On this day in 1913, the US Secretary of State proclaimed that the 2nd plank of the communist manifesto 16th amendment had been ratified and was now a part of the constitution.

Well at least we didn’t adopt any of the other 9 planks.

On the surface, this seems like an insurmountable obstacle. But, I have a radical idea. Let’s get the guns of government out of the issue. Not just the “gay” marriage issue, but the whole marriage issue altogether.

Essentially, from the point of view of the government, a marriage is a contract. Well, not all contracts need to be approved of by the government. If your son decides he will mow the neighbors yard once a week for a salary of $15. The government need not get involved, unless there is a dispute with the contract. If we look at a marriage contract in the same way, then it really is not the government’s business.

The government should not be giving married people advantages over single people, or people that wish to co-habitate.I don’t know what the history of the government recognizing a marriage contract is, but I am reasonably sure that there was money involved.

If persons’ want to enter into a contract to live their lives together, and share their wealth and tribulations. That seems to be a bond entered into that far transcends a government permission slip.

If a religious person wants a marriage because it is a sacred institution, then all the better if the government doesn’t get involved. Since most governments are corrupt and persecute believers.

Most gays and lesbians are happy enough to be given the same rights as everyone else.

If we took the aggression of government out of the equation, then we could focus on solutions. We could do our best to be fair to two different groups that deep down just want to be left alone.

It looks like a handful of California Legislators have decided the states that don’t like Real ID, will get hit where it hurts. Federal Highway dollars.

H.R. 140 was introduced in the House in January with the intent to punish states that don’t conform to Real ID.

I wonder if bolo boy(Schweitzer) will act so tuff when the fed cow threatens to remove it’s tit.

Hopefully the bill gets shot down, before we find out.

I am not ashamed to say that I am a huge fan of Ron Paul. He is amongst perhaps 3 or 4 true Statesmen in our federal government. Last week he asked a few questions of his fellow Representatives.

The video comes from the House floor so it starts off a little dry but please try to pay attention, it starts to get downright brutal about 2 minutes into it.

Note: The following letter was found left behind at a local drinking establishment; the authors’ identity is unknown. It is passed along without comment.

“That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it– Declaration of Independence of the American Colonies, 1776

Dear Federal Government,

Drop dead.

Excuse us. Some may consider such bluntness to be indecorous, but why beat around the bush? In any case, we’ve been around this bush (Bush?) too many times to count already. It’s time to let you know what we really think of you, what we say behind your back, what we whisper to each other when you leave the room. We hate you. We want you to drop dead. Or, anyway, to go away and never come back. You are not welcome anymore. We have tolerated you – and we emphasize “tolerated” – for a long time, long after whatever romance there may have been was gone. We can pretend no more. You are disgraceful, boorish, nauseating, corrupt, shameful, arrogant, dishonest, self-serving, parasitic, disgusting, hypocritical, and rotten to the core. You have not even one redeeming quality. There is nothing you offer that we want any longer. We’re not even sure what it is we ever saw in you to begin with.

We suppose you can be forgiven if this letter comes as a shock. “Why,” you say, “what do you mean? I still command great respect and inspire widespread adulation. And I still care about you. Isn’t it obvious?”

It’s true that, in public, we often nod our heads and agree with you, even defer or appear to defer to you. But we assure you that this happens not out of respect; rather, it arises merely from the fact that you have a lot of guns and a bad temper. Inside, we are seething and resentful. Inside, we imagine your demise in the most vivid and gratifying of ways. We may fear your irrational and violent behavior, but we manifestly do not respect or agree with you. We don’t love you. We don’t even like you. (See the part about hate, above.)

At any rate, our revulsion toward you has finally come to outweigh any fear we have of you. We refuse to keep our real feelings in for even one more second. We want you gone from our lives. And we mean completely. Vamoose. Go. Die.

Please understand we aren’t here to argue. No special new subsidy, tax break, or privileged “loophole” is going to sway our opinion or make us change our minds about this. We’ve been there, done that, for too many decades to count now. Likewise, your threats are starting to make us yawn and even laugh. You see, we know all your tricks now. We can see through your lies because we’ve heard them all so many times before. We are fully aware of your true nature, and we see that that nature is radioactive evil, wrapped in a tattered blanket of ignorance, foolishness, and stupidity.

Look, we know it’s only a matter of time anyway. Your dimwittedness, greed, fraudulence, and moral bankruptcy are finally starting to catch up to you. Even your former employees admit as much. Do you remember Paul Craig Roberts, one of your past Treasury officials? Today he says of your latest economy-wrecking and warmongering efforts:

“The world has never seen such total mindlessness. Napoleon’s and Hitler’s marches into Russia were rational acts compared to the mindless idiocy of the United States government.”

