Sunday, September 14, 2014

IGNORANCE AND APATHY



IGNORANCE AND APATHY
          Maybe this will come as a shock to you, but America, the once-great nation, is being systematically poisoned.  No, not by chemicals(but I wouldn't doubt that either), but by the public being ignorant and apathetic...and they don't know or care that they are.  As there are probably some people reading this that will think differently, let them come forward with some solutions.
When you have an electorate that can accept slick slogans instead of sensible solutions, that is taking the easy way out and, in the end, proves not to be easy at all.  When the electorate chooses a candidate based on what he/she says, rather than any past performance, that is also the easy way out and, as has been pointed out, does not prove to be the easy way at all.
          I have what I call the three generation theory, and it goes like this...my generation, which is Generation 1, is the last one with a direct connection to "the war" and, to my generation that is World War Two.  My children, and they are Generation 2, know of the war and treat it as history and, perhaps have a family member that served in the war, plus they will still experience SOME of what America was, but is changing into.  My grandchildren, Generation 3, will only know of the war as a history lesson, if they learn anything about it at all in school,  they will accept America as they find it...and it will be vastly different from the America of my generation.   The crux of the matter will be that they don't know and don't care about what came before.
          Therein lies the problem.  Schools are not teaching about America.  They don't teach our values, our history, our governmental system.   Politicians spout off with empty platitudes which sound good on television but have no actual meaning, and, if you watch TV much you'll notice that many of them are speaking in an empty chamber...much like their heads.   Our founding fathers knew, and prepared for, an event which is unfolding before our eyes...the usurpation of power by one branch of the government.  They gave us a system of checks and balances which was designed to combat that very thing...provided that the three branches actually worked.  It seems that no one cares much about those checks and balances, at least not to the point where they could(and should) invoke sanctions against the usurper(s).
          Americans, by and large, simply don't know and don't care what happens in government.   So long as they have sports on television, celebrities having babies out of wedlock, divorces that may end spectacularly, and they can live those lives vicariously, they're happy.  What a sad state of affairs this is.  The United Negro College Fund motto is "A mind is a terrible thing to waste", and to that you can add "A whole country is also a terrible thing to waste", and we're doing it.   You can see that the country is being wasted when you watch members of Generation 3 answer questions asked of them. 
          On a recent man-in-the-street series of interviews, when he was asked about government, the wars, the economy, this man(who I judged to be in his mid-40’s, and therefore in Generation 2) answered everything with “I don’t care”.
Another outstanding example was a young man(I judged him to be about 25, and therefore in Generation 3) was asked about our borders.  He replied that we didn’t need borders and when told that borders define a country he said “Who needs a country?”  Before you say that these were hand-picked answers, let me assure you that the interviewer was just stopping people randomly.
          What does that tell you?  It tells me that the systematic dumbing-down of America is working, just as it was designed to do.  This isn’t, as you might be ready to claim, just from this administration…no, this goes back 40, maybe 50 years, could go all the way back to Harry Truman, the last completely honest
president this country had.  Harry had a way with words, and he didn’t waste them with meaningless phrases.  If he had something to say, he said it, and there was no way you would not understand what he meant.  Ignorance and apathy
are alive and well in America, and we are the worse for it.
          My parting shot is this…when a president speaks he should leave no doubt as to what he means.  I would like to hear this from a president: The United States is a peaceful nation and we despise war, but make no mistake, if you screw with us, we’ll put you back in the stone age, and nothing will grow in your land, not people, not animals, not plants…nothing, for a thousand years.  Is that what you want?  If it is, bring it on.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

"ACTION, NOT REACTION"



