Fuel Prices: A National Emergency

The price of gasoline is hitting all time highs. Worse yet, these high prices are not just spikes due to supply issues - they are sustained prices that will not drop anytime soon. Why? Demand. India and China are growing, industrial, consumer societies that have populations that increase exponentially. The price of gas drives up the prices of every commodity in our society, from hair cuts to groceries. Everything is pegged to fuel prices. How can we reduce fuel prices in America? This is not a simple process. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have it correct. The solution is not - GO GREEN! The process of green technology needs to be incremental. There is no device to install on cars that is cheap, reliable, mass produceable and ready for immediate deployment. As a result, the Obama initiatives on hybrid cars are not affordable to a vast majority of the population. While celebrities tout their Prius, the average worker cannot afford the hybrid price tag. Most of us are stuck with our older model gas guzzlers, simply because we don't have the credit to get a new car. While Obama pushes expensive green solutions, the majority of us are stuck with regular cars. His callous disregard of the crisis of fuel prices on the average American is disturbing and out of touch. The Republican strategy of "Drill Here, Drill Now" is also ignorantly short sighted. Oil is a commodity sold on the world market to the highest bidder. Therefore, no matter how much oil we produce domestically, it all still ends up in India and China. Domestic energy production has no bearing on domestic energy costs. What, then, is the solution? Congress must mandate that oil produced in the United States must remain, in large quantity, IN the United States. In order for oil companies to receive a permit to drill, explore, pump or in any way extract oil from our nation, they should be required to keep 90% of that oil here for sale. Also, Congress should mandate the construction of more energy efficient and safe refineries if oil companies want to produce oil here. By mandating that oil drilled here must be refined here and also be sold here, that would significantly drop our dependance on foreign exploitation, and shield our nation from the volatile world oil market. Considering that we have some of the largest deposits of oil in the world, there is no reason that our energy costs should be exorbitant. Another solution, less popular of course, would be to nationalize our oil industry. By creating a United States Oil Corporation (Public), we could produce, refine and sell American oil to pay down our national debt and balance our budget. We have resources. It is about time that our nation wake up and make our society prosperous again. Our economy will be in shambles until our basic needs are addressed, and the one that needs first attention is our energy crisis.

Why DACA is Good Law

Seldom will you hear me praise President Obama. I did it when he eliminated "stop-loss" from the military - as a Constitutional Law professor, President Obama understood that contracts, even military enlistment contracts, were subject to breaches by BOTH sides, and eliminated that hateful policy. Again, I applauded the President when he ordered the Bin Laden mission. Now, I must congratulate him on using Executive Order to cut through red tape and help tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who simply want to one thing - to live and work without fear. The Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals Executive Order, signed by the President last month, provides an extraordinary opportunity to forestall the risk of deportation if the applicant meets several specific criteria. Individuals must have arrived in the United States prior to their 16th birthday, resided continuously here for at least 5 years, possess a GED or high school diploma or have served honorably in the military, have no felony or serious misdemeanor convictions or three minor misdemeanors, pose no national or public security risk, and be willing to submit proof and fees. Do you qualify for DACA? Do you have friends who may qualify? Please contact a DACA specialist, such as the Immigration Assistance Paralegal Agency in Allentown, PA for assistance.

Build the Bridge - Crossing Hamilton Boulevard from Dorney Park

Dorney Park is a major attraction here in Allentown, Pennsylvania. However, it is also a danger to the hundreds of pedestrians who try to run across it during the dark hours after the park closes – and also during broad daylight. As Pennsylvania roads attest, deer and other animals adorn our highways as roadkill. How long until Hamilton Boulevard becomes a slaughterhouse for park visitors? Many Dorney visitors are attracted to businesses on the south side of Hamilton Boulevard. These include the ever popular summer destination Ice Cream World, Perkin’s Restaurant and the various hotels that provide accommodation to visitors from out of town. As a result, hundreds of visitors cross Hamilton Boulevard – with no crosswalks to guide their travels – and are nearly hit each year. This is a clear danger to visitors, and an unnecessary one at that. What is it going to take to bring South Whitehall Township (jurisdiction of Dorney Park) and Cedar Fair (owner of Dorney Park) together to build a proper pedestrian bridge over the Boulevard? I propose that Dorney Park and South Whitehall Township collaborate on a bridge, sooner rather than later. One life is not worth the money spent to protect our visitors and motorists. Let’s get together and build that bridge – it is a necessary expense.

Iowa Floods and Missouri Tornado; Where is the Help?

