Nick Berg

I didn't know Mr. Berg, of course. I do know that he was a small business man who spent the last years of his life trying to help other people. He attended the University of Oklahoma where he ironically was tied to Zacarias Moussaoui, considered to be he 20th hijacker of the planes that flew into the WTC buildings, the Pentagon, and the Pennsylvania field.

The FBI questioned Mr. Berg when Moussaoui used his email account at UO. Moussaoui gained access to the account after Mr. Berg allowed someone else to use his account. How it happened is beside the point. Mr. Berg didn't know Moussaoui and wasn't part of Moussaoui's plans. But, because of this connection and the fact that he was later executed by al-Qaioda supporters, Mr. Berg became a small part of the war against America.

He wanted to rebuild communication antennas. That's why he was there: to help the Iraqi people. And it cost him his life. Does he have any responsibility in his death? To the extent that he was in an area that was dangerous for an American to be in, yes. Did he deserve to die? Absolutely not. Especially in the manner he did.

There are some, I won't name names, who say he was there because he couldn't find a job in this country. That's ridiculous. I still say there are plenty of jobs available in this country for anyone who want to work, but that's not what this article is about. He chose to go to Iraq. I don't know how he was taken by al-Qaioda, it's pretty pointless for me to speculate the how's and why's.

This was a life, a young life, full of hope and promise, that was taken by a bunch of murderers. Murderers who knew what they were doing was wrong. Why else hide their faces? That fact alone reminds me of the Klan who hide behind hoods and masks so they won't be identified. If what they are doing is so important, so right, shouldn't they be proud of what they are doing? Shouldn't they want the world to know they are proud of their actions? And, to me, worse, it's being done while they are shouting that God is great (Allahu Akbar).

I can understand why people don't believe in God. The things that are done in the name of God can be appalling, bewildering, and horrendous. God is great. But, their God is not my God. I don't and can't speak for Him, but I can't believe that my God wants His children murdering others in his name. I was taught that God wants us to do good and help others.

Like Nick Berg did.

Later that post...

I said that there are some, and wouldn't name names, saying that Nick Berg was in Iraq because he couldn't find a job in America.

Well, here's one name: New York's Charlie Rangel. As early as Tuesday night Rangel was saying that if the "Bush economy" hadn't lost 3 million jobs people like Berg wouldn't have had to go over to Iraq looking for work (quoted from Neal Boortz).

How many people still believe that Bush is responsibile for a recession that started in the 90's? My mutual funds began taking a hit in '99. That was my first indication that there was a problem. And who was in the Oval Office then? hmmmmm....when was it that Bush was elected? Bush might have been in office during the worst part, but he wasn't in office when it started. People who believe he was to blame for the recession also believe that Hoover was responsible for the Great Depression of the 30's.

I'm not saying that I agree with everything Bush has done since he's been in office, I don't. But, the economy is improving, jobs are out there, housing is up, interest rates are slowly coming up. We'd be even further ahead if the WTC bombing hadn't occurred. If you remember, that brought the travel industry to a total standstill for weeks. Not to mention the businesses that were destroyed when the WTC came down.

People, don't listen to what politicians tell you. Don't listen to what I tell you. Look it up and find out the truth for yourself. Put together a time line and figure it out. Do some research to find out what the truth is.

Look at your own financial situation and be honest. Are you in financial difficulties because of decisions George Bush made or decisions you made? Do you want to allow someone else to make your decisions, or do you want to live your own life? I can answer those questions by saying that I made stupid decisions that cost me a lot of money, these were my decisions, and I can't blame anyone else. I want to make my own decisions and live with the consequences. If I don't have a million dollars when I retire, well, I'll won't be able to do the things I wanted to do. I'll have to live realistically. I'd love for someone to give me about $100,000 right now to pay off my bills and mortgage so that I could start over fresh. But, it aint' gonna happen. I have to dig my way out and make better decisions on the things I have control over.

Bush doesn't have control over some things. He doesn't control gas prices. To start with, OPEC sets the prices and controls how much oil we get. The refineries (owned by corporations, not the Federal government) refinds the oil to get gasoline. They sell to the gas stations who sell to the consumer. At each level, taxes are added and everyone has to make enough money on their sale to pay for the product they buy (including taxes) and make a profit.

Do you think Shell, or Texaco, or Exxon is giving gas to the stations owners? Do you think that Bush calls the CEO of any of these companies and tells them what to sell their product for? Doesn't happen.

If you want lower gas prices, we need to get rid of some of the taxes that are changed. There are Federal taxes, state, county and city taxes involved. I don't know for sure, but a good share of the price of gasoline is eaten up by taxes.

I've talked about the Fair Tax Act before. I won't get into it right now, but it would help to eliminate those taxes and bring prices down. Look into it. You'll see I'm right.

I said earlier that you need to look into things for yourself. Educate yourself. Unless you want politicians to run your life. If you do, you probably vote Democrat and won't believe anything I've written anyway.