CPAC, is the blame it on Obama frat party. I think that they ignore, why we are in this situation or can't remember 11 years ago. The economy was doing well, we were paying down the debt and during the presidential campaign, the candidates were talking about tax cuts and infrastructure building. The most significant thing in the power of a service oriented economy was the price per barrel. Oil was less than $40 a barrel in 2001. That makes the means of production low and the opportunity for profit and employment good. George W Bush, decided that it would be a good idea to attack a country that was one of the leading producers of oil and had nothing to do with the attacks of 9/11, but was dumping oil on the black market,and keeping prices low. Even though Iraq was militarily neutered during Desert Storm and was subject to sanctions, two no fly zones and was still a fine buffer between Iran and the rest of the Gulf states, Bush and the rest of Washington, including the American press, decided to ignore the facts and beat the drums of war. The most significant end result of this action was the costs of every aspect of our economy went up because of oil prices skyrocketing to over $100 per barrel. At this point, the economy started to spiral downward, except for the oil industry. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but the folks that President Bush was most closely associated with did extremely well after Iraqi Freedom was executed and the rest of the country went into recession.

Now, I want you to think of today. Think of the fragile economic recovery we are going through. All the world knows that if we go in and hit Iran's nuclear sites, oil prices will go through the roof and the economic recovery will dissolve and we will go into instant recession, if not depression. Look now who is talking about military force against Iran. We can't afford it. We spend billions of dollars to keep the Persian Gulf open. We have massive bases in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain and oil companies make massive profits and we still give them subsidies. What if we worked on a National Electrical grid? What if we spent the money of the Oil subsides on making solar panels for every roof in America? Look at all the money we spend outside America on protecting oil imports to America. What if we spend that money on Americans for our country's greater good? I have yet to hear how the Republicans are going to help Americans. I hear about Austerity measures, cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, but we hire non-Americans in the Persian Gulf, we protect Persian Gulf oil exports by nations that spread anti-American hate speech to their children and other nations. Remember 16 of the 19, terrorists from 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia. It is the Madrassas,( Islamic schools) in Pakistan supported by Saudi Arabia that developed the radical Islamic terrorist that attack our boys in Afghanistan. So I ask the Republicans," Why do you hate Americans?" Quit protecting others, and start thinking of our citizens, here, at home, in America.

John Hussey

St. Peters