We The People... Need a LEADER

The United States of America has definitely had great leaders and unfortunately, some who were not so great.  We are in dire need of strong leadership in this time when the world is so unstable and yet we have been without a great leader for almost 4 years.  Now is the time to change this.  Political parties aside, we can compare and contrast the two candidates on standards, experience, and policy preferences and it is clear who should be our next president.  President Barack Obama has had little leadership experience, has surrounded himself with people who do not produce results, and has yet to make a contribution that is economically sound.  He is willing to sing his own praises when something is done well (whether or not he was involved) and is compelled to place blame on everyone but himself when anything goes wrong.  Luckily, we have a viable candidate on the Republican ticket this year.  Mitt Romney has shown strength, honesty, and integrity in many aspects of his life.  He proven himself a strong leader during his governorship in Massachusetts, he has shown his expertise in business and economic soundness, and has been a true patriot who can admit his wrongs and move into the future with stability and strength.  As the American people, we have the right to choose and the right to vote for whomever we feel will progress the continuity of this great nation.  Make the right choice (pun intended) and choose conservative values this November.  Mitt Romney is the greatest option for the future and one of the greatest men overall that I have ever met.  Vote Romney!

Combine the Armed Forces?

Here is an interesting concept to potentially save money and lives and boost federal government morale.  We currently have 5 seperate branches of the military; Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and the Marines.  They all have different weapons, transportation, etc but imagine the  money that the government would save and the efficientcy if they combined these forces to have the same forms of communication, ground, water, and air support, and weaponry.  The Department of Defense would be wise to consider options to boost the efficientcy of the department.  Just some food for thought.

At Last We Can Breathe Easy... For a Few Months

Finally the United States chose a worthy candidate for the presidential job!  Mitt Romney is a spectacular person with an immense amount of leadership, finance, and business under his belt.  Just what this nation needs.  We saw the terrible effects of choosing anyone but a governor to lead the most powerful nation in the previous 4 years and it is time to choose a leader.  We need someone that will stand strong for the morals and beliefs of this nation and its history.  We need someone that has led and will continue to lead the way into the future with passion, patriotism, and respect.  We need Mitt Romney.  Obama tried his best but his record works against him.  He had little experience in leading anything until he became the president and has yet to show a strong leadership style worthy of the title he holds.  It is EXTREMELY difficult to remove an incumbent from office but it is my hope and wish that this upcoming voting season is attended by intelligent thinkers who understand a good man when they see him and recognize a wolf in sheep's clothing when they hear him speak.  Lets go GOP!!!  Take back the White House and lead this nation back to an economic surge!

Arizona, Michigan, and Washington... You decide.

The wonderful states of Arizona, Michigan, and Washington are the final 3 states to decide on a nominee before the Super Tuesday votes on March 6 which is the day where 563 delegates will come forward and vote on a GOP nominee for their states.  This is a major event for the GOP and will be an indicator as to how the 2012 Presidential election will turn out.  It is clear that the two front runners are still Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum however Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich are still holding on for those 20 states in several weeks.  This is an exciting year and a great time to become involved.  These next three state caucuses coming up will be heavily broadcasted and will set the mood going into the March 6 elections.  PLEASE make sure you vote and vote with who you feel will be a great leader and will best lead us out of the recession.  This should be someone that has experience in leadership and the business world that has truly proven their worth *cough* Romney *cough* but let facts lead you.  Choose wisely because if the nominee for the GOP cannot win in 2012, why vote for them?

Occupiers. Please Stop?

What is the Occupied Movement?  Why did it begin and where is it going?  The point of this movement was to protest against economic and social inequalities within the United States.  They originators decided it was time to stand up to corporate American and fight back with the poor hand they had been dealt.  This began in September 2011 and is FINALLY beginning to phase out.  Although conservative bloggers and media have been pointing out the disfunctionality of these movements for months, the liberal left is finally beginning to make statements to end this ridiculous group.  Bill Maher stated that he would like to see the Occupiers "Go home and get a job.  Enough already"  It has attracted people into the movement that are bored, lazy, and unwilling to rise above their given circumstances.  It is people like that that cause other nations to scoff at America.  The sense of entitlement is sickening and although it may seem like the wealthy have the "easy life", most had to work hard to get there.  They began at the lowest rung and worked their way up just as every American should.  Not everyone can be a millionaire but at least get a minimum wage job to help support the economy instead of camping out around federal buildings and wasting time and space.  Take some of the rare good advice from Bill and get a job.  Move on because the rest of us are.

Who Will It Be GOP?

This is an intense election year because the path the United States takes will be determined in November.  The main issue that arises with this election is the dispute from within the Republican party.  The Democrats already have their candidate so the debates between the GOP candidates are becoming more juvenile and far-reaching.  There are strange assumptions being made and ridiculous rumors being spread about each of the candidates although most are circling around Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as they are the clear front-runners.  Newt has quite a bit of baggage from his personal life which extended to his political career in the 1990's when his fellow congressmen found him unethical in his conduct.  Mitt has a well polished record and he has held leadership and governing positions which make him an ideal candidate.  It is unfortunate that many do not realize that legislators do not do well in governing roles and with only Kennedy and Obama being legislators turned president, it seems obvious that a governor would be a better choice.  This nation needs a leader, not a smooth operator that is used to backroom deals and sneaky legislation as a means to power.

