TheShadowKnows's Blog

These next few years will be interesting. Nearly every important segment of govenment will be under the control of Democrates and yet they will still be able to blame everything that goes wrong upon the Republicans. Just as they do now.

These wounds I had on Crispian's Day as we few stood to oppose him that hides behind the name that dost promise freedom.

Carry on! We few will be remembered as those brave enough to oppose a Democrat even as we leave our blood in the field. Freedom will have suffered a mighty loss this day. Yet it will carry on to be fought for on another day!

More political games designed to dupe the American people!  Increased prices at the pump!  More dependence on oil from Iran, Venezuela and other foreign countries that HATE America!

That basically sums up Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her liberal cohorts' plan to address our nation's energy crisis.

Indeed, leave it to the Pelosi Politburo to pass a bill, literally in the dark of night, that EFFECTIVELY PROHIBITS domestic drilling and then try to sell the legislation to the American people as a measure that opens up domestic drilling!

In case you missed it, here's the play by play on Pelosi's energy "hoax":

On Monday evening at 9:45 PM, Pelosi dropped a 245-page bill on Congress (H.R. 6899, the so-called "Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act.").

Then, using arcane procedural maneuvers, she effectively stifled substantive debate, by-passed the committee process, prohibited amendments and forced a vote within 24 hours!

And on Tuesday evening, the House of Representatives passed this "sham bill" on a mostly partisan vote of 239-189!
And Pelosi's bill is NOTHING BUT SMOKE AND MIRRORS.  It will ACTUALLY PROHIBIT DOMESTIC DRILLING, RAISE YOUR TAXES, and has a 'mother-load' of Congressional pork!

Republican House Minority Leader, John Boehner, had this to say: "It would permanently lock up 80 percent of our nation's offshore energy resources -- holding hostage billions of barrels of American oil."

Congressman Jeb Hensarling called it "a hoax bill that would permanently prevent exploration of nearly 90 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf for American energy and block energy production in arctic Alaska and the Inter-Mountain West." [Emphasis Mine]

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt said; "I'm offended.... And the American people should be offended that we're not doing the job for them that really matters."
Right now, this "Pelosi sham bill" is on the fast-track to the Senate and the only thing that may stand in its way -- and the passage of REAL energy legislation that will actually open up domestic drilling -- is YOU and millions of other concerned Americans!

If we don't take action right now, the mantra of "drill here and drill now" may be replaced by a policy of "drill nowhere, drill never and raise taxes on the American people."

When my grandson was visiting me for the summer I tried to introduce him to both politics and financial policies of our society. He just turned sixteen and right away his eyes started to glaze over as I introduced those subjects.

I don't blame him. They once were boring subjects to me also. Whenever either subject came on television I either changed the channel or simply tuned them out.

Now, being much older and maybe a bit wiser, I pay attention and listen. Especially since a few years ago I finally got up the courage to invest in the stock market. I'm still small potatoes but my portfolio is just as important to me as someone else's millions are to them. I've learned some things along the way. Things such as, stock brokers that are giving you advice, are primarily interested in making money FROM you and not FOR you. You're better off seeking your own council. Since I've been with a limited service, discount broker, I've done fairly well. Now if only I had a lot of money to invest!

In any case, I now listen to the financial news. Usually The Nightly Business Report on PBS. And I listen closely to their guest speakers. I also watch the BBC World News.

As some of my readers know, I also watch the Charlie Rose Show that comes on late at night. It's a talk show and Charlie has a wide variety of mostly interesting guests. Guests that cover all points of the compass. Last night one of Charlie's guests was Barney Franks (D) Ma. Chairman of The Financial Services Committie. And I listened to what he had to say. Which was very interesting. If you are aware of the turmoil in the financial market place these days, here is how it got started. From Barney Franks himself. Several years ago the liberal Democrats opposed the conservative mortage policies of the Republicans. The liberals were claiming that those policies were keeping the poor and lower middle class from qualifying for mortages. Thus denying them home ownership. The conservative Republicans resisted the Democrats proposal of sub-prime mortages. But then the Democrats gained control of Congress and the mortage policies were relaxed thus allowing the sub-prime mortages. There was more, having to do with Fannie-Mae and Freddie-Mac.

