Where has our liberty gone?

They came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;
They came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;
They came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me.
- Martin Niemoller


It would be quite easy to modernize this but I won't, it conveys the same deep meaning now as it did when it was written in the 1940's. Bit by bit, generation to generation our liberty has been quietly stolen. Others with no right to it have come to power under pretenses which were either noble but misguided or outright false and taken things away from us that were not theirs to take. Liberty is something that cannot be touched, tasted or smelled, but when it is gone its absence is obvious.
Think of the "evil" smokers and how they are not allowed to smoke in their own apartments in California, not because the property owner restricts it (which was their option all along) but because an overreaching state government passed a law restricting what they could do behind closed doors. And how was California able to get away with it? Because most folks don't smoke now days and don't care what is done to smokers because it doesn't affect them. An even better example is the laws in some states against sodomy. I know sodomy is still illegal in Texas and Pennsylvania to name 2. Step past the immediate thoughts of the gay rights debate and look at the larger issue... These governments are regulating what 2 consenting adults can do behind closed doors in their own home on their own property. If that is acceptable then what is to stop them from forcing us to install remote control devices in our thermostats so the state can regulate our energy use (in other words how warm or cold our homes are)? That is something the California State Assembly is actually trying to pass right now. Or to use the ridiculous to make my point why then can't the government create and enforce a law requiring the interior walls of all homes and apartments to be painted baby blue? Once we as a society allow our state and federal governments to dictate the goings-on inside our private property the sky is the limit.
Time and again these laws slip in because they seemingly only effect a small percentage of the populations and we Americans have a track record of being terribly short sighted and when it comes to our voting horribly self centered. Though I do not see a Nazi-style genocide in our future, I do fear the slow onset of a totalitarian regime as we pass law after law and regulation after regulation that mirror those put in place by dictators such as Hitler and Stalin. Don't wait until "they" come for you and there is no one left to speak out.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all! May the new year bring a return to our Constutional Liberties!

In Response

I had advised a friend of mine not to check out this blog because I know he and I will never see eye to eye on the issue of socialist health care. This is the response I received:


"I know:) I'm glad I didn't read it. I would have to point how hideously wrong you are in your reasoning why people don't have health care :) or even go on a long winded rant on how you couldn't possibly use a debunked argument as the "doctor death panel" to possibly do anything other than be yet another scare tactic. Had I bothered to read your... blog I would be greatly disappointed because usually your political rants are somewhat on key and have an actual bit of truth to them. Though I would have to agree with you on one thing. I don't have insurance because I'm too lazy and stupid to get it for myself to protect me from out of pocket expenses for injury or sickness... It obviously could have nothing to do with the fact that I am one of the very 160 million Americans who cannot afford health care or don't even have it offered to them."


First let’s tackle the really big number at the bottom... "160 million Americans who cannot afford health care..." 160 million Americans would be roughly 53% of the total population of the United States according to figures put out by the US Census Bureau. Really? I would love to see the source for that figure! And out of curiosity does that 160M figure include persons who are in this country illegally? If so let’s just toss those numbers out because since when are noncitizens entitled to the same benefits as taxpaying citizens? And what about all these other programs we are told are essential and cannot suffer a single penny of spending cuts? Do we not already spend millions upon millions of tax payer dollars each year to provide medical care for the old and poor? Never mind how unconstitutional those programs are, if we can't cut them they must be working and hence we do not need another or is it that they are not working and the argument is that they need replaced in which case why can't we completely eliminate them and save some money?

Regarding the death panel comment, how else is this huge bureaucracy of ours going to regulate care? Am I supposed to believe that we will suddenly be transported to some magical realm where there is no waiting for care? No limits of any kind on financing and availability? If I assume we won't be shifting dimensions then how else is the regulation of care going to take place? Are we really going to simply pay for any and all procedures? IF I want a nose job or breast implants for my girlfriend is the government simply going to pay for it or will that still be left for me to pay on my own? And if they are not paying for it how is it being regulated? I cited the 'death panel' comment because it is being used so much by the Republicans in various media outlets. Call the regulation system whatever you want, maybe name it Bob or Sue, but either way there will inevitably be some form of rationing taking place.

I now have a question for anyone claiming they cannot afford health coverage... Do you have cable? Do you eat out often? Since you are reading this online I assume you probably have internet access in your home which you pay for... Yes? Then if you can afford cable, eating out, and internet access is it really an issue of affordability or is it one of priorities?

In closing I do want to point out that the person to whom I am responding is a close personal friend to the point I consider them family. Also they do have a medical condition that probably makes it impossible for them to find health insurance. That being said is the help they need really another huge government program that will include even families making over $75K a year? An unconstitutional one I might once again point out. Or would their particular situation be better mended by a (constitutional) state law requiring insurance companies in that state cover people in their situation or not do business in that state?