Top 10 Issues in the world today

I have my opinions. Stop rolling on the floor and laughing, I mean I do have opinions on things that affect my world today. So, in this blog entry I am going to outline what I feel are the top 10 critical issues facing our society. In subsequent blogs I will focus on what I feel the solutions are - or a potential solution.

Here goes:

1. Islamic Fascism


2. Illegal Immigration


3. Politicians & Governmental Leaders apathy (and worse)


4. The U.N. ('nuff said)


5. Corporate Influence on Government


6. Loss of Morals & Ethics


7. Denial of the Judeo-Christian foundation of this country


8. Political Correctness


9. The Government's lies on our approaching Recession


10. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and their followers pushing their reverse racism

Okay, there it is. That is my Top 10 list of what is wrong with America right now. I will expound on each of these topics in coming posts.

Act now or Suffer Later!!!

I have a 2005 Jeep Liberty which has an 18 gallon tank. You cannot run it totally empty, so, at approx 17 gallons, I have paid over $55.OO to fill the thing. When we bought it, we beleived the sticker which said it would get 28 on highway and 24 in city. That is bullcookies. I get an average of 16miles/gallon.

My husband has an F250 diesel and gets better mileage - 25. To fill his tank it is already over $100. We have the truck for our horses (business) and other necessities in Texas - so, please do not have any environmentalists tell me we should drive a Prius- it will not pull 3 horses that weigh 1200 lbs a piece.

We have no viable public transit to get to and from work. Which is lousy. When I lived in Boston, I filled up one a month. I have estimated (without trips to family for holidays) that for the year we spend $8,000 on fuel. Up from just over $4,000 a year back in 2002. If fuel goes to $4 a gallon, we will be at over $10,000 a year for getting to work and back. We are very efficient in trips out - but work is sort of required if you want to be on the salary continuation plan.

Our weekly food bill went from $75. - $80 a week (eating chicken breasts, and a steak regularly) to over $125 a week to eat chicken thighs and ground chuck. Milk is $4 a gallon here - and cheap bread is $2.19 so, I am not sure how we are going to continue like this.

Jimmy Carter said ONE great thing during his presidency - "we will cut our need for foreign oil". Course he did nothing about it. We need someone who is leading this country to rally us into programs to get off foreign oil and do things like nuclear power for all electricity. In the short term we need to drill in ANWR and off our shores - and ues coal gasification to fuel our lives and economy to get us out of the danger we are in now. At the same time, we need to develop cars that run on renewable fuel and run our houses on nuclear power. (If France can do it, we can do it better) If we could get to the moon in a decade we can solve this.

I said we were in grave danger - think on this - what if Iran and Venezuela shut off their oil sales to us completely? How would we work? How would we get food? How would we heat our homes? In short, how would our economy continue to support us? In the short term it would all grind to a halt. We need to prevent that future - fast.

Draft of new Immigration Bill - (mine)

I REALLY do not understand the "Illegal Immigration" debate. The first word says it all: illegal - end of debate.

Here is a bill that has some common sense. This is what we need to enact:
1. Close and secure the Southern Border with a hardened uninterrupted fence supplemented by technological surveillance. – NOTHING else is considered until this effort is completed. If we can build the Empire State Building in a year, we can do this in the same timeframe – with multiple crews working on different sections simultaneously.
Following the construction of the fence:
2. All illegal aliens in this country must be sent back to their country of origin. Do not tell me this is impossible. If the border is closed, they can be found one by one – the same way they came here, and deported. Eventually, there will be no illegal aliens.
3. Any person/company found hiring illegal aliens without documentation will be imprisoned and fined harshly.
4. Create a Guest Worker program for small numbers of people to fill jobs requested by employers specifically. Keep track of who is hired for what job and monitor these employers.
5. Additional taxes will be issued to these temporary workers to compensate costs inflicted on our healthcare facilities.
6. No guest workers will collect social security, disability, unemployment or federal health care.
7. Illegal aliens without federal documentation, found in this country within one year of Bills establishment will be held in work camps until they are deported. These camps will be comprised of a “Tent Prison” system where they will work on federal jobs to compensate the cost of the camp – until they are deported back to their country of origin.
8. To become a citizen you must remain documented for a period of 10 years. During this time you must be employed, be clear of any criminal activity, and speak and write English. (This will add people to this country that are educated and have a strong desire to be an American)
9. Any criminal activity will result in imprisonment and/or deportation.
10. Change the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to stop “anchor babies”. This is NOT what our Founding Fathers had in mind – and you all know that.
11. No company or corporation is allowed to displace – or artificially deflate – the wages of American Workers by hiring “guest workers”. This means that Mr. Construction Company owner cannot fire all his cement workers that are American, and hire guest workers for 2/3 of the cost, thus decimating the American cement workers and driving the standard wages for those jobs lower.

Done! Wow... common sense. What a thought.

Global Warming - farce or manipulation to force taxes paid to the UN??

In the leading London newspaper, today it says that the only solution to Global Warming is taxes. That's it. Taxes. Wow. Is that a frightening thing, global taxes? Let me tell you what global warming is.

The Earth is getting warmer. The Earth has always gotten warmer and then it has gotten warmer and then it has gotten colder. For instance, "Time" magazine wrote in 1924 about global warming -- I'm sorry, global cooling. And then in '39 it was global warming. And then in '74 it was global cooling and then it's warming again. The "New York Times" did the same thing, 1924, stories all about global cooling. 35, global warming. '75, global cooling. Today it's warming again.

It happens over and over and over again, but they have so captured the imagination and the fear of people that we're all going to be wiped off the face of the planet and it is a lie! It is a lie! But don't take my word for it. I'm going to give you just the phrases from the environmentalists that should open your mind and open up your eyes and be able to arm you with being able to save the open-minded people that are left, the ones that have been duped, the ones who don't know. They are all good intentioned but they are being useful idiots. Let me give you some of them.

