Sandy Garrett Blog - American History

The Weimar Republic was established in February 1919 in defeated Germany and lasted until March 1933, when it was replaced with Hitler's Third Reich. The Constitution of the Weimar Republic was adopted in August 1919. It created a bicameral house of representatives: the Reichstag, a national assembly, and the Reichsrat, comprised of the representative of the various Lander (states).

The Reichsrat could reject laws passed by the Reichstag. The Lander sported their own state parliaments, local police forces, and judiciary. During states of emergency, Lander assemblies and governments were suspended and they were ruled directly from the center.

Elections were supposed to be held every 4 years and anyone over 20 years of age could vote. A system of proportional representation gave voice and presence in the Reichstag to even the smallest political parties. One tenth of the population could force a referendum on draft legislation rejected by the Reichstag.

The President, elected by universal suffrage, was the head of state and served a term in office of seven years. He appointed and dismissed the Chancellor (prime minister) and commanded the Republic's much-reduced armed forces. He had the right to veto laws passed by the Reichstag, dissolve it and call early elections and referenda. He could also rule by decree, having declared a state of emergency.

The Weimar Constitution guaranteed the right to local self-government, a "dignified existence", economic and religious freedoms, freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, and the right to form trade unions.

The Weimar Constitution was never abrogated or replaced. it remained in force until 1949 - throughout the 12 years of the Third Reich.

But on February 28, 1933 - a day after the Reichstag building was set on fire, allegedly as part of a "Communist plot" - Hitler submitted to von Hindenburg, the ailing and octogenarian German president, an emergency decree titled "For the Protection of People and State; to guard against Communist acts of violence endangering the state".

Article 1 of the decree suspended all rights guaranteed by the Weimar Constitution. It read:

"Thus, restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press, on the right of association and assembly, and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications, and warrants for house-searches, orders for confiscations, as well as restrictions on property rights are permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed."

Article 2 of the decree allowed the Reich government to take over the power of the Lander governments in order to restore security and order.

The Weimar Constitution was a dead letter.

The 13,000 word Constitution, adopted in 1949, by West Germany, was patterned after its Weimar predecessor but contained safeguards against its own suspension by a willful dictator and against the declaration of aggressive war. The Land of Bavaria - an important constituent of West Germany - refused to ratify it because it deemed it too "centralistic" (not enough power was granted to the Lander).

The first elections under this revamped document took place in August 14, 1949.

The guillotine was first put to lethal use on April 25, 1792, at 3:30 PM, in Paris at the Place de Greve on the Right Bank of the Seine. It separated highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier's head from the rest of his body.

The device was perfected - though not invented- by Doctor Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738 - 1814). The 'e' at the end of the noun is a later, British, addition. Ironically, he belonged to a movement seeking to abolish capital punishment altogether.

Guillotine-like implements were used on delinquents from the nobility in Germany, Italy, Scotland and Persia long before the good doctor's era. Guillotin and German engineer and harpsichord maker, Tobias Schmidt, improved and industrialized it. It was Schmidt who transformed the blade, changing it from round to the familiar form and placing it at an oblique, 45 degree, angle. The process of severing the head - the blade falling, cutting through the tissues and severing the head - took less than half a second. More than 40,000 people were guillotined during the French Revolution and in its immediate aftermath (1789-1795).

Nor was the guillotine abandoned after the French Revolution. As late as 1870, one Leon Berger, an assistant executioner and carpenter, added a spring system, which stopped the mouton at the bottom of the groves, a lock/blocking device at the lunette and a new release mechanism for the blade.

The murderer Hamida Djandoubi was beheaded on September 10, 1977, in Marseilles, France. The guillotine was never used since.

a.. Total weight of a Guillotine is about 580 kg

b.. The guillotine blade with weight is over 40 kg

c.. The heights of the guillotine posts average about 4 meters

d.. The guillotine blade drop is about 2.3 meters

e.. The falling blades rate of speed is about 7 meters/second

f.. The actual beheading was completed in 2/100 of a second

g.. The power when the guillotine blade stops at the bottom is 400 kg/square inch

Australia needs to consider Nuclear Desalination as a part of the Nuclear Energy Debate

Australia can decide to become energy, and financially, rich due to the use of its abundant supply of uranium that can be either used locally in home grown Nuclear power plants or sold as a refined product on the world market. The decision is in the hands of the Australian people through their elected representatives. There are additional issues that need to be addressed in parallel with the above issues. The Desalination of Seawater using Nuclear Power and its benefits need to be considered in any discussion of Nuclear Power in Australia.

