Letters from our Readers - May 2007

Quoting The Scripture
I always get a kick out of the people who quote the Bible to prove a point. The past few weeks everyone who wants to prove the theory Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People, go all the way back to Cain and Abel. 
It’s an interesting point. Who can argue with the true nature of man when you have only four people on earth and one of them kills his brother because he got a little jealous over who had the best occupation in the eyes of the lord. 
I doubt if the two idiots who used it in the letters they wrote to The Bulletin last week can answer these two questions but here goes.
When the Lord found Cain after slaying Abel he cast him out to be a fugitive and a vagabond. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 
Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from the face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven fold. 
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
Why does God not punish Cain by putting him to death? After all it’s the way it should be according to most people who quote the scripture. An eye for an eye and all that stuff.
Who on earth are all the other people that are going to findeth him?
Bob Brown
Conroe, Texas

Happiness is a Warm Gun
Whew! Did Rosie O'Donnell and the Democrats spit on a burning American flag while aborting a fetus at a PETA convention the other day? After reading R. T. "Dan" Hanchey and Paul Lebedzinski's letters last week I knew it must have been something vile and despicable to get their blood boiling. Oh no, it was just talk of restricting hand guns again in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre. "Dan" gave us a wonderful Bible lesson on the art of gun-less murder and killing and Paul went off on a tirade against the so-called "Liberal media" for the hundredth time. "Dan" believes, as many do, that more guns is the solution, that "The greatest deterrent to armed crime is an armed citizenry." As it was in the wild, wild west "Dan"? From what I have read, there was still a good amount of killing going on even though "The possibility of an intended victim being able to shoot back deters most gun wielding criminals." Imagine if they had Uzi's back in the 1800's. 
Sorry to burst your bubble "Dan" but there were highly trained and heavily armed citizens at Virginia Tech that day- they are called Police officers. Did they nip the massacre in the bud? You claim that in " In Alpharetta, Georgia, where homeowners are required to own guns, home burglaries and home invasions are non-existent." Makes sense to me, but the VT shootings were not home invasions or burglaries. Here are some statistics I found from 1998 (the most recent year for which this data has been compiled) , in 1998 handguns murdered: 373 people in Germany, 151 people in Canada, 57 people in Australia, 19 people in Japan, 54 people in England and Wales, and 11,789 people in the United States. Canada has almost as many guns per person as the US yet the death rate is 80 times lower. Explain that for me "Dan". Conversely, England has very strict gun laws and 1/700 the death rate. Confusing, isn't it? "Dan" thinks that "...one armed and experienced citizen with a gun can put an end to the carnage immediately." Maybe in the movies "Dan", maybe in the movies.
It's utterly amazing that Paul Lebedzinski, who claims to live in Huntsville, Texas of all places, can claim with a straight face that " The crime stats in States that have passed (Law abiding) citizen carry laws have seen a reduction in crime.". I guess no one told Paul that Texas still has murders and other handgun crimes despite having executed hundreds of people over the last few years. Maybe if the state went back to "firing squads" composed of good Christian soldiers, Mr. Lebedzinski's fury be could be satiated? According to the "Gospel of Paul Lebedzinski" hate-spewing liberals are part of a global conspiracy to eliminate "GENETIC WEEDS". Somebody buy this man a CHILL PILL before he gets his gun and makes us all safer.
Richard Amburgey
Spring, Texas

Gun Control: Why We Don't Do It 
Since the Virginia killings, once again throughout our nation there's been talk of stronger gun control. There are several main problems with gun control.
First, the Constitution provides Americans with the right to bear arms. Certainly, this was written at a time when it was VERY necessary.
Secondly, the National Rifle Association and other similar organizations are a big and wealthy lobby that interferes with any further progress and intelligent gun control in our nation.
We need to deal with these two issues before moving on towards any substantial gun control in the U.S. Many of our federal, state and local officials carry concealed weapons. Do you think they'll vote for more gun control?
Some folks believe that had someone been carrying a concealed weapon on the campus in Virginia, the "disturbed" gunman may have been "taken-out" before so many people were killed and injured.
Whether or not we implement stricter gun control, there is a fact that we all need to recognize. If a violent and/or "disturbed" individual wants to buy and use a weapon, it will happen. There is no way to stop such an individual from purchasing or stealing a weapon to use in a violent crime save the destruction of every and all weapons on our planet --- and that's just not going to happen.
Lastly, as with any issue in our nation we prefer to deal with problems AFTER they occur. Very seldom do we deal with major issues in advance, as preventative maintenance. We, Americans are extremely myopic and self-centered in our development.
The gun issue requires that: we educate our children early about weapons and their danger, to care better for mentally ill and/or despondent individuals and to develop better laws and enforcement of those laws.
Lastly, gun control is like illegal immigration: If we really wanted to resolve the problem, we already would have done so.
Peter Stern,
Driftwood, TX

Alberto
The problem with Alberto is not his race or his enemies, but where he stands. The American Public really wants this administration gone. Alberto should have put his traveling boots on last spring when he was asked to do something that he says that he did not want to do. If he would have done that he would probably have a clearer conscience and a cleaner resume than he is going to have after congress gets through with him. 
By the way Alberto does not have to tell anyone where he stands because he is in it up to his eyebrows just like everyone else in the Bush Administration. The real problem is Iraq, I hate to call this a war WWI was a war (we had 8 million men under arms) WWII was a war (we had 15 million men under arms) but come on the problem is that the Bush Administration could not fight it's way out of a wet brown paper bag. 
In the first place with the finest Army in the world they could not whip a 7' tall Arab and 4000 barefoot terrorists, and when they failed to catch him they invaded Iraq, and now they have bungled that. Now they have two or three Carrier groups in the Persian Gulf a totally disproportionant force for a group of Iraquis that our Army overran in a weeks time four years ago, and who possess even fewer weapons now than they did then. 
These guys are clowns and if this is what the Republicans call a strong defense lord help us. No wonder most people are angry at this administration and want it gone and I might add anyone even remotely connected with it. I hope now that you understand the anger of the American People, and if some of it gets transferred to Alberto, well you know what they say about staying the course and standing on the railroad track.
Wayne Scruggs
Montgomery, Texas

