Citizens of Utah... WAKE THE HELL UP!!

Have you bought motor oil at Wal-Mart lately? Have you been asked to bend over at the register, while the cashier scanned your Quaker State, Havoline, or Mobil oil purchase? Or, perhaps you were bent over by the cashier without noticing it? Look at your receipt! Here's the deal...

Title 40 (40-6-14) of the Utah Code establishes a "Fee on oil and gas", and it reads:

"(1) (a) There is levied a fee as provided in Subsection (1)(b) for oil and gas:

(i) produced; and
(ii) (A) saved;
(B) sold; or
(C) transported from the field in Utah where the oil or gas is produced.

(b) The fee imposed under this Subsection (1) is equal to the product of:

(i) .002; and

(ii) the value of the oil or gas determined in accordance with Section 59-5-103.1."

(2) (a) The State Tax Commission shall administer the collection of the fee, including any penalties and interest.
(b) The money collected shall be deposited in the Oil and Gas Conservation Account created in Section 40-6-14.5.
(c) Time periods for the State Tax Commission to allow a refund or assess the fee shall be determined in accordance with Section 59-5-114.
(3) (a) Each person having an ownership interest in oil or gas at the time of production shall be liable for a proportionate share of the fee equivalent to that person's ownership interest.

So, what does all that crap mean? It means that there is a "fee" imposed upon "Each person having an ownership interest in oil or gas at the time of production" equal to 2/10 of a penny. (Section 59-5-103.1 is simply the statutory authority establishing the Utah State sales tax, and explains how much and for what goods and service sales tax will be chaged.)

Nowhere in the statute does it charge this "fee" to the retail seller, nor does it allow the retail seller to pass the fee along to the end user. Further, according to the statute, the "fee" is only placed upon oil and gas that is produced; and saved; sold; or transported from the field in Utah where the oil or gas is produced. However, Wal-Mart (and possibly other retail sellers of oil in Utah) charges a 4¢ ($0.04) "oil use fee" on one quart of motor oil. If the sales unit is a U.S. quart, then the fee charged by Wal-Mart is 20 times what the State of Utah authorized. This raises four questions in my mind:

1. Was that quart of Quaker State motor oil produced; and saved, sold or transported from the field in Utah where the oil was produced?

2. Under what statutory authority does Wal-Mart collect the "oil use fee" from the end user (purchaser) when the fee is imposed upon - and supposedly paid by - the oil producer?

3. Why hasn't the State either (a) stopped this practice of passing the fee along to the customer, or (b) amended the Utah Code, Title 40, to permit the practice of passing the fee along to the customer, but at no more than the prescribed rate of .002 per unit.

4. Who's bending us over further, Wal-Mart with its illegal practice, or the State of Utah for permitting it to continue?

It's not just a few pennies we're talking about here. Well, okay, it is just a few pennies for each of us individually, but Wal-Mart is probably raking in several thousands of dollars per day in illicit profits. And, they're doing it 4¢ at a time in their Utah stores!

And, the State of Utah can call it a "fee" all they want... it's just another TAX... in fees clothing! Somebody has apparently determined that we have too much disposable-by-choice income left after paying bills and all the other taxes with which we've been burdened by your government...

I'm Gil (and you're not), and I approved this blog!

Government Control Is Not Needed Where Obama Wants It!!

Your government wants to stick it's bureaucratic nose into everything that affects average, working-class people. Everything except those areas it should be investigating and regulating more strictly! For example...

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. reported quarterly earnings Thursday that easily beat analysts' expectations on higher crude prices.

The world's largest public energy company reported net income of $7.56 billion, or $1.60 a share, in the second quarter, up 91% from $3.95 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the same period in 2009.

Earnings for the first half of 2010, excluding special items, were $13.9 billion, up 60% over the first half of 2009." (Emphases added)

Yes, my friends, that is Billion with a capital "B". The concept of a million of anything is difficult for most of us to envision, and the term billion just boggles the mind. Maybe this will help get it into perspective - a billion minutes ago, Christ was alive. Here's a picture showing the relationship between one thousand, one million and one billion -

There is a 6" difference between the million point and the billion point on this line. (A trillion [a figure our government loves to throw at us] would be marked 500 feet to the right of the billion mark.) Now, think of that number in terms of dollars - the dollars you spend at the gas pump, the dollars you spend for groceries, the dollars you spend for clothing... and your tax dollars!

