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F. Morton Scott is a man who has never stopped writing. He has been a noted historian of Oklahoma facts, a tireless public servant serving government in state and national positions, and he continues to wear the moniker of LIBERAL proudly. He lives in Elk City on the Western Oklahoma prairie, and continues a 50 year tradition of writing for fun and pleasure. Contact him at FMortonScott@aol.com.

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Last Thursday my Mother, Elaine Chastain Scott, would have celebrated her 100th Birthday. My Dad, Fred Scott Sr., would have been 100 years old last July 4 (Yes, he was a "Yankee Doodle Dandy.")

So from last Thursday until this July 4, they would have both been 100 years old. During this period each year, Mother would call my Dad a "young man." The rest of the year he was the "old man."

My Dad was born in Indian Territory and my Mother in Oklahoma Territory. I was born in the State of Oklahoma, a metaphor for the union of the two territories.

They began their romance in the years just before the Depression. They got married just months before the Stock Market Crash. I came along just 78 days later.

Music was always important to them. When they were courting, they played records and listened to the radio (a new technology then). Their song was "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."

My Dad was a baritone, who often led the singing at community events, such as church services, Fourth of July celebrations, Bank Nights, political rallies, etc. He and Mother sang in the church choirs - as did I when I was old enough. Occasionally, they would do duets.

My Dad was a salesman, a good salesman. In those days, he worked on a 10% commission. One month, he sold only $100. His commission, for the month, was only $10. Money was scarce - for everyone.

My Dad was a whistler. In the evening, I was always excited when I heard him whistling as he came from work up the sidewalk in front of our house. I remember my joy when I learned to whistle just like my Dad.

My Mother was always teaching me. The folks gave me some blocks with letters on one side.. I placed two letters next to each other, such as an "I" and a "S." She told me they spelled, "IS." One day I put two "IS" together, and she told me I had spelled the name of the Egyptian goddess of Love. She took every chance to teach me.

My folks celebrated their 64th Wedding Anniversary. Daddy died in 1993, a month before their 65th. Mother lived eight lonely years, dying in 2001.

They were always very deeply in love. They always loved music. Happy 100 years, Mother and Daddy.

Thanks for reading my personal note. Next week we'll talk about the end of an era. You may e-mail me at

ourworld@aol.com

 I L B C N U

Last week we marveled at the changes Old Codgers like me (at 77) have seen in our lifetimes.

This week we'll marvel at the fantastic future which lies ahead for our next generations. Our World fifty years from now will be full of things which seem magic today.

The Future will be Smart - Smart Clothes, Smart Homes, Smart Cars.

This Smart World will be a confluence of multiple technical revolutions now underway: electronic, biotechnical, miniaturizing, chemical.

Within a few years, we will be wearing Smart Clothes, clothes made of nano-carbon fibers which never get dirty. Smart Clothes will monitor our blood pressure, perspiration, pulse, hydration, perhaps even our sugar level. Within near decades our clothes will be able to notify emergency services when we are injured, telling them where our injuries are.

These seem like science fiction, but are being developed today.

The Smart Home will monitor our weight, movements, sugar levels, blood pressure, other vital signs. The Smart Refrigerator in the Smart Home will keep track of the foods inside and notify us (or the grocery) when replacements are needed. The Smart Refrigerator can also provide recipes possible with available foods. Smart Stoves can be set to begin cooking meals at the appropriate time. You can already buy robot vacuum cleaners for your carpets and floors --- just set the time to begin.

Light bulbs will be ancient history. Wall panels will give an even light throughout our rooms. Wall panels will also be 3-D TV screens.

Within 30 years, at least in metropolitan areas, robotic Smart Cars will use the Global Position System to take us where we want to go. All we'll have to do is get in, give directions, then relax, read, play games or converse with other passengers, or maybe even doze, until we get to our destination.

Robots will be everywhere (as they already are in manufacturing). Hospitals are already advertising robotic surgery - robots assisting surgeons in precise operations.  Robots will assist senior citizens and others in doing household chores, remembering medications, restocking groceries and perhaps even provide conversation for people living alone.

Within the next decade, we will see pictures of earth-sized planets beyond the solar system. Our robots will continue to explore Mars and, probably within the next 15 years, Humans will walk on Mars and colonize the Moon.

Of course, Our Future will also have problems, as well as miracles. We will explore some of these in next week's column.

You may e-mail me at ourworld@aol.com.

I L B C N U

I can't think of a more fantastic time to be alive --- except perhaps a generation from now.

The world has changed unbelievably in my 77 years.

In the 1930s, when I was in grade school, familiar words and phrases today had no meaning: ATM, DNA, GPS, 9/11, internet, i-pod, e-mail,, frozen dinner, 800 number, area code, rock music, microwave oven, DVD, remote control, Mars rover, food pyramid.

I remember hearing the clippity-clop of horse-drawn wagons as farmers brought their produce into town. On weekends, people crowded into theaters for "Bank Night," where drawings were held for prizes such as $100 of groceries.

In hot weather, people sat on front porch swings or in chairs in their yards and sometimes chatted with neighbors walking along the sidewalks. Air conditioning existed, but was not wide-spread.

As World War II began in Europe, we were astonished to hear Edward R. Murrow broadcasting live from London. Then we actually heard radio broadcasts with people from both New York and Los Angeles.

Following World War II, changes began rapidly. Televisions and air conditioning brought people away from porches and front yards into living rooms, which became oriented toward the television set.

Americans began to travel. Route 66 opened up the West. In 1956, the Interstate system began connecting all parts of the nation to the rest. In 1957, the Space Age began. We saw launches, satellites and close-ups pictures of other worlds.

In the 1980s, personal computers became common and changed the way we worked and played, In 1995, the internet exploded, putting us in touch with the rest of the world from work and home.

Today, when we shop at our grocery stores, we have thousands of choices from all over the world. Seasons do not limit our choices.

We can sit in our home and send e-mail to our children or parents, anywhere in the world. We can watch on our TV or cell phone as a person in India speaks to a crowd in an auditorium and hear her milliseconds before people on the last row. We see pictures from Mars or Jupiter's moon, Titan.

We are living years longer and healthier than our grandparents. We ARE living in a fantastic world and in fantastic times. This IS a great time to be alive.

But we "ain't seen nothing yet'. Next week we'll talk about the world our children and grandchildren will live in. You can e-mail me at Ourworld@aol.com.

I L B C N U

Despite everlasting discussions from the White House and Congress, almost no word has been spoken about the greatest threat to our nation and to you in your daily life.

Our nation seems to be in a daze and unable to face the tragedy right in front of us.

