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

Imagine studying history starting with Rutherford B. Hayes. In case you don't remember, his presidency started in 1877. Well, if you were an 11th grader in North Carolina that may be the extent of your education about this country. No founding fathers, no Declaration of Independence, no Constitution, no Revolutionary War, no Civil War and nothing in between. This is not a joke. It seems to be what the state's top school officials are proposing.

"We are certainly not trying to go away from American history," Rebecca Garland, the chief academic officer for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, told Fox News. "What we are trying to do is figure out a way to teach it where students are connected to it, where they see the big idea, where they are able to make connections and draw relationships between parts of our history and the present day." She concluded. "The students are in school for 13 years. They certainly are taught U.S. and North Carolina history in middle school."

While students may learn something about the nation's history in the lower grades. The concepts being taught in the later grades are the ones students will carry forward. Not being able to understand the philosophy of our country in its infancy and comparing this to the years that followed and the thinking and economics leading up to the Civil War provides no basis for studying about what happened after this conflict.

A review of the department's draft of Essential Standards for the course, which is available online, indicates that United States History studies skew to the cultural rather than historic aspect of the subject. There is little time devoted to the two World Wars we fought. Study of the Great Depression focuses on expanding the size and power of (and, therefore, dependence upon) the federal government. The Korean Conflict seems to have been overlooked. The objective of the Vietnam discussion is to analyze the war's effect at home. The Gulf War and the current conflicts were not included in the syllabus.

However, there is much devoted to the women's movement (dating back to Susan B. Anthony and on through Gloria Steinem), civil rights, immigration and the rise of labor unions. Also covered is technology and government regulation, economic crises and the need for government regulation as well as the impact non-renewable resources will have in regards to government, business and consumers. Perusing the course standards suggests the emphasis is more about social attitudes and less about civic realities. The subject matter appears to move away from history and some might interpret it to be a subtle means of rewriting it by eliminating those topics the school administrators find objectionable or not conducive to advancing their points of view.

Are similar changes taking place in your local school district? Are your grand children in danger of being taught revisionist and/or incomplete American history? Are pre-boomers going to let agenda-driven educators deprive the next generation of Americans from the full story of this great experiment in freedom known as democracy? No way.

By: Don Potter
Don Potter, a Philadelphia native, was born in 1936 and is a 50 year veteran of the advertising agency business. Now living in Los Angeles, he has written two novels in retirement, frequently writes on marketing issues, and has a blog dedicated to pre-boomers (those born between 1930 and 1945).

Read more articles for and about pre-boomers with thoughts, comments and opinions designed to spark thinking, foster discussion, and stimulate debate by logging on to http://www.pre-boomermusings.com

The Person is a People, Too

My government is fine... it is theirs that is in trouble!

Who is there to represent us?

In order to get a handle on what is wrong with government, we must first get a handle on what is wrong with us. But who is us? Do we even know who we are anymore?

When was the last time you heard a government official say, "It is your personal rights that are important?" And when was the last time you demanded your individual rights? Are you aware that the Constitution carefully protected your natural rights to live your life as you wish, and government was given no control over you?

Elected government officials swear an oath to do just that? At the start of each new Congress (corporate), in January of every odd-numbered year, those newly elected or re-elected Congress members - the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate - must recite the following oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

The key word in question is 'United States'.

Just what is the United States? Is it an alliance of sovereign individual States (like countries) within a geographic border, whereby certain laws are uniformly shared, and where borders are open between the states - or is the United States a sovereign government with power over the individual States and the people?

Yet which 'constitution' do the representatives actually swear an oath to? You might be surprised. It all depends on the connotation used. It is a very clever play on words, and contract law.

Under the original Constitution, the government of the United States of America was formed as a union of States. Yet in 1871, the 'District of Columbia' was formed. This was a private corporation hired to carry out the business needs of the national government. This corporation was later changed to the name 'United States Government' in 1878 after it was reorganized, because the people weren't happy with the arrangement. Remember, this was not our government - it was a mere corporation carrying out certain business needs of the national government.

This is where things get confusing.

After the corporation was renamed to 'United States Government', they must have realized that, being a corporation, they could also use other trademark names, because no other corporations had used them. So, magically, they also began using the trademark names 'United States', 'USA', U.S.A.', 'US', 'U.S.', and even 'America'. You see, the national government wasn't a corporation, and therefore it had not trademarked those names. So the names were fair game to the corporation, with the intention of assuming the role of government. They were very clever.

In my opinion there is an incredible amount of deception and corruption in government these days; yet it seems that we the people accept no responsibility for this. We all seem to moan and groan about the abuses, but stop short of doing anything about it. And to make it worse, those in control have their Executive Branch, their Legislature, their Courts, and their so-called free press to cover up the illusion of corporate government. You see, it is not government, but rather a business, pretending to be government.