Diesel fuel, the least refined and least expensive to produce, currently hovers at around $4 per gallon. More than premium gasoline! Do you still wonder why the cost of "goods and services" is skyrocketing upward? Understand that goods do not magically appear in Wal-Mart at the beginning of each business day, nor do groceries breed on the shelves of your local Kroger or Safeway grocery stores when the lights go out. These items are transported to every retail store in our country by diesel-fueled delivery vehicles, whether they be 18-wheelers, railroad trains, or a combination. The oil companies have taken our nation hostage! And your government has not done - or even said - a thing about it. It's areas like this that we need government mandated price caps! The workers of this nation need gasoline to get to and from their place of employment in order to earn a living so they can afford to buy those goods and services. Gasoline now costs between $3.25 and $3.65 per gallon and the price is increasing almost daily! The excuses used by big oil are "There's unrest in Saudi Arabia", "The middle east crisis is driving our costs up", and "It's the Yemeni problem". What's wrong with this picture? The problem is Big Oil's corporate GREED! Individually, or even collectively, We The People can do next to nothing about it directly. Government intervention mandating price caps is the only solution.

How do we get that done? Write, email, or telephone your elected Congressional Representatives - including Senators - and tell them that We The People need relief from the price gouging oil corporations economy-crushing GREED!

(Because our national economy is "in the dumper", China is campaigning at the U.N. to have the U.S. dollar replaced by the Chinese yuan as the "reserve currency". For those of you who may not know exactly what the "reserve currency" is, it is the global currency of international trade. If China is successful in their bid, it will further diminish the U.S. in the eyes of "the global community".)

I'm Gil, and I approved this blog!

Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier Returns to Haiti... Who Do Voodoo?

Yes, he returned to Haiti recently. Where had he been? Who is he? How/Why did he leave Haiti? It's an interesting but deeply disturbing story, and very few people even know who the Duvalier's were. Let's begin with who "Baby Doc" is...

The son of the despot, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who died in 1971 , "Baby Doc" came to power upon his father's death, and carried on the family tradition of pillaging, rape and murder. He also directed the infamous and bloodthirsty Tonton Macoutes (Creole for "bogeymen") - the Haitian secret police - whose primary function was to eliminate dissenters and critics of the Duvalier regime, and was formed under "Papa Doc". He ruled Haiti from 1971-1986 continuing his father's legacy of terror on the small island nation. The Duvalier's lived like royalty, while their subjects lived in abject squalor and poverty. The elder Duvalier was a practitioner of voodoo, which should be no surprise since Haiti is the birthplace of voodoo, and voodoo is the de facto religion of the majority of Haitians. Who is "Baby Doc"? In a nutshell, he is the Haitian equivalent of the "Black Death" plague, which killed roughly 30% of Europe's population in the mid-14th century.

How/Why did Duvalier leave Haiti? He was eventually run out of the country by the people, and he departed on an aircraft provided by the U.S. Air Force. Wasn't that nice of us... to assist a thieving, murdering dictator in making his escape to France, where he has lived in luxurious exile for 25 years? How can we Americans reconcile such despicable behavior from our own government? And those - and similar behaviors - continue today! Are the requirements of international politics such that governments cavalierly ignore such things as morality, character, justice and that which is simply "right"?

Haiti has forever been an economic sinkhole, and has suffered a series of tragedies that seem to be virtually endless. Since its establishment as a French-owned slave colony, it has never flourished economically, and the average per capita income today is USD $75. We Americans could not provide for a family of four on $75 a week even, but the Haitians manage to do it because they are used to nothing more. They do not "live" (by our standards), but they do survive.

The only good news to come from Haiti recently is that Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has been arrested. Accused of ordering thousands of killings, the question now is will he be properly tried in a court of law?

