Yes, yes, yes, this would be a ridiculously heinous idea because of so many economic reasons: we can all throw around facts and figures that would show us that. However, what needs to be looked at here are the principals behind it.

The values of our country are built on the idea of the underdog winning, the guy who is down and out ending up on top, the bum striking it rich. How is it that these events can occur? Our democratic, capitalistic society. That's how.

Because the government tries to involve itself as little as possible in our affairs, this leaves a majority of what you make yourself out to be up to you. With hard work and the right connections, you can be rich and famous. With little or no work and little or no connections, you can be poor on the streets.

With the redistribution of wealth, this American Dream of hitting it big would be destroyed. Yes, I said it: I said "American Dream". It still exists. It still exists in the hearts of those who believe in it.

So, this discussion does not merely concern the economics of the issue: it must also concern what is in the hearts of millions of Americans who dream of hitting it big one day.

The threat of international terrorism is there: we all watched news reports of 9/11 in horror. However, the actual threat of international terrorism is being exaggerated by our government thus making this my favorite conspiracy theory.

During the 1970s, our government had us convinced that the Soviets were building up their weapons and that they were by passing the U.S. in military power. These claims were false, but the government needed to keep us gripped in fear.

Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction that he was preparing to use on the U.S. To quote an article from Yahoo! News: "In the heated run-up to the Iraq war, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell put on a forceful display to the United Nations: PowerPoint slides, photos and other evidence that he said proved beyond any doubt that Iraq was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. His presentation was compelling and almost entirely wrong."

Now, we find ourselves once again gripped with fear at the thought of another terrorist attack. But there's something in common between "post-Cold War" America of the 1970s, "Operation Iraqi Freedom" America of the early 2000s, and the current "War on Terrorism" America: Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Donald Rumsfeld, along with the rest of the Neo-Conservatives of America, like to keep America gripped with fear so that they can remain in power. They make it look like our country is on the verge of getting destroyed and that they're the only ones who can stop it. That's why the Neo-Conservatives are my favorite conspiracy theory.

"Iraq will close its borders with Syria and Iran for 72 hours as part of the drive to secure and pacify Baghdad," the Iraqi commander of the Baghdad Security Crackdown said Tuesday.

This is a long awaited political attempt to a political problem. For the last three or so years, the Bush administration has been trying to violently solve a problem that is only going to be solved through politics. They're taking the first step in the direction of helping the Iraqis solve their problem.

However, it has not been said when this border closing will occur and just what the details of it are. Is the border only going to be closed to those who are trying to enter, or is it going to be closed to those who trying to leave as well?

The border should be closed both ways. By closing Iraq to the outside world, the influx of terrorists from Syria and Iran will be greatly decreased: thus allowing the Iraqis to solve their own problem. The borders also need be closed from the inside as well. If Iraqis are allowed to leave, then all that they will learn is that it's okay to run from your problems when they get tough.

Another political victory that comes with this border closing is the inclusion of the Iranian border. The largely Shiite Iraqi Government has strong ties and relations with the Iranian government, and the closing of the Iranian border shows that the Iraqis are starting to realize Iran's terrorist influence in their country.

It'll be interesting to see when the borders will actually be closed, and it will also be interesting to see if the borders are closed from both the inside and the outside.

Politicians lie because they're busy trying to be someone that they're not. For some reason, the American people want Representatives, Senators, Presidents, etc. that are inhuman: they want people that don't make mistakes and don't favor anything that goes against "American values" (i.e.: a robot).

If Americans want robots to run the country, then why don't we get all of the robotics companies in the world on creating the Perfect President?

I like the fact that a living, breathing human being runs our country. If a politician has made a mistake in his life, so what? I love to see politicians who say, "Yes, I screwed up. However, I learned from mistake, and I will not repeat it." I would much rather have a politician who has screwed up a lot before and has learned all of these lessons before taking office because we all know what happens when a politician makes mistakes once in office. We get plummeted into a several year, several hundred billion dollar war.

Politicians need to stop trying to be perfect, and they need start being themselves. Lying only hurts them and the American public.

The United States' great power is a paradox because a small group of people (less than five) could bring the whole country to its knees.

In 1918, the United States entry to WWI turned the tide in a war that seemed like it would drag on forever. In 1945, the United States shocked the world during WWII by employing the most destructive weapon known to man: the atomic bomb. In 2003, the United States flexed its mighty military muscles in the invasion of Iraq. Obviously, the United States has been a significant military power in the world over the last century.

With the dollar remaining strong internationally, the United States has also proved to be an economic power. The United States has often times sent financial aid to countries in need, and they're always the first to respond in a natural disaster.

However, the United States' power is a joke because all it takes is one small group of terrorists to bomb an entire oil refinery complex in a Middle East country, and the U.S. will be brought to its knees.

It has been speculated by several people, myself in included, that, one day, our world won't be divided by cultures, borders, trade laws, or armies. Thus, we'd have one giant nation, one giant government, and one giant identity.

This thought scares many people, but I, on the other hand, find it quite welcoming. The elimination of borders would quickly begin a decline of ethnic cleansing, genoides, and religious wars. The mixing of all cultures into one world culture would also quickly begin a decline in racism and nationalism.

People would not lose their old cultures and nationalism, however. Let's take a look at the U.S.A. The great melting pot, right? Sure, many groups of people, my family included, have lost many of their old culture and traditions from their countries of origin. However, there are also many groups of people that hold onto their old culture and traditions while accepting those of their new home. This would be much the same occurence in the giant nation of the world: those who want to hang onto their old culture will, and those who don't want to won't.

The elimination of borders, cultures, and armies will eventually result in the elimination of racism, nationalism, and wars. By ending racism, nationalism, and wars the human race can move forward together to try and preserve our planet, prolong our race's survival, and overall improve human life.

