Fix for our broken Congress

I believe that the Congress should be subject to Term Limits 

(2 for Senators and 3 for Representatives).  

I further believe that they need to retire on Social Security 

and whatever other plan is available to the working public (i.e.  401k plans, etc.) 

and that they need to be subject to any law they pass for the Citizens of this Country, 

for they are, after all, Citizens, not Royalty.

The Value of a Border Wall

Israel has several border walls separating its territories from some of its neighbors. Historically, Israel has experienced several international attacks from countries who feel that Israel should not exist as a country in that area.  For Israel the walls are not the only part of the solution, but they are effective a very important part of their border security.

Here are some other countries who have constructed walls to help protect themselves from their neighbors:  

India, Pakistan, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Iran, 

Costa Rica, Maylaysia, Botswana, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, Belize, South Africa, Kuwait, Hungary, Estonia, Kazakstan, Hungary, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Brunei, Egypt.

And we should not forget the wall constructed by North Korea, though we are not sure that wall is meant to keep South Koreans out or keep the North Koreans in.

While a Border Wall with Mexico would not give us total security, it is clear that it is a very important part of our border security strategy. 

Is America Great?

If not for us, all of Europe would be speaking German today and all of Asia, including China, Thailand, Maylasia, Borneo, Singapore, Indonesia, New Guinea, Bali, East Timor and a good portion of Australia would be speaking Japanese. 

Of course that does not account for our greatness today. That has been thrown away by Liberal/Progressive Causes which have weakened our leadership in the world. We have now regained some of that leadership.  These gains are, however, opposed by those same Liberal/Progressive Forces who say we must keep our borders open and be kinder to our enemies. If we don't offend them maybe they will go easy on us. We are like the one in the water that hopes the sharks will eat us last.  We must stand strong and reaffirm our willingness to stand up to derision and defamation.  We must continue to strive for the resolve to make this country great again. 

Open borders is not a solution.  (Look at what is happening in France, Germany and other European nations that opened their borders to allow the immigration of cheap labor.)  We must be able to ensure that those who come to this country wish to be here as a part of American society and contribute their efforts to this country’s strength.  We must be able to control the numbers of immigrants so they do not overwhelm our ability to absorb them.  They must not come here to take what they can in benefits while waving the flag of the country they left.  The lesson of the Roman Empire is glaring – Rome fell when it failed to protect its borders.

A weak military is also not a solution.  There are other nations of the world who would use their strengths to subdue other nations by force or the threat of force.  They would carve off portions of their neighbors land or areas of international seas for political or strategic gain.  We are not out to conquer land or other nations.  From a position of strength we have acted, not as conquerors, but as protectors of the free world.    

Is America great?  From my point of view we are regaining that position, but we can not rest on our laurels.  We need to continue with those efforts we are making to solidify our position at home and on the world stage. We can not look at ourselves as separate from the rest of the world but as a strong and independent player in the future of international affairs. 

Understanding Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change Understood

The issue of Global Climate Change is often misunderstood.  A better understanding to the phenomena may bring some long over-due sanity to the discussion.

In the geologic history of the Earth, we are in a time of the coldest 10 percent of the climate. In other words, 90 percent of our Earth’s history was too warm to have ice at either pole.

If you go back to the Roman warming periods during the time that Jesus Christ walked the Earth we are actually now cooler than we were then. So we’ve cooled since the time Jesus Christ walked the Earth. We’re actually about the same temperature or cooler since the medieval warm period, since about 900 to 1300.

Thermometer data comes online around 1850, right at the end of the Little Ice Age.  All these things you hear about the glaciers retreating, most of that glacier retreat happened by 1900.

Now, 80 percent of the carbon dioxide came after 1940, or after World War II in 1945. We had a huge warm spell from the 1920s into the ’30s and then, we had a cooling period from the ’50s all the way up to about the late 1970s.

The National Academy of Sciences, the CIA, and some of the same scientists warning of global cooling in the ’70s, then flipped and became global warming proponents.

I remember warnings of the coming Ice Age when I was in elementary school in the late 1950s.

There are many factors affecting GCC (Global Climate Change). 
The most talked about contributing factor is the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.  Atmospheric CO₂ is a byproduct of the use of fossil fuels, but also is released into the atmosphere in huge amounts by volcanic activity and, to a lesser degree, by continental drift.
Solar activity such as Sun Spots, Flares and UVB levels are also contributing factors. 
Slow changes in the Earth’s orbit and slight changes in the tilt of Earth’s axis will affect GCC as well.
Atmospheric composition and reflectivity as well as surface reflectivity are also factors that affect GCC.

Why then is Atmospheric CO₂ the only factor in the discussion.  The answer is simply because we have been lead to believe that by controlling anthropomorphic CO₂ emissions we can control the Earth’s climate.  This is a vast over simplification but, if accepted, it can be used as a very strong political tool. 

Political action (legislation) is needed to control the use of fossil fuels so we can control the amount of CO₂ released into the atmosphere.  Since there are also natural CO₂ generators, this is pure folly.  Further, as mentioned above, Atmospheric CO₂ is only one factor involved in Global Climate Change, so controlling anthropomorphic (man-made) CO₂ emissions would do little at all to control Global Climate Change.

So what can we do?  Global Climate Change will continue no matter what we do, so we can, and must, adapt our actions and way of life to meet whatever changes it brings on, just like our ancestors have been doing for as long as Humanity has been on this Earth.

By His Grace

By His Grace

I am so grateful to my Lord for a lifetime of blessings.
He made the hurts and pain bearable,
He took sadness and gave me joy,
He taught me the greatest lessons in life.
When I surrender to His will I am never afraid.
He is my protector and shield and my source of strength.
I pray that I always stay mindful of His glory.

Pete Nickerson
6/9/2016

In Defense of Freedom

So many have lost their lives in the defense of freedom. We should never forget their sacrifice or the sacrifice of their loved ones left behind. None of these soldiers went into combat wanting to die, but they were willing to face death in the effort to keep tyranny at bay. It is our fervent wish that an era of peace would come to this world, but until it does we must always remain vigilant and willing to defend freedom where ever it is threatened or attacked.

Pete Nickerson 5/27/16

On building walls or bridges

Building Walls or Bridges

Pope Francis, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, made the following statement is response to calls for a wall to be built to protect the US Southern border with Mexico: 

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,"

The I am a confirmed Christian and a member of the Holy Catholic Church of the Lutheran Denomination.  When we are served communion the announcement is made for all who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are invited to the chancel for the service of communion.

Yet, when we attend services in a Roman Catholic Church, with friends or family who belong to that Church, we are denied the service of Communion.

Is that not building walls?  And is not the Vatican a walled city?  The reasons for building borders are not necessarily bad, especially in these times of turmoil.

Remember that Jesus said, “Render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar’s and render unto God that which is God’s.”  Jesus was telling us to respect the secular laws as well as God’s laws.

The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States is:  We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Without a secured border it would not be possible to provide for the common defense and insure domestic tranquility.  The unsecured borders would also lead to a destabilization of the union, a reduced ability to maintain justice along the border areas.  Eventually, our very liberties, which we cherish so dearly, would be at jeapordy as our way of life dissolves in the wake of the balkanization of the United States.