We hear much about the Iraqi war, immigration, disaster preparedness, bird flu, and even the non-problem of flag burning. These are serious problems (except for flag burning). They require our attention. Al Gore, luckily, is warning us about the imminent threats to Humanity of Global Climate Change.

For our United States, another serious problem also threatens us.

I am currently reading a fascinating book: Empire of Debt, by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin, two international financial experts.

This is a serious book, a very informative book. Yet the authors have a very informal, at times even amusing style. I highly recommend it.

Their warning in this book is very concise: The United States is broke, but our leaders are ignoring this stark fact. Not only are we broke, we are deep in debt and getting deeper in debt day by day.

The authors are absolutely right.

Ironically, we still have Earth's strongest economy, but only because other countries loan us money. They do this by buying our Federal stocks and bonds. Someday they will require these loans be repaid.

A few basic, stark facts: For every dollar our Federal government gets in income tax, personal and corporate, we must borrow an additional 80 cents to pay our expenditures.

Our national debt in April was $8,395,724,000,000 - that is OVER eight TRILLION dollars. That's an impossible figure to comprehend. Let's translate.

Your personal share, as an American, is $28,000, up from $19,000 at the beginning of this Bush administration. Now that is just for you. If four people are in your family, YOUR family share is $112,000. Think about your family's finances. Then tack a $28,000 debt on that for each member.

Almost half this debt is owned by foreigners, including foreign governments. We are increasingly depending on foreigners. Southeastern Asia countries, especially China, Japan, India and South Korea, are the biggest investors in the United States.

The National Debt is the cumulative total of our annual budget deficits. The last budget with no deficit came from the agreement between Republican Newt Gingrich and Democratic President Bill Clinton. All George W. Bush budgets have had huge deficits.

Is this a serious matter?

"President Regan proved deficits don't matter." We have this assessment from the Vice President, Dick Cheney. This may help explain the huge deficits of the George W. Bush administration. Cheney is wrong.

 A major difference exists between the Reagan deficits and the Bush administration deficits.

In the early 1980s, United States individuals and corporations owned about 95% of the U.S. National Debt notes. When interest on these notes was paid, the funds were circulated back into the American economy. When the notes were paid off, the money also circulated back into the American economy.

The 21st Century is extremely different - half of our National Debt is held by foreigners, individuals, corporation - and governments.

When interest is paid on these, the funds leave our economy and go into a foreign economy - Chinese, Japanese, Indian, South Korean, etc. Those funds are not available to build the American economy. When the United States pays off those notes, those funds go out of our economy. We no longer have access to them.

This is extremely important. In addition, we become vulnerable. George W. Bush says, accurately, that we are addicted to foreign oil. We are also addicted to borrowing foreign money and going deeper into debt.

Suppose Venezuela had been buying up our stocks and bonds. President Chavez could demand immediate repayment. This could have drastic impacts on our economy. Suppose a new government took power in China, or India, or South Korea and took similar actions.

Some financial experts are predicting a mega-depression several times worse than the one in the 1930s - and this in the lifetime of almost all you readers.

Every person running for the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives should be asked about this by each and every voter during this election year.

That's your responsibility as a citizen of the United States.

I would be glad to hear from readers who shake their heads because of what I write, either because they don't like it or because they agree with me. I hope you will let me know.

You can contact me at FMortonScott@aol.com or 580-275-9009.

I L B C N U

In my last column, I said I was not a fan of the philosophy: "Do something, even if it's wrong." I called that philosophy stupid. It is also dangerous.

That's what our federal House of Representatives seems to be doing now. I understand the anger and frustration related to the very complex immigration problems. No completely satisfactory solution exists.

We've had repeated opportunities to solve the problem, with periodic immigration bills. We have obviously failed. We did not really enforce major provisions of these laws, especially penalties against employers of illegal immigrants. We have not respected our laws enough to enforce them.

Many are angry because illegal immigrants break the law.

I wonder how many Congressmen, home this week, will exceed the speed limit? Oh, but that's merely a traffic law. Law is law. More importantly, speed kills. Speed really does kill.

Yes, we are a nation of law.

Well, most of the time.

Did you drive over the speed limit this past weekend?

Well, anyway, we are a nation of law. Illegal immigrants, by definition, are law breakers. We won't stand for it. So, the House of Representatives …..

One provision of the House bill would make illegal immigrants felons. An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants are in the United States now. If we instantaneously create 11 million new felons, how do we deal with them?

I heard on television that if we arrested all 11 million and put them on buses bound for Mexico, the buses would extend bumper-to-bumper from San Diego into British Columbia, Canada. We don't have that many buses.

These are 11 million husbands, wives, children who have come to the United States to find jobs they can't find at home. Sprinkled among them are drug runners, other smugglers and criminals and - perhaps - terrorists. These are problems. They are, however, a security problem, not an immigration problem.

Would we round illegal immigrants up overnight? How many employers would face the next day with no workers? Who would pick our vegetables? How many American mothers couldn't work because babysitters hadn't shown? How many yards would go uncut? Cars unwashed? Dishes uncleaned?

Illegal aliens live with fear. They fear trips north to the border. Coyotes, immigrant smugglers, are called that for a reason. They don't care if an immigrant, who pays $1,500 to cross the border, lives or dies. They may suffocate crammed into a hot truck. They may get shot by a drug gang. They may die of thirst in the scorching desert on either side of the border.

Being felons would intensify their fear.

Would we begin an active program of searching them out to ship them home? Would we raid shops hiring them? Would agents stalk yard workers, baby sitters?

If we couldn't find daytime workers, would we swoop down on homes, pounding on doors, dragging people out of bed and hauling them away at night? I remember those type stories when we were fighting Nazi Germany.

A story in the Wichita Falls newspaper this past weekend emphasized that most Mexicans would prefer living at home with relatives, friends, familiar surroundings. Groups like the Presbyterians work in Mexican communities, teaching residents trades and how to market products. They cut immigration to almost zero.

Groups like the Presbyterians are doing what Mexican governments have not done. The PRI political party held power from 1929 until overthrown in 2000 by now President Vincente Fox. Despite promises of reform, President Fox's government has failed. His solution to Mexico's economic problems: Go to America.

As I explained in recent columns, when I first visited Mexico in 1954, its population was 28,000,000. Today the population is 107,000,000.. Had it grown at the same rate as ours, the population would be only 50,000,000. Maybe even the PRI and Fox could have provided jobs for them.

Again, I emphasize our immigration problem has only two causes: Mexican overpopulation and failure to promote economic growth. If something isn't done about these, all that we try will fail.