The creation of the European Union is the just the first step towards this better world. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is up to you to decide.

Many people believe that Hillary Clinton "deserves" to win the Presidential Election in 2008 because of her experience and history. Question: "What experience and history?"

She sat in the White House for 8 years and accused every non-liberal of a conspiracy. She's sat in the U.S. Senate for a couple of terms: that's only one more term than one of her biggest opponents, Barack Obama. In those two terms, she voted in support of the War in Iraq and, with the help of her husband, has become almost completely absorbed by the corruption in the government. Her other experience includes being very abrasive, openly attacking other elected officials, and being an extreme liberal that is ready to start a war with the Republican Party.

This is not what we need in the White House right now. We have enough problems in the U.S. Government and world relations without having an abrasive President who is ready to destroy the opposing party in politics. What we need right now is someone who is going to unify the two sides of Congress so we can move forward through the 21st century and begin to fix our problems at home and worldwide. What we need is a President who understands what is going on, not just within his own state and nation, but understands problems that are occurring across the world.

With corruption running a muck in our government, a losing War in Iraq, an addiction to foreign oil, and an Arabic-based racism problem that is building, our country is on a downward slide toward the city dump. There is but one answer to these problems and other ones: Barack Obama.

Let's first take a look at corruption. Barack Obama has not been in politics long enough to fall victim to the corruption, and he's already begun to wage a war on corruption. He has reformed ethics laws in the Illinois State Senate and is already taking on ethics and corruption in the United States Senate.

Now, a look at the War in Iraq. Our government, our President, and our people have all acknowledged that the War in Iraq was not such a good idea. Barack Obama actually has a plan to solve the Iraq problem. You can check out his Iraq plans on his website: http://obama.senate.gov/issues/iraq/index.html

The addiction to foreign oil is also another problem that America faces. While Bush and the rest of government seems to once again address a problem but not solve it, Barack Obama has some practical solutions for our little addiction to oil. The simplest of which Barack stated in a speech that he gave last year on Fuel Independence. "If we raise oil efficiency standards on cars by 3% a year over the next 12 years, by 2020, passenger vehicles would be averaging 40.5 mpg, and light trucks would be averaging 32.6 mpg." He also said that, by 2025, we could reduce our imports by over 7.5 million dollars a day.

Now, we come to the Arabic-based racism that seems to be polluting our country. Any kind of racism would quickly end if Barack Obama were to elected. He's half-black half-white, and he was raised by a Muslim stepfather. He even attended a non-religious, public school in the predominately Muslim country of Indonesia. Barack Obama thus brings together many racial groups that are currently at odds with each other.

As far as Barack Obama's political future, it is the only one that is going to save us. Please people, use your brain. It's obvious that Barack Obama is our only hope for a stable, internationally-respected America.

In ancient Greece, an idea was formed. An idea that is now at the root of the form of government that we enjoy in this country. I am one of those "Enjoy-ers of Democracy." Because we have a democracy where there is Freedom of Speech, I can write this article and say whatever I want about whatever I want. Democracy is not always the answer, however.

The reasons Democracy "works" (and I put that word in quotes because your judgment of the effectiveness of our government may vary) in this country are two main factors. The first factor is our large (but getting smaller) middle class, and because of this large middle class, there's a stability in our country. Having a middle class majority means that there is this huge group of people out there with the same general income, same general values, and the same general views. This group powers our Democracy. The second reason our Democracy "works" is because of those people who are not afraid to voice their opinion in an open manner. These people are attempting to keep our politicians honest and our government working to its fullest extent. Many people say that they should just be happy with what they have and stop complaining, but, if it were not for these people, we wouldn't even have most of what we're happy for.

Democracy does not work in all countries, however. Look at Iraq. Democracy does not work in Iraq because there isn't a huge middle class that is in power, and, also, they do not have those people who are willing to stand up and voice their opinions. I'm not blaming them for not standing up and voicing their opinions: I wouldn't want to get blown-up either. Democracy wouldn't work in a country like China, either. China has far too many people for everyone of them to always be represented equally in the government. Democracy doesn't seem to be working too well in Britain either as a result of the lack of will power to go vote and be heard.

Despite popular belief, Democracy is not always the answer. It works for the United States, Canada, and other countries, but it does not work in all countries. I wish our government would stop trying to force Democracy down the throats of other countries.

Despite popular belief, recognizing a terrorist is easier than what you might think. Terrorists are not all Muslim. Terrorists are not all "shady characters". In fact, some terrorists are generally nice people. For instance, one of the terrorists who participated in the 9/11 attacks used to babysit for his neighbors' children, and the neighbors never had a problem with him. They even labeled him as a "nice, trustworthy" man.

I will let you in on a little secret in finding out who might be a terrorist and who might not be. Often times, terrorists aren't necessarily intelligent, but they seem to know a lot about topics such as government, politics, and world issues. Terrorists are usually someone who people actually know very little about: they are usually trying to cover-up or hide their past. Also, terrorists often times are very charismatic people who can get others to quickly believe in what they believe in. Above all, terrorists are people who will do underhanded actions to get what they want.

This topic of terrorism is deeply rooted in U.S. politics today: I'm going to give a little overview about our politicians. Our politicians aren't necessarily all intelligent, but many of them are quite knowledgeable in government, politics, and world issues. It also seems as though our politicians are constantly trying to hide their past. Even though we all say we don't trust politicians, many people give into their charisma and believe what they're saying. On top of all that, politicians often times commit underhanded actions to put down opposing candidates, to make themselves look better, or to obtain more money and power.

Hmm...did I just? No...of course not. But maybe...well, let's just say it's some food for thought.