The more things change...

Well, the election is over, my hand is healing, and the leaves are falling from the trees. And change is in the air, on many different levels.

We the People have shown the Powers That Be that we didn't like the way they were doing business on our behalf and fired a good many of them. What that means for the future is anyone's guess. It could be that we will be hopelessly gridlocked and nothing will get done. Or it could mean that we will have a brand new set of problems. No one can predict the future, but it will be a change, regardless.

I finally got that club of a bandage off of my hand. Now I am in a brace full time, except for bathing, and I start physical therapy on Monday. Should be interesting how that goes. I am fairly certain that I will be in the brace at least until after Thanksgiving. The brace bugs me, but it is still better than the bandage. My hand is still peeling from that thing. So that is another change, hopefully for the better this time.

And Fall is falling. The days are getting shorter and cooler. High school and college football are starting to wind up their seasons. Most folks are starting to think about Christmas gifts and special meals with family and friends. The harvests are done. I have been doing some of my shopping online so I don't have to fight the crowds or the weather. We don't have a lot of gifts to buy anyway, but at least online, I can find the best prices and actually get something unique and not the same old stuff the local stores offer. I am not able to make gifts like I have in the past because of my hand, but that is OK. There is always next year.

So, change is coming. For good or bad.

Taxes, taxes everywhere...

Well, things are getting out of hand... again. Nation wide today a new tax went into effect. One that raises the price of tobacco products by 60-some-odd cents a pack. But apparently, because little cigars were not considered cigarettes, they were not taxed the same. And they fixed that little loop-hole with this tax. A pack of little cigars went from 89 cents a pack up to $4.00 at midnight last night. Loose tobacco, such as pipe tobacco was set to go up to something like $80 a pound.

And what is our government going to use all of that new tax revenue for, you ask? My guess would be to bail out all of the failing businesses. After all, that money has to come from somewhere. Or they might use it as foreign aid to countries that don't like us. Or...Congress might give themselves a raise for all of the hard work they are doing for us. OR...It will go to pay all of the corporate executives to stay in this country after we told them that they cannot have the bonuses they were contracted to get.

Anyway, with all of the new spending the current government is doing, the money has to come from somewhere. And just how many times can the Federal Reserve print up $6Billion and buy treasury bills with it? Yes, folks, the government just printed $6 Billion in new paper with nothing to back it up. That is inflation in the making.

The current government makes Jimmy Carter's "Tax and Spend" policies look like bargain day at the thrift store. This year's budget alone will cost us more that all of World War II. And that isn't counting all of the bailouts and handouts Congress has been tossing around like confetti.

I am just waiting for the time when they start taxing us on food consumption. Not a sales tax, but a tax on how much food we actually eat. After all, those who eat a lot are a big drain on the healthcare system because of all of the health issues related to obesity. So if they tax the foods that aren't good for us (of course this is anything that corporate farms say it is), we will all eat healthier, right?

I'm thinking it is time for a Tea Party.

Land of the Free? Not any more

It is starting to get really scary to live in the Land of the Free. Because our rights are being stripped, one by one, in such covert ways that most of us don't even realize it. The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States is as follows:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.


Now, just how much of all of that is still actually in effect? Let's take it apart and look at it.

In order to form a more perfect Union... well, depending on how you look at the United States, we are not actually a Union any more. When the Constitution was written, we were a Union of United States, hence the name. It was a Republic that was formed by numerous sovereign States for the purpose outlined in the Preamble. The States held the power over it's citizens and the Federal government was developed to support the States. To Form a More Perfect Union. Now, the Federal government dictates laws, statutes, taxes, social programs, fees, and last but not least, penalties, to the states. Just see what happens if you don't pay your IRS bill to prove my point. The federal government has manipulated itself in such a way that Federal law supersedes all state law, and that no state can legally remove itself from the Union. If you don't believe me, go look up the Civil War. So what that boils down to is that if you don't like what the government is doing, leave the country because moving from out of state won't help you.

