Hey folks. I hope all is well and peaceful in your life. I am sure you have heard many different opinions about the olympics this year. I have no doubt that our American teams will dominate in several events. My hat goes off to the young men and women that work hard in their sport to excel to the point of being an Olympic competitor. However, regardless of the amount of American athletes, gold medals or world records, looming in the background is the growing concern of China. China is the largest in population and world economic growth. There are 1000 babies born each minute in China. The growth in their industry, population and military strength brings on this issue; a huge attitude of ‘we can do what we want to and get away with it.’ However, the people of China are suffering in many different ways. There is a widening gap of poverty stricken people and the wealthy class. You may ask what difference does it make to America? Human rights should be one of the top issues of our nation but our leaders tend to focus on oil, increasing imports and other items that are weakening our stand as a country. Our imports from China are up. We no longer just import small items and wants. We are importing items that make our country more dependent on others instead of ourselves. America is still the greatest country on the planet and we are capable of supporting our needs. Sure it is good to maintain free trade and importing with other countries but we continue to dig the holeof dependence and other countries, such as China, are standing on the rim and kicking in the dirt of defiance and mocking what our forefathers worked hard to achieve. I am not talking about the Bush and Clinton dynasties. I am talking about the real men and women that were not full of greed and self exhaultation. The peoplethat really formed a nation dependent upon its own people and resources.

One of the reasons that China was able to host the Olympics is the agreement they made with the Olympic committee to relax the strict guidelines for the press. However, China remains the number one nation in the world for the arrest and imprisonment of journalists. Also, China did relax the guidelines for journalists but Tibet remains off limits. What is going on with that? The people of Tibet has suffered for years as our nation has fumbled through war, aggression and other issues because of oil and our greed for it. I don’t understand why our resources can’t be focused on making our country self sustaining and non dependent on oil so we can then focus on the human rights issues that others face. Both presidential candidates say that they will focus on making the needed changes to wean our country from oil. Where was our candidates voices on this issue when they were not running for president? I hope these two are not singing to the masses in order to obtain votes. We need a president that has true Americans at heart. The most aggressive challenge for a revamp of the energy crisis came from Al Gore. He stated we can be totally off oil in ten years if we pool our resources and use the strength and knowledge of the American peolpe to create an energy efficient society. It is a good plan but the first thing that has to change is the hearts of those leaders that will move our country in this positive step.  

The State of California is in financial ruin. I heard that Gov. Arnold is up against a 15 billion dollar short fall in the state budget. The budget is one month past due and the State is running out of money. He has ordered that all state employees, just above 200,000, have their pay reduced to minimum wage. NPR reported that the checks have already been cut reflecting this amount. You can imagine the turmoil. Gov. Arnold has ran a platform of not raising taxes but he has allowed his state to borrow money at high interest to pump up the revenues to meet the budget. Now he is suggesting a temporary 1% tax increase which will not take care of the immediate need. Why did I bring this up? Because other states are having difficulties meeting their budgets as well. Gov. Arnold laid off 10,000 part time state employees and California has lost over 700,000 jobs the past two years. What will happen if indeed these state workers begin to make minimum wage and 10,000 part time workers have been laid off coupled with losing all these jobs in the past two years? The answer is massive independent financial ruin. Bankruptcies, crime, suicide, abuse and many more negative things will begin to increase at astounding rates. We can use this California situation and directly compare this to our country as a whole. Our nation is in debt to other countries, the next president will inherit the largest national debt ever. We have lost over 17 million jobs in the past 8 years and we are dependent on oil to survive. Taxes are up and will probably go higher. The rich are richer and the poor are destitute. We can not have a balanced budget due to the wars we are involved in. Our outgoing costs are the most in the history of our great nation.

President Bush said he is striving for world peace. He needs to be reminded that he is not answering a question in a beauty pageant. The Bible teaches us that world peace is not achievable. Also, striving for world peace an harmony is not achieved but sending our forces on a personal quest that had no merit. The quest for world peace starts at home and it is a journey that will not be completed but along the way we can impact other countries with the example we set. 

I guess that is enough for now. Please don’t get the wrong idea of this post. I still believe we live in the best country in the world. We have the most opportunitesand the greatest government process. We need leaders that not only follow the process but have the American people in mind as they move forward in the leadership of the country. The next five years will frame the destiny of our nation.

Julie and I are doing great. Our life together continues to be busy but we love and hold each other through all things. I have found it is alot easier to face life with a partner that shares everything whether it is good or bad. The future of our great country sometimes seems clouded but our love for each other will always be clear.

Have a great day. Tony