This week, I had difficulty deciding on a single topic for this article as several issues are concerning me. Rather than picking one, I decided to mention each of them. My first concern is that illegal aliens are rushing to take advantage of the President's Reprieve Program to get on the "Pathway to Citizenship". Congress refused to pass the DREAM Act, so the President decided to implement amnesty for aliens himself using his own reprieve program. Many of the illegal children of unlawful aliens are now lining up outside their home country's consulates. The reason? They want to get passports so that they can apply for a two-year exemption from deportation.

Let's get real here! These people entered our country illegally, often with their children and remain in our country in violation of immigration laws. The President's action to permit illegals to remain in America is an act of defiance against Congress. As he has in the past, President Obama is abusing his executive powers to implement his own agenda. I understand that the children of illegal aliens are in a difficult situation. I also know that millions of immigrants have legally immigrated to this country, often after years and even decades of waiting. Legal immigrants must go through a lengthy process to get their "Green Card" so they and their families can live and work in America. Only 140,000 people (excluding refugees) can use the "Green Card" process each year, resulting in lengthy backlogs of people patiently waiting their turn in their native land. Meanwhile, illegal aliens swarm across our borders waiting for the President to grant them amnesty.One way to alleviate this problem would be to give illegal aliens two years to return to their home country. Once there, they can start the legal immigration process. They will need to fill out an application and their paperwork must be checked and approved. Once this process is complete, they may receive their "Green Card". I understand this may take many years, but that is how the system works. People who break our immigration laws are criminals and should be treated as such. Some of you may think that I am too harsh. Take a moment to consider the facts. Ninety-five percent of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens! Fifty percent of gang members in L.A. are illegal aliens. (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1738432/posts). I understand that most unlawful residents obey the laws, work hard and pay their bills. But the fact remains, they broke the law and they should be deported.On a related topic, my hat goes off to Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson. He would not grant an injunction to prevent Pennsylvania's voter identification law from being implemented. Under the new law, voters will be required to present valid identification, such as a drivers license or other federal or state I.D. for their vote to be counted. This legislation is long overdue. The right to vote is one of our most important and cherished freedoms. But only valid and legal American citizens should vote! By requiring voter identification, we can prevent voter fraud. No longer will people voting several times under different names jeopardize the elections. If you want to vote in this election, you will need to prove that you are entitled to vote.While the above issues distract us, China is quietly moving to establish a moon base. Next year, they plan their first lunar mission. They will put a man on the moon by 2017 according to their plan. I believe that their next step will be to build a habitat on the moon to serve as a lunar base. From that base they will explore the moon to identify minerals such as Helium-3, which can be scooped off the lunar surface. A very small amount of Helium-3 can be used to create massive amounts of power through clean Nuclear Fusion. Currently, our nuclear power plants use nuclear fission, which is highly radioactive and poses a danger to our environment. (Think Chernobyl). Countries that mine Helium-3 on the moon and transport it back to earth will have a never-ending source of cheap power. We have the technology to do this, but have not made this a priority.The Chinese are rapidly developing their space capabilities. I believe that they will not only land people on the moon, but that they will start mining Helium-3 and send it back to earth as early as 2025. The Chinese have some of the best scientists (many U.S. trained) and the ability to focus on their goals. The Chinese Communist government does not need to seek the consensus of the people. They have the knowledge, the funding and the desire to win the space race. I believe that they will succeed. Meanwhile, our space effort is paralyzed. Without the space shuttle, we must beg the Russians to take our astronauts and cargo into space. Eventually, our next generation of spacecraft will be ready to launch. By that time, the Chinese will have such a strong lead that we will never be able to catch up.I am very concerned about the future of our nation. We have lost the spirit to fund the scientific effort needed to ensure that we remain the most advanced country on the planet. Our universities are producing more English majors than scientists. We may have the best technical schools in the world, including MIT and Caltech, but many of the students are Chinese nationals. In this election year, those running for office should be focusing on preserving America's leadership in science and technology instead of focusing on minutia. The debate over changes to social security may garner a lot of press and possibly capture the votes of senior citizens. What we really need is a new President who has vision and who can inspire the American people to greatness. This is a critical moment for our nation. We must win the technology race or become a second rate country in a Chinese controlled world.© 2012 Gordon Smith - All Rights Reserved