photo by army mils We would like to take this time to thank those who have served over the years.

From News Busters: The co-chair of Barack Obama’s Transition Team, Valerie Jarrett, appeared on Meet the Press this weekend and used, shall we say, an interesting word to described what she thinks Barack Obama will be doing in January when he’s officially sworn into office. She told Tom Brokaw that Obama will be ready to “rule” on day one. It’s a word that reflects the worst fears that people have for Obama the “arrogant,” the “messiah,” that imagines he’s here to “rule” instead of govern. Jarret told Brokaw that “given the daunting challenges that we face, it’s important that president elect Obama is prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one.” Someone needs to get to Jarrett and inform her that American politicians are not Kings and do not “rule” from office. But if this is the attitude of Obama’s transition team, what does The One himself imagine he is about to unleash? Could the fears that Obama thinks he is being anointed America’s King be far off with this sort of talk flying about? And in related news….. Georgia congressman warns of Obama dictatorship WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship. “It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s the one who proposed this national security force,” Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism.” Broun cited a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military. “That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did,” Broun said. “When he’s proposing to have a national security force that’s answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he’s showing me signs of being Marxist.” Obama’s comments about a national security force came during a speech in Colorado about building a new civil service corps. Among other things, he called for expanding the nation’s foreign service and doubling the size of the Peace Corps “to renew our diplomacy.” “We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set,” Obama said in July. “We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” Broun said he also believes Obama likely will move to ban gun ownership if he does build a national police force. Obama has said he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms and favors “common sense” gun laws. Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he’ll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault weapons and concealed weapons. As an Illinois state lawmaker, Obama supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on firearms generally. “We can’t be lulled into complacency,” Broun said. “You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I’m not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I’m saying is there is the potential.”

From The New York Times:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The leader of a jihadi group in Iraq argued Friday that the election of Barack Obama as president represented a victory for radical Islamic groups that had battled American forces since the invasion of Iraq. The audio statement came amid a very public discussion in the Middle East over what Mr. Obama’s election meant for the future — and what it said about the past. Most of the public reaction, in newspapers and on television and radio stations, was euphoric, with many commentators marveling at the election of a black man whose father was from a Muslim family. There was a general assessment that Mr. Obama’s election was a repudiation of the course taken by President Bush and his inner circle over the past eight years. “It would be no exaggeration to say that we Arabs and Muslims were the main unseen voters who decided the outcome of these elections,” wrote Abdelbari Atwan in Wednesday’s issue of the London-based pan-Arab daily newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi.

Read the rest at the above link.

According to WTHR TV in Indianapolis:

Several hundred people are still waiting to get their pay for last-minute campaigning. Police were called to the Obama campaign office on North Meridian Street downtown to control the crowd. The line was long and the crowd was angry at times. “I want my money today! It’s my money. I want it right now!” yelled one former campaign worker. “It should have been $480. It’s $230,” said Imani Sankofa. “They gave us $10 an hour. So we added it. I added up all the hours so it was supposed to be at least $120. All I get is $90,” said Charles Martin. “I worked nine hours a day for 4 days and got paid half of what I should have earned,” said Randall Waldon. “They say that they gonna call you or they going to mail it to you, but I don’t know. We’ll see what happens,” said Antron Grose. “Talking about they’ll mail it to us. I ain’t worried about that, man. They’re not going to mail nothin’,” said Martin.

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If any of you have accounts with twitter, facebook, myspace or mybloglog…..feel free to add me to your list. These are just my accounts. I’ll ask Billy to post his later on. Myspace Twitter Facebook My Bloglog

