OMG! Are you allowed to say that? Can one say "stand with" and "white" together without being arrested or accused of racism by the political correctness police or the actual police?


We are waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the New Haven White Firefighters reverse discrimination/affirmative action case. The City of New Haven, CT. denied promotion to 19 White firefighters and 1 hispanic firefighter who passed the promotion exam because all of the Black firefighters failed the test.

There has been no evidence that the test was unfair. The city simply didn't get the results that they wanted and so they decided to discriminate against the while firefighters that passed the test. As I have posted before, so many of our elected officals at the local, state and national level are more concerned with their social engineering agenda than they are for what is best for their town, state or our nation.

The New American Independent Party stands with the New Haven firefighters and we are proud to say so. We are especially proud of one of those firefighters, FRANK RICCI. Frank had a dream, his American dream. He loves firefighting more than anything and he wanted to achieve that rank that was right there in front of him if he just passed the test.

FRANK HAS DYSLEXIA. He quit his second job so that he could spend all of his time studying for the exam, When Frank Rucci wasn't on a run or working around the firehouse, he was studying for the test. All witnesses testified that Frank was studying 10 - 13 hours a day leading up to the exam.

Frank's hard work and incredible desire paid off. He went into that test and passed it! Frank reached high and grabbed his own American Dream. Well, the city of New Haven ripped Frank's dream away from him. The actions of the city are disguisting and these brave firefighters deserve better. These men should not be punished because the test didn't further the social engineering agenda of today's two globalist - corporate parties.

It is time that we stand up to this assault by the globalist - social engineering agenda. This is happening all around the country at an accelerated pace. 

It is ok America to proudly stand with Frank Ricci. He should not be punished just because his family roots come from Italy. It is ok America to proudly stand with the 19 White and 1 Hispanic firefighter that deserve promotions.

110,000+ tech jobs have already been lost in this country since the beginning of the year. The tech sector like the rest of the economy is struggling. Yet, despite all the job losses and the calls to stimulate the economy the clowns in Washington are at it again.

Dozens of lobbyists calling for more foreign H-1B Visa holders to be allowed to enter our market have been seen on Capitol Hill and at the White House this week.

H-1B visas are granted to foreign nationals with a college degree to work in specialty occupations in our country. Those specialty occupations are often technology and engineering positions. Large tech firms and our Colleges and Universities are the biggest employers on H-1B visa holders. They routinely overlook qualified American workers in order to employ cheaper foreign labor. Universities also prefer the cheap foreign labor because they add an additional “diversity benefit”.

The U.S. has and continues to produce more than enough able tech and engineering workers. Our higher education institutions produce over 200,000 tech/engineering graduates annually ABOVE the number of tech and engineering jobs available in our nation. Yet, despite these numbers, greedy tech firms and colleges claim that they cannot find enough tech workers. I know dozens of tech workers that lost jobs to H-1B visa holders, including two IT graduates from the University of Pennsylvania that were turned down for tech positions at the University. The University then proceeded to hire two H-1B visa holders that struggled with the English language. This Ivy League school cannot claim that their own graduates are not qualified.

Like President Bush, President Obama is on record supporting an increase in the number of H-1B visa approved to work in the U.S.The current annual cap on H-1B visas is 65,000. President Obama voted in the U.S. Senate to increase the cap to 180,000 cheap foreign tech workers a year and on another occasion he voted to remove the cap entirely to allow an unlimited amount of foreign tech workers to flood our market.

Every single member of Obama’s cabinet thus far supports increasing the number of H-1B visa holders. Homeland Security Sec. nominee Janet Napolitano has been one of the most vocal supporters of the H-1B visa program in the country. During the campaign, Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Richardson, Biden, McCain, Romney, Rudy, Huckabee and even Ron Paul all made statements in support of more H-1B workers. Our leaders seem intent upon making us completely dependent upon foreign workers and foreign companies to run our incredibly important and vital tech and engineering sector.

As you are reading this, new bills are being written to expand or even remove the H-1B visa cap. A prominent Philadelphia based immigration attorney Morley J. Nair even released a press release expressing his optimism that the H-1B visa cap will be raised or removed under a new Obama administration.