The solution depends on Mexico's cutting the evils of its overpopulation. This can only come when they reject their cultural history which says birth control is evil. That is not what is evil.

Money spent on building fences or making mid-night raids could be better spent training Mexicans how to earn money at home.

Then maybe my friend who e-mailed me from Arizona last week would not be experiencing the whirling of helicopters over his head, or finding knapsacks abandoned in his neighborhood by immigrants racing to leave border guards behind.

I would be glad to hear from readers who shake their heads because of what I write, either because they don't like it or because they agree with me. I hope you will let me know.

You can contact me at >FMortonScott@aol.com< or 580-275-9009.

I L B C N U

Immigration 101
05/22/06

Our nation is besieged by the immigration question now.  We are seeing almost a feeding frenzy about immigration by our Congressmen, the President, and the media. You would think we have some new crisis so serious we must take immediate action or the world will come to an end.

Actually, the immigration situation today is almost exactly as it was January 1, 2006, or, as a matter of fact, on January 1, 2005, or January 1, 2004. There is an immigration problem - but it needs to be addressed calmly and intelligently.

So let's talk about it.  The basic problem is one I have not heard discussed by the President, a single Congressman or any media pundit.  I did refer to it briefly at the end of my last column.

In 1954 when I returned from my first visit to Mexico, people asked me what my impression was.  I needed only one word to respond:  "Children!"

In Mexico, we were always surrounded by children begging for money, trying to sell us tourist trinkets, running on the sidewalks, playing in the streets. They did not really bother me, except for the tragedy of their desperate need for money.  They were everywhere, however.

Riding on a bus from Guadalajara back to Mexico City, an intelligent, well-educated Mexican and I had a very interesting conversation.  Toward the end of the bus trip I asked him:  "We are probably never going to meet again.  Can you tell me what you really think of the United States?"  His answer was extremely significant: "Mexico is like a small dwarf next to a friendly giant," he said.  "We know the giant is friendly, but we worry that he might accidentally step on us."

Well, that dwarf has grown up. When I was first in Mexico, in 1954, the population of Mexico was about 28 million and that of the U.S. was 163 million people.  Today, Mexico has a population of about 106 million and ours is almost 300 million. 

Had the United States population grown at the same rate as Mexico's, our population would be 600,000,000 instead of 300,000,000!  On the other hand, had the population of Mexico grown at the rate of the United States, Mexico's population would be only 50 million, just under half of what it is today.

That's more than five times the number of illegal Mexicans immigrants in the United States.

That's the heart of our illegal immigration problem with Mexico.

Like all people, Mexicans need jobs.

Were the population of Mexico now only 50 million, Mexico might be able to find jobs for all its workers.  They cannot produce enough employment now, so they export their overpopulation into their neighbor which has the strongest economy in the world, our United States of America.

This excessive population, exported by immigration, is able to find jobs in the U.S., where they earn enough to send back to Mexico the third highest source of foreign capital in the Mexican economy.

The Mexican immigration problem cannot be solved until we deal with the core problems:

                     Mexico's overpopulation.

                     Mexico's inability to generate enough jobs for its citizens.

We need to begin an emergency program to help strengthen Mexico's economy.  This should be a Manhattan Project-type effort.

We should start by helping Mexico make birth control technique easily available to Mexican women. 

In the meantime, we should do nothing about the immigration problem during the panic frenzy we now have.  This would prevent a patch work approach to the problem.  I do not recommend the oft-used philosophy: "Do something, even if it's wrong."

Oh, I would do one thing this year.  Set up an aggressive program to teach all immigrants to read, write and speak English.

I think doing anything in this frantic climate would be, well, stupid. Let's have a careful, well-thought out solution to an important problem.

Immigration dominates our national attention this week, as it has for a while and probably will for a while longer.

President Bush spoke to the nation from the Oval Office Monday night. The Senate began debates on amendments to its comprehensive immigration bill.

The President proposed sending National Guard members to assist those patrolling the border, issuing biotech identification cards, a guest worker program and requiring immigrants to learn English.

These are basically good ideas. We need to learn more details.

Our problem is not with immigration, but with immigrants who enter the United States illegally. Most are Latin Americans, mainly Mexicans, who slip across our southern border. Others are Asians, smuggled into West Coast ports.

Our immigration challenge has four components:

1. Border security; 2. Illegal entry; 3. Labor problems; 4. Human problems.

BORDER SECURITY - Border security involves concerns about terrorists, criminals, drug dealers and persons with diseases entering the nation.

These come across the border mixed with immigrants seeking jobs and new lives in the United States. The thousands coming across help hide those seeking to destroy our cities, poison our youth and commit crimes. The lack of inspection and registration at borders means we have no chance to check the records and health of those coming in. With no documentation, we have no way to know who has come across the border or where they are.

ILLEGAL ENTRY -Many are concerned that immigrants entering the United States without going through customs are violating the law. This is not only a problem for the nation, but also for the immigrant.

The nation has problems identifying undocumented workers. The workers live in continuous fear of being discovered. Unscrupulous employers can threaten complaining employees with exposure.

Many illegal immigrants are driving without licenses. They rarely have health insurance, so they go without medical attention until an emergency develops.

LABOR PROBLEMS - Most immigrants, legal and illegal, are good workers and often take many jobs Americans will not.

Economists testifying before Congress say an important reason our economy is the strongest on Earth is the ready supply of labor, even at low-income levels. Our unemployment rate of 4.7% is currently one of our lowest in history and in the world.  A steady supply of low-income workers, however, may keep wages lower.

Employers who hire illegal immigrants are a major part of the problem. They do this, of course, to keep job expenses low. They often pay below minimum wage requirements. 

HUMAN PROBLEMS - A major impact of illegal immigration is the costs of human services for illegal immigrants. Those with low wages must depend on free, more extensive emergency services at hospital. Their children place a heavy financial burden on school systems. Providing municipal services to rapidly increasing populations impacts city governments.

Many immigrants do not speak English. This further complicates their problems - and irritates many native Americans.

Deporting the 11 million or more illegal immigrants would be an impossible challenge. Just the logistics of deportation would be enormous. Other problems exist such as requiring parents to leave children born in the United States who are American citizens behind.

The basis of these problems is long-term. At the heart is the extreme overpopulation of the Latin American countries. Our population in the United States today is at 300,000,000. Had the U.S. population in the last 50 years increased at the same rate as the Mexican population we would now have a population of 600,000,000. The present Mexican government cannot provide jobs for 100,000,000 citizens.

Next column I plan to discuss some possible ways to deal with these problems.