Large areas of Australia have been in moderate to severe drought conditions for fifteen of the last twenty years.[1] It seems possible that Australia will join the African region, Latin America and South East Asia as an area suffering moderate to sever water shortages.[2]

Desalination is a possible solution to these shortages in Australia. In the past it has not been seen as an economical solution to local water shortages. However, given, the, potential, change in public opinion, attitude and the necessary economic consideration of Nuclear Energy and Uranium mining and refinement, desalination of seawater using Nuclear Energy must be considered at the same time.

By 2025, about two thirds of the world population may suffer sever water shortages. Fresh, potable, water will become an internationally marketable product.[3]

Desalination of seawater using Nuclear Power is not new and currently there are 13 reactors operating, in 4 countries, with a combined 247 reactor-years experience.[4] The cost of nuclear desalinated water is about 40 cents per kiloliter[5] and while this is 20 to 30 times as much as we are already paying, these costs could be lower for Australia as we have our own uranium. Even given the costs as shown, it is only a matter of time until it becomes cost effective.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is currently conducting research into Nuclear Desalination and the International Nuclear Desalination Advisory Group advises that another 13 countries are conducting research and feasibility studies. These countries are Argentina, Canada, China, Egypt, France, India, Israel, South Korea, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Russian Federation and United States. There is also major International Collaboration underway between Indonesia and Korea, Rep of, Tanzania and France, Pakistan and Various International Bodies, Morocco and France, Russia and Canada and lastly Eurodesal.[6]

It is evident Nuclear Desalination is being considered world wide. Australia has 38% of the worlds know Uranium resources and is about to make a national decision regarding its use. Public awareness that the potential of Nuclear Desalination can solve all of Australia’s future water requirements as well as, allowing Australia to convert large amounts of inhospitable land into an arable and profitable resource will ease the resistance currently being shown by a percentage of the population.

The public must be apprised of the benefits of Nuclear Desalination, while considering the Nuclear Energy issue.

Submission Prepared by:

Ron Gully (Bachelor Science in Nuclear Physics)

[1] The Australian Bureau of Meteorology

[2] International Atomic Energy Agency .iaea.org/nucleardesalination/

[3] International Atomic Energy Agency

[4] International Desalination Advisory Group

[5] Uranium Information Center .uic.com.au/nip74.htm

[6] International Desalination Advisory Group

Many Americans have many more complaints with the American government and politics, and how ill-prepared the government was for helping American citizens before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina struck is only one example. However, it is apparent that the American government and the politics that surround it are not just sitting around waiting for the next disaster to strike &ndash they have been making preparations, and not just for natural disasters such as hurricanes.

Natural disasters are not the only emergencies in which organizations have been founded to help citizens when insurance policies are nonexistent, or not enough; organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, better known as FEMA, have stepped in and helped during troubled times. However, past terrorist attacks, and present risks of terrorist attacks, have prompted the federal government to get involved and pass the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, also known as TRIA.

TRIA may not be an organization like FEMA, but the act is designed arrange a provisional program that makes sure both citizens and insurance companies are prepared &ndash as prepared as can be &ndash in the event of a terrorism attack. TRIA does this by guaranteeing that the federal government will share the costs of losses due to terrorism attacks with insurance companies. This helps ensure that insurance companies will not, for lack of better terms, run out of money. It also helps ensure that American citizens provided with the help they needs, as well as be compensated for their losses.

Insurance companies were not adequately prepared for the financial losses that resulted from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and had to rely heavily on reinsurers, companies that make available insurance to insurance companies, to help pay the cost of damages. Now that TRIA is in effect, insurance companies are at less risk for being inadequately funded. Plus, the time it takes to underwrite an insurance policy is reduced since the losses have been reduced.

The U.S. Navy was started in an era when the true measure of a country was the size and strength of its naval forces. A strong fleet of ships could mean the difference between losing and winning a war. The Revolutionary War was just getting started, and the matter of a navy began to become more pressing as imminent battle drew near. Some argued that it would be impossible to challenge the British navy, since they had the most powerful of the time. However, in a move to protect shipments and defend the new country, Congress began to build a fleet.

