The advent of Afghanistan and Iraq reflects the results of the GOP electing a President, who was a light weight in every respect. If it had to be a Republican, they should have elected McCain. The latter, with war experience to burn, had/has the proper respect for war. He would not have raced into Afghanistan and then into Iraq because he would have arrived at a better solution. We have billions of dollars invested in our Special Forces, which are well trained, well armed and ready to go on a moment's notice. If so tasked, they would have been able to take out both Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden in rather clinical fashion. I believe that this would have been the option taken by either McCain or Al Gore.

I will always believe that Bush, given his father's past, was seeking to redeem himself for having raced into the Guard instead of making his own mark in Viet Nam. The Abraham Lincoln incident clearly showed the veracity of this. With his vision thus clouded, he sought to compensate with bluster and arrogance and he surrounded himself with those of a like mindset such as Cheney and Rumsfeld.

Given his acute lack of experience, he went into Afghanistan's front door and left the back doors uncovered allowing bin Laden to virtually walk casually out of Afghanistan , thru Tora Bora and into Pakistan almost to ruffles and flourishes. But as if that wasn't bad enough, Bush had to make a case to race into Iraq based on unverified information about WMDs.

Bush asked the young men and women of the USA to carry the load by about a thousand to one. This meant that, in effect, Bush went into Iraq with a coalition of ONE. This placed Afghanistan on the back burner. The Taliban and bin Laden could then take their time accumulating and stashing huge quantities of weapons, ammo and explosives. Today our troops are paying the price. Well trained in the USSR conflict, the Taliban are a formidable hit and run force.

There is, now, no good solution in either theater, Iraq or Afghanistan. I predict that in time strong men on the order of Saddam Hussein will take over in both places. This is because I don't see any evidence of a growing tide of democratic enthusiasm in either case. However, as long as we are there, this inevitability will be put on hold. That' all. The question is: Should we continue to take the casualties? I say no.

If medical costs continue to spiral out of reach of Folks, soon, most will not be able to afford either insurance or medical care. (The GOP and their supporters represent the anti-Christ in this matter, I suggest. The bible tells us that the devil is good at disguising himself as a beacon of light, right? That's exactly what we are witnessing today, but it started when they killed Clinton's efforts to do something in 1993. In the sixteen years following, they didn't do squat, except laugh diabolically. The uninsured, high infancy death rate and below average (compared to Canada) life expectancy be damned, as far as they are concerned.) Anyway, consequently, there will be desperate hoards of Americans seeking care primarily in countries to the south of the US. I predict that the amount of money Americans will spend/lose will make the cost of reforms seem like a fire sale.

Prescription drugs smuggling will become the next major problem, as Americans find themselves risking their lives to save their lives. As a direct result of this "do nothing since 1993", I see thousands of Americans being subjected to kidnappings, assaults, extortion, black mail with many disappearing abroad never to be seen again and criminal prosecutions at home. For the latter, the GOP will find a abundance of funds to build prisons (you will be able to count the "no" votes on one finger) to house the new GOP generated convicts.

Note, that in all the huffing and puffing, the fifty million uninsured are being virtually ignored; the unmitigated glaring inability of the touted free market/private sector/capitalism to effectively address the situation is totally ignored and the responsible CEOs, who can see nor plan no further than the reach of their closed golden parachutes is also ignored. The beat up on the government, the MEDICARE program of which has saved untold thousands of lives from being dumped in death (by the touted private sector/free market/capitalism) on the side walks of this country. People are appealing for relief from the non-performing private "your insurance has been cancelled" sector.

The GOP is telling us to shoot ourselves in the foot (again) and we are obligingly doing just that!! The fake medics, pill sellers, kidnappers, rapists and extortionists, who are waiting must be pleased.

Michael, the courts are a key component of the system of justice in this country. As long as we have a situation in this country whereby a majority can pool their votes and demonize and subject some minority to injustices as we have just seen happen with California's proposition 8, as long as that same type of majority can pool their votes and elect officials to the legislature, who they know will aid and abet in the suppression of certain minorities through legislation and as long as we have judges, who have no problem turning a blind eye to the "justice is blind" principle, then the need for the judiciary to step in and fill the void being occupied by evil will be there. So often the majority acts like the dirty wrestler, who seeks to cover his dirty choke hole. Let's face it, if everybody followed the principle outlined by the Golden Rule, these discussions wouldn't be necessary. Would they?

The problem with waterboarding and any other method of torture is the fact that those administering the torture don't know what the person on the receiving end knows. So how many finger nails do you pull out of the fingers of an innocent person who doesn't have the information that is being sought? Also, by definition, any method employed whereby the victim of the method being used believes that he or she is going to or about to die or be maimed is torture. Finally, isn't it strange that mostly those, who have never been in war or ever lifted a finger in the defense of this country are the primary pushers of torture techiniques? That is one of the reason that I have always suggested that had Bush gone to Viet Nam instead of in the snug safety of the Guard, we would not be in Iraq today. He would have had a proper appreciation of wars and he would never have sought to start one unnecessarily.

Written to then Presidential Candidate Obama early on:
They will say that you will alienate the Cuban voters in Florida, a State that you will need if you are to win. Senator, an appeal needs to be made to the Cuban voters. To stand in the way of US pursuit of policies that would lead to improved relationships between our two countries is selfish. The Cuban voters are patently dishonest in, from the safety of US soil, stand as an eternal block to improved conditions, which stand to improve the lots of the people in Cuba, who don't have the platform from which to state their own case. To be willing to leave their fellow Cubans on the Island in their present state forever is reprehensible in our view. The abhorrent moral aspect, for twenty million Cubans, of this situation is never addressed. They have been trapped in a tug of war for some fifty years. That there is no relief in sight for them is apparently of little concern to those voters of Cuban descent, who are snug and comfort in Miami. Another aspect of the Cuban situation is that of commonality of cultures. We have much more in common with Cubans than we have with Viet Nam and North Korea, yet whose rings have Bush been kissing since he's been in office?

