BREAKING NEWS! Huntington Beach: Anchor theory after huge oil spill off California

Does it makes sense to renegotiate NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement? Personally, I think re-negotiation of US-Mexico Trade is a good idea, NAFTA needs a serious upgrade. This isn’t an issue of being anti-Mexican or anti-anything, it is a matter of being pro-American. Face it in the USA we love immigrants since we all are immigrants, even with Mayflower ancestry – we are great and must celebrate diversity, but never force it, or allow political correctness to box us into bad decision-making.

Let me run this scenario by you for a moment. First, we know that ONLY US Citizens are supposed to vote in our elections, yet, citizens are not the only people that our policies effect. We have people living in the US on work-VISAs, we have illegal aliens here, and we have non-citizens that come to visit and stay for many months on end. We also have an incredible tourist trade. Shouldn’t all of these people have a say. No, I am not suggesting they get to choose our leadership or decide what the laws here will be, rather I am suggesting that we let their voices be heard.

Personally, I love the Fourth of July. Perhaps, like you, I love my country and enjoy celebrating that holiday as I am very proud to be an American. Of course, I am not alone in loving this holiday. It turns out China, Britain and Mexico love this holiday also. Why you ask? It’s simple, you see the fireworks generally come from Mexico and Britain and our BBQ, the ones we get on sale at Home Depot come from China. Interestingly enough, you’d think the fireworks would come from China too, since they invented fireworks 1,000s of years ago.

We all remember Ambassador Jim Stevens who was killed along with his security detail in Benghazi Libya and we know that investigation is still on-going after some 4+ years. Apparently, there were some serious mistakes made in a surface-to-air manpad missile exchange with rebels close to our intelligence services. Of course, this was somewhat classified, but is common knowledge now in hindsight with anyone remotely in-the-know or close to international diplomacy.

One’s contact group on Facebook begins with a modest circle of family and friends but after several years it grows into a vast and diverse group of people with many of whom one has very little in common. In the writer’s case, although English continues to dominate, the polyglot community posts also in Arabic, Vietnamese, Tagalog and smatterings of African languages. And while the initial group discussed familiar issues and expressed views with which one was generally in sympathy, the larger eclectic group that evolves over time promotes strange and sometimes offensive opinions, often expressed in imperfect or unsavoury language. One wonders how a group that is designated as friends can mutate into such a sprawling and largely alien community.

The best of all possible worlds is for the government to stay out of the way of commerce, industry and business, and very rarely institute regulations. There are some times when government and businesses, industry associations should collaborate for the sake of standardization, but again, vary rarely. The tendency to allow industry collusion, create monopolies, duopolies or quasi-cartels is just too easy. Further, once you create one regulation it’s hard to prevent the add-on affect, the temptation is just too great to add exceptions, additions, clarifications as lawyers, unions, and consumer groups work to lobby legislators to intervene with the regulatory apparatus.

How come our trade deficit with China is so unbalanced? Currently, starting out in 2017 before Donald Trump takes office is hovering around $460 to $500 Billion annually. Interestingly enough, either the Obama Administration doesn’t want to be embarrassed by the real numbers or no one actually knows just how bad it really is. We don’t have free or fair trade with China and hopefully some of that will soon change. China is such a powerhouse of manufacturing that they could produce enough products for 5 planets with the combined global GDP.

Is the United Nation’s International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) safe for our global economy, economic trade, and peace in the world? Sometimes I do wonder. If we try to stop all the CO2 emissions in the world from trucks, trains, ships, and planes how can we get the needed supplies around the world to help humanity prosper and enjoy the abundance of our endeavors and live our life experiences to the fullest possible? It seems the IPCC’s agenda and targets to reduce emissions of CO2 may conflict with life on Earth, specifically human life. Let me explain as this issue recently came up at our think tank and we spent hours trying to justify the IPCC’s recommendations from their COP21 global meeting.

In this ordinarily peaceful country, there are numerous attempts on the life of former King Hassan II. I am present for two of them. Mom is safely back home in the states when Ambassador Rockwell and dozens of other diplomats attend an outdoor birthday party for King Hassan at his summer palace by the sea.

In no other time in the history of the United States has our population attained the dubious distinction that as a nation we spend the most on health care and yet are one of the least healthiest of all the industrialized world. It can be arguably said that the greatness of a nation and it’s ability to leave a lasting legacy lies in the health of it’s people. For over two hundred years the United States achieved greatness not just because of it’s military might but on the health and well being of it’s citizens.