Are We There Yet
There have been other times of crisis in this country as well as others in which citizens docilely accepted limits on their civil liberties for the “good of the nation.”
Blaming the Reichstag fire of 1933 on the communists, the Nazis, riding a wave of patriotism “for the good of the nation,” passed the open-ended Enabling Act. The enemy was identified as “world communism.” But they quickly switched their clarion call from fighting communism to the real intent they had all along world domination they camouflaged the movement by calling it “fighting the global conspiracy of world Jewry." Dressed identical shirts and trousers, they moved among the citizenry, stuffing ballot boxes and terrorizing. They charged Jews with communism and sent them off to concentration camps. 
In Florida, groups of angry young Republican men, dressed in identical shirts and trousers, menaced poll workers as they attempted to honestly count votes in the fraudulent 2,000 presidential election. Just as the Nazis did 70 years before, the Bush administration rode a patriotic wave of fervent indignity after September 11 and invaded Afghanistan. Almost immediately, the USA Patriot Act was passed for “the good of the nation.” The enemy was identified as “global Islamist terrorism.” Muslims around the world were rounded up and shipped to Guantanamo. 
Most Americans don't understand yet what a dangerous threat to the rule of law was set for them at Guantánamo. In Stalin's Soviet Union, dissidents were "enemies of the people." They were imprisoned in gulags. The establishment of military tribunals that deny prisoners due process tends to come early on in a fascist shift. (Naomi Wolf, Alternet)
Manipulated by a well-placed cell of apostate extremists led by Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and others, we lost sight of the real enemy and mindlessly invaded a country that admittedly had nothing to do with 9/11. The new enemy was called, “A vicious dictator who kills his own people with WMD's,” but the real goal was world domination.” We found no WMD's but we removed the evil dictator. Now, bogged down in the hopeless quagmire of a civil war of our own making, we suddenly re-discover “global Islamic terrorism” as the enemy that, after mysteriously disappearing in Afghanistan, now magically resurfaces in Iraq.
Fascism: Are we there yet?
We have outsourced contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars for security work by blackwater mercenaries in Iraq, some of which have been accused of involvement in torturing prisoners, harassing journalists and firing on Iraqi civilians. Some of these contractors are immune from prosecution no matter how many innocent Iraqis they slaughter. The Department of Homeland Security deployed armed private security guards in New Orleans, to protect the homes of the influential under the guise of protecting Americans from terrorists. 
In Mussolini's Italy, in Nazi Germany, in communist East Germany, in communist China -- in every closed society -- secret police spy on ordinary people and encourage neighbors to spy on neighbors. Today, the differences between us and them are small.
Today, our government continues to wiretap citizens' phones and read their emails under the guise of fighting terrorism. The definition of "terrorist" slowly expands to include the opposition.
Ordinary American anti-war, environmental and other groups exercising their constitutional rights have been infiltrated by agents and threatened. In Conroe, Texas, the tires of the County Democratic Chairman were slashed. Dissidents voicing their assessments in the Courier have suffered threats of being “rounded up and shot without quarter.” These threats were made under the guise of patriotism in the same opinion section in which they are occasionally allowed to voice their concerns. All of this took place without one word of admonition from the editors. One must assume, from the deafening silence from the “honorable” opposition, that the vandalism and violent threats were made with their endorsement.
And nationally, the Bush administration recently purged eight U.S. attorneys for insufficient political loyalty when they were actually fired for prosecuting corrupt politicians and friends of the president.
In a fascist system, it's not the lies that count but the muddying. When citizens can't tell real news from fake, they give up their demands for accountability, bit by bit. (Naomi Wolf)
Bush and Cheney are correct when they say the world must stand up to the growing threat of fascism. It is their fascism, their totalitarian concepts of government that is the real threat to a once great nation called the United States of America. “Just as we give up our rights one right at a time.” (Molly Ivins) 
Fascism: Are we there yet?
Yep. And we hardly knew it!
Bill Barnes
Conroe, TX 

Great Article on Chicago
I have never read an article as comprehensive as the one you wrote on Chicago this past week. 
I am Jason Scheff's mother and also a columnist. I really enjoyed the way you spoke about the band in increments, year by year. You filled me in on some information I didn't know. 
It was great. Just wanted you to know. And, very informative. 
Linda 

Armed Citizens Answer To Crime 
To paraphrase a musical lament of yesteryear: ’Where have all the good people gone-gone to the graveyard every -one? -killed by the armed criminals the police protect- by disarming citizens the criminals attack.’ Could this become the funeral dirge for our great Christian Civilization of America that our ancestors sacrificed and died for? It very well could in view of the depraved and psychopathic efforts of our bureaucratic de-facto commissars and their police lackeys to disarm and persecute Americans who exercise their God-given constitutional right to own and bear firearms to protect themselves and families. The result is the reducing of our nation to disarmed sheeple blindly marching toward the slaughterhouse of the planned Police State. The strategy being employed by our party-line political bosses and police sycophants is to deliberately release criminals into our neighborhoods to create an ever escalating crime rate to justify ever increasing taxation for ever expanding bureaucratic empires to impose their will, not on the perverted criminal element they created, but on us as the disarmed ’citizens’ of their planned New World Order. 
The glaring example is the forcible government introduction into our neighborhoods of perverted and sexual predators to prey on our children and others as news reports continually indicate. The solution obviously is life in prison for the perpetrators and encouraging citizens to routinely arm themselves and violent crime will drop dramatically instead of escalating as it now is under our present leaders apparently conspiring to bring about empire building, through escalating crime, who care nothing about human life or suffering. We should see: www.jbs.org  (search: gun control) and demand constitutional protection instead of mindless party line voting protecting their fat paychecks.
Ed Nemechek
Landers, Ca

How Many Bullets
The expiration of the assault weapons ban had no consequences in the Virginia Tech shootings. Under the assault weapons ban, there was a limit to 10 rounds of ammo in a magazine rather than 15 or 17. Furthermore a shooter with 10 mags with 10 rounds of ammo in each, could do just as much damage as a shooter with say 5 mags of 15 rounds each. Also, the assault weapons ban only limited gun manufacturers to produce only mags up to 10 rounds. After market manufacturers could still produce mags that held 15, 30, or as many rounds as they wanted. So therefore, the assault weapons ban did nothing to affect the shootings, neither has the ban ever helped prevent crime. 
In the aftermath of the V. Tech shootings, an Internet ABC NEWS POLL found that over 100,000 people disfavored more gun control laws. While a Smaller number of only about 20,000-25,000 favored more gun restrictions. An overwhelming majority of 4 out of 5 Americans believe in no gun control because gun control doesn't work. Only 1 in 5 believe in more gun control laws. THIS OUGHT TO TELL YOU AND THE ANTI-GUN POLITICIANS SOMETHING. GUN CONTROL IS A LOOSING BATTLE. THE MEDIA, HOLLYWOOD ELITIST, PRESS WRITERS, AND ANTI-GUN POLITICIANS ARE IN THE MINORITY!!! 
It appears to me that by reading your distorted article that you favor a compromise between gun rights and gun control. Law abiding citizens have a 100% absolute right to keep and bear arms with no restrictions whatsoever. George Washington once stated, "A free people ought to be armed." 
True gun owners and freedom lovers will never bow to such compromises offered by moderate democrats or progressive republicans. If you give an inch to such compromising anti-gun politicians, they will take a mile. 
R. Garrison 
Proud NRA Life Member

