Text of Our Ladys Special Morning Prayer

Dear Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
create a new heart in this day,
a heart committed to holiness,
a heart preserved in faith and peace,
I ask this in your Most Holy Name,
Lord Jesus. Amen
Mary Refuge of Holy Love Pray for us

This special morning prayer was requested by Our Lady in the following words:

"Dear children, I wish each day for you to renew your hearts in holiness through faith and peace. Such a heart will be steeped in love for his brethren and will bring many souls to Me by example. Therefore, my dear children, upon arising each morning, it is My desire you recite this prayer. It will bring many souls to realize their vocation in holiness...a vocation for each soul no matter his station in life."

Ireland-Nama:Text of Letter from Richard Bruton TD to Brian Lenihan Minister for Finance August 25, 2009

August 25 2009
Dear Brian,
I am writing to you in response to your recent letter asking for comments and observations from Fine Gael on the draft NAMA Bill in order to facilitate a discussion at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service on August 31.Fine Gael Concerns about NAMAAs you are aware, Enda announced last Friday that Fine Gael does not support the Government's approach to resolving the banking crisis. Our concerns about the NAMA Bill arise from its potentially colossal cost, from its uncertain benefits and from the evident unfairness of asking taxpayers to take responsibility for the reckless behaviour of developers and banks. In particular, we are concerned at:

* The likelihood of over-payment by taxpayers to bank shareholders and bondholders for toxic bank assets of highly uncertain value. The distinction in the draft Bill between current "fire sale" market prices for bank assets and their underlying property collateral and their long-term economic value has some valid theoretical underpinnings, but in practice the latter is impossible to estimate. The banking and property crashes in other countries such as Japan should be a cautionary tale for those who believe that the price for certain types of property will inevitably recover from current market prices. Given the scale of this venture, over-payment could hobble the public finances for a decade;

* The doubtful impact of NAMA on the current lack of bank credit for businesses and households; and

* The wisdom and fairness of transferring responsibility to the taxpayer for the collection of troubled developer debts, and the terrible incentives this creates for repeated reckless behaviour by banks at some future date.
A Fine Gael Alternative

As you know, Fine Gael has, as far back as last April, offered a two-track alternative to NAMA that we believe addresses these problems.

Under Track 1, we propose to ensure improved credit availability for businesses by the establishment a wholesale "Good Bank", or National Recovery Bank, capitalised by the State and further leveraged by the ECB and funding markets using the "asset covered bond" model that is well-established in other EU countries.

In parallel, under Track 2, the banks would be given until the end of the Guarantee period in September 2010 to pass a rigorous "stress test" to show that they had repaired their own balance sheets by selling assets (such as foreign subsidiaries), raising more deposits and negotiating down their own liabilities to long-term providers of risk capital and funding.

In the event that the banks cannot pass such a Stress Test by the end of the Guarantee period, Fine Gael's proposal is to split each failed bank into two, leaving the assets with the most uncertain values (the developer loans) in legacy property management companies owned largely by the shareholders and other classes of risk investors.

Deposits, other short-term liabilities, easy-to-value loans like mortgages and business overdrafts, the branch networks and the vast majority of the staff would all move safely and seamlessly into a new, going concern "clean bank", initially owned and guaranteed by the taxpayer. These new "clean banks" would be well capitalised with a clean balance sheet and fully open to resume lending.

We are confident that this break-up procedure would never prove necessary for most of the banks, as they and their investors would have every incentive to avoid it. All the major banks have already announced plans to buy back debt from their bondholders at a discount in a way that generates capital to absorb future losses. These types of "debt buybacks" and debt-to-equity conversions would accelerate dramatically under our policy and at greatly discounted prices.

The advantage of this model over the current NAMA proposal is that the risks and responsibilities associated with working out distressed developer-related loans would remain with those professional bankers and investors that funded the loans and that are best placed to recover them. While the taxpayer may have to have some participation in the legacy property management companies, their losses will only be incurred after the private investors. Private investors would employ the best skills and judgement to recover as much of the money as possible, and there would be no public disquiet about a soft-touch approach for the well-connected developers.

I am, of course, aware of your oft-stated concerns regarding the implications of our proposal for financial stability. But it is international best practice for risk investors in the banks, including some classes of bond-holders, such as owners of subordinated debt, to absorb loan-related losses ahead of taxpayers. This, after all, is the nature of capitalism.Financial stability would also be maintained during this process by extending the Guarantee as necessary on debt roll-overs and all new funding coming into the banks until the sufficient recapitalisation has been achieved and confidence restored.

The Need for a Full Debate on Alternatives to NAMA.

It is disappointing that, given the enormity of the decisions we face over the coming months, that the Government has facilitated so little considered and objective evaluation of the benefits and weaknesses of the NAMA proposal vis--vis the alternatives. To justify its assertion that there is no workable alternative to NAMA, the Government to date has published nothing more than an 11-page summary of a report by Peter Bacon.

I would respectfully suggest that this has not been a formula for generating cross-party or widespread public support for any proposal to deal with the banking crisis. The draft NAMA Bill should now be delayed. In September, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service should hear testimony from international and domestic experts of the pros and cons of the NAMA proposal vis-a-vis the alternatives that have been presented by other Parties and experts.

Detailed Observations on NAMA.

As I hope you appreciate, Fine Gael's preferred approach to resolving the bank crisis is based not on a dogmatic attachment to a particular model, but rather on a set of core principles: protecting the taxpayer from huge, unmanageable risks; minimising and ensuring a fair distribution of the losses associated with reckless lending by the banks and reckless investments by developers; and improving financial stability and credit availability for struggling businesses and families.

Notwithstanding our deep concerns about the principles underlying the Government's proposed approach to resolving the banking crisis, I am nonetheless concerned to submit detailed observations on how the draft NAMA Bill might be radically overhauled in order to protect the taxpayer and the wider economy.

