• Lest we think terrorism is a pseudonym for radical Islam, of the 335 incidents that happened in the United States defined as "terrorism", 250 were conducted by U.S. citizens according to the FBI.

• While arguing future wars could be fought at the North Pole might be a bit of an overstatement, this regions must be addressed when formulating energy policy. According to global energy expert Wood Mackenzie, 1/5th of the world's undiscovered petroleum is buried under the Artic ice. Even at the ultra-high end of estimates, the controversial region in Alaska, ANWR, only has 16 billion barrels - or 7% of the North Pole's potential.

• While South Korea becoming a nuclear power is daunting, and there are reasons to worry about Iran's ambitions, it is important to determine what state actors deserve the technology and what state actors do not. As a case in point, the International Institute for Strategic Studies out of London notes that 13 Middle Eastern nations have announced plans to pursue nuclear power since January 2007 alone.

• One of the greatest failures of the Wolfowitz-Cheney distortion of NeoConservativism is the belief that cultures instantly adapt to American-style democracy. However, as a study conducted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development reveals, only 30% of residents of former Communist-bloc nations say they live better lives than in 1989.

• Most people know that Saudi Arabia sits on the world's greatest oil reserves. However, less people realize that Russia has twice as much natural gas than any other country AND the most coal reserves in the world. When adjusted to BTU's (British Thermal Units), Russia has 25% more energy reserves than any other country. (source: Energy Information Administration.)

• For those who don't think water isn't a future security threat: 50% of all freshwater drawn from U.S. sources each year is used to cool power plants... AND ...while 40% of Fortune 1000 Companies say a water shortage would be 'catastrophic' or 'severe' to their business, only 17% have made preparations for such a shortage

• 60% of our nation's fossil fuel needs are imported.
  The last refinery built in the United States was 1976.
  The last nuclear power plant built in the U.S. was 1977.

• During the Civil War, the Confederacy actually began executing a plan to conquer Mexico and Brazil, and even had 20,000 ex-rebels flee to Brazil where they established the Confederate colonies of New Texas and Americana.

• After reviewing the most recent DoD statistics on the Iraq and Afghan wars, a Harvard professor projects the total medical care cost for U.S. vets of these conflicts will exceed $500 trillion. That is equal to the total projected amount of spending on both wars combined.

• With a 2009 budget of $651.2 billion, the U.S. military budget is now bigger than all other countries in the world combined. It is 8 times bigger than the next biggest spender, China.

• The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that by 2030, crude oil demand will soar to 118 million barrels a day as energy consumption soars in developing countries like China and India