Charlie Rangel Owns Up (Sort of) »  Blog Entry Comments (3) Barney Frank's Fannie and Freddie Muddle September 10, 2008 10:20 AM ET | Sam Dealey | Permanent Link

Now that crisis management has taken root and Fannie and Freddie have been placed in conservatorship, a number of commentators have remarked that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's actions bear a striking resemblance to what his predecessor proposed five years ago. Whether the two mortgage giants deserve a future will be a pitched battle, but for now, Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the Financial Services Committee chairman, has issued a press release with a fanciful take on history.

From Frank's press release:

The truth is when President Bush took office, and the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, he did not make any progress on comprehensive legislation to reform the regulation of the Government Sponsored Enterprises. It was not until 2005, when the House, on a bipartisan basis, and over the President's objections finally passed a reform bill. It died in the Senate in part because the White House's failure to make it a priority.

In fact, here's a New York Times story from September 2003, clearly showing that the first substantive Fannie and Freddie reform from inside government came from the Bush administration. Spurred by worries that Fannie and Freddie were cooking their books and taking too many risks, Treasury Secretary John Snow proposed placing the companies under Treasury oversight with strict controls over risk and capital reserves. The NYT labeled the proposal "the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago" and noted:

Mr. Snow said that Congress should eliminate the power of the president to appoint directors to the companies, a sign that the administration is less concerned about the perks of patronage than it is about the potential political problems associated with any new difficulties arising at the companies.

So five years ago, there was one of those rare moments in Washington when the branches and personalities of government—in this case, the Bush administration—are less interested in protecting or expanding their turf than in fixing a looming catastrophe. What was Frank's response to the proposal?

"These two entities—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—are not facing any kind of financial crisis," said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."

As Frank mentions in his press release today, two years after it was first proposed, the House finally voted on a bill reforming the mortgage giants. Alas, the legislation was watered down to the point of being meaningless—that's why it passed the House with such wide margins (122 Democrats and 209 Republicans). But even then, and despite his high regard for bipartisanship now, Barney Frank wasn't among the yeas.

When the Federal Reserve Bank started raising their interest rates in 2007 and early 2008, it kicked the legs out from under the sub-prime mortages. The interest rate increase triggered an increase in the interest rates of the sub-prime mortages and greatly increased the mortage payments at the same time which has caused the failures of so many of those mortages. The Federal Reserve Bank raised their interest rate from 2% to 5 1/2%, thus opening Pandora's Box. And the financial institutions have come tumbling down like  dominos. The Federal Reserve Bank has lowered it's interest rate back down to 2% and so far is holding it there. Too little too late!!!!

Everyone, all together now, point your fingers at President Bush and blame him. But the TRUTH of the matter is that the Democrats engineered the whole thing to make the Republicans and President Bush look bad in an election year. Just as they did with Bush 41' !

Barney Franks went on to speak about other economic policies of the Democrats. Remember, he is the Chairman of the Financial Services Committiee. He is in a very powerful position. And he states that he is in favor of selling the United States to other countries. He spoke of selling our Sovereign Funds to other countries like China when he realized what he was saying and stopped speaking mid-sentence and said no more.

Think before you cast your vote this November!!!!

Wow! They've done it this time! What am I referring to? I'm referring to the manipulation of our economy by The Federal Reserve Bank. The purpose of The Federal Reserve Bank is to maintain our economy on an even keel. Not too hot, not too cold. But just right.

I remember during the Bush, 42' years that I was earning more money than I ever had. Our economy was steaming along nicely and on an even keel. Then we reached the last year of the Bush, 42' administration and he's running for a second term. And all of a sudden, The Federal Reserve Bank starts to manipulate the Reserve Bank's interest rates which puts a glitch into our economy. Now there is concern about inflation, etc. Which made President Bush, 42' look bad. VOTE FOR CLINTON FOR CHANGE!

