Monday, April 23, 2012

Dr. Tom Stevens Elected State Chair Of The Libertarian Party Of Pennsylvania

The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA) held its annual State Convention on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Princess Ballroom of the Best Western Genetti Hotel & Conference Center located at 77 East Market Street in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. At that convention, Dr. Tom Stevens, the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Northampton County, was elected LPPA Chair with 60% of the credentialed delegates in attendance voting in his favor. Coming in second with 40% of the vote was Erik Viker, the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Snyder County. Twenty-five (25) delegates voted in the race. Also elected were Betsy Summers as Eastern Vice-Chair, Jim Fryman as Western Vice-Chair, Erik Viker as Secretary and Patti Fryman as Treasurer.

Speaking about his election, Dr. Tom Stevens said:

I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to serve as State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. I look forward to working with the other elected officers, the members of the Board of Directors, and all party members willing to put in a little time to help make the LPPA a more effective and influential political party. While much needs to be done, I am encouraged by the fact that I am not alone and that there are many knowledgeable party members willing to provide me with advice and support during the coming year. I intend to work hard every day to address the challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities that will present themselves. I am optimistic about the future of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. I am confident we can attract many new members and help them develop their leadership potential as they work to advance the cause of liberty.

Dr. Tom Stevens served on the national Libertarian Party's Judicial Committee (2006-2010), attended LPUS National Conventions as a Delegate (2004-2012), appeared as a commentator on over 200 national television shows, was the Producer & Host of a cable television show entitled In Focus, twice served as President of the Hofstra School of Law Alumni Association, was Campaign Manager for Libertarian Presidential Candidates Alden Link and Carl Person, and founded Rising Action, a Freedom Activist Network.

Gary Johnson Wins Presidential Straw Poll At New York Libertarian Party's State Convention

The Libertarian Party of New York held its State Convention on April 21, 2012 at the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant located at 140 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. Gary Johnson, R. Lee Wrights, Jim Burns and Carl Person, all who are candidates seeking the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination in 2012, participated in a debate after which 41 of the delegates in attendance voted in the straw poll.

The results of the New York Libertarian Party's Presidential Straw Poll were as follows:

Gary Johnson - 26 votes (63.41%)
R. Lee Wrights - 11 votes (26.83%)
Jim Burns - 3 votes (7.32%)
Carl Person - 1 vote (2.44%)

Sam Sloan, the elected Treasurer of the Libertarian Party of Queens County and the elected Secretary of the Libertarian Party of San Francisco, who is also seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party for President and maintains residences in the Bronx (NY) and in San Rafael (CA), flew in from California to participate in the debate but was not permitted to do so.

Mr. Sloan, told us during a sit-down interview at Cracker Barrel in Mt. Arlington, New Jersey on April 22, 2012, that he was told the Manhattan Libertarian Party that was hosting the State Convention had decided to exclude him from participation. Mr. Sloan said, "It is my belief the delegates attending the State Convention should have decided whether to allow me to participate in the Presidential Debate but apparently that is not the way they do things in New York. Given my past experiences with the the handful of individuals who have dominated the New York LP for decades, I cannot say I was surprised. However, I was disappointed I was not given an opportunity to share my ideas with the assembled delegates."

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

America's Economic Decline & Decreasing Dollar Value Cannot Be Reversed Without Full Recognition Of The Crisis We Face - An Article By LPQC Member Ed Konecnik

Ed Konecnik, a member of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, submitted the following article for publication:

America's Economic Decline & Decreasing Dollar Value C
annot Be Reversed Without Full Recognition Of The Crisis We Face
by Ed Konecnik
Flushing, New York
April 9, 2012
  

I have reluctantly concluded that the economic, political, and cultural challenges we face may never be resolved. The truth about our country’s condition and prognosis is not reported by the media and is often misstated, obfuscated, edited or distorted. In addition to the uninformed, there are many who dismiss criticism of the administration as mean-spirited, bigoted and even racist. Few consider 16 trillion dollars of national debt and the unsustainable obligations of Social Security and Medicare a crisis portending economic calamity. How can we save our republic when there is no consensus that there is even a problem?

To make matters worse, there are those who will tolerate bureaucratic coerciveness as long as it meets their needs and agenda. To wit: there is no provision in the Constitution for unelected “czars”. Eventually a new mob of bureaucrats institutes their notion of “benevolence” and the cycle repeats ad infinitum. There can be no doubt our republic has succumbed to the rule of men and abandoned the rule of law.