Back By Special Request

Okay, several of my readers have requested that I reopen my blog. I suppose I lost a bit of my motivation when, after over 300 posts, I had only 6 followers. Apparently there were many more that just hadn't bothered to select the "Follow" option from the left side of this page. If you would like me to continue the blog, please select the "Follow" option. You won't get a bunch of unsolicited ads or emails by so doing - just an automatic notification when I post something new here. And my newest is just below this one...

Thanks for your interest,

Gil

"God save us from those who govern us."

Major Nidal Malik Hasan - Just ONE Home-Grown Terrorist?

Or, more likely, one of many! How did a man like Major Hasan join the United States Army? Not only join, but get a commission and eventually promoted to the rank of Major? He should never have been permitted to enter our military, nor should several hundred (perhaps thousands) of his fellow Islamics.

Under the guise of Political Correctness, our government is building its own Trojan Horse within our military, and our country in general. Sun-tzu, a Chinese military genius of the 6th century BC, is credited with having coined the phrase, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." (I don't know that this idea was to have them in sufficient numbers or in a physical proximity close enough to kill you, though!) Sun-tzu's idea was to have his enemies observed - either from within, through the use of spies - or by external means such as tradesmen, farmers, prostitutes, or anyone else privy to more casual observations, and the informal discussions, of his enemies. Sun-tzu's leadership methods and military skills were so efficient and correct that the principles in his military treatise, The Art of War, is still a standard reference of military leaders worldwide.

In the year 2001, it was estimated that the Muslim population in the USA was 2.8 million. In 2010 the US State Department estimates the US Muslim population at roughly 7 million - that's a 150% increase in 9 short years. There are no statistics available to establish how many of that increase of 4.2 million were natural-born Americans who converted to Islam, versus how many were already Muslims but imported from around the world. (Sun-tzu would not import those who would do him harm.)

As usual, my blog will raise more questions than it supplies practical answers, so here goes...

How do we deal with the unusually heavy influx of Muslims into our country? My most practical solution would be to place a moratorium on immigration into the USA from Islamic-based countries. In other words, if the principal religion of your country of origin is Islam, your application for admittance into the USA will be considered... within the next 20 years. But, that would be religious profiling and religious persecution according to the bleeding heart, left-wing liberals who run our media and our government. We can't do that!

How about we make all Muslims wear the "crescent and star" symbol of Islam on their clothing, and force them to live in ghettos - like Detroit, LA, and the boroughs of NYC? Oh, come to think of it that was Hitler's approach to dealing with "the Jewish problem" in Nazi Germany... We can't do that!

Well, then, let's put them into "Internment Camps", like we did to the Japanese-Americans during WWII. That worked well for us, didn't it? Too much like the previous idea? You're right... and it didn't work well for us. We can't do that!

Now that we've covered almost everything we can't do - short of mass executions for anybody that doesn't believe exactly the same way that we do (and then defining exactly who that particular "we" is) - what can we do? We - you and me - individually can do very little. We don't make the immigration laws or policies, but we elect the people who do!

Our elected "representatives" have failed to listen to the voice of the people for the past five or six decades (which I have personally observed). A constant pressure upon Congress from the people regarding such things as illegal immigration and the enforcement of expired work/student visas might go a long way toward minimizing such problems. Those who have made a conscious decision to violate our laws and our sovereignty, have proven themselves to be de facto criminals. Will they break only minor laws in the future? Will they become good citizens? Who knows? Do they deserve a chance at the "American Dream"? No! They have proven themselves to be scoff-laws, and consider themselves to be above the law. They deserve absolutely nothing... except arrest and deportation to their country of origin - which is far better than the punishment meted out to you or me if we were caught in their home country without proper paperwork!

Our "political correctness" will be responsible for the death of our Republic. Our government will continue to make concessions to the religion of Islam - the religion of TERRORISTS - until the United States Code (our federal laws) is supplemented or supplanted by Sharia "Law".

