What ever happened to strong leaders? The kind that fought for, and built the greatest nation ever known. What ever happened to the kind of leaders, that made the right decisions; Even when they weren't the easy or popular ones? The kind of leader that understood the stakes, and made decisive moves in spite of them. The kind of leader, that didn't base his decisions on opinion polls, or popularity ratings.

It seems that today's leaders are more concerned with re-election than standing on the fundamental and sound judgment of those that built this great nation. From the oval office to the local school board; it seems today's politicians are more interested in buying a vote than earning the trust and respect of those, who elected them. We as a society should put more emphasis on the unwavering principles, of our elected officials. Focus less on what they can do for us, and concern ourselves with the content of their character, and what they as our elected leaders can do for this great nation.

I'm tired of watching snake oil salesmen, elected to office based on bumper stickers, and slick slogans. Each man has a moral code, they live by. If it doesn't include, a strong belief in freedom, liberty, independence, and individuality; then he has no place in office. An elected official should concern himself with the prosperity of his respective jurisdiction. It's not his place to make promises, that will be payed for, by the sweat of others.

Honesty, and common sense is what's lacking most, in American leaders.The American people, don't need empty promises, mixed with a little mindless rhetoric. What we need are results. What we need is for someone to make the hard decisions. Our country is going to hell in a hand basket, and our elected officials are still making promises that, we just can't keep.

Thank God somebody gets it. Thank God somebody understands, we can't just continue with this tax and spend mentality. Recently a man, by the name of Chris Christie was elected, by the people of New Jersey, to serve as governor. Governor Christie, appears to have the wherewithal to repair a broken state. A state, that per capita has the highest deficit in all of the United States.

Already, the governor has froze spending, as well as made many hard decisions on cutting programs, and program assistance. What amazes me is, if Mr. Christie, gets his way he will fix New Jersey, and he'll do it with a common sense approach. Where have people like this been hiding? While everyone else is out there spending, as if they've won the lottery.

Let's get back to the basics, in this country. Back to the fundamental principles that made our country, the greatest ever known. It is the strength, and ingenuity of the American people, that made us the economic leaders of the world. When you place the burden of over taxation on the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people; you stifle progress. Therefore slowing Economic growth.

By: Lannis Mock
http://www.wellroundedpeople.com

The old saying asks "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you ever have time to do it right?" Politicians keep saying that it is crucial that we get some kind of healthcare reform passed this year. After all we'll be able to fix it later.

That approach has led to most of the current problems in many areas. By not developing a comprehensive and complete bailout plan before implementing it, banks have been able to thwart many of the original intentions of the bill. Once the money was delivered, we have found it hard to correct the problems that resulted.

Medicare was passed with the assumption that we'd be able to fine tune it as needed. It is in desperate need of repair. Social Security has had problems since 1960, and has required repeated adjustments, but no major reforms have ever been accomplished.

Based on past performance, it is doubtful that major changes will be made to any healthcare bill that gets passed. I believe that it is crucial that it be done properly to avoid being stuck with another program that doesn't work properly. The present healthcare system is a result of that approach.

Hardly anyone will dispute the need for healthcare reform. That healthcare providers have gotten excessive in their charges is unquestioned. Pharmaceutical companies are able to manipulate the FDA to block some effective treatments or approve dangerous ones is apparent. Insurance companies such as AIG are noted for the frequency with which they refuse to pay claims for pre-existing conditions, even though the patient was unaware of them. People also abuse the system, demanding un warranted or unnecessary procedures, and doctors prescribe them because they pay better. Medicare and Medicaid fraud is rampant. Reform is vital.

Unfortunately, a bill which does not address all the problems will serve to perpetuate those which it doesn't address. The present bills only deal with a few of the issues, leaving greater opportunity for abuse in some of the others. If The doctors are to be paid regardless of the patient's ability to pay, there is no incentive for either the patient or the doctor to consider other alternatives. If everyone is required to have insurance, there is no deterrent to excessive pricing. People just have to pay it.

If the proposed healthcare passes, I fear that Congress will dust their hands and say "well, we took care of that," and many of the unattended problems will become systemic. My children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences. Is that what we want?