The corruption is so out of control that most American's are convinced that nothing can be done about it... so why fight it. And besides, we don't understand what's going on anyway. So most of us just go with the flow, and live our lives according the the dictates and the whims of corrupt politicians. The ironic part is that the major politicians are even more controlled by the international banksters than we are, as they must keep in mind who often hand picked them for office in the first place.

We must take total responsibility for our government being abandoned, and for allowing Corp. U.S., the business manager, to assume control, and to be in the condition that it is in. It was up to us to be vigilant, and stay in control of government, rather than allow government to control us.

So what condition is our government really in?

If my assessment is accurate, then you would know that government today is really not 'our' government at all. So you might be saying, "who cares...my life is going fine. I have a nice family, and a home, a couple vehicles, and a boat. So what makes you think there is a problem."

First we must understand what 'our' government is. Our government, the United States of America is a republic, whereby each of us is equal in status, and we individually retain our rights to live our lives as we choose. Our government is in position to protect those rights, as well as to set controls on the officers whom we hire to represent us.

So whose government is the democracy, called the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT? Is it really government?

I don't know about you, but my government...

...recognizes the natural individual rights of the Citizens it was created for.

...has elected representatives who understand constitutional law, and follow it.

...has elected officials who make decisions that take into account our natural rights, and protect them.

...has Congressional representatives who know exactly what they are voting for in the legislative process, by thoroughly studying each bill before them before voting on them.

...has elected officers who realize that any bill that benefits the collective population must never violate personal liberty of the Citizens.

...does not have any control over the Citizens

...has no tax with respect to income on the Citizens

...does not use the the creation of worthless currency to perpetuate an illusionary economy that ultimately robs the people of their freedom

...and my government would never mortgage the future of our children to satisfy the greed it's elected officers, and then try to cover it up by renting insane amounts of worthless currency to stall the inevitable disaster they created.

The question is, which government is yours?
I have always been a frustrated and reluctant scholar, and now author. Like most students, history and government were probably my least favorite subjects. Something happened in my late thirties, about nineteen years ago, when I had seen enough of what I considered propaganda from the media and government. I've been studying ever since.

It is my life goal to help awaken the world by first stimulating critical, logical thought. Governments of many countries don't allow the people to speak freely when their leaders get out of line. In America we still have that power...if we can keep it.

I coined the term for my new enterprise, FreeSyncracy, to sum up my passion in one word. It represents the personal freedom and limited government that our republic guarantees, while honoring the diverse cultures, races and faiths of the land.

The United States of America is a most unique country, without any particular ethnic group. We are a microcosm of the world, and therefore should be a positive example for the world to follow. I'm sure you agree that it is America's intent to continue to be that positive example, however isn't it fairly obvious that we the people simply don't have access to enough information to stop the current government to fouling up that role for all of us? So instead of being a government of the people, we have become followers and subjects of a corporate controlled international leadership group.

Instead of enjoying the freedoms of the republic, America has slowly evolved into what they call a democracy, whereby tragically the rules change at the whim of those in charge; and where privileges and benefits have replaced our foundational rights - slowly diminishing our liberty over time. I believe it is now that time!

By: Larry Andreen

Over a year ago American citizens voted to elect a new president. The motto or theme promoted, which successfully won the White House was "change." Today polls show the majority of those which voted for the current US President are not satisfied with the State of the Nation. Has Obama failed?

Well, you cannot determine that yet, but he is on his way. Maybe "change" was not delivered as we expected or wanted. Americans unfortunately have been indoctrinated to spell relief "ROLAIDS" and diapers are commonly referred to as "PAMPERS." What does this mean?

Simple, it means Americans are victims of manipulative advertisement, commonly known as false propaganda. Americans live in a culture of quick-fix, fast foods and immediate gratification. This phenomenon places everyone in society in a position to spend money on products they do not need, items they cannot afford, and believing in delusional promises of hope. Then, when reality slams everyone in the face, the obvious becomes evident. So has Obama failed?

Unfortunately, we must live and learn by trial and error and we will eventually find out if Obama has failed. Sometimes electing a president is a learning experience. If only Americans could learn to live without the things they have grown so accustomed to having, but do not need. If Americans could only envision a dream where sacrificing their immediate gratification would mean a blessed prosperous future for their children, then failure would not be an option. If it takes the horrors of an earthquake in Haiti to drive Americans to give selflessly in an attempt to help our neighbors, then what kind of an earthquake will Americans need to help themselves?

Could the Massachusetts political earthquake that elected a Republican to Democrat Ted Kennedy's long held Senate seat be the determining factor in America succeeding and whether Obama fails? Maybe not, but if the Massachusetts Senate election that resulted in Scott Brown's winning is a sample of what is to come for Obama, we are witnessing failure in progress. Wake up Mr. President and learn to change!

By: Raul Correa
Raul Correa publishes a periodical blog at http://www.RaulCorrea.com and expresses facts, news and opinions on the issues that impact our lives and world.