Below I set out nine specific issues on which I would welcome further detailed engagement by the Minister at the Oireachtas Committee with a view to agreeing amendments to the draft Bill on which I hope all Parties might agree.

1. We want to explore how the Bill could be re-drafted to protect the taxpayer from over-payment to the banks by NAMA by minimising political interference in the process and by establishing a fully independent appeals mechanism that could also hear appeals against high valuations by NAMA.The Government had claimed prior to the publication of the draft Bill that the valuation process would be immune from political influence. But the draft Bill gives the Minister very substantial influence on the "adjustment factors" that NAMA must take into account when estimating the "long term value" premium over current market prices. Valuations and payments by NAMA to the banks can be over-ruled and increased by the Minister, while there is no corollary provision for independent or Ministerial challenge for over-payment by NAMA for bank assets.

2. We want to explore how the NAMA Bill could be re-drafted to ensure that owners of risk capital (both equity and subordinated debt) fully share in the losses resulting in write-downs by NAMA.In particular, we want further clarity as to what status the stated Government policy of avoiding nationalisation of the banks plays in the valuation process. We also want to understand the mechanisms for ensuring losses are absorbed by owners of non-equity risk capital (subordinated debt) in the event that the write-downs by NAMA more than wipe out all the equity in the banks.

3. We want to explore how the NAMA Bill could be re-drafted to allow for risk-sharing between the taxpayer and risk investors in the banks in the future work-out of the bad loans, as has been recommended by the IMF. We do not accept that the bank levy promised by Government to recover NAMA losses is a credible mechanism for risk-sharing between taxpayers and investors.In this regard, we would welcome your views on Professor Patrick Honohan's recommendation that NAMA should pay the banks less than fair value for bad loans, but in return give owners of bank equity and subordinated debt an ownership share in NAMA with upside potential.

4. We want to explore how the Bill could be re-drafted to re-assure the taxpayer that the over-riding objective of NAMA is to maximise the returns to taxpayers on assets purchased by collecting as much of the debts owed as possible, and to put in place the necessary clarity of mandate, robust incentives to achieve this objective, and set benchmarks of comparison. It is not appropriate that this be left to unpublished guidelines.

Only last November, the IMF finished a study on banking and property busts in seven other countries where the NAMA approach was adopted, and concluded that "Government-owned asset management companies appear largely ineffective in resolving distressed assets, largely due to political and legal constraints."

In layman's terms, the IMF believes that state quangos are much less skilled than private bankers at recovering loans from well-connected borrowers. In France, a similar state-owned asset management company in the 1990s lost a total of EUR18 billion (including funding costs) out of EUR28 billion of assets purchased from Credit Lyonnais.

In this regard, a major weakness in the draft Bill is the absence of any principles to guide its relationship with the developers, such as the policy on foreclosures, bankruptcies, work-outs or any of the other hard-nosed aspects of asset management which must be present to protect taxpayers. For example, without explicit protections, there is a very real prospect that in a few years' time, these same individuals will pop up again to buy these assets at an enormous discount, only this time they will be backed by funding from the same banks whose liquidity problems are now being eased. This will not, in my view, be acceptable to the public.

It is not conducive to public confidence that this be left to unpublished, future guidelines to be drafted by the Minister. The "rules of engagement" between NAMA and developers in default of their loans must be clarified in advance.

5. We want to explore how the Bill could be re-drafted to deliver new innovative mechanisms for political oversight, transparency and accountability of this extraordinary agency. These would include giving the Oireachtas an oversight and approval role for the appointment of the directors and CEO, providing "whistle-blower" protections for insiders exposing mal-practice and ensuring detailed oversight and reporting to the Oireachtas by experts appointed by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of all key stages in the NAMA process, such as loan valuation and asset recovery.

6. We want to explore how the Bill could be re-drafted to require banks that participate in the Scheme to use a proportion of the extra ECB liquidity generated to support bank lending to SMEs and households. There is a danger than banks will use the extra ECB funding only to build up their cash reserves or to pay down other inter-bank or market liabilities.

7. We want to explore how the Bill could be re-drafted to deliver new supports for home-owners at risk of repossession, such as a Scottish-style equity purchase scheme by NAMA for householders facing repossession from mortgage lenders designed to bring their debts down to manageable levels (combined with some mortgage debt write-down by the banks).

8. We need further clarity on the method of payment for loans by NAMA, with particular regard to the coupon to be paid on NAMA bonds in short and long-term and other terms and conditions. We need greater clarity on the agreement with the ECB on NAMA bonds, including whether the ECB has committed to accepting NAMA bonds as collateral for liquidity operations over full duration of life of NAMA.

9. We want to explore how the Bill could be re-drafted to establish the principles under which NAMA will manage the property market (in which it will be a weak monopoly seller) in Ireland's long-term economic interests.I look forward to further engagement and debate on this most important issue for the country over the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Richard Bruton T.D.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Resignation Speech-Full Text

Palin Announces No Second Term

No Lame Duck Session

Hi Alaska, I appreciate speaking directly TO you, the people I serve, as your Governor.


People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska. Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.


I want Alaskans to grasp what can be in store for our state. We were purchased as a territory because a member of President Abe Lincoln's cabinet, William Seward, providentially saw in this great land, vast riches, beauty, strategic placement on the globe, and opportunity. He boldly looked "North to the Future". But he endured such ridicule and mocking for his vision for Alaska, remember the adversaries scoffed, calling this "Seward's Folly". Seward withstood such disdain as he chose the uncomfortable, unconventional, but RIGHT path to secure Alaska, so Alaska could help secure the United States.

People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska.

Alaska's mission-to contribute to America. We're strategic IN the world as the air crossroads OF the world, as a gatekeeper of the continent. Bold visionaries knew this - Alaska would be part of America's great destiny.


