The following is a piece entitled "I'm 63 and I'm Tired" by Robert A. Hall that has been floating around the Internet. It was recently forwarded to us in an email, and we thought that it expressed the emotions that so many Americans are feeling right now that we should post it here.

If you are touched by Mr. Hall's letter, please send it out to as many of your friends and family as you can....

I'm 63. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.

I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela .

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of U . S . Senators from Illinois.

I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.

I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.

I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"? And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.

I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are? Not even close. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.

I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois , where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet.

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm damn tired . But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.

For the most part, Barack Obama has done a horrible job when it comes to keeping his promises.  But when it comes to nuclear disarmament, it looks like he intends to be a man of his word.  During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama openly set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons.  At the time a lot of people did not take him seriously, because after all, who in their right mind would suggest that the U.S. should give up having nuclear weapons?

Well, apparently Obama was quite serious.

Senior administration officials are now saying that Barack Obama intends to permanently reduce America’s nuclear arsenal by "thousands" of weapons.

But shouldn't you wait until you negotiate with the other side before you declare that you intend to give up a large percentage of your weapons?

Well, apparently that is not the way things work in Obama World.

In fact, Obama's obsession with getting rid of nuclear weapons is creating quite a bit of friction between him and the boys down at the Pentagon.

On Monday, Obama met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to discuss the "Nuclear Posture Review" which was supposed to be published in December but which was delayed because Obama did not consider it radical enough.

Apparently the brass over at the Pentagon is very resistant to dramatically change U.S. policy regarding nuclear weapons, but Obama is very clear about what he wants.

According to one senior administration official quoted by the New York Times, Obama wants the Nuclear Posture Review to commit to a drastic reduction in the U.S. nuclear arsenal....

"It will be clear in the document that there will be very dramatic reductions — in the thousands — as relates to the stockpile."

In fact, during the campaign he very clearly told the American people that it was his intention to set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons....

Since being elected, Obama has been working hard on negotiating a new nuclear arms reduction agreement with the Russians.  Under a memorandum of joint understanding signed last July, deployed nuclear warheads for both the United States and Russia will be reduced to below 1,700 on each side within seven years of signing a new treaty.  That represents a radical reduction by both sides.

So are we likely to see a new treaty soon?

Well, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that Russia and the United States are close to completing negotiations on a new treaty on strategic arms cuts.

So it is getting close.

But besides the cuts called for in negotiations with the Russians, Obama is making unilateral pledges as well.

For example, Obama has pledged that the United States will not develop new nuclear weapons.

In addition, Obama has ended financing for a new nuclear warhead sought by the Bush administration.

In addition, there are rumors that there have been "back-channel discussions" with U.S. allies about whether to withdraw American tactical nuclear weapons from Europe.

All of this comes at  a time when strategic threats around the globe are multiplying.

Once upon a time, Russia was the only serious nuclear threat we needed to be concerned with, but now China and North Korea are very serious threats, and nations such as Iran and Venezuela could soon become very big problems as well.

At this moment, the U.S. nuclear arsenal consists of approximately 2,600 deployed nuclear warheads, with another 2,500 in reserve and 4,000 more that are scheduled to be dismantled.

But now the deal that the Obama administration is seeking to make with the Russians would reduce the nuclear arsenals of both the United States and Russia to less than 1,700 warheads, and there are those in the Obama administration that are pushing for unilateral cuts beyond even that.

This would mean that that U.S. nuclear arsenal would end up being less than 10 percent of what it was at the height of the Cold War.  Just check out the chart below....

Meanwhile, the Russian military is modernizing their tactical and strategic forces as if they were preparing for war....

*Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia must improve its space defenses as well as modernize its nuclear arsenal by 2020.

*Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday that once it has completed work on its own fifth-generation fighter, Russia must proceed with designing a "next generation" strategic bomber.

*Russia has announced plans to buy four warships from France in the biggest defense deal with a NATO member since the end of the Cold War.

But the Obama administration acts as if the Cold War is over and as if Russia poses no threat to the United States whatsoever.

In fact, the Obama administration is acting as if the U.S. really doesn't need a nuclear deterrent at all anymore.

But what if they are wrong?

