For the past ten months we have been inundated with the “blame America” ideology - all that is wrong and evil in the world is America’s fault. The truth is that America does have a sorted past (as does every nation on the planet), however the kindness and generosity that we have shown worldwide is a true testament to the magnanimous nature inherent to our nation. Wherever a disaster strikes, America is first in line to lend support and comfort, whether they be friend or foe. We have fed, clothed, sheltered, provided first-rate medical care, and enormous financial support to nearly every nation on earth. We have opened our doors and our hearts in tribute to our desire for shared liberty and freedom. Well known to all Americans (as well as all nationalities), is the inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.  I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”. We as a nation have welcomed immigrants worldwide to come and share in the American Dream. Our bravest and finest have made the ultimate sacrifice, they have bled and died in distant lands for those who will never know their names, yet shared the common desire for the most basic of human rights - freewill. To quote Kahlil Gibran “Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being”, we can rest assured that our fallen soldiers are forever noble and beautiful.

Yet we are a nation divided… the political infighting and self-deprecating rhetoric out of Washington has driven a wedge through our collective spirits. We have polarizing issues that can not be easily resolved, however we are overwhelmingly a nation of compassionate and freedom loving individuals, and the truth is: we have more in common than politicians would like us to believe. Delusional personalities exist on both ends of the spectrum – radical liberals as well as extreme fundamentalists, however the vast majority of Americans find themselves squarely in the middle with a very wide swath of commonality. 

As to the polarizing issues, the Gordian Knot is often an intractable problem and always daunting. Concurrance on some issues may be nearly impossible – however, please let us agree to at least some dispensations: Iraq – whether you agree or disagree with the premise of the war, the fact is that Saddam Hussein, a brutal, repressive and evil dictator (and his exceedingly repressive successors) were removed from power and can no longer endanger the region or the world. Global Warming – the global scientific community is not divided on the fact that the earth is in a warming cycle, however they are sharply divided as to the cause of this trend. If this vast collective intelligence cannot come to an accord, for the sake of reason and logic, do not fall back to the proven collective ignorance of politicians, whose only motivations are power and greed. We can individually, do what is right to preserve our precious resources – earth, sea and sky for our future generations. However, let’s not bankrupt those same future generations in the process. Energy Independence and Clean Energy are not revolutionary or contradictory and are achievable in the near term, if we avail all options. We need immediate relief from our hyper-dependence on OPEC, which means utilization of our own resources and technologies – including nuclear power (fission and (hopefully) fusion), abundant natural gas, vast domestic reserves of oil, CCS coal, solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, fuel cells, and a vast untapped array of other energy sources. Please, if we are eyeball deep in the quagmire of OPEC dependence it is extremely difficult to see the reasonable alternatives. Illegal Immigration - America was built on immigration, it has been the impetus that has propelled our nation, in a relatively short time, to the most prosperous and powerful country on the planet. I can honestly say that I do not know of a single American that opposes legal immigration. However, I also do not know of a single nation that does not protect, monitor and control the influx of materials and personnel coming into their country. With no border protections in place and a blind eye turned towards illegal border crossings, no sovereign nation can survive. Let’s not be naive, every single day, hardened criminals, drugs, weapons, dormant diseases, gang members, and yes even terrorists cross our borders along with the well intentioned albeit misguided, hardworking people seeking a better life in our country. Without transitioning through our normal immigration procedures, we have no way of determining friend or foe. This is not rocket science… we do not need hundreds of miles of fencing that is proven ineffective, looks “wrong” for a freedom loving nation and is cost prohibitive. We currently have the technology that can detect ANYTHING that crosses our border, above or below ground. We need a smart grid approach to deploying these sensors and increasing the border patrol by approximately 500% (with unemployment affecting nearly 60,000,000 Americans, I don’t think staffing will be a problem). This will slow and ultimately abate the illegal and unmonitored crossings. The approximately 20 to 30 million illegal immigrants in this country now can be provided with an option, either register (biometrically) with US ICE or face future deportation. Those who do register will be offered a temporary work visa that is effective for 3 to 6 months (after which, a determination will be made to either provide a visa extension, a path to legal immigration, or removal). We can still be a compassionate nation, while protecting ourselves from those who would do us harm. 

There are numerous other unresolved polarization issues that face our nation, however I do not have the space (or for that matter the answers) in this forum to address them. However I would like to speak to one final issue, which is perhaps the most polarizing and has affected me personally on diverse occasions. Racism – it is an ugly word and yes it does exist. I am of two races – Caucasian (European) and Native American and I have experienced racism in its worst manifestations. I truly believe that we as a nation have made tremendous strides toward eliminating racism, however there are elements of American society and all societies the world over that will not move one inch from their racist footings. Xenophobia has many forms and faces, it is not just color, creed, religion, race or gender bias. ANYONE can be a racist, regardless of color, creed, religion, race or gender. Education and parity are the only effective methods of combating racism, and the first step is identification. NO ONE, regardless of who they are, what they believe in, or how they choose to lead their lives is beneath you.  However, I must address a fallacy that some imprudent politicians believe and frequently excoriate America over.  Check your facts before spewing vitriol:  America did not invent racism or slavery, they have existed for thousands of years before the concept of America. We fought a civil war to end slavery in which more Americans lost their lives than in all combined wars since. This was a horrible price to pay to eradicate a horrendous condition that we all wish had never been part of our history. We have come a long way, and America is a very diverse nation – African Americans comprise nearly 15% of the American population, Latinos and Hispanic Americans comprise nearly 20% of the American population, Asian Americans comprise nearly 10% of the American population – combined this is nearly 50% of the American population. We are all part of this truly remarkable American experience and though we may from time to time have political, ideological or cultural differences, we are ALL Americans. 