Our destiny to be reached by responsibly developing our natural resources. This land, blessed with clean air, water, wildlife, minerals, AND oil and gas. It's energy! God gave us energy.


So to serve the state is a humbling responsibility, because I know in my soul that Alaska is of such import, for America’s security, in our very volatile world. And you know me by now, I promised even four years ago to show MY independence.... no more conventional "politics as usual".


And we are doing well! My administration's accomplishments speak for themselves. We work tirelessly for Alaskans.


We aggressively and responsibly develop our resources because they were created to be used to better our world... to HELP people... and we protect the environment and Alaskans (the resource owners) foremost with our policies.


Here's some of the things we've done:


We created a petroleum integrity office to oversee safe development. We held the line FOR Alaskans on Point Thomson-and finally for the first time in decades -they're drilling for oil and gas.


We have AGIA, the gasline project-a massive bi-partisan victory (the vote was 58 to 1!)-also succeeding as intended - protecting Alaskans as our clean natural gas will flow to energize us, and America, through a competitive, pro-private sector project. This is the largest private sector energy project, ever. THIS is energy independence.


And ACES-another bipartisan effort-is working as intended and industry is publicly acknowledging its success. Our new oil and gas-clear and equitable formula-is so Alaskans will no longer be taken advantage of. ACES incentivizes NEW exploration and development and JOBS that were previously not going to happen with a monopolized North Slope oil basin.


We cleaned up previously accepted unethical actions; we ushered in bi-partisan Ethics Reform.


We also slowed the rate of government growth, we worked with the Legislature to save billions of dollars for the future, and I made no lobbyist friends with my hundreds of millions of dollars in budget vetoes... but living beyond our means today is irresponsible for tomorrow.


We took government out of the dairy business and put it back into private-sector hands-where it should be.


We provided unprecedented support for education initiatives, and with the right leadership, finally filled long-vacant public safety positions. We built a sub-Cabinet on Climate Change and took heat from Outside special interests for our biologically-sound wildlife management for abundance.


We broke ground on the new prison.


And we made common sense conservative choices to eliminate personal luxuries like the jet, the chef, the junkets... the entourage.


And the Lt. Governor and I said "no" to our pay raises.
So much success in this first term-and with this success I am proud to take credit... for hiring the right people! Our goal was to achieve a gasline project, more fair oil and gas valuation, and ethics reform in four years. We did it in two. It's because of the people… good public servants surrounding the Governor's office, with servants' hearts and astounding work ethic... THEY are Alaska's success!


We are doing well! I wish you'd hear MORE from the media of your state's progress and how we tackle Outside interests - daily - SPECIAL interests that would stymie our state. Even those debt-ridden stimulus dollars that would force the heavy hand of federal government into our communities with an -all-knowing attitude- I have taken the slings and arrows with that unpopular move to veto because I know being right is better than being popular. Some of those dollars would harm Alaska and harm America-I resisted those dollars because of the obscene national debt we're forcing our children to pay, because of today's Big Government spending; it's immoral and doesn't even make economic sense!


Another accomplishment- our Law Department protected states' rights- TWO huge U.S. Supreme Court reversals came down against that liberal Ninth Circuit, deciding in OUR state's favor over the last two weeks. We're protectors of our Constitution - federalists protect states' rights as mandated in 10th amendment.


But you don't hear much of the good stuff in the press anymore, do you?


Some say things changed for me on August 29th last year- the day John McCain tapped me to be his running-mate - I say others changed.


Let me speak to that for a minute.


Political operatives descended on Alaska last August, digging for dirt. The ethics law I championed became their weapon of choice. Over the past nine months I've been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations- such as holding a fish in a photograph, wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters’ questions.


Every one - all 15 of the ethics complaints have been dismissed. We've won! But it hasn't been cheap - the State has wasted THOUSANDS of hours of YOUR time and shelled out some two million of YOUR dollars to respond to -opposition research.. that's money NOT going to fund teachers or troopers - or safer roads. And this political absurdity, the -politics of personal destruction- … Todd and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills in order to set the record straight. And what about the people who offer up these silly accusations? It doesn't cost them a dime so they're not going to stop draining public resources - spending other peoples' money in their game.


It's pretty insane - my staff and I spend most of our day dealing with THIS instead of progressing our state now. I know I promised no more -politics as usual,- but THIS isn't what anyone had in mind for ALASKA.


If I have learned one thing: LIFE is about choices!


And one chooses how to react to circumstances. You can choose to engage in things that tear down, or build up. I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and productivity. I choose NOT to tear down and waste precious time; but to build UP this state and our country, and her industrious, generous, patriotic, free people!


Life is too short to compromise time and resources... it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: "Sit down and shut up", but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out. And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and -go with the flow-.


Nah, only dead fish "go with the flow".


No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time... to BUILD UP.


And there is such a need to BUILD up and FIGHT for our state and our country. I choose to FIGHT for it! And I'll work hard for others who still believe in free enterprise and smaller government; strong national security for our country and support for our troops; energy independence; and for those who will protect freedom and equality and LIFE... I'll work for and campaign for those PROUD to be American, and those who are INSPIRED by our ideals and won't deride them.


I WILL support others who seek to serve, in or out of office, for the RIGHT reasons, and I don't care what party they're in or no party at all. Inside Alaska - or Outside Alaska.


But I won't do it from the Governor's desk.


I've never believed that I, nor anyone else, needs a title to do this - to make a difference... to HELP people. So I choose, for my State and my family, more "freedom" to progress, all the way around... so that Alaska may progress... I will not seek re-election as Governor.


