For far too long the U.S. has treated South American states as second cousins. The U.S. has been a bully and an extreme capitalist with the dollar first as an overall attitude. Over the last twenty years the relationship has been a bit better but still not even breaking into the good friend area. We have imposed our will by offering money and in some cases picking a side to support with no less than covert CIA overtones. Now we are at the door of new relationships all around the world but we are still neglecting our southern neighbors. China, Russia, and even India are making inroad relationships with the southern countries bidding for oil and mineral deposits that are yet to be tried or fully uncovered. The only way for the U.S. to protect itself from foreign intervention in these states is to become a full participant with them in an economic and political way. We need to help develop markets in these countries as we also assist in the development of their international business opportunities with the U.S. as the assisting broker in their deals. This would provide the U.S. with a stable Southern Hemisphere with strong collective and political regional goals partnered with our goals. At the same time it would strengthen the Organization of American States and provide a region of the world that the U.S. protects as its own real estate with the support of the organization. This would send a signal to the rest of the world that the Southern States are open for business but not political change or entangling treaties for both discovered and yet undiscovered commodities in the region.

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As a nation and as a global society we are entering a green time. That simply means we are in a cycle of conservation for most anything that pertains to the earth. I call it a cycle because we will be lucky if the full cycle lasts twenty years. We as a nation will embrace many changes that will hopefully reduce greenhouse gasses and provide the world with a new form of energy that will be safe for the individual and the environment. What ever this new energy source turns out to be it will have to be one with everything in our world. This new energy will have to be cheap, clean, safe, powerful, and to be abundant either as a renewable resource or as a natural resource that has yet to be identified. The bottom line here is without a find such as I have just suggested the green mindset will go away within ten years. After that we will all just talk about the good old green days.

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I find it very interesting that many Americans are against the human exploration of space. When they are asked in the street if they want to return to the Moon or support a trip to Mars the general answer is no or not sure. When questioned as to why they felt opposed to additional exploration the general response was they it was probably going to be too expensive. When the question was explored further almost half of the respondents indicated they would change their opinion if the government identified and set up a new program. The respondents were an across the board cut of people on the street. When asked a subsequent question which was "do you believe exploration and discovery are inherent elements of human kind"?. The response was most positive to say the least. At this point most respondents had multiple positive statements about exploration and discovery as a human right. Generally, for those with a positive posture toward exploration and discovery, there was a feeling America was loosing the race for space and the chance at potential discoveries that would help us with our green problems on earth. When these same people were told that the Chinese are scheduled to put an unmanned Lunar Lander on the moon in 2010 they were in disbelief. The question is are we cutting our self off at the pass by not persuing and developing space?

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On May 6, 2009 I wrote about the problems with North Korea and what the present world powers should do about it. There is no change in my approach. The time has come for the U.S. and the other nuclear nations of the world to take a stand and tell North Korea that if they do not stop in their tracks they will be stopped. The most likely response from North Korea will be a lot of words and then the firing of several rockets across Taiwan and across the bow of Japan and they will move several hundred thousand troops just north of the present DMZ at the 38th parallel. This will be sort of a message to tell the U.S. and all the other countries in talks with North Korea that they will define their own destiny and no other country will tell them what to do. Once again this may be the situation where one should be careful of what one wishes for as they might get more than they bargained for. If the North Koreans decide to push their position by entering the DMZ they will start an all out war. With this type of war as a possible condition the U.S. will be cautious at first but eventually they will see that the best course is to strike at the core of the military and to eliminate all nuclear facilities.

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Marriage is covered under the constitution as both a civil and religious right though not as a specific constitutional statement but these truths are there and indicated and implied as rights as the law has evolved.

Marriage as a civil right became justified when the Brown vs. the Board of Education decision was made by the United States Supreme Court. That may seem to be a horse of a different color but that decision overturned the outcome of a previous ruling called The Separate but Equal Provision. The Separate but Equal ruling stated that people could be separated and even isolated by race as long as the facilities of separation were equal. That was overturned by the Brown vs. The Board of Education decision because separate is never equal in the long run. Therefore, to deny marriage to Gay individuals on a separate but equal basis by offering civil unions denies them their civil rights. The only remedy for this condition is to allow marriage to individuals regardless of sexual orientation.

Marriage is also a religious right. A specific religion may ban all marriage except that of a man and women. The problem for the law makers here is that anyone is allowed by lawto practice their religion as they wish. To prohibit that allowance would be unconstitutional on grounds of religious freedom. So if the Gay community all joined the Gay Freedom Church that church would have the right to petition the government to allow them to provide a legal marriage within the bounds and functions of that religion. Were the government to deny such a request then it would be breaking Constitutional law.