The Good Old Days
A new strategy has emerged among Republican candidates for president who appeal to the party’s huge conservative base. Frontrunners Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, as well as several lesser candidates, have chosen to hearken back to the Reagan era. Identifying with the man whose name is virtually synonymous with conservatism evidently makes a lot more sense than tying oneself to either George W. Bush or his father.
The current occupant of the White House, of course, is adamant in his continuation of the increasingly unpopular Iraq war. Now four years old with no end in sight, the struggle has already cost 3,200 American lives, wounded over 20,000, and destroyed whatever positive attitude for our nation existed in the Muslim world. Instead of deciding that the U.S. goals have been accomplished and ending the conflict, Mr. Bush is pouring more troops into the fray, even sending some units back for a third tour. No GOP political aspirant wants to be identified with such a record. 
I think that any candidate who says forthrightly that it’s time to bring the troops home would receive strong support. Please also visit http://www.jbs.org/node/3235  regarding my concern.
Matt K. Davis
Henderson, NV

House Passes Bill Making Preachers Criminals
A new bill, known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday (237-180). The bill, which will affect millions of American lives, does not actually do what it purports to do. 
What it does do is protect the homosexual agenda, as opposed to giving minorities a fair shot at day-to-day safety and equal rights. It protects the gay agenda so much so that a minister could be arrested for decrying homosexuality from the pulpit, something well within his first amendment rights as an American. 
According to Rick Scarborough, the bill “is intended to silence the Church on the issue of homosexuality.” The language of the bill is intentionally murky so that homosexuals in particular have far more protection than other minority groups listed, giving gays an unfair and inequitable advantage. 
For example, a statement that should be guaranteed under the first amendment as protected speech and religious expression such as “homosexuality is a sin” could land a minister up to ten years in prison — ten years for speaking one’s mind. House Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) commented that with the passage of this bill, “Criminals who kill a homosexual will be punished more harshly than criminals who kill a police officer, a member of the military, a child, a senior citizen or any other person…all victims should have equal worth in the eyes of the law.” 
House Republicans worked long and hard on a list of amendments to this bill, each one systematically voted down by the Democratic majority. The Democrats seem to be playing this bill as a “thank you note” to their gay and lesbian constituents; unfortunately, their “thank you” is one detrimental to Americans at large. As with any group, there are most certainly militant and hostile members of gay activist groups, people that have been testing the limits of their protected freedoms since the early 1970s. These same people will be storming into churches, disturbing peaceful Christian worship and discussion, in order to exercise the new power they will wield should President Bush fail to veto this bill (a veto already promised to the American people by the White House). 
Dr. James Dobson, President of Focus on the Family, has already applauded the President’s vow to strike down this bill: “The American justice system should never create second-class victims, and it is a first-class act of wisdom and fairness for the President to pledge to veto this unnecessary bill." The fact that this act can undo the power of the first amendment is not only outrageous, but also unconstitutional. To let this bill pass without veto would be irresponsible. 
Pray for our President to make the right decision to veto this horribly un-American bill in the interest of the tenets that all Americans stand on faith, justice, equality, and truth. May God bless and keep you.
Gina Parker Ford
Waco, TX

The Love You Take is Equal to the Love You Make
Be Kind to Animals Week is May 6 to 12. If you aren’t sure how to celebrate, here are a few suggestions: 
• Have your dog or cat spayed or neutered. Spaying reduces the stress and discomfort females endure during heat periods, eliminates the risk of uterine cancer, and greatly reduces the chance of mammary cancer. Neutering makes males much less likely to roam or fight and helps prevent testicular cancer. Spaying and neutering also helps prevent animal overpopulation. To find out about low-cost spay-neuter services near you, contact SPAY-USA at 800-248-7729, or visit www.HelpingAnimals.com  to sponsor a needy animal through PETA’s low-cost spay-neuter program.
• Let your dog live inside with the rest of the family. Many dogs are forced to live outdoors without shelter in all weather conditions. If a dog in your community is left outside all day, please do all you can to persuade his or her “caregiver” to bring the dog inside or, at the very least, provide the dog with adequate shelter, food, water, and enrichment. If he or she refuses, contact your local humane society. You can also provide a needy dog with a doghouse by becoming an “Angel for Animals” sponsor or giving the gift of a sponsorship to a loved one. 
• Extend your kindness to homeless animals—collect donated dog and cat food, bedding, toys, and treats for animals at your local animal shelter; volunteer to help walk dogs, clean cages, and play with the animals; make a contribution to a rescue group; or simply show some extra kindness to a neglected animal in your neighborhood. 
Heather Moore