And so as I thought about this announcement that I wouldn't run for re-election and what it means for Alaska, I thought about how much fun some governors have as lame ducks… travel around the state, to the Lower 48 (maybe), overseas on international trade - as so many politicians do. And then I thought - that's what's wrong - many just accept that lame duck status, hit the road, draw the paycheck, and -milk it-. I'm not putting Alaska through that - I promised efficiencies and effectiveness! ? That's not how I am wired. I am not wired to operate under the same old -politics as usual.- I promised that four years ago - and I meant it.


It's not what is best for Alaska.


I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is unconventional and not so comfortable.


With this announcement that I am not seeking re-election… I’ve determined it’s best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell; and I am willing to do so, so that this administration – with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future – can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success.


My choice is to take a stand and effect change - not hit our heads against the wall and watch valuable state time and money, millions of your dollars, go down the drain in this new environment. Rather, we know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time, on another scale, and actually make a difference for our priorities - and so we will, for Alaskans and for Americans.


Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports… basketball. I use it because you're naïve if you don’t see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket… and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory.


I have given my reasons candidly and truthfully… and my last day won’t be for another few weeks so the transition will be very smooth. In fact, we will look to swear Sean in - in Fairbanks at the conclusion of our Governor's picnics.


I do not want to disappoint anyone with my decision; all I can ask is that you TRUST me with this decision - but it’s no more -politics as usual-.


Some Alaskans don’t mind wasting public dollars and state time. I do. I cannot stand here as your Governor and allow millions upon millions of our dollars go to waste just so I can hold the title of Governor. And my children won’t allow it either. ?
Some will question the timing. ? Let's just say, this decision has been in the works for awhile…


In fact, this decision comes after much consideration, and finally polling the most important people in my life - my children (where the count was unanimous... well, in response to asking: "Want me to make a positive difference and fight for ALL our children's future from OUTSIDE the Governor's office?" It was four "yes's" and one "hell yeah!" The "hell yeah" sealed it - and someday I'll talk about the details of that... I think much of it had to do with the kids seeing their baby brother Trig mocked by some pretty mean-spirited adults recently.) Um, by the way, sure wish folks could ever, ever understand that we ALL could learn so much from someone like Trig - I know he needs me, but I need him even more... what a child can offer to set priorities RIGHT - that time is precious... the world needs more "Trigs", not fewer.


My decision was also fortified during this most recent trip to Kosovo and Landstuhl, to visit our wounded soldiers overseas, those who sacrifice themselves in war for OUR freedom and security… we can ALL learn from our selfless Troops… they're bold, they don't give up, they take a stand and know that LIFE is short so they choose to NOT waste time. They choose to be productive and to serve something greater than SELF... and to build up their families, their states, our country. These Troops and their important missions - those are truly the worthy causes in this world and should be the public priority with time and resources and NOT this local / superficial wasteful political bloodsport.


May we ALL learn from them!


*((Gotta put First Things First))*


First things first: as Governor, I love my job and I love Alaska. It hurts to make this choice but I am doing what's best for Alaska. I've explained why… though I think of the saying on my parents' refrigerator that says -Don't explain: your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.-


But I have given my reasons… no more -politics as usual- and I am taking my fight for what's right- for Alaska - in a new direction.


Now, despite this, I don't want any Alaskan dissuaded from entering politics after seeing this REAL -climate change- that began in August… no, we NEED hardworking, average Americans fighting for what's right! And I will support you because we need YOU and YOU can effect change, and I can too on the outside.


We need those who will respect our Constitution where government’s supposed to serve from the BOTTOM UP, not move toward this TOP DOWN big government take-over… but rather, will be protectors of individual rights - who also have enough common sense to acknowledge when conditions have drastically changed and are willing to call an audible and pass the ball when it's time so the team can win! And that is what I'm doing!


Remember Alaska… America is now, more than ever, looking North to the Future. It'll be good. So God bless you, and from me and my family - to ALL Alaska - you have my heart.


And we will be in the capable hands of our Lieutenant Governor, Sean Parnell. And Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will assume the role of Lieutenant Governor. And it is my promise to you that I will always be standing by, ready to assist. We have a good, positive agenda for Alaska.


In the words of General MacArthur said,-We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.-

Ireland: Summary and Text of radical New FG FairCare Health Policy

Fine Gael’s FairCare proposals, certainly represent the most fundamental reform of the health system since the formation of the State.The policies pursued by the government have failed. Unfortunately the reaction of government Minister Barry Andrews is to say the least disappointing. The time for political point scoring is over. Adopt these policies NOW. Fix our health service NOW

Speaking at the launch of his Party’s FairCare Health proposals today (Monday), Fine Gael Leader, Enda Kenny TD said:

For the last ten years the Government’s answer to any problem in the health service was to throw taxpayers’ money at it. Billions were wasted and the health service was never reformed in any fundamental way. As a result, Ireland’s health system is now ranked 24th in Europe in terms of value for money. Even today, as we face the worst economic crisis in this State’s history, the Government is slashing health budgets without introducing any meaningful reform. In mid 2008 I established a Health Commission chaired by our former leader Alan Dukes, to develop a radical and patient focused solution that will give us the Health Service that we deserve within a five year time frame. Our approach is built around the patient, rewarding performance from doctors and hospitals, and ensuring that there will no longer be a two tier health system.

Fine Gael has looked in particular detail at the Dutch health system as a model for Ireland’s health service. The Netherlands spends only slightly more than us on health on a per capita basis, but has minimal waiting lists and is ranked number 1 in Europe for health. Under Fine Gael’s proposals, we will move towards the Dutch system, where everyone has mandatory health insurance, either subsidised or fully financed by the State. In its first 30 days in Government, Fine Gael will work with all the major stakeholders in the health service to agree an implementation plan so that the proven Dutch system of UHI is best adapted to Irish circumstances. Our health reform programme represents the most revolutionary change in the Irish health system since its establishment.
There will be some who will say that we cannot afford major reforms at a time of recession. To them I say: as budgets come under more pressure we can't afford not to reform our €16 billion a year health system.

