Why are voting machines that determine who the president of the United States will be, owned by a Venezuelan company. This is the same Venezuela ruled by an anti-American thug, Hugo Chavez. These machines cannot be audited to determine the veracity of the results because they use proprietary software. Like everything else in America, our democracy is for sale. And we just accept it.

Bush has a mandate, again. His poll numbers have risen to a spectacular 36 percent. This means that what he has been doing is working. Expect to see more of the same: quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan, violations of the constitution, conflict with Iran, high gas prices, illegal immigrants, etc, etc.

Let's not forget the CIA's abduction scandal:

"The full extent of European collusion with the CIA during operations to abduct terrorism suspects and fly them to countries where they may be tortured is laid bare today by the continent's most authoritative human rights body."

The Internet has come a long way:

"Web media is the dominant at-work media and No. 2 in the home, according to a new report from the Online Publishers Association."

If There is any doubt that democracy is dead and buried in Russia:

"Crusader for Open Government Beaten by Hired Thugs in Russia"

Teen sex is a national scourge:

"Teenage girls commonly have sex not because they want to, but because they feel pressured into it - and the result may be a higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, a new study suggests."

English is essential to uniting the American people along with our constitution (which is written in English). Although the English as the official language amendment is a good idea, the Congress and state legislatures should first try to pass laws that required official business be done in English. If we fail in making English the official language in America we increase the likelihood that our nation is dissolved.

Even the Chinese stock market is collapsing. Would should be very concerned about worldwide market drops. It was only a matter of time. Stock markets go up and down throughout history. And sometimes they collapse like in 1929. And history will repeat itself unless we take the speculation out of the markets. Lets hope this is just a prolonged bear market and not the beginning of a collapse. The key is being aware of history and not repeating its mistakes. Given our apathy and complacency, I'm not too optimistic.

The Nigerians have a bad reputation for corruption. They are particularly famous for running worldwide scams. But even they can't compete with the corruption of U.S. politicians; especially like that of Louisiana Congressman, William Jefferson. What is with the name William Jefferson, politics, and corruption. Same thing with the name Nixon. There is the case of the Missouri Attorney General, Jay Nixon, who is a candidate for governor there. He is, like Jefferson, a Democrat accused of bribery. You would think with a like Nixon you'd be more careful.

Googles co-founder is admitting that the company compromised its principals by helping the Chinese authorities crack down on dissent.