"ACTION, NOT REACTION"
          In the early part of the 20th Century Mexican bandits, let by Pancho Villa, came across the border into Columbus, New Mexico.   Villa's men raided across the border March 9, 1916, killing about a dozen Americans before being driven off.  US president Woodrow Wilson ordered General John J. Pershing to lead a punitive expedition into Mexico in pursuit of Villa, whose forces skirmished several times with the invaders. This American invasion, which was labeled a failure after 11 months and  Pershing withdrew in February 1917 because Villa, whose raids continued, could not be captured.  That, my friends, was a reaction.   The United States is, for the most part, a reactionary country...which simply means that we seldom initiate action. 
          Perhaps, if we had stronger leadership for the past 40 or 50 years, we wouldn't be in the lowered position, economically, militarily and even morally, that we are now.   It doesn't take a genius to figure out that America has lost prestige and respect in the world...it's evident every day by the way we, as a nation and as individuals, are treated.   There was a time in the world when an American citizen was held in high regard and could travel almost anywhere without fear.  That, of course, is when America WAS America.  Now, unless you've been living in a cave, you have to be aware that our citizens are kidnapped, and murdered(butchered actually) with no fear on the part of the murderers.  We have become a paper tiger.
          Think of Washington, with his ragtag army, defeating the professional soldiers of the Hessians at Trenton, during Christmas week 1776.   Think of George Patton racing through Europe.  An American icon with no equal Patton stands out in the American conscious better than any other general. As a combat general he was unequaled, fearless, brave to a fault and keenly aware his destiny was in the hands of the Almighty.   Think of the crews of the PT boats in World War 2.  The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "devil boats".   They actively searched for danger, and many times they found it.   Think of Alvin C. York, the fighting sergeant of World War 1, who, almost singlehandedly, captured 132 German prisoners.  
          These were men who did not react…they took action, decisive action that probably saved many of their fellow Americans.   This country needs to stand up on its two feet, beat its chest and bellow that phrase from the movie “Network”,
"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"  When you have done that you will feel better, more in charge, and ready to take on some of the problems facing this country.  One big problem is that we have a US Marine languishing in a Mexican jail and our government won’t do a damn thing about it.   We need ACTION, and we need it now!   Our country is under
attack every day, whether by overt or covert jihad and we need to act on that, because if we don’t act, we will have to react to a possibly worse scenario than was done on September 11, 2001.
          My friends, you cannot be complacent.  The enemy counts on that, he counts on our inherent ignorance and apathy so that we can be taken over easily, and I believe that our present administration is aiding and abetting that takeover.   When we act, in the interests of self-preservation and safety of the
homeland, we meet the enemy on our terms, not theirs.   Reaction, to an action by the enemy, will be costly…much more so than it has to be.   The movie, Network, came out in 1976, and reading over the text of the character’s rant,
nothing seems to have changed since then.
          Action, not reaction, that’s my motto.  We can, and must, preempt any
attacks on the homeland, as much as possible.  There ARE steps that can be taken, but I fear that this government will not take them…and America will suffer the consequences of that inaction.   Once you have citizenship in the United States, either by birth or by law, you can not lose it UNLESS you engage in some kind of act that is contrary to the well-being of the United States, or that shows you have greater loyalty to another nation. In other words, as long as you're a law-abiding citizen with no major secrets to hide, you'll be able to keep your citizenship.
          Treason is a serious crime in the United States. If you are convicted of treason, it means that you've worked with foreign powers or with another political group to overthrow or bring down the U.S. government. It also includes working with another nation to fight a violent war against the U.S. Even if you are a citizen by birth, you can lose your citizenship by doing this.   It’s no secret that, now, today, there are people in our government that have ties to enemies of our country…and they were placed in positions of power and policy…deliberately.
Wake up America!   Your country needs you to ACT!
          Larry Usoff, US Navy Retired    www.AirHumanityRadio.net

Sunday, August 31, 2014

"CONGENITAL STUPIDITY"



