that hospitals must provide emergency medical treatment to illegal immigrants, the government only partially reimburses them. California only got $73 million to cover that astronomical $700 million bill last year and now the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for the federal budget, wants to further cut the reimbursement rate.


Many other states are in the same predicament and bipartisan lawmakers are aggressively fighting the new budget proposals that would further diminish the government’s reimbursement for providing free medical care to illegal immigrants.

Is Imus The Victim Of A Double Standard?

Whenever a media personality is canned for his/her remarks or views, the old arguments resurface. You know the routine. Haul out the usual suspects and unfurl the banners. In Imus' case the usual culprits are his free speech, his personal freedom, accusations of racism, political insensitivity, morality and our decadent culture.

Just like Imus has the privilege to speak his mind and select his language, other people have the privilege not to listen or criticize him for his remarks. The problem with the vast majority is that few, if any, people on earth really understand what freedom means. Far too many have this infantile notion and opinion that freedom means doing or saying anything one pleases. This is not freedom. This is arrogance, anarchy, chaos, ignorance, license and stupidity of the most vile, corrupt and dangerous kind.

Freedom carries with it awesome responsibilities, the likes of which few are even capable of understanding. That's precisely why no one on the planet is free. No modern government will ever allow true freedom to flourish because there are too many educated fools and far too many idiots to contend with.

GOD (YHVH) grants rights. What we mistakenly call freedoms and rights are only privileges granted by the society in which we find ourselves living. Some societies have more, some have less and some have whatever their dictatorial government allows. Whenever a society's granted privileges are abused, the violator should have his/her privileges revoked. This brings me to the reason for this article.

Everywhere we look and turn there are double standards and a double standard has Imus in its grips. Imus can now claim victim status. What happened to Imus never should have happened. If we are going to hold him to a standard, then Rappers, MTV, Satellite Radio, Cable, HBO and the other "Shock Jocks" should be held to the same standard. This also includes the companies that harbor and support these known abusers.

The most popular Rappers in the African American community are far more abusive of African American women than Don Imus ever was. However, hauling "Black Folk" on to the carpet for their societal and moral indiscretions is unthinkable. Hauling "Latinos" on to the carpet for violating our national sovereignty by entering our country illegally is also unthinkable. The reason: These issues are too politically sensitive for politicians and political parties to touch. Holding these communities to the same standards as every other ethnic group in America is synonymous to committing political suicide.

Imus should have been canned years ago. However, in Don's defense, he was an equal opportunity "Shock Jock". At least he distributed his poison equally. Through his callous eyes and to his acid ladened tongue, every group was fair game. No group escaped his scathing barbs. Even Howard Dean was charcoal broiled, toasted and roasted on his talk show. What triggered this backlash was the Rutgers basketball team was a beloved underdog that lost to the Goliath of NCAA women's basketball - Tennessee. America's sentiment is always with the little Davids in any battle against a Goliath.

Imus failed to understand the atmosphere that his remarks entered into. This was his first mistake. His second mistake was failing to realize the 2008 election is already in high gear. It's unfortunate, but he was a convenient icon for the "Politically Correct" far left wing of the Democratic Party to throw under the bus as a symbol of their belief in social values. Since Imus' wounds were self inflicted, there is no need to rally around him or feel guilty about his sudden demise.

The "Liberal Left" had to bite the bullet and let one of their own be the sacrificial lamb. If the far left is going to have any hope of winning the 2008 Presidential election and firmly entrenching themselves in government, they had to demonstrate some conservative value in a tangible way. Imus simply gave them the rope and the gallows to hang himself...and they took advantage of it. Every other abuser is off the table and off the hook for now.

Imus' remarks were far from racist. Insensitive perhaps, but not racist. Outlandish maybe, but not racist. So, how did this man who is not a known racist end up being the catalyst for a new dialog on racism? The media. Will such a dialog follow? Hardly. Why? There are bigger fish to fry and a new discussion about America's racial attitudes is not on the agenda.

The War in Iraqi, "Radical Islam" and the eventual socialization of America are far more important issues. However, I could be wrong. The far left is full of deception and deceit. Playing to the masses, lies and treachery have been their calling card for years. To further their cause and agenda, there is no telling what these people might do or when they might do it.

GOD Vs Western Culture

This article is a response to an email I received from one of my readers. In her email, she accused me of being biased against Western Culture. I am not biased against Western Culture.

I am just not into propaganda, not even America's. It's a sad bunch of folks that believe their own lies or historical renditions.

In addition, if any student of history is genuinely interested in historical accuracy; rather than propaganda, he/she will discover everything I will state in this article is absolutely true and can be proven by anyone.

GOD (YHVH) is the real power in the universe, and he is the real mover and shaker on planet earth, not us. Western Culture benefited from the influence of Judeo-Christianity not because we were better or more advanced than any other, we benefited by default because the ancient Asians, Africans and the people in the Middle East basically rejected Judeo-Christianity. Under Judeo-Christian influence Western Civilization was able to advance in all the areas that really mattered.

Let's not forget, Christianity and Judaism survived, despite all the attempts by ancient rulers to wipe them out. Let's also not overlook the fact that the "Black Plague" wiped out over 1/3 of Europe's population. No major world power attacked Europe after the "Plague" was over to finish the job the plague started. So many had died, until Europe's population would not have been able to engage in or sustain a major war. Even during the great wars, the hand of providence was working on behalf of Western Civilization.

People keep forgetting, during World I, the Allies were being decimated by the Ottoman-Turks and the Germans. A freak accident showed the Allies how the Germans were mounting machine guns on airplanes that could shoot through the spinning blades. We have also forgotten, the anti-war movement that almost succeeded in keeping America out of World War I.

During World War II, what saved us from the Germans and the Japanese were their political philosophies, ideologies and the Russian winter, not our armaments or fighting spirit. All Hitler needed to do was quell his anti-semitism for awhile and wait. If he had done this, the Germans would have had the A-Bomb, the Jet, A much larger submarine fleet, buzz bombs, V-2 rockets to deliver A-bombs to America and long range heavy bombers. Plus, he would been able to largely exterminate Europe's Jewish population in his concentration and death camps.

We keep forgetting, it was Hitler that rushed to war against the advice of his senior military planners. Even the code breakers during World War II can not tell you how they managed to break the codes and quietly admit, it had to be the handiwork of GOD.

If the Japanese had not attacked Pearl Harbor, there is strong evidence President Roosevelt and our congressional leaders would have delayed America's entry into the war. In addition, if the Japanese had stayed in the area instead of retreating, they would have dealt a stinging blow to America's war effort in the Pacific.

Let's not forget, the Japanese were tenacious fighters. If Japanese leaders had modernized their fleet, aircraft and weapons, we might still be fighting World War II and the ending might be entirely different from what we are living today.

