SPACE EXPLORATION: Moon Not Mars Next Step!

Here is a topic I have never discussed before; space exploration. Why now? - Because people are talking about it.

I also happen to be taking an astronomy course (36x30 minute lectures) basically to update my knowledge of astronomy; the last class was at Wayne State University (actually physics) in the late 1960s – much has happened since then.

The question being “argued” about is whether we should go back to the MOON or try for a human landing on MARS. My wife says why not do neither and spend the billions on something worthwhile for the people living on earth.

I disagree with her attitude to space exploration on a number of levels. The actual “quest” to explore space has led to many inventions that are used by us today (GPS?). It also is a necessity since “eventually” the SUN will die and humans will have to find another planet to live on. Yes, we are talking about BILLIONS of years but hey, it took BILLIONS of years to just get to where we are today so the sooner we start, the better unless you are a religious kook and think a god is in charge and somehow will take care of things for us – stupido!

My vote is to go back to the moon and establish a colony. Launching from the moon is MUCH easier than launching from earth because the moon has no atmosphere to overcome so no huge rockets to get us into space; just lift off and go.

Our solar system is basically dead and uninhabitable; landing on Mars would be basically worthless (my humble, uneducated opinion) since it would take a Herculean effort and a very long time. The only benefit would be to get us closer to the edge of our solar system which we need to cross to do some real exploration.

If we establish a living and growing presence on the moon we will discover many new tools needed for DEEP space exploration and maybe come closer to discovering the secrets of “time travel” which we will need to travel the VAST distances between galaxies.

The HUBBLE telescope in space is allowing us to see INTO THE PAST, as far as when the universe began. This is a hard concept to grasp but knowing that light travels at a constant speed (186,000 miles per second) the formation of the universe BILLIONS of years ago is just NOW reaching our telescopes. We are looking at the light produced BILLIONS of years ago; I know, mind blowing.

Anyway, I feel our generations can at least get us to the moon and establish a solid base from which we can go where no one has gone before. Landing on MARS would be worthless and time consuming and after all we only have a few billion years left before we have to leave our wonderful planet.

HEALTHCARE: Minimum Standards of care!

There are just too many distractions in the news these days but we must get back to the healthcare debate because it could affect all our lives and therefore we may as well learn all we can about what is good and what is bad about the proposed healthcare reform options.

I have been making suggestions about how to improve our healthcare system for years now but come September, Congress will actually start voting on a plan so we don’t have much time to discuss the options.

I will be talking about just one healthcare topic per blog since there is no unified plan on the table yet.

I have seen “attack ads” on TV suggesting that Democrats are trying to propose a plan where our government will be able to tell YOUR doctor what he MUST do about your health and therefore taking the treatment decisions out of the hands of your doctor and you – WRONG! The ad is disingenuous and misleading.

Not all doctors are like Dr. Kildare, Dr. Marcus Welby or Ben Casey; the smart, caring doctors portrayed on TV episodes in our past. Some are actually not so smart and don’t really care that much about our health although most do.

I was at a medical convention in Chicago a few weeks back and met up with some old friends who I discovered had suffered heart attacks since I last saw them. Since we are all in the medical field, I wondered why they didn’t take steps that tend to prevent heart attacks or at least give ample warning of the possibility of an imminent heart attack.

Well, they trusted in their doctors to take all the medical steps (procedures) necessary to keep them healthy and out of harms way and that was their NEARLY FATAL mistake. I have a fine personal doctor that knows his stuff but I come prepared for my exams with intelligent, informed questions and with knowledge of where my test results should be and what to do if they are not in the normal range. I admit, my situation is rare because I have been in the medical field for over 30 years but I feel the average person can and should be more aware about their health.

So I realize that even smart, informed people can drop their guard as to their own health when they feel a professional is in charge of their health but that attitude IS THE PROBLEM!