 You can contact me at >FMortonScott@aol.com< or 580-275-9009.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Thomas Jefferson penned these words 230 years ago for the Continental Convention in Philadelphia. Those were approved by the 13 colonies represented at Philadelphia and created the United States of America as an independent nation.

Thus, for the first time in Human history, a nation was created based on the idea that each and every person was important, that each and every person had inherent rights and that the government was for the people.

That new government of the United States was created by people who practiced varying religions, spoke numerous languages and had different cultural traditions.

The English, of course, came to North America to Jamestown in Virginia in 1607. The Pilgrims founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1620. Others came rapidly.

In 1624, Dutch settlers came from The Netherlands to settle the Hudson River valley in what is now New York but which they called New Netherlands.

In 1632, Maryland became a refuge for Catholics fleeing from possible persecution in England.

A group of Swedes and Finns established New Sweden in Delaware in 1639.

In 1654, the first Jews arrived, fleeing from religious persecution in Brazil. The Mennonites came from Germany in 1683 and settled in Pennsylvania.

My own Chastain ancestors joined other French Huguenots and settled in the colony of Virginia in 1700.

These immigrants with varying customs and religious beliefs continued their movement into the British colonies. They were learning to live and work together, building thriving communities. They learned from each other. From the Delaware settlements of Swedes and Finns the log cabin spread across the seaboard and, eventually across the Appalachians, the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coasts of California and Alaska.

From the Germans of Pennsylvania and elsewhere we learned to eat and enjoy sausages and eventually transformed them into that great American food, hot dogs.

By 1776, when Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, the American colonies had already become a "melting pot" of religions, Anglicans, Catholic, Jews, Presbyterians, Quakers, Moravians, Lutherans, Congregationalists.

In 1788 and 1789, the delegates again gathered in Philadelphia, this time as the Constitutional Convention. Here they forged the Constitution of the United States of America. This was a document based on a government in which the rulers, the President, the Senators and the members of the House of Representatives were elected, not appointed or holding office by inheritance.

This government assured a system of checks and balances, so that no group or individual could hold too much power, becoming a tyrant.

The Constitution was a magnificent document, but many felt it should also spell out the rights of the citizens. A movement began to establish these rights.

This is how we got our Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. The first amendment guaranteed us the freedoms of religion, speech and the press, as well as the right to assemble in groups peacefully and to petition the government for redress of grievances.

This was the first time in the history of Humanity that citizens had these, and the other rights in the Constitution, guaranteed to the citizens.

We have been a light to the world. Others have sought to bring these rights to their own countries.

These are the things which have made the United States the leading nation in the world.

We are being reminded of the importance of these rights as we watch the debates and demonstrations about immigration. These are people like our immigrant ancestors.

You can contact me at  FMortonScott@aol.com  or 580-275-9009.

I L B C N U

In these days of so much to worry about – Avian Flu, the Iraqi War, Global Warming, a lame-duck President, immigration problems – we might take a holiday to think about a couple of fascinating prospects in our future.

Our technology has already produced many miracles which are so commonplace we take them for granted.

I am typing this column on a computer and will email it to the paper over the internet. When I was in high school, a computer was a person who computed and no one had even thought of the internet, not even science-fiction writers.

So what’s new now?

How about a car that drives 132 miles of rough desert terrain, avoiding ecologically sensitive areas – without a driver?

The Stanford/Volkswagen's Tare "Stanley" last week won the Pentagon’s $2,000,000 DARFA Grand Challenge prize., beating four other vehicles which also made the difficult 132-mile race. Actually over 100 teams filed for the contest; only 25 were chosen to compete and five actually accomplished this technological feat.

These autonomous robotic vehicles used such technologies as GPS, specialized radars, stereoptic video cameras, and ultrasonic touch sensors.

These robot vehicles still have to learn to drive safely in traffic. One was able to dodge an unexpected bird last week. Civilian robotic cars should come in the next 10 or 15 years.

For many of you, someday, when you need a nap, you may go out for a Sunday afternoon drive – or you may want to play a game of solitaire.

Somehow, I feel even if I own an autonomous robotic car someday, for the first few 10,000 miles, I probably would be sitting on the edge of my seat, tensed up, eyes wide open.

Why is the Defense Department paying a $2,000,000 prize for a driverless car? Think how handy they would be in Iraq today. The Pentagon is thinking of these as MULEbots, which could carry equipment over the countryside without risking the lives of American or Allied soldiers.

The Pentagon is planning to fight wars without men or women in combat areas in a few decades.

This past week, my son, Frederick, told me about a bit of the future that’s already here.

You can do this one, if you have a fairly new computer and, at best, with broadband capabilities. Some of you may already be familiar with it.

I’m talking about Google Earth. You can download this to you own computer.

Desktops more than four years old and laptops more than two years may not be able to handle Google Earth.

It’s free. You can upgrade – but the free version is spectacular... Just type in "Google Earth" in your server and follow instructions.

Warning: this is addictive.

Google Earth has maps of the entire Earth, but these are maps like you have never seen before. These are United States Geologic Survey satellite PHOTOS, supplemented by others. In effect, you appear to fly from one place to another, seeing all the intervening areas as you go.

You can enter street addresses, local business names, names of well-known places or monuments or buildings and the names of cities and towns.

When you download Google Earth, an Earth icon will be placed on your desktop and the name will be on the end of your program list. Click on either of these to begin Google Earth.

Controls are at the bottom of your screen. A compass, with N, S, E, W on it, is in the bottom center. These will move you in the given direction. Left of the compass are + and – signs. These will zoom you in or out. To the right of the compass is another set of + and – signs. Click on these and it will tilt the map on your screen. With the screen tilted, you can get a three-dimensional effect which is most dramatic.

For instance, you can FLY through the Grand Canyon! This 3D effect is most impressive. Experiment with the program. As I warned: "It’s addictive." Play around with it. There are also cycling symbols. With these you can look at a house from the front, then cycle around to see the back! I haven’t figured out how they do it.

One major disappointment with the program: Smaller towns appear fuzzy and details are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, this applies to the Knox County towns and even some parts of a place like Wichita Falls.

If you would like to see where I live, enter "1501 N Washington, Elk City OK" and zoom in. You can see my house and the sun reflecting off my car in front.

If you do download this and have any trouble, feel free to call me.

You can contact me at > FMortonScott@aol.com< or 580-275-9009.