"CONGENITAL STUPIDITY" 
          It probably has occurred to some of you to question how certain people can get to be the age they are, be that dumb, and still survive.  If you will allow that they may suffer, perhaps enjoy, the condition that I have tagged "congenital stupidity", that could be one explanation.  There hasn’t been a time that I can remember, and that’s a lot of years, when there haven’t been, as Marxist Vladimir Lenin coined the phrase, “useful idiots”.   These useful idiots are people that espouse a doctrine, a theory, or just a made-up story, and try to convince everyone else that it’s right.   Consider all of the useful idiots that brought the Russian Revolution to fruition and then were murdered by the Stalinists who no longer needed them.
          Closer to home, actually AT home, we have the current president who has been elected twice, by promising the useful idiots who did most of the heavy lifting in his campaigns, all sorts of things…but never delivered on most of those promises once he was back in the White House.   A recent man-in-the-street interview in Chicago certainly proved that…those people that were asked about his promises were quite angry that he wasn’t doing what he said he would!   No one should be throwing generalities around, because sometimes they come back to bite you in the nether regions, but I’m going to do just that.  The president said he was going to bring healthcare to the masses, and what he brought was the destruction of a functioning healthcare system.
          Congenital stupidity, or CS,  seems to be alive and well…and growing in the United States.  Look to the west coast, to Hollywood, that dis-organized community that always welcomes the community organizer-in-chief.  They are a perfect example of CS because they believe, or want to believe, that by fawning on the imposter-in-chief they will be spared when/if the revolution comes.  Think
that way and you will be leading the long lines to the headsman, or the firing squad.   For years it’s been my belief that an event is to be created so that martial law can be declared and, when that happens, people of intellect, people of wealth, people with talents, they, having been CS’rs, will be no longer necessary and so they will be terminated.
          CS is not confined to the United States, but proportionally, we seem to have a bigger population of them.   In the muddled east, anyone who believes that Israel is the bully in the neighborhood can be diagnosed as having CS.  In Europe, even now as Islam threatens to strangle the civilization there, CS is working.   The Prime Minister of Britain has said that his people should conform to the Muslim way of thinking.  He has a bad case of CS.   In Asia, there are people that believe China is still a backward nation, when all the evidence is to the contrary, so CS is going strong there.
          In Mexico, our sometimes-friendly neighbor to the south, their government is really upset about plans to put “Minutemen” on the border, and, to top it all, they have printed booklets telling people how to get into the US, what to tell the authorities and what benefits they will be entitled to.  On our side of the border, we are changing diapers, baby-sitting and having our Border Patrolmen get killed by people that should have been deported, and were…several times!  CS is running rampant in the world and seems to be killing common sense wherever it takes hold.  Between the useful idiots and the congenitally stupid, the future does not look good from where I sit.
          The other day on a news show this comment was made and it’s good enough to bear repeating…”America is a big house and we(the armed forces) are the Doberman Pinschers”.   Could it be that it’s time to let loose the dogs of war and let our enemies know what no-holds-barred war looks like?  It would
be a real-life demonstration of that slogan from a motorcycle company, “go big or go home”, and we need to show the enemy that we are not a paper tiger, as we have been marked.   One experiment in stupidity, that of electing a know-nothing as president, doesn’t mean we’re congenitally stupid as a nation.
          Let me drop in a word or two about history.   There’s more to history than just a date for an event.  There’s whatever led up to that event, there may be music or art about that event, or later on there might be a film.  If you’ve never heard the saying that if you don’t know about history you’re bound to repeat it, you just did…and it’s true.   The generations after mine are being undeservedly
deprived of some history…not just American history, but things that happened in the world.  History needs to be preserved, and taught, or we will be repeating it, and not all of it is good. 
          Larry Usoff, US Navy Retired    www.AirHumanityRadio.net

Sunday, August 24, 2014

"GO BIG OR GO HOME"



        "GO BIG OR GO HOME"
          Sooner or later there comes a time in a man's life when he is threatened.  It may be physical, economic, mental, or even political...but when that time comes he has to do one of two things, and it's been referred to as "fight or flight".   There is much to be said for running away and living to fight another day, but that doesn't always work.  If you stay and choose to defend yourself, it could get bloody, it might even end with you being killed.  Perhaps you stayed to fight to give others a chance to get away from whatever the trouble is, and that's very noble, and I think that's what a man is supposed to do.  My thinking is probably out of date since I'm an old man, but that's how it used to be.
          You're putting up a delaying action in that case, so that others can flee to safety.  Americans have come to the aid of beleaguered peoples in many instances and in many countries.  Now consider what you would do if you command troops, and you're faced with the choice of fight or flight.  If the situation is even somewhat winnable and the troops are agreed to that, you stand and fight.  Which leads me to ask about how we could defeat two of the world's mightiest armies in WW2, and cannot defeat about 10,000 semi-trained troops.  I say go big or go home and, in this case, going big means sending several sorties of A-10 Warthog aircraft in to strafe the troops.  This is not just a great aircraft for that, but it will take on tanks, armored personnel carriers, and whatever else is on the field.
          Go in fast, in heavily-armored aircraft, with the AN/GAU-8a 30mm Avenger seven-barrel gatling gun, mounted only on the A-10 attack jet.  It is a 30mm, 7 barrel Gatling gun used primarily in the air to ground role as a soft target killer and tank buster.   It can fire up to 3900 rounds per minute and will chew up a tank making it look like swiss cheese.  The Navy had an aircraft, the AD Skyraider which was a single-engine plane, and this one plane could carry more payload than a WW2 Flying Fortress.  They were also heavily armored and between the two, they were quite effective in decimating troop formations, and even hidden emplacements.
          I do not want to see another member of our armed forces killed or maimed fighting for someone else.  Mercenaries do that, and they are well-paid.  Our troops do it because they love our country, and they are not paid nearly enough for what they do, and what they suffer.  Don't even get me started on the healthcare system for veterans, that's a whole other story...maybe a book.  Carpet-bombing works, and that's what I would call going big.   We supplied food, water and medical supplies to the city of Berlin when the Russians surrounded it right after the war...and if we can do that, we can drop supplies to the Kurds and the Yezidis.  Here is a good place to remind you that my opinion is that we, the western world, are at war with ISIS, Al Quaida, Boko Haram and all the rest of the enemies of civilization...and war, by it's nature means people get killed.
          When you fight an enemy that puts more value on death instead of life, it's difficult, if not impossible to deal with them on a rational basis.  Try dealing with a rabid dog, and you get an idea of the problem.  So go big, and as one former Air Force general once said "bomb 'em back to the stone age", or tuck your tail between your legs, slink away and try to ignore the problem, and go home…but rest assured the problem will seek you out.
          Larry Usoff, US Navy Retired    www.AirHumanityRadio.net

