After Careful Consideration

Among the usual inane and off color e-mails, sometimes one gets one that is a thoughtful, well articulated view on important matters.  I got such a one this morning from a Russell High School classmate and friend.  His credentials include service to his country as an officer in the Air Force followed by consulting assignments in the defense industry.  But that is not the point; however, the weight of what he had to say is.  It follows here:

Although I will probably vote for Newt Gingrich if he is the Republican nominee, is he the best Republican candidate?  I have my doubts. 

"Speaker Gingrich has never run anything," according to Governor Chris Christie. "He's been a legislator. I have to tell you – I don’t think being a legislator is the best calling card."  "Look at the guy we have in the White House now: He never ran anything and was a legislator."

Newt Gingrich was born June 17, 1943, thus he would be 69 when he becomes President.  My first question concerns Newt’s physical health.  Is he healthy enough to be our President?  To me he looks overweight and somewhat blubbery. This is an indicator that he does not have the discipline to eat healthy and exercise properly.  I do not believe we have had a President who looked this much out of shape since Roosevelt in 1945.

My second concern is Newt’s track record as Speaker of the House.  While he achieved major accomplishments with his “Contract for America” such as maintaining a balanced budget, he left under a dark cloud. The House charged Newt with 84 ethics violations.  Although all but one was dropped (the reason they were dropped is questionable), they voted 395 to 28 to reprimand him. In addition, he had to pay a $300,000 "cost assessment" for an ethics violation.   Facing major opposition from the House’s Republican caucus, he resigned rather than facing an up-hill battle to keep his Speaker’s job.  He stated, "I'm willing to lead but I'm not willing to preside over people who are cannibals.”  Although he achieved some notable success, his tenure ended in failure.

While I think he has done very well during the debates, to me he sometimes comes across as arrogant and condescending.  This is a trait of President Obama’s that I find repulsive. His answers to Chris Wallace’s question about his staff resignations, and Scott Pelley’s question about killing American-born terrorist received favorable reactions from the viewing audience.  However, in my opinion, he purposefully belittled the moderators which he didn’t have to do. 

Gingrich’s consulting work for Freddy Mac will be scrutinized in detail and may prove embarrassing for him.

Gingrich jokes about his environmental add with Nancy Pelosi, but this may be a minor problem for him.

Another concern I have is his multiple marriages and publicized indiscretions.  Gingrich has been married three times. He first married Jackie Battley who was his former high school geometry teacher when he was 19 years old and she was 26. About 20 years later he divorced Battley after having an affair with Marianne Ginther whom he married. In the 1990’s while leading the Republican investigation of President Clinton, he was having an affair with Callista Bisek, a House of Representatives staffer who is 23 years younger than Newt.  He married her in 2000.   He says his infidelities are in his past and I believe him.  However, I am not only concerned about how many votes this could cost him, but also how it will be perceived around the world.  Jay Leno and other comedians will have a ball with this, and I do not enjoy watching our President being brunt of these jokes.

Gingrich was raised a Lutheran.  He changed to Southern Baptist during graduate school. Gingrich converted to Catholicism, Callista Bisek's faith, in 2009.   My concern is not that he is a Catholic, but that he seems to be a “church hopper.”  Being a Baptist was an asset when he ran for office while living in Carrolton, Georgia.  I wonder if he could have been elected if he were a Catholic. 

These are just a few of my thoughts about Newt,

J Knight

San Antonio, Texas

In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that Mr. Knight's analysis reflects pretty closely my own sentiments, but does so in a more convincing and well thought out manner. 

Tax cuts For The Rich

This morning I felt the urge to do my part in keeping a bit of urban legend going.  First let me acknowledge, I got the piece in an email from a friend.  Even though the article does a splendid job of exposing how tax cuts affect different economic groups, it had an attribution that I felt could be questioned.  

My first move was to quickly consult the sometimes unreliable fact authority known as Snopes.  To their credit, they had no comment on the accuracy of the article's content but did conclude that the original author was unknown and that several versions of attribution were found to be inaccurate.