Wouldn't it be better to take the necessary time to find out all the issues, from everyone affected, then develop a bill that addresses as many as possible? I Realize that it will not be possible to satisfy everyone, but let's try for something that will at least meet a majority of the needs. After all, we'll be stuck with it for a very long time. Let's do it right the first time so we don't have to do it again.

By: Donald Fishgrab
Donald Fishgrab writes the blog BeingChristianToday to help others in understanding the Bible. Each post is in the form of a study connecting to the passages before and after.

The future of healthcare in America now depends on parliamentary procedure. This is the problem with government controlled anything. The word of the day is no longer surgery, healing, or medicine. Healthcare now depends on "reconciliation". Isn't it ironic that reconciliation in congress means that democrats must divorce themselves from the republicans on this issue? This stuff makes me sick!

I am grateful for the healthcare I have received throughout my life. In 1957 I was born in a small rural hospital in East Tennessee with a club foot. At 10 years old, doctors performed surgery to straighten my legs. I would later become an athlete and routinely outperform others in physical activities. I want to start a boxing league for guys over 50 right now.

My kids experienced numerous health problems landing them in hospitals. We had multiple knee surgeries and one burst appendix. Even with insurance, my family has qualified for the medical deduction on income taxes multiple times. I have no complaints about the nurses, doctors, or hospitals. I have never appreciated the complicated billing process or the mounds of paperwork required. Like everyone, I hate how much medical care costs.

My greatest fear is that this healthcare plan will limit services, increase costs, and overall reduce the quality of care. Obama promises just the opposite. I hope he is right. My problem is that once the government is in charge there is no accountability. The progressives say that over 40,000 people die each year because they do not have access to healthcare. Once this bill is passed, that stat will be hidden. If the bill passes, will anyone question 10 years from now how many died due to lack of care? Even if 80,000 were to die the government would claim success. They would say that 160,000 would have died without the bill.

Ditto on the costs. I believe each of us will pay more for healthcare regardless of this bill. The government again will boast of their genius for reducing costs. They will say that costs would have skyrocketed without their intervention.

The big number is the uninsured. Obama says this bill will insure 30 million people who do not currently have insurance. Does the government have the names of those people and will they follow up in 10 years to see how many are in the program? That would be no, but they will proclaim loudly about the millions who received it. When you get government control, you get political spin and no real accountability.

I listened to two doctors, on both sides of the issue, debate about the bill's effect on various medical procedures until my head was about to explode. Each procedure carries it's own unique requirements, complications, and risks. Is Nancy Pelosi really the best person in the country to provide a solution to this mess?

I am getting sicker by the minute.

By: William H Watson
Check out Bill's blog at http://www.questionsbybill.com

Joe Biden said that success in Iraq may be one of the great achievements of the Obama administration. Most of our soldiers will be home by summer and the Iraq government is doing well. What would the situation be today if we had not invaded Iraq?

If the US had not invaded Iraq Saddam Hussein and his sons would still been in power. Throughout the 90's Saddam killed hundreds of thousands of his own people. He targeted the Kurds in the north and the Shi'ite Muslims in the south. As his sons gained more power they became ruthless with their own personal terror machines. The only debate would be concerning the number of victims. Would it have been thousands or hundreds of thousands during this past decade? It is terrible that over 4000 of our soldiers died in the war with Iraq. But every American death may have saved a thousand lives or more.

Saddam had a thing going on with the United Nations. On the one hand the UN had placed sanctions against Iraq, while on the other hand, Saddam made millions off the "Oil for Food" program. The scandal allegedly involved financing for Al Qaeda. The program was suggested by the US in 1995 to allow Iraq to trade oil for food and other humanitarian supplies. These provisions were then supposed to go to the poor Iraqi citizens hurt by the sanctions. Very little happened to the culprits of this scandal. I'm sure Saddam would have generated many more sweet deals to fund his operations through the UN.

UN Resolution after resolution had been given against Saddam through the 90's. Everyone believed he had weapons of mass destruction and was looking for ways to deliver them. Do you remember how he kept all the weapons inspectors confused? I'm sure there would have been more powerless resolutions and Saddam would have only grown more embolden to deceive the world. He attacked Iran in the 80's and Kuwait in the 90's. Would he have joined Al Qaeda in this decade?

