Those who are talking about secession should shift their focus to calling for a new fair presidential election that does not allow use of the type of touch screen computers involved in election irregularities in various locations. Americans should copy the citizens of other countries who call for new elections when their leaders engage in election fraud.

Alternatively, Congress could trade establishment of a special prosecutor for election fraud for a tax increase. The allegations of vote rigging are far more significant than the Watergate burglary that was investigated by a Special Prosecutor. President Barack Obama probably was not involved in the vote rigging activities, but a failure to investigate and prosecute those involved could be considered an impeachable offense. A vote rigging Prosecutor might have to investigate some of Obama's financial supporters, but probably wouldn't investigate Obama. Republican voters might be more likely to accept a tax increase tied to an investigation of state and local Democratic officials.

I don't know if Barack Obama would have won a fair election or not, but there are enough irregularities reported about the recent election to indicate he might have lost a fair election.

Irregularities include more than 100% turnout in some areas, allegations of illegal aliens being brought in to vote and voting machines that wouldn't allow votes for Mitt Romney. Ohio had a policy of allowing people to register and than vote without allowing officials to make sure they were not also register elsewhere.

The first rule of election rigging should be "don't be too obvious". In parts of Cleveland and other locations Obama received 99% of the vote which looks suspicious.

Election rigging has a long history in the United States, particularly in major cities where corrupt political machines didn't want to risk losing the offices that gave them power and money. For example, Chicago has a reputation for being a place in which the dead are allowed to briefly return to life to vote on election day.

It shouldn't be surprising if vote rigging occurred in an election in which huge sums of money were donated to the presidential campaigns by wealthy individuals on both sides. Some rich folks don't like to lose and will ignore laws if they think they can get away with it. Many believe that billionaire Nazi collaborator George Soros is behind the vote rigging.

Other wealthy interest groups are also potential suspects. For example, some carbon traders have violated European tax laws and even sold phony carbon credits. They might find spending a few million on vote rigging to be a good way to insure election of a president who supports the global warming scam.

Allegations of vote rigging might recede into the background for a time, but they could be resurrected if people believed Obama was abusing his office to benefit the wealthy interest groups that helped finance Obama's reelection. Efforts to restrict gun ownership could also trigger allegations that he stole the election for that reason.

The only differences between many American political reporters and prostitutes is that prostitutes understand what type of business they are in and prostitutes provide something of value to the people who pay them.

One of reasons Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney is because most political reporters at the Main Stream Media (MSM) are essentially prostitutes. They are partisan Obamista Democrats whose motto is "ours is not to question why. Ours is but to lie and lie." They apparently believe their duty is to make their fellow Democrats look good and the Republicans look bad. If wealthy Republicans want to improve their chances of winning, they will need to invest in media companies and replace the partisan Democrats with either Republicans or with real journalists who believe they have a duty to pressure politicians regardless of party into being truthful.

American reporters should know better than to automatically believe any politicians, particularly those running for president. It wasn't that long ago that President Bill Clinton was caught lying about his affair with an intern and President George W. Bush was claiming that Iraq President Saddam Hussein was about to give Weapons of Mass Destruction to al Qaeda. They certainly weren't the first two presidents to lie. For example, President Franklin Roosevelt lied about the assistance he provided to the British prior to American entry into World War II while he was plotting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to get the United States into the war.

American reporters continue to publish stories supporting the late Enron Corporation's global warming scam even though the documents indicating Enron's role in setting up the scam have been available for years. Reporters potentially have access to studies by scientists who question the claims about global warming, but refuse to consult the critics of global warming. Reporters ignore the fact that those who want to profit from trading carbon credits are likely to spend large sums to elect candidates like Barack Obama who support their agenda.

Real journalists recognize that when politicians and government officials try to keep documents secret, it is often to cover up damaging information. For example, in the1960 presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kennedy refused to release his medical records while falsely claiming he didn't have any health problems. We didn't learn until many years later that Kennedy was afflicted with Addison's disease, a disorder that can cause a fatal drop in blood pressure.

When we elect a president we are really hiring a president. We should have access to the same information an employer might request from a potential employee. The news media should seek that information on our behalf.

Unfortunately, most American journalists don't care about whether or not candidates are truthful about their background. For example, there have been cases in the past of journalists who have lied about the education. Thus, it would be reasonable to require presidential "job applicants" to make copies of their college records available to those who decide who to hire for the job.

Barack Obama claims to be healthy like Kennedy did, but refused to make his medical records public to confirm his claim. Obama's body is consistent with the type of body that individuals with potentially fatal Marfan's syndrome often have. Those with Marfan's syndrome can suffer from sudden heart attacks. How can we be sure he doesn't have Marfan's syndrome if he won't make his medical records public.

The presidency has citizenship and a minimum age requirement. Thus it is reasonable to require those applying for the job of President of the United States to submit a birth certificate to confirm he meets the citizenship requirement and is old enough to qualify for the job. However, MSM journalists act like the issue isn't important. They continued to ignore the issue even after Obama posted an obviously forged birth certificate on line.

The forgery lists his "race" as "African" even though the term "African" cannot be used to indicate a specific race. Africa contains two visibly different groups of people. Those who live north of the Sahara Desert have light colored complexions. Those who live south of the Sahara have dark complexions.

The use of the word "African" instead of the term used at the time "Negro[the Spanish word for black]" could indicate Obama has been keeping the document secret for a reason other than where he was born. When Obama was born southern police were still beating civil rights demonstrators. If Obama's complexion was light enough to pass for Hawaiian, his mother might have taken advantage of giving birth in Hawaii to list her son as whatever term was used for native Hawaiians. Obama might have decided to keep the document secret because he wanted to use his complexion to appeal to black voters and didn't want them to think he was really an Hawaiian.