• This comes from Canada's former environmental minister, Christine Stewart. Quote: Climate change provides the greatest chance to bring about justice and equality in the world.
• o Excuse me? Climate change is the greatest chance to bring justice and equality in the world? How is that, Christine Stewart?
• Quote, same person. This is the former environmentalist of Canada. Quote: No matter if the science is all phony, there is still collateral environmental benefits to global warming policies. That collateral benefit is global taxes. More money out of the pockets of honest hard-working American citizens.
• Quote, Stephen Schneider: To capture the public imagination, we have to offer up some scary scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements and little mention of any doubts one might have. Each of us has to decide the right balance between being effective and being honest.
• o Who is Stephen Schneider? He was the lead UN IPCC report author and climate alarmist. In 2007 he is still in a major role.
• Dave Foreman, founder of Earth First: Phasing out the human race will solve every problem on Earth, social and environmental.
• Jacques Chirac: Kyoto is the first component of an authentic global governance.
• Prince Philip, World Wildlife Federation, If I were reincarnated, I would come back, return to the Earth as a killer virus to lower human population levels.
• George Monbiot, environmental author last year: Every time someone dies as a result of floods in Bangladesh airline executives should be dragged out of office and concerned.
• Helen Cox, Union of Concerned Scientists: free enterprise really means rich people get richer. They have freedom to exploit and psychologically rape their fellow human beings in the process. Capitalism is destroying the Earth. Every time you turn on an electric outlet, you are making another brainless baby.
• Michael Oppenheimer, Environmental Defense Fund: The only hope for the world is to make sure there is not another United States.
• John Edwards this weekend said this is going to cause great pain, higher energy prices, higher gas prices, higher food prices, we're going to pay higher taxes but we've got to do it and there may be more on the horizon that we don't even know but we've got to do it.

This is the goal of the environmental movement, to stop America, to stop development, to stop the Third World from being poor, to redistribute the wealth, to take your money and give it to an organization that can better decide how it should be distributed. It is the global movement for justice and equality. Now, that's not what your neighbor thinks that has the Go Green bumper sticker and the Prius or whatever. That's not what they think, but that's the truth and at some point Americans have got to unite and stand with the truth. There is no dismissing these comments.

I don't care if it's a Republican or Democrat. The Republicans are starting to go down this road because so many Americans have been co-opted into this lie that the Republicans are going to have absolutely no spine and they're going to go right along with it. This is a plot from those who would see the US lose sovereignty to the “World Court”. You have no concept of what is right around the corner, and what is right around the corner is the loss of sovereignty. It is about the destruction of the United States of America. Unless Americans take a stand and tell our political leaders “NO”.

I am saying "NO" to the UN and anything like the Kyoto Protocol. Do you know who your representatives are in Washington? Do you know how to contact them? If not, it is something you may want to look into.

What America Needs - re: Energy

Do those of you who were alive while Kennedy was in office remember what he did that got America to the moon? He stood up before the American people and got us all on the same team.

What the next President needs to do with our energy issues is the following:


Get in front of the American people and tell them we are in a fight for our sovereignty. We need to get off of foreign oil and we are going to do everything in our power to do that within the next 10 years. That is right 10 years - 100% off foreign oil. I do not want to hear that we cannot do that - this is the country that created the atomic bomb in a short time and put a man on the moon in the 1960's. We can do anything we set our minds to.
Then this President needs to engender in us the feeling that we are on a team with the same goal - no "damn democrats" or "raunchy republicans" just "Americans".

The approach needs to include:

• Drilling in the ANWR - and ANY place in the US that we have readily available oil reserves.
• No pussy footing around by the environmentalists - this is short term "pain" for long term gain. Shut them up for 10 years.
• Use our coal reserves to create clean coal to liquid fuel (yes, it can be done cleanly)
• Build more wind plants
• Build solar plants
• Build new nuclear plants
• Research and develop new RENEWABLE energy sources for our cars.
• Build better more fuel efficient cars
• Stop ethanol - it is a waste of time
• Do not export or sell energy outside the US.

If we did this and encouraged (with tax cuts and rebates) Americans to retrofit their homes with solar panels and (if they are in rural locales) wind turbines, we could be more green and free of foreign oil in less than 10 years. Fuel for cars would be cheap and our economy would boom. There is no need to drive a sardine can - our scientists can develop a fuel that can power whatever vehicle we want - cleanly and with a renewable fuel.

Radical Islam could kiss our butts and keep their damn oil. Our oil executives - who are smart - would diversify and build into the new technologies to retrain and keep their employees.

I want to see a President do this - and say to Hell with the naysayers. We CAN do it - and we need to before we are all sitting inthe dark because the Iranian President "I'm-a-nut-job" shut off the spigot.

You pick your option.

Close the borders - then we will talk!

While I understand the desire of our leaders for comprehensive immigration reform, I do not think that many in Washington clearly understand the issue.

If we allow 12 – 20 million illegal aliens to gain legal status and the right to work in the US legally, they will indeed drive down wages for many Americans who work hard for a living. I know many in the Senate say this will not happen. But, that is unrealistic. Given the opportunity to apply for legal jobs with some benefits, those workers who were previously working illegally for less, will still be able to #1 - secure a better paying job while # -still undercutting the wage earned by the current American worker.

This is not good for the economy. Why? Because that job has now been unrealistically depressed in wage and will now ONLY be filled by those who are willing to work – and live on less. What about the former American worker? They are now unemployed and on assistance and will not be able to get a job in their field – unless they are willing to work for less wages. This will mean a downward shift in the worker’s lifestyle, family situation – and most likely, home ownership. In turn, as this worker struggles to provide for his family, that family may slide towards bankruptcy, financial ruin and ultimately welfare. His hard earned paycheck will no longer be spent in the US economy.

On the other hand, the illegal alien is now making more than they were when they were illegal. They can send more money home to Mexico – money that will not be spent in the US economy. He is very happy now as a legal worker – and has no intention of assimilating into US society or culture. His children go to US schools – and make demands for Spanish speaking courses. The US culture is weakened, society is fractured, and this worker continues to support family back home in his country of origin. He is now able to apply to bring more of his family over to the US. They will need aid when first here – and maybe forever.

Tell me – where is the benefit to the United States? The only benefit is to the big corporation CEO’s and leaders who stand to make millions more in profit off the backs of these illicit workers.

The sttement by a Texas Senator; “For example, we must make certain that convicted criminals are not eligible for any legalization, and if these individuals attempt to stay here, that they are arrested and promptly deported. … We must ensure that only those who have played by the rules – and not those engaged in identity theft – receive Social Security benefits. This proposal would enable illegal immigrants to collect Social Security benefits for the time they were unlawfully in our country,” worries me. Because the point is that NONE of the 12 – 20 million illegal aliens who are here have played by the rules. Why should we consider rewarding them for their undocumented entry into the US? Would I or any other American citizen be rewarded for an “undocumented withdrawal” from our bank? I think not. None of them need to be given anything but a bus ticket back to their country of origin.

