RE: Roe Vs. Wade

I am writing in response to my classmate’s blog of April 25, 2008, Roe vs. Wade must end. I could not agree more with your writing. The statistics are overwhelming. There are approximately 3700 abortions performed daily in the United States. More than half of the abortions, 52%, are from women that are under the age of 25 and 20% of those are teenagers. In the United States there were 839,226 legal abortions reported in 2004. This was a drop from the 848,163 legal abortions reported in 2003. That adds up to 1,687,389 lives that were done away with in a two year period. You can see the baby’s heart beating on ultrasound, seven weeks after conception. The heartbeat can be heard as early as nine to ten weeks. Why is human life treated so lightly, and groups of people (P.E.T.A.) get all worked up over issues like horse racing.

Human life is precious from conception until natural death. I can’t imagine what a scared teenager or young woman is going through when an unwanted pregnancy happens. Abortion MUST not be used as birth control. These young women have to be made aware of the alternative to abortion---adoption. There are thousands of couples that can’t have children. By giving the baby up for adoption, you are giving the greatest gift of all to a couple whose dream was a baby to love.

If Roe vs. Wade is ever going to be overturned, we are going to have to have judges on the Supreme Court that will vote in that matter. There is a chance that at least two judges could retire during the next presidential term, John Paul Stevens age 88 and Ruth Ginsburg age 75. If you are against this unthinkable way of ending a human life, I urge you to find out what your presidential candidates stance is on this issue. The new president will be the one to nominate the new justices.

The United States Government

The United States Government

In a time when it is popular to bash the United States Government, I think people should think about their freedoms and try and remember everything the United States does to help around the world. We are extremely lucky to be living in a country that allows its citizens to speak however they choose about their elected officials. We are extremely lucky to be able to demonstrate for causes that are important to us. We are extremely lucky to be able to vote for the candidate of our choice without fear. There are many people around the world who do not have, what we consider, basic freedoms. These freedoms are not known to people in Iran, North Korea, Cuba or other communist countries around the world. Cuban people were just now able to get cell phones in April of 2008.

The United States is one of the most generous countries in the World. The United States provides hope to suffering people throughout the world. Soon after the tsunami hit Indonesia in 2006 the United States had more than 150 personnel on the ground participating in the relief and reconstruction effort. The United States has given $950 million dollars to support the people and reconstruction of their country after the tsunami hit.

The United States, by 2010, will have doubled the amount of monetary assistance given in 2004, to 8.7 billion dollars to help fight HIV/AIDS and malaria in Africa. Hundreds of thousands of new textbooks have been given to the children of Africa to help with their education. In the last eight years the United States has more than doubled its development assistance to Africa.

These are just a few examples of why we should be proud of our government. Is there any wonder why people risk their lives in small boats or rafts to try and make it to the United States? We are a long way from the “Perfect Union” our founders talked about but we continue to try and get there.

RE: "Crude Crusade"

I am writing this in response to a blog titled “Crude Crusade”. In the “Crude Crusade” the author talks about the record breaking profits the oil companies made last year. The author failed to mention that the oil companies make only around five cents per gallon profit on every gallon of gas they sell. On the other hand, the federal and state governments make around 46 cents per gallon of gas sold. Which seems more fair, five cents per gallon profit for the company that does all the work or 46 cents profit to the government for doing nothing? Did you know that there is a democratic representative from Michigan who wants to add a fifty cent per gallon tax to gasoline to force people to cut down on consumption?

The United States has very little control over the cost of crude oil. Opec member countries can restrain their crude oil production as they see fit. Opec nations, which the United States is not a member, account for over two-thirds of the world oil reserves and more than 35% of the world’s oil production. If they choose not to increase production, there is not a lot we can do about it.

The author also talks about the disappointment they feel in the current administration’s handling of rising oil prices. The author failed to mention that this administration has continued to talk about how we need to support alternate fuels and to get off oil. The administration also put in its 2006 budget 84 million dollars to be used for on-going research for ethanol and biodiesel fuels. The administration also tried to get additional drilling for oil in our own country in Alaska. The environmentalists would have nothing to do with that. Even if we were able to drill for additional oil in our country, our refineries are running to the max. We have not built any new refineries since 1976.

The President is only as good as the Congress. Unfortunately with a democratic controlled congress, the chances of this President getting anything passed are slim. I can’t see the congress wanting the President to get any credit, especially in an election year.

Leaving Now Is Not An Option

I am sure we have all heard both of the Democratic candidates for President say that if elected they would end the war in Iraq and pull out our troops. When they make statements like this you hear the crowds cheer. My question is - then what? Do the cheering crowds and the candidates really think that by pulling our troops out of Iraq, the war will be over? Do the cheering crowds and the candidates really think that by pulling our troops out of Iraq, Al Qadea is going to leave us alone? I don’t think so. This is a group of killers that have made it quite clear that their goal is to kill as many Americans as they can. For this reason, we have to stay and fight for our freedom.