A comment was recently posted on Mcall.com regarding the lukewarm assistance provided to those in the Midwest suffering tragedy after tragedy, comparing the Federal, celebrity, and local resident response to that of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

"Why is the media NOT asking the tough questions about why the federal government hasn't solved this problem? Asking where the FEMA trucks and trailers and food services are? Why isn't the Federal government moving Iowa people into free hotels in Chicago and Minneapolis ? When will Spike Lee say that the Federal government blew up the levees that failed in Des Moines ? Where are Sean Penn, Bono, and the Dixie Chicks? Where are all the looters stealing high-end tennis shoes, cases of beer and television sets? When will we hear Governor Chet Culver say that he wants to rebuild a 'vanilla' Iowa because that's what God wants? Where is the hysterical 24/7 media coverage complete with reports of shootings at rescuers, of rapes and murder? Where are all the people screaming that Barack Obama hates white, rural people? My God, where are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Oprah, and Ray Coniff Jr? How come you will never hear about the Iowa flooding ever again? Where are the government bail out vouchers? The government debit cards? There must be one hell of a big difference between the value of the people of Iowa and value of the people of Louisiana."

The writer makes a valid point. Nowhere in the areas recently hit by tragedy do you see looting, rapes, racist rants about homogeneous ethnic rebuilding, nor do you see celebrities flocking to help (except a few country stars). Mr. Obama is too busy (on vacation in Ireland - yes, that is what it is, another vacation).

At this point, the National Guard should be getting Federal disaster funding. However, the President is too busy in Ireland and England. I guess it is more important to get rock star status in Europe than show concern for an entire region of your nation.

The Browning Lesson for Washington

The Lehigh County Republican primary election is over. The results are in. Dean Browning, though he still believes he did the right thing by raising taxes, learned a valuable lesson. In these economic times, raising taxes on an already burdened society is NOT the answer. This local election is a valuable learning point for our Washington Republican friends. If any of them propose higher taxes or go along with the Obama administration on raising taxes, they will likely suffer the same fate as Commissioner Browning.
For those of you who are not aware of the circumstances, Dean Browning, Commissioner of Lehigh County, was the only Republican defector to vote with Democrats to raise the taxes of Lehigh County by 16%. As a result, he crossed the election finish line in lowly 6th place. One simple vote destroyed his political career. To his credit, he offered full support to the Republican candidates in the general election.
Washington, you had better take a lesson. The TEA Party people seem to be the only ones who get it. The average American is suffering from a slate of economic hostilities. First, our taxes are too high. Second, many are losing jobs. Third, the fuel prices are through the roof. Now, fuel prices drive the price of EVERY consumer good. In this cascade effect, groceries, restaurants, water, energy, car repairs, retail purchases, and a number of other necessities have all grown more expensive. Finally, tie that into the weaker dollar and you have the toxic brew that every American is fighting through.
The citizens of our nation have had enough. Those of us who work and refuse to rely on the government are in trouble. Let's hope that our new slate of Lehigh County Republicans follow through with their promises and set the standard for Washington to follow. If not, well, you know what happens next. Ask Dean Browning.

Where's the Beef, GOP?

So, the race is on for the GOP Presidential nomination. Donald Trump is out - not a big shocker there. The Donald is great at making news, brought relevant incite on several issues including the birth certificate debate and recognizing our trade impasse with China, but brought nothing else of merit. His flipping of issues to suit the times is more populist than conservative. However, thank you Mr. Trump, for making it lively.
In an interesting turn of events, Mike Huckabee stepped aside. Why? No one seems quite sure. Perhaps Gov. Huckabee knows that the GOP doesn't seem to want to nominate a real conservative. Either that, or he saned up and realized that only a maniac would want the scrutiny that comes with the ultimate American political prize.
So, who is left? Mitt Romney is on the table, regardless of his (uh oh Southern Baptists) Mormanism, and (oh no conservatives) Romneycare. However, Mitt is a very successful businessman, governor, and philanthropist. Mitch Daniels (WHO?) is also running. Perhaps I need to learn about this man who is so popular amongst the Obama crowd. They are dying for him to be nominated. Rick Perry (Governor of Texas) is thinking about his shot. Newt Gingrich? Hmmm...his Contract With America and welfare reform in the 90's made him a hero to Republicans. However, his criticism of the Paul Ryan budget plan and missing the boat with TEA Party representatives may land him in further hot water. Finally, we have the ultimate naive libertarian, Ron Paul. Mr. Paul has a wonderful domestic agenda that all serious fiscal conservatives should address. However, his foreign policy ideas are from naive to insane. Rep. Paul has no clue about the realities of America in the world, and that type of dangerous mindset cannot coexist with the safety of our nation.
Where does this leave us? Few choices, unless some new candidates come out to unite the party. From RINO's to TEA Party representatives, the Republican Party has a vast ideological gulf. I pray that a strong candidate will sweep the primaries and allow the GOP to put an end to the dangerous economic experiment conducted on us all by the Marxist Obama administration.