We keep forgetting, if Germany had not attacked Russia, England's war effort would have been severely compromised. This does not include the other improbable blunders the Germans, the Japanese and the Italians made throughout War II. I could go on, but this is enough. Our thanks belong to GOD for working through men and women and not to Western Culture.

Smoker's Rights

"Smoker's Rights" like "Civil Rights", "Abortion Rights", "Women Rights", "Animal Rights" and host of other political concoctions is a myth. Human beings have no rights except life, liberty and the peaceful and intelligent pursuit of happiness.

The key words are peaceful and intelligent. The "Founding Fathers" got it partially right. The reason for peaceful and intelligent is because there are sadistic and barbaric people that have no concept of peaceful and intelligent and must be educated to this fact.

Our human rights are inalienable rights granted by GOD (YHVH) not man. For those of you that have a problem with GOD, put a universe in place, then I'll consider your point of view. Anything and everything beyond these rights are privileges granted by society.

First, let's deal with this issue of rights. GOD grants rights, human society grants privileges. My rights stop where my neighbor's begins. Whenever a government, by whatever means that government was instituted within a population group, infringes upon these rights, the affected people have a legitimate reason and cause to overthrow that government by whatever means possible.

Whenever another individual's pursuit of life, liberty and happiness infringes upon the rights of another to enjoy or experience the same, the affected party has a legitimate reason and cause to end that intrusion, suppression or oppression. By this definition abortion is criminal act because it infringes on the unborn's right to pursue life, liberty and the intelligent pursuit of happiness.

When it comes to privileges, like smoking, civil accommodations, our care for animals, bearing arms, etc., these are privileges granted by society to the members of that society. When these privileges are granted, it is incumbent upon every person enjoying privileges, to respect the rights (life, liberty, happiness) and privileges of others. Failing to do so, should mean the revocation of that particular privilege.

Smokers can smoke, but do not smoke around people that are impacted directly or indirectly by your habit or pleasure. If you fail to respect another's right (life, liberty, happiness) and privilege not to smoke, or to be around smokers, you have infringed upon the rights (life, liberty, happiness) and privileges of another human being. For years, smokers paid little or no attention to the rights (life, liberty, happiness) and privileges of others while we (I smoke too) indulged ourselves.

For over 25 years, I have never smoked around anyone that did not appreciate my smoke in their air space. Even at home, I smoke in a well ventilated room, and only smoke in that room. I do not smoke anywhere that does not have adequate ventilation. In short, I learned to govern myself because I respected the rights (life, liberty, happiness) and privileges of others.

If we, as smokers, fail to police ourselves, and this includes properly disposing of cigarette butts or cigar stubs, then somebody or an elected group has no choice but to police us, since we failed to do it ourselves. Government has a duly and an obligation to protect the rights (life, liberty, happiness) and privileges of all citizens. If that means protecting the innocent from abusive smokers, then for once, government is taking a needed and necessary action.

Will America Win The Hearts And Minds Of Muslims?

America will never win the hearts and minds of Muslims. In fact, no western democracy will.

Even though the reasons for this are many and varied, there are 3 major reasons why this will never happen. These reasons are philosophical, historical and fundamental.

The philosophical differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam run deep and are rarely recognized. It seems very few people have ever ask themselves this question: Why didn't the people of North Africa and the area of the planet commonly referred to as the Middle East, embrace Judaism or Christianity? Why did they embrace Islam so readily? Once analyzed, it becomes painfully clear that the roots of Christianity and Islam can be traced back to Judaism and neither one has credibility or can exist without it.

Over the centuries the basic tenets of Christianity have managed to co-exist peacefully with Judaism and Islam. Islam on the other hand, has not and will not co-exist with Christianity or Judaism because it is the philosophical antithesis of both. Since modern Western Democracies and their inherent philosophies are deeply rooted in Judaism, it is virtually impossible for true Muslims to accept rule or peaceful co-existence with anything that is of the Christian or Judaic West or East.

The historical reasons why we will never win the hearts and minds of Muslims goes back thousands of years. The interaction between Muslims, Christians and Jews has been violent and bloody for centuries. To fully understand the roots of this animosity will require an intense historical analysis that goes all the way back to the Sons of Abraham, Ishmael and Israel. In the last 100 years, all you really need to do is fast forward to the end of World War I, which can be easily researched and documented.

When the French and British governments decided to carve up the Ottoman-Turk Empire after World War I, their diplomats paid little attention to the ethnic hostilities that were rampant in the region at the time. They were more concerned about economic advantages, political expediency and subduing the ethnic populations. The animosities Muslims harbor against the West can be traced back to the treachery and brutal suppression they experienced at the hands of their colonial masters.

Don't lose your bearing because of the "so-called" Palestinian Issue. The Balfour Declaration called for a Jewish and Palestinian State. It was the Arabs that reneged on the Agreement. Muslim hostility toward America has nothing to do with this issue. It is a recent addition, just like our invasion of Iraq.

America became the target of Muslim animosity by default because of the following reason, America is the military arsenal of the Western Powers; i.e, France, Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc., and the only remaining super military force on earth. Don't be deceived. America's military capacity, if unrestrained, can destroy any nation on this planet.

Even though Russia and China are formidable military powerhouses, they are no match for America unleashed. Europe's military industrial complex was dismantled after World War II and the task of defending Europe was literally given to America. Therefore, Muslims sincerely believe, and rightly so, that if America is destroyed, Europe and England will fall.

Finally, there are fundamental differences between Islam, Judaism and Judeo-Christianity that can never be bridged. If Islam changed any of it's tenets, it would no longer be Islam. There are many in North and South America, Europe, England and the Far East that are naive when it comes to this fact. Islam is a religion of brotherly love for Muslims only. The rest of us are infidels and are to be converted, persecuted or destroyed.

Don't be misled by Muslims living in non Muslim countries. These Muslims are largely apostates and are not living by all the tenets of the faith because of economic, political, social, safety or for whatever reason/s that are advantageous and/or beneficial to them. If they are true Muslims, their duty as Muslims is to convert, persecute or destroy all non Muslims. If you don't believe this, find yourself a real Muslim scholar so he/she can explain this to you.

Empowerment Through Self Discovery

Self discovery is the process by which human beings educated themselves, understand themselves, grow spiritually and intellectually and empower themselves.

Why is this so vitally important? It is vitally important because unless an individual knows who he/she really is, he/she is a stranger to himself/herself.

Unless a person knows his/her talents and abilities, he/she is forever crippled as a human being and subject to the whims and dictates of others.

Self discovery is a process that begins and ends with you. This process, in its simplest form, is the means by which you grow and develop intellectually and spiritually. The physical you grows on its own. All you basically have to do is feed it and properly and take of it. The manner, means and method by which the physical aspect of our being grows is normally beyond our conscious control.

Consequently, the only aspects of your being over which you can exercise control is your spiritual and intellectual self. Self discovery will help you identify, characterize, organize and effectively utilize what you have learned and will continue to learn about yourself. This is the essence and the foundation of personal growth and development and it is the only means by which you can rise to higher levels of conscious awareness.