The opponents to the war say we should not be in Iraq because Al Qadea was not in Iraq when we went in. Whether or not they were in Iraq when we went in, they are there now. If we don’t fight them there, we will be fighting them here. If we leave Iraq before the job is done, our enemies will take over the new Iraqi government and have a country they can use for training and planning their next attack. Others say that the loss of life is too great. More than a hundred thousand bodies have been found in mass graves in Iraq. I bet they wish we had gotten there earlier. Our military men and women are helping a country that has been ruled by an evil dictator for years.

I believe that the military officers that are on the ground should be the ones to make recommendations regarding when to start bringing our troops home. The men and women in Washington D. C., in their plush offices, should not be the ones saying when we should leave. Most of the members of Congress have never been to Iraq and do not have firsthand knowledge of the situation.

This would be a terrible time to leave Iraq. The surge of troops that President Bush sent to Iraq last summer is working. You even hear some Democratic leaders say that things are getting better. The front pages of the newspapers are talking about the economy instead of Iraq. This is another indication that things are getting better. To pull our troops out now would be an injustice to all of the men and women that have given their lives for our freedom.

Outraged At the House

I came across an interesting article by Cliff May while browsing Michelle Malkin’s website, on Thursday. In the article a lawyer for the A.C.L.U. stated that after the attacks of September 11, 2001, everyone in the country may have had their phone calls combed through for terrorist connections. The lawyer went on to say that if this had happened a lot of people would be outraged.

I for one have nothing to hide and if they tapped my telephone lines, I would not be outraged but thankful. Having the ability to listen in on phone conversations that have the potential of terrorist links, in my opinion, is the duty of the national government. The world we live in has changed since September 11, 2001 and we may not ever be able to go back to the days where we did not worry about being attacked. We should be doing whatever it takes to keep the American people safe. What we should be outraged about is that the House of Representatives did not follow the Senates lead and pass a bill that would protect the telecoms from lawsuits. How could you blame a telecommunication company from not wanting to listen in on phone conversations if they knew that they may be sued for millions of dollars?

We, the American public, need to wake up and call our Representatives and tell them to pass the Senates bill. We have an enemy out there that has made it very clear, that their goal is to destroy the United States. We need to take this enemy very seriously. The safety of the American people should be the government’s number one concern. The cost of gasoline doesn't matter, mortgages rates, the cost of health care if we are not around to make use of it.

Mrs. Obama Needs to Choose Her Words More Wisely

I was reading an article that Michelle Maklin had written the other day on the comments made by Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama stated that for the first time in her adult life she was proud of her country. I understand that Mrs. Obama is older than me and has probably seem a lot of bad things in her life, but to have never been proud of her country in her adult her until now? It is really hard to believe that she has such a low opinion of the country that she lives in.
I remember on a couple of recent vacations I toured the U.S.S. Midway and the U.S.S. Lexington. I was very proud to walk around on the decks of those ships knowing that the men and women of our military walked those same decks as they were defending our freedom. In our country we have the right to criticize our political leaders without the fear of being arrested. If people in other countries tried criticizing their political leaders, it would probably be the last time they would do it.

I am proud of my country every time I see the space shuttle blast off and return to Earth safely. Can you imagine how smart the scientist must be at NASA in order to pull off such a feat. I am proud of my country when I see the people of Iraq showing off their purple colored finger indicating they were able to vote in a free election for the first time.
Here in the United States, millions of people vote in each election. The right to vote in our country is a right that many people take for granted.

When the enemy flew our airplanes into our buildings, it was a very scary time. It makes me proud of our country to know that we have the military and the leaders that are doing everything they can from keeping this from happening again. I believe that safety should be our biggest concern.

There is a chance that Mrs. Obama is going to be the wife of the most powerful man in the world. People not only in this country, but people all over the world are listening to every word that is spoken. I don’t think that her comment sent a very good message as to what the United States is all about.
To see more about this article click the link below:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2008/02/20/michelle_obamas_america_--_and_mine

Berkeley Gets Put in Their Place

I found this recent article written by Michelle Malkin giving an update on the way the Berkeley City Council and others had been treating the Marines Recruiting Office in their city. She went on to say that a group called Code Pink was able to deface the office building by posting hate signs along with bloody hand prints on the windows. This was all done with the backing of the city council, except for one member. The council gave this group free parking spaces and a free sound permit for six months. She went on to say that all of this activity was taking place although it is a federal crime to willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States.
Luckily the people of the rest of the United States rebelled against the actions of Code Pink and the City Council. A group out of San Francisco called Move America Forward started an online petition to get this nonsense stopped. With the help of Senator Jim DeMint to have two million dollars taken away from Berkeley, the City Council started to have a change of heart.
I think this is a good article for people to read because you can see how some groups of people are treating our military especially in the time of war. When our military is defending our freedom we should take every opportunity to say thank you instead of forget you.

For more information see the link below
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2008/02/06/berkeley_vs_america,_again