This time I have to speak out! First of all, let me explain that I just got back from seeing THE CONSPIRATOR. For those of you out of the loop, this is about the trial of Mary Saratt, accused of being part of the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. This movie is a powerful statement the legal system of our country, and what can break down in a witch hunt atmosphere to find the assassins. Does this sound familiar? And in one part of it, articles from a Washington, DC paper were shown, written to bring fear into the hearts of the readers, i.e. another plot may happen, the deliberate spread of small pox, etc.

My history professors, to a man, always said that history repeats itself, and it does! Little has changed, and it is now 2011 not 1865. The biggest change is media itself. We now have radio, TV, the internet, I Pods, I Phones, and newspapers. But the fear tactics have not changed. Fear is still there on radio talk shows, various TV networks, on internet sites. The pot continues to be stirred until the boiling point.

Distraction of the real issues has also become so common that I could laugh, if I weren't crying. Donald Trump accusing Barack Obama about his birth? Don't we have more serious problems to solve. Hasn't this issue been put to rest several years ago? Could Donald Trump, God forbid, be racist? I think he is quite frankly. And Trump is as ignorant as a rock. How can the Republicans take seriously people like Trump and Palin. Aren't they embarrassed?

I can remember a time when Congress was cooperative with each other in order to get bills passed that actually benefited the common man. What a concept! Now we need to protect the millionaires and billionaires from paying taxes? Whose idea is this? Take a guess. I heard today that Exxon earned 12 billion dollars in the last three months!!! And I am paying $3.79 and up for gas. I wonder if Exxon ever considered giving back some of their earnings by cutting prices at the pump. Do we dare wish that? I think not. Greed is greed, folks.

Do you think the Congressmen and Senators on Capitol Hill will rescind all the benefits they currently get, the biggest being health care for life. Yeah, right! Not a chance. What about going on Social Security and Medicare when they are old enough? They will probably do that also, because as I remember one of my bosses saying a long time ago, "I earned it, so I deserve it." This man was a millionaire.

Our own country has high unemployment, home foreclosures, people and children starving, poor education in many areas, and on and on, and instead of doing something to help these situations, what are we doing? Listening to Donald Trump!

Come on people! Wake up and smell the stench!