New York, November 5, 2008 —While we still await results on California’s Prop 8 with several million ballots still uncounted, disappointment and pain over the anti-gay attacks in Arizona, Arkansas, and Florida, as well as California are balanced by so much good news from around the country, including the dawn of a new era in Washington, D.C. Pro-equality candidates for state office and Congressional seats won elections across the country and soon will take office, joining activists’ renewed efforts to continue the fight for equality in each state and our great nation. Celebration also follows the defeat of the attempt by anti-gay groups in Connecticut to try and call a constitutional convention so they could write marriage discrimination into the state constitution. Sixty-percent of Connecticut voters cast ballots to support their high court’s decision to uphold the freedom to marry and now, marriage equality is preserved in Connecticut. Same-sex couples can begin applying for marriage licenses on November 12th. “Californians were bombarded by a massive $40 million anti-equality campaign of deceptive scare-tactics and lies. No matter the final vote on Prop 8, the campaign will not be the last word,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People’s Right to Marry. “Public opinion moves in favor of fairness, we have truth on our side, and 2009 will see advances toward marriage equality.” Legal groups in California today filed a challenge to Proposition 8, in case it passes, telling the State Supreme Court that the state’s “initiative procedure cannot be used to undermine the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone.” “The effort to defeat Prop 8 and attacks on gay families in other states inspired an unprecedented and tremendous outpouring of volunteers, donors, and supporters, gay and non-gay, from across California and around the country,” said Wolfson. “With the dawn of a new political era in America, this diverse and engaged movement for justice will seize opportunities to redouble the conversations that move people to fairness, win victories in 2009, and soon restore the freedom to marry in California as we advance toward marriage equality for all.”

I think Obama will take this country in a very dangerous direction, especially with Pelosi, Reid and the Democratic control of the Senate and I feel that we, as American’s will pay the price. I don’t trust him to have America’s best interest over his own. The media did a great job at pushing him through and covering for him and it’s going to be interesting to see how they’ll handle the next four years. For me personally, I’ll spend the next four years speaking out against him when each opportunity arises and I will continue to blog here when I smell corruption coming from his administration, as it has from his campaign. As Americans, we don’t have to agree, with each other, or with our President. We don’t all have to come together order to move forward as a country. This country works better when there are opposing points of view. I just hope Obama doesn’t attempt to silence that. And in 1,460 days we can vote him out of office. Let the count down begin!

 

So much energy is being put into removing our dependency of foreign oil that we don’t seem to be getting anywhere. That’s right, we’re moving so fast we’re going nowhere. The only thing that is going on is all the talking about what our future will be like once we remove oil as a major source of fueling our needs. . We need to stop talking about it and get the show on the road. T.Boone Pickens has stepped up to the plate and started the process, but he’s only one man. We need to help him with his plan by going to his website and signing the petition and push the plan. The man is very serious with this and is very pro-American. When he was on Mad Money with Jim Cramer, he said nothing is more important to him than helping America gain it’s energy independence. . There are so many great companies that will benefit from the real push to energy freedom. The Government has done very little to help the situation. They have passed the alternative tax bill, but there is so much more that they need to do. If we are not careful with this election, we could end up have a democratic President as well as have both of the houses controlled by the Democrats. If that was to happen there would be nothing to stop the out-of-control tax increases on companies that fuel this economy. With the present Democrat controlled Congress it took so long to get the tax credit bill passed. What will happen if just one party controlled the Presidency, the Senate as well as Congress? I feel that I must say that I am not a Democrat nor a Republican, I’m a Libertarian, but first and foremost I’m an American. . Wind, solar, nuclear, and natural gas are the sources of energy that country has that will not have us relying on another country for our supply. Wind and solar are renewable energy that Mother Earth gives us. We are the superior power when it comes to nuclear power, we are the ones that other countries come to for knowledge in this field. Natural gas is the one fuel source that we have plenty of without the need of other countries assistance. . We need alternative energies to be put on the front burner and turned up on high. We need to realize that until we rid ourselves of fossil fuel dependency, we will never be able to move back into the dominant power that the United States was once was.

Honestly, I don’t have much faith in the pools anymore, but seeing how the media loves to remind us when Obama is leading in the pools, I thought you would like this AP Poll.

The poll, which found Obama at 44 percent and McCain at 43 percent, supports what some Republicans and Democrats privately have said in recent days: that the race narrowed after the third debate as GOP-leaning voters drifted home to their party and McCain’s “Joe the plumber” analogy struck a chord.

“I trust McCain more, and I do feel that he has more experience in government than Obama. I don’t think Obama has been around long enough,” said Angela Decker, 44, of La Porte, Ind.

McCain’s strong showing is partly attributable to his strong debate performance; Thursday was his best night of the survey.

