Let's Say Thanks to our Troops

Subject: Something important that Xerox is doing - Please do it...it only takes a second and you can send it as many times as you like

Easy to do.
If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a member of the
Armed Forces currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

It would be amazing if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! This is a great site. Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second.

It would be wonderful if the member received a bunch of these. Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them.

David
http://www.davidbernal.net

Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There

BY SETH LEIBSOHN


Take just the recent stories of the past three weeks: Of the six alleged terrorists who were plotting to attack US Soldiers at Fort Dix last month, three of them were illegal aliens who lived in the United States for years. The tuberculosis patient who has traveled internationally, exposing untold numbers of people to a particularly difficult strain of the disease and is now under quarantine, entered the United States even though US Customs and Border Patrol was instructed to bar him from entry.

And with these stories, we are poised to pass an immigration bill that would flood the already-broken immigration, border, and legal system with a minimum of 12 million illegal aliens—granting them legal status. Is it not clear that the newly formed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office of the Department of Homeland Security is already broken, unable to carry out its fundamental and basic functions? And if it is clear, is it not folly to further overwhelm that office thinking it will keep America safe and protect us from further internal lapses and chasms in our ability to track illegal entrants into our country who can do us great harm?

Speaking about the current legislation this past weekend on Fox News Sunday, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich had it right:



[The] bill explicitly grandfathers in somewhere between 10 million and 20 million people. We don't know the number because the government has no idea how many there are—again, an example of incompetence. The government doesn't know within a million how many people will be grandfathered in.

They're all, in effect, made permanent temporary workers the day the bill is signed. They have to go through one day of filling out a form. There is zero possibility the federal government will be able to process those forms.…

It would have grandfathered the three terrorists in New Jersey.


Meanwhile, we are told that nobody will be given legal status—not one person, not twelve million persons, not twenty million persons—from their current illegal status without a series of security triggers that include background checks and further border enforcement measures. But Matthew Spalding of the Heritage Foundation and Kris Kobach University of Missouri-Kansas City have already analyzed that supposed provision and found it simply untrue:



Section 1(a) allows probationary Z visas to be issued immediately after enactment, and Section 601(f)(2) prohibits the federal government from waiting more than 180 days after enactment to begin issuing probationary Z visas.…

Moreover, the "probationary" designation means little. These visas are nearly as good as non-probationary Z visas, giving the alien immediate lawful status, protection from deportation, authorization to work, and the ability to exit and reenter the country (with advance permission).


Perhaps this is why Steve Moore (of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page), one of the strongest advocates for more immigration into this country, debating the current legislation on Bill Bennett’s Morning in America last week, said he would eliminate the Z visa from the current legislation. (Audio of Moore’s debate with Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies is included in the right-hand column.)

Yes, the rhetoric against conservatives is increasingly hotter from the Left and the pro-path-to-citizenship Republicans—we want nothing short of deportation, they tell us. The President has said “if you don't want to do what's right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of [the legislation], you can use it to frighten people.” The Secretary of Homeland Security has said, to many opponents of this legislation, “anything other than capital punishment is an amnesty.” U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has said of opponents of the current legislation, “We’re going to tell the bigots to shut up.”

The truth is, we are not bigots, we do not want capitol punishment, we do not want mass deportation, and we do want what’s best for America—including a better system for more legal immigration. And, believe it or not, we can get somewhere helpful on immigration here in Washington.

So, here’s a better plan—one which has been alluded to by Andrew C. McCarthy of National Review: Do nothing with the 12-20 million illegals here now. That’s right, no Z-Visa, no mass deportation, no path to citizenship, no rounding up—nothing.

The truth is, we have lived with the illegal population for quite some time now. Whence comes the exigency to do something now?

What we can and should do is encourage their attrition, piecemeal.

Few are against securing the border (or so they say). So secure it. Build the full fence and show some seriousness about protecting our country. In the meantime, we need to stop the silly sound-bite that if you build a ten-foot fence the illegal immigrants will find an eleven-foot ladder. With enough border patrol, the ladders become irrelevant.

But, we can and should deport illegal persons piecemeal and over time as they, themselves, come out of the shadows—as of course they will whenever they have cause to show an i.d. to a government agency or employer; or if they show a fake ID; or if they are arrested for other crimes; or if they are merely pulled over for traffic violations.

At those points, let us show our ability to handle the law as it is now, which allows for the deportation of illegal aliens.

