On the eve of this grand election, there is much talk about which candidate will win. However, there isn't much talk about how we the people will win. How can we win? First, we have to know what we are fighting for. We are fighting for freedom, for liberty, for rescuing the individual dignity and worth inherent in all mankind. In essence, we are fighting for the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. By "we" I mean all Americans of all parties.

As I view the current situation of our nation, relative to what we are fighting for, I must confess that even for the optimist in me, I see a great dilemma. I see that we are losing this fight. Why?

The evidence is clear. Why is it clear? Because Government is being called upon by the people of our nation to do more for our citizenry. They are having to step in and make regulations for Unions, for safety, for hours you can work in a week, for the minimum amount of money you can be paid per hour, to provide you food when you don't have any, give you money when you are out of luck, help you find a job, fund life saving research, provide you with protected time off to have a child or to get better from a debilitating illness, say that its illegal to sexually harass people at work, make guidelines for executive compensation and on, and on, and on. These kinds of laws and government involvement don't come as preemptive measures against some unknown problem yet to happen, but they come as the result of the abuse and inhumanity of mankind towards their brothers and sisters. And this is why we are losing. The Democrats didn't cause this. The Republicans didn't cause this. Individuals caused this. Those parties reacted.

I look at many of the aims of the Democratic Party as essentially well meaning and many of them are trying to help each other. The problem however is that they can never fix the problem these regulations and state mandated programs are seeking to fix. You can not enhance life by not protecting it. You cannot enhance freedom by taking it away. You cannot enhance personal liberty by creating an all-powerful state. You cannot enhance the pursuit of happiness by taking away the pursuit. And that is exactly what we have done and are doing by redistributing wealth, taking from those who have and giving it to those who have not earned it, removing the moral conscious of our people, and promising to be everything to everyone. Because of that, we are losing the fight and rather than have a stronger nation as a result of all of these "progressive" policies, we have a nation on the verge of moral, emotional, physical and financial bankruptcy.

We are losing the fight because the love of man has waxed cold. Our people have turned to material wealth and away from the wealth that matters: family, friends, and relationships. We are losing because our people are turning to self indulgence rather than self sacrifice. We are losing because people are turning to reliance on the state and not reliance on self. We are losing because our people are watching too many movies about super heroes and love instead of being heros and loving. We are losing because our people are turning to a world of no consequences for their actions rather than acting with conscience. We are losing because our people have chosen to live their lives on credit because they can't distinguish their wants from their needs. We are losing our fight because we have become ashamed of God. Instead, we should be ashamed of ourselves.

How can we win this war when it seems to be so far gone? The way is not to be found in the political process or in the parties. The way to win this fight is through the same means that caused it - the individual. If you and I seek out the two great commandments: to love God with all we are and have and to love our neighbors as ourselves, we will win this fight. I know that love is the way. The fruits of that will be a turing to the wealth that matters and will begin to raise up a good, productive generation that reverences God and respects their fellow man. It will be a society of caring for each other through sacrificing for others first. It will be a society of heros and family. It will be a society of choice and accountability with conscience. It will be a society based on true wealth. It will be a society that truly can say, "In God we Trust."

That's the America I believe in. God bless us to be that country. When we are, then we have won - all of us.

I am writing as an American who believes in our nation and our role in the world. I actually believe that we do have a role in the world by virtue of where we have placed ourselves. We have grown in such a way that has created alliances, treaties and agreements with foreign nations that has formed an interdependence - but with America at the center of the wheel. We are the true leader of the alliances, treaties and agreements with these foreign nations.

I do also believe that America is the standard for freedom and a defender of our free neighbors in the world.

Since our founding we have been engaged in various wars. Wars are always tied to money and power – on at least one side if not both. Wars for that purpose are wrong and the deaths of millions are on the heads of a relatively few men who have plunged their nations into wars that those who die to fight them reap no benefit from. Their deaths bring them honor, but bring their loved ones nothing else but sorrow.

This aggression against Georgia is nothing more than classic war for money and power. The cause of the Georgian’s is one that truly seems just to me.

When is war justified?

