I learned two things yesterday that I never knew. First, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is actually in Argentina, not Georgia. Second, Mark Sanford, the Republican Governor of South Carolina, has admitted an affair after going AWOL from his post for the past couple of days. The emails exchanged between Mr. Sanford and his girlfriend are now public. I couldn't stop wincing as I read them and I imagine that Sanford's political opponents are going to have weeks of fun in dissecting them and eviscerating him in the press.
Adultery sucks. It's one thing that Buddhists, Atheists, Christians, Jews and Muslims can all agree on. Many cultures have both oral and written prohibitions against it, rooted in the ancient knowledge of humanity that screwing around on your partner is damaging to all involved, especially children. Mr. Sanford should be roundly condemned for his actions and deserves to suffer the embarrassment he has caused himself and his family. Adultery is a sign of cowardice. If he really loved his girlfriend, he should have been man enough to divorce his wife first. Instead, like most egotistical politicians, he wanted to have the best of both worlds. If the guy has any honor at all, he will resign as governor and go play with the tractor he alluded to in his emails.
Other politicians will pile on, but this sorry episode illustrates the problem with many modern supposed "servants" of the state. The long list of politicians, of both parties, who have been caught in these types of affairs just reinforces the fact that we are governed by a childish, immoral, unethical and arrogant class of elites that feel they are entitled to do what they want, whenever they want regardless of the consequences. Power is an insidious, corrupting force that has slowly destroyed this country and its citizenry's faith in government. This sorry episode just further illustrates that the time has come to bring the government to heel.
25 June 2009
23 June 2009
One for the Road
The rights of citizens are not taken away by governments in one fell swoop. Instead, they are chipped away over time, rationalized as being for the common good and deftly propogandized to sell to the populace. When done correctly, the citizens of a nation should awake one morning to find that their individual liberties, granted not by the state or deity but by nature, have been marginalized, reduced and eliminated. One such assault on our rights as free citizens has been the use of DUI checkpoints by local law enforcement accross the country. It has been rationalized as being for our own good (after all, what idiot could support drunk drivers ?), propgandized by organizations such as MADD received the stamp of approval of the US Supreme Court despite its blatant violation of the 4th Amendment. (If you want the details you can research Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 here (1990.))
Put aside the constitutional arguments for a moment. Ask yourself why we supposedly free Americans accept the fact that we can be stopped at a checkpoint, interrogated by the police as to where we have been and what we are doing ? Is this East Germany in the 1970's ? No, we have passively accepted the will of the state, not even with the test of the ballot, to stop us as we go about our legal, personal business. Now that the state has taken this right, it's not going to give it back. In fact, the state will use this entry to further encroach upon our rights as free beings. If you live in Florida, for example, you may even be required to give blood at a checkpoint.
Despite research showing that they are ineffective and cost prohibitive when compared to traditional policing, the DUI checkpoint has now become commonplace in the majority of U.S. states including Pennsylvania. The federal government supports this charade by granting tens of millions of dollars to local law enforcement to pay overtime to their officers and to buy new equipment to perform this heinous task. If you've ever seen your local law enforcement sporting a new trailer or warning lights for DUI enforcement, for example, it's a good bet that it was paid for with your fellow citizens tax dollars. Money too is the prime mover of Mother's Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) an organization with a multi-million dollar budget that supports DUI checkpoints and vilifies any politician brave enough to stand up and complain.
Should driving drunk be a crime ? Yes, of course it should be. Drunk driving endangers all citizens. The necessity of prohibiting drunk driving, however, cannot justify the routine impedance of free citizens going about their business whether in the day or night. It is time for all citizens to demand that this inefficient and expensive fascist attack on our rights be ended.
Put aside the constitutional arguments for a moment. Ask yourself why we supposedly free Americans accept the fact that we can be stopped at a checkpoint, interrogated by the police as to where we have been and what we are doing ? Is this East Germany in the 1970's ? No, we have passively accepted the will of the state, not even with the test of the ballot, to stop us as we go about our legal, personal business. Now that the state has taken this right, it's not going to give it back. In fact, the state will use this entry to further encroach upon our rights as free beings. If you live in Florida, for example, you may even be required to give blood at a checkpoint.
Despite research showing that they are ineffective and cost prohibitive when compared to traditional policing, the DUI checkpoint has now become commonplace in the majority of U.S. states including Pennsylvania. The federal government supports this charade by granting tens of millions of dollars to local law enforcement to pay overtime to their officers and to buy new equipment to perform this heinous task. If you've ever seen your local law enforcement sporting a new trailer or warning lights for DUI enforcement, for example, it's a good bet that it was paid for with your fellow citizens tax dollars. Money too is the prime mover of Mother's Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) an organization with a multi-million dollar budget that supports DUI checkpoints and vilifies any politician brave enough to stand up and complain.
Should driving drunk be a crime ? Yes, of course it should be. Drunk driving endangers all citizens. The necessity of prohibiting drunk driving, however, cannot justify the routine impedance of free citizens going about their business whether in the day or night. It is time for all citizens to demand that this inefficient and expensive fascist attack on our rights be ended.
22 June 2009
Hit me....
Faced with an enormous budget deficit, the government of Pennsylvania is now ready to approve table games (poker, blackjack etc.) at state casinos in order to generate more tax revenue. Story Here. As I stated in an earlier post, the government of Pennsylvania is in the running to become the largest organized crime syndicate in the world. It already controls liquor and gambling, and once the deficit becomes large enough I wouldn't be surprised to see state controlled prostitution up for discussion.
Casinos enable to the state to prey upon its own citizens, usually the ones that have little disposable income that can least afford to lose it. Verbal gymnastics are used to describe the losses suffered by gamblers as "revenue" totally ignoring the devastation that this brings to families across the state. The glitzy lights and excitement of the casinos entice bus loads of geriatrics to stream into their maws, eagerly shoving their meagre assets into the machinery that diverts that money back to the state. Occasionally, a winner will beat the odds stacked against the visitors, giving false hope to the masses that they too can feel the rush of victory.
When you break it down, it really is sick (but not surprising) that politicians view their fellow citizens as cattle to be attracted by the bright lights, stripped of their money and then sent back out the door. At the same time, these same politicians will not abide any competition and will ruthlessly seek out and crush any gambling not approved, monitored and shared by the state. I'm all for freedom and believe that any adult has the right to gamble, drink, smoke pot- you name it. I just want the state to be honest and admit what they are really doing. Exploiting the citizenry, crushing competition and working in secrecy. Sounds like the mafia doesn't it ?
Casinos enable to the state to prey upon its own citizens, usually the ones that have little disposable income that can least afford to lose it. Verbal gymnastics are used to describe the losses suffered by gamblers as "revenue" totally ignoring the devastation that this brings to families across the state. The glitzy lights and excitement of the casinos entice bus loads of geriatrics to stream into their maws, eagerly shoving their meagre assets into the machinery that diverts that money back to the state. Occasionally, a winner will beat the odds stacked against the visitors, giving false hope to the masses that they too can feel the rush of victory.
When you break it down, it really is sick (but not surprising) that politicians view their fellow citizens as cattle to be attracted by the bright lights, stripped of their money and then sent back out the door. At the same time, these same politicians will not abide any competition and will ruthlessly seek out and crush any gambling not approved, monitored and shared by the state. I'm all for freedom and believe that any adult has the right to gamble, drink, smoke pot- you name it. I just want the state to be honest and admit what they are really doing. Exploiting the citizenry, crushing competition and working in secrecy. Sounds like the mafia doesn't it ?
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