I can't help but feel dread at America's future. Unless the good people of this country wake up, they will learn all too late that they no longer live in a free country.

We already allow ourselves to be disillusioned into believing that "We the People" really applies to the average citizen. Our country is currently not being run by and for "..the people", rather it is run by and for a select few people who run the major corporations. These people have systematically bought every available politician they can.

Todays elected officials only need us for one thing, our vote. After that they feel secure in the fact that they can do whatever they like until it is time to lie to us to get us to re-elect them again. And the cycle continues.

It started with Ronald Regan with "little things" like the barricades on the Over Seas Highway. Stopping every single vehicle trying to exit the keys to search them for drugs. Not "some of them" but all of them, without search warrants contrary to the US Constitution.

Most recent attacks have taken shape over the past decades with things like the militarization of our police departments. Many are now armed like small armies and use tactics more reminiscent of the Gestapo than of what America expects of it's "protectors". Unannounced raids on public schools seeking drugs in full riot gear...no drugs found.

Waco Texas: Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385) prohibits the use of the US Military in law enforcement actions on US Soil unless on Federal Property. Under a democratic president ( Bill Clinton ) Jane Reno and the FBI called in military troops to take over the compound, resulting in many deaths including all of the children living there...(remember, this raid was to protect the children).

911, NYC: Yes, this was a bad thing. But the Bush administration with a all-too-eager congress took great advantage of this act of terrorism to scare us into handing him more power than belongs with the President. The so-called Patriot Act ( think double-speak and George Orwell's 1984 ) was a document designed to take away American Citizens freedoms.

Afghanistan: In consideration of 9-11 and Afghan's support of and control by Al Qaeda, I can't complain a lot about this, they kind of had that coming.

Iraq: This is nothing but big business, Cheney and his cronies trying to lock up Mideast oil. Lies to congress apparently did not cause any loss of sleep in the White house as long as they could be sure to secure no-bid multi-billion dollar contracts for Cheney's Halliburton. We hear about American casualties every day. We are never told how many innocent Iraqi's died at our hands.

Bush is talking about making new "treaties" with the interim leaders in Iraq for a continued military presence there by US forces. Perhaps for 100 years. Our war in the middle east has already lasted longer than our involvement in WW II. Despite the fact that the President must have a vote of Congress to enter a treaty, don't be surprised if he pens a deal on his own.

Bush is not yet but should be famous for his extensive use of "signing statements" deceitful documents are signed by Bush at the time he signs a new bill into law. For the most part what they say is that he ( President Bush ) does not feel obligated to obey the law he just signed into law, that he has no obligation to honor his Oath of Office.

What this also means is that he has decided to ignore his oath of office which states:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. "

The oath or affirmation of office of the President of the United States was established in the United States Constitution and is mandatory for a President upon beginning a term of office. The wording is prescribed by the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Clause 8)

As president and chief of the executive branch of government, it is his legal duty to uphold, obey and enforce the laws promulgated by Congress. His sighing those laws is what makes them THE LAW. But his use of signing statements is saying, in a deceitful and underhanded way that he has no respect for laws passed by congress and may, or may not obey or enforce those laws..depending on his mood at the time.

Again, looking at the Constitution and the President. Illegal wiretapping without a warrant. Bush did ( does? ) it. He is supposed to know better. He is supposed to look to the Constitution to see what is right and wrong then, by his oath, he is required, to abide by the law of the land.

Who owns America? We, the People? Not now. We the people have been relegated to being the labor force used to support big business. At least what labor force they have yet been able to export to China, India or other nations. If you think politicians listen to you, think again. They listen to money, the kind of big money their major corporate sponsors trow at them to do their bidding. They acknowledge our existence only at election time until they have thrown enough bull shit at us on TV and radio to con us into voting for them again, then we no longer matter.

To die or not to die. In America, despite years and years of talk on Capitol Hill, it is still common for as many as 18,000 Americans to die each year because they can't afford health care. Rest assured that if you pay your taxes, you have bought the best health care money can buy for Congress and the President. What have they done for you in return? The people who own America have the best too, so if they lose a few workers...you can be replaced by someone in India.

Record Oil Profits: Who got that money? Exxon, Shell, BP etc. You pay more at the pump and they claim it is because of the increase in their cost of oil. If they have record, multi-billion dollar profits what does this tell you about their "price structure" as related to what they pay OPEC for oil? If they kept the same markup over cost, which has already made them very wealthy in the first place, how is it they rape ( oops reap ) such huge profits? Simple, they took advantage of us to pack more money into stockholders pockets. Where do Bush and Cheney come from? The Oil Industry. Who paid for their election?