The cover on Time magazine last week read "Special Report on Global Warming," "Be Worried. Be VERY Worried." This week, U.S. News and World Report  follows with "The Truth About Global Warming." Almost all of you reading this column will be seriously impacted by Global Warming. Old codgers like me (at 76) may not be.. If your have not read these articles, you can read them on the internet (see directions at the bottom of this column). Discuss them with your children, friends, relatives. This is the most important subject facing the entire Earth.

The debate about Global Warming is over. Scientists are now united in warning about it. Only politicians like Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and ignorant showmen like Rush Limbaugh refuse to face facts from around the Earth. What are those facts? Heading the list is that five of the six hottest years in a century of records are in the 21st Century. Last year, 2005, was the hottest on record, followed by 1998, 2002, 2003l, 2004, then 2001. Polar icepacks and glaciers are melting much more rapidly due to increased heat. This affects animals and plants in northern areas. Native Americans living in these regions are already seeing the impacts on their way of life. Global Warming is creating droughts around the world. Here in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico we are seeing this in action. Homes have been lost to numerous grass fires. In the Texas Panhandle over 1,000,000 acres burned last month.

Drought is not limited to North America. Last year a drought ignited fires which swept through Indonesia, turning skies orange from the blowing dust and smoke. Droughts are stalking through Africa and Australia.

Hurricanes draw their power from the oceans. The more heat in oceans, the more energy the hurricanes draw. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and elsewhere attribute growing numbers and intensity of hurricanes to Global Warming.. Last year we saw Katrina and Rita crash into the Gulf of Mexico Coast, devastating huge areas. Katrina was the third-most intense in United States history. The National Hurricane Center predicts the 2006 season, just two months away, will match the 2005 season. In March, Category 5 Tropical Storm Larry slammed into Australia. This was one of the strongest ever to hit Australia.

Global Warming scientists predicted more tornados. Last weekend over 60 tornados battered Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. So far we have had 161 tornados this year.

What causes Global Warming? Increased levels of carbon dioxide and methane are the principal culprits. These gases create a barrier in the upper atmosphere, trapping heat from the Sun in instead of radiating it back into space. This is called the Greenhouse Effect because it works like a greenhouse which traps heat inside. The United States is 5% of Earth’s population but puts 25% of the Global Warming gases into our atmosphere.

In 1997, almost every country in the world held a conference in Kyoto, Japan to plan to reduce Global Warming. The Kyoto Conference produced a protocol adopted by 160 nations. President George W. Bush and Republican Senators withdrew the U.S. signature from the Kyoto Protocol. All European nations, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and others have criticized the Bush administration. All 160 Protocol nations are reducing Greenhouse emission below 1990 levels. Future historians will condemn Bush and the Senate for this failure.

Both Time and U.S. News are optimistic. Many states, cities and business corporations are working to lower pollutants. Groups as diverse as the National Academy of Science and Evangelic Christians are joining to reduce Global W

As I've said, this is the Year of the Citizen. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson is running for re-election this year. Ask her in person, over the internet or by letter where she stands on this issue. This is important. Your future is involved. If you cannot find these magazines, look on the internet. For Time enter http://www.time.com/time/http, and type "Global Warming" in the search area in the upper right-hand corner. On the new page, half-way down click on the article which begins "Polar Ice ….." For U.S. News & World Report, enter http://www.usnews.com/usnews/home.htm in your search engine. On the magazine’s home page, look in the left column, under "Current Issue," click "Table of Contents." On this new page, look under "Special Reports," click on "A Surprising Consensus ….." You’re there."

Would the reader who e-mailed me about my recent column The Children of Abraham please contact me. I intended to reply, but somehow lost the e-mail. Thanks.

Illegal immigration is a very important and complex problem which is facing our nation, but any solution will severely test basic values of our country.

The Republican Congress is once again challenging Republican President George W. Bush, this time on immigration policy.

One immigration bill in the House of Representatives would make living in the United States illegally a criminal felony, instead of a violation of the immigration laws. A criminal felony charge could bring prison, not deportation. This proposal would also make it a felony for American citizens to help illegal aliens, specifically mentioning religious and social workers,

Last weekend this Republican proposal brought out tens of thousands of demonstrators across the nation, as many as 500,000 in Los Angeles, the largest demonstration in the city’s history.

We currently have an estimated 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. About half these are from Mexico; others are from Latin American countries, China, and elsewhere.

The bill making illegal residents criminal felons doesn’t seem to make much sense. Are we going to arrest and imprison all 11 million illegal immigrants? If the immigrants were spread evenly across the United States, Knox County would have to jail 170 felon immigrants and the entire state of Texas would need cells for 900,000. If we aren’t going to jail them, why make them felons?

As a nation, we are faced with the dilemma of dealing with our traditional pride in being a "melting pot" nation and of being a nation of the rule of law.

Economists point out the United States needs these immigrants. The United States has the lowest unemployment rate among industrialized nations: 4.8%. We also have the highest productivity rate per worker among industrialized nations. Economists say we need an increasing supply of workers to maintain this healthy economy and that immigrants are filling this need. This has been true for most of our history.

Most immigrants are seeking jobs. They come from areas where no jobs are available or pay is low. As immigrants have done throughout American history, including your ancestors and mine, they came to the United States to get work. They tend to take low-income jobs which American citizens avoid.

President Bush is defending his proposal for a "guest worker" program, which would document illegal immigrants, permitting them to work for a certain period of time before returning to their native land. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) basically supports the President.

In the Senate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) have introduced The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, which is a bi-partisan bill very similar to the Bush proposal.

Many problems are involved in the immigration debate. The possibility of terrorists crossing the border is one of the big issues.

Others include that children born in the United States to illegal immigrants are American citizens. Are we going to imprison their parents or force them to return to their native country? Many immigrants are married to American citizens. Again, are we going to divide families?

Taking this immigrant population out of our work force would create serious problems for our economy. We are now having a national debate on this issue and that can be a very good thing.

As I have said before, this is the Year of the Citizen. Think about illegal immigration, a very complex problem. After you have studied it thoroughly, do your job as a citizen: contact your Senators and Congressmen. Let them know how you feel.

On the subject of immigration, I am reminded of an event which occurred in Washington, D.C. in the 1930s.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt normally began his speeches with "My Fellow Americans …"  However, when he addressed a meeting of the Daughters of the Revolution, he began his speech with "My Fellow Immigrants … "

And then, there is the inscription on the tablet held by the Statue of Liberty which has greeted immigrants arriving in the United States at New York city for over a century:

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

A month ago you could read it occasionally, but only by reading between the lines. Now you actually see and hear the word – the Big I: "Impeach."