A summary of the proposals is available here

Full Text of proposals here

Ireland: Video and Text of Enda Kenny keynote address to FG Ard-Fheis-4/4/09

Video requires RealPlayer-Download here

Embedded from RTE.IE

Keynote Address By Fine Gael Leader, Enda Kenny TD, Ard Fheis 2009.

I come here tonight to speak to you about the challenges facing the country and about my plan to get Ireland working again.

I want to speak to you about my optimism for our people, about my confidence in the advantages we have and about my belief that with courage, fairness and decisiveness, we can point the way ahead to a new future, a fairer Ireland and a truly just society.

This current crisis presents us with enormous challenges, but massive opportunities.

I believe that Ireland can recover fully from this recession inside five years.
This mission can only be achieved if we choose the right options, make the tough but correct decisions, and act decisively and act now.

We must act for the benefit of everybody in this country and not pander to any powerful vested interest. Be assured that under my leadership, Fine Gael will step up to the mark. We have the people, the ideas and the ambition. We will accept the responsibility of leading this country to a strong and prosperous future.

It's time for a new Fine Gael Government to take Ireland in a new direction.

Fianna Fáil could have, and should have, anticipated the economic crisis. While I recognise that global factors are partly to blame for the downturn, the reality is that mismanagement by our own Government has meant that Ireland is suffering much more than other countries.

Make no mistake about this - Fianna Fáil are responsible for the state of our domestic woes.

When our economy was strong, they squandered your money on wasteful projects, like e-voting machines, rather than investing in improving vital public services like schools and healthcare.

Thankfully, their days in Government are numbered.

Fine Gael's alternative involves radical reform to eliminate wasteful spending and reduce bureaucracy.

Let me be straight - no country has ever taxed its way back to recovery.

The problem with the public finances cannot be fixed by tax increases and crude spending cuts alone. As more and more people lose their jobs, the hole in the public finances gets bigger and bigger. The cornerstone of Fine Gael's plan for economic renewal is the creation and protection of jobs for our people.

That will be our number one priority in government.

As I travel around the country listening to people, the single greatest issue that concerns them and that causes real anxiety is the safety of their jobs, the possibility of losing a job and the need for a plan to move our country forward.

Losing a job doesn't bring just financial hardship. Our sense of identity, dignity, self-worth and independence is bound up in our work. It gives our lives a purpose, without which it is all too easy to slip into feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.

The shock of losing all that has now registered on the faces of over 375,000 people in this small country. That's why Fine Gael has continuously pointed the way forward and why we have placed job protection and job creation at the heart of our recovery plans. This country has drifted aimlessly in the past few years from one crisis to another with no vision of where to go or what to do.
It was always too little, too late.

Fine Gael has set the agenda all along. We were right on benchmarking, we were right on the scrapping of the National Pay Deal, we were right on Bank recapitalisation and on the need for a new Budget.

And we're right to focus on jobs now.

I believe that we can meet the challenge ahead and revive our country by setting out clear targets and then achieving them with determination. These are our targets:
1. Create 100,000 new jobs by the end of 2013.

2. Return the public finances to health by 2012 - without increasing the standard and current top rates of income tax.

3. Deliver a radical plan for renewable energy - pumped storage, wind, wave and biomass, that will meet a quarter of our energy needs by 2015, and make us net exporters of energy within 10 years.

4. Transform our education system so that 9 out of 10 children complete secondary school by 2013 and two thirds go onto third level.

5. Restore Ireland to the top 5 most competitive countries in the world within 3 years.

These targets are all achievable if driven by a new Fine Gael Government with new ideas and the energy and the commitment to do the job.

Our young people now have to compete against their peers around the world.

That world will change utterly in the next 20 years as a consequence of further developments in robotics, nanotechnology, genetics, the internet and climate change. We have to be at the vanguard of that change and education is the key.

Our young people have many advantages. Our education system can be and should be the best in the world. We have proven to be world class in music, literature, the arts and sport. We have a unique capacity in language and research.
But to meet the future challenges, we need more.

We need free access to 3rd level Colleges.

Fine Gael will not deny any family the opportunity to send a son or daughter to college because of financial pressures.

The gates to dreams and potential will remain open. We will not support the reintroduction of 3rd level fees and will abolish the current registration fee system.

Instead, when they start to work and earn, graduates will make a fair contribution to the cost of their course over a 5 to 10 year period.

This will provide a new €500 million annual fund for which 3rd level Colleges will compete - based on the quality of the courses that they offer and the scale of their reform.

A country that does not provide excellence in education is a country that fails its future: Fine Gael will not allow this country to fail its future.

That future for many is stressful and uncertain. Last week I met a couple whose child has special needs. They have mortgaged their home twice. Nobody knows a child better than its mother. This is what the child's mother said to me:

'We've always paid our taxes, and yet we've had to fight the State every day of our child's life to get any kind of services. We've a personal overdraft for which we're being charged 20% interest by a bank being bailed out by our taxes. Do you understand how angry I am when I read of people receiving millions of Euro despite disgraceful behaviour within banks?'

Well I understand that anger. I meet people like that mother every week.

Victims of appalling and scandalous State neglect and banking greed.

That's why Fine Gael demands a radical shake-up of Irish banking that will see new people leading the banks and those responsible for outrageous abuses severely punished.

The message has to go out, both at home and abroad, that these practices will not be tolerated by the Irish people.

Fine Gael will extract and deal with the tainted remnants of irresponsible lending so that reformed, clean banks can start lending again to the small and medium Irish businesses that are so essential to the creation of jobs.