When Politics Becomes Criminal
It has recently been reported that prominent Republicans in the Bush Administration are screening potential federal government employees concerning how they intend to vote in upcoming elections. This development calls for both Congressional investigation and an independent federal prosecutor. There is a federal law known as the Hatch Act which clearly makes such blatantly politicization of the federal government hiring program illegal. These activities may violate other federal laws, as well.
It is time for Republicans at all levels to distance themselves some the ethically challenged national leadership of the Republican Party and the Bush Administration. Not only have the Bush Republicans failed to follow the spirit of the law in many different ways, it now seems obvious that they are not complying with the letter of the law.
Scandal follows scandal in our daily news. During the 2006 election, Republicans tried with mixed success to spin the various illegal activities reported concerning Republican members of Congress, Republican Governors and various state Republican Party leaders as isolated “bad apples.” It now looks like most of the barrel may be rotten to the core of the Republican Party.
We have FBI raids connected to Arizona Republican Congressman Renzi and California Republican Congressman Doolittle in the headlines. The web of corruption by Republican officeholders seems to be vast. It looks like the Bush White House was actively engaged in keeping the extent of the corruption from the voters in 2006. This Republican culture of corruption explains much about the US Attorney firing scandal and Republican efforts to make voting difficult.
The US Attorney firing scandal is emerging as the biggest corruption probe and abuse of office probe since Watergate. It looks like the Department of Justice has been entirely politicized and may be involved is various ways in obstruction of justice. Denial of voting rights, obstruction of corruption by Republican officeholders, manufactured criminal cases against Democratic figures, manufactured vote fraud cases, orders to take legal positions favoring large corporate law-breakers like the tobacco companies and other abuses at the Department of Justice connected to top Republicans are emerging in the media.
The Republican efforts to make voting difficult for the poor, working Americans, minorities and the elderly are apparent in the policies pursued by the Department of Justice. It is equally apparent in the activities of the Republican Party machinery in almost every state in the union. 
Tennessee Republicans in the State Senate recently voted to require voters present photo ID’s that many poor and elderly Tennesseans do not have. In 2006, Republican supporters of the Republican Governor Ehrlich successfully blocked early voting by using the courts to overturn voting reform laws. Early voting makes it much easier for working citizens to vote without interfering with their jobs. In recent elections in Tennessee, up to 40 percent of all votes cast came from early voting.
Corrupt officeholders are often removed by the voters in large turnout elections. Republicans fear these voters. Outright vote fraud may have handled several Congressional seats in Florida to Republicans who really lost had the votes been honestly counted. 
Illegal campaign tactics are very common in modern Republican circles. The situation in New Hampshire is a prime example. Republican leaders in that state with close ties to the Bush White House developed an illegal scheme to disrupt the vote turnout phone lines of the Democratic Party and some unions during the US Senate race. The Republican went to the Senate largely based on this illegal and successful tactic. Recent media reports indicate that the Republican US Attorney in New Hampshire was playing ball with the Bush White House concerning the election and subsequent investigations.
These illegal activities are impacting government policies in many ways. Republican members of Congress and Republican Senators elected as a result of illegal activities will help Bush in the upcoming veto fights. The will of the majority of Americans will likely be blocked on issues like Iraq, the Employee Free Choice Act, competitive bidding on prescription drugs under Social Security, etc. because the Republicans rigged numerous elections around the nation.
Voters need to vote all Republican incumbents out of office. Honest Republicans who believe in the American system of free elections need to seize control of their Party and purge the crooks. The Republican Party needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Many current Republican leaders and officeholders belong in jail. We need to vote in public officeholders who are willing to jail the rich and powerful when they attack the very foundations of American Democracy!
Stephen Crockett
Earleville, Maryland

Another Political Distortion
It never ceases to amaze me how low republicans will go to win votes by distorting the facts. This time it is the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act that was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. 
In her letter Gina Parker Ford states if it passes a minister could be sentenced to 10 years in prison for saying "homosexuality is a sin." That simply is not true. This law is designed to discourage crimes against people (such as beatings and murder) because they hate them for being different because of race, color, creed, religion or sexual orientation. 
To stop the crimes that have resulted in death way too often only because of a person's sexual orientation. Just a few years ago a group of teenagers from the Woodlands went into Houston's gay Montrose area to "bash gays". They drove around until they found a few gay men leaving a bar. They jumped out of their cars and went after them. All escaped but one and he was beat so bad he died. He was beaten to death because he was gay. 
Two young men befriend a young gay man, take him out into the country where they tie him to a fence, torture him until he dies. 
These crimes are hate crimes just as it was when some young men tied a black man to the back of a truck and drug him until he died. Just because he was black. 
Jews, Moslems, Mormons, blacks, and gays have been murdered just because of who they were. This in a country that boasts to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave." How can a person be free when others can murder him for who he is? How brave is it for a mob or individuals to feel they can get by with murdering others because they are "different"? 
There is freedom of religion in America and minsters are free to condemn anything they consider immoral but no one should be free to incite a group of people to torture and murder the people they feel are immoral. That happens in some countries and often against Christians and their places of worship. We do NOT want it happening here. 
This law will NOT stop any minister from stating homosexuality is a sin, however, if he incites the church to go out and murder homosexuals then he might be arrested under the law. 
I hear ministers say, "we hate the sin but love the sinner." If that is true, than no minister need worry about this bill as it is deigned to prevent crimes, not dictate what is moral. 
Once again Gina and her republicans are using people's fears to turn them against democrats. They do not mind how they distort the facts as they evidently see the end justifying the means. Gina is either very naive and believes the lies of the homophobic far right religious leaders or she knows it is a lie and promotes it to promote the republican party as the "anti-gay" party. Gina appears too smart to be naive, so can only believe she feels it is alright to lie. 
Gina, I know no religion who states it all right to lie to further your goals and as a Christian I know Christianity does not. If a minister could be sent to prison under this law then a minister could be sent to jail for many other statements I have heard them say in churches. These include " The pope is the anti-christ", "Jews killed Christ", "blacks are the descendants of a man who was turned black for his sin and he and all his descendants were condemned forever to be servants", "the Mormon religion is a cult", "all Moslems are terrorists as their scriptures teach to spread their religion by the sword". All of these people, Jews, Moslems, Mormons, Catholics and blacks are also protected by this law. 
These ministers claim to be ministers of "The Prince Of Peace" who taught "follow peace with all men" and "love one another". If a minister is truly following those admonitions then he has to fear no law. This law is designed for those who ignore those teachings, not for those who follow the teachings of Jesus The Christ. As a Christian ordained minister I support this law to discourage crimes against people who are different than the majority. I encourage all Christians to do the same. 
It is the Christian thing to do. 
Bill Talley 
Houston, Texas

All People are Equal
Gina Parker Ford's letter, "House Passes Bill Making Preachers Criminals", does not seem to reflect her belief "of the tenets that all Americans stand on faith, justice, equality, and truth." 
Perhaps her interest in those tenets is that she believes they are reserved only for certain Americans. Those of us who have gay family members, friends and co-workers believe differently. 
Jeanne Edmonds 
The Woodlands,Tx

You Stupid Libtards
stupid libtards. Gonzalas did nothing wrong. go smoke some pine needles and sober up
Wayne E Johnson