During their final debate, a feisty McCain repeatedly forced Obama to defend his record, comments and associations. He also used the story of a voter whom the Democrat had met in Ohio, “Joe the plumber,” to argue that Obama’s tax plan would be bad for working class voters.

“I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody,” Obama told the man with the last name of Wurzelbacher, who had asked Obama whether his plan to increase taxes on those earning more than $250,000 a year would impede his ability to buy the plumbing company where he works.

On Wednesday, McCain’s campaign unveiled a new TV ad that features that Obama quote, and shows different people saying: “I’m Joe the plumber.” A man asks: “Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?”

Since McCain has seized on that line of argument, he has picked up support among white married people and non-college educated whites, the poll shows, while widening his advantage among white men. Black voters still overwhelmingly support Obama.

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McCain-Palin 2008 announced that more than 100 former U.S. ambassadors are endorsing Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin for president and vice president.

Prominent former U.S. ambassadors endorsing the McCain-Palin ticket include former Ambassador to Japan, Senate Majority Leader and White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker; President George H. W. Bush, former Ambassador to the United Nations; former Ambassador to Yugoslavia and former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger; former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton; former Secretary of Defense and former Ambassador to Portugal, Frank Carlucci III; former Ambassador to the Vatican and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson; and Ambassadors Richard Burt (Germany), Bruce Gelb (Belgium), Margaret Heckler (Ireland), John L. Loeb (Denmark), Ed Ney (Canada) and Julia Chang Bloch (Nepal), the first U.S. ambassador of Asian descent.

Democrat Mark W. Erwin, a former Hillary Clinton supporter and an ambassador during the Clinton administration, is co-chair of the group. “I will vote for John McCain because the differences between the two candidates are so vast and profound,” he said.

“Senator Obama does not have sufficient leadership experience, nor has he been tested in difficult times,” Erwin said in his endorsement.

Other co-chairmen of the group called “Former U.S. Ambassadors for McCain/Palin” are former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Gregory J. Newell and former Ambassador Gilbert A. Robinson, both of whom served in the Reagan administration. Newell also served as an assistant to President Gerald Ford and as Assistant Secretary of State. Robinson was special adviser to Secretary of State George Shultz, Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy and Deputy Director of the United States Information Agency.

“Nobody could ask for a greater show of confidence,” Sen. McCain commented. “These former ambassadors are outstanding men and women who have served their country in foreign lands with great distinction and devotion to the values we all hold dear. They have a deep knowledge of the challenges facing this country abroad as well as at home. I am honored by their endorsement.”

Ambassador Robinson added, “The endorsements from this country’s most experienced foreign affairs experts are still pouring in. This demonstrates the overwhelming admiration and respect they have for John McCain’s leadership and the confidence they have in the historic McCain-Palin ticket.”

FORMER U.S. AMBASSADORS FOR MCCAIN-PALIN

Weston Adams, Malawi — Columbia, S.C.

Lenore Annenberg, Chief of Protocol — Radnor, Penn.

Cresencio Arcos, Jr., Honduras; FP/NS — Coral Gables, Fla.

George Argyros, Spain and Andorra — Costa Mesa, Calif.

Catherine Todd Bailey, Latvia — Louisville, Ky.

Howard H. Baker, Jr., Senator (R-TN); Senate Majority Leader; Amb. Japan — Huntsville, Tenn.

Douglas H. Barclay, El Salvador — Pulaski, N.Y.

Stuart A. Bernstein, Denmark — Washington, D.C.

Everett E. Bierman, Papua New Guinea — Oakton, Va.

Julia Chang Bloch, Nepal — Washington, D.C.

John Bolton, United Nations

Stephen F. Brauer, Belgium — Bridgeton, Mo.

Keith Lapham Brown, Lesotho; Denmark — San Antonio, Texas

Donald Burnham, Ensenat, Brunei; Chief of Protocol — New Orleans, La.

Richard R. Burt, Germany — Washington, D.C.

President George H.W. Bush, United Nations — Houston, Texas

William J. Cabaniss, Jr., Czech Republic — Birmingham, Ala.

Richard G. Capen Jr., Spain — Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Richard W. Carlson, Seychelles — Weems, Va.

Frank Carlucci III, Portugal

Bruce Chapman, IAEA; Vienna — Seattle, Wash.