However, this first navy didn’t last for long, and the ships were decommissioned soon. But later, the Naval Act of 1794 was established, which called for six frigates to be constructed and turned into a naval fleet. Fortunately, they didn’t see too much action, though they did fight in a few wars, including the undeclared war with France, and the War of 1812. During this time, the USA began to see the benefit of having strong ships around, and steadily added more to the fleet. The Navy played huge roles in the Mexican-American war, and the Civil War.

Since then, the U.S. Navy has continued to grow and grow. In 1880, a program was started to modernize the ships. Since then, technology has progressed at such a fast rate, that this program has, in effect, never stopped. Now, in the 21st century, the U.S. Navy is made up of huge metal battleships that are always being updated with new technology, weapons, and abilities. The Navy a huge force, protecting America and carrying out missions. It has been like this for hundreds of years, and with modern technology it appears that the importance of the U.S. Navy will not lessen anytime soon.

The American Revolution was a civil war between Loyalists to the British crown (aka Tories, about one fifth of the population), supported by British expeditionary forces, and Patriots (or Whigs) in the 13 colonies that constituted British North America.

About 20-25% of the populace in the colonies - c. 600,000 - were blacks. About one third of the white denizens were non-British. Local patriotism ran high. All adult, white, property-owning, men (about two thirds of the male numbers) were eligible to vote in elections to the lower house of the legislative assembly of the colony they resided in. Each colony also had its governor.

Some colonies (e.g., Rhode Island and Connecticut) were, in effect, incorporated under royal charter as semi-commercial ventures. Others belonged to the descendants of their founders (proprietary colonies such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware). Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire were royal provinces, under direct British rule.

Some of the colonists - for instance, the New Englanders - were among the wealthiest and best educated people in the world, better off than the British themselves. But, per capita, they paid only 3% of the taxes levied on a typical Briton. The colonies supplied the West Indies with most of their foodstuffs and consumed British finished products - but they were not economically crucial to the British Empire.

In the years leading to the War of Independence (1765-1776), the British actually repealed all the taxes on products imported into the colonies - with the single exception of tea (and even this tax was drastically reduced). The colonists' slogan "no taxation without representation" was, therefore, more about local representation than about foreign taxation. And even this bit ringed hollow. The Encyclopedia Britannica: "The assemblies had the right to tax; to appropriate money for public works and public officials, and to regulate internal trade, religion, and social behavior". The role of British government was confined to foreign affairs and trade.

But both parties to the conflict breached this modus vivendi. During the Seven Years (French and Indian) War (1754-1763), the colonies refused to relinquish control over their militias to the British command and smuggled French goods into British North America (France being Britain's enemy). The British, on the other hand, began interfering in the colonies' internal affairs, notably (but not only) by imposing taxes and customs duties in order to ameliorate Britain's growing national debt and by rendering tax officials financially independent of the local colonial assemblies.

Add to this a severe recession in the colonies brought on by unbridled spending financed with unsustainable personal indebtedness and, not surprisingly, acts of resistance to British taxation - such as the Boston Tea Party - were organized mainly by smugglers, artisans, and shopkeepers. Secret groupings, such as the Sons of Liberty resorted to violence and intimidation to achieve their (mostly economic but disguised as "patriotic") goals. Even women got involved in a "buy American" campaign of boycotting British goods.

Many British merchants, bankers, politicians, intellectuals, and journalists supported the colonies against the crown - each group for its own reasons. The merchants and bankers, for instance, were terrified of a mooted unilateral debt moratorium to be declared by the colonies if and when militarily attacked. Others found it distasteful to kill and maim white British subjects (as the insurgents were). Yet others resisted imperialism, the monarchy, taxes, or all three. Even within the British Army there was strong dissent and the campaign against the rebellious colonies was carried out half-heartedly and lackadaisically. On the other hand, British die-hards, such as Samuel Johnson, demanded blood ("I am willing to love all Mankind, except an American").

The denizens of the colonies tried, till the last moment, to avert a constitutional (and, consequently, military) crisis. They suggested a model of two semi-autonomous nations (the United Kingdom and the colonies), united by the figurehead of the King. But it was too little and way too late. Violent clashes between the citizenry and British units started as early as October 1765 with the First Nonimportation Movement, directed against the Stamp Act. They continued with the Boston Massacre (five dead) in 1770; the attack on the British customs ship, the Gasp

Watching the Towers Fall and Moving Beyond Stuck-On-Stupid!

