Pardon My Politics

John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate was exactly what he needed to do to make himself competitive against Barack Obama in the November elections. (For the record, I predicted three weeks ago that Palin would be his choice.) As a result (and right on cue), conservatives throughout the country - especially Christian conservatives - are now fully supporting McCain's candidacy for President. Even James "I-will-never-vote-for-John-McCain" Dobson has endorsed McCain.

In reaction to 9/11, our modern Pearl Harbor, the Federal Government has gone far beyond taking measures to prevent terrorism. They've taken measures to prevent the freedom of US citizens. In the hurricane of post 9/11 legislation sweeping through Congress, a suspicious little addendum to a military appropriations and tsunami relief bill (HR1268), the Real ID Act of 2005(HR418), handed to the Federal Government all control over our state-issued driver's license.

The Iraq war has cost us all a great deal. In terms of the taxes, we've paid heavily towards invading Iraq needlessly, and we continue to pay towards the ongoing war effort. In terms of the economy, we've paid the price thanks to NAFTA and service contract outsourcing. In terms of human lives, we've paid the price with our young adults. But from the wreckage of Iraq and the disaster of an invasion that took place initially, the advantages of war have been cast to foreign shores, diverting jobs from the struggling US employment market to the detriment of the economy. The jobs arising from Iraq and the rebuilding effort could have gone to American families. However, the North American Free Trade Agreement has meant that jobs have been diverted largely to Mexico and Canada, resulting in further damage to the US economy as a result of the campaign in Iraq.

There were 23.1 million jobs created during Bill Clinton's presidency, but the increases have been offset by job losses in the George W. Bush presidency. Is Clinton responsible? The answer is absolutely not - for two reasons.