That's exactly what I got! From earning dollars to having nothing but change in my pocket! Oh yes, Clinton's rich Democrats did well. NAFTA and CAFTA helped them out nicely. And some of that trickled down. But not to me.

But THIS time, with another President Bush to sabotage, The Federal Reserve Bank does it again. Only instead of a bit of a glitch in the economy by raising the interest rate a point or two, The Federal Reserve Bank raises the interest rate from 2% all the way to 5 1/2%. Three and half points!!! This has created more than a bit of a glitch. It has torn our economy asunder. We now have the inflation that The Federal Reserve Bank was supposed to have been concerned about. We now have the reccesion that The Federal Reserve Bank was supposed to have been concerned about. All created by the Democratically controlled Federal Reserve Bank to make Bush, 43' look bad. It worked  against the father, why not once again against the son?

First, The Federal Reserve Bank, jumped the interest rate three and a half points. Too big of an increase. Second, the economy was different this time. The commercial banks had been issueing thousands of third rate mortages. And when The Federal Reserve Bank started raising their interest rate it kicked the legs out from under the third rate mortages.

You remember when The Federal Reserve Bank started doing that don't you? I do. It was in late 2006 and early 2007. They disrupted the economy so that Obama could campaign on the "Vote For Me For Change" platform. Just exactly as Clinton did against Bush Senior. Only now there is no Bush. It's just the Republicans. But this time the Democrats have dug a huge hole in our economy instead of a bit of a glitch. This time, major investment banks are going belly up because they had backed those third rate mortages. The financial underpinnings of our economy are sinking fast. The Democratly controlled Federal Reserve Bank isn't going to be able to fix it this time. The Titanic has a huge hole in it! Congress may be able to fix it if it acts fast enough and with enough help.

Some banks like Bank Of America are doing okay because they don't have mortages. But banks such as Mutual of Washington (the largest commercial bank on the west coast) has mortages as their major business. And they are in extreme danger of gong belly up. Their stock price has gone from $40.00 down to as low as $1.75. Countryside Mortages has already gone belly up and their clients have already lost their homes. If Mutual of Washington goes under many thousands of people are going to lose their homes. Including those who had first rate mortages. All because the Democrats wanted to gain the White House at any cost!! The confusing thing is that many mid middleclass voters and lower middleclass voters are going to vote for the Democrats, the very party that is screwing them.

And then there is the Democrats favored candidate. Obama.

Doesn't anyone remember that Adolph Hitler wrote a book and told everyone what he had planned? It was called, "Mein Kampf". If you want to know the real man that is behind that big smile and soaring words, read Obama's books. His words, written by him. By his own words he tells you what he is about. Any intelligent reader would never vote for him after reading his books.

Last night I once again heard some national speaker bashing President Bush over the cost of oil. Mention was also made of the profits that the major oil companies are making. Poor President Bush. He gets the blame even though he has nothing to do with the price of oil OR gasoline.

I've just recently read a long article in a newspaper about the price of oil and gasoline and WHO sets the price of oil. Come to find out, no one actuallys sets the price of oil. The price of oil is set by the open market and speculators who are investing in oil futures. Each investor who is willing to pay a little more for oil in the hope of making a profit in the future is helping to push up the price of oil. It's all based upon how much oil is available on any given day. None of these investors are expecting to take actual delivery of the oil. They'll sell their contracts before that happens. And they hope at a profit which is usually the case since the price of oil keeps going up.

The oil eventually goes to the refineries and is processed into gasoline. Much the same thing happens to gasoline as happened with the oil. It's the speculators and the market place all over again. At the moment the price of gasoline is down somewhat. You can still make money in a falling market. What you do is sell gasoline that you don't have at today's price and in a few days buy that amount of gasoline at the lower price  and deliver the contracts. You've made a profit on the difference.