Empowerment like everything else on our planet is a process. It begins by acquiring knowledge that grows into understanding and matures into wisdom. Wisdom is the practical application and use of knowledge and understanding in ways that benefit the individual and others.

It has been said, "knowledge is power". If this is true, then the more knowledge an individual has or acquires, the more powerful that individual becomes relative to others in his/her immediate environment and the more confidence that individual will have in himself/herself. Having confidence in yourself encourages others to have confidence in you and your abilities.

Self discovery and self empowerment are important for other reasons as well. The most important being having the ability to examine your mindset on an ongoing basis. The reason why so many people are crippled psychologically is because they never examined the knowledge they carry around in their heads or how they got that knowledge.

Millions have never initiated the self discovery process that will help them live more productively. If you don't have the right mindset, it is much more difficult, if not impossible, to live productively and successfully with boundless joy and happiness.

Unlike professional athletes and entertainers that can survive on their honed skills and natural talents, and the world will pay a premium to be entertained by them, The rest of us need to have the correct mindset and continually improve the way we think, what we think, how we think and our decision-making process. Using your mind properly is the only known method to achieving your personal goals, whatever they may be.

Do you know what your mind-set is? Do you know what is the absolute best mind-set to have? Personal discovery will lead you to these answers and every answer you seek in any and all your endeavors.

Who Is Responsible For Terrorism?

Asking the question: Who is responsible for terrorism?... is more proof the intellectual left is on the precipice of intellectual madness. Even discussing it adds credibility to the argument that the tenets of "Political Correctness" have gone far beyond tolerance.

Could it be, that in their misguided attempt to be "Politically Correct", the intellectually astute have distorted their own actuality and reality and have diminished their ability to think clearly on any subject?

There is absolutely nothing to decide or ponder. The terrorist are responsible for their acts of terrorism. The answer to this question now opens the door to debate as to why they are committing these unspeakable acts of brutality against innocent men, women and children. In this discussion arena, any reason is as good as any other. Such is the nature of intellectual madness.

A brutal killer can now be excused for his/her dastardly deeds because of what happened in his/her childhood. Madmen, masquerading as religious, spiritual or political leaders, can now be excused for their heinous crimes because they have suffered political, economic and/or social persecution. The fact of the matter is we are responsible for what we do or do not, not our mothers, fathers, the government or self-styled dictators and their supporters.

Human society is what it is because of the ideologies, concepts and precepts human beings are willing to accept as true. It rarely matters whether this ideology comes from GOD or madmen like Hitler, Stalin, Caligula, Mussolini or the late Saddam Hussein. Human beings make their own decisions and then dutifully seek ways, means and/or methods to isolate themselves from their actions, activities and their own decision making process.

They artfully and skillfully transfer their responsibility to others. We casually call this the blame game, but in war and politics this is a high stakes game played for real..in real time...and with real consequences. These modern barbarians instinctively know that somewhere out there on planet earth are idiots and educated fools that will believe them.

How is this done? They blame others and then ask the question. The question becomes a political, religious, spiritual, economic or social statement that has sympathetic appeal. Now, instead of hauling these barbaric individuals off to the gallows and executing them for their crimes against humanity, a "so-called" "self styled" intellectual now takes up the cause and begins blaming American foreign policy or some other situation, circumstance or event as the reason for terrorism and the acts of terrorist.

This insidious madness goes even further, these butchers are now hailed as heroes by their own people. Some are even transformed into icons for public consumption and actually considered as martyrs for the cause.

This unthinkable act, sucks even more unsuspecting men and women into this murderous and detestable lifestyle. It matters little that the acts of these "so called" martyrs are immoral and senseless acts of human butchery. How does this happen so easily and with so little effort? It can be traced directly and indirectly right back to ideologies, concepts and precepts they accepted as being true.

What Makes A Nation

Whenever I hear the excuses some "Liberals" and many "Latinos" use to defend corrupt and ineffective leadership that is proliferating throughout South America, I have to remind them of Japan, South Korea and Israel. All of these countries were poor when compared to major world powers.

Japan: Japan is a nation of few natural resources. The Japanese people have always been afraid of poverty, so afraid in fact, they developed a work ethic that is so intense and remarkable that it has propelled them from a poverty stricken nation to a world power. They were a world power in World I and World War II and they are an economic power today.

What international agency helped them? What UN mandate? What foreign agency loaned them money during their rise from poverty to riches? How many of them are illegal immigrants anywhere in the world? The answers are few or none. The Japanese have earned everything they have.

Even in America, few Japanese; if any, have ever been convicted of a major crime. Few. if any, Japanese are on subsidy programs they didn't earn. Even though they were horribly discriminated against in this country, they went to war as Americans and fought and died with honor. They are and always will be one of the greatest nation of people on this planet.

South Korea: Let's turn to the South Koreans, another great nation of people. South Korea was virtually decimated during the communist incursion into southeast Asia. Yet in less than 30 years, using natural and human resources, they raised themselves from the bottom to an economic powerhouse. To date, there are few, if any, South Koreans in American prisons, on undeserved government subsidies or can be called an illegal immigrant.

What did these third world nations, that are now first world, have that many nations around the world lack? The answer in 3 words is honest, dedicated, leadership. Their governments were not engrossed in corruption, ineffective and/or self-serving. Their people were committed to each other. They worked together as a nation. All for one and one for all.

What makes America great is not our natural resources, its our people. What makes any country great is its people. If natural resources were the key to greatness, Russia would be the greatest and most powerful nation on this earth and they are not.

Finally there is Israel: Israel is a tiny nation that is no more than a strip of land. It is surrounded by millions of hostile Arabs. Yet this nation of people whose ethnicity has caused them to be butchered by the millions is one of the most successful nations on earth. The Israeli Defense Forces are among the world's elite and their air force rivals our own. They took a barren wasteland and turned it into an oasis.

I could talk about 50 countries or more where people are struggling and dying rather than coming together as a nation. The answer is always the same. What makes a nation great..the people and those they choose to govern them and lead them.

Violence In The Middle East And The Sykes-Picot Agreement

Practically all the modern states of the Middle East were influenced by the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This Agreement has caused more death and destruction than any other Middle East Document.

The Sykes-Picot Agreement has literally been the cornerstone of Europe's and England's Middle East policy since its acceptance and enactment in May of 1916. The agreement was originally a secret document that was initiated by Mark Sykes - a Briton and Francois Georges-Picot - a Frechman. It's purpose was to establish territorial control and spheres of influence in what is now the Middle East and other areas that belonged to the Ottoman-Turks.

