It's been reported that Al Gore is being nominated for a Nobel Prize for his documentary on global warming (or is it "climate change" ?). He claimed to be the inventer of the Internet ... how come they didn't give him a prize for that ? Tom Brokaw did a recent tv special recently on the warming issue ... how come he hasn't been nominated for a prize ? They might as well give recognition to all the doomsayers at one time and to save further hot air on the subject.

Then there's the billionaire who's offering $25million to the person who invents a workable device to suck greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere. Perhaps they could compress the CO2 component and make soda water out of it.

The doomsayers keep urging our government to sign on to the Kyoto agreement and we say not until China and India sign on. Until now the latter nations have drawn passes to allow them to build their economies first. Interestingly, China is planning to build thousands of coal burning power generating plants. greenhouse gas producers all.

We have already gone too far in terms of government regulation in our lives. We need to voluntarily move forward to reduce greenhouse gas production. It's not only the right thing to do, it will also hold the government regulators at bay. If we don't move voluntarily we can look forward to increasing pressure and interference from government which could lead to the loss of what's left of our freedom. Stockholders in companies most directly involved in the production of greenhouse gases must prevail upon the directors of those companies to take lead positions in the development of renewable energy resources and their use.

We talk about freedom a lot in this country but I get the feeling more and more these days that many people lack appreciation for what it takes to preserve it. Appreciation begins with understanding we have more freedom as Americans than the citizens of any other nation on Earth. That freedom is constantly threatened not only by terrorists but by what Bill O'Reilly calls "secular progressives".

Our freedoms grew out of the minds and courageous efforts of the early settlers from Europe. The settlers came here to escape political and religious tyranny which made for a productive seedbed for the concept of group and individual freedom to grow. The desire for freedom intensified culminating in the "shot heard 'round the world" at Bunker Hill. Since the American Revolution, we've fought several wars in defense of our freedom ... War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq ... all have been fought to defend freedom. That's why true patriots appreciate the fact "freedom is not free".