Prosecutorgate
Ronald O. Brown (Courier, May 10) mentioned the importance of invoking “God” in our oaths. Without threat of retribution from a superior being, an oath isn't worth anything. He's absolutely right. 
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, holds the highest title an attorney can hold, unless he's the president, or happens to sit on the Supreme Court. One would think the Attorney General would be above lying to Congress. But after swearing “to tell the truth…. . So help me, God,” Gonzales said, “I can't recall,” 70 times under oath but denied any wrong-doing. 
Jon Stewart told Bill Moyers on PBS that Gonzales was either a “perjurer or a pinhead.” 
But in playing the pinhead, he might have helped protect Bush from impeachment. The sad thing was, everybody knew he was covering up. “Congress versus the White House is like the Harlem Globe Trotters playing the Washington Generals. Everybody knows who's going to win.” That's frightening!
It's become obvious that Carl Rove was pushing Gonzales to prosecute more voter fraud. November elections were coming and the US Attorneys weren't doing it fast enough. For example, Bradley Schlozman, a controversial elections lawyer, replaced United States attorney in Missouri, Todd Graves, to try and save Jim Talent's failed Senate re-election bid.
Like Timothy Griffin, former Republican National Committee agent who replaced US Attorney Bud Cummins in Arkansas, Schlozman specialized in “caging.” (Disenfranchising students, homeless people, absentee servicemen and black and hispanic voters from Democratic precincts.) Illegal “caging” worked so well in Florida and Ohio it won Bush the presidency twice!
Whether Gonzales was able to keep Rove out of hot water remains to be seen, but he sure played a good pinhead and, so far, stayed out of jail. 
Monica Goodling, Alberto's top counsel, has cut a deal to testify before Congress in exchange for immunity. An immunity deal in lieu of prosecution is probably better assurance in getting at the truth than an oath invoking God's punishment at this point. Unless she's willing to swear, “So help me, Rove.” 
Bill Barnes
Conroe, TX 

Use Them if You Have Them
Use Supertankers to stop the wildfires NOW. I’m writing this letter to urge citizens to get government agencies such as the Forest Service, FAA, and local and state fire agencies off the backs of the Supertanker water bomber companies that built the DC-10 and Boeing 747 Supertankers privately investing millions of dollars for which they have received almost no returns. This is because the US Forest Service has reportedly refused to use Supertanker aircraft to fight fires on federal land for over 12 years, allowing horrible loss of life and destruction in the meantime. How long are we going to stand for this deliberate destruction of human life and property by our own public safety officials? Right now reportedly there are only two Supertankers in our entire country while the Russians, offering us help refused by the Forest Service, are flying at least five IL-76 Supertankers worldwide accident free for over 12 years ! They are the DC-10 stationed at SCLA airport in Victorville, California and the Boeing 747 which our so-called public safety and fire officials have never allowed to be used, even when virtually the whole Southwest was burning awhile back. We must check the websites: DC-10 supertanker--and --evergreen supertanker --and-- JBS.org (search: wildfire) on google and demand our public safety and fire officials be held accountable. Contact congress, fire season is here, and our fire officials are again putting us in grave danger. Supertankers can stop uncontrolled wildfires now devastating our country in one day that would otherwise take weeks or months to control and private enterprise will use and build them if given the chance. Get signatures on this letter and send to your Congressman now!
John F. Rambousek 
Yucca Valley, Ca.

Study History or Repeat It
Athens, the Cradle of Democracy, grew luxury loving, lazy, unpatriotic, decadent, and began empire-building. Undisciplined, it fell to the militaristic Spartans. In Rome, the Republic became an Empire with power concentrated at the top, the citizens became satisfied with entertainment spectacles and dependent on the dole, uninterested in governmental incursions on civil liberties and corruption at the top, unable to defend itself because of its extended supply lines to distant areas; it fell easily to barbarians from the north. In 18th century France, the gap between the haves and the have-nots widened, the small aristocratic class lived lavishly on the backs of the working classes, corruption infiltrated the ruling classes; dissatisfaction grew among the working class and the government fell during the French Revolution with ensuing bloodshed and chaos. In czarist Russia, again, the gap between an elite ruling class living in decadent luxury on the backs and taxes of working people grew until the public became easy prey to intellectual revolutionaries. The government fell, oceans of blood were shed, and Communism took over until it, too, fell to the inroads of militarism, attacks on civil liberties, and attempts at empire-building weakened it. Today, it strives to survive but at the expense of curtailment of civil liberties and a troubled economy. Take heed. As Santayana said, Those who do not study history are condemned to repeat it. 
Gale Calelly 
Conroe, TX 

Americans Gas Guzzled Again 
Americans are so adaptable it’s pathetic. 
The cost of gasoline continues to escalate and we all drive to the pumps to fill up, without hesitation. We need to view the reality of gas prices. There is no legitimate reason for the sky-high costs being pumped-up within the past several months, which then last week blossomed into a full-fledged price hike. 
President Bush, so outspoken and indignant on so many issues, is willing to be as laid back as most Americans about the rising costs. By now we all should know there are special interest reasons for the ongoing escalating costs of gasoline. Furthermore, we need to consider that the Bush administration, either by its acknowledgment or silence, has given the "green light" for the Bush dynasty's Saudi business buddies and OPEC to hold up oil production so that the demand remains higher than the supply. It's happened before and it will happen again.
Americans have become too politically complacent. We’ve become the placid sheep that enables a president like Bush to manipulate our government, our dreams, and our lives without fear of consequences. Remember, sheep follow each other even where the wolves are. It’s one of the classic reasons we’re in Iraqi quicksand without any vines nearby to pull ourselves out. 
Bush has proven time and again that he is the captain who with no rational forethought will go down with his ship, no matter what. The problem is that he’ll take all of us with him. 
Peter Stern
Driftwood, TX