Obama's decision to keep his birth certificate secret might involve an old dictator's trick. A dictator wanting to determine how loyal his supporters are may say or do something questionable to determine who will support him regardless of what he has said or done.

The tendency of the MSM to bias news in favor of their Democratic Party has increased the degree of division between Democratic activists and Republican activists. Those who realize they cannot trust the MSM turn to Republican organizations that also present biased information.

The current situation with the media isn't new. In the 19th Century Noah Webster observed: “The freedom of the press is a valuable privilege; but the abuse of it, in this country, … is a frightful evil. The licentiousness of the press is a deep stain upon the character of the country; & in addition to the evil of calumniating good men, & giving a wrong direction to public measures, it corrupts the people by rendering them insensible to the value of truth & of reputation."

Mark Twain also had a low opinion of journalists. " That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoe making and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poor house."

Today, thanks to our representative democracy, I had the distinct pleasure of voting no on continuence of Judge Paula Martin. This judge has frequently given sentences far too easy to offenders in our community, including to rapists.
emphasized text My suspicion is that others feel the same way.

I sincerely hope the majority voted with me.

thanks for reading.

I remember a few decades ago when the Roman Catholic Pope visited the United States. Some reporters in effect said that they were Catholics by using the Catholic term "Holy Father" when referring to the Pope.

Did President Barack Obama recently reveal that he's a "closet" Muslim when he said: "The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam."

Why did Obama use the name "Prophet of Islam" instead of "Mohammad" or "The Prophet Mohammad" like most non-Muslims would?

Obama admits that "to be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see in the images of Jesus Christ that are desecrated, or churches that are destroyed, or the Holocaust that is denied.”

Obama's emphasis on not "slandering" the Prophet Mohammad implies he may assign greater status to Islam than other religions.

Obama has long attempted to convince people he is Christian even though he used the phrase "my Muslim faith" in an interview with George Stephanopoulis in 2008 He wouldn't be the first politician to claim to be an believer in some religion to gain public support.

I realize the naive Obamistas think they must believe everything their Imperial President tells them. But, those of us who have studied American history realize that politicians, especially presidents, will lie if they think they can get away with it.

Recent claims that an attempt to rescue the American Ambassador in Libya was vetoed by someone high up in the administration raises a disturbing question. Did someone higher up want the Ambassador and/or others at the consulate to die?

Investigators need to examine this possibility. One potential problem might be that the action resulted from the same type of "failure to communicate" that caused the death of Canterbury Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170. King Henry II was locked in a long running dispute with Beckett and at some point said something that caused his knights to mistakenly believe the king wanted Becket dead.

Someone in the White House may have believed that President Barack Obama wished something bad would happen to Ambassador Chris Stevens or someone else at the Libyan Consulate. When the report of the attack came in such an individual might have decided the attack would help the President get what he wanted and vetoed a rescue. I hope this is not what happened, but it is a possibility that deserves investigation.

I believe we can reject the possibility that Obama was worried about civilian casualties because Obama didn't worry about that possibility when he was trying to overthrow the Libyan government and hasn't worried about that possibility when authorizing drone strikes in Pakistan.

I initially thought the Obama administration simply didn't have resources available to rescue people at the consulate because it didn't recognize the potential threat due to the continued instability in Libya. However, the stories about the veto of a rescue attempt indicate rescue resources were available.

We know from the killing of Osama bin Laden that the Obama White House has the capability to monitor events like the attack on the Libyan consulate. Thus it is unlikely that the failure to respond was due to a lack of information. Either someone in the administration didn't want to respond or Obama's approval was needed and he was sleeping or brewing beer or something and didn't want to be disturbed.

The wind picks up leaves

swirls them around

teens commit pranks

while adults act like clowns

You make chicken chili

heat up spiced cider

put beer in the fridge

stock up on candy

Carve pumpkins to

look like a fright

bring in the cat

turn on the porch light

Get in your car

Dirt roads wind you around

Take you far out of town

Where haystacks seem bleak

Until scarecrows peek

from around them!

Witches on horned owls

screech high overhead

Demons pop up from

under the hood

Clouds cover the moon

You hear a loud thud

You have a flat tire

in three feet of mud

You arrive back at home

It's time to disrobe

You sneeze once or twice

You've caught a damn cold!

Have one last beer

with your favorite candy

Pull on warm socks

Put your feet up.

Oops, turn out the light

Blow out the candle

Put out the cat

Spirits creep in, see you're asleep

Let themselves out with

hardly a peep.

Your snoring is loud

you're all tuckered out

Your dog jumps into bed

howling in fright!

Realization sinks in

it's gonna ba a long frekin night

On Halloween night in your neighborhood

(10-28-2007 - Ronda Miller)

It isn't unusual for a political group to accuse a rival group of doing what it is doing. This situation occurs because members of the the first group believe whatever they are doing is "right" and whatever the opposition is doing is "wrong". The best example of this phenomena is the standard claim by each party that the other party is getting special interest group support.

Democrats have been accusing the Republicans of waging a war on women while ignoring the Democrats own war on women. War involves death and Democrats support policies that increase the death rate of women by failing to regulate abortion providers or adequately test contraceptive produces.

Governments have long recognized the need to regulate the health care industry to insure that those providing medical services are actually qualified to do the job and adhere to the highest standards of safety. However, when it comes to regulating those who provide abortion related health care many Democrats act like disciples of Rush Limbaugh.

