THE ENTERPRISE
----What language do you want use? (Sorry, I only write in English)
Is anybody else sick of having to choose what language to use when swiping a credit card at the grocery store, or using an ATM at the bank. I sure am. I want to scream--English, of course, this is America! If our elected representatives want to continue our country's great tradition of being a melting pot of immigrants that are welcomes and then become assimilated into our culture--pass a law that not only names English as the national language of the USA--also require that all of these annoying accomodations to secondary languages be removed.
----Pass A New Law
It is simple enough to change the programming such that it forces anyone who cannot read English to push a button that says "No English" and then require them to enter their Social Security Number or an alternative ID number that is only granted to legal immigrants. That will "kill two birds with one stone," forcing the assimilation into an English speaking country and also verifying the legality of the non-English speaking user--or blocking the use and reporting the card holder as an illegal immigrant.
----Farm Subsidies -- A Wasteful Legacy from a Prior Era
When are our legislators going to realize that our farm subsidies are egregious giveaways that go back to an era that is long gone. Agriculture is as much of a technology business as building cars or computers. Do auto makers or computer makers get subsidies for leaving plants idle or purposely reducing production? I don't think so. I could go on, but this area of wasteful, pork barrel spending is so far out of whack, I don't know what else to say except--HEY--YOU GUYS IN DC--WAKE UP!
----Getting Serious About Oil
If the people in DC do ever wake up except to campaign and raise funds for it, there is another initiative that should be taken--seriously pursue energy independence from these terrorist regimes. Pass a law making it a crime to buy oil from Iran, Venezuela, et. al. The big oil companies will squawk, but with the profits they are making, such a law can be implemented, without causing undue hardship on Americans. There will need to be some additional moves, like telling the tree-huggers who are protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) to get lost--go find the wildlife they are protecting and tag them or something. There are millions of acres of potential oil reserve that only occasionally are inhabited by a few elk, moose, and lesser mammals. It's barren and largely deserted up there.
----Quit Being so Soft on C.A.F.E.
Move those Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations WAY UP, and put the auto makers on the spot to hit them. Tax the big gas guzzlers still being sold, and if consumers want them, let them pay. Increase the taxes on gasoline and use the revenues to pursue National Energy Independence from all foreign sources of oil by 2010. Relieve the restrictions on nuclear power plants. Provide incentives to trucks that meet or exceed higher levels of fuel economy and change penalties to those that exceed them too much. The wonderful thing about a capitalistic, free enterprise society is that behavior will follow the money!
----Use All the Available Knowledge/Science
I believe there is plenty to technological know how for the US to be independent of foreign oil. It will take using a multitude of avenues: alternative energy sources (nuclear, wind, solar, oil shale, etc), offshore and ANWR drilling, reductions in consumption (SOCCER MOMS DO NOT NEED TO DRIVE 2-TON BEHEMOTHS), use of known technology in all kinds of vehicles (aerodynamics, lighter materials, latest engine technologies, size reductions, ethanol, etc.)--but it is feasible and possible IF WE ARE DETERMINED TO DO IT--A "MAN ON THE MOON" KIND OF EFFORT.
The by products wouldn't be bad either--less global warming, less consumption of natural resources, new spin-off technologies, etc. AND WE'LL QUIT FUNDING THOSE MILITANTS THAT WANT TO KILL US--and that isn't a bad reason by itself. Go ahead, send this to your Senators and Congressmen, but don't do it by email--I'm convinced that they ignore most emails. Print it and send it in an envelope. Maybe if enough of us do it, they'll actually wake up and start thinking straight.
Best, John
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