As of midnight Sept 2nd the wholesale price of gasoline was $2.49/gal. according to The Nightly Business Report. Today the retail price at my local station is $3.49 leaving a dollar for profit for them. Right? No, it's not. A little more than half of that dollar goes for Federal, State and local taxes. About $0.30 goes for truck transportation. Maybe $0.15 is left for the station's profit minus the station's operating costs.

And President Bush is responsible for all of that!  NOT!!

The Democrats are pointing their fingers at the oil companies because they are making a profit. But their profits are not out of line with the volumes that they deal in. In the end they are making about 11% profit. Which actually is not as good as many other types of companies are doing. And not ALL of the oil companies are making profits. Some of the smaller ones such as Sunoco are actually losing money. The very large companies like Exxon/Mobil are making money. A merger that was heartilly approved of by President Clinton by the way. His fingers in their pie perhaps? Hmmm? Oh and speaking of him, much is made of the depletion allowance given to the oil companies. Here's a little tidbit...... OIL MONEY: With Americans paying record prices at the pump, Politico's Rogers gets a look at a draft GAO report that has oil companies standing to enjoy "an ever larger windfall from royalty relief granted by Washington to encourage deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The Government Accountability Office report — reviewed by Politico — suggests that the foregone royalties could reach $53 billion, depending on the outcome of industry lawsuits and what critics contend was a lapse in administration under President Bill Clinton."

And the smoke gets thicker.

So why don't we have more American oil which would lower the cost of oil? Point your Democratic fingers at President Bush but it's the DEMOCRATS that have put a lid on oil drilling in the United States. No no you're NOT going to drill for oil in our country. Besides that, the DEMOCRATS have placed a lid on the price of American oil. The oil companies can't sell their American oil for the same price as foriegn oil. Which is why the Alaskan oil is being sold to Japan and other asian countries. It's why we export oil rather than use it here. The oil can be sold on the open market in other countries.

There is so much more that is hidden behind the Democrat smoke and mirrors. Last week I saw the Democrats cheering for their hero Ted Kennedy until their throats were raw. What a man. What a DEMOCRAT! Have you checked your electric bill lately? Some of that cost is due to the cost of oil fired electric generators. (See above about the cost of oil) But, there are less expensive ways to generate electricity. One is with wind generators. Beyond the initial cost of construction it's free except for occasional maintenence. Free, renewable, nonpolluting! What a deal right? So when it was proposed to build wind generators on Nantucket Sound where the wind blows constantly did Ted Kennedy embrace such a boon for the American people? NO, HE DID NOT!!!

He killed the project saying, not where I sail my fifty foot schooner! I sail my boat there and I'm not going to put up with looking at and dodging those things. Do you suppose that he just might be one of those elite rich foks that the Democrats are so much against? Hiding behind all of that smoke and mirrors.

I have at various times outlined various ways that we as individual people can help others less fortunate than ourselves. My suggestions have met with a less than resounding reception. One could get the idea that the liberal Democrats are more smoke than substance.

I've been listening to Obama and his retoric about how he is going to help so many of us po' folks. A prime example of smoke and mirrors. Why do I say that? Consider and give some thought to the following.

Last year Obama earned four million dollars plus. Thats okay with me. But in his speeches he wants me to share some of my tax money with those in need. How about him leading by example? I saw an interview with Obama's brother in Africa. Whatever country he lives in. I don't recall it. Obama's brother states that he has met his famous brother, the future President of the United States only two or three times during his brother's visits to Africa.

This is what I mean when I say, leading by example. Obama's brother states that he lives on approximately $1.00 a month. Now thats abject poverty. And Obama who wants us to share that which we have while he earned four million plus and doesn't give a dime to help his own brother.

That is what I call smoke and mirrors. This is what Obama says to you and this is what he actually does.

Lots of things passing through my mind these days. I expect another Bill to be elected. Too many people willing to buy a pig in a poke sack. Hang on tight! It's going to be like riding the world's biggest roller coaster.

Two grandchildren visiting for the summer. I suspect that they are a barometer of our countrie's future. For those who are younger than I am, you've got a wild future ahead of you.

