Like many of you, I was a child of the "cold war."

I went to sleep at night with visions of mushroom clouds dancing in my head. I woke up to threats from Fidel Castro and Nikita Kruschev pounding his shoe on the desk at the UN.

And, yes, I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis.

When it looked like our family would soon be huddling together in a dark fruit cellar should the Milwaukee air raid sirens go off, I strongly suspected we were all about to be vaporized.

But you know what? I was wrong. The idea of peace through strength worked. The thought of Mother Russia being thrown into a "nuclear oven" was too much for Comrade K. He backed down…and here I am, 38 years later, with a wife and a young son of my own.

I wonder…what are his dreams like?

Can that innocent six-year-old possibly know about the Russia-China alliance now being formed against us? Does he understand that both countries now have the capability to foist Armageddon on us at the drop of a nuclear hat?

Is he concerned about missing Russian nuclear suitcase bombs, possibly already sold to terrorists and smuggled into America for use when the time "is right?"

Under the current Democratic administration, our government has spent a "peace dividend," snatching the arrows from the eagle’s claw and carving him up like a Thanksgiving turkey.

Not that Al Gore is opposed to ALL military expenditures. In fact, he supports the right of terrorist states like Iran to build a giant war machine by purchasing the latest Kilo class submarines, wake-following torpedoes, tanks, armored personnel carriers and even a nuclear reactor from Russia. Gore cooperated with Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin to keep details of the sales from Congress, a violation of Federal law.

Now, Gore wants to be our President and you can bet he’ll be taking a buzzsaw to what’s left of our military structure. After all, he’s had eight years under Bill Clinton to find out how the job is done.

The point was driven home all too clearly this week when the foreign policy advisor of George W. Bush, Dr. Condolezza Rice warned a concerned crowd at St. Louis University about the current state of our military readiness. Dr. Rice expressed concerns about Democratic Administration policies that have forced experienced officers to leave the U.S. armed forces "in droves."

The major problems, poor housing, low pay, unclear missions for a military stretched far too thin, conducting peace-keeping missions all over the globe.

Dr. Rice says a Republican administration would address all these problems and raise our Air Force readiness rating back above the inadequate 65 percent rating it currently holds. She also predicted Bush would hasten the development and deployment of a missile shield to protect the United States from missile attacks from enemies like Iran…and friends like Russia and China.

Maybe none of this disturbs the slumber of a sleepy six-year-old.

But his dad would sleep a whole lot better at night knowing someone is looking out for our family’s best interests.

And those of America.

This Tuesday, November 7^th, let’s vote wisely.

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