The big question is what Saddam would have done after 9/11. I will never forget the image of Saddam celebrating after the attacks. I don't think he was a participant in the 9/11 attacks, but he was thrilled and certainly would have supported an escalation to the war. After the invasion of Afghanistan, many of the worst terrorists escaped to Iraq for safe haven. The most famous was al-Zawqawi, the guy who beheaded so many Americans on video. There is no doubt that Iraq would have been the primary training ground and maybe the launching point for Al Qaeda attacks against America.

I am grateful our military crushed Saddam, his sons, and the Ba'ath Party in Iraq. We should have taken them out after the first Iraq war. There are liberals in this country that want to send Bush and Cheney to jail because this was an illegal war in their minds. I wish they would turn their energies toward fighting dandelions or some other issue that will not drive me so crazy.

Thank you military for what you accomplished in Iraq.

By: William H Watson
Check out Bill's blog at http://www.questionsbybill.com

The scientists have gone to great pains to put the blame on the temporary slight increase in the average global temperature on CO2. There are no scientific experiments according to the Scientific Method to prove this. The scientists conveniently forget to tell you that we have been in a world wide cooling cycle for the last 8 years with record low temps being set around the globe.

There can be a case to be made for man made or anthropogenic global warming but it has absolutely nothing to do with CO2. We have over 5,000 jets flying over our air space in this country at any one time. That does not include the rest of the jets flying around other countries. These jets have an exhaust temp of 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. That could add to the average temperature increase.

We have millions of miles of asphalt roads that heat up and reflect back the heat causing increased temps. We have millions of houses with asphalt shingles that heat up and reflect heat back into the atmosphere.

We have millions of cars and trucks that put heat out into the atmosphere.

Then we have the heat sensors for recording temps being set up in cities. This gives a false positive for increased temps because of the "heat island effect". This is a scandal that is little reported in scientific circles much as less in public circles.

We also have industry as well as heating plants burning coal to generate electricity that all contribute heat into the atmosphere.

The best microcosm of the globe can be represented by the Mall of America located in Minneapolis, MN. It is the second largest mall in the world. The temperatures routinely get down to 20 below zero in the wintertime. Now the Mall has no heating apparatus or furnaces of any kind. In spite of this, it stays a comfortable 68 degrees F in the winter time. That is an increase of 88 degrees F from outside ambient temperature. How is this possible. All of the heat from the lights in the mall plus the aggregate body heat from all of the visitors.

We have increased the world population by billions of people. Isn't it possible that the increase population and all of the other heat causing factors mentioned in the article could result in the one degree increase in world wide temperatures. Does this not make more sense than CO2 which is a heavier than air gas that sinks to the ground when it is released. There is a principle in science called Occam's Razor. The gist of Occam's Razor is that the simplest explanation is usually correct. Does not my explanation make more sense than CO2? You decide and let me know what you think.

By: John Wilder
the author has a scientific background and education. He is currently working as a marriage, relationship and sexual coach. He can be reached at his professional email address at marriagecoach1@yahoo.com or his blog site at http://www.marriagecoach1.wordpress.com.

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Most liberals do not compete well, in life. As a result, they turn to government to force outcomes for their personal agenda.

Forced Outcomes, through government, have had an enormously destructive effect on America.

HOW HAS THIS HAPPENED

The Liberal movement has a stranglehold on the national microphone. Exposure to that microphone, begins with early childhood. That microphone consists of:

1. The Nanny-State Media
2. The Public-School-Monopoly
3. University Professors
4. Democrat Politicians

Almost 100% of those above will create zero wealth for their entire lives. This will not stop them from condemning those who took the risk, to provide their very good living and opportunity, for a lifetime. Vilifying business and profits, especially the rewards of risk and achievement, has been the mantra of the Liberal movement since FDR.

CLASS WARFARE, escalated greatly after LBJ, then turned deadly, upon hearing Ronald Reagan utter the words, "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."

Those 4 groups with that powerful microphone, consist of very few, who have ever taken a serious risk in creating wealth, which is so crucial to opportunity. They have spent a lifetime reading books, writing and talking, but experiencing little, in the vital areas of wealth creation, opportunity or making and keeping the nation strong and safe, all so vital to the freedom we enjoy.

Yet, non-stop, they appear on TV every day, confidently telling the public how and what needs to be done to remake America into their utopia.