Now don't get me wrong. These kids are very sharp when it comes to technology. Ipods, MP3, cell phones, video games, digital cameras,etc. One is a junior in high school. Mention Mark Twain, receive a blank look. Mount Vernon, same thing. George Washington, he was somebody famous wasn't he? Mona Lisa, isn't she an actress? And on and on and on like that. He has taken his black studies where he learned that Lincoln helped Martin Luther King Jr. free the slaves. He lives in California so he has also taken some classes that were taught only in Spanish. So he knows a few words in Spanish. That's good I guess. At least he's doing what Obama wants him to do. However, if he goes into business, it's very likely going to be an international business and our largest customer is China. They don't speak Spanish.

I know that recently someone was trying to tout Spanish as THE most widely spoken language and named off several countries that spoke Spanish. A couple of those countries actually spoke Portuguese rather than Spanish. However, business wise, we do more business with China than all of those countries combined. Our trade with China has tripled in recent years. English is actually the most widely spoken language world wide no matter what the Mexicans of our southwest would have you believe. And many of the students in China are studying English as well as Chinese. In the meantime, Obama wants our students to learn Spanish. But the largest class of students studying Chinese outside of China is comprised of 8,000 students in Cambodia. They by the way are learning English at the same time. But not Spanish!!

An interesting thing that I heard last night on Charlie Rose. In the last ten to twenty years some 600,000 Chinese have risen up from the poverty level to the middle class level. That's double our entire population. And what has our population done during the same time period? Yup, gone down in the opposite direction.

Why is that? I think that it's because us Americans are willing to sell the farm whereas there is no way that the Chinese will do so. For those who don't understand what that means: We say, you want to import your cars to the U.S.? Sure, of course you can. Spare parts and repair parts? Of course, you can import those also.  And the Chinese? What do they tell General Motors? Yes, you can sell your Chevies here in China. But some of your car has to be assembled here in China. And your spare parts and repair parts have to be manufactured here in China. You see? They do business with us but they don't sell the farm. Hell, we even use our taxes to subsidize jobs in Asia but not here in the U.S. Which is very smart of us, eh?

China has has a change in policy during the last few years. They now buy food outside of China. If we are not now, we will soon be competeing with China for food in the world market. China currently buys every soybean that Brazil can grow. Their requirements for this year are double what they were for last year and expected to double again for 2009. So if you are a soybean farmer in Brazil your future looks rosey. On the other hand if you want to buy soybeans to use in Brazil, too bad. There are no soybeans left for sale. You see, as people move up in the social scale they also expect to eat better. With 1.3 BILLION people they have a lot of mouths to feed.

Oh, my grandson, when I asked him what was the last book that he read? "I don't read books", he said. Nope, never heard of Hemingway.

SIGH..........

BLECK!!!

Interests
By Michael Reagan
July 18, 2008

 

Page 2 of 2

So they fall back on the old canard that even if we started drilling here it would take years for the United States to see any results, ignoring the fact that by telling all those Arab potentates and the Marxist dictator in Venezuela that the gravy train is going to come to a grinding halt in the near future, we're warning them that if they don't increase supply now we'll stop buying from them as soon as we can.

Republicans are demanding that the Democrat-controlled Congress approve drilling here at home now. The environmentalist lobby -- which hates automobiles and fossil fuels almost as much as they hate people -- owns Barack Obama and his Democratic Party, and they say "no drilling." Barack Obama and the Democratic Party obey.

Then there's big labor, which is running short on members whose compulsory dues they use to finance Democratic candidates. They want an end to secret balloting in certain labor elections, and Obama bends his knee and pledges to do big labor's bidding, and to heck with workers' rights.

Then there's the abortion industry. When they say killing the unborn is just dandy, Obama agrees. And the big bucks from the multi-billion dollar baby-killing industry flow into his coffers.

He knows who his bosses are.