1. War is obviously justified when we have been attacked but the war should be proportional to the attack and its intention.
2. War is justified when, in the words of Jefferson & the Continental Congress, “a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
3. Acts of war are justified when there is an insurrection or a civil war from within.
4. War is justified when a just, sovereign foreign nation who was not an aggressor calls on allies for aid.
5. Acts of war are justified when there is a clear and present danger that will soon strike and bring about greater death than a war to remove the clear and present danger.

When is war not justified?

War is not justified when it is waged for resources, power, or money. Neither is it justified when the aggressor begins it for a reason other than those stated above including to come to the aid of another nation. If they did not officially through their government request the aid, then we must respect their sovereignty and stay out.

It is my belief that America has no interests in other nations that it must proactively protect. Our interests are here and the preservation of true freedom loving allies. If they have interests and are invaded or threatened, and officially request our aid, then we have the right to respond. We may choose not to but we have the right to assist. US businesses may have interests in foreign nations, but America, our government, our people collectively have none and should never be sent to die for “American interests abroad.” We are willing however to die, as we have for centuries now, for our own and other people’s freedom and liberty.

I am shocked at Russia’s aggression towards our ally – Georgia. I am also shocked at our lack of action. Here we are at day four of a conflict that is reshaping the world even as we speak and we have no plan and have said nothing other than we are “concerned” and that Russia’s actions threaten their global position.

All of that was a preface to this: If Georgia officially calls through their democratically elected government for American or other free nation’s aid, we should be willing to answer that call. Would it be easy? No, it would possibly be the greatest struggle in history – fighting the war in Iraq, fighting the War in Afghanistan, fighting the War on Terror, and fighting back Russia from the small nation of Georgia and keeping Russia from once again rising to its unlawful stature as a force to be reckoned with. Freedom is the force to be reckoned with and we need to stand by it.

Ken Coman

Islamic militancy continues to grow globally with a 25% increase in the number of attacks between 2006 and 2007. This is a tremendous threat to global peace and stability as well as the lives of everyone in the middle east. This militancy is a threat of the greatest kind to freedom.

Pakistan is really at the core of the middle eastern problems. All of the Middle East's rogue nuclear programs - including North Korea's - came from Pakistan. The Taliban was trained by Pakistan. Islamic Militancy began there. Osama Bin Laden is believed to live there. Perhaps it can begin to end there if allowed to and its end spread to the rest of the region. We can only hope. I wish you all the best in your efforts to bring about a better tomorrow.

Albert Camus suggested that it is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.

What does this mean? Let's think about it.

First off, I will define "executioner" as not only the one who deprives someone of their life, but also deprives them of their property or liberty. I am not sure how Camus defined it, but that is how I define it.

During the American Revolution, why was there all of this talk about natural rights, rule of law, due process, and liberty and justice for all? It was because of the threat of injustice, the threat of total disregard for life, liberty and happiness, and the total assumption of power as judge, juror and executioner by certain people in power including the King of England. In truth, all mankind was in danger of some kind without the protection of the rights enshrined in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

However, even with these rights stated in our founding document, there have been times when even we as a country, as a people, have not followed them and have been on the side of the executioners. Do you believe that or do you believe that everything ever done in the name of America has been because it was the right thing to do?

One obvious time when we have been on the side of the executioner was the western expansion of our country. Although the 20th century saw the creation of the term genocide, it certainly was not the first time it occurred. Previously is was called the Manifest Destiny. Regardless of the romantic picture we have of the old west, it was a time of great atrocities on both sides resulting in the complete defeat of the Native American people. America and/or many of its citizens stole their lands, confiscated their property, killed literally hundreds of thousands of their people, and took the survivors from the forests and brought them to the western deserts.

You would have thought that it would have ended there - in a less civil time. It is also not my intent to judge our past by today's standards - only today's actions by today's understanding.

Such action however did not end in a time gone by and people today are not much different than they were before. Such is the case with all wars, with all crimes, with all aggression - trying to take that which is not ours - in times past, times present and times surely to come. We still want more and will still do almost anything to get what we want unless we are guided by principles and held in check by the great laws of our land.