The only people who seem interested in insuring adequate regulation of abortion providers are the people who oppose the procedure. Many Democrats are so obsessed with the idea that abortions must be available that they don't care about the safety of the procedure. Some Democrats seem incapable of understanding that women don't benefit from abortions that kill them.

Although it is preferable for babies to be delivered by trained individuals, people with no medical training including cab drivers and children have been known to help successfully deliver babies.

However, abortion is major surgery. An abortion involves removing something from the interior of a body that is attached to the body. Abortions should only be performed by trained professionals operating in facilities that conform to government standards for surgical facilities. Abortionists should know how to correct the mistakes that sometimes occur during surgery. Government needs to strictly regulate the process to protect women from the type of under qualified individuals who will attempt to perform medical services if the opportunity is available. Government should require individuals and facilities that perform abortions to meet the same licensing standards as other facilities.

Failing to require facilities that treat only women to meet the same standards as facilities that treat men and women is the equivalent of the old southern Jim Crow laws. The lack of government oversight is particularly disturbing when unlicensed or under regulated facilities are allowed to operate in areas with high minority populations. A young black woman named Tonya Reaves died a few months ago from a poorly performed abortion at an unlicensed Planned Parenthood clinic in Chicago. http://www.priestsforlife.org/africanamerican/howcandreamsurvive.htm

As with many medical procedures there are potential adverse side effects to abortion. Democrats believe doctors who should be required to inform patients of adverse side effects for other procedures shouldn't have to inform women about possible adverse health effects of abortion which some studies indicate include an increased risk of breast cancer (in young women) and suicide. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/86/21/1584 http://afterabortion.org/2001/suicide-rate-higher-after-abortion-study-shows/

The primary impact of abortion on breast cancer seems to be on young women with the first pregnancy because their breasts are still developing new cells. The abortion stops this process with some cells not fully developed. If these undeveloped cells start reproducing later as something other than breast cells the result can be a cancerous tumor.

Medical authorities don't fully understand how a woman's brain chemistry changes with pregnancy and with the end of pregnancy. They know that women can become severely depressed and possibly suicidal after giving birth. An artificial end to pregnancy is likely to cause the same depression encouraging changes in a woman's brain chemistry. Women who have unwanted pregnancies may already have a negative attitude about themselves which could lead to depression and suicide.

Women who have abortions should be encouraged to contact mental health professionals after the abortion. Women who have abortions may be more likely to become severely depressed because they have a negative attitude toward the pregnancy and possibly a negative opinion about themselves associated with the decisions that led to the pregnancy.

Medical treatments often have risks of adverse side effects for some people. Patients have a right to know what the suspected adverse side effects are so they can make an informed decision. Medical treatments don't affect everyone the same way. For example, the penicillan that could save my life from an infection would have killed my mother because she was allergic to it. Some medical treatments, such as use of radiation, can increase the risk of cancer. Other treatments such as organ transplants may increase the risk of suicide.

Surgery carries the risk of infection, permanent injury or even death. Abortion can be major surgery. Complications from an abortion can include a hysterectomy or death as the family of Tonya Reaves discovered after she died from a poorly performed abortion in an unlicensed clinic a few months ago.

Democrats apparently think women are incapable of evaluating possible risks when determining whether or not to have an abortion. Democrats don't think women considering an abortion can balance the possible adverse consequences of an abortion with what they consider the negative aspects of their pregnancies.

The 14th Amendment requires states to guarantee "equal protection of the laws." If the law requires health care providers to warn men of possible adverse side effects of medical procedures, then health care providers must provide the same type of warnings to women including those seeking abortions. State laws that seem to allow those providing medical threatment to avoid warning women are unconsitutional.

If Democrats really cared about women they would do something to prohibit those men who molest young girls from paying abortionists to dispose of the evidence that a molester has gotten an underage girl pregnant. Children who are sexually molested can suffer for years afterwards. Proving child abuse can be difficult because courts may not consider a child's testimony to be reliable. The remains of an aborted baby provide indisputable evidence that a man has sexaully molested a child. Child molesters often molest more than one child. Failing to prosecute a molester allows him to continue to ruin the lives of children. If Democrats really cared about women they would support legislation requiring abortionists to deliver the remains of abortions on underage females to the local medical examiner for possible law enforcement action. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_se...

Democrats make a big deal out of contraceptives. They want to make sure women don't have to pay for them. However, Democrats don't seem to care as much about the safety of contraceptives. If you notice the ads by ambulance chasing lawyers you've seen the ones about a lawsuit involving the once popular contraceptive Yaz.

Yaz has been discovered to have the same problem as some earlier contraceptives. It can cause fatal blood clots. If Democrats really cared about women they would insure that contraceptives are adequately tested for the potential to create blood clots or cause other problems before they can be marketed.

Democrats claim Republicans are waging a war on women, but it is the Democrats who see nothing wrong with allowing unregulated or poorly regulated individuals to perform medical procedures on women that can injure or even kill the patient. It is Democrats, rather than Republicans, who favor laws that increase the risk of death for women.

Western Elitists often don't understand that people in other parts of the world don't think the same way they do. For example, they don't realize that those we consider to be villains may be considered heroes by some Muslims.

If Michael Moore portrays President Barack Obama as taking control of the effort to get Osama bin Laden, the implication will be that bin Laden was a powerful man who posed a major threat to the United States, a man Americans feared . The more time the President of the United States is portrayed as devoting to the search for bin Laden the more important OBL will appear to be. At a time when the United States faces significant economic and budget problems, the President wouldn't spend time going after a man who didn't pose a major threat to the country. Al Qaeda could use the idea that the United States feared bin Laden as a recruiting tool.