Public approval of President George W. Bush and his administration has been setting record lows.  Even his fellow Republicans in Congress have been embarrassing him with their votes on the proposed contract for the operation of six U.S. seaports by the United Arab Emirates’ Ports World corporation.

Criticism of the President reached the official status this Monday.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced a resolution calling for censure of President George W. Bush for his domestic spying program, which failed to seek warrants from a special court established for the purpose.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans have rushed to support Feingold’s resolution. Feingold says that, although he believes Bush has committed "High Crimes and Misdemeanors," which qualifies him for impeachment, he seeks a lesser charge which might not cost Bush his job because we are now at war.

Some legal experts have claimed that a "censure" resolution has no legal status. Much debate has occurred on this question. Most legal experts accept the legality of censures.

So far, Andrew Jackson is the only president to be censured by the Congress. This was for actions related to funds in the Second Bank of the United States. Later this censure was expunged from the record by Congress. Several other presidents have been formally criticized "for unconstitutional actions" by Congress, including Tyler, Polk and Lincoln.

Sen. Feingold, in effect, said he was seeking a censure resolution rather than seeking the more serious route of impeachment.

Our Constitution says a president may be impeached only for "High Crimes and Misdemeanors." Only the House of Representatives can impeach a President or Vice President. If the House impeaches the President, then the President is actually tried by the Senate. The Chief Justice of the United States is the impeachment judge.

Note that impeachment, is bringing charges against the President. He must still be convicted.

Only two presidents have actually been impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Neither was convicted. Richard Nixon’s impeachment was pending when he resigned as President of the United States. No President has been removed from office through impeachment and conviction.

The nation is facing a serious problem. Polls indicate that the nation is very dissatisfied with the performance of President Bush – his ratings are in the mid to low 30s and moving downward. Yet, the Bush administration still has almost three years to serve.

Impeachment is a very serious matter. The nation should be very careful in treading the hot waters of impeachment. We are deeply involved in the confusing and complex Iraqi conflict, serious tensions are developing over Iran, we are having difficulties in recovering from Katrina and meteorologists tell us the 2006 hurricane season, just over two months away, may be as bad or worse than the 2005 season.

This would not be good time for the nation to face an impeachment.

Should President Bush be impeached and convicted, Vice President Cheney would become president. However, Vice President Cheney is being investigated by a grand jury. Should Cheney be ineligible, then the Speaker of the House would become president. Do you know who the Speaker is? This situation could be very chaotic.

I have said that this is the Year of the Citizen.

We all need to let our Congressmen and Senators know what we feel about the situation.

By the way, the Speaker of the House is Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who took the office in January 6, 1999.

Children of Abraham
03/12/06

This past week Republican Congressmen successfully staged an unbelievable revolt against Republican President George W. Bush over the Dubai Ports World issue.

The Dubai Ports World corporation announced last Thursday that the part of its contract involving operation of U.S. seaports will be transferred to an American "entity."

The Congress, especially Republican Congressmen, basically lame-ducked the Bush administration. If the British Parliament had done this to Prime Minister Tony Blair, he would be out of office. In effect, this was a coup d’etat, surpassing anything since the forced resignation of President Richard Nixon.

In a recent column, I stated this is the Year of the Citizen. I had no idea this would be proven so quickly and in this manner. Two-thirds of the American public opposed the President in this. They told their Congressmen.

A tragic aspect of this was the intense anger voiced against Muslims. We may pay a dear price for "Arab bashing."

Thomas Jefferson warned us that a democratic citizenry must be informed to be effective. In general, Americans know little about Muslims or their Islamic religion. Our educational system is tragically failing us.

We tend to lump Muslims together. Since 9-11, that means they are all bad. That’s like thinking all Americans are the same and not a mixture of Anglos, Blacks, Native Americans, Baptists, Hispanics, Methodists, Zulu, Catholics, Buddhists, Gays, Geniuses ,Eskimos, Orientals, Jews, and, yes, six to seven million Muslims. We are the world’s "melting pot." Muslims also vary, from Indonesia’s Tsunami-pounded to the Sudan’s hungry to the Kosovo battered to, yes, the American shopkeeper and the builders of towering skyscrapers in the United Arab Emirates.

One of every five persons on Earth is a Muslim, a total of 1.3 billion. One of every three Humans is Christian, for a total of 2.1 billions. With globalization exploding on us, we must deal with Muslims, whether we want to or not. We will deal with them better if we know about them.

Christians, Jews and Muslims are "Children of the Book." Muslims consider their holy book, the Qur’an, an extension of our Old and New Testaments. The Qur’an tells many of the same stories: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon and, yes, Jesus. Muslims honor Jesus as the most holy prophet except Mohamed. Jesus is mentioned 93 times in 15 different books of the Qur’an. In fact, the Qur’an contains more about Jesus’ mother, Mary, than our own New Testament.

Islam considers Christians, Jews and Muslims as "People of the Book," to be specially honored and protected. Most Muslims do. Fundamental extremists often don’t.

Like us, Muslims are monotheists, believing in one God, just as Jews and Christians do. In fact "Allah" is just the Arabic translation of "God." Christians living in Muslim lands – and many, many do – speak Arabic, and pray to "Allah."

The Qur’an emphasizes the Golden Rule as did Jesus. Jesus quoted it from the Old Testament book, "Leviticus." In Arabic, Islam means "submission" (to God).

Every Muslim child knows about the Crusades. Christian soldiers destroyed Jerusalem, torched mosques packed with terrified families, devastated cities and ravaged the land decade after decade for over two centuries – in the name of Jesus! More recently, with Western support, the Jews took over Palestine. Israel was born. Palestine was the Promised Land for Muslims as well as Jews. We Americans forget these things. Fundamentalist mullahs don’t let Muslims forget. Despite that, many  if not most Muslims know about and admire America, even if we do confuse them.

Islam has not yet had its Reformation like Christianity in the 1500s. More correctly, Islam may now be undergoing its reformation. Our Reformation was a time of wars, people burned alive, aggressive tortures --- in the name of Jesus!. Advocating change in many Islamic countries today takes real courage. Fundamentalists like al Qaeda or the Taliban may kill you. Despite this fear, people are changing Islam.

These people need our help and support. They are well-educated and are familiar with our ways in the West. They are rapidly adopting our lifestyles.

In the United Arab Emirates, explosive, dramatic change is occurring. When I was born in 1930, the capital Dubai was a collection of seaport buildings, stores, tents, palm trees, camels and 20,000 people.

Today among myriad skyscrapers towers Burj al Arab, Earth’s largest hotel, with a huge ski slope in its upper floors. Got a free weekend? You can rent the hotel’s largest suite for $45,000 a night and view a man-made Palm Tree-shaped island, soon to host Earth’s tallest building.

