Not Winning or Losing

President Bush admitted today that the war in Iraq, we're not winning or losing. I do not post much on the War in Iraq, because it is very sensitive to me. I always hear a varied amount of opinons on the war, but recently I have been hearing more and more people staing the oppose the war. I know of former servicemen and women that agree with one thing, we got in over our heads. It was poorly planned.
"We're not winning, we're not losing." according to President Bush during an interview. The President also order Secretary of Defense Rober Gates to develope a stronger and increase the troop strength. This has stretched troops towards a breaking point.
This expansion will take years to complete. The Democratic victory in both houses in November probably has quite a bit with President Bush's change in opinion. Before he had opposed sending more troops, but now wants to send more. This also prompted the President to look at new options on the situation in Iraq.

My opinion on this is what I have been telling others that I encountered when involved in talking about the topic. A new direction is needed. A new plan is needed to be concievevd in order for the U.S. and its allies to succeed in this war. I do not support an immediate pullout, but I would like to see a timeline to get the affairs competed that need to be finished. The United States cannot be the world's police force, but it does need to protect itself from enemy forces. I do not ever see a government that the U.S. has created working in Iraq. I would like to be proved wrong, but on the other hand it is only reality.

ATTENTION-Under Construction/Destruction

(post for 11-19-2006 is below)

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Once again I am doing some changes to the blog and it may not look normal for a few days.
As of 20-December-2006 at 7:32 pm(19:32) all modifcations are complete

Making the Pennsylvania Turnpike Private

Yesterday I posted about privatization of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Today I am going to post more specific details of the privatization process.
Governor Rendell is thinking about placing the Pennsylvania Turnpike up for bid. Either it would be sold or leased, that answer has yet to be determined. Governor Rendell's idea is to invest the money from the lease to fund transportation needs. The deal would need to be approved by Pennsylvania Legislation in order for the provision to take effect.
The major issue that will probably be debated is to allow foreign firms to maintain the roads or only allow it to be exclusively for Domestic or even Pennsylvanian owned firms only.
This plan is only in its early stages and may only turn out to be just an idea. It may turn into a major issue in time to come. I will be keeping an eye on this topic and will post my opinions and suggestions when more information is available.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a series of toll roads. The primary Turnpike highway is also know as I-76 which runs from the west end to the east end of the Commonwealth. There is also the Northeast Extention that goes from Philadelphia to Scranton, also known as I-476 (formerly PA 9). There is also a series of small state numbered roads that also make up the turnpike system. The roads combined are over 500 miles in length.


Governor Rendell has proposed privatizing the entire Turnpike system. This would mean private industry would maintain and repair the roads, tunnel and bridges of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
This will be faced with much opposition, just like privatized the wine and spirit shops. Former Governors Thornburgh and Ridge were blocked from taking that action. Today the Wine and spirit shops are still owned by the state, which is a liquor store to non-Pennsylvanians. Many Pennsylvanians call them "state stores" for that reason. The liquor stores are owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The reason for a "privatized" Pennsylvania Turnpike system is cost cutting.
There are other factors to consider, because many people will oppose it if Foreign based contractors are accepted to do the job. It costs the state $29 million a year, which is what the state contributes to the turnpike commission for state patrols.
I do have a .link to read more on this proposal. I would also like to post other topics on the pros and cons of privatized government services.