Watching the twin towers of the World Trade Center come down, live on TV, had a profound affect on many Americans including this baby boomer. Probably due to age, serious motivation to join the Ohio Army Reserve did not develop, however, until 2004 when I was fifty years old. It was not only our enemies who influenced my attempt to join up; it was the mindsets of some of my closest loved ones. Those mindsets appear to be mental blocks that obstruct logic.

This obstruction of logic caused an acute affliction of angst in me until it seemed that only joining our volunteer forces would position me around clear thinkers, to keep me out of the insane asylum. Hopes were for nothing drastic, just going to serve as a slightly arthritic operations guy on a desk somewhere. Unfortunately, age already restricts me from serving as a first time member of our military. Hopefully world events will not degrade to the point that the Army needs to include my age group or skill level, but I was disappointed. Eventually motivation overcame disappointment and this is how it happened. It was not easy because I was stuck on stupid, for a while.

Years of stressful dialog with loved ones who cling to mental blocks about projecting US military power and about George W. Bush, had all ended in failure. My relentless efforts to present common sense, logical conclusions based upon facts from many sources had all failed. Beloved friends and family members were content with their mental blocks. Failure in my efforts finally became undeniable and had to be accepted as the truth.

After a stubborn period of denial, the truth of the failure was realized and accepted. Consequently, a redirection of energies became prudent, even necessary, and finally became apparent to me too. Very important relationships were suffering. Stuck on stupid had been my lot and my angst was hurting us. You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink. Finding more fertile ground to plow became the cure. Being deeply concerned about our troops and setting failure with loved ones aside; a larger vision began to develop.

Do you know what our troops’ majority wishes are, politically? Would you like poll results or facts regarding what our troops want, politically and regarding your votes? Are you willing to believe the answers if you could find them? Do you believe our troops are just brain washed, uneducated dummies supporting the political line they are told to tow, while risking death from our enemies?

While most military volunteers would undoubtedly support your right to vote against their political wishes, it is human nature for our troops to hope we understand and share their principles, priorities and political wishes and vote to support them, especially during wartime. As a voter, is there a more important issue to research and understand than this one - What Our Troops Want - during wartime?

Creative inspiration and a redirection of nearly obsessive efforts resulted in an online store full of products to be proud of. Patriotic images with inspired messages that provoke thought on t-shirts, sweatshirts, women’s garments and other products win votes because logical truths usually persuade objective thinkers.

Truthful, persuasive messages were embedded into digital photographs of the World Trade Center (2 designs), the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge and other U.S. landmarks. Talking animals and nature scenes complete the ensemble of around twenty exclusive, imprinted designs with two back designs to choose from. The mission is to boost morale of our troops through increased voting unity and these designs help you influence voters with patriotic pride and logical truths. People can just read the shirt, tote bag or sticker with no discussion necessary. Truthful messages are like mustard seeds; they start out tiny and grow insidiously.

Part of a large vision is supporting our troops’ majority wishes with votes and helping you influence other voters to consider deferring their personal political wishes to our troops’ majority political wishes when voting. Voting as most of our troops will vote is really supporting our troops’ wishes. Anything else holds no water and is just more worthless talk. It is about getting voters to think about it.

The vision includes a full service web presence to serve and inspire our troops and America at large. It is a vision of a non-profit organization doing many wonderful things for and with our volunteer troops. But it is more than that; it is about starting a net roots or grass roots wave of serious, conscientious thought about how votes either support or subvert our troops’ majority wishes. These are the real world consequences of voting results. Votes embolden one group of combatants while they demoralize their opposition. Votes affect morale on both sides.

A vision of a voter, or millions of voters, researching and considering what our troops want politically, before we vote, is now planted in you too. Our troops are volunteers who deserve our voting support. Will we dig for answers, polls results and letters from troops on the hundreds of military support websites on the Internet? A Google search for Military Times or Stars and Stripes will lead to an endless chain of links to letters, blogs, poll results and more than a person can ingest, if you care. Even with all of that, it will come down to a calculated risk and judgment call of what you accept as truth and logic, when you decide how to vote. Voters must set aside emotion and employ logic when they research and deduce What Our Troops Want. After the research, each voter must decide whose political wishes are more important, yours or the wishes of the majority of our troops.