The Constitution is not a document that limits the rights of man, but a document that limits the power of government over man. Intellectual honesty demands we recognize that without the constraints of the Constitution, we are subject to mob rule. There can be no agreement, no “reaching across the aisle”, no accommodation with those who reject the tenets of the Constitution. How does one negotiate with thieves who believe private wealth is community property and must be redistributed?

You may reject my propositions but the fact remains that nothing will be solved not because we can’t see the solutions but because we can’t see the problems.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

We Have Abundant Energy For All Time

The following article entitled "We Have Abundant Energy For All Time" was published on April 2, 2012 by Melissa Brookstone, Author & Founder of "The Planetary Bill Of Rights Project":

For decades now, the United States has been bogged down in a futile and time-wasting debate between environmental extremists and more rational people, about what path to take for the "energy independence" we all long for. The environmental extremists have been winning, and we're still dependent on foreign oil. Gas prices are sky high, and experts in the industry tell the Planetary Bill of Rights Project that it has as much to do with refinery capacity as it does with crude oil prices. No new refineries have been allowed to be built in about the last forty years, and about twenty refineries have actually had to shut down because of more extreme environmental regulations.

We see the effect of having a refinery here in the Denver area, where our gas prices are often twenty five to thirty cents below the "national average", because we have our own refinery. Every time we drive by and see the cloud of steam rising from it on cold days, we think; There's 25-30 cents off our gas prices.

Intelligence experts also tell us that Iran's decades-old evil totalitarian dictatorship would soon collapse if oil prices fell too much, so their "leaders" are always stirring up tensions in the middle east, for profit and to retain their power and control over people who deserve to finally be free.

Yet "alternative" energy in the forms of wind and solar have yet to become economically competitive in the free market, and largely remain pet projects of government agencies, which waste tax slave money on them to no end, without any significant changes in this situation. Not to mention that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, so these are not consistent and reliable energy sources, and never will be. They could fill every square inch of space in the United States with solar panels and it would not be enough to power the whole nation's electricity needs alone, just during daylight hours with full sunshine over the entire nation.

And our current government, beholden to the environmental extremists, claims that "drill baby drill" is not viable either, because it would take years to see significant results. Yet they've been blocking it for decades - we could have seen results decades ago, but they were blocking it this whole time! And the current administration has blocked all drilling in the gulf, most offshore drilling, and the pipeline from Canada now, and then they're claiming credit for increases in production despite their policies, that were initiated during the last administration and this administration has been unable to block!

So what's an energy-weary nation to do?

Well what about nuclear energy?

"There is enough nuclear fuel to last far longer than man will inhabit the earth." - Physics Professor Emeritus Dr. Howard Hayden, author of The Energy Advocate.

But environmental extremists point to Chernobyl and post tsunami Japan as examples of why we should still fear nuclear energy, while they chant the tired old mantra of the 50's and 60's, "NO NUKES!".

But give reason a chance.

Chernobyl was a 1950's technology nuclear reactor and didn't even have a modern containment vessel. That design also allowed it to fail in the meltdown mode, also known as "China Syndrome" after the sensationalized but unrealistic anti-nuclear Hollywood propaganda movie.

The Japanese reactors that leaked were a little more advanced - 1970's technology. They leaked because they weren't designed for the stress that they underwent from the tsunami. No one ever expected it. And what was the ratio of people killed by them, compared to the numbers killed by the never-previously-experienced tsunami?

And the fact is that IPN has spoken with nuclear engineers and the technology has changed so immensely since the 1950's and the 1970's, that comparing nuclear reactor technology from then, to the safe clean designs of today, would be like comparing a 1950's ( all vacuum tubes ) or 1970's CRT TV set to a LCD flat screen HDTV of today.

In fact, we're told that today's nuclear scientists have safe clean and pre-designed and packed nuclear reactor designs that could be pre-approved and built en masse all over this country. They even found new methods to recycle the waste. If one were to be subjected to forces of nature that exceeded the Japanese tsunami, it might break off and roll down the street without ever leaking.

So the differences in technology are truly amazing.

In the 21st century, it would now be entirely possible to rapidly construct pre-packaged and approved safe clean nuclear power plant designs that could power this whole nation, every home, business and car for all time to come, without ever having to be dependent on foreign oil or other fossil fuels again. Yes, total independence. It need only be declared, and the obstructionists who seem to hate all presence of humanity on the face of the earth, would need to be swept out of the way, in the name of true progress and "the greater good".

