We Are The Government

I see all these posts about the government is out of control, the government is taking over, the government etc...

Thing is, we have EXACTLY what we voted for and it's been building since FDR.

WE are the government. The problem is, too few of us take our responsibilities seriously.

Voting is a pain, so we don't vote - or, we let it be done early, so we can make sure we get our naps in. As a result, we end up with a government that is amenable to the activists, not the People.

Jury duty is so inconvenient that we take great pains to get out of it. So, we end up with ignorant jurors who lacked the imagination to get out of serving. Also, too few realize that when they are on a jury, it is not only the defendant who's on trial; the LAW is, too.

When asked what the Constitutional Convention gave to the nation, Ben Franklin is said to have replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

Well, maybe we can't. Maybe no one can. As Rome did, the US keeps its citizens in line with Bread and Circuses. Rome fell, we are probably falling. We could stop the fall, but that takes effort and - well, there's American Idol to watch or something neat is on YouTube.

In school, kids are taught that the Constitution is malleable, a "living" document, changing at the whim of society. I know; I was a teacher. They are not taught that it is the LAW.

But, even if they were, so what?

We have too many laws and far too many of what we have address piddling issues. As a result, we go ahead and justify breaking those little laws. By doing so, we train ourselves that the law is something to be broken and we find it far easier to ignore the bigger laws - like the Constitution.

Does anyone think that the laws we have in place today would have passed even a cursory review by the Founding Fathers? I don't think so. I think they would be offended and distressed by what we have done to their gift to us. Although, they had a far different attitude back then. People were, in general, nobler, I believe. The Founding Fathers had no idea what dregs their prodigy would be.

Democracy lasts until the People discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasuries. Then the slide to failure becomes almost unstoppable.

Bread and Circuses. The bane of societies.

Just What The Founding Fathers Ordered

Obama administration to order lenders to cut mortgage payments for
jobless

By Renae Merle and dina elboghdady
Thursday, March 25, 2010; 7:14 PM

The Obama administration plans to overhaul how it's tackling the foreclosure crisis, in part by requiring lenders to temporarily slash or eliminate monthly mortgage payments for many borrowers who are unemployed, senior officials said Thursday.

Nah, the feds aren't taking over the financial market.

This is just what the Founders had in mind; the federal government dictating to private business.

Hmm.

Dictating.

Wonder what that makes Obama?

Speaking as someone who is jobless and pays a mortgage, I oppose this act by the criminal socialist Obama administration.

I signed a contract with my lender. I have to live up to the terms of that contract. I have the right to renegotiate my contract due to my current status, but my lender is not required to agree. And, unless he does, my contract remains as is.

If the feds are allowed to step in and make contracts null and void, what reliance can be placed upon contracts?

Absolutely none.

Duh - It's Private Property

There is no "right" to free speech in online forums. They are not public venues; the are private. Privately paid for and privately maintained.

'Public' online spaces don't carry speech, rights

Jul 6, 2:17 PM (ET)
By ANICK JESDANUN

NEW YORK (AP) - Rant all you want in a public park. A police officer
generally won't eject you for your remarks alone, however unpopular or
provocative.

Say it on the Internet, and you'll find that free speech and other
constitutional rights are anything but guaranteed.

For example, in this forum, I can delete, modify or allow anything I please and no one has any recourse - except to not participate. I can not be forced to allow content I do not want.

Others believe companies shouldn't police content at all, and if they do,
they should at least make clearer the rules and the mechanisms for appeal.

"Vagueness does not inspire the confidence of people and leaves room for
gaming the system by outside groups," said Lauren Weinstein, a veteran computer
scientist and Internet activist.

When the rules are clear and the grievance procedures are clear, then people
know what they are working with and they at least have a starting point in
urging changes in those rules."

Companies can police their webspace to any extent they wish and their rules can be as painfully bureaucratic or insipidly vague as they like. They can be, if so desired, totally non-existent. They pay for the space, they can do with it as they please.

The cause of freedom is not served by forcing one group to bow to the rules of another.

Big Brother Will Be Watching

Even though the Texas legislature is nearly unanimous in opposing this new technology, TxDOT is still going ahead with it;

=============================
Texas DOT to Install
Federally Funded Highway Speed Cameras

Despite the opposition of the state legislature, the Texas Department of transportation proposes a federally funded speed camera test.

Despite the near-unanimous opposition in the state legislature to the use of speed cameras, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is moving forward on a proposal to deploy photo radar on state highways using federal gas tax funds. Legislation awaiting Governor Rick Perry's signature prohibited only municipalities -- like Marble Falls and Rhome -- from installing automated speeding ticket systems. It was silent on the possibility of a state-run system.
=============================

So much for Government of the People, by the People, for the People. The People, via their duly elected representatives, have spoken that they do NOT want this system. Yet, the executive is going ahead with it anyway. I have come to regret having voted for Rick Perry and have written to him expressing that regret.

Not that it will do any good. He is ignoring the voices of millions of Texans by ignoring the will of the Legislature. Why should he care about a letter from an individual?

That aside, is the goal of this system to make the roads safer?Is it to ensure compliance with the law?

Of course not.

This is the goal;

=============================
In its request for proposals, TxDOT cited success of speed cameras in the UK and Washington, DC. The UK government generated 120 million pounds (US $240 million) in revenue in 2003 while the Washington, DC red light and speed camera program has issued $217 million in tickets since 1999.
=============================

Revenue.

Money.

That is the goal - to generate funds for the State. This is a tax, not a law enforcement effort. It is a tool to generate revenue.

Another interesting tidbit is this;

=============================
TxDOT's vendor will send notices -- warnings at first -- to motorists driving just 5 MPH over the limit with an accuracy level of +/- 2 MPH[.]
=============================

It's not even being monitored or enforced by duly appointed law enforcment officers of the State. It is being monitored and enforced by the vendor, a private entity.

Then, there's the Sixth Amendment. The one that says "[T]he accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him[.]"

How can a camera be a witness? A camera is not a living being.

Get me on a Jury and I don't care if the camera caught you doing 110 in a school zone - I'll acquit. I will not support this system in any way or for any reason.

Big Brother MPAA

It's Friday night, you have your 62" DLP ready to watch Casablanca and a bowl of popcorn by your side.

But first, have you made sure your registration with the MPAA is up to date? $500,000 fine, if not, for each movie!

Oh, and those motion sensors in the TV will tell the MPAA if you have any friends over.

Shame on you.

After all, according to Dan Glickman, head of the MPAA, "We have a right to know what's showing in a theater*."

Yup. They have a RIGHT to know what you are doing in your home.

* - The MPAA defines a home theater as any home with a television larger than 29" with stereo sound and at least two comfortable chairs, couch, or futon.