Hopefully, you will not ignore our troops’ majority wishes by not voting. Unless you judge our volunteers as Red Coat types or Genghis Khan-style marauder types or Nazi types, why not vote as the majority of our troops will vote? Why cast votes that subvert our troops’ majority wishes? Our volunteer forces are the boots on the ground and this citizen will trust their judgment, at least for now. I hope the light comes on and another patriotic wave of voting troop support sweeps America very soon. Our volunteers deserve US voting unity and nothing less. Neither do our enemies.

On Election Day, the American people spoke very strongly that the direction the President and the Republican Party was taking America towards, is not the direction the country wanted to go in. Presidents are not oblivious to polls. They may not honor them, but they are not oblivious to them. The most important issue in the campaign turned out to be two issues according to the exit polls. They were CORRUPTION, and IRAQ in that order.

The President was quick with a lightening type response to the election. I personally felt Donald Rumsfeld was going to be fired 3 or 4 weeks after the election to allow him to leave with his dignity intact. The President dispatched the now lamb duck Secretary within hours after the voters made their decisions. In doing so, the President is insuring that this Congress will ratify the nomination of Robert Gates, not a Democratic Congress convening in January of 07.

What type of man is Robert Gates, the D Sec as they call the Secretary of Defense? There are parallels to this selection. During the height of the View Nam war, after six plus years in office, Robert McNamara was a worn, beaten man troubled by his own running of that war. His children had even turned against him. His friends advised how can you continue to be a part of this mess? McNamara left, and Lyndon Johnson installed Clark Clifford, one of my heroes who was a legal advisor to every Democratic President since Harry Truman. Clifford was even Joe Kennedy’s lawyer, the father of the future slain President.

Johnson thought that Clifford would turn into an absolute HAWK on Viet Nam, and turn up the pressure on the war. Instead, he advised Johnson, you are in an un-winnable situation, and I advise a negotiated settlement. Johnson swallowed hard, and announced he would not be his party’s candidate for nomination, or re-election in the upcoming months.

Robert Gates the new incoming Secretary of Defense is this President’s second attempt to reach out to his father’s advisors to HELP HIM. In the last 3 years, not once has this President spoken to the most important advisor he could have spoken with, regarding what to do in Iraq - namely his father, George Herbert Walker Bush. Now when the Iraq war has turned into a quagmire with no end in sight, this President has chosen his father’s CIA director Robert Gates, to step in and turn this thing around.

Gates was a student of Brent Scowcroft (former National Security Advisor), as was Condolezza Rice, our Secretary of State. Scowcroft is considered the ultimate low key professional who ran White House foreign policy when George HW Bush was President. Most people think Secretary of State James Baker called the shots, that’s only partially correct. Scowcroft was the professional with the experience. Baker learned of course as the years went by, and became a very effective, diplomatic Secretary of State. Gates was there all the time, a totally professional intelligence analyst who is the only CIA career employee to rise from the bottom to become Director.

The President’s current status

This President is in trouble, and the people who surrounded him called the Neo-Cons got him into the mess he’s in. What you need to understand is that George Bush unlike many other politicians believes what he says, and says what he believes. Most politicians play to the crowd. This man’s hero is probably Harry Truman, who walked out of the White House with an approval rating approaching 25% in 1953, and went on to be venerated by succeeding generations of Americans.

President Bush does not play to the crowd. This is evident in his news conferences when he can not help but show his feelings when reporters ask the stupidest “SHOWBOAT” questions. Bush will not have any part of it. He is an authentic guy that lives his life that way. If the Iraq Study Group chaired by former Secretary of State Baker, gives the President some very tough advice on Iraq, he just might take it. Bush is not a fool. He knows this war is not going well. He also knows the American people like to keep their Presidents on a short leash when it comes to wars, and the free ride is now over.

For the moment, the pressure on President Bush can only get worse. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld was taking the heat that rightfully belonged to the President. Rumsfeld as a foil for this country’s anger is now gone. Bush will instead take the heat himself. He has no problem with that if he the President continues to believe in the righteousness of his actions, and for the moment he does. The President has been constantly underestimated by his opponents. You don’t win two national elections, and one Congressional election in between by being a fool.