Mindless idiocy: We could not have said it better ourselves. Wait, yes, we could have, because we would have also mentioned your meanness and malevolence. Our state governments are starting to feel the same way about you that we do. Many are openly refusing to obey your so-called “REAL ID” attempt at creating a national “your papers, please” regime of Hitlerian proportions. Some are even starting to make noises about the Tenth Amendment, which reiterates that you aren’t allowed to just do anything you feel like doing. (We are not big fans of our state governments either, but at least they don’t start wars, counterfeit our money, and prop up tyrannies across the globe.)

You see? Look in the mirror for once. The emperor not only hasn’t got any clothes, he’s a quadruple amputee demanding that everyone admire his muscular physique. We don’t know whether to laugh at or feel pity for such a pathetic creature.

In conclusion and just so we’re clear: We’re done. Pack up and get out. Better yet, don’t pack – all that stuff belongs to us in the first place. Just get out. And when you finally, mercifully, do kick the bucket, please make sure it is in some place far away from us, where we won’t have to smell the stench of your hideous, rotting corpse.

Signed,

Every Normal Human Being in America and the Rest of the World

“It’s for the children!” Or,

“There should be a law!” Then this post may not be for you.

You might be part of the problem. I know this because I am also part of the problem. I have an urge to control other people. I have a need to use the force of government to act in my favor. Sometimes I do this in reaction to feeling threatened, and sometimes I do this because I think I know better than “they” do.

In trying to control other people, you become part of the problem. No matter how well intentioned your actions may be, or how much you don’t like what other people do. The harm done by good intentions only becomes worse when government is asked to intervene.

Don’t get me wrong, I abhor any crime against another person, and I do believe that there is a proper role of government. However, deep down i know it is wrong to punish people for behavior that I don’t approve of, if that behavior harms no one but themselves.

Anyway, I have decided that I have to change my behavior and stop trying to control other people. By extension, I must ask the people that act on my behalf to do the same. So I have come up with an oath that I am taking in an attempt to start being part of the solution.

It goes something like this:
“I refuse to be part of the problem. I will not vote for the lesser of two evils. I will not support any representative or legislation that uses government aggression against my neighbor, unless that individual is actually harming someone. I will defend the rights of everyone, regardless of my personal feelings. I will not be intimidated or made to feel powerless by those that make their money on my fear. I will not accept business as usual. I will not accept half ass answers from piece of shit politicians and bureaucrats. I WILL BE HEARD.“

Please feel free to change it as you see fit, or come up with an oath better than mine. I only ask that you please stop to think about the principle of freedom before you write it. Share it or don’t, but at least think about it. You can spend your time slinging arrows in your favorite Democrat or Republican website, or you can spend a little time advancing an idea that was worth a shot 250 years ago, and I believe, still worth a shot today. It’s called freedom, and it’s not without it’s dangers.

I would encourage everyone to stop by their site and look at some of the campaigns that they are sponsoring.

The reason that I thought of them is the “Read the Bills Act.” I am willing to bet dollars to donuts that most of our elected officials didn’t read the 1,800+ page stimulus bill that they are cramming down our throats. I have a feeling that when some of the details of the bill come out, and people find out where their money is going, they will be pissed. Alas, a perfect opportunity to spread the word that most of our legislation isn’t written by our congressmen, but by lobbyist. Most of them don’t even read the legislation that they vote on. Frankly, I find this to be disgusting.

The Downsize D.C. campaigns that I identify with include:

“End the Fed” campaign. Why are we paying interest to a private company to print our money?

“Federal Deficit causes Congressional pay cut.” Simple enough, if we have a deficit Congress takes a pay cut.

“Repeal the Real ID Act” Real ID isn’t secure, it isn’t necessary, and frankly it’s not the feds damn business.

“End Asset Forfeiture” The fourth amendment says that “No person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Just obey the laws you swore to uphold.

These are just a few of the campaigns that they are sponsoring. If these ones don’t float your boat, go there anyway. I’m sure you’ll find something that is important to you. The link to their campaign page is below, or you can find them in my organizations links.

Do I think that signing these campaigns will do much good?  Probably not. But it never hurts to put them on notice that more and more people are starting to get downright upset.

www.downsizedc.org/etp

Did you call your Congressmen and tell them not to pass a stimulus? Yea, me too.

Did you write them letters and send e-mails when the last bailout got passed? Yea, me too.

Are you starting to think that our leaders aren’t listening, and could care less about us or our children’s future? Yea……………Me too.

I am reminded of a question that Dennis Kucinich asked of Neel Kashkari in November. “no one questions that you are working hard. our question is who are you working for?”

Wouldn’t you love to ask that question to your representative? Or even better, get an honest answer.