Another potential problem with the movie is the handling of OBL's death. If the movie shows bin Laden fighting the SEALs, he will appear to many Muslims to be "heroically standing up to a superior force in a situation in which death is inevitable." If the movie shows bin Laden simply being shot without a weapon in his hand, then those who kill him will appear to Muslims to be murderers. Either way Muslims may decide that bin Laden is a martyr. Either way could provoke Muslim violence against American interests in the Middle East.

On October 22 voters tuned into a presidential debate expecting a serious discussion of foreign policy issues. Apparently President Barack Obama didn't understand that fact or didn't care. Or perhaps, he decided to use the show to audition for a new career on Saturday Night Live.

Obama responded to a statement by Mitt Romney about the navy being smaller than in 1916 by telling what some considered a joke instead of attempting to explain why he thinks the United States doesn't need a larger navy.

"But I think Governor Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. You — you mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets — (laughter) — because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines."

The statement is something I might expect from a half wit comic like Bill Mahr, but not from a president who is supposed to be demonstrating why he should be retained as commander in chief. If I were a Democrat I might suggest it is the type of statement I would expect from Michele Bachmann

Obama's comparison of the size of the navy to the reduced need for horses and bayonets makes no sense. His use of this comparison indicates he doesn't understand military matters. Incidentally, I was recently reminded that our special forces troops initially entered Afghanistan on horseback. I also found out that bayonets have been used in Iraq.

His statements about aircraft carriers and submarines sound like something a child would say or maybe something an adult would say to a child. I would be remiss if I didn't suggest that Obama's statement might be something someone under the influence of alcohol might consider brilliant.

It might come as a surprise to Obama but "ships that go underwater" were used extensively by the Germans in WWI. Our navy had trouble protecting merchants ships from submarine attack because our navy was too small. Incidentally I won't fault Obama for using the word "ships" to refer to submarines, but the navy has traditionally used the term "boat" for a submarine rather than "ship".

Aircraft carriers date from WWI, but the first ships used seaplanes that landed and took off from the water and were only stored on the ship. The first carrier capable of launching and landing aircraft, the HMS Argus, wasn't launched until 1918.

Friends of mine seem surprised, and certainly questioning, when they learn I'm pro life. The questions my stance, which is a life style choice not a political siding, garner include the standard ones. I'm asked why I feel it's okay to tell someone else what they have to do with their body - my response is that I'm not telling anyone what they should do with their own body, just what they shouldn't do to a body too small and defenseless to stand up for itself.

Hasn't that been the American way since the beginning of the American dream? Don't Americans put themselves into harms way and travel across the sea to protect those who don't have the physical abilities to defend themselves against cutting swords or toxic poisons another entity uses on them?

It's easy for me to answer the 'when life begins' question. My response is that as a human development major I was taught that life begins with the zygote. I believe that.

I appreciate people come from different belief systems, lifestyle choices, opinions, cultures and religions.

In a perfect world the smallest form of human life would be cherished, protected, coddled, nourished. Once that perfect world of respect for the most fragile of human life begins, then our climate of a world at war begins to change.

Our focus shifts and we begin to look inward towards the smallest movement, the slightest sound of a beating heart.

I don't want or expect the reverse of our present culture where women for the most part retain secondary rights in respect to equal pay, sexual bias, and exploitation. They don't need to be put on a pedestal.

But our culture would be vastly improved if our focus was placed on the family - the smallest of life's form was cherished to the ultimate end of giving it the optimal in physical, emotional and educational care. Women wouldn't be subjected to the fear of rape or incest because they would be cherished as the sacred houses where honored life begins.

In a perfect world no one would need to defend their reasons NOT to kill an unprotected life.

I know we don't live in a perfect world, but let us begin doing what we can. It starts at home - it begins within.

During the last week talk show host David Letterman has been calling undecided voters "idiots" because they are still undecided. If he actually knew anything about the candidates he would understand that the undecided voters may be the smart ones.

For those who don't watch Dave, it has been evident for a long time that he's an Obamista. He believes whatever Obama says and ignores criticism of Obama. He frequently criticized Mitt Romney for not releasing his tax returns while saying Obama could keep all his records secret.

Many undecided voters may be waiting to see if secret documents are released. Perhaps undecided voters are more likely to recognize that politicians that attempt to keep documents secret are usually covering up something.

Typically undecided voters in an election involving an incumbent have decided they would rather replace him, but aren't sure of the possible replacement.

President Barack Obama is clearly an ineffective president. He seems unable to comprehend the fact that the al Qaeda attack on the American consulate in Libya indicates the organization may be getting stronger, not weaker. He brags about the drop in unemployment while ignoring the fact the drop is due largely to people becoming so discouraged they have stopped looking for work. A half million have dropped out during the last couple of months.

Obama is the worst president since Gerald Ford. I've been reluctant to compare him to pre-Depression presidents because the office has changed so much since the Depression. However, Obama's recent suggestion that the navy has declined in importance like bayonets and horses, indicates he is out of touch with reality. He may be the on the way to becoming the most irrelevant president since Millard Fillmore.

The challenger Mitt Romney has thus far been uninspiring. Undecided voters want to watch him a little longer to make sure Romney doesn't self destruct.

The undecided voters are attempting to send the major parties a message. They want better quality presidential candidates from the major parties. They want candidates they can have confidence in. They want candidates they can commit to instead of having to decide which is the lesser of the two evils.

President Barack Obama made the most inane debate comment of the early 21st century in the October 22nd debate. http://www.npr.org/2012/10/22/163436694/transcript-3rd-obama-romney-presidential-debate

"But I think Governor Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. You — you mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets — (laughter) — because the nature of our military's[sic] changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines."