The H-1B program is broken and corrupt. Many H-1B visa holders do not have college degrees and many of them stay in the U.S. illegally after their visa expires. Colleges and Corporations often falsely claim that they cannot find willing U.S. tech workers. Immigration Law firms help teach them how to do this. I have a video of a Pittsburgh based Immigration law Firm telling clients that the goal is to NOT find willing and able U.S. tech workers. I will attach the video below in the comment section in the near future for those of you that have not already seen the video.

The new stimulus plan that will likely grow to at least $900 Billion if not $ 1Trillion dollars has no provisions in regards to funds going to firms that hire foreign workers (either illegal or visa holders). It is expected that many of the research/green tech/education stimulus funding will go to firms that hire a large number of foreign visa holders. And of course the infrastructure spending will likely go to companies that hire illegal immigrants since those companies have an unfair cost advantage and can place lower bids than the companies that play by the rules. Thus, much of the stimulus funding will not go towards hiring more U.S. workers. Instead, it will go towards hiring the cheapest foreign labor those firms can find. And those foreign workers will in turn send a percentage of that money (your future tax money) back home to their native countries. Not only will stimulus funding go towards foreign workers, but foreign companies will also be cashing in. For example, a large wind energy company based in the Philadelphia suburbs was recently bought by a foreign company and they are already making plans to get their hands on some of the stimulus funds.

Just as a lot of the bailout money went to U.S. banks that in turn invested it into Chinese banks, so too will the stimulus funds be funneled out of this country. The largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world is not only continuing, it is accelerating at a frightening pace. We are at war and most people haven't realized it yet. And I am not talking about Iraq and Afghanistan. It is going on all around you - open your eyes.

The Loss of American Self-Reliance and the Coming Age of Instability

By Michael Thompson

America is entering into a new era of instability. 

When America places her feet to the earth, she no longer feels the rich soil between her toes and the solid bedrock underneath her. Instead of being grounded and steadied, she is met with instability and uncertainty. This instability is making it increasingly difficult for America to stand tall and proud. Our strong American foundation has been crippled and weakened. We are no longer standing firmly upon solid bedrock.

Today our beloved America is anchored upon a foundation of sand. With each new gust of wind, each new crashing wave, and each new thunderstorm in the form of another factory moving overseas or another bus load of illegal workers crossing our border our shifting foundation is further eroded.

Our two party leaders have abandoned the American principles of self-reliance, pragmatism and common sense. They have systematically weakened the American foundation. And we are quickly approaching the point of no return.

The shifting ground underneath our weakened foundation causes our entire house to shift and sway. This instability spreads like mold or a virus, infesting our entire home, weakening the weight bearing pillars of our public schools, our economy, our national defense and every other segment of our society.

America could always proudly stand on her own two feet. We always grew, made or provided the basics and most of the extras.

Our once strong manufacturing base, fueled by a strong work ethic created a thriving middle class. Today, America's middle class is being stretched to its limits. Our manufacturing base is dying. We no longer make anything in America and that is leaving us vulnerable and weak. It is simply common sense to realize that our nation and our citizens are more secure when we as a nation can provide our own food, clothing and shelter. How could our leaders even think of letting our nation become dependent upon the rest of the world for our vital essentials?

America has the best soil on earth and the best farmers to work that soil. Yet, for the first time in our nation's great agricultural history, we are importing more foreign grown food than we are exporting.

We import 90% of the clothing we wear. We import over 70% of the energy we use. We import most of the electronics we use. We now purchase more foreign built cars and trucks than American made cars and trucks. We import over 90% of the toys we buy our children. Even most American flags are now made in China. These are all signs of a decaying America due to the failed leadership in Washington and every state capitol in America.

Both political parties ignore the millions upon millions of cheap, dangerous foreign made goods that flood our markers each year. Our leaders allow our Pentagon to use computers that were manufactured by a company now owned by the government of China.

Over 1.2 million illegal immigrants cross our borders each year. Both political parties, corporate interests and ethnocentric interest groups wish to force American workers to compete with cheap foreign labor. Despite the fact that our economy is in trouble and unemployment is rising, we do nothing about the invasion of cheap foreign labor.

