Iraq



Has anyone else noticed that despite gains being made in Iraq since the troop surge very little is being reported in the mainstream media? I wonder why that is? Could it be they don't want to make the Iraq war naysayers look bad? And isn't it interesting that the Democrat candidates for President aren't saying anything either?

Campaigns

It continues to look like Hillary Clinton will win the Democrat primary, but the GOP primary is still wide open. Guilliani and Romney are near the top in most polls with Huckabee begining to show surprising strength. Thompson has been somewhat of a disappointment so far and McCain seems to be struggling to stay in the race. Ron Paul has stirred the libertarians but I don't see him getting the nod because libertarianism is too drastic a change for most voters.

Huckabee is the closest to being a true conservative and if politics in this country was a matter of pure liberalism v. pure conservatism, he would have a good chance to win it all. But that isn't the case and anyone with a chance of winning has got to appear to be close to the center.



Values



George Mitchell's report on steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball is devastating to those who love the game of baseball. It's even more devastating for kids who have looked up to ball players as role models. I played the game from elementary school through high school, military service and for a short while, semi-pro ball. I played and managed the team representing the battalion I was assigned to in the Philippines 60 years ago. I loved every moment of my playing days. Baseball is a great game and it sickens me to see it treated with the disrespect it is getting from the cheaters.

Professional sports in general have succumbed to greed that has permeated teams from top to bottom. Player salaries are unconscionably high and I get no thrill out of watching one set of millionaires compete against another set of millionaires regardless of the sport. The steroids problem is part of the greed issue.

We have allowed athiests to drive God out of the public square, out of court houses and public school classrooms. It's no longer Merry Christmas, it's Happy Holidays, whatever that means. And heaven forbid if a school valadictorian should mention God or Jesus Christ in his or her graduation speech.

We have allowed our public school system to deteriorate to the point where teachers no longer discipline students for inapproriate behavior, parents do even less, and grading and graduation standards have been lowered so the dumbest can claim a diploma. The result is a dumbed down workforce that has trouble competing against the poorest of illegals that continue to pour across our borders, let alone the rest of the world.

We have reached a point where a woman filled with hatred for men could become our next President with the help of a leftist media and a brainwashed public. In that public are people who believe it is patriotic to say they support our military but not their mission. There are others who oppose private enterprise, have never had to meet a payroll, and believe government will do a better job of handling health care than the private sector could ever do.