All that having been said, who cares if the author is unknown.  Some pretty well known books fall into that category.  Who can say, with any concrete certainty, who the real authors of the Gospels were.  Enough dancing around the edges already, lets get to the story.  Here it is:

THE TAX SYSTEM EXPLAINED IN BEER
             by a Professor of Economics

Cast of characters:  Ten men who drink beer
Local: a local bar where the men regularly gather

Suppose that If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this...

        The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
        The fifth would pay $1.
        The sixth would pay $3.
        The seventh would pay $7..
        The eighth would pay $12.
        The ninth would pay $18.
        The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do..

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men ? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?  They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

     And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing
   (100% saving).
   The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
   The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
   The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
   The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
   The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,"but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.  In fact, they might start drinking overseas,  as many are considering where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
       

        [author unknown]Ph.D.

        Professor of Economics.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.  For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.  For me, I really liked the John Galt ending.  If you ask, who is John Galt, then re-read the two preceding sentences.

An Open Letter To Newt Gingrich

Newt, you lit a fire storm with your recent debate remarks on immigration.  Just as you and the other candidates have put flesh on the bones of economic policy, the same should be done here. 





I see the whole problem as two main issues: 

• what to do with those already here illegally and 
• what to do to keep more from coming here illegally. 

First we should deal with the latter.

The INS is ineffective.

We can build fences, fly drones, run gun boats and all other kinds of interdiction and should, but not before dealing with what causes so many to risk life to get here and just become a good citizen. They do it because our Federal bureaucratic INS is ineffective. For a Latino to apply for and get a work visa takes years. They want to feed their family and can't wait years nor should they have to.

Fix the problem.

If we turned that whole process over to a private company that would take submissions from U.S. employers for their need for workers and then match them with applications for work visas, they could probably do the matching and vetting of an migrant worker in a few weeks.

The migrant worker would have a worker identification card, a U.S. address and place of employment and could be monitored. Their employment would be one at will, that is, termination by either party would not require any cause and on that event they would be required to return to their mother country.

They would earn no credits for social security, get no social services and pay local state and federal taxes. Nor could they bring their family here other than they go through the same procedure. No pregnant women would be allowed. Pregnancies occurring once here would be a separate issue to solve. Perhaps on discovery and before birth, they would be required to return to their mother country. The path just described would be just for those wanting to come here for work and not as immigrants for citizenship.

The path to citizenship-

A path to citizenship would take a similar but different form and would have stricter requirements on vetting and time to gain immigrant status. This path could be done in conjunction with the work path. That is, they could get here quickly to work while their processing for a citizenship immigration path was taking place. If after a set waiting period requiring proof of good conduct they are not accepted for immigration status, they must return to their mother country.

How about those already here?

Now, what is to be done with those already here. For those here less than a year and no infant citizenship involved, they must return to their mother country and apply for the work permit or immigration permit path.

For those here longer and having been law abiding, tax paying productive aliens they would be required to declare their intentions, work or immigration paths. If they had not met the requirements mentioned they must leave the country, family or not. Eligible aliens would not be required to leave the country but would have a temporary I.D. and work permit issued while the normal entry processing was taking place. Until a Constitutional amendment can be accomplished, some rules regarding pregnancies need to be established.

Those declaring intent for citizenship would not gain it immediately and would be required to wait the standard waiting period with some years tacked on for having been here illegally in the first place before gaining citizenship. Before that time no voting privileges would be granted.

Put your mind to the task.

There are obvious holes in what I have proposed but with some thought given by folks more adept at rule making than me, the particulars could be worked out.

In summary:

• First fix the work permit waiting time and establish a tracking system.
• Secondly, and only after the first is dealt with, deal with those already here.

What could we expect?

The effect would be to dramatically cut down illegal border crossings by honest intentioned aliens that would then leave only the few real threats to discover and prevent. Those coming in legally would not displace American workers as companies would have to show they had a need for alien workers before an alien would be granted a work permit. And having done so, they could while working here, live here in the open unafraid of our laws. During this whole immigration debate or problem solving, the word amnesty would be abolished as it has been poisoned to the extent it clouds a clear thinking mind. Its mere mention, has an emotional effect of freezing a willingness to solve the problem.

