Common Sense

My political agenda is focused on three important issues. Issues that are too important to be ignored! Issues that can't wait a moment, a month or until next year to be resolved, because their real emergencies, 'desperate situations that demand our immediate attention!'

• Juvenile Health-Care
• Space
• Why we're in Iraq

I would like to tell you how I feel about each of these important issues. Because how we address each of these issues will have a profound impact on our collective future! So! With this said and done, let's get on with the program!

Juvenile Health-Care

(Prayer) “Thank you Lord for each and every child you have blessed us with, for the promise and talents they possess and will contribute to the general well-being of this Country in the future!”

You may not believe this but 20% of American children are not covered by health-insurance. 20%! That's ridiculous, ludicrous and this can only be called 'a National Abomination!' Something that is completely and totally unacceptable!

'President Bush's' veto of the child health care bill in the last session of Congress is ridiculous! He was wrong to do this. Completely and totally wrong! This Federal legislation titled the 'State Children's Health Insurance Program' (SCHIP) would have provided health-care coverage for children who live above the poverty level, country wide. It would have been funded by an additional tax on cigarettes. This Federal Program, if it had been passed, would have provided health care coverage to about half of the children presently without health insurance. Half, can you believe that!

President Bush said the program was too expensive! ..... Too expensive! He put money before the general well-being of our children! Unbelievable? Simply unbelievable!

I believe the Federal Government should underwrite health care for every child born-in-these United States irregardless of income or social status, irregardless of their parent's ability to pay, irregardless of the cost to each and every American! It's in our best interest to see to it that every American child has health care coverage. It should be part of their birth-right. Common sense says so!

Now, to pay for this program, I would levy a 10% tax on alcohol (both in the manufacturing process and served by the drink). I would continue the present taxes on cigarettes. I would put-in-place an additional tax of 10% on luxury items (airplanes, yachts, vacation condominiums, business perks (stock-options, vehicles and outright gifts). I would put a 10% tax on overseas properties (non-revenue producing property). I would also put a 10% tax on jewelry above $100,000, expensive jewelry, jewelry that the ordinary individual would never buy.

Common sense says our children are too important to be without health insurance! They are depending on us to do the right thing, right now! They are our legacy! They have to come first, have to be our first priority, that's all there is to it! “And you know it!”

Space!

Have you ever asked yourself: “Why are we in space?”

Well! There are three basic reasons why we are in Space: national security, dominance of international spheres of influence and cutting-edge technologies. Space is the place where we have to be, a place where we have to be a power to be reckoned with, in control of all that we survey, a moral imperative if you will, something that simply has to be!

So long as we are dominant in Space no other nation will ever consider putting weapons into Space. This is my great fear, that we'll wake up some morning and be faced with Armageddon!

My worse nightmare is that another nation will suddenly put a vehicle up into space. It will appear out of no-where, a pop-up if you will, that will challenge our dominance of space. A 'pop-up' that's technically superior to anything we have, now, and that's a real possibility considering the present state-of-the-art of space technology.

The thought that another nation, one that doesn't presently have a space program, suddenly appear on the horizon really scares me! Consider the consequences of that happening! Of our waking-up some morning and finding-out that 'such-n-such nation' just put a spaceship up-in-space. Imagine how shocked you would be! Concerned! Then too, imagine that this 'pop-up' can operate 10,000 miles out into space and not the present 500 miles that we're limited too. How would you feel about that? The thought of something like that happening sends cold-chills up and down my spine.

Germany is my worse nightmare! The Germans terrorized half of the civilized world not too long ago! They were the first national entity into space! They were the one's who built the first rockets and space-vehicles. Therefore, whether we like it or not, we have to acknowledge that the Germans have the potential to return to space any time they want to!

Japan is another of my concerns! Japan is a major competitor of the United States in international markets. Japan is on the cutting edge of space technology! They are poised, ready and able to put men and equipment into space whenever it's convenient for them to do so!

Ignoring the fact that the Germans and the Japanese can and probably will venture into space sometime in the near future is something we have to anticipate and respect! So! At best, we have a tentative hold on space, one that could easily slip through our fingers if we're not real careful!