Does Sharia law allow a husband to rape his wife, even in America? A New Jersey trial judge thought so. In a recently overturned case, a "trial judge found as a fact that the defendant committed conduct that constituted a sexual assault" but did not hold the defendant liable because the defendant believed that he was exercising his rights over the victim.

In the In the State of California, 7th grade students at Excelsior Middle School in Discovery Bay, California adopted Muslim names, prayed on prayer rugs, and celebrated Ramadan under a state-mandated curriculum that requires instruction about various religions.

After Carver Elementary School in San Diego absorbed Muslim students from a defunct charter school in September 2006, a special recess was provided for the students to pray, classes were segregated by gender, and pork was removed from the school menu.

Muslims periodically block the streets of New York City, prostrating themselves in the middle of roadways and sidewalks undisturbed by police and other authorities. The resulting traffic jams are ignored, the double- and illegally parked vehicles are free of citations, and law enforcement officers are nowhere to be seen. Surely, practitioners of other religions or groups planning similar gatherings would be required to obtain permits for such an activity. Reportedly, the police have been ordered not to interfere with the Muslim prayer spectacle.

These special accommodations for Muslims effectively elevate the Islamic faith above that of Christians and Jews, reinforcing the message of the Koran -- "Allah proclaims Islam over all other religions" (48:28), "Islam will dominate other religions" (9:33), and "Islam does not coexist with other faiths" (5:51). Muslims are required by the teachings of their faith to conquer and subjugate non-Muslims and ensure worldwide submission to Islam -- "The believers must make war on infidels around them and let the infidels find firmness in them" (9:123).

This is the goal of the Islamic terrorists - to subjugate the entire world to the religious tyranny of Islam. Are we to help them in achieving that goal? When will the citizens of the United States say "ENOUGH!" Enough "political correctness", enough enabling, support and adoption of foreign customs, cultures and laws. Enough erosion of our Constitutional rights!

I'M DONE...

and THAT'S the bottom line!

McCain Calls Pentagon Study on Gays Flawed

Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank (especially Barney) and the rest of the left-wing, liberal-progressive, Marxist-socialists in the House and Senate have high hopes of repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" act. They will support any effort to weaken our national security and self-defense efforts. They have been further emboldened by a recent "Pentagon Study", stating that 70% of those serving in our military believe that repealing the Act would have little noticeable impact upon the performance of our troops.

Senator John McCain, (R)AZ suggests that the study is flawed, and those of us who have served in the military can understand such a suggestion. McCain's statement was directly challenged by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the military's top uniformed officer who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

For those of you who haven't had the honor of serving in our military, understand this - the Chairman of the JCS is appointed by the president (with Senate confirmation) as a 4-star general or admiral, and serves at the pleasure of the president. One does not advance into the ranks of general officers - not even a 1-star) without some serious political connections. The Defense Secretary is also a presidential appointee who serves at the pleasure of the president.

My point is simple - unless one wishes to end their military career, or forfeit a cabinet position which pays almost $200,000 (plus perks) annually - they will support the agenda of he to whom they are indebted for their prestigious and prosperous position. As the Chairman of the JCS, Admiral Mullen is compensated at the rate of $216,734.40 (O-10 over 38 yrs service = $18,061.20 per month x12 [PLUS allowances and perks]). Granted, both these men were appointed by President George W. Bush, but they still serve at the pleasure of the current president, and technically, both Mullen and the Pentagon work for Gates... and Gates works for Obama. And Obama is the Head Lefty. Would a Pentagon Study dare be released if the results were other than supportive of the president' desires? If you believe it would, you'll be deeply disappointed on December 25th... while you're waiting up for the fat guy in the red suit to come down the chimney!

HERE'S HOW I SEE THE SITUATION IN... ALMOST EVERYWHERE!

The recent shelling of South Korea by their northern neighbors, reminded me of a bully in junior high school ("middle school" to some of you).

What would the United States do if we were attacked by... let's say the Mexican Army (instead of just an army of Mexicans sneaking across our southern border)? Imagine that Felipe Calderon lost his mind (just like North Korea's Kim), and began lobbing artillery shells into Arizona, California or Texas. What would our response be? Would our "president" issue a statement condemning such an action, and threaten that a strongly worded letter will follow? Obama probably would do just exactly that.