Course of action -

Don't do the political walking back dance on this one. You took the right bold step. Now provide, in your typical fashion, a candid plan the American people can understand. If you do they will support you.

Computers and Government

This morning I stumbled across an interesting article on the way to look at governments, civilizations, and computers, more specifically computer software called applications or "apps" for short.  It was written by Niall Ferguson 

Niall Ferguson

and published in the Daily Beast found at Click Here.  He talks about the rise and decline of nations.  Most seem to follow a pattern of cycles which might well be summarized as:

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years. They have progressed through this sequence:

[Ascendancy Stage] 

1.      From bondage to spiritual faith;
2.      From spiritual faith to great courage;
3.      From courage to liberty;
4.      From liberty to abundance;

[Collapse Stage] 

5.      From abundance to selfishness;
6.      From selfishness to complacency;
7.      From complacency to apathy;
8.      From apathy to dependence;
9.      From dependency back again into bondage.

---Sir Alex Fraser Tyler: (1742-1813) Scottish jurist and historian"

What Ferguson points out is that the steps are not equal in duration.  Some form rapidly, particularly those in the collapse stage.  He further points to what he calls "killer apps" that were instrumental in the rapid rise of Western Civilization over the rest of the world.  They are:

"Western Civilization's Killer Apps

1. Competition. Europe was politically fragmented into multiple monarchies and republics, which were in turn internally divided into competing corporate entities, among them the ancestors of modern business corporations.

2. The Scientific Revolution. All the major 17th-century breakthroughs in mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology happened in Western Europe.

3. The Rule of Law and Representative Government. An optimal system of social and political order emerged in the English-speaking world, based on private-property rights and the representation of property owners in elected legislatures.

4. Modern Medicine. Nearly all the major 19th- and 20th-century breakthroughs in health care were made by Western Europeans and North Americans.

5. The Consumer Society. The Industrial Revolution took place where there was both a supply of productivity-enhancing technologies and a demand for more, better, and cheaper goods, beginning with cotton garments.

6. The Work Ethic. Westerners were the first people in the world to combine more extensive and intensive labor with higher savings rates, permitting sustained capital accumulation."

European's cousins, the Americans, were in a position to create a new computer and operating system called The Constitution, in which it included all those killer apps.  This led to a dramatic increase in American prosperity.  


In fact he states that, "In [the year]1500 the average Chinese was richer than the average North American. By the late 1970s the American was more than 20 times richer than the Chinese."
   
Hoarding those killer apps was not in the cards.  They were easily exported and to many Asian countries that was done.  It was a good thing as the more that prospered the merrier.  


But not so quick, we Americans seem to have been deleting some of those killer apps and now have found ourselves falling behind the Asians in many of the measures of prosperity.
    
How many of you have experience a new computer with the latest operating system and just those necessary applications to hum like a well oiled machine?   Then over time, pests from the outside, viruses, trojans and malware seeped in and the computer became ever more sluggish.  
    
That could be seen as an appropriate analogy to what has happened to our Federal government, a government originally founded on an excellent Constitution that has since been smothered by federal law and regulation to the point if the Constitution were animated and could think, it would no longer recognize itself being abided.
    
Are we at that stage of rapid collapse?  A better question is are we approaching that stage with yet time to wake up, time to restore, time to stave off the ravages of cultural decline and corruption that has spawned a youth devoid of appreciation for those killer apps?
    
That is yet to be seen.  


The Tea Party movement 

A movement based on the killer apps.

and the resultant reactionary Occupy Wall Street movement 

A movement of the lack of the killer apps.

at least shows an emerging national conscience that may, with some luck, see the victor of these two competing ideologies be the one that saves the Nation.   






NOTE: This article was adapted from a publication in the Daily Beast by Niall Ferguson.  He is a professor of history at Harvard University and a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. He is also a senior research fellow at Jesus College, Oxford University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. His Latest book, Civilization: The West and the Rest, will be published in November.