In the long run to deny individuals a basic right because the God of some religions does not deem that right fit is not what this government or this country is supposed to stand for. Your belief in an act as a sin may not be the belief of others. A wise individual once come upon a similar condition and resolved it be saying "Let those among you without sin cast the first stone". Perhaps this country needs to rethink its position on this issue.


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It seems kind of silly to make a great to do of the dangerous mission the astronauts undertake each time they take a ride to the heavens. Every time they leave the earth the scientists and the engineers as well as the astronauts understand all the generally known risks and the probable risks. Each space mission has all the old risks and then includes the risks that are new and specific to the mission. Of course there is always the possibility of the strange and improbable risk rearing its ugly head. During the last mission the astronauts were put in extreme danger not because the probabilities were configured incorrectly but because the replacement part they were supposed to install in the telescope did not fit. With all the tools the engineers have to assure such a problem does not pop up they failed to effectively apply the skills they are paid to perform. Replacement parts that do not fit are considered unacceptable for those of us who are earthbound. For astronauts at risk during a space walk the failure of the engineers to get it right should be grounds for their dismissal.

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The current inmates at GITMO are a strange lot. Most of them, if released, would turn to fight against America on the battle field or in any other way they can. These are a different type of hardened criminal. They believe that killing Americans will bring them great honor both at home and in the eyes of God. These are people who have eliminated reason from their vocabulary. That profile alone would qualify for a prison stay or a mental hospital holiday. Therefore, if what I am stating is only half true there is no place for these people to be housed in the U.S. We do not want them to mix with inmate populations in our standard prisons and we do not wish to set them free within the boarders of the U.S.

The question is where do we place the GITMO boys? Well the first thought is out of sight out of mind. They have to be out of the reach of the press. The only places that they can be sent are the prisons of other countries which have received terror attacks. We need to turn these prisoners over to these other countries willing to hold them for questioning and even put them behind bars after they are tried as terrorists. No matter how we play this story the reality is that they must be sent away where they will never see the light of day again. It may seem unfair but it will save lives in the long run.

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The financial condition of the marketplace is weak at best but everyone is looking at the current Bull Run as a signal things are getting better. To a degree they are but there is still more grief to come. There is still one big shoe to drop. That shoe is the commercial real estate market. At present there are more buildings empty than we would like to see. The problem is there are many more buildings that are going to be in trouble as more and more companies close their doors. The closing of 500 Chrysler sales operations and the potential closing of 1200 GM sales sites will accelerate the dropping of the other shoe. When that shoe finally drops all the forward progress that has been made will just about come to a stop. We must remain in a solid defensive and protective mode of operation on a personal level until this next problem blows over.

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There is a lot of resentment on the part of the public over just about everything. The current global economic disconnect has people pointing fingers and branding as the perpetrator the next person's name to be raised in the conversation. People feel they need some one to blame for their current misery. There are many things that have been identified as troubled, bad, corrupt in business, politics and even in our schools. There are always individuals who can be blamed and accused of deception and trickery by the public at large. These accusations allow the individual to let themselves off the hook for perhaps not having looked deep enough, long enough and hard enough to be sure their choice was the correct one. Unfortunately, having the wool pulled over your eyes does not let one off the hook in a democratic society. There are many responsibilities that come with living in this form of society. The most basic of those responsibilities is to be an informed individual and participant in the social order of things. That means that everyone is responsible for getting involved collectively and on an individual basis. Laws, rules, school budgets, and a million other things do not happen with out the input of the public. If there is one primary law within a democracy, one that every citizen is responsible to take part in, it is the rule of participation. There is no documented or actual written rule for this primary law but if thee were one it would read; those who show up get to make the rules. The follow up to that rule would read; those who fail to show up just get to whine about how they have been left out.

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What we need to do with health care is to get it right this time. The only way to make this thing work is to get all the players in a room and work it out. The goals are simple and in fact they are few in number. The reduction goals on cost need to cover the cost of the insurance and the ability for the coverage to be, on a basic level universal, fair, and affordable. The reduction in hospitalization and associated medications costs need to be reduced and controlled. The insurance must be portable and the coverage guaranteed at the basic level for everyone. The final element should be that not more than half the cost of the coverage should be the burden of the individual or family. That will require a sliding scale based on ability to pay. If we can get that much into a package this year then we can say this administration will have really accomplished something.



