It is certain that rising gas prises have crippled many, and all across the world in fact. I read a lot of news and see it everywhere. We also do not know what the future holds for us consumers.

I have been reading about how people are having to use their food budget just to get to work now days. Some are purchasing bikes to make a 5 mile ride each way to work. I guess they are not banking on rain, sleet, snow or heat. It is causing people to stop contributing to their 401k’s and Ira’s. Some are quiting there jobs where it doesn’t make sense between fuel and rising child care cost that can be 250.00 per child per week!

Last year I purchased a 2006 Nissan 350z. I love the car but didn’t realize that you have to purchase higher octane fuel to keep the engine running without a clang. So when I started fueling it, the cost would be around 58.00. I could hang, but then the prices are sky rocketing at a faster pace each day. Now it cost me over 75.00 to fill up. I am just glad I didn’t decide to go more eco friendly and choose deisel.

Speaking of deisel, the rise of this is causing some truckers to lose any sort of margin they were making before. Some were seeing 25% profit margin prior and now are scraping by on 5%. This causes the trucking industry to park there trucks and raise the price of shipping goods. In turn affects our food supply and restaraunts to charge more for these foods.

The airline industry is another to have a major hit. One of the biggest airliners spent 2 billion in the year 2004 on jet fuel. This year they are expecting to hit 8 billion. That is four times what the industry is use to paying and have no room because of competition causing the lowest fares we have ever seen as consumers. So what is happening now is the competition is based on who loses the least amount of pounds after that quarter. Because of this 8 airlines have gone bankrupt just in 2008. 5 of which will never come back to life and 3 that restructured.

I could go on and describe how it affects every industry but, the point to all of my ramblings is that we as Americans are very unsure on what the answer to this problem may be. The presidential candidates are shouting a gas tax holiday. I think that this may help but not be the end all be all resolution. But may’be if we do everything we can do it may add up to lower gas prices at the pump.

In a Rasmussen report, they are currently showing 46% of voters to favor this federal gas tax holiday this summer. What we really need is for all Americans to participate on Political Majority.com and vote on this issue. If everyone voted, it would allow congress to better see the importance whether the collective of Americans is for or against such movement.

I lived a somewhat isolated life through the many years of research on the ancient astronaut of the sixth century, pretty much wholly unaware of what was going on in the outside world with respect to UFOs, alien abductions, and the like. I had deceived myself into thinking that my ancient astronaut theory was unique and well-substantiated, and that it would quickly find some recognition from among the world’s intellectuals.

Recently, a couple of Secret Space DVDs enlightened me on the reality of aliens in our contemporary world. The two DVDs came to us via regular mail from a British film director, as payment for granted permissions to make free use of the material on my website for a future project or projects. From those DVDs, I learned that aliens are nothing special, that human history is saturated with alien invasions, hundreds of them, and that such invasions have occurred on every continent and in every epoch of world history. The alien invasions continue to this day. It seems that NASA and the US intelligence agencies are supplying this film director, possibly on a daily basis, with film of alien spaceships invading our planet, and the director quickly turns to display that footage to us.

Beyond the UFO films, it looks like the US government also provided this film director with wide-ranging top-secret reports, detailed reports from the US military on how they used laser beam weapons to shoot down several alien spacecraft, reports from US scientists on how they back-engineered the technology found in the remnants of the downed alien spacecraft, reports from US astronauts in space about spotting alien UFOs all over the place, and a report, evidently dating from the early 1970s, from US astronauts on the Moon about having seen a row of alien spaceships parked along the edge of a crater. It was unclear if the US government also provided the director with the faked pictures of the lunar landing in 1969 or if he got them from another source. In any case, I see nothing wrong with NASA trying to commercialize the historic event by selling fake pictures to cover aspects of the event not filmed directly.