My Take on Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Plan

To be fair, we ought to first understand the plan.  How does one do that?  It is simple as pie.  A closer look at that "easy to say" statement tells us what we are up against - making pies isn't always that simple.  First, there are a lot of ingredients, all of which must be applied in the proper proportions.  Then there is the sequence of steps as ingredients are combined and last but not least the conditions under which it is baked.  We could go on and on about the intricacies of baking a pie, even giving elaborate details about the ingredients, but here that would take us far afield from our main concern - understanding Herman's 9-9-9 plan.


In one sense, it is as easy as pie because there is a recipe.  It is there for us to see.  All we have to do is take a look.  Myself, I prefer the "horse's mouth" as a good starting point.  That leads us to Mr. Cain's web page that describes this little pie in terms, somewhat as the plan purports to do, that most of us can understand - simple terms.  This helpful beginning point can be found at http://cainconnections.com/999.


There you can find what the plan attempts to accomplish and it's main constituent parts.  It has links to more elaborate analyses of the numbers, their meaning and quiet frankly, with the myriad of tables, caused me to be overtaken with an acute case of drowsiness.  That is not meant as an incrimination of the facts as they were laid out, but simply an admission of my inability to digest it all.  


I do know that when I see an automobile and take it for a drive that I can conclude if it has an appealing quality.  I really don't need the technical jargon of compression ratios, torque, rigidity factors and the such to conclude my like or dislike of the automobile.  In the case of the 9-9-9 plan, understanding it at a conceptual or logical level is sufficient for me.  


To that end I constructed a visual comparison of it to todays tax code.  Remember, this is all at a simple level.  I'll leave the details to the devil.

above chart devised by the author

Now if you did not take the trouble to visit Mr. Cain's web site, let me just include a few quotes from it here to give you a taste of his guiding principals.

Vision for Economic Renewal

• The natural state of our economy is prosperity. Freedom ensures that.

• In order to return to prosperity, Government must get off our backs, out of our pockets and out of our way

Economic Guiding Principles

Production drives the economy, not spending. Production is the engine, consumption is the caboose.

• We can not spend our way to prosperity.
• Government spending is like taking a bucket of water from the deep end of the pool, pouring it in the shallow end. Then they HOPE that the water level will CHANGE.

Risk taking drives growth.

• Business formation and job creation are dependent on entrepreneurs taking risks.
• Investors who fund those entrepreneurs likewise take risks.

Measurements must be dependable.

• A dollar must always be a dollar just as an hour is always 60 minutes.
• Sound money is crucial for prosperity.

Proving that his plan is right for America requires more than this short article can do. But if nothing else, I hope it captured your attention, and perhaps, as it has for me, tickled the beginnings of thinking this may indeed be a well thought out and viable plan. The one currently in place fails that test miserably.

Greatness Undenied

Not that long ago there was a man, a real man, not a whiner, a blamer or a 'woe is me' but one to whom others could look for inspiration.  His name was Booker T. Washington (1856 - 1915).  He spoke of the kind of person you could be, not what others said you were.  He could never have imagined the likes of an Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Barrack Obama, or even a Jimmy Carter, all of which are folks who view man as a weakling in need of a government's helping hand.  

Those men would have had no place in his world for they should never have risen to positions of prominence.  His view of the qualities that promote success were of a much different kind.  This he wrote a mere 35 years after the end of slavery:

"When a Negro girl learns to cook, to wash dishes, to sew, to write a book, or a Negro boy learns to groom horses, or to grow sweet potatoes, or to produce butter, or to build a house, or to be able to practice medicine, as well or better than someone else, they will be rewarded regardless of race or color. In the long run, the world is going to have the best, and any difference in race, religion or previous history will not long keep the world from what it wants. ... The (future of my race hinges on whether) it can make itself of such indispensable value that the people .. . where we reside will feel that our presence is necessary to the happiness and well-being of the community. No man who continues to add something to the material, intellectual and moral well-being of the place in which he lives is long left without proper reward. This is a great human law which cannot be permanently nullified."

Now such a man stands in our midst as living proof of those sage words.  His name is Herman Cain.  The following quote taken from a recent article in Investors.com captures the essence of this fresh new phenomena on the political scene named Herman Cain. 