Learn more about the UAE at: Uae.org

A grave and historic struggle is rumbling through Washington, DC, our nation’s capitol. The struggle pits the Republican-dominated Congress against Republican President George W. Bush. Democrats are happy to fuel the battle.

Two weeks ago a major national debate erupted out of nowhere over the proposed lease for management of six United States seaports by the Dubai Ports World corporation (DP World), headquartered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The U.S. Coast Guard and enforcement agencies will continue to enforce seaport security.

President Bush is defending a secret administration committee decision approving leasing of seaport management at New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans and satellite facilities. DP World is owned by the government UAE.

Republican Congressmen, led by Rep. Peter D. King (R-NY), initiated the challenge to Bush, since Congress had been unaware of the secretive approval pf the DP World contract. Ironically, Bush and his staff were also unaware of the decision. Bush threatened to cast his very first veto if any Congressional bill rejecting the approval. (The committee was created to keep its decision out of politics.)

Senators John Warner (R-NY) and Bill Frist (R-TN) last week agreed to hold 45-day hearings on the DP World lease. The Congress is challenging the President’s seeming "arrogance". Listen to Congressmen and note how many times they emphasize that Congress is an equal branch with the Executive.

We are seeing a fierce battle involving one of the major tools of government our Founding Fathers installed in our Constitution: the checks and balances system.

The Fathers wanted no tyranny in our nation, so they placed limits on the powers of government officials. Only the House of Representatives may propose Federal expenditures; both the House and Senate must approve these expenditures; the President must then agree to, or veto, the expenditures. The Congress has the responsibility to see the President spends funds in the way they authorized. This is called Congressional oversight.

The Supreme Court may declare the actions of either Congress or the President unconstitutional. The Justices, in turn, are appointed by the Presidents and approved by the Senate.

In addition, citizens hold a check on the Federal government. Citizens elect senators, representatives and, of course, the President and Vice President... The Founding Fathers considered giving senators or the presidents life-long offices, but rejected the idea. They placed term limits of two years for representatives, six years for senators and four for presidents. In my lifetime, our states exercised one of their checks on the Federal government by amending our Constitution to limit the President to two terms...

This is the background for this battle being fought now in Washington. Many in Congress feel President Bush exceeded his executive power in such areas as internal surveillance, but much more so in his threat to veto Congressional action to defeat the Dubai Port World contract.

President Bush handled this situation very clumsily, with his early threat to veto. This would be his first veto. Only President Jefferson waited so long for his first veto.

Ironically, for me, I find myself supporting the President’s position, but not his clumsy, early threat of veto, which infuriated the Congress.

Eighty percent of our ports are already managed by foreign corporations, including some from China, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The Dubai Ports World corporation manages many ports worldwide. In January, before the seaports furor, the other port management firms voted Dubai Ports the best operating firm on Earth.

An American citizen is the CEO of DP World, many of his staff are Americans, and three members of the DP World board of directors are Americans.

True, the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban before 9/11. After 9/11, the Emirates condemned the attacks on New York, Washington and Flight 93 and withdrew their recognition.

Our military aircraft regularly use UAE airbases for flights over Iraq and Afghanistan. Over 500 U.S. Navy ships a year use UAE ports for repairs and supplies. American sailors and Marines regularly take leave in the UAE. The Emirates have ferreted out numerous al Qaeda agents and other terrorists for us.

We probably have no better friend in the Muslim world than the United Arab Emirates.

Next week I shall explain why I think maintaining the friendship of the United Arab Emirates and other Muslim countries is critical.

You may contact me by phone at 580-275-9009 or by e-mail at FMortonScott@aol.com

When we envision Christmas we see joyous families gathered around a glittering Christmas tree encircled by gaily-wrapped packages. Or maybe a jolly bewhiskered Santa Claus maneuvering from chimney to chimney his prancing team of eight (or nine if it is foggy) flying reindeer through the snow. Or the aroma of chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Or perhaps cheerful carolers echoing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing!” across manager scenes with the Babe sleeping on the hay.

These have not always been the images which reflected the Christmas season.

For instance, in the early days of New England, you couldn’t have said Merry Christmas OR Happy Holidays.

From Roman times to the Middle Ages, Christmas had been not so much a religious celebration as a time for partying, heavy drinking and eating. This early winter time was the only time of the year when no crops needed planting, tending or reaping. Cattle were mature and could be slaughtered, crops had been harvested and stored, and, importantly, wine and beer made during the year had fermented and was ready to be enjoyed.

When the very religious Puritans executed King Charles I of England and Oliver Cromwell became Protector, they set out to eliminate decadence from the British Isles. So one of first actions was to cancel Christmas.

Our Pilgrims in New England were even stricter than their Puritan brethren in England. Not only was Christmas cancelled, but in Boston from 1659 to 1681. Christmas was actually outlawed. Saying “Merry Christmas” or in any other way showing the Christmas spirit would cost you a five shilling fine!

After the Revolution, Americans deemphasized English customs, including celebrating Christmas. Our first Congress in 1789 met on December 25 as did most other activities. Christmas did not become an official holiday until after the Civil War, on June 26, 1870. December 25 was just the day between December 24 and December 26.

Then Americans began reinventing Christmas celebrations. Noted writer Washington Irving led the way with his “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent,” a series of stories about an English manor squire who invited the peasants in his area into his manor. Irving painted a picture of the warm, cheerful and kind atmosphere as the squire’s family and staff mixed with the peasants.

This introduced into the American Spirit of Christmas, the concept of Christmas as a warm-hearted celebration with family and friends and people of all classes. This was in contrast to the raucous, often drunken revelry of the traditional Middle Age partying. In 1828, the New York city council established the City’s first police force in reaction to just such a riot.

The American Christmas celebration continued to evolve when, he 1822, an Episcopal preacher, Clement Clarke Moore, wrote a long poem for his three daughters. Your may have read it: “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house …” As a minister he was a bit hesitant to publish a frivolous poem about “a right jolly elf” with the power to rise through the chimney with just a nod of his head. However, the poem was very popular, particularly among the children who read it. Thus Santa Claus was born as America re-invented Christmas.

In 1881, the New York cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Rev. Moore’s poem to draw the Santa Claus we know today, with his pot belly, a red-fur suit, with white trim. This is our Santa Claus!

The Dutch brought their version of St. Nicholas to New Amsterdam (Now New York). They called him Sinterklaas. Thus Santa Claus got his name from the Netherlands. We got the Poinsettia from Mexico. We got the Christmas tree from Germany, the Yule log from Norway.

