Different Views

America the Beautiful! America the declining! We can get our focus back and have it even better than it ever was. We can once again be who we're meant to be... a shining example for the world to follow. Here are some steps to achieve it.

How many people truly grasp the significance of gift giving and give holiday gifts from the heart versus those that give gifts only under the pressure of expectation and relentless advertising?

Thanksgiving is, after all, a time when all Americans should take the time to stop to reflect on the many things that we have in this country that we take for granted that so many others around the world can only dream.

If the Democratic Party leadership takes a hard look at why this election was lost and makes serious, genuine changes in the Party's direction, then ultimately all Americans will be winners.

Now that the excitement of the presidential election has died down and the professional pundits have started looking ahead to 2008, it is time to take a look at the winners and losers of the 2004 election.

While that type of fraud is despicable and must be prevented, the election fraud that I'm talking about would be the election of John Kerry. If it should happen, it would constitute the greatest fraud ever foisted on the American public.

Election night coverage should be an interesting experience for everyone, not just political junkies.

It is time for all Americans to take a cold, hard look at the people that "represent" them in Washington. It is time for career politicians to start thinking about new careers. Consider that when you cast your vote on November 2.

Civilization has never been tame nor safe; however as observed over time, a well armed citizenry, where everyone is suspect of being always armed and dangerous -- that society is certainly a far more polite society.

John Kerry wants to sell the American public a Rube Goldberg-like bag of middle class tax cuts, cheap healthcare, millions of jobs and a potion that can turn the war against terrorism into nothing more than an irritation.

Despite the benefit of hindsight that revealed that the WMD intelligence was flawed, the fact remains that the risk of Saddam concealing WMDs or allowing him to simply wait out the UN inspection process before reconstituting his WMD programs would have left the world a much more dangerous place today.

We like "beautiful people" that look good, smile pretty and are eloquent speakers. When it comes to our politicians, looks may not be quite as important but the ability to speak forcefully and persuasively is a trait that all politicians prize.

How long can America afford to have elections decided by large numbers of people that are easily swayed by egregious political rhetoric and who don't grasp the enormity of the uninformed decisions that they make?

If you are at all like me, you are frustrated by the political spin that saturates our media. The actual facts necessary for informed decision making are obscured or twisted by political pundits trying to advance their own political agenda. If you want to make informed political decisions, you have to be quite dedicated to fact-finding, and do your best to avoid the influences of people like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.

I was hesitant to share these words out of a concern of turning them into a religious sermon or political plight. But then I decided to share them anyway because, thanks to President George W. Bush, I am still free to speak my mind the way I choose.