Sunday, August 17, 2014

…THE INVASION

…THE INVASION
          On August 6th, the vice-president of the United States, Joe Biden, said "These are not somebody else's kids. These are our kids."  If these are your kids, Uncle Joe, take a dozen or so and put them in your house.  I'll bet you never even considered that as a viable option...and neither did your boss, and he's got a bigger house!   Once again, the words leave the mouth before the brain is engaged.   If politicians were actually made to back up the words that they say, it probably would be very quiet in Washington.  Every day, you can turn on the TV and see some politician, and it doesn't make any difference to which side of the aisle they belong, standing there making a whole lot of noise and, almost always, it's to an empty chamber.  Maybe there's a name for that, but "stage dramatics" would be a good term to give it.
          A listener sent this in to me, and it explained the invasion, in words that seem difficult to take in any way but as they were written.  Here it is...Imagine you are a 3 year old to 8 year old child.  You are on your own without adults.  You are asked to walk from Houston, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota on your own with no food or belongings to sustain you.  Then you are asked to walk an addition 100 miles past Minnesota.   Could you do it?   How long would it take you as a 6 year old?  That is the minimum distance these poor, helpless little ones have supposedly walked from Central America to the border of Texas, again, on their own.  They didn't get lost.  And they survived the journey without help, unless you buy in to the notion that a destitute out-of-work family run out of their homes by gangs and living in squalor somehow came up with $8,000 to $10,000 for EACH child to pay a coyote to take them to the border.
          Suppose, for example, you are the local official of a medium-size city, somewhere in the United States.   You turn on the TV one evening and see your city mentioned as being the recipient of several hundred illegal aliens, but you never got any official notice from any part of the federal government!  Most likely your first reaction would be surprise, then anger, then curiosity.  You'd be surprised because you had to learn about it from the TV news.  Then you'd feel angry because, in all likelihood, you now have to sit down and figure out how you're going to take care of these invaders.  Budgets, these days, are stretched almost to the breaking point, and in some cases, way past that point.
          Make no mistake, this invasion was orchestrated, and most likely by the person who stands to get the biggest benefit from it…the man in the White House.  This is right down the line from the Cloward and Piven playbook, where it says to overload the system and cause a breakdown.  It’s coming, just like they said it would, and just like the president’s string-pullers predicted.   For those that keep thinking “it can’t happen here”…it has, and will continue with the prepared
agenda.  Perhaps it isn’t all the Democrats, but logic tells me that they wouldn’t be upset if amnesty, granted by the lawless president, gave them an additional
5 to 12 million voters for the 2016, and beyond, elections.
          Maybe you think that it’s just “unaccompanied children” coming across our southern swiss-cheese-like border, but it’s not.  We’re getting a pretty good mix of OTM’s, which is what the Border Patrol calls Other Than Mexicans.  Along with that mix of people, we’re getting a mix of diseases, many of which haven’t been seen in this country for many decades…but we’ll see them now, and with the
disastrous results they will bring with them.  There’s going to be a spike in crime, in cities where they’ve put these “children”, and there’s going to be an increase in the visits to the emergency room as well.
          Since we’re talking about the border, did you hear that a Border Patrol officer, who was fishing with his father, was shot and killed, and the father wounded by illegal aliens that had been deported four times?  That’s three times too many, but with the catch-and-release program the DHS is using now, we will be getting used to more of these killings…and that would include civilians like ranchers who have holdings in the paths of smugglers, or coyotes, as they’re called.   The Border Patrol now, because of the invasion, is more short-handed than ever, what with feeding children and changing diapers.
          This president has blood on his hands and while that’s repugnant to me, it doesn’t seem to bother the majority of the population.  Sad.  Very sad.  It used to be morning in America… that shining city on the hill.  Now it is midnight in the garden of evil and malevolence.
         