What Congress is proposing is to create a “FEDERAL COUNCIL ON COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH” which will gather years of medical data to show what works and what does not work in specific medical situations / conditions and make RECOMMENDATIONS to the medical community based on results of the research study.

This is not a threatening proposal, mandating what a doctor should or should not do but basically an informed and documented recommendation as to what will work and what probably will not in a given situation. This has been tried before but obviously to no avail. I suggest the council make MINIMUM RECOMMENDATIONS on how to handle specific conditions MANDATORY. I am talking about MINIMUM; the least a doctor SHOULD do – not limiting to what a doctor wants to do.

The problem I see in this country is that doctors are not doing what needs to be done to keep this nation healthy. The fact that my friends suffered heart attacks brought this to light. None of them had “stress tests” and they were over 60 years old; that is just negligence on their doctor’s parts. A stress test would have revealed a potential blockage forming leading to preventive procedures that could have prevented a potentially lethal heart attack. This is only the tip of the iceberg; there are many procedures / actions that taken early on would prevent serious illness BUT they are NOT being done – at least uniformly throughout the nation.

YES, setting up and following mandated minimum procedures would cost a lot but in the near future, billions would be saved by delivering a healthier nation.

Don’t let anybody fool you; doctors need guidelines just like anybody else and the public needs to be educated about their own health and what needs to be done by them and their doctors to keep them healthy. Thinking a doctor is a god is just plain stupid and dangerous and thinking that mandating a minimum standard in healthcare is unnecessary government interference is also stupid and dangerous. This is not the same as your insurance company denying payment for a procedure you or your doctor feel is necessary; this is establishing what MUST be done minimally by your doctor in specific medical situations – kapish?

HONDURAS: Wake Up Obama!

Just a quick note about my blog on HONDURAS and the ouster of the Honduran president who wanted to play like HUGO CHAVEZ of Venezuela and become a communist dictator for life.

Manuel ZELAYA, the ousted president crossed the border into Honduras for just a minute to deliver a diatribe AGAINST CAPITALISM as expected with the implication that he is also ANTI DEMOCRACY since it is democracy that he wanted to eliminate making himself a socialist dictator like others have in South America (read previous blog on the subject).

The problem is that Obama is still demanding the ousted president be allowed back to regain his legally elected position (EVEN THOUGH OBAMA KNOWS WHAT THIS MAN’S PLANS ARE FOR HONDURAS).

What is Obama thinking? I mentioned before that Obama is all about the rule of law BUT hey, this guy is using the poor of the country to vote for him by promising them all sorts of goodies just like Chavez did in Venezuela; is this true democracy or trickery?

Democracy has its limits and wise people should know when unscrupulous people are using democracy to get rid of democracy. I hope OBAMA knows his history enough to make a wise and correct decision on this issue and not allow another country to fall into dictatorship and become an enemy of the United States.

RACISM IN AMERICA: Still a hot issue!

Well, I have been waiting for some time to pass before commenting on the Obama/Gates and Crowley affair. In fact today, the news showed the trio and vice-president Biden sitting in the White House garden having an “awkward” beer together.

The problem is that both Gates and Crowley were in a suite and tie and Obama and Biden in white shirt and tie; they all should have been in shorts and t-shirts.

The short clip in the garden had Gates doing all the talking. The reporters were saying Gates still demands an apology and Crowley stated he will not offer one.

This is definitely a “learning moment” as Obama mentioned, a learning moment for everyone and that is for sure.

I will not go into details since everyone should know them by now but one thing is very clear; race is still a hot button issue – big time!

Obama, who presents himself as very presidential should have just stopped at “I don’t know all the facts so I cannot comment on the case”. Presidents in the past who have yapped too much about a popular issue have paid the price and Obama is now learning the wisdom of not commenting on issues he really has no knowledge about.

I have been enjoying all the letters to the editor as well as comments by my favorite black columnists about the whole affair. Many regular blacks and whites just reiterated what their Mammas have taught them; don’t talk back to the police, just say yes sir and no sir and you won’t get into any trouble!