Furthermore, it's high time, we feel, that what's best for this country be given priority over the tunnel vision views of a handful of diehards from Cuba and any other country, for that matter. This country is beginning to lose its vision of itself. Foolish litmus tests for candidates, such as we now see on Cuba, are going lead to the unraveling of this country at its very core. It's past time we take another look at our policies towards our brothers to the south just a few miles away.

If the GOP is now going to raise Limbaugh to the top of the party's leadership, then that's one way of assuring the continued demise of the Grand Ole Party. Rush, following the recent election, seemingly can't get over the fact that all of his hate-filled huffing and puffing, race laced innuendos, adhominems and self congratulatory rhetoric didn't convince anyone except himself. Finally, his presence in the GOP, if accented, will assure that the Grand Ole Party will continue to look like and remind one of Apartheid South Africa some forty years ago and giving our enemies one continuous recruiting tool. South Africa changed. What is happening with the GOP? Lincoln must surly be crying.

The Bush administration's absolutely destructive effect upon this country is like the effects of 9/11 multiplied by 10 billion to the tenth power. Our worst enemies could never come even close to matching this level of devastation even in their wildest dreams. The real enemies of this country have not been the Taliban, al Qaeda, etc, it's been George Bush and his mismanagement team. This country, the patient, is in serious condition. The medicine necessary to bring about restoration is going to be painful and bitter to everyone. Unfortunately, the current White House knowing this, is doing a very poor public relations job of expressing this to the American people. Consequently, the RADIO THUGS are having a free ride in picking apart the restoration efforts. Given time, they will succeed in eroding public support for those efforts. We have urged the White House to appoint able spokespersons, who would fan out over the country telling and reminding the American people of the disaster left by the GOP and the present GOP policy of acting as obstructionists (throwing bricks at fire fighters) to steps being taken to straighten things out. Their hope is to stall and limit success in turning the economy around. Consequently, in coming election cycles, they will point to the lack of success as an indication of lack of effective leadership and good ideas. A tired and beaten down public could then be used to change the positive election dynamics presently being enjoyed by Democrats. It astounds me that the fox (GOP) is asking to be let back into the chicken coop. Go figure!!!

The GOP shows that all the huff and puff they do about being good Americans is just a lot of stinking baloney and hot air mixed. Their President has left the country on the brink of collapse. People's 401Ks, IRAs and annuities are sliding towards zero and some are already there. The GOP had/has no answer for the problems they incurred. Now, they seek to act as obstructionists to others, who seek to solve some of the problems. The GOP folks, eight year failures that they are, are resorting, in effect, to throwing rocks at fire fighters in this they are taking their orders for Thug Radio. That's unpatriotic, repugnant and unconscionable on its face. Lee Iacocca said years ago, if you, in effect, have no ideas and are incapable of leading effectively, then get the blank out of the way. Last November, the voters seconded that (e)motion. Accordingly, the Democrats should, even now, start to target those most vulnerable GOP lawmakers for defeat two years from now. They don't look like Americans and they don't act like Americans. Rather, they remind one of South Africa, twenty-five to thirty years ago. They would rather play politics with Americans' lives than lend a helping hand to those willing to put shoulders to the wheel and try to straighten out the colossal mess they left. Consequently, their numbers on Capitol Hill need to be reduced even further. This country is in a crisis, much worse than that brought on by 9/11. In response to 9/11 we mustered the troops and put the money in place to get the war jobs started. Have there been mega mistakes and ungodly waste of tax dollars? You bet there have, but the GOP didn't care. It's no different with this economic war at home. Just as you have cheats on Wall Street and even in D.C., there will be those, who are going to rip off bail out money. You can keep such rip-offs down but you can never stop it completely, even on penalty of death. Let's get on with the business of getting this nation back on its feet again, before an economic collapse leads to a military debacle. Furthermore, the GOP had no problem ripping of the tax payers to the tune of one trillion dollars to pour needlessly into the black hole in Iraq from which no one can escape except our allies. Now with our own country on the brink, the GOP is showing its true colors. A trillion dollars for Iraq but peanuts for Americans. It appears to me that our worst enemies are home grown and doing the bidding of Thug Radio.

The GOP shows that all the huff and puff they do about being good Americans is just a lot of stinking baloney and hot air mixed. Their President has left the country on the brink of collapse. People's 401Ks, IRAs and annuities are sliding towards zero and some are already there. The GOP had/has no answer for the problems they incurred. Now, they seek to act as obstructionists to others, who seek to solve some of the problems. The GOP folks, eight year failures that they are, are resorting, in effect, to throwing rocks at fire fighters. That's unpatriotic, repugnant and unconscionable on its face. Lee Iacocca said years ago, if you, in effect, have no ideas and are incapable of leading effectively, then get the blank out of the way. Last November, the voters seconded that (e)motion. Accordingly, the Democrats should, even now, start to target those most vulnerable GOP lawmakers for defeat two years from now. They don't look like Americans and they don't act like Americans. Rather, they remind one of South Africa, twenty-five to thirty years ago.

Roher just about breaks even on the theft, then he will spend probably 12 months in prison. In view of the serious crime that he committed, where is the punishment? Who says that crime doesn't pay? When I look at this case, it would appear that in some cases, crime pays off really, really big. Roher struck the mother lode!!!