Sue McCourt Cobb, Jamaica — Coral Gables, Fla.

Charles E. Cobb, Jr., Iceland — Coral Gables, Fla.

Walter J.P. Curley, Ireland; France — New York, N.Y.

Peter H. Dailey, Ireland; Special Envoy to NATO Countries — Pasadena, Calif.

Lawrence Eagleburger, Yugoslavia

Mark L. Edelman, Cameroon — Washington, D.C.

Mark Erwin, Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros — Charlotte, N.C.

Richard M. Fairbanks III, Ambassador-at-Large — Washington, D.C.

William S. Farish III, United Kingdom — Versailles, Ky.

Edward R. Finch, Jr., Panama — New York, N.Y.

John R. Gavin, Mexico — Los Angeles, Calif.

Bruce S. Gelb, USIA; Belgium — New York, N.Y.

Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Switzerland — Washington, D.C.

Anthony H. Gioia, Malta — Buffalo, N.Y.

Luis Guinot, Jr., Costa Rica — Falls Church, Va.

Margaret M. Heckler, Ireland — Arlington, Va.

Charles A. Heimbold, Jr., Sweden — Riverside, Conn.

Hans H. Hertell, Dominican Republic — Washington, D.C.

Alfred Hoffman, Jr., Portugal — Fort Meyers, Fla.

Richard Holwill, Ecuador

G. Philip Hughes, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines — Falls Church, Va.

Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Singapore — Salt Lake City, Utah

Robert S. Ingersoll, Japan — Evanston, Ill.

James C. Kenny, Ireland — Glenview, Ill.

Alfred H. Kingon, European Union — Bronxville, N.Y.

Lester B. Korn, UN Economic and Social Council — Beverly Hills, Calif.

Mary E. Kramer, Barbados and Eastern Caribbean — Clive, IA

Paul C. Lambert, Ecuador — New York, N.Y.

Mark Langdale, Costa Rica — Dallas, Texas

Howard Leach, France — Salinas, Calif.

Melvyn Levinsky, Bulgaria and Brazil — Ann Arbor, Mich.

John L. Loeb, Jr., Denmark — New York, N.Y.

Earle I. Mack, Finland — Fort Lee, N.J.

Susan Rasinski McCaw, Austria — Kirkland, Wash.

Robert C. McFarlane, Special Envoy for the President

Thomas Patrick Melady, Burundi, Uganda, Holy See — Washington, D.C.

J. William Middendorf II, Netherlands, OAS, European Union — Little Compton, R.I.

Steve Minikes, CSCE — Washington, D.C.

George Cranwell Montgomery, Sultanate of Oman

Thomas A. Nassif, Morocco — La Jolla, Calif.

Gregory J. Newell, Sweden — Provo, Utah

Edward N. Ney, Canada — New York, N.Y.

Jim Nicholson, Holy See — McLean, Va.

Herman W. Nickle, South Africa — Tucson, Ariz.

Julian M. Niemczyk, Czechoslovakia — Annandale, Va.

Keith Foote Nyborg, Finland — Sugar City, Idaho

John D. Ong, Norway — Hudson, Ohio

Penne Korth Peacock, Mauritius — Washington, D.C.

Joseph Carlton Petrone, United Nations European Office — Dublin, N.H.

Charles J. Pilliod, Jr., Mexico — Akron, Ohio

John Price Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros — Salt Lake City, Utah

Charles H. Price, II, Belgium, United Kingdom — Kansas City, Mo.

James W. Rawlings, Zimbabwe — Southbury, Conn.

Otto J. Reich, Venezuela — Washington, D.C.

Mercer Reynolds, Switzerland and Liechtenstein — Indian Hill, Ohio

Gilbert A. Robinson, Special Advisor to the Secretary of State — McLean, Va.

Joe M. Rodgers, France — Nashville, Tenn.

Sig Rogich, Iceland — Las Vegas, Nev.

John Rood, Bahamas — Jacksonville, Fla.

Francis L. Rooney III, Holy See — Naples, Fla.

Frank Ruddy, Equatorial Guinea

Bob Royall, Tanzania — South Carolina

Rockwell A. Schnabel, Finland, European Union — Los Angeles, Calif.

Peter F. Secchia, Italy — Grand Rapids, Mich.