This wish to force American workers to compete with cheap foreign labor is not just limited to low skilled workers. Our Universities and hundreds of major companies hire nearly a million H1B skilled foreign workers a year in the technology and engineering fields. This is despite the fact that American Universities produce over 270,000+ qualified graduates each year above the number of new tech and engineering jobs produced.

Both political parties continue to push destructive free trade agreements that ship American jobs overseas. A Chinese Automaker is building a new $300 Million dollar auto plant in Tijuana, Mexico. The plant will produce 150,000 cars in the first year of operation which will be in 2009.

The cars are intended to be sold in the United States. And since the cars will be built in Mexico, they can be sold in the United States duty free. Thanks to NAFTA (which has already sent millions of American jobs overseas) our market will be flooded with vehicles priced so low that American automakers will be unable to match them. American automakers are already losing the battle against foreign automakers.

All across the country our leaders are allowing the virus and the mold to spread throughout our home when they approve the sale of our turnpikes, bridges, tunnels, wind farms and other vital infrastructure to foreign companies. The rest of our vital infrastructure (that hasn't yet been sold to the highest foreign bidder) is wasting away from neglect.

Our leaders are passing massive taxpayer bailouts of investment banks owned by foreign companies. The condition of our markets and our entire economy now relies largely on the global economy. Every month that passes by we see ourselves further growing dependent upon foreign interests.

We are borrowing billions of dollars from China and Japan to pay off our record high deficits.

Our foreign policy is increasingly driven by lobbyists representing foreign interests.

Our leaders have led us down the path away from American self-reliance. We can't even stand on our own two feet anymore.

Globalization is on the march. It is an intimidating and powerful opponent.

Sadly, our so-called leaders are carrying the flag of Globalization. Both political parties are carrying the flag of Globalization. Our leaders have become simply puppets.

I still carry the American flag. That is why I was forced to start a new political party. I believe that there is still such a thing as a NATIONAL INTEREST. Globalization leads to American decline. Globalization results in global redistribution of wealth in the name of fairness. Globalization is the threat that will completely wipe out our home. Globalization is the threat that will wash away what is left of our foundation. Unchecked Globalization will put an end to American self-reliance, pragmatic problem solving and a strong work ethic that has allowed our nation to grow and prosper. Globalization will be the final blow to the American middle class and our standard of living. America cannot sustain this onslaught by our failed elected leaders. The globalization axe is chopping away at our lower most foundation beams. And sadly, it is our two party elected leaders who are swinging the axe the fastest. The lobbyists and foreign interests are standing behind them cheering them on. As they cheer, our leaders chop faster and faster, smashing the axe blade against our home. When loyal Americans protest, the forces of Globalization turn their axes towards them calling them isolationists, xenophobes and racists. Those claims don't characterize our positions, but do allow the globalists to deflect legitimate criticisms.

If we submit to globalization, our destiny is no longer in our own hands. We will be handing over our laws, our wealth, our dignity and our destiny. America will then no longer be shaping and making history. We will be sitting on the sidelines watching history go bye. Europe is already now just a watcher of history, instead of being a player in history. Globalization will eat away any of our remaining prosperity as it is redistributed to the rest of the world leaving America and ultimately the rest of the world weaker and poorer.

Soon in the coming years, as our foundation continues to sway and shift under the falling weight of our house over our weakened foundation, Americans will be forced to act. YOU will be forced to take a stand and pick a side. Some will choose to wipe away the shifting sand and be willing to sacrifice what it will take to once again dig down to the steady soil and solid bedrock so we can gently sit our house down on a lasting and sustainable foundation. These loyal Americans who choose to still carry the American flag will be attacked for defending America and fighting for its survival.    

Which flag will you be carrying?

Documentary Filmmaker Wanted

By Michael Thompson
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

We are looking for a talented filmmaker to make a documentary about the founding, development and rise of the New American Independent Party.

With experienced mentors, our NAIP intern team will be a vital part of the film project. They will be involved in all facets of the film and NAIP outreach, candidate campaigns, voter drives and media outreach over the course of one campaign season or one year going from grass roots beginnings and campaign kickoffs until after Election Day. The goal is to tell the story of the internships and the development of the New American Independent Party simultaneously, in the form of a documentary.

