The monetary value of a soldier's gear has increased 100 times, since World War 2, and while the cost of freedom remains priceless, the value of a soldier's life fluctuates.  Oil is now approximately $80/barrel!....XEROX has a great program - log onto www.letssaythanks.com, and you will be able to select a Thank You card that will be forwarded to a member of the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq or Afghanistan(and Thank You, to my friend Sharon R., in Metairie, La., for making me aware of this great site!)....After years of intense research, scientists have discovered a use for the human appendix.  By itself, it would account for 70 points, when playing Scrabble - and much more when combined with any other word!....New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has issued an Executive Order which will enable illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses(while not allowing gays and lesbians to obtain marriage licenses!)  Fortunately, New York's County Clerks are uniting, in defiance of the order, as they possess sole authority to issue the licenses, which are a blatant backdoor attempt to enable illegals to possess a legal form of ID for voting purposes!....Arizona Superior Court Judge Timothy Ryan, and his superiors - Presiding Criminal Judge Ana Baca and Presiding Judge Barbara Rodriguez Munzell - have come under fire from Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, for ignoring voter approved Proposition 100, the initiative to require 'No Bail' for illegals immigrants arrested for committing serious crimes.  Remember those names for the next judicial election!....The attempt to redistrict Arizona's public schools is falling apart, as questions of property taxes and teacher salaries are proposed to be major stumbling blocks.  No mention of the loss of administrative positions, or school boards, which maintain 'local control' - the actual major blockades to Arizona students' academic successes!....Stupefied-Intendent of Public Schools, Tom Horne, says that increased funding would boost public education, however, present and past increases have only led to increased administrative abuses, and have rarely been correlative to increased student achievement.  Horne should work to mandate district consolidation, and the reallocation of excess funds directly to classrooms, teacher salaries and benefits, and curriculum development and implementation!  And the legislature should work towards making the Superintendent position to be one that is appointed by the Governor, instead of an elected position!....Minimum wage, in Arizona, will increase by .15, to $6.90/hour, on January 1, 2008.  This will coincide with the surge of high school dropouts, as second semester begins, and our youth, with their new-found freedom, 'do the work that only illegal immigrants will do!'....The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that Teachers, administrative support staff, maintenance workers, and healthcare personnel, are among the most depressed professionals - and most likely to use and abuse drugs, including alcohol.  Nowhere are administrators or politicians mentioned.  Go figure!