I also do not appreciate the President echoing Mr. Kennedy’s words that “deporting them is not the American way”. I have supported our President since his election, and I do still in many other ways. In this area he is flat wrong. His stubborn denial of the crisis this would cause in America may be the very undoing of the RNC in 2008. And let me tell you this – Hilary Clinton scares the heck out of me.

Stop this bill. We do not need one sweeping comprehensive bill to “change everything”. Start by passing a bill to close the borders. We do not want a North American Union like the EU. We want to be a sovereign nation with the ability to control who is in our country – and why. Close the borders – without amnesty. Then, once that is COMPLETED, I will talk to you about the status of the 12 - 20 million illegal aliens that are here.

Gas Prices and Truth

I would like to know what our Senators, Congressmen and other leaders are doing for the American public with regard to the price of gas at the pump.

I have to tell you that I feel as though the oil companies think we are just stupid as dirt when I hear baloney like “there were refinery problems”. That might explain things a little if it were not for the fact that:

• The oil companies control the refineries too – so it is to their advantage to have a “refinery problem” when fuel prices are falling to a point when Exxon Mobil will not make ridiculous record profits in a given quarter.

Given the ridiculous record profits, the oil companies should be spending SOME money to maintain the refineries – or – God forbid – build a new one someplace – or – drill for oil in the US!

So, I no longer buy the story from the oil companies. Neither do most Americans. Because we are not as stupid as Oil Company CEO’s and some politicians think we are. We simply must buy fuel to get to work and home again each day.

So, let me tell you a few things that are factors for Americans. We are not ignoring the calls to conserve fuel as the idiots in the media seem to think and report, “Americans are not cutting fuel use”. We are driving to work and home again. There are more of us driving to work and home again because the unemployment rates are down, there are new 16 year olds getting licenses every day and Americans are living (and driving) longer than ever before. So, we are not each using more, there are simply more of us.

The American people cannot continue to survive and fund our great economy with more and more of our income going to pay to get us to work and home again. Cuts will have to happen some place. Let me tell you where our family’s cuts are coming from. We were going to take a trip to the Grand Canyon this summer. We were going to drive there and take our horses with us for a family vacation. This would have been the first family vacation we have taken – ever. That is to say in the past 15 years that I have been working, I have never taken a vacation. We as a family were budgeting $2,500 plus another $500 for fuel to go on this trip. We are not taking that trip this summer. We are using that money to pay for the increase in our fuel and electric bills this summer. What does that do to the economy? We will still spend the money – right? Well, it will go to Exxon-Mobil or Chevron rather than tourism and entertainment. Rather than small businesses where we would have eaten, bought gifts, or spent the night, it will go to line the pockets of some of the most corrupt businessmen in the country; businessmen who are already multi-millionaires. Not small business owners who help to grow and fund our country by creating jobs.

How else is the economy hurting? The price of food and clothes is going up. We are spending the same on food, but we are getting less and less. Our budget does not allow for a vast increase in food expenses. So, we are buying cheaper cuts of meat and fish and cutting back on items. We are buying less clothing and shoes too. We will continue to do this until we either go bankrupt or things get better. Since I do not see the big Oil Companies suddenly getting a sense of decency and morality, I guess we will fail as a family and go the way of the rest of the average American….we will simply cease to hope for a vacation, get a second job and wither away and die.

May God help us all.

Ban "Cops & Robbers"? No, bring God back in!

I have been reading the news and am struck by how many people just have it wrong. There are calls for banning "violent children's playing like cops and robbers".

Please, give me a break with the "ooh, don't let them play good guys and bad guys". When we were growing up in the 60's, 70's and 80's kids played cops and robbers and Cowboys & Indians. Both boys and girls played.

Guess what?

There were no school shootings at that time. Why you ask?

Because our parents and role models, leaders and mentors have the grace and good sense to keep morality and God in our lives. There is no harm in children's pretend gun play - if there was, this would have exploded decades ago.

There is harm in locking our spiritual lives out of our communities.

It stuns me that the first thing we do in a National tragedy is to band together and pray. Candlelight vigils, convocations, memorial services - we always pray and ask God's blessing. Yet, when it is all over, we push and kick God out of the community.

We need to wake up and smell the coffee. Without a Spiritual life, we are denying 1/3 of ourselves. That leaves us empty inside and allows evil to fill the space.

There is a good reason our Founding Fathers based this great nation on Judeo-Christian principals. Without morals and values, this country will cease to exist - and I for one do not look longingly to Europe for a "new way of life".

America needs to rediscover her roots and embrace them!

God Bless us all

My heartfelt prayers to all those affected and grieving in Virginia and across this country.

I guess what I find so frustrating in all of this senseless violence is that over 90% of the messages, blogs and speeches made about this crime have said "Our prayers are with you; God Bless your community" or some such blessing. Why would God continue to bless us when we have pushed and kicked Him out of our lives, our schools, our communities?

If we really want to bless our friends and fellow citizens, ask God back into our daily lives and our towns. He will bless and keep us and forgive our lack of faith.

This has NOTHING to do with a criminal intent to get a weapon - the criminals ALWAYS have weapons - and EVERYTHING to do with the decline of morality in our society. Children would not kill if they had more regard for themselves and others.

Gun control is not the answer - and I will NOT give my guns up because of a Godless lunatic. Teach your children values, bring God back into our lives and leave the guns alone.

For God's sake would you like to become like Europe? An aside - to those who tout the UK and their lack of guns - violent crime has RISEN not lessened. Read the statistics. If ONE student or teacher on that campus had been armed, this would not be 33 dead. Some of those blessed people acted heroically - they would have been doubly so with a concealed carry permit.

On the Virginia Tech Tragedy

This has been around before but I believe we all need to be reminded to stand up and be heard before we lose any more rights. GUs do not kill people. School shooters are children who had no discipline at home. We as a Nation need to bring back the "Spare the rod and spoil the child" morality. Did you know that saying comes straight from the Book of Proverbs? If we as a country would spend more time in our Bibles, we could solve a lot of our problems.

Darrell Scott Testimony

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton , Colorado , was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well.

It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness.

The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers. "The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves.

I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today:

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,

Your words are empty air.

You've stripped away our heritage,

You've outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,

And precious children die.

You seek for answers everywhere,

And ask the question "Why?"

You regulate restrictive laws,

Through legislative creed.

And yet you fail to understand,

That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact.

What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors.

No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts. "As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America to take their Bible to school and pray with all your hearts for our country and our world!

Tax Health Benefits? Are you nuts!

In looking at President Bush’s proposal regarding taxing health insurance benefits, I must first of all protest. Secondly, I would like to know what crazy person came up with such a stupid idea.