The various policy positions of the French and British governments on the Palestinian and Jewish issues during the 1920s, 30s, during and After World War II can be traced to Skyes-Picot and its subsequent agreements and the Balfour Declarations of 1917 and 1926. (See: Sykes-Picot)

When the French and British governments decided to carve up the Ottoman-Turk Empire after World War I, their diplomats paid little attention to the ethnic hostilities that were rampant in the region at the time. They were more concerned about economic advantages, political expediency and subduing the ethnic populations.

Consequently, the Kurds (almost 30 million today) were denied a homeland (Kurdistan). Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurds were lumped together in Iraq and a huge segment of Kurdistan was given to the Turks. Even today, Turkish government leaders do not want an independent Kurdistan on their border. Persians and Medes; along with a huge Shi'ite population were thrown together in Iran.

The Balfour Declarations supported an independent Palestine and an independent Israel. The Palestinians were denied a homeland, not by the Jews, America, Britian or France. The Arabs denied them a homeland. Arab governments made the decision that a Palestinian state would not be in territories they controlled. If Palestine were going to exist, it would be in the land allocated to the Jews.

There was little or no justification for the Arab position because there was never an autonomous Palestine within the Ottoman-Turk Empire. Palestine existed in name only as a former Roman Province. In 140 AD, Hadrian changed the name of Israel to Palestine. Therefore, if the Palestinians wanted an antonomous homeland they had to take it from its legitimate owners, the Jews. Arab governments have supported this position since that time.

The animosities Muslims harbor against the West can be traced back to the brutal suppression they experienced at the hands of their colonial masters. Prior to World I, the vast majority of Americans had little or no interest in European politics. As a nation, we did not want to enter World I or World II, even though we were quietly supporting the Allies in both Wars. Pearl Harbor and Hitler's Declaration of War changed all that during World War II.

America is involved in this Middle East quagmire for the following reasons:

1. We are basically the military arsenal of the Western Powers; i.e, France, Britian, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc. and the only remaining super power on the planet.

2. The Soviet Union, now Russia, has been sympathetic toward Middle Eastern foreign policy positions since the 1950s. During World War II, "Radical Islamic" groups had their own SS divisions, courtesy of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.

3. Europe's military industrial complex was largely dismantled after World War II and the task of defending Europe was literally given to America. Therefore, "Islamic Radicals" believe, and rightly so, that if America is destroyed, Europe and England will eventually fall.

As you can see, this long standing hatred of the West, because of poor diplomacy, has been transferred to America by default. Over the past 50 years, Western Europe has become much more sympathetic to Arab policies and has huge Muslim populations. Hence, "Islamic Radicals" truly believe that the only obstacle to their eventual conquest of Europe and the world is America.

Even though President Bush was literally dragged into this conflict because of 9/11, I firmly believe he is one of the few American Presidents that truly understands the dangers of an all out war with Muslim extremist. Even President Nixon believed a war with "Radical Islamic" groups was inevitable. It was reported that Nixon also believed America and the West would lose, and the best strategy to adopt was to delay the war as long as possible.

Unfortunately, "Radical Islamic" groups struck first in the 1980s overseas, again in the 90s overseas, and finally America on 9/11/2001. President Bush believes we can win this war. I believe we can win it also as long as we keep "Liberals" and their warped philosophical views out of power. Once, they are entrenched, "Liberals" and their supporters will eventually try to appease "Radical Islam" and create absolute disaster.

President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld's only miscalculation was fighting "Radical Islam" in Iraq with too small an Army. Our intelligence failed us again. We would have been much better off pursuing Osama Bin Laden , the remnants of Al-Qaida and the Taliban into Pakistan. The violence in the Middle East and this war are going to last for a long, long time.

Situational Ethics And Illegal Immigration

Any criminal can reform and become an outstanding citizen. All Germans weren't Gestapo agents, members of the dreaded SS, brutal and barbaric to conquered peoples, or responsible for the horror of the Holocaust. However, do we conclude just because one German or a few were good, decent and humane that their crimes as a nation should be excused and ignored?

Do we ignore and pardon the crimes of those who were actually guilty of these atrocities? No..we do not and should not. Situational ethics is a dangerous intellectual game. Either you enforce our laws or repeal them. Once the law has been adhered to, then we can discuss in an intelligent and forthright manner any extenuating circumstances. Not before.

This is the essence of true justice. If illegal aliens were sincere in their intentions, they would confess their crime of illegal entry and throw themselves on the mercy and justice of the American people. I'm certain they would find sympathizers. Such acts would demonstrate sincerity of purpose and a willingness to honor our laws and respect our institutions. In the absence of contrition, regardless of how innocent an undocumented individual's actions and activities may be, we must conclude that they willfully and knowingly choose to ignore our laws and thus disrespect us all.

How can an undocumented individual enter our home (country) uninvited, violate our trust, trample the very essence of our sovereignty and then expect us a nation to ignore their abuses and call them friends? Trust must be earned not given, therefore, how can we ever trust them without just and verifiable acts?

If undocumented aliens sincerely wanted our trust and friendship, they would have done the right thing. Even the 9/11 hijackers did that. In addition, before 9/11/2001 not one hijacker committed a crime, major or minor and entered our country legally.

According published reports. we have 8-12 million people within our borders that are very capable of helping us, hurting us or killing us and we have no idea who they are. Undocumented aliens not only hurt our economy, institutions and services, they also hurt themselves by being outside of our legal system. They rob themselves and their children of respectability.

If earning money is our only criteria for citizenship and legality, then every cut throat, thief, murderer, con artist drug lord, crime boss, corrupt politician and drug smuggler is a model citizen. Surely, you nor I want this level of depravity for ourselves, our nation, our society, or for our children.

Undocumented individuals must do the right thing by coming forward, leaving voluntarily or we must find them and deport them because we can not play that dangerous game of situational ethics.

Immigration Reform

Meaningful immigration reform has nothing to do with departmental changes that may be necessary in a time of crisis such as 9/11/2001 and creating the Department of Homeland Security. If we have able, competent and intelligent leadership in these areas, departmental confusion will end at some future time. After all, we were attacked and change is often a slow and painful process.

As far as immigration reform is concerned, the first thing we need to do is create a government program to hire legitimate citizens that are unemployed and get busy rounding up every illegal immigrant in our country.

Amnesty and guest worker programs at this point in time would be a recipe for disaster. What you are invariably doing is sanctioning a criminal activity. No reforms should be discussed until our current laws are enforced, our borders secure and these people are out of our country. Then and only then should we re-examine our immigration policies. This action needs to be taken for the following reasons.

1. By definition and legal statutes, undocumented aliens or illegal immigrants are criminals. A criminal, as defined by Webster, is anyone who has broken a law. A statute is a law passed by a legislative body. The Federal government deemed years ago that entering America, through other than legal and lawful channels (refugees are legal)is illegal. Therefore, if you are in America with stolen identities, false identities, and/or without proper documentation, you are a criminal. Creating safe havens and employing these individuals, under the law, is aiding and abetting a felon.