Sunday, August 10, 2014

"IS IT TIME FOR ANOTHER REVOLUTION?"



"IS IT TIME FOR ANOTHER REVOLUTION?"
          Intriguing title, huh?  We are not advocating an armed takeover of the existing government, but rather a good turnout of voters so that the "legal revolution" can take place.  We are, after all, a country of laws, even though the present administration seems to have either forgotten that, and bypasses the legal steps every chance it gets.  The public has to share equally in the blame because they elected, not once, but twice, a man and his administration that seems bound and determined to put this country in the back seats again.  There's a few things that bear repeating and so they will be.  First and foremost, if the president's lips are moving, he's lying.  Whatever he says turns out to be the opposite of what he does and it bears out that old axiom, "actions speak louder than words".  Everywhere you look in the world there is conflict, and so what does this president do?  In addition to golfing, having photo-ops(which he says he doesn't like), fund-raising and other non-essential things, he not only cuts the defense budget drastically, he sends pink slips to the field, firing soldiers while they are fighting!  What an asinine thing, what an idiotic thing, what a typically stupid thing to do...but then, starting from Day One of his administration they have been doing stupid things.
          Perhaps the second-most item that bears repeating, and ties in with the military, is this...we have an all-volunteer armed force.  No one is drafted, they join because they believe in this country and what it stands for, or at least what it used to stand for.  So, if a member of the military doesn't see a future in that career, and is pretty sure that if they are wounded, it's going to be a difficult task to have medical assistance once they are separated, and might even get fired while they are fighting...do you think they are going to join in the same type of numbers that we once had joining?   Technologically, we are a super-power, but China and Russia are no slouches in this area, and they are catching up fast.  On top of that, they are educating their people, whereas the United States is dumbing-down theirs.
What good is a sophisticated piece of equipment if the operator doesn't understand how to use it to its fullest advantage?   Oh sure, we have nuclear weapons that could take out huge sections of the enemies homeland...but they have them too, and they are more than willing to use them, and we're not.  Once the nuclear offensive is over, and it's time to occupy the conquered land, is it going to be "them" here, or us "there"?
          Non Sibi Sed Patriae.  A Latin phrase which translates to Not Self, But Country.  Where are the true patriots in America?  Where are the millions that are needed to put country first, above family, above politics, above everything, but the necessary salvation of the greatest country ever to be founded?  They're out there, but they're not being heard because government, and that's both sides of the aisle, is more interested in what the people can do for them, rather than what they can do for the people.  Another thing that bears repeating is that revolution founded this country and, although that was an armed one, we have the ballot to accomplish that, if we will use it and use it honestly.   If your "elected official", and that includes everyone from the local mayor to the guy/gal in the Oval Office, isn't doing the job he/she swore to do, get rid of them!  Country first and everything else is second!
          Government is like a business, it has been said…and it’s a huge business, but like any business if you have more money going out the door than you’re taking in, that business will soon close its doors.  Is that what you want?  It seems to be what this administration wants because that’s exactly what they are doing.  Our country is over 17 trillion in debt, but we’re sending money to other countries…some of whom don’t even like us!   We also send them things that they really shouldn’t have, and wouldn’t want, but they take it because it’s free!
We are a republic, and we like that form of government, but there are other countries that are monarchies, dictatorships and anarchies, and they like their form of government.   Fine, if it works for them, we don’t need to be trying to make the world over in our image.
          November elections are getting closer.  Make up your own mind as to what you will do with your precious vote.   Remember, when you’re casting your vote no one knows what you did…or at least that’s how it supposed to be.
          Larry Usoff, US Navy Retired   www.AirHumanityRadio.net