A letter to Barack Obama from a 95 year old World War 2 veteran is causing quite a stir all over the Internet.  The name of the retired U.S. navy vet is Harold Estes, and KITV has confirmed that he did indeed write the letter.  Apparently someone in Florida sent it to Congress.org and ultimately it ended up getting out and spreading all over the Internet.  Estes reports that he has received about 1,000 calls about the letter and that the vast majority of them have been overwhelmingly supportive.

If you don't think that your circle of friends has seen this letter yet, please send it out to them.  What this 95 year old World War 2 veteran wrote in his letter to Barack Obama is absolutely amazing.  You have to admit that his mind is still quite sharp after all of these years.  The following is the text of the letter that 95 year old Harold Estes wrote to Barack Obama....

****

Dear President Obama,

My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert.

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor, allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.

One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man. So here goes.

I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish.

I can't figure out what country you are the president of.

You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like: "We're no longer a Christian nation" "America is arrogant" -- (Your wife even announced to the world, "America is mean- spirited." Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.)

I'd say shame on the both of you, but I don’t think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House.

After 9/11 you said, "America hasn’t lived up to her ideals."

Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War? I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom.

I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.

Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man.

Shape up and start acting like an American. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue. You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.

And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don’t want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts, who was putting up a fight? You don’t mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don’t want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.

One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of.

You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president.

You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now.

And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.

Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."
-Benjamin Franklin
 
It is now official.  A majority of Americans are willing to give up liberty in order to be safer from terrorism.  A stunning new McClatchy-Ipsos poll has found that 51 percent of Americans agree with this statement: "it is necessary to give up some civil liberties in order to make the country safe from terrorism."

Only 36 percent of those polled agreed with this statement: "some of the government's proposals will go too far in restricting the public's civil liberties."

So are Americans really this stupid?

Have they really been brainwashed into willingly giving up their essential liberties just so they can feel a little safer?

Maybe they have.

After all, a new USA TODAY/Gallup poll says that 78 percent of Americans approve of the new full body scanners that the U.S. government wants to install in all U.S. airports.

So almost 4 out of 5 Americans are perfectly fine with letting airport security officials gawk at their naked bodies just so they can feel a bit safer from terrorists.

How sick is that?

The truth is that when Americans allow themselves to become so wimpy and so fearful that they are willing to throw many of their most important freedoms out the window, those responsible for the terror scares have won.

In fact, Amerika (formerly America) is very quickly becoming a brutal police state where privacy is a thing of the past and where free speech and alternative points of view are openly repressed.

For example, in a 2008 academic paper President Barack Obama's appointee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs advocated "cognitive infiltration" of groups that advocate "conspiracy theories".

Infiltration of groups with alternative viewpoints that the government doesn't like?

Do we live in East Germany?

Apparently we do.

Americans do not care about their freedoms and liberties anymore, so now they are being taken away.

And apparently the message of the most recent polls is that Americans are perfectly fine with that.

In a previous post we detailed how Barack Obama wants to reduce the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal to just a few hundred nuclear warheads.   Now it has come out that Barack Obama recently shifted the authority for approving sales of missile and space technology to China from the White House to the Commerce Department.  There has been very little fanfare regarding this move, but critics are claiming that it could make it much, much easier for China to acquire advanced missile technology. 

Of course officials at the Commerce Department are claiming that the move will not cause controls to be loosened regarding the export of missile and space technology to China, but we all know that is a joke. 

After all, what does the Commerce Department know about national security anyway?

Not a whole lot.

But unfortunately, the problem is not just Obama.

The whole national security regime in Washington seems oblivious to the reality that Islamic terrorists are not the number one national security threat that we face.

Rather, it is Russia and China.

But instead of embracing that reality, the U.S. national security establishment is pretending that they are our newest best friends.

For example, China's second-ranking military officer will travel to Washington later this month and U.S. military officials are promising to "show him a great deal of how our military operates in this country".

Obama is also negotiating an agreement with Russia that would allow the Russians to inspect U.S. military nuclear sites.

Someday there will come a time when the United States will seriously regret this openness with Russia and China.   Let's just hope that that day of reckoning does not come any time soon.