Homeless Conservative
I am now 70 ½, which makes me officially “old” by the IRS definition. I suppose this means that I am now a conservative. The famous quotation (wrongly attributed to Winston Churchill) "If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain." does seem to have some truth to it.
When I was a kid my father said “All you have to know about politics is Republicans like war and Democrats cause depressions.”
Since then I have also learned the following: Many Republicans are parental, mean spirited, stingy, and arrogant. Many Democrats are childish, whiny, idealistic, ignorant of economics and naive. The difference between the two is that the Democrats like to talk a lot but can't accomplish anything that works, and the Republicans can get organized and get things done but they do the wrong things. 
I also have learned that you don't have to be a Republican to be a conservative.
I am conservative in that I believe in minimal government interference and spending. I am against abortion (I support birth control and adoption), I believe in strong well-equipped military, fighting just wars only when defending our country. I pay my taxes, obey the law and don't do drugs. Above all I believe in honesty, truthfulness and integrity from a government, which obeys the Constitution.
I find that I am a homeless conservative because I can't find much with the current Republican Party that I can admire or identify with. My biggest complaint, among others, is how they are trying to create a Theocracy. Why can't these people pray in church or at home without trying to make their religion mandatory and public? Isn't that what the fundamentalist Islamists do? 
Without going into Bush’s resume, I would like to know exactly what it is about him that the 30% of the polled people admire. The only reason I can surmise is that these are the hard core foot soldiers of the party that are so loyal to the party they can forgive the president anything.
We are almost two years away from election and have far too many people running for President. For a while it seemed like John McCain was a good candidate but he is apparently now on a self-inflicted path of self-destruction. The leading Republican candidate now seems to be Giuliani. This man has had more divorces than any other candidate (ever?), believes in tax paid abortions, believes in evolution and dresses like a woman at every opportunity. He may be a good candidate, but does he represent the Republican Party core values?
Still looking for a home. 
John Haydel
Conroe, Tx

With ‘Friends’ Like These Who Needs Enemies?
The Constitution Party (www.constitutionparty.com ), the third largest political party (www.ballot-access.org ) strongly denounces what is shaping up to be a wholesale sell-out by Republican Senators on course to reward illegal aliens by okaying AMNESTY.(S.9, S. 330)
“There are 49 Republicans in the U.S. Senate who figure they can slide an AMNESTY bill by the American people because it’s being passed off as somehow tough on illegal immigration,” said Constitution Party National Chairman Jim Clymer. 
“It’s astounding that those representing a party that claims to be tough on illegal immigration are pushing some of the most damaging pieces of immigration legislation yet… and two of those pushing hardest are Republican presidential hopefuls for ’08, Senators McCain and Brownback!” Clymer noted.
The Constitution Party, the only pro-secure borders party in the country, believes GOP Senators are fully aware that Americans are fed up with the crisis of the illegal invasion and that enforcement is the key issue. That being said, it appears the Republicans in the Senate are willing to vote for pro-amnesty bills because they have the appearance of being tough on enforcement.
“Not so”, said Clymer. “The immigration bills now before the Senate would reward more than 12 million illegal aliens with citizenship simply for making a cursory trip back to Mexico then returning to continue to claim all the benefits American citizens can claim.”
The Constitution Party points out that despite rhetoric painting immigration reform legislation as “enforcement first” bills, in reality current measures let illegals stay and work despite having broken the law and are shameless bones thrown to appease business’ greed for cheap labor.
“No wonder the Republicans have lost the confidence of their base”, said Clymer. “If the GOP continues on course to ignore the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Americans on this issue, what choice will Americans have but to vote for a party in ’08 that doesn’t need to be asked:
“What part of ‘No Amnesty’ don’t these guys understand?” 
Mary Starrett
Communications Director
Constitution Party

Troop Support?
Amazingly, while our president continues to thumb his nose at American public opinion and sends additional troops to fight in the middle of an outright civil war in Iraq, he brazenly announces that the 3.5% pay raise for our fighting men and women recommended by the House Armed Services Committee is too much! Dubya and his budget boys said the administration strongly opposes both the 3.5% raise for 2008 and the follow-on increases, calling extra pay increases "unnecessary". 
Now, I'm sure that even our Republican Texas representatives in the US Senate and House, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, John Cornyn and Kevin Brady, will finally break from their lock step, go along march with Dubya over this outrageous and hypocritical position! 
At a time when Dubya and his foolish neo-cons continue to extend the tours of our troops in Iraq, rotate them in and out of that hell hole for up to four deployments, and tell them that they are the best equipped troops in the world, they now have the nerve to announce that a 3.5% raise for these brave troops is unnecessary? Shame on them. It's an unmitigated disgrace and we , collectively, must see to it that Congress dare not go along with our "Captain Queeg"! 
Jim Farrell 
Oak Ridge North, TX

Bush & America
Good morning. After reading the editorial on pres. Bush and knowing how most people feel I had to say this. First. no nation can sit by and do nothing . When we ignore what is going on we invite terrorists to attack our country. ie 911. We must do something to protect ourselves and I believe Bush is doing it. Also please remember that our troops over there or at least some wanted to be there . Sure mothers you are hurting . but you are also ruining the image of what your son or daughter stood for. I stand and salute them for what they did for me and my country. GOD bless America and all the troops protecting her. 
Thank you from an x military.
Name Withheld

Global Warming or Global Hoax? Response
Steve Casey of Stonewall, LA wrote in the April 6 Bulletin, noting a similarity between “the hoax” of global warming and “the farce” of Y2K. 
Mr. Casey's analogy between possible over-reacting to the perceived threat of inconvenient costly computer chaos and the very real and scientifically proven threat of life-threatening, catastrophic global warming is weak and Ill-conceived.
Without any documentation whatsoever he says, “But, there is money involved in being on the global warming bandwagon. So, scientists who want their projects financed must go with the cash-flow.” 
This irresponsible statement begs for a rebuttal:
Casey apparently doesn't know that oil companies contributed $1.8 million towards George W. Bush's campaign in the year 2000 - thirteen times as much as they gave his opponent! Again, the Electric utilities donated $447,000 to Bush, but only $65,000 to Al Gore. (Alfred Mendes, Spectrezine)
Our self-styled expert on funding obviously hasn't bothered to do any research on the 75 minute documentary he's so proud of watching on youtube. 
Published by WAG Productions out of UK, (WAG, as in “Wag the Dog”) featured Senior Fellow Patrick Michaels of CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Washington DC. 
CATO was founded in 1977 by Edward Crane, once a leading libertarian, and Charles Koch, the billionaire co-owner of Koch Industries, the largest privately held oil company in the U.S. 
Given the anti-environmentalist stance of CATO, It is inexplicable that they have the gall to call themselves “libertarians.” 
Ask.com defines Libertarians as those who believe that government should be limited to the defense of its citizens. Actions such as murder, rape, robbery, theft, embezzlement, fraud, arson, kidnapping, battery, trespass, and pollution violate the rights of others, so government control of these actions is legitimate.” (It took a Supreme Court ruling to get the CATO- backing Bush Administration to concede that the EPA had the right to regulate CO2 emissions) 
CATO is funded by such polluting behemoths as Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Chevron, Exxon, Shell Oil, Tenneco Gas, American Petroleum Institute, Amoco and Atlantic Richfield. (CATO Website) (These power players also contributed heavily to Bush/Cheney'04)
On the other hand, the urgency of global warming is funded by all manner of concerned Americans -- "NASCAR fans, churchgoers, labor-union members, small businessmen, engineers, hunters, sportsmen, progressives of all kinds, even corporate leaders. Their leadership team includes Brent Scowcroft, national-security adviser to presidents George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford; Carol Browner, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Bill Clinton and others. (grist.org)
Through the American Enterprise Institute, Exxon/Mobil has distributed over $5 million in bribes offered to unscrupulous “scientists” like CATO's Patrick Michaels to parrot their lies. (SaveOurEnvironment.org) 
I'd say the scientists who follow their greed, rather than their conscience, know where the money is much better than Steve Casey knows.
“An Inconvenient Truth” is a testimony to our duty as stewards of the earth God gave to us. Whether you are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist or fool, you owe it to yourself and your children to rise above politics and religion. 
Don't be deluded by charlatans like Glen Beck or Rush Limbaugh. Watch Al Gore's gift to mankind and decide for yourself before it's too late.
Bill Barnes 
Conroe, TX 