Florida or Bust: I will not dwell upon, but merely mention the Florida Election. The lost, uncounted ballots, hanging chads or the fact that Al Gore won the popular vote. Bush & Bush ( brother Jeb ) may have stolen the first election in history.

Tax Cuts: Who got what and why? Bush / GOP loves to promise tax cuts. Americans buy the crap every time, forgetting that "We the People" never get those cuts. GOP cuts are handed out to those with the most money..so they can keep even more money. They claim they do this based on the "trickle down" theory of economics. ( Excuse me while I hold my sides to stop the pain of laughter ). When did anything last trickle down to you or me?

Debt, credit and Middle America: You are probably in debt. You probably owe your money to a big bank. Big banks were recently successful in getting Congress ( who are supposed to represent you and me ) to pass legislation making it harder for you or me to file bankruptcy. It is, after all, more important to Congress that they protect wealthy shareholders than to protect us.

Did I say "Middle America"? That used to represent the majority of Americans around whom the country was built and who was to be served in our best interest by those we elected to represent us. This is still in the middle...but of what? An ever increasing lower or poor class of people and richer and richer upper class American has squeezed us in the middle until we are a threatened species. I read someplace the other day that 1 in 5 children in America is born into poverty.

An article on the Heritage Foundation's ( right wing ) web site downplays poverty. They state, "There are two main reasons that American children are poor: Their parents don't work much, and fathers are absent from the home." What they don't state is why these conditions exist. Parent's ( note plural because in Middle America both have to work to support a family. ) don't work much. Could this be lack of jobs, lack of education? Or Fathers are absent from the home. This is true. Congress has passed so many mandatory drug sentencing laws that most of these absent fathers are probably in prison for a minor drug offenses, leaving the state to pay to raise their children. It also goes back to big corporation sending more and more of their jobs overseas so they don't have to pay an American a decent wage, leading to fewer jobs that might otherwise be available to those less educated.

Education: This is really sad. We pay more attention and as much or more money locking people in cages. ( more on that later ). The people who currently own America want a dumbed down population. They don't want us to be smart enough to see what they are doing, or to have the intellectual tools to do something about it. They want us just enough educated with with what they want us to know, to buy into their scams. We are doing a pitiful job compared to other developed countries at providing a good education. We do have some great private schools and universities, but these are increasingly out of reach economically for more and more Americans. We are moving toward a society where only the elite among us can afford a quality education. The rest of us are, after all, just going to be here to server as their labor force anyway.

I have always wondered why the Federal Government and Congress even has it's fingers in education. Why do we have a Department of Education? The feds don't manage schools or colleges. These are managed and funded on the state lever where the people are closer to their own problems and needs. You guessed it. Money. Take from the poor and give to the rich, and to useless bureaucrats. When the federal tax man takes money from you and gives it to the Department of Education, how much comes back to your school? How much sticks in DC to pay salaries, benefits or pet projects of some Congressman in some other state? I say disband this department completely and let the local jurisdictions collect tax and manage their own schools.

Justice in America: The poor education preferred by politicians has served them well. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, most Americans will proudly declare we have the best justice system in the world. To that I counter that what we really have is "..the best justice money can buy". Like everything else here, our justice is what we can afford. Ask your typical attorney how much he/she charges per hour for their time. Look in bank account. How much time can you afford to buy? Do you have legal insurance? Do you keep that policy where you have your health insurance?

Civil suits are not that uncommon. People with legitimate claims can often get help with no out-of-pocket thanks to attorneys who will take a case on a contingency basis. If they feel confident they can squeeze the defendant out of a settlement. These cases typically do not go to court. But if you have a good case but can't document to an attorney how much he can earn, good luck getting representation. Want to sue Exxon? Ha, even with a good case try to find an attorney who will take on the case unless you pony up a sizable retainer.

Criminal Case: Sure, you are entitled to a free, over burdened, sometimes incompetent public defender. You are not going to get the resources needed to defend yourself any where near on par with those available to the state that is trying to prosecute you. Need a private lab test or investigator to counter state's shaky evidence? Pay or go without. Want some extra face time with your PD? Probably too busy. Some may never see you until the day of the trial. Don't get me wrong, these people are often dedicated and smart, but just have too many cases and too few resources. They are funded by the same taxes that pay to prosecute you but do not get proportionately near as much money to work with. Not satisfied with being tossed into the mote with the luck of the draw for defense? Call an attorney to represent you...sell your house because you will need it to pay your bills. He won't do a thing until his pockets are properly lined. And there are no money back guarantees. You pay whether you win or lose.

