It's Not Just the Inflation!

It's A Dollar Tragedy!



World finance is obviously interconnected with all countries, especially the United States. We are the largest market on the planet. Now, I don't claim to have special knowledge about how all this works. You ought to look at my check book. Whether it's monetary exchange rates, oil, wheat or gold, it's mostly Greek to me. Probably like you, it mainly effects my psyche when I have to pull out my wallet at the gas station grocery store.

Nonetheless, I've come across some facts that I need to share with you. We'll try to understand them, together. Like I said, we'll try! Let's take a look at just one world commodity. It's "brent crude oil". It's a foreign oil that directly effects the price of our "light sweet crude oil". Here we go! In January of 2000, brent crude oil was priced at $25.00 and at 25.00 euros( the recently released currency of the European Union). So, at that time, the two currencies were at parity. 7 years later, that same barrel of brent crude oil as of December 2007 was priced at about $95.00 and 64.00 euros. A quick look at this might not mean much to you. Here's the eye opener. The price had gained 252% when bought in euros, but it had inflated a whopping 372% when priced in U.S. dollars! What a difference!

Here's my take on it and I think it's close to more or less accurate. The fabled Alan Greenspan, the God of our U.S. monetary policy as Federal Reserve Board Chairman, for years continued to lower interests rates. Currency market players like to park their money in documents that are not losing their worth. The lowering of a country's interest makes its currency go down compared to the rest of the world, generally. The brent crude oil story we already talked about gives a shocking example of how much our currency has lost its value. In just seven years the U.S dollar lost an incredible 47% of its value!

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Let's switch gears for a moment. There is inflation we know about. A carton of eggs goes from $1.00 to $2.00. The apparent reason is the price of feed (a lot of it's corn, which has gone up because of competition from federally subsidized gasahol) has gone up. Labor has gone up, partly because the federally mandated minimum wage has gone up. Shipping has gone up, mainly because the Democrats refuse further oil drilling in our own country. Utilities have gone up for the same reason. Now that's up close and personal inflation! Then we have that seemingly far away inflation caused by a sinking dollar. Any thing we buy from overseas automatically goes up!

Now, we are in a quandary which may offer no way out, but pain and lots of it! The national economy seems like it's tanking. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke is lowering our interest rates, literally, like there's no tomorrow. He's trying to stimulate our economy. The world sees that. The dollar goes down even more! Imports cost more, effecting our inflation which goes up.

Another problem we have is the housing debacle. Low interest rates brought out greed, greed and more greed! The consumer wanted a house they really couldn't afford and were too ignorant about re-setting interest rates. The mortgage "sales" people just wanted the loan to be approved. Their greed was passed on to the vultures on Wall Street, which was subsequently "shared" around the world! Builders built like crazy. Prices went sky high! Then the bubble burst. One day, the price of a house may be incredibly cheap. Just make sure the builder wasn't greedy, too!

Besides an ever increasing public debt (and private debt; credit cards, etc.), it is estimated that we, as a country, have a $59,000,000,000,000.00 (that's trillion) unfunded liability (retirements, medicare, and the like). That's at this moment! The world see that, too. My friends, this is not a play we're living. It's real and it's a tragedy!


Mark Harris

Who Is the First "Blackest" President

Bill Clinton is heralded as the first "black President". Huh? It's not quite so clear. Many black Americans choose the democrat out of habit. Of course, the democrats are given so much credit for the largesse they love to spread to the minorities. If these same folks would really stop and think about the conditions in which they live. I mentioned habit. Many Blacks, especially, are addicted to the "dole". Unfortunately, it is only enough to keep them addicted (habit) and never rise even one rung of the ladder higher; sometimes from deplorable conditions.

Statistically, many black families, after reaching the so-called middle class, start voting for the more conservative Republicans. They tend to like tax cuts. I wonder why? This is the great fear of the Democrats.

To get votes, the Dems under President Johnson, created the War on Poverty. It should probably more accurately be dubbed "the War to Keep Blacks in Poverty". Why does the lackluster former president, Jimmy Carter, keep building houses for minorities some 40 years later! Did something not work? He really needs to take his hammer and nails to New Orleans. The videos of the poorer areas of the city could be likened to rats getting out of a sinking ship! This was the result of decades of democratic control; city and state.

Percentage wise, there have been more black families achieve the middle class in the last 7 years than any other similar period in history. Want to guess who was President and which party controlled the congress for the majority of years?

Let us examine a couple of more factoids. During the 8 years of the Clinton "whorehouse", the United States spent about 2 billion dollars in aid to the African continent. President Bush has directed more than 15 billion dollars to the same recipients in less time. So, it seems to me that the black community, in support of their bretheren, should give the President a lot of claim to being the "First Black President". Okay, you're addicted, so, at least give him a "gray".


Mark Harris

Am I Really A Moderate ?

Time to move the slide rule

Without casting dispersions on anyone who looks at situations through conservative eyes, it might be just the time to realign political persuasions with the labels they are given. The communists, socialists, Democrats and other subversive parties in our midst have finely honed that art of name calling to denigrate their opposition. The Democrats have been more successful than most. Starting with such stalwarts of freedom as Jefferson and Madison, their believability quotient is great. Add to these, Franklin Roosevelt and wife Eleanor, and you have substance. The fact that The New Deal plunged us into a quagmire of social programs the likes of which we shall never be able to get out of, but with such popularity among the “lower tiers” of society, and the weight and breadth carry gravitas. Building upon the “smoke and mirrors” represented to the, many times, ignorant public, the Democrats have long been using the communist edict, “Tell a lie to the masses enough times and they will believe it!”

Conservatives have been falsely connected to being the wealthiest; war mongers; against the little guy; water polluters; children starvers; and on and on. You guessed it! It’s worked! How many people think that George Bush’s intelligence is lower than average? Yet, he was above John Kerry in grade point average. How many people think that George Bush lied to the American people about “weapons of mass destruction”? Yet, he hasn't been impeached. Don't you think if there was an ounce of truth to this charge, the Democrats would have already done it? Do you not think that the Social Security program is going bankrupt? Yet, with the help of the media, partial privatization has been driven out of the debate. In fact, debate itself has been squelched. Yet Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and adoption of “partial amnesty” in the current immigration bill are going to bring us to the depths of a third world economy. The Democrats don't care how long it takes for their agenda to succeed. They chip away every day. Making wild accusations is one of their strongest suits. On major issues, they take advantage of the public's ignorance on most matters leaving them to attack like vultures. As an aside, that’s about as close as they get to being a hawk. Which means they are worthless on national defense. Mice comes more to mind. Back to the use of labels and lies. Conservative, ultra-conservative, right wing nuts, war mongering, etc. have all reached par. They are hard to swallow by that 20% of the electorate who consider themselves in the middle. Liberal and progressives are touchy, feel good and almost romantic as they secretly force programs in both ends of an unknowing voter. They're for “arresting terrorists”, not exterminating them. They want to negotiate with terrorists who want nothing but our deaths. They're not for the downtrodden, the little guy or anyone but themselves! They only offer incremental enslavement for the sake of votes and that means power.