It appears as though Barrick gold, now a multi-billion dollar speculator (as opposed to the small gold speculators of yester-year), wishes to continue the base behavior that was an injustice to so many millions from the preceding centuries and take away the land of the Shoshone people in a quest for gold today. This is a case of a multi-national company taking the land from a small Indian tribe for their own interest and the government supporting them in their action. This is not right. You can read more here:

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2007/2007-12-06-01.asp

http://www.sacredland.org/endangered_sites_pages/mt_tenabo.html

http://www.foei.org/en/publications/pdfs/Barrick_final_sml.pdf

These are our brothers and sisters - we need them more than we need gold. What side should we be on? The side of the right - in all cases - and the right is not always in a suit and tie, in a robe sitting on a court bench, or an innocent person with a job. The right is that moral compass that always points true - within our hearts. The right is the golden rule which the Master uttered, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them."

Do we truly believe in liberty and Justice for all? I know I do. I hope you do as well. Please write your Representatives in Congress and inform them of this injustice. For a link to find your representative, click here.

I believe in freedom and in its boundaries. When another person's freedom infringes on the freedom and rights of others, they have exercised their freedom in an unjust fashion. Such an exercise becomes a crime.

Regarding the boundaries of free exercise, I would like you to consider part of the original draft of the Bill of Rights for Pennsylvania's first Constitution. In that first draft it read:

"An enormous proportion of property vested in a few individuals is dangerous to the rights, and destructive of the common happiness, of mankind; and therefore every free state hath a right by its laws to discourage the possession of such property."

Is that true? Does the holding of an enormous proportion of property vested in a few individuals create a danger and destroy the common happiness of mankind? This isn't a question you should answer with your knee jerk as you may be inclined to do.

As I look in my minds eye at the vast expanse of humanity around the world, and knowing that the majority of wealth is owned by a minority of the earth's population, and knowing that wars are generally waged over wealth (i.e., gold, land, resources) and to get more of it either because the poor don't have it or the rich want more of it, and whereas wars cause so much misery to the people involved, and knowing that the lack of opportunities afforded to so many around the world is a factor in crime, social ills, disease and death, I can see the danger and destruction that the incredibly disproportionate distribution of wealth can create.

Does therefore the endless accumulation of wealth infringe on the rights of others? It may. It may cause people to be pressed into war who have no true interest in it. It may push others into poverty. It may keep people from basic services. It may cause so many of the ills we see and hear around us and in our world.

The endless accumulation of wealth was never meant to be the American Dream as so many think it is. The American Dream was about Freedom, Liberty, Justice, & the protection of Natural Rights. Let us never forget what our country was and should be really about - Liberty & Justice for all. We as a Nation have never been perfect at that but we have gotten better as we have looked to our foundation - the principles the founders aspired to. That foundation has continued to transform the way we have built & changed our society since 1776.

May Liberty and Justice for all continue to form how we look at the true American Dream versus the fraud so that our American home, and therefore our world home, can be one of freedom, justice and protection of natural rights for all mankind. And may each one of us consider again the question "Does the holding of an enormous proportion of property vested in a few individuals create a danger and destroy the common happiness of mankind?" and then live and act accordingly.

Long has the Star Spangled banner waived over the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Its stars shine forth in the night, giving light and guidance to the mariners on the see of adversity. It waves to them. It calls to them.

Its stripes remind us of the blood and purity of the brave and tells us with not only those stripes, but the stripes of One other, we are healed and made free.

This land, this new nation, has transformed our world in a way that no other has since the beginning of time. Our Constitution is more than just a document that preserves ours rights as Americans. It is a document that has set the standard for the preservation of human rights across the world.

No matter the stain of current politics - the principles of Freedom that shine forth as the stars of the night call and set the standard of a higher humanity for all the world to see and for all the world to be guided by. America calls to the world. It calls to loose the bonds of slavery. It calls to end the bonds of ignorance. It calls to end the false hegemony of high birth. It calls to bring all to the level of human brotherhood. It calls to the soul to worship their Divine Creator how, where and when they may. It calls to individual to reach out, to look higher, and to lift up. This is America to me. This is my County - the United States.

Thank God for this land of Liberty - for by it, all of mankind is or will be blessed by it. Freedom and human conscience create a foundation of happiness. This freedom which was established first here will go forth across all the world - not by aggression but by progression. It truly has begun a Novus Ordo Seclorum - a New Order for the Ages. Thank God for that Order.

Thank you for reading.