Sunday, August 3, 2014

"AMERICA...AN EXCEPTIONAL NATION"



 "AMERICA...AN EXCEPTIONAL NATION"
          Never, in my wildest dreams, would I presume to know everything about any subject on which I speak.  Now, having said that, let's see what makes the United States an exceptional nation.  The old saying that just because you don't take an interest in politics doesn't mean that politics won't take an interest in you, is crystal-clear these days.   No matter your station in life, it will be affected in some way, or in many ways, by what the government does...and that government can be federal, state, county or even the city.  You WILL be affected by their decisions.   If you didn't believe that you would not be reading this, or any other politically-motivated discourse.   It's no secret that the voters in this country sometimes make boneheaded choices, and I won't belabor that point...it's obvious.   On the other hand, they sometimes choose the right person for the wrong reasons!
          Speaking out against things is an inherent right for Americans.  We knew that, way before the schism between the colonists and England turned to war.  Americans treasure that right, as free men and women should.   That right, iron-clad in the Constitution of the United States' first amendment, is being questioned by the very government that should be defending it.  For decades, Americans have been surrendering rights, willingly, because they don't know and don't care, about what the government does.   Perhaps, and it's just a guess on my part, it's because the generations have been inculcated with ideology that contradicts the tenets of the country.  One can be “branded” with a label as right-wing, left-wing, radical, conservative, liberal…it doesn’t really matter because that is probably just one part of the person’s character.   You can be socially liberal, but fiscally conservative.  You can be in favor a strong armed forces, but against continuing to be the world’s policeman.
          Something else, and it was referred to just above, is that Americans are
pretty much a giving people.  Is there a disaster somewhere in the world?  We will be on the job as quickly as possible with whatever the people might need.
Americans will donate, they will raise money, they will do the work…whatever needs to be done Americans will do it, and do it willingly.  Now, that’s not to say that other countries don’t do it also…but Americans do it because we are an exceptional nation and we share our bounty.  That was a lesson learned early on, from the Indians teaching the pilgrims.  We share knowledge, especially if it will benefit mankind.
          Our Constitution gives us, as Americans, the right to abolish the government if it is treating us in an unjust manner.  Hmm…don’t get me started on that subject, but remember that we have that option.  The option that is mostly used is the vote.  America is exceptional because we change governments in a non-revolutionary manner every four, or eight, years.  Very few other countries do that, and those that do are mostly run by strongmen who make sure they are re-elected.  Along with the right to speak out, we have freedom of the press.  In our technological society that includes all manner of communications.  Are we
using that right to its fullest advantage?  I think not.
          America is, I believe, exceptional because we have, or used to have, something called The American Dream.  One could come from humble beginnings and, through diligence, become a captain of industry, a world leader, or anything they wanted, if they applied themselves.  We may be losing that, and
that would distress me greatly.   This country is basically good, basically honest, and with few differences, has been on the better side of the ledger of character.
America has made mistakes, and admitted them…and corrected them.  We are not a perfect nation because people are not perfect, and a nation is what its people are.  Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States, once said “Liberty…liberty within the law…and civilization are inseparable.”
          Americans are trusting people, by and large…but they are not stupid.  At least we shouldn’t think they are.  Without mentioning any name, there is a TV commercial playing now, and has been for a long time, that claims that its clients never lose money, even if the stock they hold decreases in value!  If anyone believes that a business is going to absorb huge losses without trying to pass those losses on to the customer, they probably are waiting for the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy to show up also.  Give me a break!
          We are still exceptional.  Perhaps a bit less because of the gnawing away of our freedoms, and the lackadaisical mindset of a lot of us, but not to the point where it cannot be regained with a little diligence on the part of the rest of us.  To be sure, other countries are coming along to challenge America economically and, perhaps, militarily.  Are we still a nation of Minutemen?  Will we rise to the occasion?  I believe we will, just as I believe that America will continue to be an exceptional nation.  We can survive.  We MUST survive because the world needs America.  We are the ones the rest of the free world depends on, but who do we depend on?
          Larry Usoff, US Navy Retired  www.AirHumanityRadio.net