Some black columnists have talked about the special relationship between black males and white police officers throughout our history and there is no doubt the relationship has some very bad history and maybe a lot of resentment has been building up through the years for very good reasons.

Other columnists have described how raw emotions have taken over the case with facts discarded by the wayside. I felt especially bad for the lady that called in the 911 call being accused of racism when audio tapes prove she never mentioned race and was doing what any responsible neighbor would and should do.

What it all boils down to is one , big mouthed black professor that did not know when to just shut up and a white police officer that just could not control his ego and remove himself from a non-criminal situation. Actually, it was two (2) alpha males being two (2) alpha males even though both were educated enough, with enough experience to know better – boys will be boys.

Professor Henry Louis (Skip) Gates, Jr. did not do his reputation any good by his behavior. He already is on record for screaming racism in the Duke Lacrosse case (white team rapes black dancer) only to find out it was nothing of the sort. I am not sure he apologized to the players he accused of racism. He, like other prominent blacks (Jackson, et.al.) have a tendency to cry racism before all the facts are in but never seem to offer regrets when they are shown to have maligned innocent people.
It is obvious that the country has a hair-trigger when it comes to race relations and Obama knows that. Obama has come a long way to smooth the racial divide and I think society has also come a long way in minimizing racial issues if not plainly eliminating them in many cases.

Yes, there will always be racists on both sides but I think they are in a vanishing minority but I feel old wounds are slow to heal on the black side and for very good reasons; they are the ones that bore the brunt of racist actions for many, many years. So I think they are to be given a little leeway when they over react, at least for a little while longer or until the generation with vivid memories of racism passes.

POLITICS: New Jersey vs Detroit Corruption?

The recent, New Jersey political corruption scandal (huge, over 40 people nabbed) was pointed out to me to remind me that politics or should I say, politicians and corruption go hand in hand and have from day one, without regard for ethnicity.

In my blogs about the corrupt and incompetent black political culture in Detroit, I have always reiterated that political corruption and incompetence is not a black trait and has never been that. What I have emphasized is that here in Detroit we have a distinct and unique situation that has developed throughout the years and is now heading towards some type of climax or at least seems to be.

The New Jersey politicos accepted bribes for political services rendered. Many were sting operations which I consider entrapment and not really legal. The way that works is an FBI stooge who has been caught committing crimes is enlisted to offer bribes to sitting politicians and the FBI then arrests those that take the bribes; it appears everyone in New Jersey was willing to accept a bribe – nice!

Here in Detroit, we have a different form of corruption and quite frankly, I am not sure if corruption is the correct word to use. What I have been blogging about is a unique culture of a mixture of corruption, greed, incompetence and yes, ENTITLEMENT that goes way beyond plain bribe taking and has morphed into a self-inflicted debilitating disease that is stinking up the city and its people.

This culture is very hard to describe in words and only examples of this behavior can convey what I am trying to describe.

Recently, we have learned that a federal monitor (black female) hired by a federal judge at $184,000 a month to straighten out the Detroit Police Force which was accused of misconduct on many levels, has been having a “personal relationship” with former mayor Kilpatrick. The reform of the police force has gone nowhere in five (5) years, she has become rich, had a little fun with the mayor and the city got shit on - again. What would you call that behavior?

Recently, we learned that 250 people were getting a check from the Detroit Public School system for years without actually working for the DPS. They were issued employment checks of which they kicked-back a portion to the finance department that issued those checks. And oh, by the way (BTW) school kids did not have text books because the school system could not afford any. What kind of behavior is that?

Recently, the Detroit News, instead of endorsing candidates running for the school board in Detroit, asked the voters NOT to vote for any of the candidates but to write in a name (their own will do). Now what newspaper states that NONE of the candidates running for school board seats are acceptable?

