1) The first thing I see when I go to the internet this morning is the news which I get in my email box just about every day. And one of the articles I see is about the semiannual governors meeting. Incase you don't know, that is when all the governors of all fifty states come together to talk about good things, bad things, you get the idea. And believe it or not, they all agreed on something. All the Republicans and the Democrats agreed on a very important thing. It is a 'cry for help' to Congress for what most governors call a national financial crisis. As you probably know, all but one state has laws requiring the balancing of the budget, no matter how much you have to cut and get rid of, or not matter how much you have to increase taxes. Even Republican governors have had to resort to raising taxes, or else cutting highway projects, or prison spending, or nursing home care, or other important benefits to the state. The governors also wonder why Bush is so popular in their state when their state is in so much trouble financially. Why? Well it isn't all the states fault. The national budget doesn't have those restraints. Bush can cut taxes, increase war spending, not worry about the states, go $500 BILLION dollars in debt and still not have to worry about anything. Bush can still have a bright small on this face when the states cry for help and most people still don't have clue how much trouble we are in.

2) As I'm almost sure you all know, there is a hot debate going on about a Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama courthouse. Although there is a federal court order to remove the monument, the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice has decided to ignore the order completely. While I do believe there is no problem with the Commandments being in the courthouse, I disagree with the Justice's decision to disobey the order and the federal court. Then we can take a trip over to the Pledge of Allegiance. Most public schools recite the pledge once of week or every morning. In the West, courts have already called in unconstitutional for the phrase "under God". I also find this wrong how we could deny our schools from saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America because of the phrase "under God", which I have no problem with whatsoever. I do not believe we can force people to say the pledge, but not allowing it at all is not right.

3) The last little tidbit for today is the article published yesterday talking about merging the USA, Mexico, and Canada. While the article has good intentions, I do not believe that the idea is a good one. I think that while Mexico might benefit from this lift into higher prestige and of course better rules and regulations and laws, the USA would hurt from this idea. We have many problems to deal with now, trying to double the size of our country would bring budget problems and send Congress into disarray. Many beliefs of our country are not those of Mexico or Canada, and mixing them all together at this point and crossing our fingers and hoping it will work out is not a good idea.

Those are the little tidbits of today. Interesting ideas, good ideas, bad ideas, and that's how it settles out for today.

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About the author: Matthew Stensrud is a high school student who loves politics and life. He has retained a 4.0 GPA throughout his high school career and is currently involved with the Young Democrats at his school. He is also an eCaptain for the Democratic National Committee. Other than politics, Matthew also loves music and plays the piano, organ, and handbells, and also sings in three choirs. Visit his website or email Matthew Stensrud: maths8877@yahoo.com

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