In fact there's even better news. It could all be built with private investment money. All that would have to be done, is to clear the way for private entrepreneurs to be able to safely invest for the long term ( decades, even centuries into the future ), without the threat of environmental obstructivist lawsuits and government regulations that now harass them so badly that they won't even consider it. Then consortiums could be formed to gather private investment money and build safe clean nuclear power, that would work when the sun didn't shine and the wind didn't blow, for as long as humans would inhabit the earth.

We have the technology, the uneducated obstructionists and/or those with anti-human and/or socialist political agendas that don't want the United States to succeed and prosper, are the only things stopping us now!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

No Salt For You! - An Article By LPQC Member Ed Konecnik

Ed Konecnik, a member of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, submitted the following article for publication:

No Salt For You!
by Ed Konecnik
Flushing, New York
April 1, 2012

Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged, warned “We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.”

Consider the following: New York City “food police” banned charitable food donations to homeless shelters because it does not meet governmental nutritional standards; some school authorities deemed lunches packed by moms brought from home as inadequate and confiscated them; and a proposed law in New York City states “No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food…”.

To my dismay, e-mailing my friends and family about these and similar examples of bureaucratic coerciveness has cost me some friendships and caused some family strife. I was advised articles and editorials challenging government mandated beneficence are automatically deleted with an admonition to cease further contact and to consider anger management. Why is support of individual rights always dismissed as mean-spirited and hateful? Why does the defense of constitutional principles and individual liberty inspire such vitriol and alienation?

I’m not sure who poses the biggest danger to our republic: those who subscribe to authoritarianism or those who acquiesce and are unaware of the consequences on our lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute my proverbial two cents. I am comforted by the occasional supportive phone message and that I have not yet been asked to cease contact with you. As long as I am not being “deleted”, I am grateful we can share ideas and even agree to disagree.

LP News Rejects Solicited Statements Of Candidacy Submitted By Libertarian Presidential Candidates Sam Sloan, James Ogle, Leroy Saunders & Barbara "Miss Joy" Waymire

Presidential Candidates running for the Libertarian Party nomination submitted 175-word statements for the upcoming issue of LP News, the national Libertarian Party newsletter. Carla Howell, Libertarian Party Executive Director, recently wrote an e-mail to Sam Sloan, James Ogle, Leroy Saunders and Barbara "Miss Joy" Waymire, to tell them their statements would not appear in the upcoming issue of LP News.

That e-mail from Ms. Howell, which was forwarded by one of the rejected candidates, reads as follow:

I am writing to 4 of you whose candidacies had not qualified for inclusion on the LP.org web site (back when we posted POTUS candidates there - no longer).

While I am not permitted to post your candidacies at that web page, I offered to include you in the upcoming issue of LP News, and each of you made a 175-word submission - thank you.

Regretfully, we were short of space and forced to cut a good deal of the content we would have liked to include. So your submissions did not make the issue.

In order to give your campaigns some exposure to our members, I have posted a blog that includes you along with the other 6 candidates. You can see the blog post here:

http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/presidential-candidates-submit-statements-for-lp-news

I believe you all bring merits to the presidential race, and wish you the best of luck in your campaigns.

The 175-word Presidential Candidate Statements of Sam Sloan, R. Lee Wrights, James Ogle, Bill Still, Carl Person, Leroy Saunders, Jim Burns, RJ Harris, Barbara "Miss Joy" Waymire and Gary Johnson, are the following:

Sam Sloan

In 2010, I was runner-up for the NYLP's Gubernatorial Nomination. I served as Media Relations Director and as State Representative for the Manhattan LP. I serve as Treasurer of the Queens LP and as Secretary of the San Francisco LP. I am a Book Publisher, Chess Champion and was the last pro se litigant to orally argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and win. I have eight children (one daughter who served in the U.S. Marines in Iraq & two sons in the U.S. Army who are about to be deployed to Afghanistan).

I will end the War on Drugs and the War on our Civil Liberties. I support our country’s right to self-defense but generally oppose any foreign military interventions.

I will use my candidacy to expand the base of the LP by adopting the Stevens’ Strategy (named after Dr. Tom Stevens), which involves reaching out to individuals alienated from the political system (e.g. polygamists, nudists, atheists, Buddhists, home-schoolers) and offering them a long-term home in the Libertarian Party.

R. Lee Wrights

The Libertarian Party can make a difference in 2012, but the only way we can do that is by being different. We can only make a difference if our presidential candidate is willing and able to present a clear, principled, unwavering and unequivocal libertarian message that offers Americans true choices and rational alternatives.