Earlier this year, Michelle Malkin pointed out that we have doubt enough with our task as it is, never mind absorbing 12 million (minimum) more illegal citizens and requiring their legal mainstreaming and processing. Among other things, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “has lost track of 111,000 files in 14 of the agency's busiest district offices and processed as many as 30,000 citizenship applications last year without the required files.”

We are being asked in the pending Senate legislation to adopt a whole series and set of laws, regulations, and procedures that depend on our—or the government’s—ability to actually effectuate those requirements that few have confidence we can effectuate rightly. How can we think of reforming something called Section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to solve our problems with absorbing a minimum of 12 million illegal aliens when we have yet to solidify the southern border? That’s what irks about the long, Rube Goldbergian machinations of the proposed law. We cannot even make the current law work.

Let’s try the law as it is now, first—and prove our ability.

Let’s put illegal immigration on the course of ultimate extinction by tolerating no more furtherance, or rewarding, of it—but without taking any drastic measures either.

So, yes, don’t just do something, stand there. It’d prove a lot.

Prayer For Our Nation

2007 Prayer for Our Nation
Written by Dr. Charles R. Swindoll


Almighty God, we pause to reflect on Your character as we seek wisdom for such a time as this.

In these unsafe days,
You remain all-powerful and able to protect;

In these uncertain times,
You remain all-knowing, leading us aright;

In the unprecedented events we're facing,
You remain absolutely sovereign.
Our times are in Your hands.

Therefore, our dependence on You, is total, not partial
. . . our need for Your forgiveness is constant

. . . our gratitude for Your grace is profound

. . . our love for You is deep.


We ask that You guard and guide our President
and all who serve the people of these United States.
May uncompromising integrity mark their lives.

We also ask that You unite us as truly "one nation,
under God." May genuine humility return to our ranks.

And may that blend of integrity and humility
heal our land.

In our Lord's name we pray,

Amen.

Lobbying Reform (what’s wrong with this picture?)

Recently, the Washington Times weekend edition reported the results of a Gallup Poll released on Jan. 30, entitled "Poll Finds Solid Ties Between Faith, American Well-Being." Well-being means health, confidence, productivity, positive attitudes, concern for others and overall strength.

As expressed, the poll "measures the extent to which Americans believe in God, act out their belief and impact secular America in real terms: in the workplace, in volunteerism, in business dealings." In short, it pictures how our faith, in whatever form, defines who we are and what we do.

Believers are many: 82 percent of the respondents believe in God, while 13 percent more believe in a "universal spirit or higher power." Fully three-quarters say they are Christian, 6 percent are labeled non-Christian, and 18 percent have no religious tradition. A majority – 58 percent – say success in life is "pretty much determined" by religious and spiritual forces. Adds the Times, "Such thinking may have its own rewards: 83 percent said their work 'is helping make the world a better place.'"

In the new Congress, there is a proposal to designate churches, pastors, religious denominations, public interest organizations and other non-profit groups as 'lobbyists’.

There's a good-sounding expressed intent for this proposed legislation designating religious groups lobbyists, as championed for some time by Sen. Ted Kennedy and others. They say they want to curb "hate speech," anything that opposes homosexual goals or acceptance; and they particularly want to stifle the strong influence brought to bear on elections and national policy by "special interests" – including churches, clergy and religious organizations that disagree with their agenda (e.g., U.S. Catholic Bishops).

And here's how they see it working: Lobbyists must register with the government; this new bill expands the definition of "lobbyist" to include any church or organization that strives to influence public opinion! This bill would also drastically affect the operation of churches that speak out on major moral and political issues, and Christian organizations using TV, radio or the Internet to mobilize citizens around an issue. Many churches, especially larger ones with TV and radio ministries, would be subject to registration as "lobbying organizations." Failure to register under this new law could result in criminal prosecution – fines of up to $100,000, and prison sentences of six and in some cases 10 years.

One analysis of the proposed legislation states "… in essence, free speech is forbidden. To regulate and restrict free speech, to effectively stop people from speaking out on the issues, is exactly the opposite of what the Founding Fathers intended when they included in the First Amendment to the Constitution the right 'to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

As Lincoln so beautifully expressed it, our government is supposed to be "of the people, by the people and for the people" – not of, by and for certain biased legislators and jurists.