2. Currently, assuming all the reported statistical data is true, We have over 12,000,000 felons running loose in our communities. We, as a nation, are encouraging lawlessness and contempt for the rule of law. These people have no allegiance to our country, no respect for our values or us. Why should they? The dangers of unrestricted immigration are too numerous to mention. There are the health risks; such as AIDS, Bird Flu, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Small Pox, Venereal Diseases and the list goes on.

3. Besides the risk of epidemics, there is also the potential risk of thousands of potential mass murders, thieves, drug traffickers, smugglers, rapist and pedophiles all masquerading as farm workers, maids, construction workers or common laborers. We have no knowledge of who these people are, where they come from or their political beliefs and/or affiliations.

4. We may be allowing thousands of Al-Qaida sleeper cells into our country all plotting to commit mass murder at some future time. Radical or militant Islam is real, suicide bombers are real and cold blooded killers are real.

These matters should not be taken lightly, nor should we make decisions based on purely humanitarian considerations. We could be nursing vipers in our midst that our children and grandchildren will have to deal with in the future, all because of our stupidity and lack of resolve.

I Receive A Bone For Every Steak You Eat

To Newt Gingrich and his supporters. Elections in America are no longer choices between two futures, they are choices between two political parties and the ideologies of the men and/or women that have the power to impose their beliefs on others.

The tidbits or rewards we receive as common men and women are the bones that are thrown to us after the steak is eaten.

These tidbits or rewards are the bills that manage to be enacted into law. If we examined every law passed by both houses of congress, we will discover that someone benefited at the expense of someone else. This is Linear Thinking at its worst and is a recipe for eventual political failure.

Every time we elect a politician to office and grant him/her authority over us or appoint a judge, we are risking our future, not securing it. Why is this so? The primary reason is because the vast majority of political figures, advocates of every kind and sort, and even the political parties themselves are populated with Linear Thinkers. A Linear Thinker is any person that reasons or arrives at decisions based on his/her objective or subjective understanding of opposing forces or factors.

Let's take this example: In the jargon of the political right, "Radical Secularist are replacing 219 years of American religious freedom and political liberty with a revisionist version of American history. " The 2 most important questions we need to ask are:

(1) Who are these "Radical Secularist"?

(2) How have they risen or how did they rise to positions of power and authority that would allow them to usurp our political process to implement their agenda?

The political right has often stated: "The Supreme Court has seen fit to rule against God in the American public square time and again, even as they sit inside of a building surrounded by religious imagery. Most prominent among them are a depiction of Moses and an engraving of the Ten Commandments over the chair of the Chief Justice, each affirming our Judeo-Christian roots."

Since I have been living, I have never seen, read or heard of the Supreme Court calling a press conference to announce they are going to change a law. The courts have made every ruling based on their interpretation and understanding of the Law and the Constitution as it applies to the case/s presented to them.

In Newt's own words; I quote: "In case after case brought by radical secularists, activist judges have virtually made God into an outlaw. The Court has ruled against school prayers and Bible studies, and even prohibited voluntary prayer before football games. Most recently, a California court reaffirmed the Ninth Circuit Court ruling that the phrase 'one nation, under God' was unconstitutional."

WHY? If these justices are usurping the law and/or going beyond their constitutional authority they should be impeached and imprisoned. This is obviously not the case. So who is to blame and who is accountable? The answer is: We the People and Our Elected Representatives.

Let's examine other statements from leading conservatives; I quote: "They are using the courts to meet their political objectives. But why should we accept appointed lawyers’ edicts on how faith can be expressed in the public square? If you sit out an election, you are choosing their desire for enforced secularism." These statements should have been reviewed because they are inherently misleading and no more than political propaganda.

The reason why we accept appointed lawyers and judges is because our political system and institutions allow these appointments. This is not an enforcement of secularism. This is a manifestation of a legitimate process. If this process is not functioning as it should, who is to blame and who is accountable? The answer is: We the People and Our Elected Representatives.

Newt Gingrich has also stated, and I quote: "Their only hope is to keep you from voting." I have never seen, read, or heard of any "Radical Secularist" calling a press conference urging people not to vote or issuing threats to intimidate people into not voting. This is not a true statement.

As you can see, the political right and Republicans, the political left and leaders within the Democratic Party are all victims of the same 'Linear Thinking' process that doomed every civilization since human history began. These miscues are harmless. However, they do serve to rally the weak minded to the polls to vote. By doing so, more politicians and their bankers will continue eating steaks, while we, the people, nibble on the bones or crumbs.

The real problem is not the Radical Secularist. To my knowledge, these people have not broken any laws. The real problem is "We the People and Our Elected Representatives."Therefore, we need a better political model that encourages people to vote for the right reasons rather than cheap political propaganda. I'm tired of nibbling on bones.

The Truth About Safelists

The secret to making money on the net is no secret at all. It doesn't involve scams, pyramids, schemes, porn, casinos or auctions and it doesn't require you to be a programming wizard.

Anyone with a few hours a day can generate a substantial income in a reasonable period of time.

Fact: 97% of online marketers earn less then ten dollars per day online.

Fact: 82% of online marketers spend over 6 hours a day peddling their wares.

Fact: 4.6% of online marketers believe they can become millionaires overnight.

Most online marketers use safelists and the safelist industry has become a huge "File 13". 99.99% of your email ads are filtered to bulk folders and are rarely seen by the intended recipient. Then, if you spam the mailbox, like so many online ingrates, you are blacklisted and put out of business... and you should be.

The vast majority of email boxholders rarely read safelist mail. And.. I bet that probably includes you.

The future of online marketing is in list building. A professional list builder uses a huge database of opt-in requests to advertise to. These databases are filled with literally millions of people worldwide that have requested information regarding a particular subject, product or service.

The overall best strategy is to compile your own lists. You can accomplish this objective in a number of ways.

1. Use features and benefits in your ad copy. Example, Feature: "Last Longer", The Benefit: "Save More Time", Feature: "Never Seen Before", Benefit: "Little or no competition".

2. Use a little humor in your ad copy. It could be the little extra motive you need to close a sale. People are usually persuaded easier if they're in a good mood.

3. Ask your visitors questions that induce thoughts, feelings, memories and emotions that will influence them to buy.

4. Use blue, underlined text links. People have been branded that blue, underlined text are links. You do not want to lose visitors by using a different color.

5. Use professional web design, graphics, content, customer service, etc.

6. Offer something for FREE. Such as.....

• Downloadable Software - Allow your visitors to download software that's similar to or compliments their main purchase.
• Online Utility - Give visitors a web utility that will make their life easier. It can be a calculator, graphic creator, web site submitter, etc.
• E-books, Information Sheets, Booklets, Guides, Outlines, Special Reports, etc.
• Online Video - Allow visitors to download or view a related how-to video or informative seminar right over the Internet.
• Online Audio - Allow visitors to download and listen to a recording of an expert that is being interviewed right over the Internet.