We can only make a difference if we're not afraid to offer a radically different answer to our nation's problems, not variations or modifications of the false solutions promoted by Democrats and Republicans.

The libertarian promise of peace and prosperity is a message Americans are longing to hear. We don't need to soften, refine or modify what we believe to win votes. Instead, we must embrace our beliefs and wear them proudly.

As the Libertarian candidate for President of the United States, I'll make this bold stand. I've never been afraid to speak truth to power, and I won't stop now. I'll guarantee that in 2012 the Libertarian Party is the difference that makes a difference.

James Ogle

My name is James Orlando Ogle. My logo is Joogle, and Google derived from my logo in 1997 because I started a virtual parliament that allows all voters to work in unity based on marked ballots kept as proof under ranked choice majority voting, while giving every voter more liberty to self-categorize as they wish.

I have innovated the ranked choice consensus voting system which guarantees that legislation can be approved by allowing multiple alternatives to be ranked, the more the better, so that items with 100% approval can be approved by consensus.

In addition, ranked choice majority voting can be used to find alternatives in Congress, where any item receiving 50% plus one vote can be considered approved by a simple majority, thus doing away with all the fighting and bickering that you're used to seeing in politics.

I won the Libertarian Party primary with 52.7% of the total votes cast on these planks, along with philosophy of the the non-initiation of force, smaller government and more liberty. Please see USParliament.org for more information: http://www.usparliament.org/google2012.php

Bill Still

The main problem troubling all Americans is the economy. Unfortunately, central banks (China, England, European Central Bank, and Japan) have pumped over $7 trillion into the world economy. This “hot” money is making all stock markets rise and this is the main “economic” number people pay attention to, unfortunately.

This makes Obama’s re-election much easier. But wait, wait: A hot money bubble is very temporary – typically 18 months – enough to get Obama through the election certainly.

The problem is that the quantity of money is not in the hands of we, the people. We have ZERO control over the QUANTITY. Banks and central banks are in complete control over the quantity of money in every nation on earth. I’m the only candidate anywhere who understands this and knows what to do about it.

1. No more national debt. A sovereign nation does not have to borrow. We borrow from banks and central banks and thereby we have a nation that has lost its sovereignty to the biggest banks.

Carl Person

2012 should be our year, but we need to sell our party to voters. Being against war, taxes, regulation and in favor of personal freedoms is insufficient. We need to show voters through specific issues of importance to them (i.e., jobs, homes, education, business opportunities) that Libertarianism provides the desired solutions for voters. My issues (targeted deregulation to let small business create jobs, provide needed vocational training and create prosperity, and option to stay in foreclosed homes) will attract millions of voters who have lost almost everything through their elected Republicans and Democrats. No candidate in any party except me has specific, workable proposals to reach voters and attract their vote. 20,000,000 jobs can be created through my plan “First 3 Are Free” (i.e., treated as independent contractors, as a head start for small business); preemptive legislation to let small business advertise for capital (now illegal), and preemptive legislation to deregulate higher education and vocational training, to train millions of unemployed, underemployed, retirees, disadvantaged to become highly-paid “Technical Assistant to Small Business Owner”.

Leroy Saunders

The American people are fed up with big government this is why I believe the time is right for us Libertarians to stand up and take the lead. We have the most powerful political message lower taxes, less government, peace and more freedom is not enough. Its not enough to put forth a different message you must also put forth a different candidate. Americans overwhelmingly do not trust politicians so why put forth another politician? We have to give the voters a clear cut choice. We must elect a game changer. An average American that can resonate with the people. An average American has the ability to tap into their emotions and the frustration of the people. If you do this you can and will inspire those same people to act and that is how we make history and elect the first Libertarian President! A candidate that can galvanize Americans and transmit to the people how through Libertarian principles their lives can be profoundly better. This is why I should obtain the Presidential nominee of the Libertarian party!

