Where is America heading? President Obama has been in office a year and it seems that the deficit is getting higher every time you turn around. It is time that Obama and Congress rethink their philosophy and cut back on their spending spree. Who in their right mind can think that the more you spend the better it is to get out of a recession? If anyone spends money that they don't have, it only makes that individual go deeper in debt and eventually they must file for bankruptcy because they cannot sustain the costs. This is exactly what the Obama Administration is doing to America. They are spending trillions of dollars that they don't have. Every man, woman, and child in this country owes around $39,000 because of the administration's spending habits. In my eyes this is the worst economic president we have ever had. President Obama and his administration are causing civil unrest because he is not listening to the majority of the American people. He is trying to take away God's gift to men and women: their free will. His arrogance is totally unacceptable.

Our politicians should agree on the following points:

1. Vote to freeze the budget.

2. Oppose all tax increases.

3. Agree on sovereignty and security to close our borders and have quotas like we had for aliens coming into this country in prior years.

4. Stop apologizing to other countries for our so-called shortfalls. I believe that America is the best country in the world. We are the most giving people/country in the world. We have nothing to be ashamed about.

5. We have had difficulties for four decades on importing oil. This is a total travesty. Our country is rich in energy. Our politicians should agree on new methods to find ways to drill off-shore for oil and gas. Mine for coal and work in building more atomic energy plants. This will help America be less dependent on other countries.

The war in Afghanistan seems to be even more difficult than the Iraqi war. Our military has received directives in which they must turn over to the Afghan military within 96 hours any insurgents that are caught fighting against our soldiers. This means that they have only 96 hours to interrogate these captives properly; this puts our military in harm's way. They give these captives to the Afghan military and they in turn release them. They go back into the field to fight out troops another day. What a shame that our fine military has to have their hands tied because of politicians.

Our Attorney General Eric Holder is looking to investigate the CIA. Our country has been kept safe for eight years. Obama is Commander and Chief. Under the constitution the president is the chief law-enforcement officer of the country. He is the boss of Eric Holder. The president had said prior that he does not want to look back, he wants to look forward. You cannot tell me that President Obama is not giving his OK to Holder to perform this witch hunt. Does the president forget that we lost 3,000 lives because of these terrorist animals? He wants to afford them Miranda rights and coddle them when they are being questioned. These terrorists do not care about American lives and I feel our hands should not be tied because of politics. When Americans are captured by these terrorists they have cut off their heads and dragged them through the streets. What our interrogators have done is mild compared to what the terrorists have done to their captives. The CIA has kept this country safe and I do not want our safety penalized because of stupidity. Wake up, President Obama, and stop this witch hunt. Stop demoralizing the people that work for the CIA. If you continue to do this our country will see more terrorist attacks and our safety will be lost.

After reading the article that appeared in the Wednesday, December 30 edition of the Times Herald-Record concerning ShopRite's opposition to Walmart building a store in Napanoch, I felt the need to write.

I am a lifelong resident of the Town of Wawarsing and have followed the local Walmart "debacle" with much interest. I have seen and experienced first-hand the continued decline of the Town of Wawarsing over the years as one business after another has been lost.

The thinly veiled reasons ShopRite gives for bringing their lawsuit are laughable. They are simply trying to throw up a smoke screen to hinder or kill Walmart's plans. ShopRite would have us believe that they actually have our best interests in mind and are looking out for us. ShopRite and our local action group, Wawarsing-Ellenville for Responsible Development, accuses the Town of Wawarsing of wrongfully skipping "a review forcing tougher scrutiny of Walmart's impact on traffic, crime and the local economy." They also go on to state "there will definitely be economic and environmental impacts." What BS! I don't remember any such concerns being raised in the early 1990s when ShopRite built their complex on Route 209 in Ellenville. What makes this most incredulous is the fact, any local resident can attest to, that the site they built on was wetland where one could see water fowl swimming at certain times of the year. Even now one can see standing water off the edge of the parking lot where cattails grow! Where were the environmental concerns then? I don't recall any of these concerns ever being raised when the Napanoch Mall was in operation and occupied over the years by Grants, Jamesway, Ames, Grand Union, and others. What environmental impact could there possibly be? The mall property was already developed over 30 years ago with water and sewer hook-ups already available, unlike when ShopRite built on undeveloped land. I think someone needs a reality check.

In ShopRite's recent response to letters they have been receiving from concerned citizens, they say they are concerned about the economic impact a Walmart may have on their employees and other jobs in the community. Did they have the same concern for the employees of Great American, Grand Union, and Peters Market when they decided to build a store in Ellenville?

I have one question for the people who oppose a Walmart in Napanoch. Where do you honestly believe the residents of Ellenville/Town of Wawarsing do the majority, if not all, of their shopping? You're not really under the delusion that it's in Ellenville, are you? The shoppers here get in their cars and drive a half-hour to Middletown, Monticello, or Kingston. At least if there was a Walmart in Napanoch, money would be spent locally and jobs would be created for local residents, including students, and second incomes for families, as when the Napanoch Mall was in business.

Sadly, the Town of Wawarsing no longer offers all that it once did, including jobs, stores, and shopping. A Walmart here would bring back some of what has been lost.