Establish Justice...Oh yeah, we have some serious justice going on in our country. Just look at Bernie Madoff, O. J. Simpson, Corporate bank executives, and all of the Wall Street brokerages. And all of the major corporations who had their hand out for bailout money, until, of course, they were told that they couldn't have the money if they were going to use any of it to ship jobs overseas or pay executive bonuses. When that little detail got out, a lot of those hands went away. Why? It would seem that the execs who were responsible for running the business, or bank, into the ground in the first place wanted to be rewarded with bailout money for their efforts. Or lack thereof. So the average taxpayer gets no justice. Ever. So we all work like dogs, pay our taxes, try to pay our bills, so that the country can go Trillions of dollars in debt just so we can give free cash to the people who are trying to take our jobs and homes away from us. Doesn't really sound like justice to me.

Ensure domestic Tranquility...that means keeping the peace in our country. Translated, that means crime. Yup, our government is charged with the responsibility of keeping us safe within our own country. And aren't they just doing a bang-up job? We have gangs running unchecked through large swaths of the country, including in every major city in the US. We have children selling drugs on street corners and in the schools. We have oppressive laws where the police can interpret any given statute on the books to suit their own purposes. (That doesn't happen much, and I have great respect for law enforcement officials, but bad cops do happen, and when they do, it is bad for everyone, not just criminals) We have legislators who are bought and paid for by special interest groups, or who just openly sell themselves to the highest bidder. None of these things Ensure Domestic Tranquility. And that isn't even talking about the fact that crime is such a factor in our every day lives that we lock our doors and keep our children always in sight without even thinking about it. We are fearful as a nation. We don't trust one another. And after 9-11, we cetainly don't trust outsiders. Doesn't sound very Tranquil, does it?

Provide for the Common Defense...that is our military. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, Border Patrol, FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, and all of those other folks who protect us every day from dangers we never see. These are the people who get shot at, sometimes daily, so you have the right to go to Starbucks and pay $5 for a cup of coffee whenever you want. And what is our government doing to provide for the common defense? Cutting military spending. That means the people who die for us on a daily basis have to get food stamps to be able to feed their families. It means that they do not get the armored vehichles to keep from being shot while they are patroling the streets of Baghdad or Faluja. It means that the flood of illegal immigrants, some of whom are transporting drugs into our country, cannot be stopped because there are not enough patrols along our very long border to stop them. Not to mention the laws in place that prevent them from actually being able to do anything about it if they do happen to catch anyone crossing the border. And what is Congress doing about it? Cutting spending some more. I am thinking that we could almost be invaded by a troop of boy scouts with sling shots. We are not Providing for the Common Defense.

Promote the General Welfare...this one is my personal pet peeve. That does NOT mean that eveyone should be getting a check from the government every month. It means that the government is responsible for ensuring that we are healthy, have a decent standard of living, have access to the basics of food, housing, and heating and cooling of said housing to be healthy, productive citizens. It means that the government is responsible for protecting our children and grandparents, and that we are safe in our own communities. Instead, we are being force-fed genetically modified, antibiotic laden foods that have nominal nutritional value, have staggering health issues due to poor nutrition, foreclosure rates that are driving people even futher into debt or in some cases, into the streets. And the lack of safety(for both food products and general day to day safety in the communities) has spurred the nation's healthcare system to overload. We can't get affordable insurance because we are all too sick. Our elderly cannot afford to eat healthy food or even get decent( read that as minimal) care in nursing homes. Obesity and diabetes have become epidemic in our country. And the government is subsidizing our downfall. Corporate farms growing genetically modified foods are given billions of dollars every year while the small farmers who grow healthy organic foods are being driven out of business. There is current legislation before Congress that will force even more small farmers out of business. Do a search on NAIS to see what I am talking about. And there are several states passing legislation that is similar in nature. As for the general safety, well, we have Amber Alerts for a reason. General Welfare in this country is a joke. And it isn't funny.