Jim Burns

Libertarians, I want to say thank you. Thank you because you are special: Special because you are chosen: Chosen because you made a choice. Your choice is libertarianism. Libertarians believe that people should be allowed to live as they choose so long as they do not initiate force, threaten to initiate force or engage in fraud. When Libertarianism is adopted, we will enter an age of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. You are special people because of your knowledge and with that knowledge you are among the only people who can bring us all: Peace, Prosperity and Progress. We are not better than anyone else. We are just people – but, because of our knowledge and choices, we do have it within our power to bring us all Peace, Prosperity, and Progress. Our task is not easy, nothing of value ever is. I am Jim Burns. I am seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for President. http://www.jimburnsforpresident.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000094450639
PO Box 1139, Beatty, NV 89003, 541-261-4163, 702-722-9494

RJ Harris

My name is RJ Harris and I am running for President of the United States to restore Freedom, Liberty the Constitution and the Republic. To do this as president I will end our foreign policy of interventionism, close GITMO and cease its tortuous activities, stop foreign aid hand-outs, end the drug war by pardoning all non-violent drug offenders, end the Federal Reserve System and restore sound currency, stop all unconstitutional federal spending and close all unconstitutional federal agencies, restore a Department of Justice which looks inwards towards our government instead of outwards towards We the People and I will place my oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States above all Congressional attempts to promulgate unconstitutional and freedom infringing legislation. To do all of that I need your support and your votes and I sincerely and humbly ask that from you today. In return I will fight for our freedom and defend our liberty message, without fear, in both the media and on the debate stage. Thank you.

Barbara “Miss Joy” Waymire

Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, employee, employer, sole proprietor, Jill of All, Master of None, self-sufficient, and a desire to serve the will of the people; by, for and with the people as a Team.

None look for the root of the issues; the trampling of Individual Freedom and the stripping of the State’s Powers.

I stand for Individual Freedom. Many have confused Freedom with equality under the law.

You cannot extend the “Olive branch of Peace” with military bases to enforce it. I support closing all foreign bases and reducing the size and scope of the military to protect the citizens and our borders.

I support abolishing the Federal Reserve and restoring a sound currency, backed by silver, gold and other precious metals.

I support Term Limits and per diem pay over Congressional salaries, perks and pensions. Politics was not intended to be a career choice, for then the career becomes foremost over the people.

I support closing useless departments such as: Commerce, Education, etc.; reducing government expenditures; a balanced budget.

Gary Johnson

America, for the first time in modern history, is poised to reject the tired two-party duopoly that has brought the nation to its knees economically, while firmly implanting government in every aspect of our lives, families and businesses.

After many months of traveling the country and hearing the concerns and aspirations of thousands of Americans, I am more convinced than ever that the real majority today consists of individuals who not only want a government which spends less, but also does less. Less management of our lives. Less manipulation of our money. And less involvement in wars and nation-building we can neither afford nor justify as clear national interests.

That majority wants and deserves not only a voice in this election, but a viable candidate who has governed – successfully -- on the basis of libertarian principles. I am that candidate, and I ask for the support of Libertarians across the nation as we make history in 2012. http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/

Sam Sloan's Foreign Aid Package Would Focus On Building Railroads In Afghanistan & A Road From The Port Of Karachi To Tajikistan Instead Of Giving Billions Of Dollars In Aid To Israel

Sam Sloan, a candidate for the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination, issued the following position paper with respect to his foreign aid priorities if elected President of the United States:

Sam Sloan on Foreign Aid

I believe that Ron Paul and most Libertarians want to abolish all USA Foreign Aid. I do not agree. I am in favor of some foreign aid. The difference is I make a distinction between true foreign aid, that actually aids the people, and foreign invasion that just kills some people on the pretext of “foreign aid”.

I have two pet foreign aid projects I will carry out if I am so fortunate as to be elected president. Both are big projects that only the USA has the resources to carry out, yet will cost far less than the billions the USA is using now to fight foreign wars.

The first proposed project is a railroad across Afghanistan. A little appreciated fact is there is not even one mile of railroad track inside Afghanistan, almost the only country in the world about which this is true. The reason is the old kings and tribal chiefs of Afghanistan were fearful of modern technology and the threats it would bring to their rule, so they would not allow a railroad to be built.

The result is all the surrounding countries have built railroads right to the border with Afghanistan, but never crossing the border. The Iranians have built a railroad track right to the border of Islam Qala near Herat. I have been there. The Russians have built a railroad right to the border of Termez near Mazar-i-Sharif. The British built railroads to the entry points at Landikotal - Torkham and Chaman near Kandahar. I have been to most of these places.

It is truly a shame that the Afghans have never allowed a railroad to be built in their country. If this Afghanistan railroad were built, then all of these lines would be connected together and goods, services and people could be transported all the way from Europe to India and beyond, as there are good rail links connecting all of these places except for in Afghanistan.

Since our occupation army is already there, we could build this railroad in a few weeks. We are already spending billions there and accomplishing nothing. This project would cost peanuts and have permanent value.