It recently became clear to me what to call these types of people: PARASITES. Yes, these Detroit residents running for office want to feed off the city and its residents. This is not a symbiotic parasite relationship where one helps the other, no these parasites suck until the host (city) is dead.

But you ask, killing the host (city) would be stupid and you are correct. That is why when the city appears dead, they call for assistance from the bleeding heart liberals (Democrats) who are always willing to sink more cash into the quagmire that is Detroit and history shows that Detroit has received billions and has absolutely nothing to show for it; it is a great scam that includes playing a very effective race card when someone questions where the money trail leads to.

This has been going on for years with voters returning the parasites to office year after year because the “culture” applauds this type of behavior. My wife disagrees with me and says that many Detroiters are madder than hell about the situation in the city but I just point to the reality that is Detroit.

We have a new mayor, Dave Bing (Piston great and a smart businessman) but we supposedly had good mayors before and they were NOT able to change the culture but quietly exited the scene and left things as they were. Will Bing have the balls to do what is right? I don’t know.

Will the voters do what the black newspaper columnists are asking them to do “THROW THE BUMS OUT”; we shall shortly see.

Are there good, responsible, competent blacks ready to step in and run the city the way it should be run? Of course there are BUT will they get a chance to do the right thing or will the old, incompetent parasites get back in because of name recognition, since they have been on the scene for so long? We shall also shortly see.

I hope you see a difference between the New Jersey corruption scandal and the Detroit parasitic disease; they are both wrong but totally different. One takes an offered bribe, the other sucks a city and its residents dry; you be the judge.

ECONOMY: Soak the Rich My Ass!

I have been having some heated discussions (if you can call them that) with my wife about the new healthcare proposals made by the Democrats in the House.

One proposal especially is irksome to me in principle; it is the one that stipulates paying for the “public plan” read Socialized Medicine, by taxing the rich with a special medical “surtax” on top of their already high regular taxes.

Now I don’t pretend to be rich but I ain’t poor either. I came from a poor family where the parents were common laborers and where my father had to work three (3) jobs to earn a living wage. I went into the military service and came out with medical technology skills which allowed me to work midnights while I finished school (GI Bill) during the day AND I was married and had a child to support. In other words, I worked my ass off to get to where I am today.

I have had my own company (Medical technology) now for 28 years and believe me it has been a struggle all along the way so I hope you can see why I would be a little pissed off when our government tells me that I have to pay for a health insurance plan for the rest of the country while people that make less than me, pay nothing.

I do have to add that the proposal on the table would tax the “very” rich but eventually it would come down to me and others like me that make up upper middle class or 3% of the population.

My wife feels that since we have the money, why shouldn’t we be willing to buy insurance for the rest of the country? What about the principal here? Did I work my ass off all my life to buy shit for total strangers? Where is the fairness here?

Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor but in those days the rich became rich by robbing the poor so you can see that Robin was just balancing things out. In earlier history when robber barons roamed the country, one could cry about the inequality of things which gave rise to communism and other egalitarian economic philosophies designed to level things out.

BUT now, there are many blokes like myself, that have earned every penny they have through the sweat of their brows and through risk taking that put their own families in danger of economic hardship and we are now considered part of the “dirty” or is it filthy, rich as if we were born rich?

The beauty of the American capitalist system is that anybody and everybody can achieve financial success if they are willing to work at it and sacrifice for it. Paying a penalty for your success, your hard work goes against that American system and the potential for success that it holds for all.

What the hell is happening to this country? I may have to support a Republican if I can find one without a Neanderthal social brain.

HEALTHCARE: Profit is Good

Saturday, July 11, 2009

To: Canton Observer
Re: “Single-payer plan pros”, July 9, 2009

In the letter “Single-payer plan pros”, July 9, the letter writer presents the argument that since private medical insurance plans spend up to 21% of every premium dollar on administration and have to make a profit, while a public plan like Medicare, spends only 3% on administration and does not have to make a profit; the public plan is the obvious choice as the better plan.