We have a family of four – my husband, me, and our two children. Both my husband and I work full time in the Information Technology fields. We are paid fairly well for our efforts – though I lost 30% of my (industry) income following the dotcom burst and the recession of 2001, and to date, Project Management has not completely recovered – primarily due to two factors – one is the propensity (and advantages) for businesses to use “contract” labor (thus cutting out all benefits, vacations, holiday and sick pay for the employee – and “paying” the company to restrict access to “full-time” benefits) and the second is the outsourcing issue – overseeing is killing our industry as companies try to outsource to “save money” so they can line to pockets of their rich executives.. We have health insurance coverage through my husband’s company since I have no access to benefits – and with project contract turnovers averaging every 6 months, we would be changing health care like some people change draperies.

The White House spokespeople say that this measure will be tax neutral through 2011 – and will encourage people to go seek out lower cost insurance so they can gain a tax cut. I would argue that fact quite hard. We do not have the advantage of “seeking” insurance – we take what is given to us by my husband’s employer. As I do not have health benefits as an option, there is no comparison ability. We can go out on our own and buy our own policies – with dire consequences. Most private plans do not offer maternity care (in the event we want to have another child) without raising the premium exponentially. Also, most private plans have much higher out of pocket costs – for such things as office visits, prescriptions, routine preventative care (mammograms, lab work) hospital visits etc.

I really want all of our leaders to consider what these types of changes will do to working families. We are putting up with $3.00 a gallon gas, $3+ dollar a gallon milk, meat and produce prices that are rising off the charts, and now, on top of all that you want to tax benefits? We haven’t gotten a raise in 5 years. How are you doing? They are breaking the backs of Middle America. We do not own a McMansion on a golf course – our house is a modest $120,000 2000 sq ft 3 bedroom ranch-style house in an older neighborhood with good schools. So, I ask you – where would you like us to cut back so we can afford these tax increases?

Here is a suggestion : get rid of the illegal immigrants who are taking our school tax dollars, hospital services, welfare dollars, and driving insurance rates through the roof. That will save some money. Then, we can hire those jobs out to people in the tech industry that has gone flat. Pretty soon, my husband and I will be working two jobs so we can keep the same life style that was easy back in 2000. You think Americans are getting ahead? Wrong. We slip back every year. Soon, we will be worse off than our grandparents during the Depression.

Please do something to help Americans. Do NOT vote for ANYONE who is currently in office. Get rid of the bums.

Another Discussion about Outsourcing

"Answers on Outsourcing"
CNN Money
By Rory L. Terry

A finance professor argues against placing blind faith in outsourcing. His views follow.


(New York)-- A great deal of effort is being expended to convince us all that the outsourcing of jobs under the rubric of free trade is a good thing. I would like to discuss some of these arguments.

Our labor force is not better trained, harder working, or more innovative than our foreign competitors. The argument that we will create new jobs in highly paying fields simply is not true. We have no comparative advantage or superiority in innovation. To assume that we are inherently more creative than our foreign competitors is both arrogant and naive. We are currently empowering our competition with the resources to innovate equally as well as we. Consider the number of new non-native Ph.D.'s that leave our universities each year; consider our low rank in the education of mathematics and the sciences; and consider the large number of international students enrolled in our most difficult technical degree programs at our most prestigious universities.

Most of our best, high-paying jobs can be exported:

• doctors (even surgeons)
• mathematicians
• accountants
• financial analysts
• engineers
• computer programmers
• architects
• physicists
• chemists
• biologists
• researchers of all types

Our trading problem is an externality. An externality exists in economics any time there is a separation of costs and benefits, and the decision maker does not have to incur the full cost but receives the full benefits of the decision. The fact is, there is no economic force, no supply and demand equilibrium, no rational decision process of either business or consumer, that will make an externality go away. Classic examples of externalities are when a business dumps toxic waste into a nearby river and the downstream residents incur the costs of cancer. The business is able to lower its costs and pass those lower costs on to its customers, and never pay for the treatment of the cancer patients. We have laws in this country against dumping and pollution because they are externalities -- they require a legislative solution. Cost reductions and other benefits provide a strong incentive to outsource jobs. A company that decides to move its production overseas cuts its costs in many ways, including the following:

1. Extremely low wage rates
2. The circumvention or avoidance of organized labor
3. No Social Security or Medicare benefit payments
4. No federal or state unemployment tax
5. No health benefits for workers
6. No child labor laws
7. No OSHA or EPA costs or restrictions
8. No worker retirement benefits or pension costs
   

Besides cutting costs, there are other benefits to exporting jobs, including the following:

1. Tax incentives provided by our government
2. Incentives from foreign governments
3. The creation of new international markets for the company's products (which ultimately empowers the company to turn a deaf ear to this country's problems and influence)
4. The continued benefits of our legal system and the freedoms that we provide

The net effect of all of this is lower costs, higher revenue, higher profits, higher stock prices, bonuses for management, and the creation of wealth for a subclass that benefits from low taxes at the expense of the rest of us. The costs of the decision to outsource are not borne by the decision maker. As a society and as a country, we experience many costs from outsourcing, including the loss of jobs, social costs, higher costs of raw materials and loss of national sovereignty. Loss of jobs reduces the tax base, creates high unemployment benefit costs, and raises the cost of government retraining programs. Displaced, unemployed workers have higher rates of child and spousal abuse, alcoholism, bankruptcy, divorce, etc.

As China and India and other large populations grow, they demand huge quantities of oil, gas, steel and other basic raw materials. These costs are born by all of us -- every time we fill our gas tanks, for example. And as a nation, we lose our ability to make independent decisions that are in our best interest when we are dependent on foreign debt and foreign manufacturing. This is a classic externality.

Rory L. Terry is an associate professor of Finance at Fort Hays State University

Personally, I am vehemently opposed to outsourcing. I feel that as leaders of business, the CEO's of American companies have a lot of benefits as corporations -as has been given in a previous post of mine - and with all those benefits they enjoy, there is a requesite responsibility to American workers. If you are taking jobs away from Americans, to give to people in India, China, Mexico, or anyplace else, then you (as CEO) have not upheld your personal responsibility to your country.

Either act responsibly, or quit.

Watch out - Hilary thinks the boogie man is out to get her!

You know, Ms. Clinton, if I needed another reason NOT to vote for you in 2008, you just provided it. I just read a news story where you are crying out against the "Big, Conservative Conspiracy". This story makes you sound like the paranoid, socialist, conniving, gold digger you are.