Don't be fooled by low cost opt-in lists. A lot can be told about a program simply by looking at the site that is offering it. Keep in mind that if it sounds too good to be true that it probably is.

The Modern Republican Legacy

If graft and corruption are going to be the legacy of the Republican Party, it will probably drive most evangelicals out the party.

In fact, the Republican Party in Orangeburg South Carolina is so inept and dysfunctional, it is an absolute embarassment.

Let's see...graft, corruption, ineptitude, dysfunctionality, the "Good Old Boy Political System" and more pork barrel political earmarks than any congress in American history.

Let's add more spending than the Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society". Runaway immigration, disfunctional government agencies, over 3,000 dead Americans in Iraq in a situation that is rapidly deteriorating, energy legislation that enriches "Big Oil", prescription drugs that enrich pharmaceutical companies, deplorable oversight of e-voting machines, unfair tax legislation, failed policies and programs all over Washington, DC and influence peddling.

Please give me a break about Nancy Pelosi and Charles Rangel. Let's get beyond political infighting and move to the next level. Our "Republican Leaders" are an absolute political embarrassment and we might as well call a spade a spade.

The primary reason why the press is harder on Republicans than Democrats is because they expect more from Republicans. They expect higher standards of morality, ethics, and higher standards of performance at every level of government. When Republicans succumb to base and vile political standards, they are no better than the Democrats who have been corrupt for years. In other words, Republicans are hypocrits and the press hammers that fact home.

What Is The Real Message From The 2006 Mid-Term Elections?

While the Democrats are basking in victory and the Republicans are reeling in defeat, the real losers in the 2006 midterm elections are the American People.

The U.S. House of Representatives will return to its former theatrics and the U.S. Senate will return to a comedy of errors. There are only two real messages I can glean from the 2006 midterm elections.

Message #1: The American voters put back in power the same party that flaunts its perversions, corruption, immorality, back room, back door, deceptive legislative practices and its utter contempt for the rule of law.

Pundits, political commentators and Democratic operatives are keep telling us the American people have sent a strong message that we are upset over the debacle that is commonly referred to as the War on Terror, now called the War in Iraq.

Therefore, they are essentially saying that we, the American people, prefer graft, corruption, perversion, immorality and a gangster operation masquerading as the Democratic Party, rather than a Republican Party of principles, values, responsible citizenship, low taxes, real leadership and effective government. At least that how it was suppose to work.

I don't like what is going on with the Republican Party, but I'm not that far removed from reality to put Democrats back in control of Congress for another 50 years. The Democratic record in this country is not only shameful and a dismal failure, it is an absolute atrocity. Let's review what the Democrats have done for us, as a nation, besides taxing us from crib to grave.

Under Democratic rule; many of our schools became day care centers, social experiments, dysfunctional and on the verge of collapsing into a nightmare reality for our children. Our military was virtually destroyed and demoralized. Our manufacturing base was gutted and shipped overseas, which relegated millions to the welfare rolls, while turning industrial communities into industrial wastelands.

Under the Democrats, our nation became a cess pool of illegal drugs, crime, sexual perversion, immorality, deceit, deception, lies, fraud, government abuse, corruption and legal thievery. The Democrats put America on a downward spiral, from which we may never recover and this does not include the murder of over 40 million babies in abortion factories.

Because of their blunderous foreign policy decisions, the Democrats unwittingly contributed to the birth and growth of the modern terrorist movement. Don't take my word for this, review their record and history for yourselves.

At least President Bush and the Republicans had the guts to stand up and try to do something about our downward spiral. During the 6 years the Republicans controlled the House and the Senate they did manage to give Congress some level of decency.

However, that old adage is still true and few have escaped is intoxicating appeal. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Did Republicans make mistakes?...Yes. Did the Republican leadership slip into the unforgiving abyss of coverup and corruption?...Yes.

However, unlike their Democratic counterparts that are still harboring an impeached judge and a suspected criminal in the House of Representatives, elected a dead man to political office, elected a known racist (Byrd) and a glib grifteress (Hillary Clinton) to the U.S. Senate and a known philanderer (Bill Clinton) as President. At least the Republicans try to keep a clean house.

The Democratic Party has repeatedly demonstated that they have no concept of what it means to keep a clean house. The stench from the corruption and chicanery that the Democratically controlled Congress gave us still hangs over this nation like a burial shroud. But, if you stand in a pig pen long enough, you can easily adapt to its foul smell and mounds of filth.

These are not partisan attacks, they are absolute facts that any reader can verify for himself/herself. To be sure the War in Iraq is no longer popular; but it is the right war at the right time. It's just in the wrong place. To be sure, the war on terror in Iraq has been horribly mismanaged. However, to assume the Democrats can save us from future terrorism is sheer madness.

How can modern Democrats help us win a war against radical Islam? How can they, when they have already made a mess of America. The modern Democratic Party has literally destroyed every value, concept and precept we have ever cherished as a nation. Their liberal ideology has ruined everything it has ever touched from education to free trade. It only stands to reason they will ruin the War on Terror and destroy us in the process.

This leads me to the second message I have gleaned from the 2006 mid-term elections. This message is far more insidious and disheartening.

Message #2: Vast segments of our population are becoming so lawless, petty, polarized, self-serving and selfish in nature, until they are dragging all of us down to new lows of personal depravity.

There is another adage that is well suited for our day and age and it is uniquely suited as an epithet for the 2006 mid-term elections. Every nation of people will eventually end up with a government it deserves. God help us all if this ever becomes true.

The Importance Of Self Confidence

From the time we are born to the day we die, we are taught to doubt ourselves, have negative feelings and question ourselves. This is totally normal. However, you must understand that self doubt will not allow you to stand out above the crowd or be truly successful. You must have confidence in yourself.

Confidence, Confidence, Self Confidence is the one thing all successful men and women have in common. They have confidence in their knowledge. They have confidence in their abilities. They are confident they can accomplish any task. They are confident that hard work and commitment will be rewarding.

Do successful people have doubts or negative feelings? Of course they do. How they overcome negatives in their lives is the difference. This ability to overcome negatives and obstacles naurally makes them successful, and it will make you successful. Successful people breathe and eat positives; especially when it comes to what they want to accomplish! Their positives tremendously out weigh all the negative influences and doubt they encounter. They block out negatives and negative people.

Successful, confident, positive individuals are happy with themselves, satisfied with their surroundings. People enjoy being near them. They have magnetic personalities, they attract others and flood their entire area with confidence and reality based thinking.

Think for a minute, do you want to be in the company of a dull negative person or a person that is enthusiastic and confident? Negative people bring you down, depress you and can cause you to doubt your own abilities. Positive people raise you up, make you feel better and being around them gives you more confidence. Negative attitudes are like viral diseases, they spread quickly to the weak-minded and the uninformed.