This project would be an excellent opportunity for a documentary filmmaker to create a film about the New American Independent Party and its development.

Why would I want to make this film?

We think it will be extremely interesting to everyone who is curious about the American political process and the changing electorate. It is a unique opportunity to film the development and challenges of America's newest political party over the course of one summer or one year. The film might serve as an excellent addition to your portfolio if you are interested in making future documentaries or working on a reality TV show.

How will the film be financed?

This is a documentary. We're looking for a filmmaker who will finance and make the film themselves and own the rights. We want someone who can promote the film to typical documentary outlets (TV, IFilm, cable, video, etc, or just as a student project for a class).

The New American Independent Party will hold fundraisers in order to make available a cash grant of $8500 or more plus additional funds for expense reimbursement to the filmmaker we chose to work with, conditional on producing a finished film. If you're a student or amateur and are resourceful and willing to scrounge a little bit, this may be enough to actually make the film. If you're a professional documentary filmmaker, you probably know how to raise money to make films better than we do.

Again, this is not intended to finance the film, and we do not expect to own the rights to the film; it's just a subsidy that may make it easier.

Plus, the New American Independent Party will provide volunteers and interns to help the filmmaker on the project as the filmmaker sees fit. The interns will be a vital part of the film.

Who will see the film?

New American Independent Party members, Independent and third party voters and dissatisfied Democrats and Republicans audience will likely be a very interested audience. The interns will be maintaining a weblog all summer or year describing the development process, and building up a natural audience for a documentary about their experience.

When the documentary is complete, the NAIP will make the DVD available on its website. The NAIP will promote the film widely over the internet and at all NAIP events and rallies. This should get your film a fairly decent audience. We would also actively promote a trailer cut as well which we can use to promote the film on our websites and discussion groups.

What's in the documentary?

You're the filmmaker. Here are some suggestions you might want to include in the film:

·         The project kick-off meeting and progress meetings

·         Interviews with the candidates, volunteers, committee members and the interns

·         Interviews with voters and non voters

·         Candid interviews with interns about their experience, before, during, and after the project

·         NAIP door to door activities

·         NAIP essay contest

·         Ballot Access strategy meetings and legal obstacles

·         Media outreach and challenges

·         Candidate Debates

·         NAIP events across the country. (Most of the project will be completed in Pennsylvania, but a lot of travel will be required)

·         Other summer activities that NAIP staff and our interns do (life on the road, talking to voters, night on the town, visits to football games, NASCAR races and other activities which we will organize)

·         Speeches by NAIP founder Michael Thompson and NAIP candidates

The goal is to tell the story of the internships with the film project and the development of the New American Independent Party simultaneously, in the form of a documentary. We are not trying to create outrageous TV as a reality TV program does. However, the film will contain some aspects of the participants' personal lives. But the film should mostly be focused on the NAIP story and our candidates in a serious and positive way while also capturing the challenges the party and candidates face. But, the film should be entertaining and cutting edge.

We want to introduce more people to the New American Independent Party and our proposals while also entertaining the viewers. We want the audience to examine the current ballot access process and the entire American "two party" system.  

What's the Schedule?

Filming will begin no earlier than May 25, 2010 and end no later than November 15, 2012. The start time and finish time is very flexible at this time.

Interested?  / Have Questions?

If you are interested in this project, email Michael Thompson, admin [at] newamericanindependent [dot] com with your interest. You will be emailed or mailed detailed application instructions.

Who won the last debate??

Post your thoughts.

Once again third party and independent candidates were shut out of the debate.

I thought the debate moderator did a good job this time. I thought this was the best job by a moderator.

The debate itself was alittle more exciting than the previous ones, but we still didn't get alot of real plans or details of plans. I felt that McCain had his best performance thus far. Obama was unexciting and somewhat flat.

I felt that McCain once again struggled to articulate his health care plan. Many people are buying into Obama's argument that folks will pay alot more under McCain's healthcare plan. Some will, but many will pay less. Obama's plan will do nothing but raise the costs of healthcare for most folks. But, voters don't seem to want to really take a serious look at the issues this year. It puts us into a very dangerous situation.