The Secret Space DVDs revealed to me one underlying and undeniable truth: no branch of the US government, its military or intelligence agencies, has ever had any contact with aliens whatsoever, and no branch of the US government is covering up anything. When the US government initiated the alien disinformation campaign decades ago, it was widely believed that contact with aliens was forthcoming and that this could prove harmful. Contact with aliens is no longer believed to be imminent; nonetheless, the US government rigorously continues the disinformation campaign just as a precaution. Of course, contact with civilized aliens could still prove harmful. For example, it could harm the US government’s plans to continue the slaughter in Iraq, and it could harm the US government’s plans to put nuclear weapons into orbit. Indeed, with the need to come to grips with extraterrestrial life, people are likely to become far less tolerate of human beings killing each other, and we might also witness a surge in war protests from around the world.

I congratulate the US government on their brilliant alien disinformation campaign. Some of the world’s top-ranked psychologists must have been hired to assist them. Fifty years of fabricated UFO sightings, false alien abductions, faked cover-ups, and so forth, have discredited the aliens in the public mind, to the point that a real alien, when and if one should ever appear, may be wholly ignored. In fact, this brainwashing of the masses campaign was so successful that if a real alien spacecraft were to come to Earth and then hover directly on top of the White House, they could probably succeed in explaining it away as just a secret experiment for presidential security.

In past times, people were burned at the stake for merely believing in the existence of extraterrestrial life. There seems to be less burning at the stake these days, but other than that, nothing has changed. Then, as now, extraterrestrial intelligence remains the most terrifying obstacle for war-minded humans. Naturally, the US government has taken measures to protect its military activities from all harm.

With alien spaceships now fully discredited, the only real danger for the US government is that an astronomer somewhere or another will pick up a clear, unmistakable signal from aliens in deep space. As a precaution against this devastating possibility, the US government, a long time ago, pressured the world community into agreements whereby, in the event any astronomer picks up an alien signal, that signal would have to undergo prolonged scrutiny by the US intelligence agencies before it could be announced to the world by the United Nations. SETI astronomers be forewarned. The US government does not take kindly to anyone or anything that could upset their war plans, and there can be no guarantee that the United Nations will ever announce your discovery.

A U.nited States. Air Force medical and dental team and members of the Royal Thai Air Force participated in a humanitarian mission at Thairat 72 School in Udon Thani on Feb. 6, 2007.

This was the second civil-action project and the first in northern Thailand conducted during exercise Cope Tiger 2007. Cope Tiger is one of the annual joint Thai-US exercises that are usually referred to as war games but in reality are joint training missions and humanitarian assistance.

According to Royal Thai Air Force Capt. Mathin Piyaamornmatha, the people here have no chance to receive medicine because they are in the country far from the city and they have no money.

“Today they see that the U.S. is friendly, and they have a chance to have medicine,” said Captain Piyaamornmatha.

Not only did the students and local community members get medicine, they were treated to foot massages, hair cuts, a concert by members of the Royal Thai Air Force’s 23rd Wing and a demonstration of tarkaw (a cross between volleyball and soccer). Amid all the festivities, the medical teams from U.S. Air Force units in Japan performed dental and eye exams.

“We get a chance to take a small child out of pain, which gives them a chance to concentrate on learning,” said Capt. Alan Neal of the 35th Dental Squadron at Misawa Air Base Japan.

Captain Neal said this event is more than just pulling teeth or checking eyesight; it is a two-way street of sharing.

“It is about building a relationship of trust,” Captain Neal said.

“This is a chance for the Thais to get a firsthand experience as to what type of people make up the American military,” said Senior Airman Joseph Reed, a satellite technician with the 18th Communications Squadron at Kadena AB, Japan. “Hopefully, they will know that people from other parts of the world care about them and their future.”

“Who knows? Our visit might inspire them to become dentists or expand their education,” added Captain Neal.

“This was an eye-opening experience,” said Senior Airman Hilary Easkin, a dental assistant from the 35th Dental Squadron at Misawa AB. “I came away with an appreciation for our job and our ability to help these people. They were very appreciative of our help and we were grateful for their hospitality and the chance to help them.”

Lt. Col. Michael Akiona, the 13th Air Expeditionary Group commander and KC-135 detachment commander, noted that the gifts given to the school are tokens of friendship between Thailand and the United States.