What should the response be to an attack by a bully? You can either submit and accept the beating, in the hope that someday the bully will weary of beating you up, or... you could (and should) respond quickly and surely, with all the strength you can muster. To accept the beating simply encourages the continuation of such behavior! A strong defensive response, on the other hand, has just the opposite effect - it discourages such displays of such aggressive behaviors. A swift and powerful response is what is demanded.

However......... there's another factor in the South Korea-DPRK situation. Apparently the "bully" from the North has the (thus far) unwavering backing of the Giant of the North - China - whose standing army is estimated at 2.5 MILLION (and, if you include paramilitary organizations the estimate jumps to 7.5 MILLION). To complicate matters even more, China has - primarily through lopsided international trade agreements - gained de facto control of the world economy.

Now you have to ask yourself, "If I defend myself against this little piss-ant, tin-horn dictator, will I also be fighting the hordes of Chinese military? How much affection does Hu Jintao of China really have for Kim Jong Il of the DPRK? Will we have any true allies if we respond and are faced with China? Will WalMart still be in business if China gets distracted for a few days?"

But, one thing is certain - taking no action is admitting you are powerless, and you will submit to the whims of your personal "bully". It escalates from bully to gang to army. International politics is a bitch... take the odds and kick Kim's butt!

Islam - The "Make-It-Up-As-You-Go-Along" Religion

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has issued a travel warning to Muslim airline passengers on U.S. aircraft in response to the Transportation Safety Administration’s "enhanced pat down" policy that went into effect in late October.

CAIR said Muslims who object to full-body scans for religious reasons should know their rights if they are required to undergo a pat-down, including asking for the procedure to be done in a private place. In addition, CAIR offered a “special recommendation” for Muslim women who wear a hijab, telling them they should tell the TSA officer that they may be searched only around the head and neck. (And the Muslim woman should then be escorted to the nearest jail for violating established security procedures)

In the “special recommendations for Muslim women who wear hijab,” it states: “Before you are patted down, you should remind the TSA officer that they are only supposed to pat down the area in question, in this scenario, your head and neck. They SHOULD NOT subject you to a full-body or partial-body pat-down.” (And then the Muslim woman should be shown to the street-side exit from the airport.)

It also states: “Instead of the pat-down, you can always request to pat down your own scarf, including head and neck area, and have the officers per form a chemical swipe of your hands.” (REQUEST DENIED!! There is no constitutional guarantee of a "right to fly"; comply, stay home, or return to your Sandbox of Origin.)

The new TSA pat-downs involving “head-to-toe” screening techniques follow recent airliner bombing attempts. Passengers who reject a full-body scan or who are selected for secondary screening may be searched using the enhanced pat-down.

“Pat downs are one important tool to help TSA detect hidden and dangerous items such as explosives,” a TSA statement issued on Oct. 28 stated. “Passengers should continue to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams, among others.” (And we don't do "profiling" because of what? Oh, yeah... it might hurt somebody's feelings - instead of killing a couple of hundred innocent bystanders.)

Posted on its Web site under “TSA’s Head-to-Toe Screening Policies,” the agency said how people are dressed may lead to closer inspection, including baggy or loose clothing. Those policies also include individuals being searched by a “professional” of the same sex. “It is TSA's policy that passengers should be screened by an officer of the same gender in a professional, respectful manner,” the policy reads.

In February, the Figh Council of North America, a group of Islamic scholars, issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, that full-body scanners violate Islamic law. (Another fatwa? Islam definitely seems to be a "make-it-up-as-you-go-along" religion... I'd bet money that nowhere in the Qu'ran is the term "full-body scanner" seen. Is there something in the USA that inconveniences a Muslim? If so, they can go Figh themselves, and issue a fatwa incorporating that inconvenience into their religious "rulings".)