Bob Gates is going to change things at the Defense Department, and change them quick. Do not for one moment believe that Rumsfeld was wrong on everything he did, that’s nonsense. He did get four big things terribly wrong. One, he underestimated the post Iraq war need for US troop levels. It takes more troops to govern a country and quell discontent, than to invade and take over. Two, He did acquiesce or instigate the destruction of the Iraqi army. That army could have been utilized to re-build and govern post-war Iraq. We simply had to PAY THEM a sum of money equal to a fraction of what we are paying Halliburton for a failed US policy.

Thirdly, he participated in, or instigated the firing of the Sunni’s who ran the Iraqi government before finding COMPETENT REPLACEMENTS to replace those fired. They knew how to turn the electricity on, and keep the machinery of government functioning. Even General Patton at the tail end of WW II used Nazi bureaucrats until he could train his own bureaucrats. Fourthly, the Iraqi police were fired, and then new people had to be found, vetted, and trained &ndash 3 years have elapsed.

What does it mean? We will never know if democracy would have had a chance to flourish in Iraq. It is too late, too much time has been wasted to wait for that to happen. The President’s team, and therefore the President FAILED in the EXECUTION of a policy that could have worked had it been implemented properly, perhaps, we will never know. The American people have now lost patience in waiting for this President to correct his own mistakes &ndash and forced change upon him via an election.

Robert Gates is his first response. James Baker and the Iraq Study Group in the next couple of weeks will be his second response. Watch for changes in the Defense Department as soon as Gates is approved by the Senate. Does he fire the neo-cons one after another? If he does, you know we are on our way to a new policy.

Richard Stoyeck

Stock markets are strange because they reflect the sum total of all our hopes, fears and prejudices at the end of each day. Every so often something big comes along that can have very strong influence on the stock market, and the direction the market is going to take. Bear markets when they do come, come out of nowhere. Everybody is surprised by them, but once they happen, the pundits have what seem to be perfectly reasonable explanations for why they happen.

I submit to you that next week’s Congressional midterm elections will be seen retrospectively as a so-called WATERSHED election whereby dramatic change will be brought about. You will only know this in hindsight over time. If the Republicans are trounced in the House, and lose heavily in the Senate, there will be a tidal wave type change in the direction that the country is going.

During the course of the modern Presidency which is considered to be 1932 onward with FDR’s election, our leaders have always been influenced by polls. This is true for all Presidents except for our current President, George Bush. It is absolutely amazing to consider that our President won the White House by 557 votes in Florida in 2000 and 85,000 votes in Ohio in 2004, and nevertheless governs like he had a 40 state landslide.

He has adopted the notion that all he had to do is win by one vote, and the power was his to effectuate and do whatever he wanted to. For six years, he has been right. The Congress has essentially rubber-stamped everything the President has asked for, and he has not been held accountable for the false assumptions under which the war in Iraq was initially waged. Next week will be the first time to hold the President accountable for the mismanagement of the war over the last three years.

What kind of conservative is the President? He has outspent any liberal Democratic President in history, mounting up deficits at a rate that a drunken sailor would envy. He gave tax cuts to the rich, and financed the cuts through deficit spending by borrowing the money from Japan, China, and Europe, and leaving the unpaid burden to our children to worry about. Does this make sense to you? If you are going to give tax cuts, shouldn’t your budget be in surplus first.

He has chosen to cut all spending for stem cell research to protect the rights of the unborn, yet doesn’t believe in programs for the poor. A third of this country is running around without even the most basic health insurance, and he’s protecting the rights of the unborn.

He doesn’t want the government to fund abortions. Okay, but think about this. Without abortions over the last generation, there would have been 20 million unloved, uncared for additional children born in America. It would not have affected the rich; they always had access to abortions, and always will, regardless of the law. Where would we be today with such a policy? If you want to argue that these unborn children would have been adopted and cared for, I have one word for you, SURE. There are already hundreds of thousands of abused children going through our foster care system that nobody wants. The President would have added 20 million more.

Iraq is bleeding this country financially, and is in the very beginning of destroying our social fabric. You can count the children serving in Iraq of our Senators and Congressmen, and White House staff on the fingers of a mutilated left hand. Why is it that the so called folks who run the government never seem to have their children’s blood spilled on these foreign adventures? They are always willing to send somebody else to die.

By the way, just so you know, I consider myserlf a conservative Republican that is appalled at the actions of the leaders I participated in putting into office. This is not the party of Barry Goldwater who believed that abortion is a personal right, who believed that you don’t wage wars, unless you bring overwhelming force to the objective. This party has turned into a party of elitists, who were elected by average citizens just trying to do the right thing.

