But my hope is, on a serious note, my hope is that the issues we just discussed... we can keep at it today and see if we can't find a way to yes that is reasonable and acceptable to all of us.

There is a good compromise out there, and I think if we are smart and don't give up today, we will find it.

Thank you for those words, and thank you for your partnership.

I have a little more time. Can you tell us what it would do to BLM's ability to continue to advance smart energy development, outdoor recreation, conservation, the full spectrum of uses for BLM lands if Congress were to cut the Bureau's…

Some weeks ago I asked Taiwan's representative to the United States, what was the single most important thing we could do to convince China that it would be unwise to consider a military action of invasion against Taiwan, and the…

I am confident in our standing in these regions and what we offer.

I appreciate the fact that you have given me a heads up on this already today privately that we are going to make progress on the demonstration of the U.S. strategy vis-a-vis China, and again, its intent is to not confront but to help…

But I would note China invests in things that are going to help China down the road.

I think it sends a signal to would be aggressors around the world of all kinds that we will stand by our commitments and that we honor and respect the rights of democratic people to retain their freedoms and their vision for their own…

I, for one, was surprised to see their treatment of Australia, for instance, and wondered how that could possibly be in their interest to offend a nation in their region as they did, obviously, a nation with which we have a close…

I would think that China's calculation about action of a hostile nature against Taiwan would encompass not just military might but also the response diplomatically of nations around the world, but also economic impact.

That is the objective.

It is important to have a strategy that goes beyond words.

My assessment is that there have been nations that have severed relations with Taiwan but have not gone the other way.

They have done a number of things which have weakened, from my perspective, their ties with those nations.

We stand for peace, stability----

It would seem that they are succeeding in that effort, and we are probably not being quite as effective.

I am actually thinking about some of the more direct economic impact, for instance, anticipating that China relies on Taiwan, for instance, for semiconductor needs of various kinds.