Hate Crimes Laws - UK stifles dissent using Hate Crimes Laws

Britain appears to be evolving into the first modern soft totalitarian state. As a sometime teacher of political science and international law, I do not use the term totalitarian loosely. There are no concentration camps or gulags but there are thought police with unprecedented powers to dictate ways of thinking and sniff out heresy, and there can be harsh punishments for dissent. Nikolai Bukharin claimed one of the Bolshevik Revolution's principal tasks was "to alter people's actual psychology". Britain is not Bolshevik, but a campaign to alter people's psychology and create a new Homo Britannicus is under way without even a fig leaf of disguise. The Government is pushing ahead with legislation that will criminalize politically incorrect jokes, with a maximum punishment of up to seven years' prison. The House of Lords tried to insert a free-speech amendment, but Justice Secretary Jack Straw knocked it out. It was Straw who previously called for a redefinition of Englishness and suggested the "global baggage of empire" was linked to soccer violence by "racist and xenophobic white males". He claimed the English "propensity for violence" was used to subjugate Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and that the English as a race were "potentially very aggressive". In the past 10 years I have collected reports of many instances of draconian punishments, including the arrest and criminal prosecution of children, for thought-crimes and offenses against political correctness. Countryside Restoration Trust chairman and columnist Robin Page said at a rally against the Government's anti-hunting laws in Gloucestershire in 2002: "If you are a black vegetarian Muslim asylum-seeking one-legged lesbian lorry driver, I want the same rights as you." Page was arrested, and after four months he received a letter saying no charges would be pressed, but that: "If further evidence comes to our attention whereby your involvement is implicated, we will seek to initiate proceedings." It took him five years to clear his name. Page was at least an adult. In September 2006, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, Codie Stott, asked a teacher if she could sit with another group to do a science project as all the girls with her spoke only Urdu. The teacher's first response, according to Stott, was to scream at her: "It's racist, you're going to get done by the police!" Upset and terrified, the schoolgirl went outside to calm down. The teacher called the police and a few days later, presumably after officialdom had thought the matter over, she was arrested and taken to a police station, where she was fingerprinted and photographed. According to her mother, she was placed in a bare cell for 3 1/2 hours. She was questioned on suspicion of committing a racial public order offence and then released without charge. The school was said to be investigating what further action to take, not against the teacher, but against Stott. Headmaster Anthony Edkins reportedly said: "An allegation of a serious nature was made concerning a racially motivated remark. We aim to ensure a caring and tolerant attitude towards pupils of all ethnic backgrounds and will not stand for racism in any form." A 10-year-old child was arrested and brought before a judge, for having allegedly called an 11-year-old boy a "Paki" and "bin Laden" during a playground argument at a primary school (the other boy had called him a skunk and a Teletubby). When it reached the court the case had cost taxpayers pound stg. 25,000. The accused was so distressed that he had stopped attending school. The judge, Jonathan Finestein, said: "Have we really got to the stage where we are prosecuting 10-year-old boys because of political correctness? There are major crimes out there and the police don't bother to prosecute. This is nonsense." Finestein was fiercely attacked by teaching union leaders, as in those witch-hunt trials where any who spoke in defence of an accused or pointed to defects in the prosecution were immediately targeted as witches and candidates for burning. Hate-crime police investigated Basil Brush, a puppet fox on children's television, who had made a joke about Gypsies. The BBC confessed that Brush had behaved inappropriately and assured police that the episode would be banned. A bishop was warned by the police for not having done enough to "celebrate diversity", the enforcing of which is now apparently a police function. A Christian home for retired clergy and religious workers lost a grant because it would not reveal to official snoopers how many of the residents were homosexual. That they had never been asked was taken as evidence of homophobia. Muslim parents who objected to young children being given books advocating same-sex marriage and adoption at one school last year had their wishes respected and the offending material withdrawn. This year, Muslim and Christian parents at another school objecting to the same material have not only had their objections ignored but have been threatened with prosecution if they withdraw their children. There have been innumerable cases in recent months of people in schools, hospitals and other institutions losing their jobs because of various religious scruples, often, as in the East Germany of yore, not shouted fanatically from the rooftops but betrayed in private conversations and reported to authorities. The crime of one nurse was to offer to pray for a patient, who did not complain but merely mentioned the matter to another nurse. A primary school receptionist, Jennie Cain, whose five-year-old daughter was told off for talking about Jesus in class, faces the sack for seeking support from her church. A private email from her to other members of the church asking for prayers fell into the hands of school authorities. Permissiveness as well as draconianism can be deployed to destroy socially accepted norms and values. The Royal Navy, for instance, has installed a satanist chapel in a warship to accommodate the proclivities of a satanist crew member. "What would Nelson have said?" is a British newspaper cliche about navy scandals, but in this case seems a legitimate question. Satanist paraphernalia is also supplied to prison inmates who need it. This campaign seems to come from unelected or quasi-governmental bodies controlling various institutions, which are more or less unanswerable to electors, more than it does directly from the Government, although the Government helps drive it and condones it in a fudged and deniable manner. Any one of these incidents might be dismissed as an aberration, but taken together - and I have only mentioned a tiny sample; more are reported almost every day - they add up to a pretty clear picture.
Hal G. P. Colebatch's Blair's Britain was chosen as a book of the year by The Spectator in 1999.