E-mail this story to a friend Have comments? Send them to the editor. Printer Friendly Version Subscribe for Free! Other Columns by Michael Reagan Michael Reagan Bio The Real Party Of Special Interests
By Michael Reagan
July 18, 2008

 

Barack Obama is given to calling the GOP a party captive of hateful special interests.

It takes a lot of what my Jewish friends call "chutzpah" to suggest that unnamed special interests control the Republican Party when his own party is totally captive to the most wealthy and powerful special interests in the nation.

Obama and the national Democratic Party is owned lock, stock and barrel by the teachers' unions, the bosses of big labor, cash-heavy, tree-hugging environmental groups, and Planned Parenthood and its allies in the sleazy abortion industry.

And boy, do Obama and his fellow Democrats dance to their tunes! When they say "waltz," in a second he's out there on the political stage whirling obediently to their three-step beat.

In February 2008, Obama spoke to reporters from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel saying, "Let's see if this [school voucher] experiment works, and then if it does, whatever my preconception, you do what's best for kids."

He danced a different waltz on Saturday, July 12, when he told the American Federation of Teachers (which, with the National Education Association, owns the Democratic Party) that like them he was opposed to vouchers, and when his campaign was asked about his newest stand on the issue, it released a statement saying, "Senator Obama has always been a critic of vouchers."

Oh?

Said Catholic League president Bill Donohue: "Guess Obama couldn't resist pandering to the teachers union. It's so easy to tell the media that keeping an open mind on school vouchers is the best way to go. But when cash counts -- and the American Federation of Teachers has plenty of it -- who cares about principle? Fact is, no amount of empirical evidence was ever going to change his mind."

Then there's the matter of the current crisis in oil prices. One patently obvious answer to the problem of relaxing our dependence on foreign oil supplies is to exploit the massive oceans of oil waiting patiently to be found here at home and in the waters offshore, and in Alaska.

It's just plain common sense that when you have enough oil beneath the surface in your own backyard to meet your needs just about forever you should start getting hold of it and stop paying tens of billions to foreign nations who have us by the short hairs.

Any five-year-old with enough sense to come in out of the rain would understand that given the vast supplies of oil available to us here at home it is just plain idiocy to keep ourselves utterly reliant on foreign sources of the stuff.

Mr. Obama and his fellow Democrats don't see it that way. They're not allowed to. Their elitist lords and masters in the environmental movement won't permit it, and should they defy the tree huggers they'd lose all those lovely dollars the greenies keep shoveling into their coffers and those of their candidates running for re-election to Congress.

End Part I

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Obama Tells American Kids to Learn Spanish

Posted By Bobby Eberle On July 10, 2008 at 6:17 am

I hope the American public is watching. For months, Barack Obama was a blank slate. The only thing people knew about him was that he gave a good speech and that he wanted "change." This apparently was enough to garner him the Democratic presidential nomination. (That should be a clue to most Americans NOT to vote for him.) But now, with no help from the media, the real Barack Obama is starting to appear.

The media won't write stories about what he says, but they don't need to. With today's technology, we can see for ourselves, and this latest incident is a doozy! Our education system is crazy enough with all these liberal, feel-good programs. Forget adding, subtracting, spelling, and grammar. Now, despite the fact that the rest of the world is learning English, he says that American kids should learn Spanish? What? Learn Spanish? Yes, and it shows just how out of touch and far left Obama is. We need a president who will put America first, not push for our culture to be forgotten.

 

 

What an absolutely ridiculous speech. We need to make sure our kids can speak Spanish? Why? That is the question. Oh, and I have the answer. It's because the liberals are quite happy seeing millions of illegal aliens pour across our border and do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about it. Rather than solve the problem of illegal immigration by enforcing laws and securing our border (after all, if we did that, liberals would call us racists), the far left would rather Americans simply learn Spanish. That is their solution to the problem.

And it is definitely becoming more and more of a problem. Example... during these very nice summer months, my kids love to go swimming with me at our neighborhood pool. We go in the late morning and spend an hour or two there. Afterward, we come home for lunch. On some days, we go out, and they love it when we get sandwiches at Subway. Getting the sandwiches, however, has become more and more of an ordeal. In fact, the last time we went, it took forever simply because I couldn't understand the attendant, and the attendant couldn't understand me.