For the sake of this discourse, the meaning of moderate is: professing or characterized by political or social belief that are not extreme. In other words, if there is a right answer to a particular problem it should not be construed as extreme. There should be no exceptions. If a policy is right, the little guy should not need protection from it. Let us go though some major issues and test the theory.

Immigration: There are estimates of 12-14 million illegal aliens in our country. If we deport them, at great expense, there would also be a tremendous void in our economic system. So what do we do? Well, number one, no one gets off free. Even though 99.99% did not breach our national security, they did break the law. (Actually, they showed us what a shambles our border security is in.) At any rate, how about a rock solid, tamper proof Social Security Card. We have the technology. These illegal aliens get the card, but they also get stiff fines, community service requirements and must stay put. They are not free to just drift around our country. No exceptions. After this, we can clamp down on business and their hiring practices. There are laws on the books and there can be no exceptions. At the same time, we build a wall or appropriate replacements manned by what is necessary as far as border patrol. That way we don’t continue to feed the illegal pool and at the same time we contain the terrorist and other illegal element. No one should call this conservative or liberal. It makes common sense. It’s right, correct and moderate.

Abortion: There are close to 1,000,000 abortions in the United States every year. Abortion is a tricky question because it so crosses the lines of morality and legality. That shouldn’t stop us from realizing a reasoned solution. Except for a few protesters, capital punishment has been handled with few exceptions. Some people say no abortions, no matter the situation. Some say only in the event of rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother. Still others say we should have abortion on demand. For those who say no abortions, period, I say have your checkbook ready. Have a baby’s room ready. Have it stocked with clothing, diapers, a crib, etc. Have the time to raise the child or facilitate another person who can do all the previously described or pipe down. For those of you who say abortion on demand, stand by for a requirement that the mother must view this child through multiple sonograms after the first trimester. She should be made absolutely aware of other options. Raise it herself. Adopt to a good family. Absolutely no abortions into the third trimester and no tax dollars for any procedure. For those of you who protect the child but for the exceptions, I tend to agree. Rape is not natural, so there should be an exception. Incest is not natural, so there should be an exception. For pregnancy to be threatening the life of the mother, although this is a natural occurrence, it is unusual, so there should be an exception. I personally abhor abortion. I think any abortion should be studied with the mother on what her lifestyle is and the possibilities for her future. Sterilization might be strongly considered, especially in the case of continued drug use. I tend to have more conservative views on this issue, but I feel they are reasoned, right and therefore, moderate.

Global Warming: Especially in the last year, there has been an avalanche of arguments for and against the question of man made global warming. On the yes, it is man made side, there is an hysteria brought on by the likes of Al Gore, his incorrect movie, liberal European countries and, as usual, the media. They are actually making a religious connection and it’s working! Religions are lining up to get on this Titanic. If you will take the time to research the last “Ice Age” which was supposed to have started in the last 30 years, you will see a plethora of manipulated models and hyperventilating. A consensus does not make science. There must be overwhelming evidence to make good science and there is not. Now, to me, just about anything to conserve energy, so long as it doesn't ruin the advantages of our lifestyle, makes good sense. Alternative fuels and the like. But there are actually the nut cases who are pushing for one sheet of toilet paper per day! Save energy, yes, because it makes good sense, it's a reasoned approach, it’s right and it’s moderate.

War on Terror: There are actually Democrats in Washington, D.C. who are trying to erase the War on Terror from the debate. This honestly comes close to slaying me. Maybe more so than I care to think. What would you talk about if you could sit across a bargaining table with Osama Bin Laden. It is his position that the entire world is wrong. If it doesn’t worship and completely follow the tenets of Allah, it should be changed or you are to die with your way of life. Even in Saudi Arabia where he was born and raised, he wants the entire system changed. There are millions of Islamic people who agree, at least to some degree, with him. Every day, more and more young Muslims are being taught this “so called” principled hatred. Are we to arrest part of a religion? Slap them on the wrist and give them counseling. Perhaps we should set across that table and share a cup of blood; our blood, because that is precisely what he wants. I think the converse is what we need. We need to hunt them down , mercilessly. We cannot appease them. I think every year of school should have a one hour “Lessons of 9/11”. We are already getting complacent. The program should not be sugar coated. It might also include the bombings in London, Spain, Nairobi, etc., etc., etc. This may sound harsh. If we don’t treat the War on Terror for what it is, a war for our survival, we will not survive. Fight it hard, fight it smart! It only makes good sense for it’s a reasoned approach, it’s right and it’s moderate.

The liberal Democrats tend to draw more excited, emotional conclusions. They can extract just the right reaction from millions with their touchy, feely hooks. That’s why they can have good successes with that middle 20% of the county. But Americans, even though they sometimes think with their hearts and are ignorant of some issues, are not stupid. They can listen to the facts as they are reasoned, right, correct and moderate coming from moderates and agree.

We conservatives... oops, I mean moderates, have to approach that 20% with the simple resolve of reality and truth. We can sleep at night because our consciences will be clear. And, on the plus side, if we stick to the principles we stand a better than even chance of winning.

The elected Democrats will ultimately not win out over truth. The unfortunate thing is they will be able to sleep, too. But, it’s only because they have no consciences.

See you next time with more of “An American Conscience”

Yes Rosie, The War Is Lost

The Typical Democrat Double Standard

War is the most horrible stage in human relations. That is why most leaders defer to it only as a last resort. Now, good people might disagree as to when war should finally be triggered, but that is the debate that takes place within most modern social structures.

The Iraq war began only after a series of events, or lack thereof, took place. Calls for the President’s and Vice-President’s respective impeachments are ludicrous. There is an historical record in this, perhaps more than most, that belies such poppycock. Peruse the following statement:

"Earlier today, I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors. Their purpose is to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world. Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons...Other countries possess weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. With Saddam, there is one big difference: He has used them. Not once, but repeatedly. Unleashing chemical weapons against Iranian troops during a decade-long war. Not only against soldiers, but against civilians, firing Scud missiles at the citizens of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iran. And not only against a foreign enemy, but even against his own people, gassing Kurdish civilians in Northern Iraq.

The international community had little doubt then, and I have no doubt today, that left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again. Saddam's deception has defeated their effectiveness. Instead of the inspectors disarming Saddam, Saddam has disarmed the inspectors. This situation presents a clear and present danger to the stability of the Persian Gulf and the safety of people everywhere. The international community gave Saddam one last chance to resume cooperation with the weapons inspectors. Saddam has failed to seize the chance. And so we had to act and act now...

That is why, on the unanimous recommendation of my national security team -- including the vice president, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the secretary of state and the national security adviser -- I have ordered a strong, sustained series of air strikes against Iraq. They are designed to degrade Saddam's capacity to develop and deliver weapons of mass destruction, and to degrade his ability to threaten his neighbors. So we will pursue a long-term strategy to contain Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction and work toward the day when Iraq has a government worthy of its people. First, we must be prepared to use force again if Saddam takes threatening actions, such as trying to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction or their delivery systems, threatening his neighbors, challenging allied aircraft over Iraq or moving against his own Kurdish citizens... The hard fact is that so long as Saddam remains in power, he threatens the well-being of his people, the peace of his region, the security of the world."