You and your fellow partisan politicians are not interested in what is best for the US, you are interested in the next sound bite that will give you the next leg up on the "competition".

Do you want to know something important? Leading this country is not a popularity contest - you are not running for Prom Queen. The President of this country bears the responsibility and weight of making tough choices that are the best to promote THIS country as a whole - not his or her personal agenda.

I hope the rest of the country sees clearly through your manipulations. You, Ms. Clinton are no John Kennedy.

An Open Letter to General Pace CJCS

Dear Sir;

Please know that many American hearts and minds are standing behind you as you are besieged by a press rampant with the spread of immorality. We stand behind you as you are attacked by partisan politicians who seek personal gain. We stand behind you as activist groups seek to discredit you.

The United States was founded on a basis of morals and ethics that is under attack in today's society because of the environment of political correctness. Personally, I feel we as citizens of the United States have an obligation to do what is right and just to promote our country and protect the very core of American society.

I applaud you and your strong stand against impropriety in the ranks. I support you in your statements. I encourage you to stand firm and not to knuckle under to pressure to "apologize". The next thing you know - we will see a ridiculous demand for you to attend "rehab". Stand your ground. You spoke the truth and no one should have to apologize for that.

Does God exist?

I have heard - for all too long - attacks against the existence of God, attacks against Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. I have to say, I am truly tired of this. Since the dawn of time man has been looking for an answer to the question "Where do I come from?" Yet, today, in our society, the ONLY acceptable answer is Darwin.

To my knowledge, there has been NO archaeological find of the "missing link". And, while I acknowledge that I share DNA with chimps and frogs, I have seen no proof that I descend directly from either. My assumption about the DNA similarities is this - I have written MANY documents in my career - meeting notes, memos etc, - and I have started with an existing document (modifying is easier than starting from scratch) So, I think God is pretty smart - and He probably used the materials at hand and modified until He got what He was after - mankind.

For those who do not believe, I do not go about making fun of you and telling you that Eternal Hell is waiting for the price of your disbelief. I respect your opinion. I believe it is not a correct opinion, but, I respect your right to it all the same.

Yet, you cannot do the same for me. So, I would like to engage you in a debate. To all those who profess there is no God, I have a couple of basic questions for you. Please take your time answering.

#1 - Do you believe there are planets out in space that are inhabitable?

#2 - If the answer to the above is yes, then do you believe there is life on
those planets?

#3 - Do you believe that life - as we know it - truly came out of the nothingness soup of the universe? That there was no "intelligent design"?

#4 - Have you ever seen the birth of a child? A puppy? A horse?

#5 - If the answer to the above is "yes", can you truly say there is not ANYTHING miraculous about that?

#6 - Do you believe that child abusers, rapists, murderers, serial killers, Hitler - are/were evil?

#7 - Do you believe that those who mutilate, maim and torture are evil?

#8 Do you believe in the existence of evil?

There is nothing that exists without it's true opposite. If evil exists - and it does - as we can clearly see from the likes of Hitler, Pol Pot, Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Mohammed Atta, and Osama Bin Laden - then the power of good - from one true source (as everything comes from a source) exists.
Thus, God exists.

Stop Mexi-Ameri-Canada!! Secure our Borders NOW!

TO: Our Elected Officials:

There is a huge amount of propaganda and myths circulating about illegal aliens, particularly illegal Mexican, Salvadorian, Guatemalan and Honduran aliens - or illegal aliens from Sweden sneaking in through the rocky coastline of Maine. I don't care where they came from - they need to leave! Deport them. No it will not be overnight. Who cares? They didn't all get here in one night!

1. Illegal aliens generally do NOT want U.S. citizenship. Americans are very vain thinking that everybody in the world wants to be a U.S. citizen. Mexicans, and other nationalities want to remain citizens of their home countries while obtaining the benefits offered by the United States such as employment, medical care, in-state tuition, government subsidized housing and free education for their offspring. Their main attraction is employment and their loyalty usually remains at home. They want benefits earned and subsidized by middle class Americans. What illegal aliens want are benefits of American residence without paying the price.

2. There are no jobs that Americans won't do. Illegal aliens are doing jobs that Americans can't take and still support their families. Illegal aliens take low wage jobs, live dozens in a single residence home, share expenses and send money to their home country. There are no jobs that Americans won't do for a decent wage.

3. Every person who illegally entered this nation left a home. They are NOT homeless and they are NOT Americans. Some left jobs in their home countries. They come to send money to their real home as evidenced by the more than 20 billion dollars sent out of the country each year by illegal aliens. These illegal aliens knowingly and willfully entered this nation in violation of the law and therefore assumed the risk of detection and deportation. Those who brought their alien children assumed the responsibility and risk on behalf of their children.

4. Illegal aliens are NOT critical to the economy. Illegal aliens constitute less than 5% of the workforce. However, they reduce wages and benefits for lawful U.S. residents.

5. This is NOT an immigrant nation. There are 280 million native born Americans. While it is true that this nation was settled and founded by immigrants (legal immigrants), it is also true that there is not a nation on this planet that was not settled by immigrants at one time or another.

6. The United States is welcoming to legal immigrants. Illegal aliens are not immigrants by definition. The U.S. accepts more lawful immigrants every year than the rest of the world combined.

7. There is no such thing as the "Hispanic vote". Hispanics are white, brown, black and every shade in between. Hispanics are Republicans, Democrats, Anarchists, Communists, Marxists and Independents. The so-called "Hispanic vote" is a myth. Pandering to illegal aliens to get the Hispanic vote is a dead end.

8. Mexico is NOT a friend of the United States. Since 1848 Mexicans have resented the United States. During World War I Mexico allowed German Spies to operate freely in Mexico to spy on the U.S. During World War II Mexico allowed the Axis powers to spy on the U.S. from Mexico. During the Cold War Mexico allowed spies hostile to the U.S. to operate freely. The attack on the Twin Towers in 2001 was cheered and applauded all across Mexico. Today Mexican school children are taught that the U.S. stole California, Arizona, new Mexico and Texas. If you don't believe it, check out some Mexican textbooks written for their schoolchildren.

9. Although some illegal aliens enter this country for a better life, there are 6 billion people on this planet. At least 1 billion of those live on less than one dollar a day. If wanting a better life is a valid excuse to break the law and sneak into America, then let's allow those one billion to come to America and we'll turn the USA into a Third World nation overnight. Besides, there are 280 million native born Americans who want a better life. I'll bet Bill Gates and Donald Trump want a better life. When will the USA lifeboat be full? Since when is wanting a better life a good reason to trash another nation?