Martin J. Silverstein, Uruguay — New York, N.Y.

Ronald J. Sorini, Chief Textile Negotiator, U.S. Trade Representative — Hinsdale, Ill.

Michael G. Sotirhos, Jamaica, Greece — Lauderdale by the Sea, Fla.

Robert D. Stuart, Jr., Norway — Lake Forest, Ill.

Charles J. Swindells, New Zealand, Samoa — Portland, Ore.

Peter Terpeluk, Jr., Luxembourg — Washington, D.C.

Timothy L. Towell, Paraguay — Washington, D.C.

Rodolphe M. Vallee, Slovakia — Shelburne, Vt.

Leon J. Weil, Nepal — New York, N.Y.

John G. Weinmann, Finland, Chief of Protocol — New Orleans, La.

Ronald N. Weiser, Slovakia — Ann Arbor, Mich.

Pamela P. Willeford, Switzerland and Liechtenstein — Austin, Texas

Richard Williamson, Asst. Secy; Amb. IAEA — Chicago, Ill.

Curtin Winsor, Jr., Costa Rica — McLean, Va.

Dr. Aldona Z. Wos, Estonia — Greensboro, N.C.

Joseph Zappala, Spain — Aventura, Fla.

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Show your support by Marching in major cities across this

great nation, state capitols, and Washington DC, Sat Nov

1, 2008 and speak in one voice.

For more information: Freedom March

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From Tampa Bay Online:

Uncertain Times Require McCain’s Tested Vigilance.

Hard economic times, a disappointing Republican administration and the seductive promises of a master orator are pushing America toward a European-style social democracy.

If you don’t want that to happen, vote for Republican Sen. John McCain.

McCain understands that U.S. companies must compete worldwide and shouldn’t have to pay one of the world’s highest corporate tax rates. He knows that federal spending is out of control. He knows that economic growth only comes from hard work and real investment, not through wholesale redistribution of tax dollars as Obama promises.

Obama became a political celebrity by representing the disaffected. He is generating unprecedented enthusiasm among the young and the poor, and their participation is welcome. Yet mainstream voters need to understand that the change these voters want will have historic consequences. Obama’s future America is largely unrestrained by many of the traditional values long held by Middle America.

Obama promises a tax cut for 95 percent of households, even though only 62 percent of households pay any income tax now. Taxes would increase sharply for households making more than $250,000 a year — a policy that penalizes success.

For president, the Tribune endorses Sen. John McCain.

Read the rest at the link above.

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Senator John McCain believes that the highest priority for any President is protecting the lives of American citizens, defending their personal freedom, and securing our land and resources. John McCain has the experience to insure that this priority is put into practice by the hundreds of thousands of dedicated men and women who serve their country in homeland security positions every day. John McCain knows what commitment to country means, and he will lead by example when it comes to making sure that this country’s homeland is protected.

In response to the intelligence sharing and national security failures that contributed to the catastrophe of 9/11, John McCain co-authored and championed legislation to strengthen our nation’s homeland security, create the 9/11 Commission and to implement its recommendations. Following the release of the Commission’s Report in July 2004, John McCain and Senator Joe Lieberman introduced legislation to implement the Commission’s recommendations. John McCain’s reaction to the Commission’s findings in 2004 remains his overarching homeland security position: “One lesson from the Commission’s report is that no one set of strategies is sufficient to prevent future terrorist attacks. The United States must use all of the instruments at our disposal to counter the short and long-term threats posed by international terrorism.” (John McCain, Senate Floor statement, 9/7/04)

Some of the critical 9/11 Commission recommendations have been implemented, with John McCain’s support. We have created the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), which is a center for joint operational planning and joint intelligence. We’ve created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which is charged with managing the national intelligence program and overseeing the agencies that contribute to it. We have implemented and reauthorized the PATRIOT ACT, which has provided our homeland security officials with the authority necessary to effectively investigate and seek to prevent future attacks.

