To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the back story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....

Signed,

Your boss

So on that historic day, Oct. 19, 1781, in a place called Yorktown , a satisfied George Washington sat upon his beautiful white horse and accepted the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, effectively ending the Revolutionary War.

Leave it to people like Harry "Pinky" Reid, and "Babbah" Boxer to politicize a tragedy like the Southern California fires. However, that's the only thing those people know how to do. Heaven forbid if we all set politics aside for even 10 fucking minutes and come together to help those in need. That's not in the mind of today's liberal Democrat.

All Democrats know how to do is point fingers and play the blame game. How can I say that? Easy. Look at Katrina....same thing. We had the Gov. Of Louisiana saying there wasn't enough equipment to clean up after Katrina because it was all in Iraq (turns out she was lying, fancy that of course).

Today's liberal Democrat believes not in self reliance or self accountability. All accountability is that of the government and for the government to do everything for you, each and everyday. Here's the difference between liberals and conservatives, it's easy if you think about it for a moment:

Conservatives believe freedom and liberties are the solution to the human condition. Conservatives believe in rolling up one's sleeve and working hard to make money. Conservatives also believe in taking the responsibility for his/her own actions.

Liberal Democrats on the other hand do not believe in freedom and liberties being the solution to the human condition. Instead, liberal Democrats believe bigger government will solve all problems. The more government programs there are, the better. Liberal Democrats believe in the "MeMeMe" mentality.

This is why you always hear the liberal Democrats whine about the "big evil corporations" such as the oil companies, etc. I'll tell you what, I'd like to see a liberal Democrat complain about Exxon making too much money if he/she had shares of stock in Exxon. I bet we wouldn't hear the liberal crying then, would we?

"What can the government do for me, since I am so helpless to do things on my own?" That quote is precisely what's wrong with this country anymore. Too many people cannot accept the responsibility of his/her own actions. Hence why we have idiotic lawsuits where people are suing gun manufacturers because x handgun goes off after a teenage boy takes it upon himself to play "Russian Roulette" with it. Or, the infamous McDonald's "Spilled Hot Coffee" incident. I get so sick to my stomach when I think about how low some people in this country will go.

The Republicans aren't perfect, not by a god damn long shot. But I'll take the lesser of the two evils here. If the grotesque Hillary gets into the Presidency, you can kiss this country as you know it, goodbye. You can take that to the bank.

"Yeah, don't fuck with Uncle Ted when he's been drinking.''

Bwahaha hthe fucking hahaha!!!

Mr. Plate:

I am writing this in response to your commentary "Let's lay down ourright to bear arms" as published on the CNN website at the following URL: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/18/commentary.plate/index.html

I would first like to address this section of your article, whichengendered the strongest emotional response in me:

"...the newspaper had received more angry letters and fiery faxes fromthe well-armed U.S. gun lobby ...

But the paper, by the way, also received more supportive letters... The common sense of ordinary citizens ..."

It is very offensive of you and others to lump all of the commentary in support of firearms rights under the banner of coming from "the Gun Lobby", as if those words should be simply dismissed without consideration because of their imagined source.

All of my opinions and writings about firearms rights, whether sent to newspapers, blogs, my elected representatives or in personal correspondence, are my own views expressed in my own words, arrived at
as the inescapable conclusions of my moral and ethical values after logical and rational reasoning. I don't need someone else to tell me what to think and say on this issue, and your dismissal of my words and the similar words of other individuals as being directed by "the Gun Lobby" is disrespectful and dishonest.

Are *your* views and commentary the product of the Anti-Gun Lobby, the Brady Bunch, or any other derogatory boogey-man name I can come up with?

Supporters of firearms rights are just as much "ordinary citizens" as those who oppose firearms rights, and we have just as much "common sense". In fact, I would argue supporters of firearms rights possess a greater degree of common sense than many if not most of the opponents of firearms rights, as we don't believe that utopia will magically be achieved if we can just ban all those evil guns, and we don't believe we are somehow immune from becoming victims of violent crime because we're nice, cheerful, responsible people. As a professor of ommunications, I expect you know exactly the rhetorical tactic you are using here, and it's being used intentionally. Please, show a little more respect.

On to the rest of your article...

I wonder why you expend so much column space dismissing the the ethnicity of the killer, a truly irrelevant factor in this tragedy. The author doth protest too much, methinks.

You say: "'Guns don't kill people,' goes the gun lobby's absurd mantra."

