Dear Henry and readers,

In this letter I want to talk about the 2012 American election. After four months in the country and three classes on U.S. history, I now believe America desperately needs a viable third party. This is because there is really no difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Both support an internationalist foreign policy, are responsible for record budget deficits and the erosion of states' rights. Now's the time for America to support a new party with tried and true policies in foreign policy, economic policy and states' rights.

Foreign policy: Amerca needs to return to the isolationist foreign policy practiced by the founding fathers. At the moment, the U.S. is fighting two pointless and unwinnable wars, is a member of useless bureaucracies like the UN and NATO, has soldiers in Japan and Western Europe and is bound to unconstitutional trade organizations and free trade agreements. These policies make America more hated by would be enemies, undermine its sovereignty and destroy its trade.

America needs a foreign policy that puts its own interests first and rejects the socialist New World Order of climate change agreements, foreign alliances and unnecessary economic bureaucracies. The founding fathers warned against a foreign policy of “entangling alliances” and history has proven them right. America must return to a modest foreign policy by doing the following:

1. Withdraw American troops from all foreign wars and military bases. Let Afghanistan and Iraq decide their own fates and Japan and Germany defend themselves. America is not responsible for world security and never should be.

2. Abolish all foreign aid, cut military spending in half and withdraw from every international bureaucracy and alliance. Foreign aid is unconstitutional, America should only spend enough on defense to protect its own borders and the World Bank and IMF subjugate American trade policy.

3. Return to a neutral foreign policy. In particular, America needs to stop siding with Israel and giving it billions of dollars in aid. American bias towards Israel only creates enemies in the Middle East and encourages terrorist attacks. Israel can look after itself and should be treated like any other nation.

Economic Policy: In my opinion, America's economic problems come down to three main issues: the Federal Reserve and fiat currency, suicidal free trade policy and the federal income tax. Both Republicans and Democrats have progressively socialized the American economy and destroyed it along the way. Now is the time to throw them out and make the American economy free and great once again.

1. The Federal Reserve and fiat currency only destroy the value of the American dollar, create inflation and encourage deficit spending and bank bailouts. The Fed must be abolished and America needs to return to a precious metal standard.

2. Free trade is a utopian economic policy that must be stopped. It has destroyed U.S. manufacturing, sent millions of jobs overseas and increased trade deficits. Tariffs are the only Constitutional means of funding the federal government and are preferable to an income income tax. The federal government should only operate on a minimal tariff and withdraw from free trade agreements and organizations.

3. The federal income tax needs to repealed and returned to the states. The founding fathers believed taxation powers rested in the states and not the federal government. Introducing a federal income tax was the worst economic mistake committed by the federal government and it's time to reverse it. A balanced budget amendment must also be passed to stop government bailouts, tax increases and inflation.

States' rights: I know Henry disagrees with me on this point, but the South was right to secede from the federal government. The states created the federal government, not the other way round. States' rights are absolutely essential to keep federal government power to a minimum and allow for regional differences. Any responsibility not delegated to the federal government in the Constitution is reserved for the states. Federal politicians (including B. Hussein Obama) swear to protect and uphold the American Constitution, but most of them simply ignore it because it limits federal power. America must return to a literal interpretation of the Constitution by doing the following:

1. Abolish ALL federal bureaucracies, agencies and powers not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, including social security, the CIA and FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Departments of Education and Agriculture and many, many more.

2. Return income tax powers to the states.

3. Let the states legislate on issues like abortion, gay marriage, gambling and prostitution.

4. Allow the states set their own voting requirements. Ideally, voting should be limited to those who pay the income tax and own property.

Henry, it's time to kick out the Democrats and Republicans and elect a new party that will help America return to greatness.

Let's hope 2012 is the year America wakes up and looks beyond the big two parties.