However, our government has failed to implement other aspects of the 9/11 Commission recommendations. One glaring example of this is Congress’ failure to heed the call to significantly streamline Congressional oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Still today, approximately 80 committees and subcommittees within the two houses of Congress have oversight functions over DHS. Such inefficient oversight unduly distracts the professionals within the department from doing their jobs of protecting America, since they are required to respond to voluminous and often repetitive requests for testimony and briefings. The 9/11 Commission urged Congress to “create a single, principal point of oversight and review for homeland security.” This recommendation, along with the other 9/11 Commission recommendations, must become a reality.

Threats against our country may come from well-funded, well-organized and radical terrorists. Our homeland security plans must also consider threats posed by major accidents, or nature itself. In each instance, John McCain’s strategy is to prevent those incidents we can, prepare for and respond to disasters of all kinds, and improve the recovery process for disaster victims.

To meet this challenge, John McCain will bring into his Administration strong management at the federal level experienced in combating terrorist risks and in disaster response and recovery; he will rely on existing relationships, and insist on forging stronger partnerships, with state and local officials; and he will work with the private sector and an informed citizenry to safeguard our security. Public-private partnerships are an essential part of the entire homeland security effort – from planning to implementation and operations.

International Cooperation

* Preventing terrorism begins abroad, where the majority of those who would harm us are planning, training and raising resources. Working with our allies, a McCain Administration will find and disrupt terrorist organizations and their financing and ensure that weapons of mass destruction do not fall into terrorists’ hands. The successful effort to break up the terrorist plot to bomb flights from London to the U.S. illustrates the essential nature of our international cooperation in meeting this challenge.

Effective Intelligence Gathering

* John McCain will enhance our intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities. From the onset of the debate through is ultimate adoption, John McCain strongly supported modernizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to provide in statute clear guidance for future actions that may need to be taken. Unlike Barack Obama, John McCain never believed that we should punish telecommunications companies that acted in good faith in response to requests for assistance from the nation’s senior national security advisors.

* Of course, gathering reliable intelligence is only the first step in investigating and preventing terrorist plots. John McCain has called for comprehensive reform of our intelligence gathering efforts. John McCain will insure that intelligence is used effectively to protect the American people.

Cooperation Between Federal and Local Authorities

* Just as importantly, a McCain Administration will work to share information the federal government has in a timely way with state and local law enforcement authorities, who must be treated as equal partners with the federal government in this effort. John McCain will continue to push for federal funding to be allocated to state, local and tribal governments on a risk assessment basis, providing those areas with the highest risk the greatest allocations, so that they can be prepared to address these risks. These funds will not be provided to state, local and tribal governments without accountability, however. John McCain will insure that allocations to state and local authorities are based upon a risk assessment of those areas that face greatest risk and demonstrate both a need and a plan for utilizing the funds to address the risks. In large cities, local authorities will be required to share their information with federal authorities, justifying the large federal subsidies they now receive. Two-way information sharing between national and state and local governments is essential to detect potential threats and prevent future attacks.

Responsibly Securing Our Borders

* For John McCain, a secure border is an essential element of our homeland security and, as President, he will finish the job of securing our land borders, ports and airports. He knows our border must be secure and that while progress is being made, the federal government still has not lived up to its responsibility to make it fully secure. As president, John McCain will secure the border by delivering the adequate funding to those agencies charged with protecting our borders so that we have the most state-of-the-art technology and the sufficient personnel to meet the challenges we face. John McCain will also require that border-state governors certify that the border is secure. As part of this commitment, John McCain co-sponsored “The Border Security First Act of 2007”, an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill and Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The measure provided $3 billion to fund:

o Establishing operational control over the entire US border;

o Providing funding to construct 700 miles of fencing;

o Hiring and training more border patrol agents;

o Providing funding to procure Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), ground sensors, and vehicle barriers;

o Increasing the ability to detain immigrants for overstaying their visas and committing other crimes;

o Assisting states and localities that undergo training to assist the Federal government in enforcing immigration law; and

o Improving employment eligibility verification.