“It is a violation of clear Islamic teaching that men or women be seen naked by other men and women,” the ruling states. “Islam highly emphasizes haya (modesty) and considers it part of the faith. The Qu’ran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts.” (If they are clothed, they have met the requirement "to cover their private parts." It's not their fault technology have circumvented their efforts. But, it IS the fault of the Muslims that such security precautions are necessary. If you can't live under the laws of the United States... GO BACK TO YOUR SANDBOX OF ORIGIN, and STAY THERE!)

CAIR endorsed the fatwa, according to a Feb. 21 article in the Detroit Free Press. (I don't CARE about CAIR and their fatwas - assimilate and live by the laws of your host country... or return to camel country!)

If I Ran The United States, How Would I Attempt To Modify It?

Suppose you awakened one morning to discover that you had been appointed imperial leader of the United States while you slept. What would you do with that ultimate human power? Would you rule or would you govern? Would you dictate or negotiate? Would you desire to be reasonably benevolent, or would you rule with an iron hand? Would you have personal advisers or boot-licking lackeys? If you chose to have advisers, would you actually listen to their advice and carefully consider it, or would they simply be "window dressing"?

The world of politics is treacherously labyrinthine, as evidenced by the almost annual coups d'état (the sudden, illegal deposition of a government) somewhere on this planet. For centuries a ruler's worst enemies were his closest relatives (it was a matter of "succession to the throne")! Second place on the "enemies list" seems to have been held by the general(s) in charge of a ruler's military forces, and Julius Caesar was stabbed twenty-three times - unto death - from dagger wounds inflicted by members of his own Senate.

Today, total strangers are also assassins of leaders. In 1950 an attempt was made on President Harry Truman's life by two Puerto Rican nationalists. Lee Harvey Oswald, with no known relationship to President John F. Kennedy, took that President's life. A lone Turk attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II. The Pope was shot and severely wounded as he entered St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. The would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca, was a member of a Turkish terrorist organization known as the Gray Wolves. The list goes on and on, showing perhaps hundreds of attempts we have never heard of.

Politics and large scale leadership positions can be a very dangerous place for those who have the strength of their convictions, but a safe-haven for the cowards of the world. Someone once said that "The United States of America has the best politicians money can buy", and money apparently does buy them. Who - enjoying good mental health - would spend millions of dollars running for an office that only pays in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars? An altruist? If you can show me an altruist in national politics, I'll show you a nun in a brothel!

If I became the Grand Poo-bah of the USA, there would definitely be some changes made. Let's begin with the most hotly debated issue affecting primarily the southwestern United States - "Immigration Reform": We have federal laws in-place forbidding entry into our country without the proper authorization, but the feds choose not to enthusiastically enforce those laws. Illegal immigrants have demonstrated their disregard for our laws simply by their unauthorized presence within our borders. Our government, disregarding the will of the people, has chosen to reward the illegal aliens by allowing them to not only remain in the country, but to provide them with benefits that average American citizens are denied. What's wrong with this picture?

In my world here's what undocumented visitors to our country would get... NOTHING!

1. It would be a violation of the law for illegal aliens to be given bank loans and, if they were given, the loan officer, the bank manager and the president of the bank issuing such loan would be arrested and prosecuted.
2. Housing would not be available to anybody unable to prove citizenship or government authorization. Anyone providing housing in violation of that law would be subject to arrest and prosecution.
3. Medical care - for anything other than life saving procedures - would not be available to illegal aliens. Hospitals would be required to report anyone without documentation - who requested a life saving procedure - to Homeland Security/I.C.E. Division. Failure to do so would make the offending medical personnel subject to arrest and prosecution.
4. Illegals would not be eligible for welfare, unemployment insurance or Social Security benefits. Any agent of a municipal, county, state or federal agency permitting illegal aliens to apply for such benefits would be subject to arrest and prosecution.
5. Any child born to an illegal immigrant would not receive automatic citizenship status upon birth. The child is determined to be as illegal as the parent(s) inasmuch as it was transported into the USA in violation of our immigration laws.
6. There would be no amnesty for reasons other than political persecution, and even then amnesty would be on a case-by-case basis. There would be no automatic amnesty.
7. Border enforcement would be the responsibility of the "National Guard". What is the purpose of a "National Guard" if not to guard the nation? The Governor of each state has the right and responsibility to activate that state's National Guard in times of emergency. What's the emergency? A subtle, silent "invasion" of our country - primarily across our southern borders.
(The presence of a foreigner in Mexico without proper authorization is classified as a felony. The penalty for the first offense is imprisonment, not to exceed 2 years. The penalty for the second offense is imprisonment, not to exceed 10 years. The Mexican government seems to take its sovereignty much more seriously than the US government takes ours.)