Although at first glance, this may make sense to a lot of people, I can assure you as someone who has spent the last 30 years in the medical business; this is a patently false assumption.

While it is true that a public plan like Medicare does not spend a lot on administration, the lack of practical administration makes the plan a perfect target for fraud and therefore, every year, billions of dollars go to unscrupulous medical practitioners who have discovered that defrauding Medicare is a piece of cake; no one is watching. Please remember this has been going on for many, many years and continues to go on to this day.

Just recently, authorities arrested 35 people in Metro Detroit for defrauding Medicare out of 50 million dollars by paying kickbacks to people who signed false Medicare claim forms for medical services that were never provided. Catching such people is a rare event, most are never caught and the money defrauded is hardly ever returned to the taxpayer.

If we allowed our government to administer a national health program as in a single-payer plan, the cost and the waste would be staggering and I don’t think any of us want to see that happen. There are options being discussed in Congress today that will make sure all Americans have health coverage but without bankrupting the nation.

We should all pay close attention to the proposals being promoted and examine each of them with an educated and practical eye instead of an emotional one.

One thing about profit; it is not a dirty word and it is a major factor in what makes us one of the richest and most powerful nations on earth. Communist nations tried to eliminate the profit factor from their economic plans and we all know how they ended up.

HEALTHCARE: Simple Rules to Start!

I guess we may as well start on the healthcare issue because once Congress is back in session, all hell should break loose.

I have been addressing the issue for quite some time now and have definitive ideas what will work and what will not and I am and have been involved in the healthcare system in this country in one capacity or another; my livelihood depends on our healthcare system so YES, I care what eventually happens.

1. I have been advocating for a “universal coverage” system from day one. What this means is that EVERYONE MUST HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE. This is similar to everyone needs auto insurance to drive a car, no and, ifs or buts about it – it is the law and if you are caught without it, you will be punished – severely.

2. To compel everyone to buy health insurance, we must have a plethora (large variety) of insurance policy types available at various cost/coverage levels with NO MINIMUM BENEFIT STANDARDS. Once you impose minimum coverage standards you immediately raise the cost of policies making the policies unaffordable for many.

3. I do not want our government to have a GOVERNMENT RUN PLAN. I want our government to subsidize people that cannot afford an insurance plan BUT that plan is administered by a private insurance company NOT our government. The reasons are many and they include the MEDICARE and MEDICAID plans as examples. These plans are the most wasteful, uncontrolled and corrupt plans in this country. They are run like shit because they are run by government bureaucrats who have lifetime civil service jobs and don’t give a shit about how they do their jobs; it’s not their money they are spending. Private companies have to make a profit and will watch every dime to make sure there is no waste – profit is a huge motivator!

So here are my starting points and we will see how things develop. Right now the plan the Democrats have on the table is unacceptable so let us try again and again until we get it right.

I agree something needs to be done, I just don’t believe in SOCIALIZED MEDICINE because it does not work.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Virtiligo?

I bet many of you are as tired of the whole Michael Jackson saga as I am. I can’t even get any news on TV anymore; everything is Jackson, Jackson and Jackson.

I don’t deny him his due since he was an international mega star and was genuinely talented but he was also a little weird.

I don’t have any of his music but I must admit that I remember the first time I heard “Billy Jean” and immediately fell in love with the song. I did not know who sang it at the time but I knew I had not heard anything as good as that song for a long time. I am usually a Hard Rock, Classical Baroque, Operatic Arias and Smooth Jazz type of guy.

One thing about Jackson that has always fascinated me was his quest for “whiteness”; he went from a normal black male to an abnormal, white, something or other. Quincy Jones remarked that Michael obviously did not want to be black but did not think the singer had VITILIGO.

For you who don’t know, Vitiligo is a skin condition where certain patches / areas of skin do not have any “pigment” which means they are white. These patches also have no natural sun protection and can be severely burned if not protected from the sun. I know all about this because I have the condition myself.