Last week, I met a small retailer in Kildare who, because she was refused a loan of just €3,000 for cashflow, is now forced to lay off staff. Countless other businesses are similarly starved of credit.

The banks must play their part in supporting employment because, if they don't, the economy will continue to decline.

That decline can only be reversed by job creation. This is why Fine Gael published our jobs plan - Rebuilding Ireland.

This plan, which will create 100,000 jobs within 4 years, will be an investment in the future and will be paid back in time.

Across the Country, these new initiatives driven by me as Taoiseach, will provide jobs for young people, engineers, scientists, farmers, business people - men and women - in a unique venture to put Ireland up there with the very best internationally.

The Fine Gael plan is not about jobs for the boys, but jobs for the people.

These plans are just the start. There are many other areas where jobs can be created.

I intend to establish a policy foundation to harness the flow of exciting ideas streaming into this party from people all over the world. We will capitalise on the infinite possibilities that stem from new technologies and clean bank investment for businesses across Europe.

To help stimulate new jobs, Fine Gael will abolish Employer's PRSI for every new job created.

Along with creating these new jobs, we must also work to retain existing jobs.

That's why last week we proposed reducing the lower rate of VAT to 10% - a move that will support labour intensive sectors like Tourism and Construction.

That's why we will slash the red tape and bureaucracy that is strangling Irish Business.

That's why we will force down Government controlled prices like energy and rates.

Then we can face the future, not with eyes of fear but with a focus on confidently achieving our goals.

Because we know we can do it.

These incentives however come at a price. Achieving national recovery requires difficult decisions on tax and spending.

That is why politicians must lead by example. Fine Gael has taken the lead in demanding political reform that will see an end to ministerial Pensions for serving TDs; a reduction in the number of Dail committees and the abolition of additional payments for Committee work.

One of my first acts as Taoiseach will be to reduce the number of Junior Ministers from 20 down to 12.

We don't need 20 Junior Ministers - and the Country can't afford them.

Equally the Country cannot afford the billions wasted in a Health System that was never reformed in any fundamental way. My message tonight is simple.

Despite the best efforts of nurses and doctors and all those working on the front-line, our health system is broken.

And this Government has no idea how to fix it.

The health service needs radical change. Fine Gael will deliver that change. We will deliver a health system that is concerned solely with people's medical needs, and not with the money in their pocket.

We will end the two-tier system.

We have devised a plan based on best practice in the Netherlands and Canada. It will eliminate trolleys in A&E, slash waiting lists and end the current health divide that denies fair treatment to the less well-off in our society.

Our goal is clear: To give Ireland a world-class health service where everyone is treated fairly, regardless of income, and where the patient is central to that service.

Fine Gael will make sure that the people of Ireland get the services that they pay for and deserve.

Whatever decisions have to be made next Tuesday in these difficult times, they must not destroy the spirit of communities and the voluntary care provided for
the voiceless, the defenceless, the aged and the intellectually challenged.

I see examples of this wonderful care every day, all over Ireland - 3 million hours of loving care provided every week by people who receive no thanks and little support from the State.

No bureaucrat sitting with a pen should destroy that generosity of spirit of Irish people.

No calculator can place a value on this. The government that has destroyed our economy cannot be allowed to destroy our humanity.

No Government led by me will allow it to happen and irrespective of
what else has to give, this will not.

Chuir sé isteach orm go mor gur dunmharu triur sa Tuaisceart le deanai. Ar mo mholadh fein, ghlac Dáil Eireann le rún comhbhron agus bhí tacaiocht o chuile pháirti i gcoinne an feall sin. Chuir an Dáil amach teachtaireacht laidir don Teach Bán, do mhuntir na hEorpa agus don domhain ar fad nach glacann munitir na hEireann, Tuaisceart agus Deisceart, leis an eacht ufasach sin. Caithfear deireadh a chur le seo laithreach. D'oibrigh an iomairce daoine ro dian and ro fhada chun go ligfear go dtosnodh an troid sin arís. Leanfaimid ar aghaidh le siochain seasamach as seo amach.

It was out of the need for peace that the European Union was born.

Europe has been vital to Ireland's development as a respected and influential member of the international community.

I want a reformed, effective, and democratic Europe to be a key driver of economic recovery and future prosperity. This Europe must be given the architecture to serve a population of 500m people.

That's why Fine Gael has and will continue to support the reforms in the Lisbon Treaty and we will lead the campaign for its approval by the Irish people later in the year.

In the meantime, the people will vote June 5th to elect Ireland's members of the European Parliament. It is more important than ever that we elect strong and effective MEPs. Fine Gael's membership of the largest political family, the European People's Party, gives our MEPs a unique place of influence when the important decisions are taken.

That's why I urge people to vote for Gay Mitchell in Dublin; for Colm Burke and Sean Kelly in the South; for Mairead McGuinness and John Paul Phelan in the East and for Jim Higgins and Joe O'Reilly in the North West. In doing so, you will be choosing Ireland's strongest voices in Europe.

No other nation has ever been as willing to sacrifice for a better future than the Irish. We moved from being navvies to being nation builders. We benefited from thousands of mothers and fathers who scrimped and saved so that their children could continue to build our country.

I make no pretence and no promise that we can instantly fix the problems we inherit.

But I do promise that we will free the potential that, at the start of the last century, enabled our people to come through oppression and recession to build a great democracy.

"Let the people know the truth and the country is safe" said Lincoln. Well, I will tell them the truth. The Country will be safe.

We will revive the excitement and sense of possibility that allowed our people, in the 1980s, to come through the hardest of times to build an economy which was the envy of the world.

As the proud father of three young children my priority is securing the future of all of our children.

But to achieve this, we need courageous, confident, clear leadership from a Fine Gael Government that truly cares.

Fianna Fail have lost the capacity to lead, and more importantly, they have lost touch with the people and the people have lost trust in them. And they know it.