Following this effort, United Nations inspectors were expelled for four years. With the re-introduction of inspectors, the obfuscation by Saddam, the series of U.N. resolutions, the ultimate defiance by Saddam, and 9/11 it is very reasonable to extrapolate the exact same results that the Bush Administration came to. President Bush, after heroic non-war efforts, made the awesome, yet justified,, decision to bring us into the confrontation militarily. Rosie, for you and your ilk to continually besmirch and deride the President and claim illegality speaks volumes about your lack of veracity and the crudeness of your mental prowess.

Nonetheless, the Iraq War has been expensive. Every loss of life is an extreme tragedy. At this writing we have sustained over 3,300 killed. The effort is approaching $400 billion in military cost and re-construction aid. It cannot be stressed enough, however, that this outlay of blood and treasure is to protect our freedom and promote same around the world. We must also put these losses into historical perspective:

Vietnam War- Killed in Action …......….47,369
Korean War- Killed in Action…………..33,651
World War II- Killed in Action…………292,131
World War I- Killed in Action…………..53,513

There is something in common with all these dead patriots. The cause of Freedom! They are all positive rays of light in this continuous pursuit to maintain and promote human rights around the world! But, despite all the right things these wars have produced, they are not the wars I am pursuing to make my argument. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson instigated (and I mean that in the most derogatory fashion) the infamous "War on Poverty". This "war" has negatively effected millions of people at the lower end of society and has fleeced the American Taxpayer out of trillions of hard earned dollars!

Since its inception, the vast majority of the "poor" have been attracted toward the country’s urban magnets. It is there that the "government dole machine" maintains its highly greased wheels as its sorry best. One would think that this behemoth lube job, might have sparked some positive results, but au contraire. The money checks and various geegees (government giveaways) are spit out like watermelon seeds. They grow lots of fluff, but nothing of real value. Perversely, they have reverted a good portion of an entire population into a modern day slavery and brought millions of previously unshackled with them.

What’s the payoff? A quid pro quo of millions of "owed" votes for these libthinking Democrats who so generously do the "geegee" dance; butter in one hand and a masked whip in the other; and it works! It is now generational! The fathers and unwed mothers know the system. By their actions, poisoned with low self-esteem, they begat children, who begat children, and so on who play the same game. This cycle of non-production has doomed millions and, at the same time, is placing an ultimately unbearable burden on the producing class.

In these years since LBJ started the "war", there have been hundreds of thousands of murders just in America’s larger cities. Let us not go into all the other violent crimes. The statistics are staggering as are the numbers of policemen and firemen and innocent who have lost their lives. The ethos of rearing bastards by day and selling crack by night permeates the dreary urban existence. Once rigid buildings and the already fragile sinew of productive life and hope have vanished into decay. New Orleans is a perfect example of Democrat rule since the ancients. The floods of Katrina caused the lifting of so many of the rats of destitution and prostitution to the top for all to see, just like the Democrat rule in most of the cities. This is what trillions of dollars have bought for us.

So Ro, Harry and Nance, here’s the deal. You and the "bowelmovement.orgasm" crowd need to push your libthinking politicians to do the same thing with the cities of America that you want to do with Baghdad, and, by extension, Iraq. PULL OUT NOW! You don’t want to appear disingenuous, do you? Leave the metro areas of our country to fend for themselves. The "War on Poverty" is an unabashed flop! Pull out policemen, fire control, social services, infrastructure workers, and, oh yes, the bureaucrats that service them. Stop the flow of money! Unlike all our previous wars and the Iraq War which all stressed Freedom, the "War on Poverty" promotes Enslavement!

Of course, the logic of this argument makes too much sense. I have a feeling the silence in the Houses of Congress will be deafening.

Death Of A Presidency?

Six and a half years ago, our country elected a new president. On one side, out of breath from such a narrow victory, the Republicans were giddy with anticipation. We, (I’m on that side), had virtual control of the federal government. Even though the majority of voters went for the other guy, the Constitution had decided the conclusion. President George Bush assumed the mantle of power with all the “pomp and circumstance” that went with hopes for a new direction. Unfortunately, that new way included some very sobering distinctions. We were saddled with an existing recession and only a few months later, of course, the eye opening and tragic saga of “9/11”. I say saga because terrorism against the United States had existed for years. The Clinton Administration had simply refused to recognize how important it had become to our future.

Today, the President is embroiled in some criticism that might well need to be tempered. It’s not that the public has completely forgotten the “almost recession” and “9/11”, but it seems Americans have developed a nasty little habit. We don’t look in the rear view mirror long enough. If you stop and think of the importance of this double whammy, you might, again, be amazed with our President. He was able to bring about the largest tax cut in our nation’s history. It shortened what most definitely would have been a deep downturn in the economy. Tax revenues, true to fashion, have expanded immensely effecting the deficit dramatically. Despite some limited fluctuations, this gargantuan achievement still serves us well.

President Bush rallied the nation and most of the world after “9/11”. His quick action in deciding to bomb Al Qaeda in Afghanistan disrupted that despicable group’s operations substantially. We defeated the Taliban and started a nation of millions on a path to freedom and democracy. After exhausting all diplomatic corridors, we took on Iraq. Some argued for this action, some against, but, no matter what, no one can convince me that Saddam Hussein did not have intentions of ultimately holding the nuclear stick over the Middle East and ultimately the world. Remember the pride we felt when “the Butcher of Baghdad” was toppled. There is a difference between looking in your rear view mirror to learn and “hindsight is 20/20”. The words critique versus criticism come to mind. The previous administration, our intelligence organizations and those of other countries, and more so, the Congress had agreed to the proposition. This included Senator Clinton and her ilk who are now trying, as usual, to rewrite the history of their statements and votes.

You people! You conservatives! There were other reasons to be excited along the way. Have you forgotten the President’s principled stand on stem cell research? What about partial birth abortion? Do you think these agreeable actions came out of the blue? Also, we have been complaining about the Supreme Court for many years. Do any of you have problems with Chief Justice Roberts? How about Justice Allito? I know the mud throwers will bring up Harriet Myers. So! We have two we are thrilled with and hoping for a third.

President Bush has achieved all this with 40% of the country despising him for “stealing” the election from Gore. That hate has bubbled up to the Democrat politicians who dependably spew out their lies, derision and ire. The only time his popular support broke above 60% was from “9/11” through the fall of Baghdad. That was only because national security trumps everything. It still should, but with the aid of the Democrats’ co-conspirators in the media, they keep grinding it down.