In what way is it absurd? When, outside of a tragic accident, has a firearm killed someone *without* a human being pointing it and pulling the trigger? And the basic truth behind this saying was recognized a thousand years before the first guns were invented:

"...quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est."
[...a sword never kills anybody; it's a tool in the killer's hand.]
-- (Lucius Annaeus) Seneca "the Younger" (ca. 4 BC-65 AD)

You say: "Foreigners sometimes believe that celebrities in America are more often the targets of gun violence than the rest of us. Not true. Celebrity shootings just make better news stories, so perhaps they seem common."

This is an unfortunate truth. The mainstream media focuses on and incessantly rehashes big, splashy acts of violence by criminals and the insane while resolutely ignoring the hundreds of thousands of
times every year that an armed citizen successfully defends themselves, their family or their business against a criminal act. Sadly, the latter just isn't sexy enough to sell air time. Thus many people, both here and abroad, get an unbalanced and inaccurate view of the value of firearms rights. And many internalize that view.

What do you as a professor of communications have to say about this disparity and obvious bias in reporting?

You said: "Last month, I was robbed at 10 in the evening in the alley behind my home. As I was carrying groceries inside, a man with a gun approached me where my car was parked. The gun he carried featured one of those red-dot laser beams, which he pointed right at my head.

Because I'm anything but a James Bond type, I quickly complied with all of his requests. Perhaps because of my rapid response (it is called surrender), he chose not to shoot me; but he just as easily could have. What was to stop him?"

I could make a snarky comment like "Certainly not you - you've chosen to be a helpless victim!" but I won't. Surprise is a powerful tactic, and even someone who is armed and willing to defend themselves can be trapped in an untenable position if taken by surprise. One of the first things that anyone who wishes to be other than a helpless victim must learn is to be aware of their surroundings at all times. It is far preferable to be aware of *and avoid* a risky situation than to find yourself trapped through inattentiveness.

You continue: "This occurred in Beverly Hills, a low-crime area dotted with upscale boutiques, restaurants and businesses -- a city best known perhaps for its glamor and celebrity sightings."

This just goes to show you that no neighborhood, no person, is immune to violent crime, and that "it won't happen here" is an utterly irresponsible worldview. Did you think you were somehow immune from being mugged because you live in an upscale neighborhood? Did you let your guard down because you were in a "safe place"?

"A near-death experience does focus the mind. We need to get rid of our guns."

"Our guns"? You have already made it clear you don't and won't arm yourself in your own defense. Please do not think you have any right to make that decision on my behalf for me. I choose not to be a helpless victim, and I have accepted the responsibility for the consequences of that decision. Have the honesty and maturity to accept the consequences of *your* decision to be a helpless victim, rather then trying to blame someone else or, yet worse, to blame an inanimate object.

--
John Hardin
Snohomish, Washington

04/21/2007

In today's America, ask a growing number of high school and college students; their teachers and professors; the self-anointed media elite and/or hard working men and women of all ethnicity's, the question, "What is a Republican?", and you'll be told "... a rich, greedy, egotistical individual, motivated only by money and the desire to accumulate more and more of it, at the expense of the environment, the working poor ... and all whom they exploit..."

I am a Republican . I am none of those things ... and I don't know any Republicans who are.

WHAT I, AM. first and foremost, is a loving husband of some 52 plus years, the father of four and an American who's proud of his country... and his country's heritage.

WHAT I AM .. is the grandson of immigrants who risked everything, including their lives and those of their children, to escape tyranny in search of freedom.

WHAT I AM . is a man who grew up during the Depression and witnessed, first hand, the effects of the Stock Market crash and the soup lines that followed. I watched as both my parents and grand parents, who had very little themselves, share what food they had with a half dozen other families, who had even less.

WHAT I AM .. is someone who worked his way through college by holding down three and four jobs at a time and then used that education to build a better life.

WHAT I AM . is a husband who, at age 24, started his own business for the "privilege" of working 60, 70 and 80 hours a week, risking everything I had, including my health, in search of a better life for myself and my loved ones.

WHAT I AM .. is a businessman whose blood, sweat and tears.... and plenty of them..., made it possible for me to provide a secure living, not only for my family and myself, but also for literally hundreds of my employees throughout the years. Employees, who in turn, were able to buy their own homes, raise their own families and give back to their communities and their country.

WHAT I AM .. is a man who believes in God; a God who has blessed this country... and all for which it stands.

WHAT I AM .. is someone who knows, if you doubt miracles exist in today's world, you need only to look into the face of those who received them ... and the eyes of those who give them.

WHAT I AM .. is an American who's proud that his President embraces a belief in God; proud of a President who understands, as "politically incorrect" as it may be, there is evil in this world and for the security and safety of all freedom loving people everywhere, it must be confronted ... and it must be defeated.