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It is more than the fact that Iran has a mind of its own. The Iranian government makes a good argument when they state that if other nations can have nuclear weapons why should they be refused entrance to the club. They are pursuing the same goals as North Korea yet through a series of fits and starts the North Korean's have been treated better than the Iranians though they have repeatedly lied to continue their quest. From the very beginning the Iranian government has stated what their goal was. It has been the negative actions of the nuclear club members toward the Iranian goal that has caused the friction and escalated the concern as to where the bombs will end up. The U.S. has been the leader in these actions but assuredly England and France are just as concerned. The time for the full capability of bomb development is now coming into a short window. Once that window closes there will be but one action that can be taken and that would be to attack the facility where the bomb is stored and destroy it and the facilities that assisted in making the device. Unfortunately, if such action is taken it will only delay the date the bomb will be available but it will not stop the quest for the bomb. It will however, create an atmosphere that will guarantee when a bomb is created or available it will be turned over to radical terrorists. At present there is a chance the Iranian government will see the light an keep the bomb strictly as a measure of self security. The only alternative at this time is to find a way to make Iran a responsible neighbor and member of the world of nations.

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On 8/23/08 I wrote about future oil prices and the damage it will do to the consumer's wallet. The economic crisis forced the price of oil to contract but is now on its way back to the ranges I suggested back in August of 2008. The price of oil will slowly move up at first but by the end of the year the pace will accelerate. As the economic environment around the world improves more and more commodities will fetch more in the market place because of the demand becoming greater than the available supply. Oil will be at the front of that race. By the end of 2010 the demand for oil will be at new record levels and the nations of the market place will start fighting over oil rights. This leads to the article I wrote 12/16/08 on The Oil Wars. As we head out of the economic woes of the present we will be setting our selves up for the extremely high prices and the first round of the Oil Wars. Where oh where is that new form of energy we were going to develop for when we needed it?

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Deep inside the U.S. government there is a group creating the strategy for three way talks between the U.S., Israel and Iran. This may seem like a waste of time but there may be some method to the madness. Israel had the green light from the Bush administration to take out the Iranian nuclear facilities if the time came when Israeli agents could prove a bomb was close at hand. When the new administration took over the wink and a nod approval was rescinded. Somewhere outside of the West Wing this group of strategists is planning how to bring the three nations to a secret and informal table for talks on how to prevent a war. Part of the talks will be the problems that must be resolved and another part will be the development of a new posture for both Israel and Iran while these talks continue. The question is can the White House make the appropriate overtures to these two nations to draw them into talks and changing their political posture to become less menacing while the talks progress. The bait for Iran is the talks are secretive and will continue even as the nuclear development clock continues to tick. At the same time the Iranian's know that the talks must lead somewhere or their facilities will be wiped out if the bomb development outstrips the talks. All we can do is cross our fingers and hope reason prevails.

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The Chinese government is always looking for an internal rebellion. It seems to be the nature of their governments for centuries. At present the government has taken extraordinary steps to be prepared for any form If that comes up. They have taken part of their military and put them in the streets in all the cities as a form of undercover cop. They have also beefed up the visible presence of the military in the same cities. It almost seems the appropriate thing to do when we look at the vast numbers of people in the cities who have become unemployed in just the last ten months. Yet, at this point the government has had no true challenges to date. Perhaps that is because the economic plan the Chinese have put in place is so strong and is already showing powerful benefits to the people in the cities.

The plan was to manufacture their way out of the crisis by using their factories to manufacture the products that were going to the U.S. and are now selling them inside China to their own market. To get people to purchase these items coupons were issued to the public at large for huge discounts and even free products. Several factories have been refabed to now make washing machines so that every family with an apartment can have one. People are going back to work, as factories reopen, and they are using their hard earned money and the coupons the government has handed out to purchase even more products. With this as a backdrop it seems rebellion will find it difficult to take hold. The possibility of a rebellion, as per the man in the chinese streets, would be foolish business because the people feel they are now becoming wealthy.

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Everyone in talks with North Korea uses polite language to get them to agree to change when they have no intention of true change. After North Korea agrees to something they get what they want, even if it is just buying time, and then they go back on the agreement. After several years of this activity it is time to stop the negotiations and tell our friends, who are in the talks with us, that the time has come to take extreme action on the next reversal of an agreement by North Korea. That action would be in the form of an overt aggressive act by the U.S., and its friends if they wish to join in the fray, to show the North Korean government that they can be taken out. That would also serve as a unique warning to the Iranian government who tend to play the same game. This is risky business but it is not anymore risky than letting the North Koreans play their game and buy time to enable them to build the capability of threatening to damage other countries around it.

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There are many issues with China as there are with all other countries. Everyone wants to protect their information and secrets as well as almost anything that a country will wish to protect. Spies are always considered a part of war and in general are not considered to be the same terrible weapon when it occurs between two countries which are not at war. The reality is there is no difference. In simple terms the other guy is trying to look at my stuff when he knows I do not want anyone to see it and that is spying. We all go to great lengths to guard and protect our privacy and secrets. China knows this as well as everyone else yet they practice the art of spying almost openly by encouraging their internet savvy people to attack our cyber defenses and then reward those who have successfully penetrated the U.S. security measures and gained useful information.