“We look forward to Cope Tiger to renew our friendship,” he said.

If you have ever participated in a goodwill mission like this, then you know that you come away feeling better than the patients that you treated.

This article does not discuss the legalities of affirmative action, I leave that to the courts. This article is solely about the philosophy of affirmative action.

According to Wikipedia, affirmative action “is a policy or a program promoting the representation in various systems of people of a group who have traditionally been discriminated against, with the aim of creating a more egalitarian society”. In my opinion, affirmative action, at least as it has been instituted in this country, is wrong, harmful, racist and prejudicial. Affirmative action, at least in this country, seems to be based, solely, on race or gender.

In example, take two male high school students, both attend the same low income area high school, one is ‘black’ and one is ‘white’. The ‘black’ student’s family, immigrated to this country from Canada fourteen years ago, his father works full time and his mother is a ’stay at home mom’. The ‘white’ student’s ancestors immigrated to this country eighty years ago, his father was killed, in a home invasion robbery, when he was six years old and his mother works part time as a waitress in a diner. The ‘black’ student has a grade point average of 3.05 with an S.A.T. score of 1085. The ‘white’ student has a grade point average of 3.55 and a S.A.T. score of 1270. Both students are polite and well mannered. Neither belongs to a gang or has any criminal record. Both want to go to a good university so both apply to U.C.L.A.. Under affirmatve action, which student would be accepted? The ‘white’ student would not be covered under affirmative action, as ‘whites’ have not traditionally been discriminated against, and no duty is owed him for being poor and fatherless (being poor and fatherless is not considered disadvantaged and the fact that he attended the same low income school as the ‘black’ student is also not considered a disadvantage for a ‘white’). The ‘black student, however, is considered disadvantaged and is considered to come from a race that has traditionally been discriminated against (The fact that his family recently came here from Canada, the fact that he has a parent that works full time and the fact that he has not suffered racial discrimination does not matter.). Under affirmative action, the ‘black’ student would not only be accepted, he would be eligible for financial aid. The ‘black’ student would go to U.C.L.A. and the ‘white’ student would probably end up at a community college.

Change the above example to a ‘black student and a ‘hispanic’ student and the ‘black’ student would be accepted because ‘blacks’ rank higher on the disadvantaged charts. Between a ‘hispanic’ and a ‘white’ the hispanic would be accepted because ‘whites’ don’t rank on the chart, neither do ‘orientals’, South East Asians or Jews. The fact that Orientals, South East Asians and Jews have been discriminated against in this country doesn’t matter as the ‘political correctness’ police in this country do not consider them, to have traditionally been discriminated against enough, to be disadvantaged. The only student that would be ranked higher on the disadvantaged chart would be a ‘black’ female student. Furthermore, a rich ‘black’ student who attended the best schools would rank the sames as a poor ‘black’ student who attended a low income school.

Some universities are no longer allowed to use affirmative action as a criteria so they now use ‘cultural diversity’ as their criteria. To me affirmative action and cultural diversity are the same thing. Both use racial and gender profiling in order to decide who is accepted. This is America and everyone is supposed to be equal and recieve equal treatment. Racial and gender profiling tells people that some races and females are less capable than others and therefore need special help in reaching their potential. Profiling harms this country by telling people that they are not all equal under the eyes of the law. Profiling tells some people that they are not as intelligent or as capable as other people and that they can’t make it without help. It tells other people that because they are ‘white’, they don’t deserve help. It rewards some people while punishing other people. This divides the country and causes, in effect, class warfare. America is a land of immigrants who should have been melded into one great class of people, Americans. To tell them that ‘blacks’, whites’, ‘hispanics’, ‘orientals’, etc. are all different and have different abilities keeps this country from being united. To grant advantages to one group over another is discriminitory and divisive. To tell ‘blacks’, ‘hispanics’ and others that they can’t make it without outside help is to tell them that that they are not as capable as ‘whites’, ‘orientals’ and others.