My patches are mainly on my hands and I have had them since childhood. I have been lucky that these patches have not spread and remain confined to my hands. For me, in winter, when my skin is pale and white, the patches are basically invisible. In the summer, when I tan, the patches definitely stand out. Imagine if you were black to begin with and the patches were all over your body. I have seen black people with Vitiligo and it is not a pretty sight.

If Jackson really had this condition, I could see where he would either wear makeup to appear totally black all over as many blacks do or in a strange twist, could wear makeup that made the rest of his skin match the white patches which he apparently did?

Could this skin condition have provoked him to “turn white” totally including hair, lips, eyes and especially, nose? Why did he have white children and white wives and consorts? This I don’t know and can only speculate that he went a little loony.

As far as his predilection for “children” to “sleep” with, I feel he was basically a damaged kid himself and never grew up. He was used and abused by a father that made a lot of money from his kids. I think he thought himself to be a child and enjoyed sleep-overs, not of the sexual kind. That aberrant behavior was ripe for opportunists (kid’s mothers) to make some big money to keep everything hush-hush.

Overall, he was a very talented individual that was also a very sad and unfulfilled individual that was used and abused by many. He leaves a great musical legacy for all time and a lot of unanswered questions. I see his family fighting over the scraps he left behind as did the family of Dr. Martin Luther King (to this day).

Rest in peace Michael and maybe now, we can all get back to normal.

ECONOMY: Don't Circle the Wagons!

I have written before about the dangers of economic protectionism and isolationism and how it prolonged our great depression of the 1930s.

I did not elaborate on the fact that economic protectionism and isolationism usually stem from actions that are based on natural emotions caused by economic downturns and we are definitely in a downturn that feels more like a depression.

Many in my circle, including my wife, feel that if we all just bought American or Michigan made products, we would help our local and national economy. I do not disagree that to feel that way and to act that way is a normal / natural reaction in times of economic hardship.

I can equate that reaction to “circling the wagons” when under attack. In the old days, we were being attacked by Indians and now we are being attacked by global competition. Circling the wagons defends the inner circle (us) from the invaders (them). This works in the short run but eventually we perish because the circle also is a limiting factor; nothing gets in and nothing goes out so there is no growth.

To live and grow, the people in the wagons would engage the attacking Indians in trade that would benefit both sides; food for the settlers and clothes for the Indians, etc.

I realize that this is a very simplistic example but it is how I teach concepts to myself and to others, especially economic concepts that seem to run counter to seemingly rational thought.

I also realize that other countries don’t practice free trade to the extent we do and we should take steps to compel those countries to change their ways or suffer economic penalties. In our current situation, I have seen stealth protectionism being practiced by other countries and Obama needs to point those countries out and demand corrective action.

All economists know the danger of global protectionism so it’s not just an opinion or theory; its fact and history backs it up as such BUT the popular and natural demand is to circle the wagons or go turtle. Politicians have to resist this populist demand or face the dire consequences.

As the global economy naturally evolves, the United States will manufacture the things it manufactures best and will stop manufacturing the things it cannot manufacture in a competitive way; that’s economic logic. It is still all about supply and demand and we have to supply things that others demand.

Those things may not be just goods but services and know-how. We can no longer compete in the manufacture of TVs because we just don’t have the know-how or manufacturing capacity anymore so we have to let that industry go. BUT on the other hand there are products made here that are in high demand worldwide because they are the best and I should know because I am a manufacturer selling worldwide in the midst of global competition.

Capitalism is great if allowed to work properly. Once you start messing with it through socialism or communism, you will end up just like the Soviets did. Learn from history; don’t repeat the same stupid mistakes.

PALIN: What Gives?

Sarah Palin picked the 4th of July holiday to announce she is stepping down as governor of Alaska. She did not discuss why she is doing this but indicated it was the right thing to do at this time.

It has been a few days since her announcement and many people, including those in her party, have been scratching their heads as to what her logic may be behind the abrupt decision.