Susan Komen vs. Planned Parenthood

It is no secret that one of the main functions of the Planned Parenthood organization is to assist women in aborting an unwanted fetus from the womb.  This is a typical reference for this group however there are multiple other roles the group plays.  Planned Parenthood also gives free screening for breast cancer, STD's, and pregnancy.  The fees for these screenings can be incredibly expensive in hospitals and doctor's offices and therefore unrealistic for many men and women.
Recently, the Susan B. Komen Foundation for the Cure decided to drop the funding for grants for this organization because of the fact that they support and carry out abortions.  I agree that the money given should not assist in funding abortion but these screenings are so incredibly important for so many people and lives are saved because of them.  The Komen Foundation recently retracted that statement and will continue funding breast cancer screenings for the group.  Hopefully this money is ONLY being used for the screenings and for other purposes.

Immigration

With the recent notoriety the GOP candidates have been receiving, other topics and debates have been temporarily pushed aside and one major issue is immigration.  I have had the opportunity to work in immigration for the past month and a half and through this experience, it is clear that something must be done.  A simple bill or "one size fits all" legislation will not fix the issues that are rising each day.  It is not right to simply deny each immigrant that may have been tied up in the numerous forms a chance to contribute to society in this country and it is not right to give clemency to each person that came to this country illegally at any age but the answer lies somewhere in the middle.  As I mentioned before, there is not one single law that will correct the current issues but we must begin somewhere.  I work with families and students that are wonderful people who work, pay taxes, and rise above in almost every aspect and I work with people who are criminals and want nothing but a free ride through life but often times it is difficult to discern which is which from a piece of paper turned into the local USCIS office.  What can we do?  I have come up with a solution to begin and this would not only assist those in need of immigration help but it would also create jobs in this downward spiraling economy.  If these state and federal offices would create branches that would actually sit down with those who are vying for residency in this country and speak with them and get legal paperwork together to decide if they belong here, many problems would be solved.  There would be an element of fairness that I believe both the left and the right could see.  This would save the lives that people have built and eliminate those cases that could cause crime and tax dollars of hard working citizens.  Just a thought for personal experience.

Debt not Debt Limit

Marco Rubio presented an interesting perspective today on Face the Nation.  He pointed out that the debt limit is really not the underlying issue in this nation but debt itself is.  I must say, we focus so much on the legislation of limiting or expanding the debt ceiling that we forget that debt itself is what caused this dilemma to begin with.  This country came from a great economic standing in the 1990's and has experienced an obvious drop within the past 12 years.  It is not just the government (local, state, and federal) that is spending too much but as a whole, the people of this country rack up incredible amounts of debt on credit cards and are unable to pay it back.  This is a serious issue that cannot be just be "fixed" with a bill.  This must be taught in schools and at home because that is typically where we as humans learn our habits.  This habitual spending pattern we have seen increase drastically is not healthy for the level of economic standing we should be at.  I am not suggesting that we quit spending all together but there must be moderation.  There is so much waste and pointless spending that we must do away with before we have nothing left.  There is supposedly a deal in the process of being made between the two parties in Congress but will it be before the dreaded August 2 deadline?  My guess is no but only time will tell.

Tax Reform... PLEASE?

Since the 2010 Republican take-over of Congress, the major debate has been focused on the astronomically high debt this nation is accruing.  This past Thursday, the House Speaker John Boehner pointed out that the reform is under discussion but tax hikes are out of the question for the GOP.  This has been a continuous standstill in congress; who to tax, how high, how low, etc.  There have been several imminent government shut-downs that have been narrowly avoided by last-minute legislation that puts off the inevitable awhile longer.  How long can we survive on this?  This nation MUST get out of the deep hole of deep that it is currently standing in.  Today the highest tax bracket pays 35% in taxes while the lowest pays 15% however at the beginning of Reagan's presidency, the tax rate was 50% for the highest tax rates.  There has been discussions and pushes for raising the tax rate to similar percentages on those who make $250,000 (families) and $200,000 (individuals) or higher to relieve the over debt burden the government has gotten themselves into.  Although it seems like a quick fix, a better answer would be to lessen the spending in areas that are not dire within the government.  There are programs in place that take an immense amount of funding with little to no return and these programs need to either be reformed to require less money or eliminated all together.  Some of the programs that are not necessary as they are now would be NASA, Social Security (which needs to be reformed), the Food and Drug Administration (also needs to be reformed), and all cloning research (because it is NOT necessary).  These are just some ideas that would take a very long time to change or eliminate but they would save billions for the future which is where we need to look to in order to prepare now.