Ticking off the list of America’s so-call allies who did not and do not support us in Iraq is easy. The Germans, the Russians and, of course, the white flag French were so covered in greed they couldn’t squeak. The secret oil deals were massive. Diplomacy is important, but it’s dirty work. You have to be ready to sterilize immediately after shaking hands. They balked at helping us in Iraq, but we couldn’t say or do what we wanted to, even though they were crooks! Then, except for Great Britain, they called the President a “cowboy” for going it alone. When things started getting tough in Iraq, the Kerry-types criticized and pontificated, “Bush did not get our allies aboard.” It would never have happened. They hoped they wouldn’t be found out, but documents have subsequently proved the shady “Oil for Food” shenanigans. The Democrats have been completely consistent about Iraq. They lie, change history, complain and preach sacrosanct platitudes at every opportunity. They are invested in defeat because they can’t handle national security for our country. Give them the power and they will dine with the blood letters. The Democrats have stirred a defeatist pot knowing it would cause unrest in the country. Our society is filled with varying degrees of bravery and weak knees; strong will and shortsightedness; visionaries and the blind; conservatives and the greedy. Along with the liberal media, Democrats have been able to channel, promote and insure an unpopular President.

I say to you out there, the ones who can obviously claim ignorance, there is a “War on Terror”! They wear only a uniform of hate and malcontent. They have no state that we can conquer. They have no flag which we can capture. It will probably take decades to achieve victory. We may lose thousands and thousands of military lives. We may lose the lives of thousands of civilians along the way. It will happen, so buck up! But it is no coincidence that we have not had an attack on our soil in years. We have taken the fight to them. Instead of blaming President Bush, you should be praising him!

During his presidency, Mr. Bush has taken another bold step. He attacked the question of the solvency of the social security program. We all know that it’s going to go bankrupt or wipe out the best part of the earnings of our children and grandchildren. It is considered the “Fourth Rail of Politics”. Yet, the President attacked it head on with his proposal for a small portion of it being separated away from regular contributions and be kept in private accounts. It was a ponzi scheme on its inception and he tried to legitimize its existence through this program. The faintness of its support was deafening. Politicians didn’t give more than lip service and I don’t remember any pitchforks being raised by the citizenry. Yet, it is supported by most of our young people, because they know they are going to have to pay for it! The Democrats, though, were still able to vilify the President as the bad guy.

We now are engaged in somewhat of a national debate about immigration. Who’s right; who’s wrong. I think it’s partly both. The main opposition to the proposed bill seems to be about the enforcement mechanism or more to the point, will it be enforced? I really can’t believe that President Bush is trying to pull off anything surreptitious or has any ulterior motives. From what I’ve heard, most of the effected illegals will probably ultimately vote for the Democrats. I do think that the President is the one person who has more information than anyone in the country. Could it be that we need all these people simply to keep social security afloat? Maybe the funding is worse than we had imagined. Remember, the country turned thumbs down when he tried to get his remedy on social security enacted.

If it is for no “hidden” reason, then I humbly suggest to the President that he should read or re-read the “1986 Immigration Act”. It was good enough for President Reagan. We must, however, remember that President Reagan, President Bush, Sr., and certainly not President Clinton did anything to enforce it. We hurriedly come back to one word for “1986” and “2007”, enforcement. Let’s fluff it up where need be, fund it well and enforce it. Forget about the “2007 model“. I started out this column with a question. Death of a Presidency? I am one supporter who will not excoriate this man. I am one supporter who will not put this good man in some political dungeon. I am one supporter who still trusts this man even though there might have been some misjudgments on occasion. This is not the “death of a Presidency”. I can't, however, be that generous with the Congress. The “death of a Congress” is another matter. In 2006, it culminated in death by a long agonizing suicide. I mean, even if you're aiming for your foot, how many times can you shoot yourself in the head? But that’s another story.

Green Days Ahead

I Got My Carbon Credit Card

Like many people, when checking my mail the other day, I received mostly bills, one check and a couple of pre-approved credit card offers. Most intriguing was the card with dancing penguins on the front. The accompanying letter started, "Dear Mark. You can help save the world….help fight global warming !….Sincerely, Al Gorebal, Head Snapdragon of the International Polar Bear Society." Hey, it looked so impressive with the embossed seal.

That very afternoon, I called the 1-800 number as directed. "CCC Enterprises, May I help you?"
"I hope so. What does CCC stand for, and, by the way, do you mind telling me where you are?"
Her voice was so sweet and the accent was unusual. For some reason I always need to know where they originate.
"Yes, certainly, sir. I’m in the Philippines and CCC stands for Carbon Credit Card."
"Well, I think I’d like to activate my card, but I’d like to know how it works."

"It’s really simple, sir. When you make purchases with the your CCC, we plant trees. Trees, trees, trees all over the world!" Her enthusiasm started my mind jumping! Saving the world!
"That sounds great! Have you activated many cards?" I wanted to be part of something really big!
"Well…. actually…. you’ll be my second one….but, I’m new! Earlier, there was a Mr. Nader. Oh, I wasn’t supposed to mention that."
"That’s okay. I won’t say anything. Go ahead and sign me up. By the way, is this the only thing you do for the company?"
"Oh, no sir. After I finish my shift here, I’m supposed to go out to the beach and plant two palm trees for every new card I set up. A short pause, then "Okay, you’re all ready to go!"
"Alright. Thanks very much!" I deliberately avoided trying to do any multiplication in my head. She seemed so excited.
"Think green!"
The weatherman had been reporting unusually cold temperatures, but this morning, it seemed a little warmer as the sun started to rise. The heat on my face only added to my enthusiasm. I had already planned a day of spending with my new "Carbon Credit Card". I was "thinking green!"
The first stop on my itinerary was to fill up my fuel tank, so I pulled in at my favorite service station. I approached the pump. I had gotten used to paying there to avoid the walk inside. To my surprise, when I inserted my "Carbon Credit Card" in the slot, a white receipt came out, but no fuel! It read, "Sorry. Your card will not work for this brand. You must go to 2929 S. Galaxy Drive for fuel." Undeterred, I drove to the prescribed address. It wasn't very far and, anyway, I was "thinking green!"

I pulled into the driveway. The overhead sign read "Hugo’s Service Station….We Sell Heave-A-Hol….We Take Carbon Credit Cards". Jackpot! They take my card. I wasn’t familiar with the brand, though, so I went to the office to get some info.

"Sir can you tell me something about this Heave-A-Hol fuel?"
"Oh, si, sir." He was latino but spoke pretty good English. "Originally, the government wanted everyone to use gas-a-hol as the answer to the energy crisis. It turned out to be too expensive. Corn prices went up! That caused even tortillas to go up to $3.00 each! It wasn’t as efficient as regular fuel, so they came up with Heave-A-Hol."
"I see, but what is it made from?"
"Every morning thousands of the unemployed and homeless, an army of them, go around to all the skid rows across the country! The scrape up all the puke left on the sidewalks by the drunks. That’s all transported to a refinery up around Martha’s Vineyard. I think some senator leases the land to them. But anyway, they mix it with horse and cow manure. They refine it and that’s how we get Heave-A-Hol!"

I left as soon as I filled up. The visit to the station was very disconcerting to me. Talk about the ultimate in recycling. Anyway, I needed some cash so I headed toward my usual ATM. I almost didn’t make it, though. The engine in my car had moaned and wrenched all the way there. I swear there were some faint mooing and whinnying sounds coming from the rear. I was beginning to feel "green".