We may not need as many horses and bayonets as we did in 1916, but we need more ships than the peace time navy of 1916 did. In 1916 the United States didn't think it needed a big navy because it wasn't involved in World War 1 and still expected the British Navy to control the seas. The United States Navy has inherited the commerce protecting and peace keeping role the British Navy played a century ago. However, the U.S. cannot perform that role with only 114 ships of 287 total ships deployed over 139 million square miles of ocean. http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=146

The United States should have an aircraft carrier based group with rescue helicopters and Marines off the coast of Libya and other hot spots where embassies are close enough to the sea for sea based rescues. The capital of Iran was too far from the sea for a sea based rescue during the Carter administration. Diplomatic facilities in Libya and some other trouble spots can be reached from ships.

It may come as a surprise to Obama, but the main reason we ended up in WWI was because the United States didn't have enough ships to protect its merchant ships from German submarines called U-boats. Nuclear power for submarines may have come long after WWI but "ships that go underwater" were a major German weapon in that war. The first submarine was built in the 17th Century and the first submarine attack was an unsuccessful attempt to attach a bomb to a British ship during the American Revolution. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/worlds-first-submarine-attack

It is unlikely that Japan would have attacked the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941 if the United States had had more than one fleet in the Pacific. Japan thought that knocking out the only American fleet in the Pacific would allow it to take control of the Pacific before the United States could build a replacement fleet.

This year begins the 200th anniversary of the first major war fought by the United States, the War of 1812. The United States wouldn't have felt a need to enter that war if it had had a big enough navy to discourage the British navy from kidnapping sailors from American merchant ships and even naval ships.

Peace provides the best environment for the international trade the U.S. economy has always depended upon. The United States first foreign "war" was an attack on pirates on the North African coast. The U.S. needs a big enough navy to permanently station ships in shipping lanes plagued by pirates.

The Navy provides the best option for protecting the peace. Moving ships to a trouble spot doesn't require construction of large bases first. Personnel can be stationed near a trouble spot without the complications involved with stationing troops among the local population. We may not need as many horses and bayonets as were needed in 1916, but ships are even more necessary.

Four years ago Democrats criticized Gov. Sarah Palin for her statement "I can see Russia from my house". Compare that to Obama's statements: "We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines." Obama apparently thinks he's speaking to children, or maybe he just has a simple mind.

Obama's statements that al Qaeda is weak ignores the implications of the attack on the Libyan consulate. Al Qaeda may be weaker in Afghanistan, but it is growing elsewhere. It is not going away any time soon. Obama is underestimating the strength of al Qaeda much like the Johnson administration underestimated the strength of the Viet Cong before the 1968 Tet offensive.

Gov. Mitt Romney missed a couple of major opportunities to score on President Barack Obama in the 2nd debate. Romney should have pointed out that Obama continued Bush's economic policies. Romney should so have pointed out that various states are investigating Planned Parenthood for fraud.

Romney should have suggested that the question about President George W. Bush's economic policies should have been directed to Obama because Obama had continued Bush's policies. The bailouts of the banks and the automakers began with Bush. Obama merely continued that policy. Obama also copied Bush's stimulus policy and the use of tax cuts. Bush had large deficits and Obama expanded those deficits. Romney should ask at soz3me point why Obama continued Bush's policies if Obama though Bush was wrong.

At some point Romney needs to point out that unemployment under Bush was less than 5% before the 9/11 Attack and only went up to 6.3% (June, 2003) after the attack. It then fell back below 6% in November, 2003, and remained below 6% until August, 2008, when it began increasing again. It might be argued that the increase in unemployment in the summer of 2008 was due in part to a lack of confidence in the two presidential candidates with the drop after the election being due to a lack of confidence in Obama.

Romney should have pointed out that Obama's support for Planned Parenthood means he supports the idea of substandard Jim Crow quality health care for inner city minority women. Romney should have asked why Obama allows Planned Parenthood to operate an unlicensed medical facility in his hometown of Chicago. The 14th Amendment requires states to guarantee equal protection of the laws which means health care facilities that provide medical services to inner city minority women should have to meet the same high standards as facilities that provide health care to white men and women. Romney should promise that if elected he will enforce the 14th Amendment and force facilities that serve minority women to comply with the same standard as facilities that serve white men.

Romney should have mentioned that several states are investigating Planned Parenthood for Medicaid fraud and the federal government should also investigate the organization because it operates in multiple states and receives federal funds which provide an opportunity for similar fraud.

Romney should have asked if Obama has ordered a federal investigation into the death of Tonya Reaves who died after being treated at Planned Parenthood's unlicensed Chicago clinic. Reaves continued to bleed after her abortion and wasn't sent to a hospital for several hours. When she went to the hospital the clinic didn't bother to send information about her condition to give the hospital an idea of what might be wrong. Romney should announce that he will order a federal investigation into Reaves' death to determine if anyone at the clinic broke federal laws.

Was President Barack Obama under the influence of alcohol during the debate in Denver? Could alcohol consumption combined with the high altitude explain his poor performance?

I'm not suggesting that Obama was drunk. It's not necessary for someone to be noticeably drunk for alcohol to adversely affect performance.

If Obama had a few drinks before the debate it's probably a normal part of his preparation for public appearances. If he did drink, he was probably unaware that the alcohol combined with the altitude could affect his performance.

The old belief that altitude can cause someone to become drunk faster appears to be a myth. However, alcohol can impair judgment and perception as well as depressing respiration. The reduced oxygen availability in the mile high city could have further slowed Obama's brain and reduced his ability to process information The U.S. Army Public Health Command recommends against alcohol consumption at higher altitudes for this reason .

