This is not a Country that has recently merged with another Country of foreign speakers. The 50 states of America has been a Country (The U.S.A.) for hundreds of years, and we have known no other Language in this Country.

So, why, I ask you… is there a need for “Press 1 for English”?

Once a representative does come on the line to answer your questions, you guessed it…. Not an American. You will have to repeat yourself many times to get the barely-English-speaking individual to understand what you are saying. And needless to say, you will have to ask them to repeat themselves numerous times. And the majority of the time, people complain because their issues were never resolved (when calling support).

When Americans are ill or injured and must rush to the local Emergency Room, guess who will be your Doctor? Not an American, and not someone you can understand. But in fact, you will have to ask the nurse to please translate for you what the foreign speaking, bad English gentleman just said.

Each time you receive calls from “Unknown” or “Restricted”, guess who is on the other end of the line? A poor-English-speaking telemarketer. These are companies that most would not purchase from when they were all American. Why do they think that having foreigners making the call would increase the chances?

The answer is because our Government has allowed foreigners to not only move into our Country, but they are also enforcing their every demand.

Yes, there need to be changes made in the Great U.S.A. And this needs to be one of them.

Most of us will either celebrate this weekend with relatives or close family to share our time with and the members of our military forces deployed will not have those same advantages. We should always keep all of our freedom and enjoyment of our holidays in perspective and thank our veterans and service members for the job and jobs they have done and are doing. Because without their sacrifice none of our holidays and celebrations would have any meaning.

When we go out and celebrate our great democracy and all of the freedoms and liberties we all hold true please consider how we are able to keep them and cherish them. Our veterans from the past and the current veterans and members of our armed forces keep all of our freedoms and liberties bright and shining for the rest of the world to only dream about.

Celebrate all of our holidays and always consider the ones among us whom rarely speak but have given more than some and less than those that gave the ultimate sacrifice in whom we can never repay enough respect for.

As this year goes along, now finishing the Democratic National Convention, let all of us take one step back and a deep breath of air and then as we slowly allow the air to escape our mouths and noses, think of the freedom and liberty you enjoy then find a veteran or member of the military and shake their hand and show that we Americans do hold these individuals in high esteem.

Holidays in general should be happy and joyous occasions but this year on this Labor Day there seems to be so much controversy in our nation and our economy is rapidly loosing ground while most of the costs we pay to buy our food and transportation fuels are going up much higher and faster than we can afford for very much longer.

I still personally have faith and hope in the citizens of our great nation to rise up and unite with one loud stern voice with full depth and devotion saying "Let's make America greater than anyone could dream!"

But, what people have forgotten, is that the Constitution says we have the right to stand up and be heard. It gives us all the power, and the voice. The first three words of the preamble says, "We the people"... "WE THE PEOPLE"!!!!!

Not we the congress, or we the politicians. But we the people. The Constitution guarantees us, as Americans, the right to assemble, the right to choose our own religion, the right to make our own choices, the right to speak. But, since America has been been sissified, they are allowing the beast, that is liberal fascism, to rear its ugly head. We have failed to do our duties as Americans and have allowed people who wish to turn our country into a socialist state, to be voted into office. But the bad part is, the people who are doing the most complaining, are the people that voted for the very person they are complaining about. And now that the very freedoms that our founding fathers have fought and died for are in jeopardy, they do nothing about it.

But that's not where it ends, people are now afraid to speak whats on their mind for fear of hurting someones feelings. and if someone gets their feelings hurt, they run straight for their local affirmative action office, and cry them a river. and between then and now, we have lost our spines. we don't work for politicians. the politicians work for us. plain and simple.

look people. we need to educate ourselves again, and start fighting back against those who would desecrate our country for their own personal gain. we need to teach a more detailed American history class and devote more time to teaching our kids the Constitution, and its principals in our schools. we need to get rid of those in Congress who stand in the way of our country moving forward, and keep others like them from getting in. now is the time to take a stand. Now is the time to put our country back on track. Use your voice. And use it loudly.

Terrorism refers to acts of violence which are global in terms of aims organization and impact. These acts can lest social bonds of the people in a multiracial society and can divide the people. Race and religion may be used to create ill feelings among the different ethnic groups and in turn pose threat to the racial and religious harmony which threatens the peace in a multiracial society.

One example of terrorism threat includes threats from the group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Members of the JI are involved in fund raising and purchase of materials for making weapons such as bombs. Targets were made to bomb the US embassy and some governmental buildings such as Ministry of Education. Therefore such threats disrupt the peaceful harmony.

The arrest of members of terrorist groups may strain the relationship between racial and religious groups. People of different racial and religious groups might be suspicious of each other especially when the arrested member may be of a certain religious group or race. People may not want to live or work with someone who may be suspicious of being in cahoots with terrorists. Thus there is an urgent need to ensure social cohesion is not affected by JI arrests. The existence of strained relationships can cause peace to be much threatened when such a threat continues to be left attended by authorities.

However, the perception of different racial groups is also a factor that could pose a threat to a multiracial society. The lack of understanding among racial gropes can create suspicion and unhappiness among the people. This could then lead to outbreaks of violence among racial groups; creating the impression of the society being chaotic.

For example, in 1964, Singapore experienced racial riots which resulted in 36 people dead and over 500 others injured simple because there was a different perception of different social groups. The racial riots came about when People's Action Party (what is known as PAP nowadays) participated in the Federal Election in Malaysia calling for a non-communal approach to Malaysian politics and the creation of a Malaysia where everyone would be given equal rights and privileges. As a result, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) felt that their existence was being threatened by such a request and they immediately called for an ‘Anti-PAP' campaign which involved the portrayal of the PAP resettlement and redevelopment programs as ‘Anti-Malay'.

In addition, the Malay newspaper-Utusan Melayu was used by the UMNO to spread anti-PAP messages. Ultimately, the racial riots broke out after a clash between a Chinese policeman and a group of Malay participants of Prophet Muhammad's birthday. However, the different perceptions of different racial could be in turn be used by the terrorists to create a racial riot or to wreck havoc and create chaos in the country.

Also, the differences in religious beliefs and practices are also issues that can be used to create tension among people in Singapore. This can elevate to become and outbreak of violence among religious groups.

One example is the Maria Hertogh riots in the 1950s. In 1940, a Dutch couple was imprisoned by the Japanese Troops. They place their daughter, Maria Hertogh, under the care of a Malay lady, Aminah. Maria was raised as a Muslim and was married to a Muslim teacher at the age of 13.

However, after World War II, her parents demanded Maria to be returned to them, and a court trial followed. The court trial had wide media coverage and this provoked much unhappiness among the Muslim community as the custody was given to the Hertoghs.

The large Muslim crowd outside the court felt that the British legal system had sided with the western and was unfair to the Muslims. This sparked off hatred and anger towards the Eurasian community. Finally when the new about Maria's marriage with the Muslim teacher was annulled ad Maria admitted to the Christian convert, the Muslims felt betrayed and a violent riot broke out.

Thus this shows that the difference in religious beliefs can pose a threat to a multiracial society. If the interests of religious groups are not managed properly, violence would still strike off. However, terrorists groups like the JI are always trying a recreate such violent histories over the time which could then allow them to weaken the government; giving them a chance to completely wreck havoc on the country.

As a result, it is agreeable to a large extent that terrorism poses the greatest threat to peace in a multi-racial society because terrorism is all around us; we can never predict what may be the next course of plans set by these terrorist organizations. In addition, we can never be able to completely crush terrorism since there will always contradicting ideologies which can lead to further seeding of more terrorist groups arising; therefore, though we may have many ways to ethnical problems and counter-terrorism, we can and will never be able stop terrorism from happening all around us.

As I stated before, this is only the side that the media has given us. I, personally, am disgusted by the Canadian government for allowing this family to think that they could live here, and purchase a home, and then just kick them out. It isn't fair in my mind. Especially when they were going to open a business which is great for our economy and would provide new job opportunities. It is possible that they only wanted to move here for free health care, but I'm not buying that one. Hopefully they will appeal the government's decision and there will be a better outcome.

1. Tibet has been part of China's territory since the 1200's A.D. (Yuan Dynasty)

   Many people believe that China stole Tibet's independence 50 years ago; however, the truth is, since the 13th century, Tibet has mostly been a protectorate of the Chinese Empire; only during the turmoil at the end of the Qing Dynasty (around 1900) did the Tibetans gain a brief independence. (NPR.org).
   
   
   

2. Tibet cannot possibly prosper as an independent nation.

   Tibet is a landlocked mountainous nation that lacks natural resources. Most of the resources used there are brought over from eastern China.



3. Contrary to beliefs, the Dalai Lama wants only a greater degree of autonomy for Tibet, not independence.

   Please refer to the website of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
   

4. Contrary to beliefs, Tibetans do have the freedom to worship their religion.

5. Contrary to beliefs, the Chinese government is actually trying to preserve Tibetan culture and landmarks because they attract tourism.
   
   

6. Tibetan wages are the 2nd highest of all provinces in China.

   Please refer to the website of the BBC.
   

7. Tibetans do not have to obey the 1-child policy.

8. Tibetans have gained much higher living standards.

   After China regained Tibet in the 1950s, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure were built. Life expectancy for Tibetans has increased from 35.5 in 1950 to 67 in 2000. (BBC News).
   

9. Old Tibet's Feudal Theocracy

   Before the 1950s, Tibet was a theocratic despotism ruled by aristocratic monks who lived like kings. Not only did the peasants (the majority of the population) of Tibet not have any rights, they were extorted by the monks as serfs and forced to pay extremely high taxes. Since most of them could not pay off their taxes in their lifetime, the taxes passed down to their children and entire generations had to work as slaves. (Parenti, Michael. Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth).
   

10. Old Tibet's Evil Society

    The religious teachings of old Tibet emphasized that the poor and suffering are that way because of their wicked ways of previous lives. This is why the Tibetan serfs never revolted against society. In feudal Tibet, because it was against Buddhist teachings to take someone's life, torture and mutilation - including eye gouging, the pulling out of tongues, hamstringing, and amputation - were favored punishments inflicted upon thieves, and runaway or resistant serfs. In 1951, China came in and immediately put an end to these practices; the Tibetan people at that time actually welcomed the Chinese soldiers as liberators. (Parenti, Michael. Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth).

On March 14, 2008, Tibetans started a large scale riot in Lhasa, attacking and murdering people of Chinese ethnicity on the streets, and burning and looting shops and buildings belonging to people of Chinese ethnicity. In light of these actions, two rhetorical questions present themselves: What difference is there between the actions of these people and that of terrorists? And, how is a group of terrorists worthy of such pity from the international community?

Please do not blindly advocate an idea or movement just because so many other people are doing it. One should always take the time to first research both sides of the idea or movement and decide for oneself which side is more logical.

We are all running around pointing fingers at major oil companies, the federal government, even the guy that runs the local service station for adding to our gas woes. But how many of us are looking at our own state as a major contributor? Let's take a look.

California

The "Green" capital of the world 74.9 tax cents per gallon By the way, can you count how many oil refineries are scheduled to be built in this state? Try 0

The bad news is that taxes will likely be growing in the near future as they continue down the road of a budget crisis.

Connecticut

Will the State Legislative branch cap future increases?

Not likely. At 70.8 tax cents per gallon, democrats still do not see a need to stop raising the gross receipts tax on their wholesale price of gas.

Illinois

Abe Lincoln is no doubt, turning in his grave. At 66.6 tax cents per

gallon, the counties also collect their own fair share, up to 4 cents in a few.

New York

Home to our own Hillary Clinton, who promised to address

sky rocketing gas prices while campaigning for President of the United States.

62.3 tax cents per gallon consists of state, local county sales, a petroleum business tax, a spill tax and a petroleum-testing fee tax. Well, somebody has to pay for it!

Michigan

Now here's a new angle for fast cash- .875 cents per gallon help make up the 60.7 tax cents a gallon. I hope the other states don't see this.

Indiana

Being a life long Hoosier, this makes me want to cry. 56.9 tax cents per gallon, 1% just added on July 1st in order to reduce a raise in real estate taxes. Thank you Gov. Mitch Daniels!

Washington

Just this month, an increase of 1.5 cents a gallon brought total tax cents to 55.9.

Florida

No shocker here. 51.6 tax cents per gallon is tied to the Consumer price index so every time inflation creeps up, so does the price of fuel. A new increase just took effect in January 2008.

Wisconsin

51.3 tax cents per gallon of gas seems almost thievery with all of bio resources close at hand. Although most of this tax was imposed in 2006, other add ons, such as an undergroud storage tank fee continue to push it upward.

Nevada and Hawaii

Both states share 10th place at 51 tax cents a gallon Clean up and inspection fees, county taxes, plus a city gas tax in Honolulu are reasons behind a rising tax. Will a decrease in vacation traffic merit yet another increase?

The monopoly of reasons that our states continue to use to hide behind only proves that our own local governments will not budge to give up what they feel is essential as the oil game steams. Shame on you, top ten. It's time to step up and offer assistance to your own.

I know I am hoping against hope that the government would stop trying to baby us and make us feel safe and secure and let the citizens face the facts so that we can all work on these problems together. It is such an elitist attitude to lie to your constituents and tell them is hunky-dory in order to assuage public turmoil for the sake of staying in power. Who was the last politician to take responsibility for the plummeting economy, or the failure to discover the weapons of mass destruction, or 9/11? They don't care about anything related to the public until election time comes around, then they will kiss all the babies they can find, glad hand some oil tycoons and wear a permanent smile. We need to stand up for what is right, claw the veil away from our eyes and see the truth for ourselves: The country is in turmoil folks. We are headed for a large depression, the U.S. Dollar is way down, unemployment is way up and we're still focusing entirely too much on exterior issues more than we are focused on our own country. Wake up people.

In today's crime world, anyone can pay and get private information from companies on the web. A simple search of “buy social security numbers” will return sites that allow anyone to buy stolen information, including your name, your address, your credit card and social security numbers. Thieves have come up with ingenious ways to funnel this money to hinder law enforcement. One example is from The Boston Globe, “At least 45.7 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen by hackers who ... credit card numbers to buy more than $8 million worth of gift cards.”

The majority of today's identity theft complaints come from retail stores who maintain electronic records that were compromised by a stolen computer or by an insure network. However there are still a significant amount of complaints from banks, hospitals, and charitable organizations. With so much consumer information available it seems like there is no end to this crime. Increasingly companies are slow to react and issue a press release when they know their records or networks have been compromised. Its only after someone discovers their identity has been stolen do businesses come out and tell the dozens of other people affected that there may be a problem. If you try to contact a company to alert them you have an account with them you didn't authorize, they let you talk to someone who doesn't think your telling the truth. The company may ask for forms and information that are difficult to track down. In the end it is an uphill battle.

There are several companies that make claims to protect your credit by monitoring the credit reporting agencies for a fee. They claim they will be liable for up to a certain dollar amounts if your identity is stolen. This doesn't sound too bad, except is my personal information so readily available for Mr. Criminal that I need to pay a company to protect me. My piece of mind is worth a lot but the cost of a monthly service to protect my good name and credit history is just unthinkable for me.

I would like to see the federal government along with the state legislatures enact legislation that would shut down these sites or fine the server. Restrict trade with a county that refuses to work together to put a stop to identity theft. Fine businesses that allow customer records to be stolen, and levy even bigger fines against companies that don't immediately report the theft when they discover it. This issue is a major one, credit affects your and my ability to buy auto insurance, get a house, a job, to be able to borrow money when we really need it such as for health insurance deductibles. With the estimated amounts of loss in the billions each year its time someone did more than what is being done now. That's my two cents take them before their stolen and turned into a gift card.

The revolting FISA legislation has been approved by Congress and signed by a victorious president. The 60-odd US Senators who voted in favor of this no-compromise, compromise legislation have my permission to use “the Chicken-hearted” after their names as an accurate label. Our right to privacy, and the right to free speech are more significantly compromised than ever before.

One of the most publicized of the arguments was whether telecommunications carriers should be held immune from prosecution for their part in illegally (as it turned out) tapping communications without a warrant from the FISA court. The people who represent US citizens decided that telecoms get a “get out of jail free” card; worse, warrantless taps are still supported by telecoms when there is a letter of permission from the attorney general and the director of national intelligence. This is an extension of the “trust me” requirement that the executive branch is so fond of. I would think the job approval ratings would make it clear that we want government in the “trust but verify” zone. Anyway, I would suggest that legal scholars challenge the entire theory of accomplice liability…there is now precedent to suggest that, under certain circumstances, aiding and abetting a criminal activity should not be prosecutable.

We are often told that during an emergency we must sacrifice our liberties for security. Benjamin Franklin confirms that this is less than wise when he said: “Those who sacrifice liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” But liberty versus safety is not a real trade-off. In the US today, it merely represents a change in menaces. Yes, government snooping may coerce or intimidate certain people, but the government suggests that this will make the commonwealth freer. So, we presume, would be holding prisoners without trial, torture (pardon me, intense questioning), and leading Congress around by the nose through fear and political intimidation. There is no real tradeoff because the fear continues to exist, but the threat comes not from foreign terrorists alone but from our own government. One legislator said that there are no civil rights when you are dead. Yes, but they are typically worth dying for, as many brave folk through our history have done.

So the US federal government presents its own threats to liberty. Its claims of promoting greater total liberty - that the threats from one's own government are less than the threats from the "outside" - are difficult to substantiate and are, I suggest, invalid.

Let's look at privacy for a moment. There is no specific right to privacy in the Constitution, although elements of such a right can be gleaned from the First, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution. The most frequently quoted statement by a Supreme Court justice on the subject of privacy comes in Justice Brandeis's dissent in Olmstead v. U. S. (1928):

"The makers of our Constitution understood the need to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness, and the protections guaranteed by this are much broader in scope, and include the right to life and an inviolate personality -- the right to be left alone -- the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men. The principle underlying the Fourth and Fifth Amendments is protection against invasions of the sanctities of a man's home and privacies of life. This is a recognition of the significance of man's spiritual nature, his feelings, and his intellect."

Another such thought was articulated by Thurgood Marshall in Stanley vs Georgia. He wrote: “Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds." What is the chilling effect on speech that the FISA act offers but a subtle effort at controlling minds?

But perhaps I am being harsh when I impugn government's motives for wanting to subvert free speech and privacy. Even if I am, it doesn't matter. Justice William O. Douglas reminds us: "What we must remember, however, is that preservation of liberties does not depend on motives. A suppression of liberty has the same effect whether the suppressor be a reformer or an outlaw. The only protection against misguided zeal is constant alertness to infractions of the guarantees of liberty contained in our Constitution. Each surrender of liberty to the demands of the moment makes easier another, larger surrender. . ."

I wish Congress had noticed that.