WHAT I AM .. is an American who takes comfort in the knowledge that our President refuses to allow decisions concerning the very safety and security of this nation, to be governed by the political whims of foreign governments.

WHAT I AM .. is tired of hearing from leading Democrats who see only negativity in America; racism in her people; class warfare in her society and "political incorrectness" in her character.

WHAT I AM .. is a former democrat who now understands that it is the soldier and not the reporter that guarantees us our freedoms of press, speech and dissent.

WHAT I AM .. is a man who believes in the sanctity of life. A man who is
Repulsed by the pandering of the political left for votes, at the expense of the unborn.

WHAT I AM .. is a husband and father who believes in the sanctity of marriage and the preservation of the family unit.

WHAT I AM .. is a movie go-er who is repulsed by those insecure, socially inept, elementary thinking, ego-inflated "entertainers" who have appointed themselves "experts" in the fields of national security and geo-politics and then use their forum to attack this nation, its leaders and its actions ... much to the delight and encouragement of our enemies.

WHAT I AM .. is an American who understands the difference between "Censorship" and "choice." Evidently, these individuals do not, because when these same "celebrities" receive public ridicule for their offensive actions, the first thing they yell is "Censorship!". What they seem incapable of understanding is ... the right of free speech and dissent is shared equally by those offended ... as well as those who offend. I support and will continue to support those films and performers whom I choose to ... and refuse to support those I don't. It is my right as an American .. a right I will continue to enthusiastically exercise.

WHAT I AM .. is a voter, tired of politicians, who, every time their voting records are subjected to public scrutiny, try to divert attention from their political and legislative failures by accusing their opponents of "attack ads" and "negative campaigning." .. and the news media who allow them to get away with it.

WHAT I AM ... is a Catholic who loves his God and his Faith ... and who's been taught to respect all religions whose teachings are based in love, peace and charity. As such, I am embarrassed and ashamed of those individuals, in both private and public life, whose decisions and actions are devoid of any sense of character or morals; individuals who are only driven by what's best for them ... rather than what's right ... often times at the expense of many ... including our national security.

WHAT I AM .. is a realist who understands that the terrorist attack that murdered hundreds of innocent Russian children could have occurred here, in our heartland. That's why I sincerely believe America needs now, more than ever, a President who sees with a clear and focused vision and who speaks with a voice when heard by both friend and foe alike, is understood, respected and believed.

WHAT I AM .. is eternally grateful to Ronald Reagan for having the bravery to speak out against Communism and the courage of his convictions in leading the fight to defeat it; and George W. Bush for the vision, courage, conviction and leadership he has shown in America's war on terrorism amidst both the constant and vicious, personal and political attacks both he and his family are made to endure.

WHAT I AM .. is a human being, full of numerous faults and failures, but a man nonetheless, who, though not always successful, has continually strived to do "what's right" instead of "what's easy." A man who is challenging the religious leaders of all faiths, to not only preach to their congregations the fundamentals of "what's right" and "what's wrong," but to also then hold them accountable for their actions in both the public and private sectors.

WHAT I AM .. is disgusted with the Courts who, on one hand, call the murder of a pregnant woman a "double homicide" but then refer to the abortion of her baby as, "pro-choice."

WHAT I AM .. is someone deeply troubled by a political party which embraces a candidate whose primary "leadership" qualities center around his protesting of the Vietnam war and his labeling the honorable men and women who fought in it, (50,000 of whom gave their lives in that action), as rapists, and war criminals. That same political party then stepped forward this year to block the appearance of a true Vietnam war hero, retired Admiral and former United States Senator, Jeremiah Denton, (a man who spent seven years and seven torturous months in a North Vietnam prison), from speaking before an open session of the California legislature as part of that state's 4th of July celebration. The reason Democrats gave for refusing to allow this American hero to speak before their state legislature was because of the "conservative" nature of his views. As an American, that troubles me deeply ... as well it should you.

WHAT I AM .. is a man who feels the need to spend, $104, 655.60,(tax paid) of his own money, to purchase this advertisement, in order to set the story traight. Some may say this money would have been better spent feeding the world's poor. At the risk of sounding self-serving, as an American and as a Republican, for the last six decades of my life, I have done exactly that ... and more. Following the examples of my parents and grand parents, I have used my earnings to feed the poor, shelter the homeless, provide housing for the elderly and medical care for the sick..... and continue to do so .. and I'm not alone in that work.