Altitude alone could not explain Obama's behavior because it would have affected him and Mitt Romney the same.

There's a strong possibility that Obama is an alcoholic like his father Barack Obama, Sr., and his half brother George Obama. Susceptibility to alcoholism is hereditary. As a nephew of a few alcoholics, I know that the only way alcoholics can avoid the negative affects of alcoholism is to not drink alcohol. Moderate use is not an option for alcoholics.

Obama admitted in his autobiography that he drank heavily when he was young. Such drinking could have helped him develop a high tolerance for alcohol so he could drink significant amounts without it having a noticeable affect. Union General Ulysses S. Grant won the Civil War even though he was a very heavy drinker.

Obama could be a "high functioning alcoholic" (HFA). They usually don't give obvious signs of being affected by alcohol and can function without those around them noticing any adverse affects on judgment or behavior. The fact that those around Obama praise everything he does would reinforce any feelings Obama has that his drinking isn't adversely affecting him. Their tendency to idolize him would blind them to any indications he had a problem with alcohol

Two years ago "White House physician, Navy Capt Jeffrey Kuhlman, said Obama should stick with 'moderation in alcohol intake' and ‘smoking cessation efforts’, the use of nicotine gum, and come back in August 2011 after he turns 50."

Some suggest that the recommendation for "moderation in alcohol intake" is some type of standard recommendation. Others such as the writer of Mountain Republic, who has a family history of alcoholism, believes that the doctor wouldn't have brought the subject up unless he detected a possible alcohol related problem. The writer suggests that the beer summit involving Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge police Sergeant Jim Crowley provides an example of how alcoholics think alcohol is a solution to problems.

The beer summit isn't the only time Obama has invited someone to the White House for a drink.

Sandra Rose believes that alcoholism would be consistent with Obama's narcissist personality. She agrees that a recommendation of moderation wouldn't be needed if a patient was already drinking in moderation.

A doctor would have to be careful about recommending moderation in alcohol consumption. Some patients who drink in moderation might complain because they think the recommendation means they are drinking too much. An alcoholic might interpret the statement about "continued moderation" as an indication that his consumption is within acceptable limits.

At a time when the nation faces significant economic and foreign problems, would any president who wasn't an alcoholic brag about setting up his own brewery? Obama's decision to brew his own beer indicates alcohol plays a major role in his life. Working class individuals might brew their own beer because they don't get a feeling of personal accomplishment from their jobs. Obama is President of the United States. He shouldn't need to brew his own beer to feel he's accomplishing anything.

Maybe events in Libya would have been different if Obama had been taking care of presidential business instead of brewing beer.

I've been watching presidents speak for decades. I know I'm being subjective, but something about Obama's facial expressions have looked a little off, particularly a tendency to smile or almost smile at inappropriate times. I had thought this was an example of the way liars smile when they think they are getting away with a lie. However, his expressions could also indicate he is being affected by alcohol.

An alcoholic Obama could appear to be functioning normally.but still have impaired judgment that would affect decision making. He might fail to recognize a threat such as happened in Libya. He could also exhibit paranoid tendencies. He might treat normal criticism as a major attack on him. He might overestimate the threat to the United States from some foreign event.

A Duke University study lists President Richard Nixon as one of our previous alcoholic presidents. He was forced to resign from office because of poor decisions associated with the Watergate scandal. President Ulysses S.Grant who was an alcoholic is considered to have had one of the most corrupt administrations.

Vice President Joe Biden was busy being good natured Old Uncle Joe in the debate. He spent much of his time trying to keep young Rep. Paul Ryan from talking. You know Uncle Joe. He's always interrupting everyone at the family gatherings. He wants to remind everyone his mouth still works even though he might be moving kind of slow. He smiles a lot to show he's enjoying the attention.

One of the problems some of us old guys have is wanting to remain the center of attention. I believe a lot of this practice comes from fear of being displaced by the younger guys. We want to remind the younger generation we are still around.

I don't expect much substance from the debate because two minutes per question is insufficient time to do much more than to allow the two parties to say "did so" / "did not" much like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck saying "duck season" / "rabbit season" in the old Warner Brothers Looney Tunes.

Biden is out of touch with the situation in the Middle East. He seems to think we are winning in spite of the fact that al Qaeda recently destroyed our consulate in Libya.

Biden doesn't understand that withdrawal from Afghanistan will be portrayed by al Qaeda as victory over the United States like their victory over the old Soviet Union. Osama bin Laden wanted us to invade Afghanistan because he believed the United States didn't have the willingness to go the distance.

He knew he couldn't defeat the United States. He believed he, or his successor, could get the United States to tire of the war and leave our allies behind without support like the Soviets did and like we did in Vietnam. The recent attacks on American forces by local Afghan forces are because they think the Americans are deserting them like bin Laden said we would. Afghan forces believe if we withdraw our troops we will eventually end support in the form of providing war supplies like we did in Vietnam. Many Afghans may believe the situation will be like the conflict with the Soviet Union when the Taliban took advantage of the chaos that followed the Soviet withdrawal to take over the country.

The War on Terror is an endurance contest like the Cold War was. The United States has to continue the effort if it wants to outlast the enemy. We still have forces in Germany even though we won that war almost 70 years ago. and we have had casualties there because of terrorist activity. We need to let the enemy know we will keep forces in Afghanistan for a similar period of time if we want to outlast them. Al Qaeda will use early withdrawal as a recruiting tool by claiming they have proved they can defeat the United States with terrorism.