10. There is a labor shortage in this country. This is a lie. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of American housewives, senior citizens, students, unemployed and underemployed who would gladly take jobs at a decent wage.

11. It is racist to want secure borders. What is racist about wanting secure borders and a secure America? What is racist about not wanting people to sneak into America and steal benefits we have set aside for legal aliens, senior citizens, children and other legal residents? What is it about race that entitles people to violate our laws, steal identities, and take the American Dream without paying the price?

For about four decades American politicians have refused to secure our borders and look after the welfare of middle class Americans. These politicians have been of both parties. A huge debt to American society has resulted. This debt will be satisfied and the interest will be high. There have already been riots in the streets by illegal aliens and their supporters. There will be more. You, as a politician, have a choice to offend the illegal aliens who have stolen into this country and demanded the rights afforded to U.S. citizens or to offend those of us who are stakeholders in this country. The interest will be steep either way. There will be civil unrest. There will be a reckoning. Do you have the courage to do what is right for America? Or, will you bow to the wants and needs of those who don't even have the right to remain here?

There will be a reckoning. It will come in November of 2008 and yet again in 2010. We, the people, will not tolerate representatives who do not listen and represent those who sent them to Washington.

We will not allow America to be stolen by third world agitators and thieves.

Corporations, Government and Corruption - Do WE need another Boston Tea Party?

I think it is necessary and appropriate to put the pressure on in our local communities and at our city council level. As we can see, our federal government is out of our control. Our federal representatives are too closely wed to corporate interests; indeed, a single corporate campaign donation obliterates 100,000 citizen opinions. Our federal representatives are too far removed from the average American citizen for us to have any influence over them. They don't have to look us in the eye at the grocery store or at the post office; our city officials do.

And speaking of government being in bed with corporations, many people forget a very important part of our American history. The American Revolution of 1776 was as much a revolt against abusive corporations as it was against a distant monarchy.

The Hudson's Bay Company, The British East India Company, and The Massachusetts Bay Company were all early corporations that existed during colonial times in America. Our founding fathers despised and feared those chartered companies, for they recognized the way British Kings and their cronies used them to control and deplete the resources of their labors in the colonies.

Remember, it was the British East India Company which imposed duties on the tea they were delivering to the colonies, and because they had a monopoly on the tea market, the colonists were forced to pay the duties or go without. The colonists revolted. Colonial merchants agreed to not sell the East India teas. Many East India Company ships were turned back, unable to deliver their cargoes of teas. And surely you must recall that the result was the Boston Tea Party, when colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

The Declaration of Independence in 1776 freed Americans not only of the British monarchy, but also the British corporations. For more than 100 years Americans remained suspicious and mistrusting of corporate powers. They were very careful about the way they granted corporate charters and the powers granted in them.

Early American corporate charters were of a completely different type than contemporary corporate charters. They were created literally by the people, as a convenience to the people, mere financial tools. Corporations were invisible, intangible, and artificial. They were chartered by the states, not the federal government, where they could be monitored locally, kept under close watch by the people. They were automatically dissolved if they violated their charter. Limits were placed on how big and how powerful companies could become.

The 200 corporations that were in operation by 1800 were kept on a short rein. They were not tolerated to participate in the political process, they could not buy stock in other corporations, and if they acted improperly, the consequences were severe. In 1832 President Andrew Jackson vetoed a motion to extend the charter of the corrupt and tyrannical Second Bank of the United States, and he was applauded for doing so. That same year Pennsylvania revoked the charters of ten banks for acting contrary to public interest. Even the industry trusts that formed to protect corporations from external competitors eventually faced the anti-trust legislation that was put into place in the mid 1800's.

In the early history of America the corporation played an important role, but their role was in service to the people. The people, not the corporations, were in control.

The shift began in the last portion of the nineteenth century. It was the start of a period of great struggle between corporations and society. The turning point was the Civil War. Corporations made huge profits from procurement contracts and took advantage of the disorder and corruption of the times to buy legislatures, judges, and even presidents. Corporations became the masters and keepers of business. Before his death, President Lincoln warned, "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country...corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war."

President Lincoln's warning went unheeded. Corporations continued to grow in power and influence. They had laws governing their creation amended. States could no longer revoke their charters. Corporate profits could no longer be limited. Corporate activity could only be restrained by the courts, and time after time judges granted them small victories, conceding them rights and privileges they did not have before and were never intended to have.
Then, in 1886, an event occurred that would change the course of American history. In Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad, a dispute over a rail road route, the US Supreme Court ruled that a corporation was a "natural person" under the Constitution and was entitled to all the rights and protections under the Bill of Rights. Suddenly, the corporation was made equal to the people, enjoying all the rights and sovereignty of individuals, including the right to free speech.

That court ruling gave to corporations the same powers and rights as private citizens. But, with their vast financial resources corporations thereafter actually have had more power than the individual citizens our Constitution and Bill of Rights was intended to protect against such tyrannical and empirical entities such as corporations. In a single stroke the whole intent of the American Constitution - that all citizens have one vote and equal voice in public debates - had been undermined. A single blunder by a corrupted judge changed the whole idea of democratic government.

In boardrooms in all the major global capitals, CEOs of the world's biggest corporations imagine a world where they are protected by what is effectively their own global charter of rights and freedoms -- the Multinational Agreement on Investment (MAI). They are supported in this vision by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other organizations representing twenty-nine of the world's richest economies. The MAI would effectively create a single global economy allowing corporations the unrestricted right to buy, sell and move their businesses, resources and other assets wherever and whenever they want. It's a corporate bill of rights designed to override all "nonconforming" local, state and national laws and regulations and allow them to sue cities, states and national governments for alleged noncompliance. Sold to the world's citizens as inevitable and necessary in an age of free trade, these MAI negotiations met with considerable grassroots opposition and were temporarily suspended in April 1998. Nevertheless, no one believes this initiative will remain suspended for long.

We, the people, have lost control. Corporations, these legal fictions that we ourselves created two centuries ago, now have more rights, freedoms and powers than we do. And we accept this as the normal state of affairs. We go to corporations on our knees. Please do the right thing, we plead. Please don't cut down any more ancient forests. Please don't pollute any more lakes and rivers (but please don't move your factories and jobs offshore either). Please don't use pornographic images to sell fashion to my kids. Please don't play governments off against each other to get a better deal. Please don't fire me and hire a contractor whom you do not have to offer benefits. Please don't pay your CEO millions and millions every year while cutting away at my income. We've spent so much time bowed down in deference, we've forgotten how to stand up straight.