Those who are successful and have retrieved information receive rewards for doing so when they provide the information and the information is deemed to be important. These are not trained spies they are regular people who on a daily basis hack into U.S. companies and government agencies in an attempt to extract information which may be rewarded by the Chinese government. It is a program designed to be carried out by every day citizens who can earn rewards if they find information which is of interest to the government or industry. However, this activity is a cover for the true spies who are expert at hacking and become unidentifiable when they work in concert with all the novice hackers attacking on a 24/7 basis. The CIA is in the process of adding a very large number of counter espionage agents to their cyber defense ranks. Perhaps it is time for the U.S. to use the same approach the Chinese use on us as a counter measure forcing them to either stop the process or spend heavily to counter a U.S. program with the same goals. It seems the CIA is really watching.

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Pakistan is a hotbed of terrorist activity and they are supported by many in the military. If this were not the case the Taliban would not have been able to gain so much land control in such a short time. Under pressure from the U.S. Pakistan's last president purged terrorist and extremists from the military. That seemed to satisfy the U.S. at the time but it soon became apparent that the purge removed only the obvious individuals and allowed the most secretive of the higher military staff to remain. The purge did not include brigades of Pakistani solders who are loyal to the military leaders with extremist Moslem ideology. On any given day you cannot tell who is who with out a scorecard. This does not bode well for the American end game of boxing in the extremists and dismantling the Taliban. In fact most political leaders as well as the majority of the people of Pakistan have feelings that lean toward the U.S. Unfortunately they are easily subjugated by the deadly activities of these terrorists. This, in and of itself, means if the Taliban or any extremist groups exercise enough deadly pressure the people will turn their allegiance. Such an event would allow the military elements to turn the brigades they control and take over the government. This is not only a matter of who can you trust but even that scenario changes with the time of the day. At this moment this is the most dangerous place in the world and the U.S. had better make sure it has a plan for the elimination of the nuclear weapons in Pakistan at a moments notice with no regard to the collateral damage.

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The low key hand of change extended to Cuba by the U.S. is in the best interest of all concerned. We have been at odds with this country for nearly fifty years. The economic pressures put on Cuba have been a burden for its people and the ideological issues that became part of U.S. policy have hurt America and Americans. Different political ideologies do not require these two countries to be political enemies. Time has changed the politics on the table. We befriend many countries who have different opinions than we do yet we trade with them and even make peace and war with them as allies. What is in the past is in the past and needs to remain there. These are new days with the potential for a brighter future for everyone concerned. The U.S. should court the Cuban people and the Cuban government in a reciprocal atmosphere where the obvious levels of agreement and the progress to change are carried out on an amicable environment of friendship and greater understanding. Should the U.S. fail to journey this road it will turn out to be a long term mistake with perhaps significant consequences.

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Let me start by saying that anyone who immediately states they have the answer to this question should be shut down and dismissed from the conversation. I do not have the answer and no one I know, and that represents a very large group of exceptionally smart people, has the answer. The problem is that over the last thirty years this country has spent an inordinate amount of money to police the streets for drugs, incarcerate drug traffickers, and carry on war like activities on land and the sea through out the world in an attempt to stem the drug trade. The results are simply there has been no substantial benefit from these activities. So the real questions at this point are should we continue to do what does not work and is there a better approach to this problem?

If there is a better solution than it is time for this society to discover what it is and put the solution into practice. We need smart minds to accomplish this task. We need the kind of minds that are non-political but understand politics and are capable of identifying a better solution. We also need individuals capable of packaging the solution and selling the concept to the American people. If there is a better solution the American voter must be so completely sold on its potential for success that the polititians will have no place to hide if they do not comply with the wishes of the people. If the solution and its packaging is not effectively accomplished the politicians will posture for positions that are vote winners in their district. They will play to the groups who believe they already have the answer and will not listen to a different opinion with the end result being the war on drugs will continue.

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The Time is now for the Republican Party to move on the 2012 presidential election. They have to pick several leaders that they can fully back and start the process of grooming them the 2012 race. If the Republicans fail to accomplish that task they may go the way of the Wig Party. However, if they stop and think a bit, instead of spending all their time bushwhacking the current administration, they can come up with several people who may not be icons now but can become so in time for the next presidential race. Selecting them now will start the grooming process and put a selection before the American people long before they have to make a choice. In addition these selections will enable the voting public to witness the growth of these individuals and become comfortable with them as political leaders. The critical issue here is each of the individuals selected must be able to establish a working relationship with the other side of the aisle. These are the tools that will help bring back the real viability of the Republican Party.

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