Accountability 
First, may I commend you, for The Bulletin really is ONLY voice of reason in Montgomery county. It is a pleasure to read your paper each week. 
Second, to "name withheld". Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, your favorite president even has admitted that. So, Bush lied us into a trillion dollar war for what ? Well, maybe one reason is to repay the campaign contributions of big business for they are doing very well at the cost of young American lives. 
This administration, for Bush, has not done all this damage by himself, has left us defenseless at home, our borders, our airports, our food, our water, our are wide open to anyone who cares to attack us. Our National Guard is depleted in numbers and equipment.
A strong leader does not allow their country to have less health care than 3rd world countries, a strong leader understands the needs for all children to have the best education with good schools. For the youth will become the next leaders. Strong leaders realize a country needs unity within and internationally. Senator Ron Paul said it best, "we need to lead by example, not force." 
Both parties have lost their way until we remove all special interest groups, religious, big business, nothing will change. Accountability for actions would be a great start. 
Linda Woode
Conroe, TX

The Wizards in the White House
Documents in 2005 from one of Osama Bin Laden's lieutenants, "Atiyah", state that "prolonging the war is in our interest". Bin Laden himself in October 2004 stated that the best thing for al-Qaeda, is the US spending lives and money in Iraq and we know Iran is happy to watch us build a new Shiite government right next door. Darth Cheney himself understands this as evidenced by his interview on (where else) Fox News with Chris Wallace, 1/14/2006, where he confirms that the Iraq war is the "central battlefield" in Bin Laden's strategy. So, our enemies the Taliban, al-Qaeda, our friends in Tehran all want us in Iraq where they aren't(or weren't). 
It would seem that our enemies and the wizards in White House have a common goal of sorts. I understand why our enemies want us there, I'm trying to figure out why this Administration does. The lies about WMD and danger of Saddam have long since lost their punch except with some members of Fox News and others like Bill Kristol, delusional over world domination. The only thing left to keep Americans scared enough to remain faithful to the cause is the eternal "war on terror". But even this lacks credibility for continuing this war. Consider that even if we were to "win" this war in Iraq by whatever definition Bush/Cheney choose, does anyone really believe there will no longer be a terrorist threat anywhere? Even if they manage to kill every al-Qaeda member in Iraq, what about those in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Africa, Europe, or here? Are they going to give up and report to Gitmo on their own? What about terrorists that aren't affiliated with al-Qaeda? Are we naive enough to think that only people that fly airplanes into buildings are terrorist?
What about those like Timothy McVeigh, the uni-bomber, the killer at Virginia Tech? Aren't these all terrorist? The question becomes how does this war in Iraq affect terrorism? The answer is it doesn't. Terrorism, the war on terrorism, is as nebulous as the war on drugs, the war on crime, or the war on poverty. The enemies in each of those wars still exist and are as strong as ever. We have already achieved everything we were ever going to achieve in Iraq by deposing Saddam. You win wars by achieving peace, all we are doing now is aggravating a different situation than existed 4 years ago. Our efforts have only encouraged the presence of terrorists and added to the divisiveness between religious sects. The results are daily violent terrorist acts against us or between factions, a corrupt non functioning government that no one trusts, a severe "brain drain" of skilled refugees that continues, and no way for Iraq (those too poor to leave) to recover on their own leaving a hopeless population. Nothing is more dangerous than people with no hope. 
The Bush administration has allowed/caused the situation there to deteriorate to such a level that our only concern at this point should be humanitarian. The US should admit its mistake and turn to the world for help. We should be out of all other aspects of Iraq. Those responsible for the war need to be held accountable for their crimes. All of our corporate interest, from Halliburton to Blackwater, need to get out and their finances audited as no one should be making a dime on this disaster. A coalition of countries through the UN should take over the management of Iraq as this administration has long sense lost all credibility or moral imperative. 
I take nothing away from the men and women over there and here that have been trying to make this work through service to their country. The criminal misconduct occurs with those that brought this war and mis-managed it. Negligence and lack of oversight falls on us, the complacent US public, the press, and our representatives for letting them get away with it. 
Regarding terrorism, If we really want to fight it, we need to do something different than applying a bandage (in the form of a competent and well meaning Petreas with some 20000 more troops) to a criminally mismanaged war that's been dragging on for 4 years. 
Steve Donohue 
Willis, Texas 