One problem is that all these different existing railroad lines have different gauges. The Russians use a wider gauge than the British and the Iranians. Naturally, it is desirable for railroad cars to be able to run on the same tracks all the way from Western Europe to India and China. This is a difficult problem but I believe there is a solution.

The second project I want to build is the Tajikistan Road. This is a new idea, already at the thinking stage. Just thinking about this is progress because until a few years ago this idea was unthinkable. The idea is to build a road from the Port of Karachi to Tajikistan.

The Tajiks have already been talking about this and have signed onto this project. I am not sure if they thought of it or if we thought of it but in any case the Tajiks like it because it would give them access to the Indian Ocean.

There are a lot of problems with this project. The first problem is back in the 1960s, the World Bank loaned a billion dollars to Pakistan to build a road from Karachi to Peshawar. The money wound up in the Swiss Bank Accounts of the military rulers of that time and thus the road was never built. We then forgave the debt. So, this time, we build the road. The Pakistanis cannot be trusted to build their own road.

A key link of the proposed Tajikistan Road had just been completed, or nearly completed. This is the Lowari Tunnel connecting Chitral to the rest of Pakistan. It is the Lowari Tunnel that makes the Tajikistan
Road feasible. Without it, the only way through the Hindu Kush would be up the Kunar River in Afghanistan, an area of heavy fighting both now and traditionally, making a road there unfeasible.

To get from Chitral to Tajikistan there are two possible routes. One is over the Dorah Pass to Badakhshan in Afghanistan. The other is over the Broghol Pass to the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. Both routes have their adherents. The Dorah Pass route is the shortest in number of miles. However, the Dorah Pass is 2,000 feet higher than the Broghol Pass. It is 14,108 feet. This is about as high as the peak of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the Continental United States.

Perhaps more importantly, the Badakhshan side of the Dorah Pass was the scene of the heaviest fighting in the Wars in Afghanistan. The wars were so intense that entire regions were depopulated. Only now people are starting to come back and live there. For this reason, I believe that the Dorah Pass is unsuitable.

Broghol Pass, which I favor, does not have these problems. The road would be about one hundred miles longer. It would go up the Yarkhun Valley. There has never been any fighting there. The terrain is relatively flat. It would not be difficult to build a road there. I know this because I have been there, by the way.

The extra hundred miles should not be a big problem in view of the importance of this road. The Broghol Pass is only 12,460 feet high. This might seem a lot but the good thing is the egress to the pass is relatively flat. There is not much danger of avalanche.

One may wonder why it was necessary to build a tunnel under Lowari Pass which is only 10,230 feet high but not under Broghol Pass which is 2,230 feet higher. The answer is Lowari Pass is surrounded by high
mountains and an avalanche can strike without warning at any moment.

Every Spring when the snows are melting a few people are killed trying to cross Lowari Top. Three people were killed by avalanche there just a few days ago. This is why it was necessary to spend a billion dollars to build a tunnel under there.

By the way, the Lowari Tunnel was built by the Koreans. The Pakistanis could not build their own tunnel.

The Broghol Pass is not merely the best way to cross. It is just about the only way to cross. It is 2000 feet lower than any other mountain pass in the area and takes you directly in about 12 miles from the headwaters of the Indus River to the head waters of the Amu-Darya River and Tajikistan. It is the only good route to cross the Pamir Knot. When the British discovered this pass late in the 19th Century, they were fearful that the Russians would use this pass for the invasion and conquest of India. There is no other suitable way for an
army to use as an invasion route to cross the Hindu Kush - Himalaya Mountain Range.

I think you will agree that these two are worthwhile projects, but you will no doubt be asking why should we bother with these people. Why not just let them stew in their own juice?

My response is that we are giving billions of dollars to a certain favored country* and, as far as I can tell, we are accomplishing nothing, zero, over there. What have we accomplished there, besides making enemies? These two projects I propose will change the demographics of the world for the better. The Afghanistan Railroad Project will connect England and France by rail with India and even points beyond if we can solve the Burma Problem. The Tajikistan Road will connect not only Tajikistan but Kyrgyzstan and the other Central Asian Countries to the South Sea. These projects should be done and only the USA has the resources to do them.

Finally and most importantly, not one person will be killed by the USA in doing these projects, unlike most of the other USA so called “foreign aid” projects that involve killing lots of people.

* As far as defending Israel is concerned, our job is not to defend Israel. They should defend themselves. They have been getting billions of dollars from us every year and they already have every weapon of mass destruction known to man, including the A-Bomb, so they should be able to defend themselves.