Then there's China! I don't even want to think about that possibility. In the next 5 to 10 years I expect the Chinese to challenge our presence in, to push us really hard.

A Modest proposal for the next generation of Spaceships

Believe it or not, since 1962 when John Glenn and the first Seven American astronauts went into Space we haven't pushed out very far out, maybe 300 miles. We're still within the threshold that those first seven American astronauts established! Can you believe that? “(And) that's a joke: “One that's not very funny if you ask me!”

Here in Missouri, I'm told, we have an attitude! That's why they call this 'The Show-me State.' We can't be told. We have to be shown, and with specific regard to The American Space Program, “I'm going to have to be shown!” More over, there are several questions about the American Space Program that we all need to ask!

What have we got, .... right now besides the Space-shuttle? Nothing!

What's on the drawing board for implementation in the next 5 years? Nothing we've been told about or know about!

And last, but by no means least, ... will what we presently have get the job done? “Not hardly!” “Unless, of course, you believe in miracles”!

What we need more than anything else, right now, is a bold new initiative! One that will take us to the Moon! One that will establish a colony on the Moon! One that will push the frontiers of Space and Space technologies as-far-as is physically possible in the next two decades! There's an urgency here that most American's can't see, don't want to see! But, “Our National Security demands it!” “Our piece of mind requires it!”

So! Why don't we build a spaceship that can fly us to the Moon. “That's right, ... design something that is so technically advanced, so superior to anything that presently exists, something that will blow the sox off-of any national entity that might consider challenging our presence in space; that's what we need to do and we need to do it right now!

One more thing, this bold new initiative is going to have to be “an all American initiative!” That's right, “an all American initiative,” nothing less than a 100% American, all the way! We're going to have to tell the whole World what we're going to do, why we're doing it, and then we're going to have to do it “with enthusiasm!” How's that for a mission statement? Common sense says that's the right thing to do, and we need to do it right now!

The safety and survivability of our astronauts must be our primary and overriding concern

And don't let anybody kid you, going back to the Moon and pushing Space technology hard in this century isn't going to be cheap or easy. In fact, the obstacles that lie ahead of us are significant! We're going to have to exert a great deal of time and effort to this initiative if we're going to get the job done. Time will be the bench-mark for our successes and our failures, and because we haven't got much time we had better get busy. “That's for damn sure!”

What we need is an all-up, single-unit spaceship. One that is relatively cheap, one that is rugged and versatile in use, one that is simple to launch and maintain and one that requires a short turn-around time (on the ground) should circumstances demand-it.

Now! Before you say it can't be done, I would like to point out that the necessary data-base already exists. That's right, we already know how to do what we need to do, so the thinking part of this presentation is already in-place, all we have to do is make-some-sense-out-of what we already know.

Next, President John F. Kennedy was the moving force behind the American Space Program. He was the one that got us 'up-into-space.' He's the one who inspired up, gave us a dream, said that we would be walking on the Moon within a decade. Not because it was going to be easy but because it was going to be hard; and that was why we were doing it, because it was hard. President John F. Kennedy is my champion, my hero, and the inspiration for this presentation.

Phase 1, we need to design, build and then put in place a spacecraft: “Excaliber!” That's right, that's what I would call this rugged, versatile, reliable champion of the American People, “Excaliber!” In memory of John F. Kennedy's presidency, of Camelot his administration and of his dream for a significant American presence in space!

The general specifications for “Excaliber” are as follows:

“Excaliber” would house six-crew-members, for starters. The mass of “Excaliber” would be approximately 50 metric tons (approximately 500 metric tons at launch). “Excaliber” would have an outer-shell of stainless-steel covered by Teflon. It would have wood-fiber insulation between the outer-shell of stainless-steel and an inner-shell of stainless-steel.

Included in the specifications associated with this spaceship would be a requirement that Excaliber have a human-habitat, life-support system capable of sustaining the lives of 12-astronauts, in any emergency, for up to 14 days. Each of Excaliber's crew-members would have their own, personal human-habitat, life-support system! Each of these human-habitat, life-support systems would be able to with-stand the rigors of launch and recovery. This system would shield-and-protect a single crew-member in any kind of an emergency (Challenger and Columbia accidents) and guarantee his/her survival in the event of a catastrophe.