What the McCain campaign should do is put "Joe the Plumber" in his campaign commercials the rest of the way till the election. Plumber Joe puts a real face to the folks that will be paying more under the Obama tax plan if Joe Plumber does indeed start his own business.

Joe Plumber is registered with a third party by the way.

Obama's plan to redistribute wealth is something that would turn off most independent voters if they heard more about it. The redistribution of wealth or the spreading the wealth as Obama says it, is at the heart of his world view. You can see it in the books and authors that he says has influenced him and you can see it in his writings (what is available). Spreading the wealth within America and also spreading the wealth internationally has been a priority for Obama. Folks on the left see this as a act of good will towards the poor and the rest of the world. Many of them do not realize that he wants to permanently spread the wealth and that the result will be a decline of most Americans standard of living. We are already experiencing this because of the failed policies that the clowns in Washington have been pushing. But, this dangerous trend will only accelerate if Obama's plans are to become law. Even Obama's old church (Rev. Wright) mentioned on their website that the United States has a responsibility to spread it's wealth to the people of Africa.

Using our ten point scoring system, I would score the debate McCain 8 Obama 2. But, I am not sure how much impact these debates are having. Many folks have already made up their mind that Obama should win and no information will change their mind. Folks are focusing on Mcain's facial expressions or the fact that he is in the same party as President Bush. I certainly disagree with McCain on alot of issues. But, I must say that Obama will pose the biggest threat to America's middle class.

The race can still go either way if voter fraud is eliminated. But, McCain has a tough road because he has two opponents. Obama and Bush. If McCain loses the election, it won't be because Obama beat him. It will be because Bush beat him.

I have been hearing politican after politican saying that our current economic crisis was caused by greedy Mortgage banks and CEO's on Wall Street. I read blogs and bulletins everyday saying essentially the same thing.  

We act as if Wall Street alone caused this crisis.

Greedy Mortage banks certainly played a major role, but we cannot forget the other causes such as an influx of foreign investments, Washington politicans pushing a social engineering agenda and all the people who took the loans.

First, our government leaders have been encouraging foreign companies and countries to invest in America. Our leaders in Washington have been encouraging these foreign interests to buy up vital American infrastructure and invest in our banks and companies. And they did. Foreign interests began pumping funds into our economy at a dangerous pace. This massive influx of foreign funds created a bubble. I have been warning against our nation becoming dependent upon foreign interests, money and goods for years and the threat it creates for us.

Secondly, Washington politicans began to pressure banks and creditors ten years ago to approve more loans to poor minorities. This shift began during the Clinton administration and has continued and accelerated to the present day. These low income citizens were given loans despite having no or poor credit. No money down was most common with these loans to low income folks.

The Congressional Black Caucus pushed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to eliminate all restrictions for low income minorities that wanted houses. Congressional Democrats led by the Congressional Black Caucus moved to eliminate all regulations. Yes, they moved to eliminate regulations despite what they are now saying.

The politicans took big campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in exchange for eliminating all regulations and oversight. Basically, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were allowed to run wild in exchange for campaign contributions and easy credit to low income minorities. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were quasi government organizations and so they were more than willing to take a chance on giving loans to people that clearly could not afford them. Fannie and Freddie executives would get big bonuses and more fees. And if these low income folks could not pay their loans it was no problem. It was no problem because the Congressional Black Caucus, the Democrats in Congress and the Bush Administration promised to lead a government bailout for Fannie and Freddie. And they did.

In 1999, the New York Times had an article (I will post the article after I find my NYT password) mentioning how the Clinton Administration began to pressure banks to loosen loan restrictions for low income minorities. The Bush Administration has done the same thing. The Bush Administration expanded the efforts to also include more hispanics and well as African-Americans in home ownership. The Congress began pushing for more low income hispanic home ownership. In fact, banks were even encouraged to provide homes to illegal immigrants. These folks didn't need papers, nor did they need to actually qualify for the loan. When banks applied normal loan restrictions to low income minorites who clearly could not afford home mortgages, the politicans in Washington and some socioethnic interest groups called that discrimination. Mortgage banks were called discriminatory and racist and were threatened with boycotts.