I know I have rambled and ranted excessively in this blog, but if you take anything away from this please remember the following:        

Our nation was founded on the Constitution – the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the Rule of Law:

1.) All were created equally, and shall stand as such at the end,

2.) We are endowed with unalienable rights, including Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,

3.) Respect and treat others as you would like to be.

A Wakeup Call… A clarion alarm is sounding in the distance and we Americans are NOT responding. Our government is intentionally misleading us (what a surprise) on an unprecedented scale!  This administration and congress cannot provide any semblance of accurate unemployment numbers (the DOL is reporting just under 10% national unemployment, when states, economists and experts are stating (emphatically) that the actual numbers are nearly 17 – 23% unemployment rates nationally).  This administration and congress cannot provide any semblance of accurate federal deficit numbers (the administration is stating that our current deficit is running about $1.2 Trillion, and that the Bush administration is solely responsible for this deficit (an outright fabrication), when in fact the CBO, OMB, economists and experts are stating (emphatically) that our current federal deficit numbers are running over $10 Trillion (historically unparalleled).  This administration and congress cannot provide any semblance of accurate economic recovery information (the administration is reporting that nearly 500,000 - 1,000,000 jobs have been “created or saved” since January, when all the experts are stating that number is only 25,000 – 30,000 federal jobs that have been created (at taxpayer expense), and little to no activity has occurred in the private sector.  

State of the Unions

Unions have become nothing more than the corrupt political arm of American industry. These massive nationwide organizations are endemic examples of inefficiencies, fraud, waste and corruption that have contributed significantly to the collapse of some of the largest American industries.   Union bosses “are far more interested in acquiring and projecting political power than they are in representing the long-term best interests of their members¹”. Who can forget the infamous collapse of the U.S. airliner industry (spurred on by relentless strikes and chokeholds by the airline unions, the subsequent takeover by unions and the rapid collapse of our largest air carriers, United, Eastern, USAir, PanAm… ad infinitum). The parallels and juxtapositions with the massive federalization of the U.S. automakers, financial institutions, educational institutions, manufacturing industries and the soon-to-be takeover of the healthcare industry are all too familiar. Those concerns that are not already dominated by unions will be forced to unionize. 

My assertion that labor unions in the U.S. are in violation of antitrust laws (“antitrust/antimonopoly: laws and regulations; designed to protect trade and commerce from unfair business practices”), is absolutely founded in fact. These massively corrupt unions (UAW, AFL-CIO, SEIU, NEA, et al.), are completely unregulated, no one (especially the ultraliberal dominated federal government) is watching the misuse, illegal misdirection, considerable unlawful political influencing, and Rico Law (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) violations that are customarily perpetrated by union leadership with union dues and pension funds. Unions routinely destroy peoples lives and livelihoods, set policy in Washington, through illegal lobbying and political corruption, influence national and international trade agreements, and condemn American industry to the slow, painful death of incipient inefficiencies and the inability to compete openly with foreign industries. Unions are an absolute monopoly that establishes a political agenda by which all members, potential members and applicants must adhere to or be completely ostracized, fired, blacklisted and in some instances – disappear. The irony of this is that these activities that union bosses are currently engaged in are exactly what the first unions were formed to combat - corrupt industry monopolies and practices. Please understand that the vast majority of union members are hardworking, honest American citizens that want nothing more than to make a decent living, and provide for the betterment of their families. These members do not condone the corrupt actions of the union leadership, however they must “go along, or get out”. How did our unions become so convoluted?   These conditions and circumstances are (unfortunately) embraced, condoned and absolutely encouraged by this administration and congress. They know categorically that the union leadership consistently provides millions of liberal votes and a nearly insurmountable voting block in certain states. However the hypocrisy by this administration that the existing healthcare fraud, waste, illegality and inefficiencies are more than ample reason to completely teardown, overhaul and reform the American healthcare system, whereas the same conditions that exist in our unions are completely tolerable. What a sad state of affairs and a complete mockery of our representative republic. This administration has stated emphatically, that any large (financial) institution that can adversely influence the economy will be heavily regulated and controlled by the government. However, these massive unions adversely affect considerable portions of the US economy and directly impinge upon tens of millions of American lives, yet they are free (and encouraged) to continue with unchecked and unimpeded corruption, greed, inefficiencies and violence. Where is the justice in that?  The ONLY way out of this is for the millions of honest union members to stand up and demand accountability of the union bosses and vote corruption out of our unions and Washington! The power is yours, use it wisely…