'Excaliber' will operate independent of a designated launch/recovery location. 'Excaliber' would be able to launch in any direction, from any point or location in the continental United States, any time of the day or night, irregardless of weather. “Excaliber” would have an air-breathing power-plant for powered-flight upon its return to Earth and in Earth's atmosphere!

There's something else that needs to be addressed here: “We need to change the way we build our spaceships.” We need to build three units of “Excaliber” per year. A production run would be three units. After the first three units are operational and while each additional production run is being put-in-place; the engineers and technicians associated with this project would evaluate the generated data coming-back from operational units so that the next production run would be technically superior to the previous one.

Any unit 6 years or older would be taken out-of-service. Each of these units, the one's taken-out-of-service, would be completely stripped-down, by a technical assessment team and studied for wear and defects. Then each of the component parts, of the units taken out-of-service, would be tested to destruction (assessing their capability to survive known destructive forces). The data generated by this process would then be incorporated into the design criteria for the new unit being formulated. Once again, common sense says this is the smart thing to do.

Phase 2, if we're going to send Americans back to the Moon, then we're going to have to have a safe-haven somewhere along the way to guarantee the safety of our astronauts, a place where our space crews can go if there is an emergency. If they have problems like the ones that plagued Apollo-13.
 
'Camelot' (a life-guard station) would be this safe-haven. It would orbit 65,000 miles above the Moon's surface, and it would housing 30 astronauts, on a regular basis. 'Camelot' would operate like a hotel for those in transit, between the Earth and the Moon. The job of the astronauts permanently stationed on 'Camelot' would be to do useful research and to expand and maintain 'Camelot!' Camelot, as such, would be our next-generation 'Life Science Laboratory' in space. It would be on the cutting-edge of existing technology and a show-piece for our invigorated space program.

“Camelot” would appear as a small silver disk orbiting the Moon in the evening sky. It would be a visible symbol of our commitment to the exploration and colonization of the Moon.

Phase 3, I believe our initial return to the Lunar surface should be to 'The Sea of Tranquility,' if for no other reason than to see how our equipment has survived, endured on the Moonscape. The first survey team we send back to the Moon should be composed of geologists. Individuals who can assess the physical make-up of the Lunar surface and tell us some of the things we'll need to know before we start building our Lunar colony.

The crater 'Archemedies,' will be the site of our first base on the Moon. This facility will be named “John F. Kenndy” in memory of our late, great President! The President who got us there, and said that we were going to stay there! Permanently!

I would add a new option to this bold new initiative. In order to pay for a portion of the expensive for this bold new initiative I would create a charity: “The National Trust of Missouri.” The purpose of this charity would be to solicit funds, from private citizens, for this worthy endeavor. It would be the public face for this bold new initiative.

Why we're in Iraq

“Jihad”, holy war, that's what this is all about, nothing more, nothing less! We are not dealing with reasonable people, we're dealing with Arab Terrorists, fanatics, human-suicide-bombs!

Believe it or not there are people out there in the real world who 'Hate our guts!' That's right, people who want us dead. “Can you believe that?” (strong) “Dead!” They want to kill Americans, every American they can lay-their-hands-on! And you might ask why: “Why do these people hate-our-guts, why do they want to kill Americans?”

Well, there are three reasons for their hatred of Americans: we believe in Democracy, we believe in Civil Rights for all human beings and because we support 'The State of Israel!' “That's right, because we support 'the State of Israel!” Since 1949 we have had to endure 'Arab Terrorism' and the bone-chilling fear that goes with it because of our support for 'The State of Israel.' We've had to put-up with 'Arab Terrorism' all over the World. We've had to endure the Iran hostage situation under Jimmy Carter. 'Arab Terrorist's' attacks in Europe, on the high seas and in Africa, attacks that have killed hundreds of unsuspecting and unarmed Americans, and there wasn't a thing we could do about it.

This insanity has to stop, these 'Arab Terrorists' have to realize that their going to pay a price for their intense hatred for us. (strong) 'That's for damn sure!'