You don't hear the politicans talking about this. You only hear them blaming Wall Street greed for our current financial crisis. They don't even want to touch this topic. And when I first posted a bulletin about this problem, this affirmative action housing program I got quite a few emails from folks saying that I was unfairly blaming minorites. Let me be clear. I am placing most of the blame on the politicans and the top dogs at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

But, it is true that some of the blame must also fall on the folks taking out the loans. Nobody held a gun to their head forcing them to take out loans that they could not afford. The consumers of these loans must take some of the responsibility. Far too many Americans of all incomes and all ethnic backgrounds are borrowing too much and saving too little. It was only a matter of time until this practice caught up to us.

Too many people in our country now think they are entitled to everything they want right away. They no longer want to work for it. They no longer want to take the fiscally responsible route anymore. "I deserve a home and so I am going to get one" and "It's my right to own a home" and "Everyone deserves to have their own home". Actually, I hate to break it too you but not everyone deserves their own home. Not everyone should be given a mortgage. Not everyone should be given a car loan.

I know how hard it is to start out at the bottom. I know what it's like to live on food stamps and welfare. It isn't easy to climb out of that hole. And it is ok to get a little help to get you out of that hole. But, proving yourself by climbing out of that hole and buying a home when you can afford it is much different than buying a house while your still in the hole. It might make you feel a little better for a while, but it is only going to keep you in the hole and it might even throw a few other people in the hole with you.

When you are in the hole, it is tempting to grab a hold of anything that looks like a better life. So, while these folks need to share in the blame, we should also understand that the folks at the very bottom live day by day. Alot of other people who do not live day by day have been just as reckless with credit.

The numbers of low income minorites that could not afford their homes reached an unsustainable level at the same time that the foreign investment bubble broke. Foreign investment into the U.S. slowed just as the housing bubble was breaking. This is a crisis caused by irresponsible folks taking out loans they could not afford and our corrupt politicans in Washington who allowed foreign money to flood our market and not only allowed but encouraged Fannie, Freddie and Mortage banks to give out loans to folks that could not afford them. The politicans took giant campaign contributions and the mortgage giants were given the freedom to run wild and sell as many mortgages as possible.

Then the crisis began to spread to other areas of our economy.

Wall Street Greed? Yes, of course. But, I would place much more of the blame on our corrupt politicans. Citizens eager for instant gradification also share in the blame.

On the morning of September 11th, 2008 I left Philadelphia behind and took the highway ramp leading to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I decided to make the trip across the state to the site of the Flight 93 downing on September 11th 2001.

I always welcome the opportunity to leave the trash, crime, traffic and filth of Philadelphia behind and make the drive across the rest of the state which is quite beautiful. My destination was Swanksville, PA a small rural town in west central PA. Swanksville is somewhat similar to my hometown which is about 2 hours or so to the north in the heart of rural central Pennsylvania.

I drove across the state until I reached the exit where the giant wind turbines tower over the turnpike near Somerset. The giant wind turbines and the crash site are just a short distance apart and I always can't help wonder how many people make the connection.

I turned at the Harley dealer and off I drove past the fields as I followed the winding road up to the crash site. I make the trip to the site about once a year and every time I can't help think of my dad.

My dad drove an 18 wheeler in his retirement in order to pay the bills. He drove to Swanksville on Sept. 10th 2001 to either pick up a load of steel for a company he worked for that builds dumpsters - Stone Valley Welding or to drop off a dumpster. The welding shop was and is owned by our previous neighbor and good friend Steve who is a preacher and Amish. On the days that my dad wasn't driving the big rig he worked as a welder in Steve's shop. As usual nobody was there to load or unload the truck so he had to find a place to park the truck and wait until the morning. He parked his truck on the side of the road just a very short distance from where Flight 93 would go down. The next day after waiting until he thought someone would be around to load/unload the truck he started driving up to the location when the events of Sept. 11th unfolded. I cannot tell you what he told me he saw and heard that day but I can tell you that he was forced out of his truck at gun point by federal agents a short time later. They took his identification and asked him a series of about 50 questions. They held his truck for about 10 hours before they turned him away from the area. This was one of the last one on one conversations that I had with my dad. I spoke to my dad on other occasions after that but other family members were always around and so the conversations were nothing more than "How are you doing?", "Where do you work now? and "Why aren't you  married yet?" and other such chit chat that my family usually asks me after not seeing me for a while.