Writers throughout the state of Kansas converged in Salina this past weekend for the yearly Kansas Authors Club convention and presentation of awards.

The convention was hosted by District Four under the leadership of President William Karnowski.

Key note speaker was Caryn Mirriam Goldberg. Goldberg is state of Kansas Poet Laureate.

Winners for the state poetry contest (open to the general public and members), are as follows:

Haiku: Judge Irma Hudson First - Box Turtle- Yvonne Green, D1 Second - Snow Drifts from the Sky - Barbara Brady,  D1 Third - Moonlit Cottonwoods , Roy Beckemeyer,  D5 First honorable mention- Flurry of Feathers - Diane Palka,  D2 Second honorable mention - Coolness in the Fall -Annabelle Corrick Beach,  D1

Theme: Judge Timothy Pettet First - Brushing Away my Fears -  Judy Hatteberg, D5 Second, Such Power, Yvonne Green, D1 Third - It Takes Two To Tango, Jane Bandy, D7 First honorable, Hope, Roy Beckemeyer, D5 Second honorable, Encouraging Words, Barbara Brady, D1 Tied for second honorable mention, As a River Runs, Laura Patterson,

Lyrics: Judge Barry Barnes First - Shipwrecked Love - Roy Beckemeyer, D5 Second - Saturday Night Dreams - Audrey Collins, D6 Third - Editor's Lament, Annabelle Corrick Beach, D1 First Honorable Mention - Courtin' Country - Kay Towle,  D6 Second honorable mention, Tall-grass Spring, Theodore Farmer, D5   Classic Forms : Judge Timothy Pettet First - Roy Beckemeyer - Winter's Weft, D5 Second - Prairie Fire Pantoum - Roy Beckemeyer,  D5 Third - Half Joy Wing, Kristine Polansky, D4 First honorable - Molds - Dennis  Etzel Second Honorable He Drinks Again - Pat Bonine, D1

Poets Choice: Judge Timothy Pettet TORNADO WARNINGS - Roy Beckemeyer,  D5 Second Place, Wedding Picture, Diane  Wahto,  D5 Third place - May Morning - Diane Wahto,  D5 First Honorable Mention - Sharing a Drink - Sarah Langley Second honorable mention - Grease - Dennis Etzel

Free Verse: Judge Paul Goldman First - East off Highway 77, Dusk - Kevin Rabas, D2  Second - Somewhere in the Water - Duane Johnson,  D1  Third - City People - Judy Hatteberg,  D5  First honorable mention - The Yellow Cat Naps - Roy Beckemeyer,  D5 Second honorable - Curry's " Prelude to Tragedy": John Brown - Marilyn Page

Narrative: Judge Carolyn Hall First - Sweat For Sale - Diane Palka, D2  Second - Second Year Blues - Ronda Miller,  D2 Third - Where the High Plains Meet Heaven - Ronda Miller,  D2  First honorable mention - If Not for Tears - Ronda Miller,  D2 Second honorable mention - That Time Again - Jean Jackson, D2 

Whimsy: Judge Carolyn Hall First - For Women Only - Audrey Collins,  D6 Second - DFTT - Kristine Polansky, D4 Third - The Handyman - Paulette Mattingly, D5  First honorable mention - Evaporating Issues - Annabelle Corrick Beach,  D1 Second honorable mention - The Awful Truth - Yvonne Green, D1 

Additional information about the club and how to become a Kansas Authors Ckub member may be found on-line. Kansasauthorsclub.com. (D stands for one of the seven districts that the club is divided in throughout the state)

President Barack Obama's obsession with a mythical Mitt Romney $5 trillion tax cut raises serious questions about Obama's mental health.

The federal government only receives about $1.2 trillion in total income taxes per year. There is no way a $5 trillion tax cut would be possible in the short term.

Congress would have to almost eliminate the income tax to produce a $5 trillion cut in 5 years. Cutting $500 billion a year would take 10 years to produce a $5 trillion cut. Cutting $250 billion a year would take 20 years to produce $5 trillion in cuts.

I considered the possibility Obama was deliberately lying, but why would an intelligent rational person use a lie that would be so easily exposed as a lie? Besides, Voice Analysis Technology used its audio technology to check the level of stress in the statements of both candidates and determined that both believed they were telling the truth.

The presidency is a high pressure job that can potentially destroy people. Many historians believe that the stress of heading an administration tainted by corruption killed President Warren G. Harding. Obama's obsession with an obviously non-existent tax cut proposal indicates he has apparently cracked under the pressure.

If Obama isn't living in the real world, he may not be able to respond appropriately in crisis situations.

With the recent Middle East crisis and the state of the world economy, we would expect our president to use the opening of the new session of the United Nations to meet with other world leaders. Instead, Obama decided to appear on "The View" talk show. He apparently is unaware that news stories about him meeting with world leaders would do more to help his presidential campaign than appearance on a talk show, even a talk show like "The View".

His most important recent accomplishment seems to be establishing a brewery in the White House. While he was showing off his brewery, he failed to check to see if American diplomatic facilities in the Middle East were prepared for possible 9/11 anniversary attacks. The result was a disastrous attack on the American consulate in Libya. Obama brewed beer while the Middle East burned.

Obama's separation from the real world may not be recent. Mark Bowden claims in his new book "The Finish" that in the event Osama bin Laden had been taken alive, Obama wanted him to be tried in American civil courts to demonstrate American due process. Shouldn't a Harvard Law School graduate have been aware that if that had been done, the first thing bin Laden's attorneys would have done would have been to request bin Laden's release on the grounds that his "arrest" without a judge authorized search warrant was illegal, particularly considering that the SEALs had entered Pakistan without permission of the Pakistani government? We should be doubly glad that the SEALs killed bin Laden instead of merely capturing him. If he had been captured the courts might have released him.