When I took on the leadership of Fine Gael, the scale of the challenge was huge. Many said that the situation was hopeless, but I've worked hard, built solid foundations, picked a strong team and encouraged their creativity so that we could recover and grow. And we have.

Now I want to do the same for Ireland.

Fine Gael is the party with the team, the energy and the ideas to get the Irish people back to work. And we are the only party that guarantees the political change this country so desperately needs.

Last year, across the Atlantic Ocean, a young man began to live and achieve his dreams for his country.

The simplicity of his slogan 'Yes we can', captured the imagination of the world.

Let nobody doubt my resolve as Leader of this great Party to achieve my ambition for our country. A fair and just society, a strong and healthy economy and a rewarding and peaceful future for all.

My call to the Irish people is different. It's not just 'Yes we can', but 'Yes we will'.

Video:Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan attacks Gordon Brown -the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government

Prime Minister, I see you’ve already mastered the essential craft of this Parliament – that being to say one thing in this chamber, and a very different thing to your home electorate. You’ve spoken here about free trade, and amen to that; who would have guessed, listening to you just now, that you were the author of the phrase ‘British Jobs for British Workers’, and that you have subsidised - where you have not nationalised outright - swathes of our economy, including the car industry and many of the banks.

Perhaps you would have more moral authority in this house if your actions matched your words. Perhaps you would have more legitimacy in the councils of the world if the United Kingdom were not going into this recession in the worst condition of any G20 country.

The truth, Prime Minister, is that you have run out of our money. The country as a whole is now in negative equity. Every British child is born owing around £20,000. Servicing the interest on that debt is going to cost more than educating the child.
Now once again today you tried to spread the blame around, you spoke about an international recession; an international crisis. Well, it is true that we are all sailing together into the squall – but not every vessel in the convoy is in the same dilapidated condition. Other ships used the good years to caulk their hulls and clear up their rigging – in other words, to pay off debt – but you used the good years to raise borrowing yet further. As a consequence, under your captaincy, our hull is pressed deep into the water line, under the accumulated weight of your debt. We are now running a deficit that touches almost 10% of GDP – an unbelievable figure. More than Pakistan, more than Hungary – countries where the IMF has already been called in.

Now, it’s not that you’re not apologising - like everyone else, I’ve long accepted that you’re pathologically incapable of accepting responsibility for these things these things - it’s that you’re carrying on, wilfully worsening the situation, wantonly spending what little we have left. Last year, in the last twelve months, 125,000 private sector jobs have been lost – and yet you’ve created 30,000 public sector jobs. Prime Minister you cannot go on forever squeezing the productive bit of the economy in order to fund an unprecedented engorging of the unproductive bit.

You cannot spend your way out of recession or borrow your way out of debt. And when you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, that we’re well place to weather the storm, I have to tell you, you sound like a Brezhnev-era Apparatchik giving the party line. You know, and we know, and you know that we know that it’s nonsense. Everyone knows that Britain is the worst placed to go into these hard times. The IMF has said so. The European Commission has said so. The markets have said so, which is why our currency has devalued by 30% – and soon the voters, too, will get their chance to say so.

They can see what the markets have already seen: that you are a devalued Prime Minister, of a devalued Government.

Ireland:Government announces €10 billion fund to recapitalize financial institutions (Banks and Building Societies)

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Embedded from RTE.IE

Text of Statement by the Government on the Recapitalisation of Credit Institutions

The Government has today decided on an approach to the recapitalisation of credit institutions. The Government’s objective is to ensure the long-term sustainability of the banking sector in Ireland and to underpin its contribution through the availability of credit to individuals and businesses in the real economy. This initiative will help to foster and encourage the flow of funds to the economy, and limit the impact of financial market difficulties on businesses and individuals.

The Government noted that recapitalisation is recognised by the European Commission as one of the key measures that may be used by Member States to preserve stability and proper functioning of financial markets, and that it believes that in current market conditions even fundamentally sound banks may require additional capital to respond to widespread market perception that higher capital ratios are appropriate for the sector internationally.

The Government decision followed the Minister for Finance’s statement of 28 November 2008 which confirmed the State’s willingness to supplement and encourage private investment in the recapitalisation of credit institutions in Ireland with State participation.
In that context, the Government has decided either through the National Pensions Reserve Fund or otherwise and subject to terms and conditions, to support, alongside existing shareholders and private investors, a recapitalisation programme for credit institutions in Ireland of up to €10 billion.

The State’s investment may take the form of preference shares and/or ordinary shares and the State may where appropriate participate on an underwriting basis. In principle existing shareholders will be expected to have the right to subscribe for new capital on the same terms as the Government.
A key principle in the operation of such a fund will be to secure the interests of the taxpayers through an appropriate return on, and appropriate terms for, the investment.

The next step in this process will be for the Minister for Finance to initiate detailed engagement with the credit institutions themselves in respect of specific proposals.
In order to safeguard fully the interests of the taxpayer, State investment will be assessed on a case-by-case basis in an objective and non-discriminatory manner, having regard to the systemic importance of the institution, the importance of maintaining the stability of the financial system in the State, and the most effective and economical use of resources available to the State and each credit institution’s particular requirement for capital. Any State investment will be undertaken in line with best practice in the EU and elsewhere and consistent with EU State aid rules and in particular the recent European Commission communication on recapitalisation.
Recapitalised institutions may be required to comply with such requirements as to transparency and commercial conduct as the Minister sees fit.

The National Pensions Reserve Fund Act, 2000 will be amended, as necessary.
Discussions with the relevant credit institutions are ongoing, and the institutions continue to progress proposals for private investment. Institutions are being asked to submit their proposals by early January.
The Government guarantee Scheme remains in place.
14 December 2008

Full Video and Text of Sarah Palin's acceptance speech (36 minutes-38 seconds)-with analysis

This acceptance speech was a tour de force. It had everything: steel,compassion, style, substance. It was skilfully crafted. Sarah Palin effortlessly turned the tables on the left wing media and the Obama campaign. It was a no contest. This woman has gravitas. She has charisma.