* A McCain Administration will strengthen the process of screening both individuals and cargo before they enter our ports and airports. We need to know who and what is entering our country and where they are destined. This task must be accomplished by utilizing the appropriate mix of dedicated manpower, state-of-the-art technology, reliable information analysis, and sturdy physical barriers. For cargo, a comprehensive, layered and risk based supply chain security strategy is needed. That includes not only deployment of sophisticated detection equipment at our ports and points of entry, but cooperation with foreign authorities at ports of origin and transshipment. For people, the importance of effective screening was demonstrated in the cases of Raed Mansour al-Banna, who was stopped from entering the country by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Chicago O’Hare airport. After he was denied entry into the U.S., he served as a suicide bomber for Al Qaeda in Iraq, killing 132 innocent Iraqis. Another example is the case of Ahmed Ressam, who was stopped by Customs agents trying to enter the country with explosives to team up with other Al Qaeda operatives to bomb Los Angeles International airport.

* A McCain Administration will continue to work with our neighbors Mexico and Canada on shared approaches to stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling, and at the same time facilitate the free flow of commerce across our borders.

Protecting America’s Technology

* Another important aspect of border security is to insure that sophisticated technology and weaponry do not get into the hands of terrorist organizations or rogue states. The U.S. must pursue stepped up counter proliferation efforts.

* Paramount in this area is the need to obtain the international consensus for strict sanctions that would prevent Iran from obtaining the material and know-how necessary for developing nuclear weapons. We know that Iran is seeking nuclear energy development technology and expertise from whatever foreign source is willing to supply it to them. We must work collectively with our foreign allies to make sure that Iran is not able to accomplish the transformation of that nuclear energy technology into weapons of mass destruction that could be used against us or our allies.

Catastrophic Event Preparedness and Response

* No matter what the source of a disaster, our level of preparedness will determine the strength of our response and the speed of our recovery. When Americans confront a catastrophe, they need basic competence from government at all levels. John McCain will ensure that government response efforts operate immediately and effectively, and that we never repeat the failures of the Hurricane Katrina response.

* At the federal level, a McCain Administration will ensure that there is a unified plan and the necessary assistance to help states and localities deal with disaster. In addition to ensuring that people have safe shelter and medical attention, we must get into these communities quickly with recovery resource teams from all relevant agencies, and make sure they have the flexibility to expedite assistance and cut through bureaucratic processes that can delay help.

* John McCain will appoint strong leaders, experienced in disaster management at FEMA, and other federal agencies responsible in this area. He will also make sure that – starting at the Cabinet level—all members of his Administration understand the importance of disaster management and are held accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities in this area.

* John McCain believes that recovery efforts should leverage private sector expertise. America has many of the best run businesses in the world, yet we fail to take full advantage of their know-how and can-do spirit when catastrophe strikes – as the disastrous response to Katrina showed. For example, UPS, FedEx, and Wal-Mart can tell in real time where a package is anywhere in the world, but FEMA, despite its $3 billion-plus budget at the time, couldn’t track many of its assets during its Katrina response, needlessly delaying help to our citizens. Government-run Emergency Operations Centers across the nation should include a Business Operations Center, so that the private sector also surges into the disaster zone with manpower, equipment and material. And federal law should provide sufficient liability protections to encourage companies to act as a ‘force multiplier’ for the government during disaster response and recovery efforts.

Supporting First Responders

* John McCain has championed the causes of police, firefighters and other emergency response personnel and has fought since February 1997 to provide them with wireless spectrum and funding to provide for interoperable communications between emergency responders and officials in their own city or county and with surrounding cities and counties.

* “With all the technology innovations of recent years, how is it that first responders, those we depend on when disaster strikes, are still unable to adequately communicate with each other during an emergency, while we are able to watch the crisis unfold on our television sets? It’s because public officials have yet to get serious about developing and funding a safety communications system for all local, state and federal first responders. This reality became all too clear during the bungled response to Katrina. The federal government needs to develop a comprehensive, interoperable emergency communications plan and set equipment standards, fund the purchase of emergency and interoperable communications equipment, and provide additional radio spectrum that will allow first responders to communicate over long distances using the same radio frequencies and equipment.”

* John McCain has long supported an expansion of the available radio spectrum to enable more reliable and immediate communication capacity. “The federal government has made strides in developing a comprehensive, interoperable emergency communications plan, establishing equipment standards, funding the purchase of emergency and interoperable communications equipment, and belatedly making additional radio spectrum available. But none of this is enough. We must do more. The network, which would be created by licensing an additional 30 MHz of radio spectrum in the upper 700 MHz band to a Public Safety Broadband Trust, would provide first responders seamless nationwide roaming capability and allow for the real time transmission of data. It is now time to think big and bold and solve the interoperability crisis once and for all. We are at a watershed moment where we can provide more of the 700 MHz spectrum to solve our national public safety communications crisis and greatly enhance our emergency preparedness. If we do not act now, this valuable spectrum will be auctioned off and this opportunity will be lost forever,” (John McCain, Press Release On Plan To Provide First Responders With A National Interoperable Broadband Network, 1/31/2007).