Prisons and Jails: Ever hear the term, "Club Fed" which implies that going to a federal prison is like a vacation. It is easy to sigh up...try it sometime then write me how you like it. Prisons in America are some of the worst on earth and getting worse all the time. Crime does not go down in proportion to the number of America Citizens we put in a cage. In fact it is probably being increased as a direct result of our prison boom. ( Yes, big companies find many ways to make a huge profit here as well. ) We have, per capita, more Americans behind bars than any other nation on earth. These are not the wealthy among us of course. They can pay for better justice than most of us. Also they own the politicians that write the laws that define what is a crime. What they do to us is never a "crime" with few exceptions. Enron did send some excessively greedy people to jail but they were stupid and did not steal in the "acceptable" ways open to CEOs. An example had to be set to protect future corporate raiders from the same mistakes.

Most of our jails are filled with first time, non-violent minor drug offenders. Many of these had jobs and supported a family. Their children are without a mom or dad. The states are paying to raise their children and to house their parents. The question that comes to mind when I think about this absurd situation is, if we say drugs are bad and we put people in prison for using them, is it official government policy that prison is better for these people than the drugs are? I have always been in favor of decriminalization of drugs. It is crime associated with the fact that they are illegal that is the real cause of trouble. But we seem to be lacking memory as a nation. Remember prohibition? The crime created by trying to ban alcohol is still with us to this day. They just moved on to illegal drugs. Billions sent to Colombia and not one tax dollar collected. Meanwhile tobacco has killed millions. Far more addictive than most drugs. Oh I forgot. That is big business with it's own stable of bought and paid for politicians to protect it.

Christian Right: I'm all for having a belief system. According to our constitution you are entitled to have whichever system of belief suits you and to not have the government dictate otherwise or to include or exclude you from ANYTHING based upon your beliefs. This includes a right to a lack of a belief as well. Bush and his "Christian Majority" would like to have a religious state replace our system, one that glorifies only the Christian faith. At the same time, Bush declares Iran, A nation governed by a religion of their choosing, an "evil empire". Would say that about a "Christian" nation?

Our founding fathers had it right. They did acknowledge their belief system as was appropriate for them, but at the same time the understood that their beliefs were not necessarily the beliefs of others and that everyone had a right to believe as they wish without having to fear from their government. We were founded in part, by people who were fleeing religious persecution. People who understood how important it was to draw a line between what the government does and what we choose to believe. Religious belief belongs in the homes and churches to be practiced by its believers. Having them incorporated into our government is the same as incorporating the blind because so many followers are and will remain blind to any alternative that does not fit their personal reality. America needs to belong equally to all.

For all the above and many more ideas not stated yet, I say to America WAKE UP ! I see only one solution available to us "The People" to take back America and re-make it to its former glory. The root cause of our problems resides in two interconnected, inter-dependant groups of people. Big Business and Politicians in their debt.

You and I have one thing they need to continue in their present course towards total control of our future and our lives. Our vote.

To those who do not vote I say "Shame on you" and you get what you deserve in the form of bad government and a failing economy.

To those who do vote but do so based on political campaign lies and slander, I also say "Shame on You" because you are selling out to the person who was able to buy the most ads using money donated to them by big business.

The internet is a wonderful place to learn. Use it. Listen to news. Not US news, they are part of the problem and part of the "plan" to keep voters ignorant. Check out BBC, Canadian and European news, easily available on line.

We have a campaign upon us now. It is too late for this go-round. We can only hope we elect someone who is not as dangerous as the current batch of politicians.

There is a definition of insanity that says it is, "to continue to do the same thing over and over while expecting different results". Re electing politicians is no different. If we keep re electing the same people we will keep having the same results. My solution is really simple if we can get enough people to go along with it. Don't re elect anyone!

First time around with a whole new congress, all the corporate fat cats will have to try to buy them all over again. If they succeed and you don't see what you deserve, repeat the process, don't re elect them. Send in a new team again. It won't take long for them and big business to get the message. Congress is supposed to represent the voters and if we don't get that representation we will try someone else until they get it right.

Paul Kruger ( PDF COPY )