The British tabloids reported two years ago that Obama's doctor had recently told him he should cut down on his excessive drinking as well as his cigarette smoking. If President Obama is drinking excessively he is almost certainly an alcoholic, particularly considering that his father Barack Obama, Sr., was an alcoholic and his half brother George is an alcoholic. Alcoholism often has a connection to certain genes, especially the "risk taker" gene. If Obama is an alcoholic, he won't be able to simply cut back on alcohol consumption. His only option is to stop drinking completely.

Alcoholics often have trouble relating to the real world, but I'm doubtful that alcohol alone could explain such an obviously mythical claim that Mitt Romney wants a $5 trillion tax cut. Alcohol consumption might explain unwillingness to drop the tax cut subject and other aspects of his demeanor in the first debate, but probably not the development of the tax cut idea itself.

Megyn Kelly on Fox made an interesting observation on the first debate. Mitt Romney would watch Barack Obama during the debate while Obama tended to look at Jim Lehrer or the cameras. I had halfway noticed this situation during the debate but didn't really consider the implications until she commented.

I went back and fast forwarded through the debate. Romney would look at Obama for significant periods, but Obama only occasionally glanced at Romney before looking away or looking down.

An obvious explanation for Obama not looking at Romney is that Obama felt intimidated by Romney. The debates cannot resolve differences on issues because the responses are too short. Romney apparently recognizes that the debates allow a candidate to show who has the strongest personality and would be best able to stand up to the leaders of other countries, the leaders of special interest groups and congressional opponents.

Watching one's opponent is important in verbal combat as well as in physical combat. A boxer watches his opponent to look for an opening for a punch or an indication of what type of punch the opponent may throw. A verbal combatant watches body language and facial expression for signs of weakness.

I was a boxing fan when Mohammad Ali was the champ. I still recall him trying to stare down opponents to try to shake their self confidence. Romney at times seemed to be trying to stare down Obama who occasionally glanced at Romney and then quickly looked away.

Romney obviously understands personal conflicts in a political, or business, situation and how to appear to be a tough opponent. Obama does not.

The 1962 Cuban missile crisis occurred because Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev felt American President John F. Kennedy could be intimidated. The recent attack on the American consulate in Libya may have occurred because al Qaeda believes Obama can be intimidated.

Before the debate I was planning to vote for Romney only as a means of getting Obama out of the White House. Now I will vote for Romney the Intimidator to be our leader in foreign affairs.

President Barack Obama made a major gaffe when he recently said that we are owned, or "belong to", government. In the United States the government is supposed to "belong to" the people instead of the other way around as he suggests.

We the people are supposed to own the government and tell it what to do. Obama and other elitists believe that government exists to control our personal lives and even tell us how much we can eat or drink.

Some government controls are necessary to prevent people from harming others. Government needs to restrict sale of some substances that can adversely affect physical or mental health or can cause people to harm others. However, there is no reason for government to regulate the size of soft drinks or treat all school children as if they had the same nutritional needs. Active children need more calories than those who spend all their time playing video games.

Too many officials at all levels of government think they are better than the rest of us and have some special right or knowledge to make decisions for us. Government officials who believe themselves superior will sometimes say "if you only knew what we know" when they really mean "if you knew only what we know."

One of my favorite movie quotes is by Glenn Ford's character in "Teahouse of the August Moon". Ford plays an American military officer helping the Japanese develop democratic government after World War II. He tells them: "Democracy is where the people have the right to make the wrong decisions."

All humans can make mistakes. I read a book review several years ago about some incredibly stupid things done by the high IQ members of Mensa. During President Lyndon Johnson's administration men who were considered to be the best and the brightest put half a million of us in Vietnam for no apparent reason other than that they didn't want to lose the war before the next election. They had no idea what victory meant and thus didn't know how to win.

President Thomas Jefferson once said: "I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion."

"It is the duty of the Patriot to protect his country from its Government."- Thomas Paine

National Custodial Worker's Day will be observed on Tuesday October 2nd. http://www.examiner.com/holidays-in-national/national-custodial-workers-recognition-day The holiday recognizes those who clean and maintain buildings that others work in. http://amarillo.com/stories/2002/10/02/fri_fn100202-8.shtml

Unfortunately. many organizations seem unaware of the holiday. I didn't find out about it until after I retired after 23 years of custodial work.

I haven't been able to determine exactly when it was established, but some web sites indicate that public school systems may have originated the day to recognize their cleaning and maintenance workers. I haven't discovered any formal designation of the day. http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/node/3684

Custodians deserve the same recognition as secretaries (sometimes called administrative professionals although most aren't paid consistent with the new term) and bosses.

As Rodney Dangerfield might have observed cleaning and maintenance workers often don't get no respect. Custodians often are only noticed when they don't do their jobs, like forgetting to empty a trash can.

Maintenance workers sometimes have the difficult task of keeping old plumbing or worn out heating/cooling systems working until the money can be found to replace the equipment. Cleaning workers may have to clean up "flood" waters or other storm related damages.

My first boss at the courthouse where I used to work, Rick Juarez, had a sign on his wall that was written about those who maintain trains. I don't know who wrote it, but here is one version that the text editor should accept.

It's not my place to run the train The whistle I can't blow. It's not my place to say how far The train's allowed to go. It's not my place to shoot off steam Nor even clang the bell. But let the dang thing jump the track And see who catches heck.

Custodial workers who have bad days might want to the humor at this site. http://custodian.info/custhumor.html