Secure the Blessings of Liberty, for ourselves and our Posterity... We are giving up liberty every day, and most people don't even realize it. Could you imagine someone telling Benjamin Franklin that he will have to have a passport and photo ID showing proof of citizenship before being allowed to travel to France to secure their help in the Revolutionary War? Could you imagine George Washington being told he has to pay a toll to ride from one city to another on a certain road? Can you imagine Paul Revere being told he has to go to a certain doctor, 80 miles away, because his insurance will not pay for him to see the doctor in his home town? The Founding Fathers threw the world's biggest Tea Party over one single food item being taxed by the government, yet we are taxed on everything we buy, every day. If you think about the levels we are being taxed daily, it is just appauling. Federal income tax, State income tax (in some states, mine included), sales tax, property tax, real estate tax, car tags, drivers liscense, permits for absolutely everything, gun control, business liscenses, health inspections, ad nauseum. We cannot travel freely anymore, we cannot own an unregistered gun even though we are guaranteed that right in the constitiution, we cannot own a business without paying fees and buying liscences, and if all of the legistation currently under review, both Federal and State, we will not even be able to grow a small garden for personal use or have a single livestock animal, like a chicken, to feed ourselves. All of our food must be purchased from a corporate farm. The thing is, most people don't have a clue where food comes from. They think it comes from the store and are fine with that. The easier it is, the better. And they don't want to think that an egg is an unfertilized chicken embryo, or that a hamburger used to moo and walk around a pasture. So we are willingly allowing ourselves to be stripped of our liberties because it is a lot easier to just not think about it. It isn't really a problem because "I" am not exerting that liberty anyway. Ben Franklin is quoted as saying, "Anyone who is willing to give up a little liberty for a little security will lose both and deserve neither." I think that pretty much says it all.

The Constitution of the United States is a contract with the people, or I should say citizens, of our country. It is the basis of all of our laws and rights as a free people. We have amended it 27 times in the last 222 years, although at least one has been repealed by another amendment. But it is still the basis for being free. If we use that document as a contract, and not as a page full of words to twist for our own purposes, we actually will be the Land of the Free once again.

Tax Day

Well, it has happened again. The Federal Government in all of it's radiant glory has set aside this day every year to rape and pillage the citizens of this country.

Taxes are a part of the price we pay for our freedom in this nation. And our tax money is put into an account somewhere so the Senators and Representatives that we elect can decide just how and where to spend it, for our own good of course. Things like the Robert Byrd Memorial Highway,library, rest stop, train station, museum, intersection, etc; scientific studies to prove or disprove the "5 second rule", $800 toilet seats and hammers, and of course to pay the thousands of people who have to generate the millions of pages of paper daily on Capital Hill.

The amount of money that is wasted on a daily basis in DC is just staggering. Every bill that is voted on has had so much pork attached to it that I am surprised that it doesn't squeal when the Prez tries to sign it.

And it isn't just one side of the aisle that loads up on the special interests. I have decided that there can never be a good politician. Good people don't want to be dropped into that viper's nest and everyone else is on the take. That whole thing about "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is just too true. And I think it actually starts before they are even sworn into office. I personally think that the lobbyists throw a party for all of the freshmen congressmen the night before the ceremony and tell them how things really work in this country.

Now don't get me wrong, I love this country and the things it stands for. We have the ability to live up to our personal potential that people from all over the world envy. Some even hate us for our freedoms. But in the last 40 years or so, we have gotten away from the good things that America stands for.

We have an income tax that is anywhere from 6 to 20% of our adjusted gross income, we have a sales tax of between 5 and 12% of the purchase price of anything we buy(in come cases that includes groceries), most states have property tax(personal and real estate) that varies wildly by state but lets say it is a moderate 2%, some states (about half of them I think) have a state income tax that runs 1-5% or so of your income, then there are all of the fees for licenses for bloody well everything. My all time favorite is the one where you have to count last years tax refund as income for this year. Needless to say, we are taxed to death so congress can vote themselves a raise every year.

If the founding fathers could look at the current tax code and all of the different layers of tax and regulation that are imposed upon us, they would be appalled. We pay a higher percentage of tax today than we did when we threw the Boston Tea Party. And we did it to ourselves by wanting the government to give us everything so we wouldn't have to work for it ourselves.