Sarah Palin said she would accept the party's nomination as vice president. She talked about her background in politics and outlined a vision for the future. She skilfully exploited the weaknesses in Obama's taxation policy and its frightening implications for businesses. She outlined a strategy for energy independence. She exposed glaring weaknesses in Obama's claim to have the required experience to assume the presidency

As governor of Alaska she has a strong track record. Sarah Palin stressed that a McCain/Palin presidency would be characterised by a strong commitment to reform. The substance of this speech marked out Palin as forward thinking and contrasted strongly with that of Joe Biden which harkened back to the 1970s.

Particularly noteworthy were the following references to her governorship of Alaska: "I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network".

She also balanced the budget. She sold the previous governors jet on Ebay. She fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history. And when that deal was struck, she began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence. That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have America interests at heart. In short as Governor Palin has delivered.


The speech also contained other pearls:
"But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.
Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests.
The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.
Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve."

She also outlined her sensitivity and compassion:
"To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.
I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House. Todd is a story all by himself."

Speech

Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored to be considered for the nomination for Vice President of the United States...

I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America.

I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election... against confident opponents ... at a crucial hour for our country.

And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions ... and met far graver challenges ... and knows how tough fights are won - the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.

It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.

With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost - there was no hope for this candidate who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war.

But the pollsters and pundits overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off.

They overlooked the caliber of the man himself - the determination, resolve, and sheer guts of Senator John McCain. The voters knew better.

And maybe that's because they realize there is a time for politics and a time for leadership ... a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.

Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by.

He's a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years, and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight.

And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. I'm just one of many moms who'll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way.

Our son Track is 19.

And one week from tomorrow - September 11th - he'll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.

My nephew Kasey also enlisted, and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.

My family is proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform. Track is the eldest of our five children.

In our family, it's two boys and three girls in between - my strong and kind-hearted daughters Bristol, Willow, and Piper.

And in April, my husband Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig. From the inside, no family ever seems typical.

That's how it is with us.

Our family has the same ups and downs as any other ... the same challenges and the same joys.

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.

And children with special needs inspire a special love.

To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House. Todd is a story all by himself.

He's a lifelong commercial fisherman ... a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska's North Slope ... a proud member of the United Steel Workers' Union ... and world champion snow machine racer.

Throw in his Yup'ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package.

We met in high school, and two decades and five children later he's still my guy. My Mom and Dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town.

And among the many things I owe them is one simple lesson: that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.

My parents are here tonight, and I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath. Long ago, a young farmer and habber-dasher from Missouri followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency.

A writer observed: "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.

I grew up with those people.

They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America ... who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.

They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town.

I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better.

When I ran for city council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too.

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.

And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.

We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, John McCain is the same man. I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment.

And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.

Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests.

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything.

But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and ... a servant's heart.

I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States. This was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau ... when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network.

Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve.

But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up.

And in short order we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.

I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law.

While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for.

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.

I also drive myself to work.

And I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef - although I've got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her. I came to office promising to control spending - by request if possible and by veto if necessary.

Senator McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest - and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.

Our state budget is under control.

We have a surplus.

And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes.

I suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.

I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere.

If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves. When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged - directly to the people of Alaska.

And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources.

As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.

I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.

And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.

That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.

The stakes for our nation could not be higher.

When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

And families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.

With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.

To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies ... or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia ... or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries ... we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas.

And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we've got lots of both.

Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as if we all didn't know that already.

But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines ... build more nuclear plants ... create jobs with clean coal ... and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.

We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers. I've noticed a pattern with our opponent.

Maybe you have, too.

We've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers.

And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.

Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit.

Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet them without preconditions.

Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America ... he's worried that someone won't read them their rights? Government is too big ... he wants to grow it.

Congress spends too much ... he promises more.

Taxes are too high ... he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.

The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes ... raise payroll taxes ... raise investment income taxes ... raise the death tax ... raise business taxes ... and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that's now opened for business - like millions of others who run small businesses.

How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you're trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio ... or create jobs with clean coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia ... or keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.

How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy? Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election.

In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.

And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

They're the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners, or on self-designed presidential seals.

Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speechmaking, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things.

And then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things. They're the ones who are good for more than talk ... the ones we have always been able to count on to serve and defend America. Senator McCain's record of actual achievement and reform helps explain why so many special interests, lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency - from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.

Our nominee doesn't run with the Washington herd.

He's a man who's there to serve his country, and not just his party.

A leader who's not looking for a fight, but is not afraid of one either. Harry Reid, the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate, not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee.

He said, quote, "I can't stand John McCain." Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man. Clearly what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain. That is only one more reason to take the maverick of the Senate and put him in the White House. My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of "personal discovery." This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organizer.

And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely.

There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you ... in places where winning means survival and defeat means death ... and that man is John McCain. In our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world in which this man, and others equally brave, served and suffered for their country.

It's a long way from the fear and pain and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.

But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made.

It's the journey of an upright and honorable man - the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this country, only he was among those who came home.

To the most powerful office on earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless ... the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of God ... the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how evil is overcome. A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio, recalls looking through a pin-hole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John McCain was led down the hallway, by the guards, day after day.

As the story is told, "When McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn toward Moe's door and flash a grin and thumbs up" - as if to say, "We're going to pull through this." My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through these next four years.

For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words.

For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.

If character is the measure in this election ... and hope the theme ... and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all, and may God bless America.

Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, is the Republican vice presidential nominee.