"Cain represents a hard-working, up-from-the-bootstraps, financially successful, plain-spoken Republican Southern black man who believes America in 2011 and America in 1960 are different worlds. Worse for the grievance crowd, Cain calls out the Democratic Party for fostering a victicrat mentality and creating a sense of entitlement.

Cain's straight talk makes him stand out in debates. He is now close to cracking the top tier of candidates. Clearly, lots of people have begun to listen. What if blacks start listening?"

A man such as this can not long be denied his proper place of honor.  It may not come as a nominee for his party but in whatever form is awarded his due recognition, it will come with the special dignity he has brought to to the American conscience.

Insults to America

In the past few weeks there have been two incidents of deadly violence projected onto American citizens by radicals from other countries.  It is alarming in that it seems they can be done at will and are not attended with serious consequence and all too often with little response at all.

The first was the killing, in February, of this year of the  Four Americans captured by Somali pirates while sailing in the Indian Ocean.  

The two couples, Phyllis Macay, 59, and Robert Riggle, 67, of Seattle, and the yacht's owners, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, California were on an around the world sailing trip when they were captured by pirates.

Plastic flowers are laid down on March 3,
in front of Terminal 2
at the airport in Frankfurt/M.

The second incident, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, "was a lone gunman that killed two American servicemen and wounded at least two others on a U.S. military bus outside Frankfurt Airport in what officials described as a possible terrorist attack."


What are we to do to prevent such affronts and what should be our response?   Interestingly enough founding father, Thomas Jefferson, experienced the same situation.  In his correspondence to John Jay, regarding attacks on American commerce overseas and especially by the Barbary Coast pirates, he wrote:

That next to last sentence is worth repeating as it seems to hold true today, he said, 

"I think it to our intrest to punish the first insult: because an insult unpunished is the parent to many others."

There is so much to be gained from history if we would just learn it, and more importantly if to our youth it were taught.  Truths span the distance of time and by some good fortune our founders were able to latch on to so many.

Needle in a Hay Stack

Obama's proposed budget cuts are like a needle in a hay stack.  They are in the chart below.

Chart from Doug Ross @ Journal

Oh, are you having trouble finding them?  No wonder, they are so small as to not even show on the pie chart.  But they are there, if you magnify the chart a thousand times.  But wait, no need to run for your contacts or magnifying glass, simply click HERE.

Obama Administration - a Constant Stream of Lawlessness

This administration seems to have a total disregard for the courts, laws and the Constitution.  In an Investors Business Daily (IBD) editorial titled "Lawless Democrats", at least eight instances of brazen defiance of the law are cited.  The article sums up this inexcusable pattern by saying:

"Make no mistake — it's an assault on democracy to accept neither the law nor the checks and balances in our constitution. It points to an executive branch of concentrated power and diminished accountability, one that fails to recognize the foundations of democracy in the rule of law."

 Get the complete IBD story by clicking HERE

Michele Bachmann - Why is She so Feared by the Left?

S, E, Cupp

In a New York Daily News Article, about Michele Bachmann, S. E. Cupp, political commentator and pundit, writes:

Michele Bachmann

Imagine that you're a political consultant hired by a presidential campaign. Your candidate is young, smart and attractive, and has a fervent fan base. The candidate has got it all - a bachelor's degree and two law degrees, one in tax law; five years of experience as a U.S. Treasury Department attorney in U.S. Tax Court; 10 years of combined experience in a state legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives, and an all-American family that includes five children of her own, a farm and 23 foster children.

That should be a dream candidate, right? But for some reason, the prospect of a Michele Bachmann presidency has failed to garner the respect it deserves. By that I mean any respect whatsoever.

S. E. goes on to ask the question, is it because representative Bachmann is female, but quickly shuns getting into identity politics.  Having no journalistic career to risk, I am quiet willing to do so.

Of course it is greatly due to her gender.  But as Cupp states, it can't be just that because Condoleezza Rice does not raise the same ire.  So what is different?  Michele is a different brand of Republican, she hails from deep rooted beliefs in American heritage and expresses them fervently, something the Left ardently disdains.  Rice on the other hand is more laid back and sticks to policy issues and avoids the more volatile philosophical issues of Liberty. Yet, both are intelligent and well spoken.  