Some of you may be wondering why I keep placing single quotation marks around certain words like ‘black’, ‘white’, etc.. It is because I do not like using labels like ‘black’ and ‘white’ to describe people. Other words like ‘hispanic’ are, in my opinion, used improperly as they tend to catagorize people from many different countries or groups into one group. All ‘blacks’ are not the color of black, all ‘whites’ are not the color of white and all ‘hispanics’ are not necessarily of Spain or Spanish speaking (Brazilians, for example, are classified ‘hispanic’ even though they speak Portuguese and most are descended from Portugal or some African country.). As far as I am concerned all people that are American citizens (naturalized or other) or live permanently in the United State Of America are either American citizens or American residents. To label them otherwise is to denigrate, isolate and seperate them from each other. Discussing concepts, like affirmative action and cultural diversity, force the use of such labels.

The people of this country need to be brought together, not seperated. Being proud of your ancestors and your heritage is one thing, being rewarded, punished or seperated because of your ancestors or heritage is something else entirely. Being rewarded because others of your race or gender were mistreated in the past is wrong and being punished for what others of your race or gender did in the past is equally wrong. How would you like to be fined for horse stealing because you are a ‘white’ male and some other ‘white’ male stole a horse over fifty years ago or even last week? Untill all people in this country are treated equally, and with the same respect, and are given the same chances, we will never be “One nation under God, indivisable, with liberty and justice for all”. Discrimination is wrong, no matter who is being discriminated against.

Note: For any of you that object to my keeping the phrase “under God” in that last quote, tough. That is the way I say it. If you don’t want to say it that way, then don’t. Just don’t try to tell me that I can’t say it that way. To those of you that object to my using the word ‘black’ instead of the words ‘African-American’, again I say tough. To me ‘African-American’ is just as much a misnomer as ‘Hispanic’. I believe that the word ‘black’ is improper, however, I hate to use the word American when there is a hyphen before it. To me an American is an American. I didn’t write this article to be ‘politicaly correct’, I wrote this artice in order to say what I think. If you want ‘political correctness’, go elsewhere.

42 years ago, we sat in front of our television sets in complete shock. When the usually totally objective Walter Cronkite momentarily lost it on a live broadcast, he represented faces all over America, frozen in grief and disbelief.

It was an innocent time. Young, vigorous, charismatic, and eloquent, Jack Kennedy represented the dreams of the young. Into a political world filled with tired old detached men, he and his passionate New England intelligentsia swept like a fresh wind that promised a new world order and unlimited potential for all of us. We loved his accent, his hair, his humor, and his energy. We couldn’t wait to join the Peace Corps and remake the world.

For years, we quietly asked each other: Where were you when Kennedy was shot? We all knew exactly where we were and what we were doing when the news came. It was a moment frozen in time, a great divide between the promise that had shined so brightly and the unknown darkness that lay ahead after the light had been so prematurely extinguished.

Later, the cynicism of an ugly war, a string of assassinations, riots in the streets, and the paranoia of a secretive administration, would take their toll on our dreams, our desire to participate and to serve, and our belief in our leaders.

We put away our optimism, our social dedication, and our carefree belief in our ability to make a permanent difference. We moved into business, raised families, made money, and withdrew from the streets. We stopped marching, stopped voting, stopped caring. We lost our sense of trust and the heart in our fight for equality and peace slowly shriveled.

When I ask at work: Where were you when Kennedy was shot, I am greeted by blank stares from staff who weren’t even conceived in 1963. Despite the pain of that time, I feel deep sorrow for those who never had the opportunity to experience the excitement and euphoria of Camelot.

As the old saw states, “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” We lost a great and important part of ourselves on that grassy knoll in Dallas. But we are better people for the elation he gave us, the dreams he inspired, and the deep commitment to our fellow man that he generated within us.

Those who missed that rare shining moment are, all unaware, diminished in their souls. And those of us who were lucky enough to have that spirit enter our lives, however briefly, must each mourn his death alone.

Happy trails, Jack.