Our American Christmas has come from many nations, just as we have.

Christmas is for people from all the world: “Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men.”

Tell people “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Holidays” or “Happy Chanukah.” The important thing is to let them know of your friendship during these important days.

Happy Holidays.

If you are on Medicare, you probably started getting lots of mail this week. The process leading to the Medicare Prescriptions program, called Plan D, has begun. Plan D is confusing. I hope I can simplify it a bit for you.

COSTS – Plan D will cost $32 a month ($384 a year). Each spouse will need to enroll separately.

WARNING # 1 – Some in Congress favor postponing the prescription drug program for at least a year to help defray our skyrocketing national debt and deficits worsened by the Iraqi War and Katrina/Rita recovery costs.

WARNING # 2 – This prescription program is complicated. Be careful. I’m trying to help with this column.

WARNING # 3 – If you have a Medicare parent please talk with them about the choice they make.

IF YOU HAVE MEDIGAP PRESCRIPTION COVERAGE – Your probably can forget all this. Keep what you have. BUT, if your company eliminates the coverage you must make your switch quickly. Penalties are high for delays in signing up. Your insurance provider will notify you whether or not your current prescription coverage will continue.

FORMULARIES – This might be a confusing word for many. Don’t let it confuse you. "Formularies" just means a list of prescription drugs a company will help pay for. Think of it as "List of Medications Covered."

IMPORTANT DATES:

October 1: This was the date companies could first send out information about the plans they will offer. That’s why you’re getting mail this week. Medicare will also send you a booklet outlining the prescription plan; look for this in the mail. If you don’t get it soon, contact the Social Security office.

November 15: The first date you can enroll for your choice of Plan D programs. You actually have until May 15, 2006 to make the choice. After that, if you delay making the decision, you will be penalized one percent a month permanently for each month of delay. Thus, if you wait 12 months, you will be penalized 12% of the Plan D fee the rest of your life,. The penalty would be $76.80 each year, the rest of your life.

January 1, 2006 – If you enrolled before December 31, this is the day your plan will become effective. Your savings on prescriptions begin.

May 15, 2006 – As indicated above, you MUST make the decision prior to this date. If you delay, the penalties will start.

YOUR COSTS AND SAVINGS

The following lists the prescription purchase range and what you pay:

Range: $0-$250 – You pay all of first $250 as a deductible.

RANGE: $251-$2,250 – You pay 25% and Medicare pays 75%. If you have at least $2,250 in prescription expenses, you would pay $500 and Medicare pays $1,500. Thus, you would pay $750 for $2,250 in prescription costs.

RANGE $2,251-$5,100 – You pay 100% of drug costs, until the $5,100 level total prescription cost is reached. You will have then paid $3,600 of the first $5,100 of drug costs.

OVER $5,100 - You pay 5% with no upper limit. This catastrophic coverage enables you to pay $2 for generic drug prescriptions and $5 for brand name prescriptions, or 5% of the total, whichever is greater.

These categories will increase in future years.

Special provisions are made for low-income persons. There are many other provisions which I will not cover today. Plan D companies can offer other variations, meeting standards set by Medicare. There are many other aspects of the new drug prescription program. Like I said in the beginning, this is a very complex program. Much more complex than I think it should be.

I have not yet covered the Formularies, or drug lists. This will come next week.

FMortonScott@aol.com.

Decision Time
09/14/05

The past week has been important in the history of our United States of America.

Our nation can take pride in people’s response to the tragedy of Katrina. The people of Texas have been at the center of helping the homeless hordes from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The recent flooding in the Knox County area certainly helps you to identify with the Katrina evacuees.

People in all 50 states have opened their homes to Gulf evacuees. Donations have flowed to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other aid groups. Church, medical and other volunteers have flocked to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to rescue people, treat their injuries and help in other ways.

Still much remains to be done. Recovery operations continue; we will not know total casualties for some time.

Some suggest we should not rebuild New Orleans. New Orleans must be rebuilt. The nation must have a port city at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Wheat, corn and other export products from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians flow down the Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas rivers to New Orleans. New Orleans is also the port which receives the natural gas and oil production of the Gulf of Mexico.

New Orleans, with its French Quarter, is also where jazz originated, America’s only popular native music. The Mardi Gras is a unique celebration in the United States. We need New Orleans.

The tragedy in New Orleans highlights some serious problems facing America. We will never know exactly how many people died unnecessarily in New Orleans because of errors in judgment by those in charge of protecting the area.

(My credentials for critiquing what has happened are that I am a retired urban and state planner. I did a Natural Disaster Plan for the State of Oklahoma and a Civil Defense Disaster Plan for the City of Norman, OK.).

Katrina impacts were disastrous, tragic and, many, unnecessary. Of the many problems stemming from Katrina, I want to emphasize three:

Governments ignored expert professional warnings;

Governments had unqualified personnel in critical places;

Katrina emphasized the problems facing our growing poor.

Professional Warnings. Professional planners prepared a plan, Coast 2050, for dealing with known threats to the entire Coastal area. Costs would be $14 billions. The Bush administration turned down the proposal as being too expensive. Estimates of Katrina recovery costs are already nearing $100 billions.

The City of New Orleans had an emergency response plan on its web site. This plan was not followed. A plan not followed is a useless plan. Many questions remain about the states’ responses.

Unqualified Personnel - Mike Brown, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director, obviously was not qualified. His primary qualification for his job was apparently that he was a college roommate of a friend of President Bush. How many others also were not qualified for their jobs we do not yet know. Political patronage should not be a factor in critical jobs.

Impact on Poor People – Poor people, white and black, in New Orleans suffered most. Many died due to the lack of effective planning and failures to make critical, timely decisions.

This brings into focus the fact that this land of equality is not fulfilling its promise. Our nation has a widening gap between those in the upper and upper middle class and the rest of us. The lower class is sliding further behind and our middle class is also slipping. This income gap is becoming a serious and growing problem.

Last year in 2004, we wasted a great chance for a national presidential debate on real problems facing the nation. We squandered that opportunity by refighting the Viet Nam War; the tragedy of Katrina is a part of the result.

Next year, we have another chance in the 2006 Congressional elections. We must challenge every candidate, of both parties, about the critical problems facing our America. In 2008, we must challenge the presidential candidates, as well as the Congressional, to deal with those serious problems.

That’s what a democracy is supposed to do. We have betrayed our responsibilities. Katrina is just a portent of problems facing us.

An independent commission must evaluate the Katrina tragedy.

FMortonScott@aol.com.