Finally, I made it to the drive-thru at the bank. No one in line; things were looking up. I forced my card into the machine. "What!" I'm sure I startled the lady in the car behind me. The card had climbed back out of the slot, crinkled almost beyond recognition. Out came another unfriendly looking white slip. "Sorry. The magnetic strip on your card has been deactivated. The management at CCC Enterprises has decided it might effect the polarity of the planet."

I limped home. My poor Honda appeared to be on the throws of death. I raced into the house; furious.

"Hello!", I yelled when I finally got an answer. "I demand and explana…." and then that same sweet voice.
"CCC Enterprises. May I help you?"

I proceeded to blurt out what I endured, stuttering I’m sure. But I did manage to ask for her supervisor. Her baby smooth voice had softened me somewhat. Why rant at her? It probably wasn’t her fault. Let me rant at her boss!

"May I help you?" Another sweet voice; seemed identical. I began explaining the trials I had gone through; I’m sure in a low rage. "Sir. What you need is our PCCC."
"PCCC! What in the world is that?" I was beside myself.
That is our "Premier Carbon Credit Card". The CCC is made of switch grass and alfalfa. Doesn’t hold up well in those machines….also, we’ve deactivated the magnetic strip on them. I can get you a PCCC almost immediately." She was so matter-of-fact that it disarmed me. "We’re all under the umbrella of the United Nations. I can connect you with them."
"United Nations!", I was incredulous. "I don’t know if I can get credit with the U.N. Is it very tough?"
"Oh, no sir. It won’t be any problem at all. It gets handled through the same department that used to handle the ‘Oil For Food Program’. Their offices are in Ghana. I’ll connect you. Please hold."
"Well, okay, if you think it will work." The telephone rang, changed tones, rang some more, then finally I got an answer.

"Hello. Premier Carbon Credit Card. May I help you?" The voice sounded very familiar. I had heard it many times, but couldn’t quite put a name to it.
"Yes. My name is Mark Harris. To whom am I speaking?"
"Kofi…"
I hung up. I knew I was turning "green".

Relaxation beckoned me. The day had brought exasperation, frustration and unusual emotions. The coffee tasted good as I flipped through the "Times". A particular article had grabbed my attention. It was about a couple who had foregone the use of toilet paper. I assumed it was to help lower the use of trees. The lid clanging down on my mailbox drew me from my reading.

"Same old stuff", I murmured as I sifted through the stack of letters. Then, I noticed a parcel at the foot of the door. It was from a friend. I love packages, so I feverishly unwrapped it.
"Dear Mark", the note started, "You had mentioned you were going green. Thought this might help. Let me know how it turns out. Ralph."

The box inside was labeled, "Tranquilo…. Invisible Toilet Paper". Huh? My mind raced back to the article I had just been reading in the newspaper. I turned the end of the dispenser box to me. It read:
Instructions For Use….Start using less and less of your regular toilet paper; more and more of Tranquilo. As time goes by you’ll reach a point where you realize what "going green" really means to you.

My door slammed behind me.

DEMS…BRIBERY!..RICO!..TREASON!

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
and Certain Citizens

V.

Members of the Senate
of the United States of America:


Chuck Hagel, Gordon Smith, Daniel Akaka, Max Baucus, Evan Bayh, Joseph Biden, Jeff Bingaman, Barbara Boxer, Sherrod Brown, Robert Byrd, Maria Cantwell, Ben Cardin, Thomas Carper, Bob Casey, Hillary Clinton, Kent Conrad, Christopher Dodd, Byron Dorgan, Dick Durbin, Russell Feingold, Dianne Feinstein, Tom Harkin, Daniel Inouye, Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, Amy Klobuchar, Herb Kohl, Mary Landrieu, Frank Lautenberg, Patrick Leahy, Carl Levin, Blanche Lincoln, Claire McCaskill, Robert Menéndez, Barbara Mikulski, Patty Murray, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, Barack Obama, Mark Pryor, Jack Reed, Harry Reid, Jay Rockefeller, Kenneth Salazar, Chuck Schumer, Debbie Stabenow, Jon Tester, Jim Webb, Sheldon Whitehouse, Ron Wyden

Members of the House of Representatives
of the United States of America:

Wayne Gilchrest, Walter JonesNeil Abercrombie, Gary Ackerman, Thomas Allen, Jason Altmire, Robert Andrews, Michael Arcuri, Joe Baca, Brian Baird, Tammy Baldwin, Melissa Bean, Xavier Becerra, Shelley Berkley, Howard Berman, Marion Berry, Sanford Bishop, Timothy Bishop, Earl Blumenauer, Leonard Boswell, Rick Boucher, Allen Boyd, Nancy Boyda, Robert Brady, Bruce Braley, Corrine Brown, G.K. Butterfield, Lois Capps, Michael Capuano, Dennis Cardoza, Russ Carnahan, Christopher Carney, Julia Carson, Kathy Castor, Ben Chandler, Yvette Clarke, William Clay, Emanuel Cleaver, James Clyburn, Steve Cohen, John Conyers, Jim Cooper, Jim Costa, Jerry Costello, Joe Courtney, Bud Cramer, Joseph Crowley, Henry Cuellar, Elijah Cummings, Danny Davis, Artur Davis, Susan Davis, Peter DeFazio, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro, William Delahunt, Norman Dicks, John Dingell, Lloyd

Doggett, Joe Donnelly, Michael Doyle, Chet Edwards, Keith Ellison, Brad Ellsworth, Rahm Emanuel, Eliot Engel, Anna Eshoo, Bob Etheridge, Sam Farr, Chaka Fattah, Bob Filner, Barney Frank, Gabrielle Giffords, Kirsten Gillibrand, Charles Gonzalez, Bart Gordon, Al Green, Gene Green, Raúl Grijalva, Luis Gutiérrez, John Hall, Phil Hare, Jane Harman, Alcee Hastings, Stephanie Herseth, Brian Higgins, Baron Hill, Maurice Hinchey, Rubén Hinojosa, Mazie Hirono, Paul Hodes, Tim Holden, Chris Van Hollen, Rush Holt, Mike Honda, Darlene Hooley, Steny Hoyer, Jay Inslee, Steve Israel, Jesse Jackson, Sheila Jackson-Lee, William Jefferson, Eddie Johnson, Stephanie Jones, Henry Johnson Jr., Steve Kagen, Marcy Kaptur, Patrick Kennedy, Dale Kildee, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Ron Kind, Ron Klein, Nicholas Lampson, James Langevin, Tom Lantos, Rick Larsen, John Larson, Sander Levin, Daniel Lipinski, David Loebsack, Zoe Lofgren, Nita Lowey, Stephen Lynch, Tim Mahoney, Carolyn Maloney, Edward Markey, Doris Matsui, Carolyn McCarthy, Betty McCollum, Jim McDermott, James McGovern, Mike McIntyre, Jerry McNerney, Martin Meehan, Kendrick Meek, Gregory Meeks, Charles Melancon, Juanita Millender-McDonald, Brad Miller, George Miller, Harry Mitchell, Alan Mollohan, Dennis Moore, Gwen Moore, James Moran, Patrick Murphy, Christopher Murphy, John Murtha, Jerrold Nadler, Grace Napolitano, Richard Neal, James Oberstar, David Obey, John Olver, Solomon Ortiz, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell, Ed Pastor, Donald Payne, Nancy Pelosi, Ed Perlmutter, Collin Peterson, Earl Pomeroy, David Price, Nick Rahall, Charles Rangel, Silvestre Reyes, Ciro Rodriguez, Mike Ross, Steven Rothman, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Dutch Ruppersberger, Bobby Rush, Tim Ryan, John Salazar, Loretta Sanchez, John Sarbanes, Jan Schakowsky, Adam Schiff, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Allyson Schwartz, David Scott, Robert Scott, José Serrano, Joe Sestak, Carol Shea-Porter, Brad Sherman, Heath Shuler, Albio Sires, Ike Skelton, Louise Slaughter, Adam Smith, Vic Snyder, Hilda Solis, Zachary Space, John Spratt, Bart Stupak, Betty Sutton, Linda Sánchez, John Tanner, Ellen Tauscher, Mike Thompson, Bennie Thompson, John Tierney, Edolphus Towns, Mark Udall, Tom Udall, Nydia Velázquez, Peter Visclosky, Timothy Walz, Henry Waxman, Anthony Weiner, Peter Welch, Robert Wexler, Charles Wilson, David Wu, Al Wynn, John Yarmuth.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Criminal Action U.S. Code 18,201 Bribery
Criminal Action U.S. Code 18,1956 RICO
Criminal Action U.S. Code 18,2381 Treason