Not all "millionaires" are successful. Not all successful people are millionaires. Money alone does not mean success. Some wealthy individuals inherited their riches, some achieved their riches with blind luck like lottery winners. One thing you can be sure of is this: All self made millionaires that achieved success had confidence in themselves and a positive attitude. They think like "millionaires" even when the bank account is empty.

Do you want to wait for an inheritance or luck? Or would you rather start thinking positively and use your "GOD (YHVH) Given Abilities"? For those of you that have a problem with GOD, put a universe in place; then, I'll consider your point of view. Otherwise, why not build your own successful life? Confidence not only builds your bank account, it also improves your physical and mental health. Both mind and body are necessary for absolute positive unbending confidence!

How do you attain this attitude? "Knowledge is Power", but knowledge not used is wasted. However, knowledge will give you confidence to achieve any goal you set for yourself if you remain committed and positive! Knowledge can be acquired, so can confidence and a positive attitude. You and your commitment are all that is required to move forward toward your goal of financial independence or any goal you desire to achieve.

Write Your Own Success Story

You can write your own success story. Your life was, is and will become the sum total of the words you have used to direct your actions, create your thoughts or develop your ideas.

Your precepts, concepts, attitudes and general disposition can all be traced to the words you have thought, uttered or allowed into your life.

Our lives on this planet are short. So make the most of the time you have. Whenever you become "Stressed and Depressed" remind yourself constantly that in everything you do, put GOD (YHVH) first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success. For those of you that have a problem with GOD, put a universe in place then I'll consider your point of view. In all that I have seen, read and experienced I know without a shadow of a doubt, there is only one GOD and his name is YHVH.

If you are a Christian, do not hide this fact. Live your life according to the principles as outlined in the Holy Scriptures. There is a reason for this: When a man or woman is trying to please GOD, GOD makes even his worst enemies to be at peace with him. GOD comforts us in our troubles so we can encourage others in theirs.

It is important that you understand that the sweetest songs often come from broken hearts. As it is written: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning". Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell GOD your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers. If you are not a Christian, then pay homage to and thank the GOD/s that watch/es over and direct/s your life.

It will be very helpful to further your understanding to include (among other concepts, precepts, and ideologies) the proper mental attitude in order to have an acceptable standard of living. Defer pleasure for a short while, save and invest your money wisely, and use the interest earned to buy the material things that add comfort and pleasure to life.

It would be a good practice to buy more for less and enjoy the things you want at discount; rather than full price. Strive to acquire material things at the lowest possible price. To put it simply; save, get the most for your money. Use interest earnings to buy at the lowest possible price in order to have more material possessions if this is your desire.

You must also understand that it is your responsibility to be in control of what you think and how you feel. In order to properly regulate your thinking, attitudes and feelings, engage in self-talk from time to time. What I have learned from my own self-talk is that it is best to set and pursue just one goal at a time. Change one habit at a time. Instead of trying to tackle many goals at once, it is better to concentrate and focus on a single objective that is readily attainable, something you are reasonably sure you can achieve.

In my self-talk, I have said the following many times. I become programmed. My programming creates my beliefs. My beliefs determine my attitudes, concepts, precepts, psychology and general state of mind. My attitudes create my feelings and my feelings determine whether I will take some action or not act at all. In the final analysis, my thoughts and actions will determine whether I succeed or fail. You will also benefit by having a similar "Self-Management Sequence".

As an Associate, you may need to acquire the habit of thinking differently if you want to have what you desire. Success is not something you do, it is the end result of an organized and intelligence process that is directed at achieving a specific objective or goal. When you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.

Determine to do that something different. If need be, change your focus, change your thinking, and if necessary change your goal. And with the power of GOD, you can change your circumstances. The decisions you make today, will determine what GOD will do for you tomorrow. Nothing times nothing equals nothing. Therefore, whatever you faithfully sow, GOD will use to multiply back to you. Of this you can be absolutely assured because it is GOD's Law. For it is written: "But my GOD shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19 KJV)

It is your responsibility to develop a plan to guide your thinking and a plan to organize and focus your activities and actions. You also need a plan for your life. It can be very confusing to get somewhere, when you don't know where you are headed. A plan is like a road map. It tells you where you are and points you in a direction. It helps you strategize how to get from point "A" to point "B".

Everything I have stated on these pages is no more or less than a brief paragraph in the "Story of Words". Whether you write them on paper, a computer screen, utter them on a recording device or use them in some other way, words are only the flint that strikes the fire. Use power words in your self-talk to set yourself up. Use them to challenge yourself. Change yourself if you want to change or to do better. If you choose to do better, by all means develop a plan of action to accomplish your objective.

No one else is going to write your story, you must do that. What you have done will be recorded in words, if not by you, by someone else. You are responsible for the words that will be written about your life. Your actions and activities will become the story of who you are and what you became in your brief life on earth.

We are a human race of living words. We live by words. Words create our emotions, thoughts and formulate the images in our minds. Words tell us where we are, what we are, and describe what we are doing. They tell us where we are going and why we are going there. Whatever you know about yourself, your words or the words of someone else told you.

To the uninformed and overly educated words are merely parts of speech. Nothing more than alphabetical characters organized into sentences and paragraphs. Something written in books, or spoken in an understandable language. Words are much more. They are the means by which we formulate and structure intelligent thought.

Every word you and I will ever speak, hear, think, write, see or read will have a picture attached to it and a meaning that informs or stimulates the programming files in our subconscious mind. We are affected and effected by words - each and every one of them. Our words carry the life giving breath of awareness that courses through our minds.

Words are the very essence of our understanding and they direct our motions throughout our entire lives. Therefore the words you use in your self-talk will tell you who you really are, what you are really feeling, and what you should be doing to accomplish your goals and objectives. Words have the power to do this every moment of your entire existence. Therefore, write your success story and live by the words that bring joy, meaning, happiness and success to your life.

Where Is America's Comprehensive Energy Policy?

There are only two type problems on planet earth; natural and man made. There are no others.

Our energy needs are natural and man made. Natural because we are dealing with a resource we did not create.

We can use our energy resources, but humanity had nothing to with the creation of oil, coal, trees and natural gases. If the availability of energy resources were our only problem, we could solve this problem very easily because there are only 2 logical courses of action.

1. Develop and implement programs, policies and procedures that would limit our use and need for natural energy reserves. Or...
2. Develop and implement programs, policies and procedures to deal with the aftermath in the event this could not be done. Surely, any intelligent group of people can figure this out.

Since what nature has done or will do is beyond our immediate control, lets identify our collective problems. Our man made problems can be lumped into 12 broad categories.