WHAT I AM .. is someone who is paying for this announcement, at my sole expense, in hopes of opening the eyes of those led blindly by ill-informed elements of our great nation, who, through either ignorance, or malicious intent, repeatedly attack and belittle those of us who belong to a political party that holds true to the belief, "... the rights of the governed, exceed the power of the government." For those interested, I am speaking only as a tax-paying individual who is in no way associated with The Republican National Committee, nor with any of its directors, or delegates.

WHAT I AM .. is a man who understands, "the American way of life" is a message of self-empowerment for all.

WHAT I AM .. is an American who is grateful that our nation gives each of us the opportunity of self-determination and the right to benefit from the fruits of self achievement.

WHAT I AM .. is an American who wants to preserve that way of life for all who seek it.

WHAT I AM .. is blessed to be an American.... and proud to be Republican.

As you know, I'm going off on my book tour to talk about The Covenant, a novel that tells the truth about Palestinian terrorism, and the ordinary Israelis who have been fighting on the front lines for years. By the time I come back, the election for President of the United States will be over and done, and we won't have this bone of contention to deal with, you and I. This is my last word on this topic.

But before I go, I'd like to tell you how it makes me feel when people on my list write me that I should butt out of the U.S. election because I live in Israel. People who write me that George W. Bush is an idiot because he doesn't care about the environment or healthcare, or abortions. That he lied about WMD, and shouldn't have gone into Iraq or Afghanistan. That it's his fault the war on terror is going badly. That they are proudly going to vote for his opponent, John Kerry, and give me a long list of reasons why.

It makes me sickeningly angry and depressed. And this is why:

I remember seeing my mother -in- law, who survived Auschwitz, and my father-in -law, whose first young wife and two babies were gassed there, wearing gas masks and sitting in a sealed room with their children and great-grandchildren, because Saddam Hussein was logging bombs at us and we were afraid he'd gas us as he did thousands of Kurds, his own people.

I remember watching the families of suicide bombers who killed hundreds of Israelis in the streets of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Netanya getting checks for $25,000 from Saddam Hussein.

I remember my daughter going to get gas masks for my grandchildren in the recent war because we were afraid Saddam Hussein would do it again.

I remember Arafat and Rabin on the lawn of the White House with President Clinton smiling, forcing them to shake hands. I remember the dozens of times Arafat came to the White House and was welcomed like a world leader. I remember Clinton's silence when the Intifada started, and how I felt when he wouldn't come out and condemn the Palestinians for breaking the agreements; when he suddenly backed off, talking about how both sides in the conflict were responsible.

I remember Clinton at the Democractic Convention, shaking hands with Kerry.

I remember Jimmy Carter and his numerous attempts to harm Israel during the Intifada, trying to tie it's leaders hands at defending us, shaking hands with Kerry.

I remember how finally, after September 11, we had a President in the White House that let us go after terrorists at home. A President that despite the lack of support of Israel's enemies: the U.N., France, Germany, and the rest of the EU who had been kissing Arafat's backside for years while he killed our children, decided to take out Saddam Hussein, and who did it, brilliantly in a few weeks, despite all the media naysayers and back biters.

Thank you George W. Bush. For getting Saddam Hussein off Israel's back so my children and my in-laws can put away their gas masks for good. Thank you George W. Bush, for passing the Patriot Act, which outlaws terrorist funding, and for going after the bankers who fund the murder of our children.

Thank you George W. Bush, for understanding there is an Axis of Evil, and for putting Syria and Iran on it.

Thank you, George W. Bush, for saving millions of women and girls from a fate worse than death by getting rid of the Taliban, so they can go to a doctor, go to school, and not be stoned publicly for not walking around like little tents.

For all those of you who haven't made up their minds. I hope this will help you.

As for those who sincerely believe they love Israel but are voting for John Kerry, I'd like to say this:

You are voting for a who wants to bring the US closer to France whose Ambassador to England called Israel " that s****y little country "; whose former Prime Minister called the establishment of Israel a "historic mistake" ; who has seen the most anti-Semitism of any European nation since World War Two;who willingly supplied Hussein not just with weapons but also with the nuclear reactor that Israel destroyed in 1981; and who continues to supply nuclear technology to Iran whose desire for nuclear weapons to destroy Israel is well known. A man who wants closer ties with the EU, who continues to supply funds being used by the Palestinians to commit terror attacks. A man who wants approval from the UN, whose ambulances ferry terrorists in Gaza to plant bombs to kill Israeli soldiers.

You are voting for a man who told the Arab-American Institute last year "how disheartened Palestinians are by the Israeli government's decision to build a barrier off the Green Line, cutting deeply into Palestinian areas" and went on to say that "We do not need another barrier to peace... and that provocative and counterproductive measures only harm Israel's security over the long term." A fence which has reduced terror attacks to almost nothing in it's areas,
saving thousands of Israeli lives.

