I am appalled at the state of our great nation. President Barack Obama has gone over and above and beyond the socialist agenda I feared a year ago. His associations with radical, marxist-leaning individuals is astonishing. I never believed that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright would be the easiest pill to swallow.

Think about it. Van Johnson, Kevin Jennings, William Ayers, Ben Vernanke, Valerie Jarrod and the group ACORN, just to name a few, are the people that this president invited to the White House. Some are or were his “czars.” Others he just admired or were his confidants. The implications here are terrifying. I can’t believe that this is the “change” that people voted for “to believe in.”

Members of the House and Senate are, behind closed doors, determined to shove down the throats of American people a health care reform bill that most people don’t want. Giving those boneheads in Washington control over one-sixth of the economy is like letting the inmates run the asylum, but it kinds of feels like that now.

Somewhere along the way, a million dollars ceased to be a lot and the word billion has practically been eliminated when Washington talks about costs. Our great nation is now trillions in debt.

The powers in Washington are in a pre-Sept. 11 mentality. Eric Holder’s decision to move terrorists to U.S. soil is lunacy. The financial burden and the security risks are enormous. And let’s not forget that by giving these murderers the same rights as U.S. citizens, they will have access to classified information and a forum to spew their anti-American views. What is going on?

I never thought I would long for the Clinton era, the good old days when the worst scandal in Washington involved a guy named Bill, a girl named Monica and, of course, a blue dress.

Gail Allison

Vicksburg