The two prongs of the legislation are S.B. 1 and H.R. 90. The Senate bill already passed in January, largely "defanged" for now by amendment, thanks in part to alarms rung loudly by some proudly religious grass-roots groups. In the House, the "Full Disclosure in Lobbying Act" is now pending action by the Judiciary Committee.

Is this a good law and/or use of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars?

Just How High Are the U.S. Debt Figures?

The Bush Administration cut the fiscal 2006 deficit estimate from $400 billion down to $296 billion. Between this optimistic deficit projection and other statistics suggesting the high-powered monetary base has leveled out, analysts are sighing in relief. "Everything that has happened in recent weeks is extremely favorable," said Laurence H. Meyer, a former Fed governor.

Frankly, the deficit figures are all lies. The long-term future is not favorable, it's a looming disaster. Like an iceberg with only a piece of visible ice protruding above the sea, published deficits are nothing compared to the submerged mountain on which they sit.

Assuming you're determined to survive financially, you need to understand how this lie is covered up. The fraud is perpetrated through accounting trickery.

In accounting there are two methods to keep books: on the cash basis or accrual basis. You use the cash basis to balance your checkbook. You add up all the deposits to your account and subtract all the written checks. Deposit $50,000 in your account in one year and write $49,000 worth of checks and you appear to have a $1,000 surplus for the year.

But cash-basis accounting doesn't tell the real story. If you also ran up $5,000 on your American Express card, which isn't due until next year, accrual accounting would reveal your $4,000 deficit. Businesses always use the accrual method to report their finances. Public companies are actually forced by law to use accrual accounting. But politicians don't apply that law to themselves.

Government covers its budget deficit by borrowing, issuing T-bonds, T-notes, and T-bills. Over the past few decades, the total of these IOUs has reached a mind-boggling $8.2 trillion. But the federal government also promises pensions for government employees. It collects Social Security taxes, promising to pay retirement benefits to private sector worker! s. It collects Medicare premiums and promises to pay future health care costs. None of these promises show up in their cash-basis budget figures. The accumulated cash-basis deficits that comprise the $8.2 trillion federal debt are only the tip of the iceberg. Estimates of the true, accrued federal debt are now as high as $65 trillion.

A decade ago Peter G. Petersen, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and currently Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote, "If federal law required Congress to fund Social Security the way private pensions must be funded, the annual federal deficit would instantly rise by some $675 billion. Add in our lavish and unfunded federal employee pensions and the deficit would rise by $800 billion. Add in Medicare and it would rise by more than $1 trillion." And that was a decade ago-it's much worse today. Petersen then noted, "If private-sector executives ran their pension systems this way, they would be thrown in jail for wholesale violation of federal pension-plan regulations."

"Wall Street has yet to react to these obviously unfinanceable numbers." said Petersen. "When will it? Since financial markets try to anticipate events, the reaction will surely come years before the first Boomers start retiring on Social Security, in 2008. ...we will almost certainly see a full-scale economic emergency as interest rates roar into outer space." Well, 2008 is getting mighty close. The American economy, like the Titanic, is heading full steam ahead into an economic iceberg.

So, who is responsible for telling you the truth of what goes on in Washington, anyway? And, when will you begin to make your voice heard?

Public Servant

As I reflect, on President Ford’s life of service to our country and the comments that have been made…

I think whatever happened to the idea of being a public servant?

In the case of our founding fathers, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford – they didn’t strive to make a great name for themselves, but to make this a better country.

When we look at the people and/or events that have shaped our lives, we tend to gravitate towards those who believe the best in us and others. And, we tend to love those people who are consistent and transparent.

“The nation remembered Gerald R. Ford (today) for what he didn’t have — pretensions, a scheming agenda, and a great golf game— as much as for the small-town authenticity he brought to the presidency.”

And, “the 38th president was celebrated for treating politics as a calling rather than blood sport.”[1]

“In his understated way he did his duty as a leader, not as a performer playing to the gallery,” Kissinger said. “Gerald Ford had the virtues of small-town America.”

Isn’t it a shame that these comments are made because they are the exception, rather than the rule?

Honesty, integrity and a desire to serve others are not normal behavior for our legislators.

With my own talent and gifts, I seek to walk in the footsteps of my heroes, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.

We all recognize that these men were not faultless, yet all made meaningful contributions to the lives of others and the country they served.

I shall strive to do the same.

Please join me in my prayers for Betty Ford and the rest of President Ford’s family.

[1] MSNBC - Italics added for emphasis