The unofficial history of America, which continues to be written, is not a story of rugged individualism and heroic personal sacrifice in the pursuit of a dream. It is a story of democracy derailed, of a revolutionary spirit suppressed, and of a once-proud people reduced to servitude. How long will we cowtow to the corrupt and power holding corporations and let America be sold out from underneath us?

Good Old-Fashioned Days!

Wow - what are we to do? Today while driving to work I heard on the radio that old time tv shows are making a return - "sort of like comfort food" the radio announcer said. He went on. "it is because these times were simpler". Huh? Simpler?

He is talking about a return to sitcoms like The Andy Griffith Show (circa 1950's), Leave it to Beaver (1950's also) and a number of other shows from the 60's and 70's. Now, while I do not have a problem with these old shows which prtrayed good old American values making a comeback, I do draw the line at the anouncers statement that "life was simpler then". What is he talking about?

Hmm....1950's - McCarthyism, The Red Threat, the Cold War, Segregation, Desegregation, busing, the Civil Rights Movement...Need I go on? The "old days" were not easier or simpler. What the old days DID have as an advantge was a solid grounding in morality that America is sorely lacking - and losing daily it seems. What do I mean? Well let's take a look at the situation.

Back in the "good old days", we did not routinely experience the following: school shootings, kids killing each other, families killing each other (not to say there was no abuse - there was, but not like drowning your five children), rampant drug use (again it was there - especially sneaking beer - but not like today's parties for teens mixing and sneaking of your mom's oxycontin), terrorism, rampant Christianity bashing (yes, there is), rampant disrespect for the President of the United States - whether or not you agree personally with his politics, he is still our elected President and deserves respect.

What America needs now is a return to good old-fashioned values. You hear all the time how "Retro" fashion is making a comeback and all that is old is "new" again. Well, in MY book, it is time for a good old-fashioned revival of morality.

What are YOU going to do to protect our country and our way of life?

Non-Binding Resolution? Lily-Livered Cowards more like it!

The Senate failed to pass a non-binding resolution condemning President Bush’s plan to increase the number of American troops in Iraq by 21,500 over the next few months. The House passed such a resolution on Friday.
What does a non-binding resolution accomplish?
It does nothing but harm the morale of American forces in a combat zone and send a message to those we are fighting that the American Congress does not support their troops. It is a cowardly act – if those supporting the resolution truly have the courage of their convictions, they would introduce a bill cutting off funding for the war and force the withdrawal of the troops. Anything less is merely grandstanding at the expense of American troops in harm’s way.
The subtle nicety of the “we support the warriors but not the war” drivel is lost on the bad guys. They see it as a victory in a war they cannot win on the battlefield – it reinforces their will to outlast the Americans. It says to them, “Keep this up and the Americans will call it quits.” It says to them, "Keep this up, and we can follow them home and take target practice in America's Malls and shopping centers". It says, "Keep this up and we will be able to blow Americans up on the Main Streets of their heartland". It says "Keep this up - Americans are cowards who have come to expect a microwave solution to every problem in the world. If it is not done during a commercial break from their favorite TV show, Americans will not have the stomach for it". And Sir, it lies. Because we Americans DO have the courage to do what it takes - does our government?
Anyone who believes that passage of the House resolution on Friday and attempts to do the same in the Senate does not hurt American troop morale and embolden the enemy has either never worn a uniform or has forgotten what it’s like to be deployed to a combat zone.
Sirs, America needs heroes. Fortunately, it has them - they’re serving in Iraq. If you or your collegues voted for this resolution, you’re not fit to be among them.

HATS OFF TO CHARLIE DANIELS - on ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION!

....AT LEAST HE HAS THE COURAGE TO SPEAK HIS MIND!!!
I don't know how everybody else feels about it, but to me I think Hispanic people in this country, legally or illegally, made a huge public relations mistake with their recent demonstrations.
I don't blame anybody in the world for wanting to come to the
United States of America, as it is a truly wonderful place.
But when the first thing you do when you set foot on American soil is illegal it is flat out wrong and I don't care how many lala land left heads come out of the woodwork and start trying to give me sensitivity lessons.
I don't need sensitivity lessons, in fact I don't have any-thing against Mexicans! I just have something against criminals and anybody who comes into this country illegally is a criminal and if you don't believe it try coming into America from a foreign country without a passport and see how far you get. What disturbs me about the demonstrations is that it's tanta-mount to saying, "I am going to come into your country even if it means breaking your laws and there's nothing you can do about it."

It's an "in your face" action and speaking just for me, I don't like it one little bit and if there were a half dozen pairs of gonads in Washington bigger than English peas it wouldn't be happening.
Where are you, you bunch of lily livered, pantywaist, forked tongued, sorry excuses for defenders of The Constitution? Have you been drinking the water out of the Potomac again?
And even if you pass a bill on immigration it will probably be so pork laden and watered down that it won't mean anything anyway Besides, what good is another law going to do when you won't enforce the ones on the books now?
And what ever happened to the polls, guys? I thought you folks were the quintessential finger wetters. Well you sure ain't paying any attention to the polls this time because somewhere around eighty percent of Americans want some thing done about this mess, and mess it is and getting bigger everyday.
This is no longer a problem, it is a dilemma and headed for being a tragedy. Do you honestly think that what happened in France with the Muslims can't happen here when the businesses who hire these people finally run out of jobs and a few million disillusioned Hispanics take to the streets?
If you, Mr. President, Congressmen and Senators, knuckle under on this and refuse to do something meaningful it means that you care nothing for the kind of country your children and grand-children will inherit. But I guess that doesn't matter as long as you get re-elected.
Shame on you.
One of the big problems in America today is that if you have the nerve to say anything derogatory about any group of people (except Christians) you are going to be screamed at by the media and called a racist, a bigot and anything else they can think of to call you
Well I've been pounded by the media before and I'm still rockin' and rollin' and when it comes to speaking the truth I fear not.
And the truth is that the gutless, gonadless, milksop politicians are just about to sell out the United States of America because they don't have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to face reality.
And reality is that we would never allow any other group of people to have 12 million illegal in this country and turn around and say, "Oh it's ok, ya'll can stay here if you'll just allow us to slap your wrist."
And I know that some of you who read this column are saying "Well what's wrong with that?"
I'll tell you what's wrong with it. These people could be from Mars as far as we know. We don't know who they are, where they are or what they're up to and the way the Congress is going we're not going to.
Does this make sense? Labor force you say? We already subsidize corporate agriculture as it is, must we subsidize their labor as well?
If these people were from Haiti would we be so fast to turn a blind eye to them or if they were from Somalia or Afghanistan ?
I think not.
All the media shows us are pictures of hard working Hispanics who have crossed the border just to try to better their life.
They don't show you pictures of the Feds rounding up members of MS 13, the violent gang who came across the same way the decent folks did.
They don't tell you about the living conditions of the Mexican illegal some fat cat hired to pick his crop.
I want to make two predictions.
No. 1: This situation is going to grow and fester until it erupts in violence on our streets while the wimps in Washington drag their toes in the dirt and try to figure how many tons of political hay they can make to the acre.
No 2: Somebody is going to cross that border with some kind of weapon of mass destruction and set it off in a major American city after which there will be a backlash such as this country has never experienced and the Capitol building in Washington will probably tilt as Congressmen and
Senators rush to the other side of the issue.
I don't know about you but I would love to see just one major politician stand up and say, "I don't care who I make mad and I don't care how many votes I lose, this is a desperate situation and I'm going to lead the fight to get it straightened out."
I don't blame anybody for wanting to come to America , but if you don't
respect our immigration laws why should you respect any others?
And by the way, this is America and our flag has stars and stripes Please get that other one out of my face.
God Bless America
Charlie Daniels