A man who denounced the 'endless cycle of violence and reprisals" thereby equating Israel's defensive measures to root out killers to the murder of innocent Israelis by Palestinian terrorists; a man whose much touted "solid Senatorial record on votes for Israel" amounts to painless offers of moral support written and introduced by others. A man who in 2000 didn't join 60 co-sponsors of the "Middle East Peace Process Support Act" - a bill calling on the President not to recognize a unilaterally declared Palestinian state; a man who failed to co-sponsor a pro-Israel "Peace Through Negotiations Act." Who in
1993 failed to join 55 Senators in signing the Grassley/Lautenberg letter to the State Department, demanding that Hamas be listed as a terrorist organization. Who did not support the assassination of Sheikh Yassin. A man who surrounds himself with Mideast "experts" like Sandy Berger, who said in May 2000 that Palestinian violence was " a blessing " because it might speed up the egotiating process; Martin Indyk an ex-Ambassador to Israel who recently told Israel to unilaterally give up the strategically vital Golan Heights to Syria
because it was the only way to get rid of Hezbollah violence, who is widely known as Arafat's Yes-Man .

You are voting for a slick, multi-millionaire dilettante, who in twenty years in the Senate only managed to author, or co-author the following bills. (See http://www.factcheck.org/article282.html for all bills and the details )

S.1206: Names a federal building in Waltham, Massachusetts after Frederick C. Murphy, who was killed in action during World War II and awarded (posthumously) the Medal of Honor. (1994) a..

S.1636: A save-the-dolphins measure aiming "to improve the program to Reduce the incidental taking of marine mammals during the course of commercial fishing operations." (1994)

S.1563: Funding the National Sea Grant College Program, which supports university-based research, public education, and other projects "to promote better understanding, conservation and use of America's coastal resources." (1991)

S.423: Granting a visa and admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident to Kil Joon Yu Callahan. (1987)

H.R.1900 (S.300) Awarded a congressional gold medal to Jackie Robinson (posthumously), and called for a national day of recognition. (2003)

H.R.1860(S.856): Increased the maximum research grants for small
businesses from $500,000 to $750,000 under the Small Business Technology Transfer Program. (2001)

S.J.Res.158: To make the week of Oct. 22 Oct. 28, 1989 "World Population Awareness Week." (1989)

S.J.Res.160: To renew "World Population Awareness Week" for 1991. (1991)

S.J.Res.318: To make Nov. 13, 1992 "Vietnam Veterans Memorial 10th
Anniversary Day." (1992)

S.J.Res.337: To make Sept. 18, 1992"National POW/MIA Recognition Day."
(1992)

S.Res.123: To change the name of the Committee on Small Business to the
"Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship." (2001)

S.Res.133: To make May 21, 1991 "National Land Trust Appreciation Day."
(1991)

S.Res.144: To encourage the European Community to vote to ban driftnets for all European Community fishing fleets. (1991 )

S.Res.216: Honoring Milton D. Stewart for his leadership and service at the Small Business Administration. (2002)

S.Con.Res.26: Calling for the United States to support a new agreement providing for a ban on commercial mining of minerals in Antarctica. (1991)

For all those of you who decide that you prefer this man to one who (in the words of one list-member) "took out Saddam Hussein, stepped on Arafat's neck, backed Israel's war on the terrorists, and gave the EU and UN Palestinian apologists the mighty finger" what can I say?

I wish you the joy of your conscience come voting day.

I'd also like to say this: If George W. Bush is elected (please God), do I expect him to do things I won't like? Do I expect him to pressure Israel into doing things I don't approve of? You bet I do, I'm not naive. But given my choice, I also expect to be around at the end of the next four years to vote again. With Kerry, I'm not so sure.

The commentary is from Matthew Manweller, a political science professor at Central Washington University. Here is the text of that commentary:
"In that this will be my last column before the presidential election, there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too serious, and the stakes are too high.

This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a nation that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future demands. If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history. If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will be two-fold.

First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the Middle East is too big a task for us. But more significantly, we will signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations. The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we turn away from whom we are.

Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia, we showed terrorists that you don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them in the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America. Twenty-four hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the homeland.

It is said that America's WWII generation is its "greatest generation." But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's "last generation." Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened in the fire of WWII, they may be the last American generation that understands the meaning of duty, honor, and sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake "living in America" as "being an American." But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and responsibilities. This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp that 100 years from now historians will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the City on the Hill."