The events on flight 93 have been disputed. I don't want to argue for one version or the other. We only have partial information and will likely never know all that transpired on flight 93. But, it is clear that some of the passangers were aware of the other hijackings and decided to exercise some control over their destiny and that of our nation. They made an act of sacrifice in an attempt to save others.

My dad only had an 8th grade education and my mom only had a 10th grade education for that matter. We never had much money, but they also made a sacrifice for me. My dad worked as a welder for thirty some years destroying his lungs, eyes and hearing to try to put enough food on the table. My mom and dad rescued me from the hellish state foster care system. They adopted me and made sure that I didn't go back to my birth mother who after my father was killed in a car accident starved me, beat me and kept me tied to a chair in the closet in a tiny little town called Mount Union, Pennsylvania. My sister who I re-met some years ago sneaked food into the closet where I was kept in order to feed me.

As I said, my adopted dad didn't make much money and didn't have much of an education, but he was willing to sacrifice virtually all of his time and energy for me, my new sisters and brother and a half dozen foster kids at any given time. I'm not sure if you could ever say that we were that close. But, I appreciate all that he did for me. My parents were uneducated but they sat and read to me the best they could and taught me how to talk as I was years behind other children in those two categories. I didn't really get the chance to thank him for giving me a chance. I did try to thank him just moments before he passed away three years ago on the day before my birthday, but I'm not really sure if he was able to hear me or understand me. I hope so, but I wonder.

Those were my thoughts as I approached the Flight 93 memorial site. I normally don't make the trip on the Sept. 11th date. I knew that on this day that alot more people would likely be there. I had no idea how many. I had no idea that John McCain would be there speaking along with Gov. Rendell and tons of radio show announcers and tv cameras. Just as the World Trade center memorial and freedom tower are not yet built in NYC, so too goes the flight 93 memorial in the usually quite field in rural Pennsylvania. Only a temporary memorial stands. The temporary memorial has thousands upon thousands of writings, personal notes, small personal items, American flags and pictures of the victims that the thousands of visitors have left since Sept. 11th 2001.

I looked at the design pictures of the memorial and then I looked at the temporary memorial around me. The temporary memorial is America. It contains the American spirit and character. You don't even need to look at the crash site to get emotional. The temporary memorial is always what makes people emotional.

The new expensive memorial design was created by Paul Murdoch a Jewish artist in San Francisco. The design is striking in that it looks alittle like an Islamic crescent pointing towards Mecca. Outside of the "Crescent of Embrace" as they called it is where was to be 44 oval shaped things. 40 passengers and crew died that day. 4 terrorists died that day. The original memorial design incredibly seemed to memorialize the hijackers in some way. After public outcry the designer instead decided to use 40 trees instead. But, the crescent shape remains. The crescent design has been modified, but it remains.

The crescent and the previous 44 shapes might not have been anything. Or perhaps it is some kind of expression of embrace of the terrorists and the victims that the artist wanted to force upon us. Or perhaps it is the opposite, some crude reminder that Radical Islamists committed the act. I don't know the motivations. I can't know his intentions. I can't get into the head of some artist from San Francisco.

I just know that the temporary memorial is simple and American.

The expensive government backed memorial is lacking. They had flyers available for visitors to take and later mail in financial contributions for the new memorial. The new design seems to be an attempt to force one to feel something different than one feels as you walk among the temporary memorial walls with the notes and trinkets.

I had a good visit. But, I much prefer the smaller crowds and less nonsense going on. I will still come back and visit the site after the memorial is eventually built because I want to hold onto my own memories and pay tribute to those victims who died and sacrificed that day. I just hope the new site welcomes me.

To me, the flight 93 crash site represents what is best about America. The people, the character, the sacrifice. The site also represents the largest challenge that we as a nation have ever faced. It is a challenge that is being forced upon us whether we like it or not. It is the challenge and threat of Globalization.

This is the fight that America will have to wage not only with the world but with itself over the next 60 years. America may very well have to tear itself apart once again in order to endure.