St. Valentine's Day - for ever for lovers

Today, the media big guy MSNBC.com has a story about "anti-Valentine's Day" celebrations. I gotta tell you - I am steamed. First it was Christmas, now Valentines? Go home you Cupid haters!

Well, I love Valentine's Day! I love what it stands for and the history of it. Of course, I am sure the secular American movements want to keep that out of the equation. God forbid the ACLU found out people know the day is actually that of a patron Saint!

St. Valentine's Day was the celebration day of a saint who was martyred for marrying couples who were in love and were prohibited from marrying because the man had to serve in the Roman army.

Today, I love to celebrate with my husband and children. Anti-Valentines? Just another method for attacking American traditions. If you want to pamper yourself - I say go for it - but, don't rain on my parade.

As far as pressure to get "just the right gift"...my favorite Valentine's have ALWAYS been the ones my kids make. And last year, all I wanted from my husband was a simple inexpensive ($25) silver claddagh ring, and dinner that I did not have to cook. Simple, easy and no pressure.

Don't like lovers? Stay home and eat frozen pizza with some ripple. I will relax and enjoy my family!

Illegal immigrants do NOT deserve amnesty!!!

Hope y’all understand this – I love America and I feel anyone who wants to come here – the correct way and add their history to ours should be able to do so. But, I HATE people who cut in line – at the bank, the grocery store – and in regards to immigration.

Regardless of the fact that the “illegal” alien is “paying” into the system, he/she has STILL broken a number of laws. He/she has STILL stolen another person’s Social Security number. He/she has STILL circumvented America’s immigration laws. He/she should NOT get “credit” for any funds “paid” into Social Security under a stolen number – what they should get is deported. End of story. Perhaps our immigration laws need to be re-worked (okay, they DO need to be re-worked) but the way to affect this change is not by disregarding them completely.

Those of your neighbors, family, friends, and co-workers who have illegal immigrants cutting lawns and doing work that they prefer to hire out are contributing to the erosion of our country as a strong economic backbone of this continent. It is not “convenient” to go pick up a day laborer to do work on the yard or house – it is a crime.

Consider the following – not counting my Native American ancestors – Iroquois and Mohawk both (and we will leave a discussion of treatment of Native Americans to another day) – my Italian and Scottish/Irish great-grandparents came here legally through a process and were required to learn the language so that they could get work, read packaging in the grocery store, navigate the cities and towns, and communicate with others. There was no product packaging written in Gaelic or Italian. Street signs were not written in their native language either. Job applications, driving tests, etc were in English only.

This country needs to STOP being so politically correct. We are destroying this nation by our misguided belief that to be a “good” American or a “good” Christian, we must look the other way while “minorities” are allowed to break laws with no repercussions. Well, there are MAJOR repercussions – schools are declining in their quality and ability to provide services. Teachers are leaving service because of requirements that they be bi-lingual and teach in both Spanish and English. Hospitals are closing because they are not being paid for services provided to people who are not legal immigrants – and therefore have no insurance and most have no intention of paying out of pocket. Jails are filling up because of serious increases in crimes – the percentage of crimes committed by illegal aliens is higher than any other social group. Why is this? Perhaps because they are “desperate” or perhaps because they have already committed felonies and gotten away with it – so why not? It becomes easier the further you slide into lawlessness. In Texas, a number of brutal killings of police officers and civilians have been recently committed by illegals – people who had already been deported at least one time!

Maybe you think I am callous or racist or just plain stupid. But, let me tell you this – America has a short time to pull its collective heads out of our collective butts. The laws against illegal immigration that are on our books right now need to be enforced. We need to close our borders to protect from further illegal immigration. We need to stop the NAFTA super highway construction from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. We need to take a good hard look at true immigration reform. We need to END this environment of “Politically Correct” stupidity and raise our social values for our children before it is too late and this country becomes a warm fuzzy memory.

Eternally Politically Uncorrect,

Illegal means ILLEGAL - not a victim of racism!

Okay people, here is the deal. Immigrants are fabulous. My grandparents and great-grandparents were immigrants.

Immigrants built this great country on the sweat of their backs. Immigrants have always brought additional skills and culture to the wonderful United States. Immigrants who are LEGAL.

Legal means that you came to this country by following the LAWS passed by the government and citizens of the country. Legal means you have your very OWN Social Security Number, not one stolen from someone else who's credit and name you have trashed. Legal means you pay taxes - attributed to the Social Security number mentioned previously. Legal means you pay car insurance so if you wreck someone, the accident doesn't leave the person YOU injured out a lot of money. Legal means your children are ENTITLED to the school education they are getting because you contribute money to the cost of that education. Legal means you did not commit three felonies to get north of the Rio Grande - or South of the Canadian border - or East or West of ANY other border. Because ILLEGAL doesn't have a color Illegal is simply CRIMINAL.

Try being a legal immigrant and see if people don't feel differently about you. Try being legal and learning the doggone language that my LEGAL immigrant grandparents - and EVERY other LEGAL immigrant - had to learn because street signs are not printed in Gaelic and Italian.

Stop asking for "Rights" that you do not deserve because you are ILLEGAL and get off your Godforsaken soap box because if you are not legal, you belong in prison - or at least back in whatever country it is that you came from.