Protecting Critical Infrastructure

* John McCain will provide an effective framework for protecting the numerous areas of the country’s critical infrastructure, including water and food systems, the chemical and defense industries, informa­tion technology, energy (nuclear, gas and oil, electrical and dams), trans­portation (air, highways, rail, ports, and waterways), agriculture, health systems and emergency services, telecommunications, banking and finance, postal and shipping entities, and national monuments and icons.

* John McCain believes the following infrastructure systems require urgent consideration.

Protecting Water Sources and Storage Systems

* The nation’s water supply and storage systems remain extremely vulnerable to tampering and contamination, and must be secured immediately. John McCain will work to ensure that all States and municipalities that are responsible for water supply or storage function adequately secure those systems in a manner that eliminates any risk of devastating contamination.

Chemical Plants

* Chemical plants present attractive terrorist targets, particularly those located in close proximity to large cities. John McCain will insure that chemical facilities develop Security Vulnerability Assessments and adopt Site Security Plans that identify and address security vulnerabilities.

Cyber Security

* Much of our national security and economy are dependent on reliable and secure cyberspace and cyber assets. A McCain Administration will give priority attention to protecting critical information infrastructure and enhancing cyber security, with full support for the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (U.S.-CERT) and the National Cyber Response Coordination Group, both of which exist to coordinate all federal agencies and law enforcement groups responsible for effectively responding to a nationwide cyber security threat.

Fixing Our Self-Created Energy Vulnerability – John McCain’s Lexington Project

* Each year our country becomes increasingly dependent on foreign sources of energy to fuel our cars and run our economy. We are making ourselves and our nation’s prosperity increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks on our energy supply lines. This dependency on foreign oil is quickly becoming the most urgent national security crisis that we face. As President, John McCain will break with the energy policies, not just of the current Administration, but the administrations that preceded it, and lead a great national campaign to achieve energy security for America. At the time of Arab oil embargo in the 1970s, we imported roughly a third of our oil. Now we import two thirds. At that time, every day, we produced more than nine million barrels of oil domestically. Now America produces five million barrels a day. By relying upon oil from the Middle East, we not only provide wealth to the sponsors of terror — we provide high-value targets to the terrorists themselves. Across the world are pipelines, refineries, transit routes, and terminals for the oil we rely on — and Al Qaeda terrorists know where they are. Osama bin Laden has been quite explicit in directing terrorists to attack the oil facilities on which so much of America’s economy depends. They have come close more than once. And we are one successful attack away from an economic crisis of monumental proportions.

* During this campaign, John McCain has focused on the energy crisis we face and offered solutions to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, increase domestic oil and gas production, additional zero-emission nuclear energy plants, development of clean coal technology, and development of additional alternative energy sources. In this presidential campaign, only John McCain has an energy strategy to remedy this increasing and intolerable vulnerability of our nation. For more information on John McCain’s “Lexington Project.”

Protecting Public Transportation

* John McCain believes that while we have made strides in promoting transportation security, more must be done. John McCain will continue to fight to strengthen the safety and security of our nation’s transportation system, including its rail network.

Support the Military Commissions Act (MCA)

* John McCain supported the adoption of the MCA in 2006, which was a good-faith effort by Congress to meet the Supreme Court’s direction to establish a process to bring detained Al Qaeda terrorists to trial.

* Unlike Senator Obama who voted against the MCA and favors giving Al Qaeda terrorists direct access to U.S. civilian courts to contest their detention through habeas corpus rights, John McCain recognizes that we cannot treat dangerous terrorists captured on the battlefield as we would common criminals. John McCain is more concerned with protecting the American people from future terrorist attacks, by killing or bringing to justice those who commit them, than he is with giving terrorists rights that would allow a judge to set them free before they are tried.

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