A free people, free to believe as we wish, free to speak our minds, free to raise our children as we see fit, will, make no mistake about it, endure.

Over the last six years, airlines have experienced severe financial pressure to leave smaller communities, making demands on the EAS program even greater.

As a people of faith, we know that prayer is a powerful instrument. And as one Nation under God, we know that many times our most powerful tool is prayer.

Reasonable, even intelligent people can, and frequently do, disagree on how best to achieve peace in the Middle East, but, peace must be the goal of our foreign policy tools, whether they be by the stick or by the carrot.

Today we thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon this great Country and ask Him to continue to heal our land and meet our needs - and we do so through the power of prayer.

We all understand that compromise is part of the legislative process, yet at the same time, I would submit that wilderness is not for sale.

The spirit of Christmas is - and hopefully always will be - about goodwill and generosity to others and peace on earth.