1. Whereas, on or about March 23, 2007, the House of Representatives of the United States voted yea on passage of H.R. 1591, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2007.

2. Whereas, on or about March 29, 2007, the Senate of the United States voted yea on passage of H.R. 1591, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2007.

3. Whereas, on these separate days, the respective members of both bodies formed an unholy alliance with various votes being bought for vast sums of money committed to individual districts and states. The majority party was utterly and totally complicit in this scheme. These agreements were made on items totally unrelated to the needs of the military and were made with general common knowledge.

4. Whereas, certain members, specifically Congressman Murtha, supported this bill for the express purpose of "a slow bleed" to the war. And therefore, at a time of war, proposed this method with no regard for the betrayal of a trust made by the nation and particularly the Congress of the United States of America to the men and women of the nation's military. The armed forces of the United States have been committed to the international war on terror. Anything less than total victory is nothing more than failure and defeat. The Heroes of this War have already died or been wounded at least once. They should not be stabbed in the back by their unpatriotic countrymen!

5. Whereas, the giving and receiving of bribes and the general knowledge of “the slow bleed” strategy makes all members of both bodies voting in the affirmative co-conspirators in this criminal plot of the highest magnitude!

cc: The Honorable Jeffrey A. Taylor
United States Attorney’s Office
For the District of Columbia
dc.outreach@usdoj.gov

Move Over, Osama!

There's A New Kid On The Block


It is very disappointing that even President Bush is tiptoeing over the line with his recent pronouncements about “global warming”, which by implication suggests a man made cause. When you couple this with the recent ruling by the Supreme Court on co2 gas, the “new religion” is becoming more problematic for the nation and the world. With the majority opinion written by the never surprising Justice Stevens, it suggests the intellectual bottle in which five-ninths of this august group prefer to cork their minds. It cries for a mass resignation on their part followed by probably forming their own little club to save disenfranchised whales.

Through the centuries, there have been countless wars. The untold deaths, destruction and cruelty are marked in history. The assault on the civilized world by Osama bin Laden is the most notable of late. His followers and clones seem to enjoy the infliction of pain and death all in the name of Allah. Even though his victims are relatively small in number, the brutality of each event, especially on the innocent, will in time bring its comparative fury to the upper ranks of the wartime pantheon. As an aside, dear readers, this religious debauchery will last for decades to come. There might be a cure out there, but it is not anywhere in the near future. You smooth the feathers of 9/11 at your very peril, and your children’s children.
On a different front, through the past number of years, another type of enemy has been rearing its ugly head. This enemy is cunning, lacking in conscience and determined. The titular mouthpiece has been self-anointed. I call him “Al Gorebal”. Sounds a little like Goebbels, doesn’t it? Joseph was the Minister of Propaganda for the Nazi Third Reich before and during World War II. In his own way Al is just as sinister. The “Gorebal Warning” spewed by him and his like minded minions is gaining steam. Pardon the “cool” pun, but these feckless and unsubstantiated claims are beginning to snowball.

The faithful are preaching that the earth’s temperature is rising. The fact that you can’t actually measure earth's average temperature for today, one hundred years ago, even ten years ago, doesn’t seem to dissuade the echo of the blind leading the blind. Leaving out the "Hockey Stick graph" separates the transmission from the engine in all of their models of false predictions. This omission leaves out a large and very important segment of the planet’s history. By the way, have you ever checked next week’s weather prediction with reality?

Migration of roaches in Australia is blamed on global warming. Big deal! Ever tried renting an apartment in New Orleans, say, in the last one hundred years or so? You’ll see how the little buggers migrate. Unless, maybe Katrina drowned them out. And by the way, the storm was blamed on global warming.

One of the most extremist “Gorebal Warnings” is that sea levels will rise dramatically. Actually, they have been rising since the last ice age. But never mind that inconvenient fact. I wonder how many coal-fired electric plants were operating in the year 100,000 B.C.? Probably not a great number of SUV’s either.

Polar bears are having a problem, too. It is being suggested that they be put on the “Endangered Species List”. Funny that of the 13 conglomerates of bears in Canada, 11 are absolutely thriving. There is so much confusion and misinformation that it boggles the mind. It is time to introduce a new word in today’s lexicon; libthink.

lib'-think: the perversion of the Constitution; the mockery of democracy; the combination of 1 part socialism and 1 part communism; the controlling of the vast majority by a small elite through destructive government policies; the manipulation and distortion of the truth; the using of half truths to ensnare, gain sympathy and evoke guilt; to be a member of most of the Democrat leadership; to lie for the sheer benefit of power without regard for what is best for the nation.

David Geffen recently uttered his opinion of the Clinton's veracity, but he fell short of the millions around the world he should have been describing, including Al Gore. You know, “ole invent the Internet Al”. Some of you must remember his tear jerking story about his dying sister. He told it at his and Bill’s first convention. His sister had died from lung cancer. He swore to spend the rest of his life working toward stopping all of us infidels from smoking. He “conveniently” left out the part about his leasing land to tobacco growers at the same time. Just a slip. Then, of course, there’s that pesky little zinc mine on the farm in Tennessee. It’s the one that lifts tons of polluting material up into what used to be safe sky. Don’t really need to mention the fuel use in the mansion in Nashville, do we? Oh, that’s right! He buys carbon offsets. Doesn’t matter that he owns the company they come from. Nothing fishy here. They don’t make a shoe that will fit his “footprint”. But he’s got a mouth that will take it; the foot, anyway. Al is certainly the flower of the environmentalists. Hey, he’s got an Oscar! He’s nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize! Very simply put, folks, this is not a half full nor a half empty crock. It’s just a crock!