I'll have a six-inch ham sandwich on wheat with lettuce and tomato... All I got was a blank stare. I repeated the order, with my daughter looking on. The lady finally grabbed the wheat bread and then selected turkey. No... I said ham.

Now, this being a Subway restaurant in AMERICA, one would think that I could place my order in English. Wrong. This must be a Barack Obama Subway restaurant, and the only way to place an order is to do it in Spanish. Hmmm... I guess I should thank Obama for his speech. What he was trying to get across was the idea that we should teach our kids Spanish just so we can order a sandwich at an American restaurant. Thanks Obama for looking out for me!

Sarcasm aside, Barack Obama continues to show that he is not ready for the presidency, and more importantly, America is not ready for him. Our kids should not be told to learn Spanish. Our kids should be told to learn English and math and science, so they can become contributing American citizens. Obama's example in his speech is that Americans sound silly when they go to France because they can only say a simple phrase. What's his point? Is he saying that we should all learn French for that day that we spend thousands of dollars to travel to France?

English has become the language of international business, commerce, science, and technology. Other nations learn English, because English is the "universal" language in which things get done. Only in America (an English-speaking country) would left-wing Barack Obama tell Americans that their kids should learn Spanish.

My grandson is visiting me for the summer. He will be a Junior in High School this fall. We have of course talked some about his schooling. He told me that he had to attend what he called a "trash school" for middle school. I didn't know what that meant. Apparently it's a school with a high percentage of Mexican students. This kind of school also has many classes that are taught ONLY in Spanish. My grandson who is American/Japanese/German had to attend one of those classes. Needless to say, he failed the class.

There is more. My grandson has also been REQUIRED to take Negro History classes. But no American History classes to date. Nathan can tell me about Rosa Parks and Jesse Jackson. But when asked about George Washington, the ONLY thing that he knew was a demeaning piece of information. That is that George Washington had wooden false teeth. This is what he has been taught in school by his liberal teachers.

Nathan is halfway through high school and does not know when the American Revolution started. Not where it started. He does not know who Thomas Jefferson was nor what he accomplished. He does know that a Negro man invented the traffic light in Cleveland but he doesn't know who Benjamin Franklin was nor what he accomplished. In other words, his liberal teachers have never taught him anything about American heros. Abraham Lincoln? He ended slavery. That is ALL that Nathan knows about him.

What is wrong with our country? Just look at what the liberals have been doing to our children.

Think before you vote in November.

ORANGE COUNTY ( CALIFORNIA ) NEWSPAPER 
  This is a very good letter to the editor. This woman made some good points. For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions. This lady made the argument pretty simple. NOT printed in the Orange County Paper... 

Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree with the philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published; but, with your help it will get published via cyberspace! 
 
New Immigrants 
  
 From: 'David LaBonte' 
  My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to 'print' it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. 
 
Dave LaBonte (signed) 
 
Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register: 
  Dear Editor: 
  So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry. 
  Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented.. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. 
  They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. 
 
Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages was looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American The people of France, Germany & Ireland saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country' s flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.  And here we are in 2007 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags. 
 
And, as for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet. 

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte 
 
KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING.  FOR THE WRONG THINGS TO PREVAIL THE RIGHTFUL MAJORITY NEEDS TO REMAIN COMPLACENT AND QUIET!!  LET THIS NEVER HAPPEN!! 
  I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!!

TIGER WOODS!!!!

 

[Prime Minister John Howard    -    Australia]





 








 







Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.







 







Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.







 







Quote:  







 







'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS , MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians, as we have never seen before.'







 







'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.'







 







'We speak mainly ENGLISH  .  not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, then you have no choice but to learn 'our' language!'







 







'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'







 







'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'







 







'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this But once you are finished complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom ...







 







       'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.'







 







'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'







 







Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths.