Dear Senator Allen,
Hello. My name is Jeremy Bol from the state of Virginia. I am aware that you may be one of the candidates for the Presidency in 2008 and was hoping I could bend your ear for a few moments about the issues you believe in. Better yet, I’ll explain the issues as I see them and you can see how well they jibe with what I have listed. This should give us both an opportunity to see how things are viewed. First, I will get an idea of what sort of candidate you will be come election time and second, you will get valuable data on what at least one person is highly concerned with.
Here is a list of issues in no particular order:
Immigration Reform – This topic is on the mind of many Americans and is a real concern of ours. We believe that little to nothing is being done to shore up the gaping hole that our border provides. Not only does it cause a security risk due to the potential for terrorists or terrorist sympathizers to slip in, but it also hemorrhages money out of the U.S. and into Mexico. I’m sure you’re aware that the second biggest industry besides oil in Mexico is the cash flow from illegal commuters across our border. This needs to be fixed. Please be the man who can do it.
Oil and Gas – Since early 2001 we have seen the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline go from around a dollar a gallon to close to three dollars a gallon. Now I’ve been behind Bush for pretty much everything to date but this just looks bad. I know that the bill Jimmy Carter signed effectively banned the creation of new refineries but the truth of the matter is that the oil companies are reaping the benefits. Their returns are higher than they’ve ever been and there is no real excuse in their reasons for the gas hikes. Might I suggest restrictions on what oil companies can charge over the cost of production and the allowance of more refineries throughout the U.S.?
Alternative Fuels – Fuel efficient or alternative fuel vehicles will not be enough to quell our dependency on oil. We need to work on alternative energies. Building more wind and solar power is a good source and currently only produces about 1% of America’s energy. If you add hydroelectric you’ve then covered a total of 5%. There is plenty of room for improvement in this area. I would say there’s about 95% room for improvement in this area.
In addition to the use of alternative energies we need to devote some research into making the alternative technologies better. Most of the technologies we are using for our modern alternative energy sources are more than twenty years old. It needs to be updated just as badly as the space shuttle does.
Religion In School – This is a confusing issue for many people. Should we teach creation right next to evolution? Where do we draw the line? Well, I think I have the answer. We need to do what most colleges do. Have a religion class. Most colleges teach religion by giving you pieces of all religion. I believe this is the way to go. You satisfy the need to keep religious views out of school but satisfy the need to teach young minds what all the religious fuss is about. It presents all the options, including atheism.
Disaster Assistance – This may only be the topic of the hour but it continues to bring the stinging reality that FEMA has problems. Rarely if ever have I seen FEMA conduct business in a painless manner. Every time a disaster has occurred in the past FEMA has been there with long lines as requests for paperwork that just might have been taken out in the flood, hurricane, tornado, fire, etc. This I just off the top of my head, but it might work to have the FEMA database tied into all of the insurance databases so this paper shuffle is no necessary. It would save everyone the time and hassle of long lines and confusing paperwork. It would get people away from the beggar’s lines and back on the rebuilding lines. Of course, that’s just an idea. I haven’t seen it work in practicality anywhere as of yet.
Abortion – This is not a major issue of the day. I don’t know why people think this is a deciding factor for how the President will be but it seems rather foolish to believe that how someone believes on this one issue will control his entire outlook on how best to steer America. Besides, as far as I can remember it’s the judiciary that has a say on this topic, not the executive.
I hope this hasn’t been too much ranting for a busy person like you to read. I do hope you will be able to respond and explain your ideas and areas of concentration. It would greatly benefit my decision-making come election time. Thank you for your time.
One last thing, I am posting this letter on my weblog and will be posting your response as well. I will not be editing either one as I intend for my readers to see your unedited and unbiased statements.
Jeremy H. Bol
Virginia Resident
http://warmonger.mu.nu
Jeremy.bol@gmail.com
If you would like to send a message or ask a question of Senator Allen of Virginia you can do it HERE.
...and it doesn't even involve Geico.
Roberts has been approved by the Committee to go to the full senate floor.
Three Democrats joined the committee's 10 majority Republicans in a 13-5 vote to advance the conservative judge's nomination to the full Senate.
Dianne Frankenstein of California
Joseph Biden of Delaware
Edward "Chappaquidick" Kennedy of Massachusetts
Charles Schumer of New York
Dick "The Turban" Durbin of Illinois
Yawn...no surprises there. God forbid one of these line toting schmucks vote for the intelligent choice. The whole two party system may collapse upon itself! Even if you've watched only one sound bite of the man you know he's the right man for the job. The best I can guess is the above noted senators voted against him on the principle that John so totally decimated their arguments that they had to do something to get him back. Otherwise you can just call them stupid.
Next we get to see the long-winded annoying rhetoric of the president that never was and never will be, Senator. John "effing moron" Kerry from Taxachusetts. I was sick and tired of hearing his condescending attitude before and I'm almost thankful there's a hurricane running around to divert the media attention from this pompous ass. It's not that I'm wishing anyone harm, I'm just thankful there's another news story to divert attention from having to listen to him.
Above this waste of space there's really not much of a story here other than the same old partisan crap. Dems are gonna’ complain about how he won't give them a straight answer and Pubs will have to explain how he can't answer these questions because he'd then have to recuse himself from the cases pertaining to those issues. Just once I'd like to see Roberts come back with something like, "Well Senator, did you get your Bar card out of a Cracker Jack box or are you just too stupid to understand how the judicial system works? You know I can't answer those questions so why the hell are you trying to grandstand?" Just once is all I ask.
For those of you out there thinking that this is going to be a close vote or get filibustered you are sorely mistaken. The Democrats don't have nearly enough votes on their side to make it happen. The only thing they'll have when everything is said and done is the ability to bitch about how Roberts wasn't voted in unanimously. Basically the only response I have for that line is, "Cry more you loser."
That is all. Nothing to see here. Move along...