On "The Situation Room" today, we asked viewers the following questions, and here are some of our favorite responses that we didn't get to read on air:

Should the IRS hire private companies to collect federal income taxes?

This is just another reason the IRS should be reorganized from the ground up. If a private business operated in this manner it would be bankrupt in a month.
Larry, N. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Sure we should hire private contractors to collect our taxes. The Army has hired contractors to cook for our troops. We have hired contractors to run our prisons. I think we should hire contractors to replace our politicians as well.
David, Manteca, California

Of course the IRS should seek outside help. Have you seen any government entity do any thing right yet? Farm it out and they have someone to blame.
Doug, Kerens, Texas

Should Phoenix, Arizona, police be able to enforce federal immigration laws?

I have a better idea! Why don't the border states pass their own immigration laws and bypass the federal government altogether? Maybe something could get done!!
Richard, Punta Gorda, Florida

No. Our overburdened police departments do not need to take on the federal government's responsibility. We don't have the resources, and it's the feds who don't have the will.
Ken, Pinetop, Arizona

Any state should be allowed to police any immigration problem, especially when the federal government will not. The immigration problem is a very serious one, especially since terrorists can, and most likely have, entered the U.S. this way.
Dorothy, Charleston, South Carolina

Of course the Phoenix police should be allowed to enforce immigration laws, and in the process, maybe they can show the impotent federal and state authorities how it is done!
Ed, Geneva, Illinois

What does it mean when individual states have to take their own steps toward energy independence?

What it means, Mr. Cafferty, is that national leadership is non-existent or misdirected. I believe the Illinois plan is a great start and others should follow suit. Being from Texas, I don't have much hope of this happening in my state any time soon. November is our opportunity to make sure our state gets on the right track.
Kent

I'm not sure about your question, Jack, but I feel compelled to repeat: Why don't we turn coal into gasoline and skip the corn? It would be much more efficient.
Dan, Tennessee

The Illinois initiative is a perfect example of how our government has come full circle from its founding. We are once again in an era of "taxation without representation" since our federal lawmakers could care less about the issues that the American people believe are important. I applaud Illinois for taking this step and only wish the rest of the country would heed their example.
E., New Orleans, Louisiana