Palin herself has indicated lately that it was for a “higher calling” to bring the nation’s conservatives together again and win the White House for the GOP (God’s Own Party)?

The people I have talked to and the opinions I have read in the media indicate that she was probably limited as governor of Alaska as to what she could do to campaign for the presidency, after all, the citizens of Alaska elected her to work for them and not for herself.

My feelings for Palin are well known; cute but a bimbo. She does fit into the GOP hypocrisy mold proclaiming family and social values but not actually practicing them; in fact, there is talk of on-going investigations into possible ethics violations by Palin while governor. Maybe she resigned to escape a tightening noose?

Quitting her elected job before she even completes one term could label her as FLIGHTY but more importantly, it would take her only example of leadership out of her resume which I feel would be essential in a run for the presidency; prove to us that you have the ability to lead.

Her decision to abruptly leave her job without an explanation will also resurrect old anti-feminist quips like ‘watch out when she gets her period; WAR!’ In other words, I am saying that she is playing right into the hands of anti-feminists; even un-biased voters will realize that here is a woman who wants to become commander and chief in a time of great global instability and strife and here she can’t even handle being a governor for one stinkin' term?

Conservative pundits are saying that any challenge to Obama MUST be on economic issues; social issues like abortion etc. are dead issues. People want jobs and a return to prosperity first; everything else takes a back seat, way back.

My wife asked who is backing her. Could she be doing this all on her own? I ventured to say that maybe it is one of those very rich religious right kooks but even they would not be this stupid.

The story will play out in the media and should be quite interesting, Palin has already started her attack against the media even before there is anything to report which makes me think that something worth reporting is coming soon.

HONDURAS: What is going on here?

Most of you don’t care about the country of HONDURAS, hell, most of you probably don’t know where it is (CENTRAL AMERICA) but I think what is going on there, may be important to the entire continent.

I don’t pretend to know all the facts but what I do know is that the president of Honduras MANUEL ZELAYA, decided to have the people vote on a change to their constitution to allow him to remain president longer than is allowed by the constitution currently.

Knowing that the president is best buds with HUGO CHAVEZ of Venezuela as well as other LEFTIST presidents, I would venture to say that this was a power grab ala Chavez, who basically made himself president for life in Venezuela.

The supreme court of Honduras, as well as the legislature ruled the vote illegal and unconstitutional and the army woke Manuel up recently and spirited him away to Costa Rica telling him to stay out. A new president was quickly named by the legislature and sworn into office.

Most countries, including ours, condemned the bloodless COUP and demanded that the legally elected president be placed back in power. Manuel has even promised not to change the constitution if he is allowed to regain his presidency.

I realize that on the surface, overthrowing legally elected rulers should be a no-no BUT what if, like Chavez of Venezuela, a popular president dupes the “poor” and “uneducated” masses with promises of riches, into making him or her, an emperor for life. Is this in the best interests of the country and its people? In Venezuela, the poor are still poorer than dirt, I know, I was there.

In Cuba, the people remain poor as dirt with no chance of advancing anywhere. Only when Castro dies will change (maybe) come and people (like in China) can grow and prosper.

Turkey is another example. If the army was not a strong SECULAR army, Turkey would be a theocracy like Iran is today.

The U.S. democracy is based on representative government and the rule of law (actually a republic) which radiates from the people and our system has worked for us quite well BUT it is not for everyone.

In many countries, the masses can be asses or at least easily duped into voting for something they will end up regretting for a good long time; take IRAN for instance, now they can’t get rid of the shit-heads they put into power.

Same with Honduras; the president there was trying to grab power and join his other power grabbing presidents in the area and maybe make the entire area a communist empire.

I don’t want to resurrect the “domino theory” of spreading communism but I do think there is something rotten going on here and the U.S. better wake up and take notice or people again will be denied their basic freedoms to pursue happiness in their own country.