• Failure to Research and/or Investigate (Educational, Institutional)
  
• Inadequate Technological Development (Educational, Institutional)
  
• Developmental Failure (Don't have enough knowledge or expertise)
  
• Implementational Failure (Social, Political, Economic)
• Operational Failure (Social, Political, Economic)
  
• Failure to Communicate (Social, Political)
• Failure to Cooperate (Social, Political)
• Personal or Group Greed (Social, Political, Economic)
• Personal or Group Insensitivity (Social, Political)
• Personal or Group Hatred (Social, Political)
• Ignorance and Uncertainty (Humanity's biggest problem)
• Lacking the Courage or Will to Solve the Problem, Collectively or Individually (Every problem has a solution)
  

All these problems can be solved with accurate information and applying the age old principle of using whatever knowledge we have managed to accumulate with understanding and wisdom. Whenever a person or group fail to act responsibly or fail to compromise in a legislative process because of conscious, principle or belief (religious or otherwise), we are not dealing with a problem. We are dealing with a condition.

Conditions can exist for any number of reasons. Our collective mission and objective is to find out the nature of the condition and address it in an intelligent, thoughtful and forthright manner. This means our energy needs can be solved. The first step Congress needs to take is to open all available areas for oil and natural gas exploration. The second step Congress needs to take is to develop a logical and comprehensive energy policy. Any well thought out energy policy should have 6 key elements...

• Effectively alleviate or prevent high consumer energy prices
• Reduce or effectively manage consumption
• Reduce our reliance on imported energy resources
• Develop alternative and/or renewable energy sources
• Increase our ability and capacity to develop and manage our own energy resources..and
  
• Protect the environment before, during and after energy resources are discovered or developed by a man made process.
  

Consumers, industry and businesses throughout the nation should have enough innate intelligence to realize oil, gas, coal and other natural energy resources are finite. Even renewable energy resources have limitations. Therefore, if our nation is still struggling with rising energy prices, tight supplies and increased reliance on imports from politically unstable areas, then we have a failed or failing leadership group in charge.

It is more important than ever that the federal government work out their political and philosophical differences and give us a sensible energy policy that safely and effectively utilizes U.S. resources. This will not only help industries that rely on crude and natural gas, it would also strengthen our national security, provide jobs for our citizens and spur economic growth.

The Administration and Congress must also quickly approve measures allowing coastal states and localities to receive a fair and equitable share of revenues derived from offshore oil and gas production. This production revenue would provide a tremendous benefit to state and local communities; helping to build roads, schools, hospitals and to address other vital local needs. In addition, no exploration and/or delivery of energy resources should be done without taking all the necessary precautions to safeguard our environment. Don't forget...we live here.

We Should Be Angry About The War In Iraqi

The number one reason why we should be angry about the war in Iraq is American service men and women are dying because of political expediency. We will never be able to appease radical Islam.

Muslims became outraged when American soldiers entered a Masjid to search it for weapons that were being used in terror campaigns. Yet, this same Muslim community have expressed little are no outrage when innocent people were murdered in that same Masjid while kneeling in prayers.

Our misguided media outlets are quick to document anything an American soldier does that might anger a Muslim. Yet, these same media giants rarely discuss Muslim atrocities. Liberals and Democrats don't want to anger Muslims either. So our young men and women take the bullets and bombs and die in the streets of Baghdad while cowardly politicians and media professionals seek ways to appease an unappeasable adversary.

The Democrats lied. They said they would not "cut and run". Yet, in less than 90 days, they have managed to pass legislation to do exactly that..."cut and run". Tell me some more lies. The Democrats said they would not pay politics with the lives of America soldiers. Yet, throughout the mid-term elections of 2006 and in less than 90 days in 2007, that's all they have managed to do is play politics with the lives of our soldiers. If there is any unvented anger over the war in Iraq, direct it at the real culprits, America's media giants, the Democratic Party, their supporters and President Bush's advisors.

Let's be clear about one thing. The war in Iraq was and still is a strategic, tactical and political blunder. We are in the right war, but in the wrong place. If anyone can't see this, I don't know what turnip truck dropped you off. The Bush Administration keeps pointing out that America has not been attacked since 9/11/2001.

The fact of the matter is: Al-Qaida has not attacked America because they don't want to or need to. Why should they, when they are achieving their objectives in Iraq? Over 3,000 American dead, over 20,000 wounded..and some horribly. And...perhaps another 8,000 - 10,000 will be committed to the war effort. If we stay the course without significant policy changes, perhaps 5,000 - 10,000 dead and over 50,000 wounded.

Every dead or wounded American soldier strengthens radical Islam and the Jihadist movement. It does not weaken it. The Taliban have not been destroyed or decimated and they are still a significant threat to the peace and stability of Afghanistan. I don't even want to mention the drug problem and others that are still not resolved after 5 years of fighting. To be sure, Al-Qaida's training camps are no longer in Afghanistan, they are now in Pakistan.

Why is a Iraq a strategic, tactical and political blunder?

First: It diverted resources and manpower from our primary objective which was, and still is....to kill or capture all those responsible for the horrendous attack on 9/11/2001. As far as I can tell from all the reports I have read, Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaida and the Taliban are alive and well.

Second: Attacking Iraq destroyed the broad support we had to retaliate against those that actually attacked us. I don't recall a single 9/11 hijacker being from Iraq. I do recall 15 of them being from Saudi Arabia. The actual attack was carried out by an Al-Qaida cell not members from Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard. We had the moral authority and the legitimate right to pursue them into Pakistan if need be.

Finally: The major industrial nations on planet earth would have been with us and that includes Mexico and Canada. Killing or capturing Bin Laden would have done more to deter Saddam Hussein than our invasion of his country and his untimely demise at the end of a rope.

If you want to be angry, direct your anger at every senior official in the State and Defense Departments and every advisor that gave President Bush faulty and unreliable information. These people have done more to kill our soldiers than insurgent's bullets and roadside bombs or should I say IEDs - "Improvised Explosive Devices". To be sure, our soldiers would not be facing an insurgency and innocent Iraqis would not be blown up at the meat market if these people had done their jobs.

In his/her/their misguided attempt to save President Musharraf's government in Pakistan, somebody or a group of poorly informed individuals in the President's circle of advisors convinced him to attack Iraq instead of pursuing Bin Laden, the Taliban and Al-Qaida into the tribal regions of Pakistan. This tactical, strategic and political misstep has cost us billions of dollars and the lives of American service men and women that did not need to die in an ill-conceived occupation of an already divided Muslim nation.

If America had amassed a formidable force on the borders of Pakistan, it would have actually strengthened Musharraf's government. No civilized people on this earth, Muslims being the exception, would have objected to our legitimate right to attack those that attacked us. President Musharraf would have had a legitimate reason, cause and purpose to enter the tribal regions with force and establish control over it. If this had happened, within months Bin Laden, the Taliban and Al-Qaida would have been thoroughly decimated, if not completely destroyed.

If you want to be angry...and we should...then...let's have the decency and intelligence to direct our anger at the right person, people, group/s and/or institution/s...instead of dumping the Iraq fiasco on President Bush. He is our President...not our dictator.