Nor have more than a handful served their country on active duty in the military, in anything more than paltry numbers, if that. Even in tough physical team sports, Americans love and greatly respect, such as football, not more than a few, who have the most to say, would have any background as tough competitors.

If any entity would raise doubts about this, we certainly could ask the Washington Press Corp, or the other 3 groups, to send data to refute this. Opportunity in America has been the envy of the world, for about 150 years. Our living standard, our national strength and freedom, technological advances and all major areas of our existence have come largely from risk/reward/competition.

THE FREEDOM TO COMPETE

The freedom to compete has advanced America greatly, both within and internationally.

Conversely, restricting competition, has contributed greatly to centuries old dictatorships, tyranny, illiteracy and poverty.

Since Liberals resent America's system of REWARD BASED ON ACHIEVEMENT, they vote unceasingly for redistribution by GOVERNMENT. They elect and reelect, politicians who reward them and their selected victim groups. The expropriation of the daily labor, of those who persist at work, gets used for social engineering, resulting in massive entitlement programs. Famed British playwright (Pygmalion/My Fair Lady) George Bernard Shaw, said it best:

"Whenever you rob Peter To Pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul."

Lifetime Democrat, Zell Miller, left the U.S. Senate in disgust in 2004.

In his book, A NATIONAL PARTY NO MORE, Sen. Miller, referring to fellow Democrats in the U.S. Senate, stated "They also believe in purity.

Like that old Ivory Soap commercial, 99.44/100 percent pure is all that will do. You cannot agree on just seven of their ten issues, or even nine. All ten must be embraced and ostentatiously hugged to your bosom with slobbering kisses."

The Microphone

1. JOURNALISTS-THE NANNY-STATE MEDIA

A huge majority in the Mainstream Media are liberals. They are registered Democrats in large numbers, They consistently vote, 80% or more for Democrats. They contribute to Democrat politicians, by a similar margin.

EXAMPLE: MSNBC.com identified 143 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 16 gave to Republicans. That's a ratio of 8 to 1.

msnbc.msn.com/id/19113485/

In 1992, Bill Clinton received 92% of the vote of the Washington D.C. Press Corp, George H. W. Bush received 7%. This trend has existed for decades, with little if any, change.

2. The Public-School-Monopoly

Any believer in traditional American values, would likely be horrified by reading the platform of the National Education Association (NEA). Much of that agenda has a basis in forced outcomes, while virtually ignoring traditional values.

The Public-School-Monopoly is and has been brainwashing young minds as scandalously and dangerously as recent dictatorships, getting and setting young minds in one direction. A certain percentage of young minds, will remain brainwashed for a lifetime.

3. University and College Professors--Are They Economic Illiterates?

Most professors in our universities have no experience in wealth creation. Frequently they are referred to as Egghead Professors. Most of their learning and life's experiences have come from books. Never having met a payroll or created 1 job, liberal profs fill the heads-almost unanimously-of young inexperienced minds just several years removed from adolescence, with nanny-state, special interest, victim-laden nonsense, learned from books.

Winston Churchill's quote Is Worth Reflection:

"Any man under 30 who is not a liberal has no heart, and any man over 30 who is not a conservative has no brains."

THE UNCEASING ADVANCEMENT OF THE NANNY-STATE

4. Politicians

This category is the most powerful and damaging of all. No congress, controlled by Democrats in the last 45 years has voted to hold or spend less than any President, from their own party or the Republican Party.

Republicans, acted responsibly, under the Contract With America, when they forced President Clinton to sign a 7 year Balanced Budget Amendment. Instead of taking 7 years, it took only 4 years to turn deficits into surpluses.

From 2000 to 2006, the Republican congress, acted irresponsibly, as its members spent money as if they were Democrats. Democrats as always, fought for even more spending.

This President and Democrat Congress are going wildly in the opposite direction of responsible spending, plunging us into enormous debt and expanding both the nanny-state and government power to unimaginable levels.

Class warfare against competition and reward is inherently damaging and evil, it could actually bring down this greatest of all nations. We must act quickly and decisively against such tyranny.

By: Mick McNesby
Mick McNesby is a former tax advisor, consultant and negotiator. He was a frequent guest on political talk shows in Atlantic City, N.J., discussing the benefits of the lower cost of government. He can be visited at http://conservative-politics-infofind.com