Also Bachmann is a significant face of the amazingly successful Tea Party movement so, combine Bachmann's trait of  deep rooted Americanism with that of being a woman, and you have a brew that sets a Left leaning tea pot to boiling. 

To read S. E. Cupp's insightful article  Click HERE

First Knowledge of Kevin Jackson

It is interesting how circumstance brings one into awareness of another.  Last night, I was looking at one of   S. E. Cupp's videos featuring a panel discussion of four people, of which she was one.  Aside from the fact that I find her an entertaining, witty and intellectually stimulating person, another member on the panel really caught my attention.

His name is Kevin Jackson.  Here are a few things posted on the "about" page of  his web site:

 “What you learn about America is people are a lot less interested in race than they are in character.”  Jackson believes that empowerment comes when you know who you are and what you stand for.

Jackson is a highly sought national speaker, and has graced the stage with luminaries as Neal Boortz, Herman Cain, Judge Napolitano, and Andrew Breitbart, to name a few.

In addition to his Amazon best-selling The BIG Black Lie, Jackson has appeared numerous times on the Glenn Beck show, The Factor with Bill O’Reilly, and MSNBC.

Jackson writes his almost daily blog and is a contributing writer to Breitbart’s Big Government, American Thinker, and his work was has been featured in Townhall magazine.

Jackson hosts a radio show and does many guest appearances on some of the more prominent conservative radio shows around the country."
This young man is a captivating speaker and deserves any "Common Sense" thinking person's attention.  Give him a look at his  web site and also delve into  S. E. Cupp at her site.

P.S Watch Kevin being interviewed by Bill O'reilly

Commanding Trade Out of Thin Air

In an article from Investor Business Daily editorial page titled "Losing Out On Trade", it becomes abundantly clear that the Obama administration is bungling another key component to a sound economic recovery.  First take what is said about Latin America:

Economy: President Obama claims he'll double U.S. exports in five years. But a new report from Congress shows U.S. firms losing major ground to competitors because he won't act on free trade pacts with Colombia and Panama.

Is that because his union cronies object?  Much in the way of food products come from that region because of out season items that are scarce here.  Is there an agriculture investment somewhere behind the scenes?  This sage advice is given:

"What the president says matters a lot less than what he does," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday in calling for the passage of the long-languishing other two pacts. 

The article sums up thusly:

Opposition to these treaties works at cross purposes with the American economy. The world isn't waiting around for the Obama administration act. The Senate report shows that the cost to American businesses is growing as trading partners like Colombia and Panama move ahead without us. 

To see the details of what this is costing our economy see the full details click HERE 

Some Perspective on Drilling in The Artic Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Shown here is something from a superb presentation on ANWR that was received in an e-mail.

A new pipeline across Alaska isn't required since the location for drilling in ANWR is about 160 miles from the North Slope Prudhoe Bay pipeline where it would be connected. Second the wildlife loves the pipeline since it is heated and provides a shelter during the worst times during the winter. Maybe another question should be asked. …

FIRST: do you know what ANWR is? (ANWR) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Now a comparison And some perspective Note where the proposed Development is. It's only in the "ANWR Coastal Plain. Photograph of ANWR Isn't ANWR Beautiful? Why should we drill here and destroy this beautiful place? Well that's not exactly the truth.   That is what you are usually shown, but, do you remember the map? The map showed that the proposed drilling area is in the ANWR Coastal Plain, do that photographs look like a coastal plain to you? So, What is going on here? The answer is simple, that is NOT where they propose to drill.. This is what the proposed Exploration area ACTUALLY looks like in winter and this is what it  ACTUALLY looks like in the summer. Here is a screen shot from Google Earth. As you can see the area where they are talking about drilling is a BARREN WASTELAND.   Oh? And they say they are concerned about the effect on the local wildlife! So, how about that depleted wildlife situation crated by drilling around Prudhoe bay? Here is a photo shot during summer. Here's that same spot during winter. This bear seems to really hate the pipeline near Prudhoe Bay. The Prudhoe bay area accounts for 17% of U.S. domestic oil production . Now that you know you have been told lies, what are you going to do about it?