Gore is not the only libthinker in this “new religion”. He is joined by the so-called mainstream media, scientists who are paid by the environmentalist lobby, scientists and individual citizens who are afraid of being called “deniers”, and of course, the libthinkers in the U.S. Congress. The last group can hardly wait to get their staffs working on legislation ad infinitum.

“Global Warming” is but another example of the many other whore daughters of liberalism. The “War on Poverty”, food stamps, the United Nations, the Publika Skool System, (sounds a little socialistic or maybe communistic, doesn’t it?) etc., are just others of the sisterhood. Remember, it is not the program or institution that matters. The substance is inconsequential, so long as it takes from the haves and distributes to the have nots, with the power remaining in the hands of the libthinkers. This house of prostitution is simply the rack on which to hang their “white priestly collars” while they blast sermons of falsities to create fear, guilt and enslavement.

Try what I call the "Google Test”. You need to go surfing. Each time you hear or read one of the latest, (they show up almost every moment), manmade “global warming” scares, Google it. See how far down the page or pages you have to go to find anything that might contradict the proposition. We do have one man who rates a five star on any Google Test. His name is Jim Inhofe, Senator, Republican, Oklahoma. He sits as a giant next to Babbling Boxer on the Environmental Committee. He is to be highly lauded for his unswerving commitment and tenacity in debunking every “global warming crock” that comes along.

I warn conservative Republicans and the few Democrats that if you don’t join in lock step with the aforementioned senator and battle this insipid, libthink conspiracy at this stage, you will be fighting both Osama and the “antichrist of global warning” in true earnest before the proverbial Titanic runs into the melting iceberg!

Immigration: Welcome to Bonkers, USA

Been there, didn’t do that

In 1986, Congress enacted and President Reagan signed The Act to Amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. Everything was all well and good except for one thing, enforcement. The Act (or Re-Act) took care of a couple of million illegal aliens. It basically stopped the train within the United States, let all the illegal aliens board (unless they were carrying running chainsaws or bloody axes) . They were shuffled through the various and numerous geegees (government giveaways) food stamps; housing; medical; you know the drill. Everything was Kumbaya, but the people weren’t listening to the sounds of the other revving train. I call it the holistic approach, for the border between Mexico and the U.S. was one big hole! Millions of dollars were appropriated for more border control and lots and lots and lots of bureaucrats to handle the myriad of paperwork to begin the many layers and processes of legalizing the existing aliens.

North of the border was becoming sweeter than ever. South of the border was still entrenched with the same endless poverty. The Mexican government didn’t then and doesn’t now care a hoot about the substandard plight of any of their people, unless they are already wealthy. The symbiotic relationship between the jobs north and the futility south became osmosis. That Ross Perot “sucking sound” was poor Latinos coming to the economy of the north with businesses’ hands wide open. As the numbers have steadily climbed the system has given away to overburdened and under funded border control. This has become an added worry because of drug traffickers and God only knows the number of terrorists and sundry gang members who have entered our country. The blind eye of several U.S. administrations and Congresses have allowed the situation to get out of control. Now, twenty years later, we have in some estimates as high as 14 millions of newly implanted illegal aliens.

We might need to do some “illegal alien 101” at this point. We have some communities that have declared themselves “safe havens” for illegal aliens. They say they will refuse to enforce immigration law. Now, maybe I’m wrong, but that seems very close to harboring a fugitive. I thought that was against the law. We have another instance of a judge performing a wedding ceremony for a particular couple, one being an illegal alien. I’m all for marriage, but for a judge on taxpayer dollars to wed an illegal alien seems like aiding and abetting. I thought that was against the law.

Babies are often used as an asylum ploy. Illegal alien mothers dash though all kinds of danger to give birth in the United States. In this way, the child automatically becomes a U.S. citizen. This is one of the most cynical approaches used. It should be on the short list of reconsiderations “to fix“. One only needs to look at a quite similar situation. Let us say that a legal U.S. citizen, a mother, gives birth just before she is sentenced to 5 years for drug offenses. She broke the law just as the illegal alien did. Let the tears fall, but the law is the law. Many, too many Americans, are willing to cover over the law at times of “emotional inconvenience”. As Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff said, “We’re sympathetic, but you have to understand it was the parents’ choice to break the law.”

It is hard to imagine, but we actually have volunteers helping to guard our border with Mexico. Now somewhere in the Constitution it says something about the Federal Government is supposed to secure our borders. We do deficit spending all the time. Let’s put a guard every 5 feet if it takes it. This is post 9/11 season. Remember!

We also have a particular type of cancer in the interior of the southwest of our country. It is basically the “Nation of Aztlan” theory, stating that huge tracts of U.S. territory belong to the descendants of Mexicans. It is backed by “La Reza”, a pro-Mexican and anti-American group. I believe somewhere along history there was a war. Uh, we won it! There have been calls for an “economic boycott” by illegal workers in the United States. No doubt, this would hurt. Sounds a little like “biting the hand” to me. You know the ones; us; the ones who provide the jobs, medical assistance, homes, etc.

Does all this seem somewhat like “Bonkers, USA”. It truly has gotten out of control, but we’ve let it happen. Maybe it happened too slowly. The citizens in the southwest have been seeing it for years. Now, the spread of illegal aliens is effecting most of the states. Mexicans and other Latinos have become more integral to the economy. You’ll find them in the nurseries, fields, factories and meat processing plants of Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee and dozens of other states. As our economy produces more college educated people, the less desirable and lower scale jobs have to be filled by someone. So the less educated, if at all, will be taking that open hand of businesses more and more as our economy continues to grow.

In the 1990’s almost all industrial sectors of our economy grew rapidly. This has continued through most of 2000 and onward. The agricultural, construction industry, non-durable goods, hotel and food jobs have mushroomed. This became a magnet and overwhelmed government on all levels.

Prior to the events of 9/11, President Bush and policymakers were in the process of devoting substantial resources toward a multi-pronged approach to the obvious problem of immigration. The War on Terrorism has interrupted this for awhile. Now, with no attacks on the mainland in six years, the subject is coming front in center. We’ve seen where we were in 1986. We see where we are today. It’s the same problem, just many times bigger. Now, what do we do?

What do you think of the idea of a “tamper-proof Social Security Card”? Wait a minute! I read that somewhere. Yes, it was in the “1986 Immigration Act”. Twenty-one years ago the federal government offered up millions of dollars to use all available technology to do just that. I don’t know about you, but I’m still carrying around my old, tattered paper card.

Do you think some punishments may be in order for a business that breaks the law when it comes to hiring illegal aliens? What do you say about a little device that they slide the job applicant’s card though? It would tell the status of the immigrant. You can’t be to nosey and intrusive on his rights, now. Why not make every employee do the same thing. Maybe that wouldn’t be quite so discriminatory. You know I’ve seen the same sort of things in use now. I believe they’re called credit/debit cards. And those laws; they’ve been on the books for 21 years!