At the same time, these elected leaders are not responsive to us. Strange as it may seem, we elect our leaders, and after the election, the lobbyists OWN them. How can you possibly spend a hundred billion dollars on drugs for senior citizens, a program I support, and NOT write into the law that the government has the right to negotiate lower prices for these drugs? Wow, the drug companies give the Republicans over $10 million to fund the election, and the Republicans give the drug companies another $20 to $40 billion dollars in excess payments for their drugs. Frankly, the payoff wasn’t big enough.

How did it come to this point? The Republicans always stood for the rights of the individuals, and fiscal responsibility. Now we have thrown fiscal responsibility out the window. The leaders argue as long as the rate of growth, of the deficit is lower than the rate of growth of the economy, its okay to have deficits. This is the same line the Democrats used for 40 years, only now it’s coming out of the mouths of the Republicans.

Here’s the bottom line, and read it carefully. You and I as citizens of the greatest country in 10,000 years of civilization are at the crossroads. We have to choose and choose now. Our freedoms are being usurped by corporate and institutional interests. Once we elect officials, it seems they are at the mercy of lobbyists who have what seems like infinite amounts of money to influence our democratically chosen leaders. The laws and programs that you, and I as liberal, and conservative thinkers would choose are not getting done. Instead, it seems that special interests are having their needs met to the detriment of 300 million Americans.

We can not survive very long as a viable society, and meet the growing economic and military threat posed by China’s emergence, as well as other nation states unless we are all aligned in the same direction. The waste and mismanaged programs we are seeing are going to generate a drag on our system that will make us far less competitive in the next ten years to deal with the rest of the world. Farming is gone, it’s a non factor. Manufacturing is heading the same way, with globalization. We are headed towards a post-industrial society. We are almost there. We will move towards a fully service oriented society shortly. Will we have the jobs for our people to replace those jobs going overseas? Maybe, maybe not, but next week we have an election, you must choose, choose wisely.

Goodbye and Good Luck

Richard Stoyeck

PS:

The biggest joke is that if the Democrats get elected, we are going to trade one set of lobbyists for another, one set of special interests for another, one party devoid of ideas for another. Somehow, the people need to be back in control again, and voting for the default party isn’t the right answer either.

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. You remember that song from childhood no doubt. But did you know that the London Bridge is actually located in the beautiful town of Lake Havasu City in Arizona, United States of America? The world-famous London Bridge in Lake Havasu City attracts hundred of thousands of visitors year-round from all around the world. It is a focal point for the city and a crossing between the Bridgewater Channel from the mainland and a little island on the Colorado River. Here’s a little background on the legendary bridge that resides in this historic American city.

In 1962, after standing for over 130 years, the bridge which was originally located in London, was really falling down, just like in the nursery rhyme. It simply could no longer handle the ever increasing traffic flow across the river. Well it was actually sinking in the Thames River.

Nevertheless, an American entrepreneur named Robert P. McCulloch recognized a wonderful opportunity when the British government put it up for sale. He made a bid for ownership of the bridge and on April 18, 1968, won the auction for a sum of $2,460,000. Mr. McCulloch, who was the Founder of Lake Havasu City and also Chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation, then had London Bridge taken apart. With each stone being carefully marked, it was sent off on a barge to make its journey from Europe to the United States. At the dock of the California coast, it was taken off the boat, loaded up and transported by truck to Lake Havasu in Arizona. It cost an additional 7 million dollars to transport and reconstruct it, which took three years. But the bridge was rebuilt stone by stone and upon its completion, was officially dedicated in the town on October 10, 1971, where it still stands.

After you enjoy taking in the view of the bridge and the beautiful mountainscapes that surround it, you can go down below it for even more fun. Nuzzled underneath the City of Lake Havasu’s London Bridge is the ‘English Village’. Offering quaint, old-fashioned British spirit for your eating and shopping pleasure, the Tudor style architecture of the shops and restaurants creates an essence that allows visitors to experience the days of "Merry Olde England". You can stroll along the tree-lined walkways, shop and feast at one of the great selection of restaurants which offer something for everyone. Later, stop in at one of the local breweries for a ‘homemade’ beer &ndash root beer or otherwise!