“How was Osama bin Lauden able to get away with what he did without local support? And better yet, why didn't someone, anyone tell us what was going on, do something about this mad-man ranting and ravings before he attacked and killed Americans? That's what I would like to know?

We are in Iraq 'because of Arab Terrorism'! Saddam Hussain asked for this fight and he did everything in his power to provoke it. He was a petty tyrant, someone who enjoyed causing muck-n-mayhem in the Middle East. He funded 'world terrorism!' He advocated the annihilation of Israel and the genocide of all Israeli's! He invaded Kuwait and made a valiant attempt to invade Saudi Arabia. He routinely murdered his own people! He told the United Nations to go to hell whenever the opportunity presented itself! And nobody could do a thing about 'his insanity;' well, we did something about it, didn't we?

There's no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussain promoted the use of, and was actively engaged in the acquisition/production of weapons of mass-destruction! There's no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussain had weapons of mass-destruction and would have used them if we hadn't intervened Iraq when we did.

So! Our being in Iraq is justified!

Then too, we can't forget Syria and Iran. They are two additional reasons for our being in Iraq. Remember, the 'Iran hostage situation,' how a bunch of students attacked and held the American Embassy in Tehran for over a year and refused to release the American's whom they were holding hostage! That was humiliating! What's worse, we didn't do a damn thing about it!

The Syrians don't like us one bit either and they're not afraid to say so. Time and time again they have sided with the Arab Terrorists, giving them sanctuary. We're in Iraq because Syria is on one side of Iraq and Iran's on the other side of Iraq. We're right where we need to be, doing what needs to be done! Now! Today! That's why we're there!

The last reason we're in Iraq is Oil. That's right, Oil! There's enough oil in Iraq to drive the price of Oil, on the World markets, through the floor. Can you imagine Oil selling for $20 a barrel on the international market? That's something the movers-n-shakers in the Arab World have to reckon with every day we're in Iraq, and they don't like it one damn bit! Then too, so long as we're in Iraq, the powers-that-be have to respect our presence in Iraq, if for no other reason than the oil reserves we control.

I've been told repeatedly that 'Nice guys finish last!' Well, when it comes to killing American's I'm not a nice guy! I don't like the idea of someone, anybody killing Americans for any reason what-so-ever! Killing people because of their Nationality is insane, it's genocide! And I think you think the same way I do! Our being in Iraq supports this statement!

9-11, the 'Cold Blooded Attack' on the World Trade Center in New York, The Pentagon and quite possibly the White House was 'A Declaration of War. There's no doubt in my mind about that! 'Arab Terrorists' declared war on The United States of America, all Americans, The Government of the United States and everything we stand for! And there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it!

If 'Arab Terrorists' want to kill American's, then let them go to Iraq and fight-it-out with our Armed Military Personnel. Let's see how brave 'these Arab Terrorist's' are when their look down the barrel of an American rifle, held by an American soldier, individuals that can defend themselves! Let's see how brave they are when their facing an Americans who can shoot back.

Let anyone who want to 'kill Americans' fight-it-out with our Armed Military Personnel, face to face and nose to nose, that's something the American's who were killed before we went into Iraq couldn't do!

We don't live in a perfect World, far from it, but killing is killing. These Arab Terrorist's have killed enough Americans; they have terrorized Americans anywhere they could find them; and enough is enough! I don't like the thought of our Armed Military Personnel being put at risk! “But!” If 'Arab Terrorists' want to kill Americans, then we don't have any choice but to maintain a strong military presence in Iraq for as long as there's a threat to American lives anywhere in the World, that's all there is to it.

Conclusion

Common sense supports each of these presentations. Furthermore, I believe common sense is the best way to solve each of these problems.

Fellow Americans these are my concerns, my problems, my nightmares. Each of these pressing issues requires our immediate attention! They can-not-be ignored, danced-around or forget. Our collective future depends on how we resolve each of these issues right now! Today!

We have a job to do, one that can't wait, so join with me and together we can solve each of these problems; we can put programs into place that will produce the results we want, today; and by working together we can make this Country a better place to live-in for future generations of Americans!

Respectfully submitted,

John Hogan