My second objective would be the elimination of Obamacare - the mandatory national health care program. The people don't want it... but the left-wing, bleeding-heart, Marxist, liberal-"progressives" in charge do. It's just another way for the government to increase citizen dependency upon the "Nanny State".

1. The government does not have the Constitutional authority to require citizens to buy a non-competitive government product or service, nor do they have the authority to monopolize any industry by legislating its competitors out of business. On the other hand, the current administration doesn't seem to be aware that we even have that pesky document call the Constitution.

2.Healthcare for all U.S. citizens is desirable, but those of us who have our own health insurance should not be forced to purchase that demanded by the government. Again, life-saving procedures should be available to all, regardless of their ability to pay. Colds, sprains and other sources of discomfort not being seen as "life-threatening" should not be treated on the public dime. Deal with it - as responsible people have for centuries.

3. No single "class" of people (i.e. - illegal residents) should be free from any taxation imposed upon the majority of citizens. Nor should our elected officials be free from the same healthcare system that would be forced upon the general population.

4. Healthcare should be available nationwide, and at reasonable rates in a competitive environment. Competitors should not be restricted to providing coverage only in a particular state or region as they are now.

Next I'll tackle "Outsourcing". This is probably the single greatest source of unemployment in the United States. Outsourcing is the practice of establishing production facilities and/or subcontracting the production of U.S. goods and services to a foreign nation. Why are manufacturers turning to outsourcing more and more? Quite simply it saves them money. How? Because the countries that are benefiting from outsourced American jobs do not have to engage in collective bargaining with the AFL-CIO and the SEIU. Labor Unions are responsible for the recent collapse of two-thirds of the U.S. automotive industry. Automotive assembly line workers in the U.S. (who may not even have a high school diploma) are making (as opposed to "earning") - on the average - approximately 60% more in their pay and benefits package (negotiated by the UAW, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO) than a tenured college professor. At the same time, we still produce an inferior automobile compared to Japan and much of Europe. Why? Because the union contracts make it almost impossible for Ford, GM and Chrysler to fire anybody. The attitude has become one of - just show up for work even if you don't do anything of quality... or anything period, since they can't fire you without facing potential work stoppages from your union brethren. How would I rectify this situation?

1. Eliminate labor unions. (I can hear almost the screams of outrage from the brotherhoods now!) I can understand why they love their union-supported "job". Union members are at the very top of the labor pay scale - stopping just short of junior corporate executives. In closed-shop states (union membership required in order to work) the cost of living is based upon union-scale wages, which is fine for the workers of that state. However, the increased cost of that which they produce, and consume, is felt nation-wide.

2. Collective bargaining between the employees and the corporation/company for which they work would be allowed in order to establish a fair wage and benefit package for the workers. There will be no outside involvement other than independent arbitrators

3. Any American corporation outsourcing jobs outside the 50 United States and its Trust Territories would be required to do the following:

a. Pay normal import taxes upon any product produced either by their overseas corporation, or any foreign subcontractor.

b. Pay complete unemployment compensation, including medical insurance, for each American job or product outsourced to a foreign location.

c. Any American business entity establishing its headquarters overseas will be treated as a foreign corporation and subject to all tariffs imposed upon a foreign corporation, plus be subject to a tax equal to the cost of providing American workers - equal to the total number of foreign employees of that corporation - with unemployment insurance, including medical benefits.

And THAT'S just for openers!

YOU ARE OWED NOTHING EXCEPT AN OPPORTUNITY TO FAIL ON YOUR OWN!

(and if you don't... CONGRATULATIONS!)