The Big Chill - Which President hopeful has a Global Plan?

A strong north wind has pushed back the lake, exposing pilings. The coast escaped the freeze but there is nothing colder than water in winter.

My experiment with our Armor Glass window film (XO) keeps paying off. Despite three glass doors with a northeast exposure, the XO clear film has kept the apartment warmer than it would be without it. The power bills have dropped. So not only do I have large missile protection from hurricane storm debris but it is cutting out both UV (99%) and saving energy costs. One layer is the equivalent of making the single paned windows double-paned.

Election history begins tonight. There will be a ‘big chill’ for some candidates. Others will be hot, but for how long who knows. It’s the first time that a President or a VP hasn’t been on the ballot since 1952, so its wide open in both parties. And then what if NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg jumps in as an independent? Whatever happens, people seem to be ready for some fresh faces and new directions.

Each campaign needs to detail not just their domestic agenda, but their foreign policy agenda as well….

I had a guy comment about my push for funding schools in Pakistan. He said "British boys weren't blowing themselves up for a Caliphate." He forgets about the IRA, the Irish lads who happily blew up buildings and people for decades for their "cause." And Tim McVeigh, a white man, was the first truck bomber in America when he blew up the Murrah building in Oklahoma City, killing babies in day care as well as the government offices he was upset about.

If we don't help educate those kids in Pakistan, then the only thing many will learn is hate. Their parents don't wish it - they have no money and choose the only free schools available, run by the religious extremists. If we take no action to give them an alternative education the situation can only get worse. So let's get smart and dilute this kind of ignorance.

We need a government that works to avoid disasters instead of constantly being blindsided by foreseeable events.

Until 9/11, the Bush administration had put counter-terrorism on the back burner. They were so consumed with domestic issues (like many candidates running today) that they even ignored the August security briefing that said bin Laden was planning an imminent attack. Inexperience and lack of planning led to more errors that compounded the problem.

The U.S. is on the edge of a recession. Oil is hitting $100 barrel when Nigerians attacked oil installations (again). The dollar is at an all time low and countries like China, India and Russia will have to be dealt with on issues from trade to nukes to technology. How do we fill 500,000 jobs because we don't have enough Americans with the required science and technical skills and fail to make it legal to import the talent needed?

We must pick a leader and government that has a clue and a plan to deal with all of these issues, as well as health care, employment, border security, immigration, etc. If they don't have a plan on Pakistan, or Iraq, etc. - heaven help us.

Your job as Americans is to ask each one what their plan is --before the election.