What do you say we round them all up and deport them. At first glance, that might be satisfying to some. You might change your mind: however, when you’re on the that “carb thing diet” and don’t have any bacon or red meat. And if you’re a vegetarian; where are my tomatoes and lettuce? It is just not a feasible proposition. Now, twenty years later, we still have newspapers (written in Spanish), radio programs (spoken in Spanish), television (spoken in Spanish), and now we even have blogs (written in Spanish). Dear Illegal Alien: You have 30 days, 60 days or whatever to register at your closest immigration office. You will be able to get certified, if your not a criminal, except for illegally coming into our country. You will be able to start making amends like community service, pay a substantial fine, and your time starts now to try for citizenship. Not three, five, ten years or whatever, ago. You will work and live at the same place you are right now. Any infractions of the above rules and you will be allowed one call before you are summarily deported back to whence you came. The definition of amnesty is the granting of a pardon by an authority to a large number of people. It does not apply here.

So, back to that pesky “holistic border”. I haven’t changed my mind. Whatever it takes. Armed guards every 5, 10, 30 feet. Whatever! And by the way, free trade is going to be a little slower. Those trucks from the south are not going to drive willy-nilly to the north. Complete and thorough inspections!

I don’t feel there is anything wrong with a “guest worker program”. It simply needs to be a stringently enforced system. It's purpose is only for the foreign worker to be employed and follow all the rules. It should not be a hand out from the troughs of taxpayer dollars. No food stamps. No housing allowance. Above all, automatic citizenship for children born here of foreigners should be abolished post haste. Foreign women should be required to go home after three months of pregnancy. Not closing this ploy is a Pandora’s Box of mighty proportions.

So, basically I propose we stop everything in its tracks. Register all workers in a matter of months. Keep track of them accordingly, at their own peril. Put some dough in that hole in the border.

The Surge Seems To Be Working!

Will the "Splurge"?

So how is our government treating us? In some instances, I'd say pretty good. With the selection of General Petraeus as the commander in Iraq, the President has given a godsend to the people who believe we are really in a war against Islamo-fascism. Those who don't must have plenty of Mideast sand in their teeth from burying their heads. There can be no doubt that there have been multiple mistakes since the invasion of Iraq. It's easy to run any efforts of war by looking at yesterday. "

Those who conduct a war do not have that luxury. Requirements and necessities change on a daily and sometimes an hourly basis. There is no doubt that military casualties are down. Civilian casualties are down. Suicide bombings are down. Roadside bombings are down. Security is up and people are truly beginning to go back to a semblance of normalcy. There have even been some concrete steps taken by the Iraqi Parliament.

In blood, the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, have not been costly. Even though the loss of even one warrior is a tragedy for us all, anyone who dares to look at any of our previous wars will find that it is relatively minuscule. The drive by killings in just a few of our own cities account for worse statistics of death .Notwithstanding this"positive", our loss of treasure has been obscene! We're rapidly approaching one trillion dollars in the cost of prosecuting the warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. No one can convince me that all this cash has gone for uniforms, bullets and diesel. Now, I'm not naive enough to think that there are not clandestine uses of money. There are bribes to informants, maybe bribes to Iraqi politicians and other erstwhile thugs of which you have to grease the grabbing palms. However, the Government Accounting Office and various comptrollers have testified publicly to the waste, fraud and abuse, especially in Iraq.

There are tens of billions of dollars that are just plain missing. When you add to this the physical evidence of shoddy construction and provable fraud, as the late Senator Everett Dirksen used to say, "You're beginning to talk about some real money!" We can't even keep our own government agencies honest. Some of them cannot even be certified by the appropriate authorities here at home. You can only imagine the abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan. Apparently, Iraq's own billions of dollars are accumulating in the United States because they can't spend it. They don't know how! What? Well, no wonder. Our cash tree has been shaking money all over Iraq. They don't need to spend their own cash for now. "

Given the previous thoughts, I believe we can imagine that probably 25% of the trillion dollars going to Iraq and Afghanistan has been for naught. So how is our government treating us? We've just noted a tremendous "splurge". So, I propose that any person engaged in improper use of U.S. Funds be charged with treason, as we are at war. Maybe that might be a deterrent! So, at least to a degree, this "splurge" has helped in making the "surge" successful.

Now we are about to undertake another "splurge". The House of Representatives has passed a stimulus package to aid our, perhaps weakening, economy. The Senate, because of all the media hype, is bound to pass it's own version and quickly reconcile it with the House and forward it to the President for his signature. The final figure will probably end up being $150-200 billion. In a nutshell, it will be similar to the following analogy. Let's say you have a business. You write yourself a check for a $1,000.00. You then go down to your store and buy $1,000.00 worth of your goods. "Duh" you see where I'm going. It doesn't seem to me we're going anywhere, except to have to make tax payments on the profits your business just made. And! Do you think we're going to pay that $200 billion back to the federal government. Hell no! So we're going to have a bigger deficit and debt. The dollar will sink lower than it already has. If the missing $250 billion dollars in Iraq hasn't paved it's street with gold, which it hasn't, how is $200 billion going to make any difference in an economy the size of ours?

Let us examine words recently written by the learned Thomas Sowell. He writes, “Both political parties seem determined that the federal government should create a "stimulus package" of things designed to cushion a downturn in the economy. That alone should be enough to make us remember that "the devil is always in the details," because things that are bipartisan are often twice as bad as things that are partisan. A bipartisan intervention is virtually guaranteed to be a grab bag of inconsistent policies thrown together in order to get the votes of people with contradictory ideas of what ought to be done. The idea of a stimulus package is based on the general notion that there are things the government could do to make things better in the economy. Unfortunately, there is a vast difference between what the government could do and what it is likely to do. Economists can give you all sorts of scenarios in which government intervention could make things better, whether when fighting off a recession, regulating domestic markets or controlling international trade. Some people even believe that whenever there is "market failure," the government ought to step in. Of course markets can fail. Everything human can fail. But if Alex Rodriguez strikes out, do the Yankees take him out of the game and send in a pinch hitter for him?

No one would dream of suggesting such a thing. We are far more rational when discussing sports than when discussing politics. The fact that the market is not doing what we wish it would do is no reason to automatically assume that the government would do better. There are too many examples of government interventions that made things worse, the Great Depression of the 1930s being the most tragic. Those on the left love to believe that the stock market crash of 1929 showed the failure of the free market and that the New Deal interventions in the 1930s saved the day. But the stock market crash of 1987 was just as big and Ronald Reagan resisted loud calls for him to intervene. The result was not another Great Depression but the beginning of a decades-long period of prosperity.”

Let's face it, markets go up and markets go down. They have since the beginning of markets. The tulips in Holland come to mind. The “exuberance” in the markets expressed by former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. And now, the greed by the lenders and the borrowers in the “sub-prime” market. It should be a crime to even have a “sub-prime” market. That in itself is bad paper and it shouldn't even exist. So, how is our government treating us? It has given us too much of things we'll never be able to pay for. I hope it will stop!