I Believe
For most of my adult life I have voted as a Republican. Unfortunately, the Republican Party has not been very sympathetic or interested in the issues that concern me. I thought about becoming a Democrat. But the Democratic Party has not been very sympathetic or interested in the issues that concern me either. I have become cynical, discouraged and disillusioned by politicians who do nothing but ensure their own reelection. When our officials no longer represent the people who elected them, the freedom to vote then becomes the freedom to not vote. Regardless of your political persuasion you know your vote doesn’t really count.
So in the spirit of the upcoming 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love I have decided to drastically revolutionize my political and social outlook. From now on, instead of relying on incompetent elected officials to make any kind of positive change, I will be the change I wish to see. I will denounce the two major political parties and everything they stand for. I will burn my voter’s registration card and no longer worry about who is “running this country.” 
I will wear silicone wrist bands, ribbons, buttons, necklaces, and other jewelry, as well as display bumperstickers on my bicycle, to bring awareness to hunger and poverty, the environment and AIDS and other critical social issues. 
I will do my part to decrease the effects of global warming. I will use a minimal amount of biodegradable toilet paper. I will not use plastic bags when shopping but carry my own earth friendly hemp shoulder bag. I will not drink out of styrofoam cups or plastic water bottles that break down into carcinogenic compounds. I will turn off my faucet while brushing my teeth (or brush when I shower). I will burn candles and oil lamps, replacing electric lighting. I will support the Live Earth Aid concert in July to bring awareness to global warming. 
I will help develop alternative biofuels that will not destroy the environment. I will stop driving my car and either walk or ride a bike. 
I will join PETA, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the National Wildlife Federation to help to save the sea turtles, the manatees, the ground beetles and the more than 1,000 other endangered animal species around the world. 
I will boycott organizations that exploit and destroy the rainforests for commercial profit. I will help bring an end to the clearcutting of forests and the strip mining of natural resources. 
I will join the Planetary Meditation for Peace movement and the World Peace Society and observe the International Day of Peace. 
I believe it will be a great day when schools and libraries get all the money they need and the military has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber. I will speak out against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while supporting the soldiers who are fighting for our freedoms. Yes, it is possible to do that! In fact, I will become a pacifist and peace activist and speak out against all wars. I will make the peace symbol popular and sacred once again. 
I will help protect human rights by joining Amnesty International. I will help locate and dismantle dangerous landmines around the world. 
I will be more tolerant and practice diversity towards my fellow human beings regardless of race, sex, or religion. I will be a thorn in the side of denominational churches. My Karma will run over their Dogma. I will coexist with people of all faiths. As I hitchhike across the country playing “Give Peace a Chance” on my harmonica I will remind everyone that if you surrender to hate, you have already lost. 
I will be in favor of a person’s right to choose against the death penalty. I will work for a nuclear-free society. 
I will fight for the rights of immigrants to freely come into our country to do the jobs that Americans won’t do. I will chant until I am hoarse, “Mr. President, tear down that fence!” 
I will fight for equal rights and legal protection for all species. I will help curtail the worldwide growing population problem. I will strive to end poverty in third world countries. 
I will speak out for animal rights and become a member of the National Anti-Vivisection Society. I will work for the decriminalizing of all drugs, especially medical marijuana. I will fight against censorship in all its forms. I will fight for more gun control. 
I will protest the conquering of Native American lands by hostile white European invaders by not honoring Columbus Day. I will remind people of what Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Sioux said, “They made us promises but they kept only one. They promised to take our land and they did.” 
I will support the Reparations for Slavery movement. 
I will fight corporate greed by boycotting Wal-Mart, Starbucks and McDonalds. I will help to close down sweatshops around the world. 
I will fight for everyone’s right to have free health care and prescription drugs. 
I will listen to and support public radio. I will watch only educational television programs. 
I will make a modest living by selling hemp jewelry, candles, love beads, tye dye clothing, duct tape wallets, and CD suncatchers and donate my earnings to worthy causes. 
I will give up sodas and coffee and drink green tea. I will meditate daily to find my center of balance, recharge my crystals to ward off negative energy, and wear a mood ring to monitor my stress level. I will make orgonite which can also turn negative energy into positive energy as well as reduce the harmful effects of chemtrails and electromagnetic radiation (www.orgonite.info/). 
I will live a more natural, more sustainable lifestyle. I will build a yurt according to feng shui, become a vegetarian, grow a garden and build a compost pile. I will use biodegradable cleansers instead of harsh chemicals. I will recycle instead of throwing away. I will use solar energy and live off the grid. I will live simply that others may live. 
I will not conform. I will question authority and become a shameless agitator. I will abstain from getting a haircut until I begin to see positive changes. I will declare, “If you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention!” 
I will visualize world peace, turn the other cheek and practice ahimsa in all I do. I will light a candle and not curse the darkness. 
I will help to free Tibet. 
Finally, I will help to stop oppressive gardening and free the gnomes (www.freethegnomes.com). 
Remember – the motto “Free Huey” is still relevant. 
I close with the words of a fellow free spirited dissident, “Stay mellow.” 
Ken McKee 
Montgomery, Texas

Bush Ain't No Churchill
Congrats on a brilliant editorial on above. 
Mike

What YOU Don’t Know About Gasoline
The public does not know ten things about gasoline prices. The public has a right to know and needs to know this vital information which is essential to the economic well-being and national security of our nation. If it did know this information, the American public undoubtedly would demand that changes be made which would lower our gasoline prices. These virtually unknown facts are: 
1. On January 23, 1980, the President of the United States, without any notice or debate [i.e. no Constitutional due process], gave our US oil market to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”). This was the first step in our current dependence on foreign oil. 
2. On March 27, 1980, only two months later, Congress passed the Domestic Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax. This tax critically injured our US oil industry. 
3. Over half a million US oil workers lost their jobs. Hundreds of US oil producing companies went bankrupt. US drilling rigs plunged from 3,974 in 1981 to 723 in 1995. 
4. US oil production has plunged from 9.3 million barrels of oil per day in 1985 to 5.1 million barrels of oil per day in 2006. 
5. Our neighbors—Mexico and Canada—and a dozen other foreign countries have increasing oil production. The US cannot make them stop or even slow down. 
6. The only way to find and produce oil is to drill a hole in the ground. If there are no holes being drilled in the ground, you cannot and will not find oil. 
7. Global warming and cooling has occurred in cycles since prehistoric times. 
Water vapor (as clouds) is the main greenhouse gas and is 10 to 100 times more significant is controlling local climate than carbon dioxide. The Global Warming computer models do not account (they don't even try!) for water vapor, which is a local and constantly varying factor and can reach 20% of volume. They only consider carbon dioxide, which is uniformly concentrated around the globe, and is less than 0.04% of the earth’s atmospheric volume. Man-made hydrocarbon emissions are a fraction of this tiny amount. 
8. Ethanol also known as corn alcohol also known as bourbon whiskey cannot be produced in sufficient quantities in the US to replace foreign oil imports. 
9. Now, pay attention to this. This is where it really gets important. US oil is cheaper than foreign oil. This needs to be repeated since only a few have known about this: US oil is cheaper than foreign oil. 
10. Because US oil is cheaper than foreign oil, US gasoline consumers are losing $8.6 BILLION annually because the US is not producing enough US oil. 
As the old saying goes, “What you don’t know can hurt you.” What you didn’t know already has. But, now that you know, you can do something about it. 
Seldon B. Graham, Jr. 
Austin, Texas

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