I paid close attention to the standoff at the Nevada ranch of Cliven Bundy. I listened to both sides and tried my best to figure out the chain of events that led to thousands of ordinary Americans standing up to the armed paramilitary BLM agents.
Over the last two or three decades, the Bureau has squeezed the ranchers in southern Nevada by limiting the acres on which their cattle can graze, reducing the number of cattle that can be on federal land, and charging grazing fees for the ever-diminishing privilege. The effect of these restrictions has been to drive the ranchers out of business. Formerly, there were dozens of ranches in the area where Bundy operates. Now, his ranch is the only one. When Bundy refused to pay grazing fees beginning in around 1993, he said something to the effect of, they are supposed to be charging me a fee for managing the land and all they are doing is trying to manage me out of business. Why should I pay them for that?
It gets better. As Instapundit says, read the whole thing.
At the time of this writing, there are rumors that the heavily armed BLM agents will attempt a raid on the Bundy Ranch.
How did Eich stray? Did he take to the streets, shout from the mountaintop, or even take an active role in a campaign? No, he wrote a check, for all of $1,000, to support the campaign in favor of California’s Proposition 8 – the gay marriage ban which was supported overwhelmingly by voters. Not to have gays rounded up and killed or put in camps (those are progressive traits), or even to have homosexuality outlawed, but simply to not change the definition of marriage to fit the political flavor of the moment.
*sigh* I miss the old days when we didn't have to explain sex to children...
Or Progressivism.
Eich’s donation in support of Prop 8 was confidential, by law. The only reason it is known, why any of the donations are known, is the Internal Revenue Service illegally leaked the donor list to a gay rights group who posted it online. Someone in government broke the law and gave what amounts to a “hit list” to progressive foot soldiers who have been targeting donors for their personal beliefs.
In this case it was gay groups, but these tactics are a favorite of progressives. Under communism people who didn’t embrace their agenda were purged, under fascism the nonconformists were sent to re-education/work camps, or killed. Progressives can’t simply murder or imprison people who flee their thought plantation, though they’d like to, so they try to ruin them in the meantime.
As we can see from the despicable actions against Eich, Progressives have no love of freedom. Seriously, if you don't like it here, just fucking leave. It's a big wide world out there with plenty of restrictions placed on everybody. Some of us enjoy our country the way it was and don't want it changed.
Charles Koch (whom Harry Reid checks under his bed for every night) has a message about the natural progression of big government...
More than 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson warned that this could happen. "The natural progress of things," Jefferson wrote, "is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." He knew that no government could possibly run citizens' lives for the better. The more government tries to control, the greater the disaster, as shown by the current health-care debacle. Collectivists (those who stand for government control of the means of production and how people live their lives) promise heaven but deliver hell. For them, the promised end justifies the means.
I really wish someone would ask Harry Reid about George Soros and his support of various radical, far-left organizations here in America.
Occasionally, I'll conduct a thought experiment. I'll think to myself, "Self, what would America look like if we had representatives in Washington who represented our interests?" And by "our," I mean the many who feel disenfranchised and ignored by the current state of politics.
We'd have the Constitution as our foundation. We'd have a federal government that was small, inexpensive and unobtrusive. We'd have a robust economy with a diversity of opportunity for all. We'd have a flat tax of 10%. We'd have schools that taught real-world skills like reading, writing and arithmetic.
We'd have a strong military and strong national borders. We'd have unity, a common heritage and some respect for our history. We'd recognize our enemies as enemies and treat them as such.
Pretty much the exact opposite of what we have now.
I see where Jeb Bush is being propped up as the GOP presidential candidate for 2016, primarily to woo Hispanic voters.
If the GOP wants to win, they might consider courting Americans.
You can pick three candidates from the list or one write-in.
I hope America is finally ready to reject the far-left, Progressive, big-government rule that's given us this horrible economy, high unemployment, rampant inflation, unconstitutional (and therefore illegal) domestic spying on innocent citizens, and endless scandals.
I hope for change, the positive type of change this time.
I hear there's a new Leftist/Socialist/Progressive/Democrat slogan to try to take our minds off the terrible economy. Apparently, our incomes aren't all equal, although I can't seem to recall when they ever were.
Well, if you insist, please make my income equal to Bill Gates'.
Here at the editorial desk of Everything is Backwards, our staff has the task to not only observe the many ways in which everything is backwards, but to also offer solutions.
Simplicity is the motto. Basically, you fix things, particularly governmental-type things, by doing the opposite of what's being done today. Let's say you observe that legislation is filled with unfamiliar phrases, unclear concepts and wrong assumptions about human nature. As a result, you have little understanding of the meaning of a law that you are required to abide by. No doubt you've heard of your responsibility as a citizen to obey all the laws, perhaps in person by a judge - "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."
Hmm. One wonders, Your Honor, how much time should be spent familiarizing oneself with the law, especially when just one piece of legislation number some 2000 pages and is written in a language that would be at home in an archeological dig, so removed is it from everyday linguistics, logic, and concepts. How about a law that merely opens the door for bureaucrats to write more law on the fly and transmogrifies two thousand pages into more than ten thousand pages?
Now imagine this being done every day.
One grossly misunderstood aspect of our unique form of government is that it's pretty much the exact opposite of all governments that came before it. In those other places, the government gave you permission to do something. Everything was prohibited unless you were given dispensation by the authorities. The government owned everything and if you were a good little subject, it just might let you live as you pleased, especially if you were its friend (or a relative).
The basis of American Exceptionalism is this concept, except backwards: we are free to live as we please unless there is a law, rule, or regulation that says otherwise. It's an unwritten rule, sorta.
Now, this doesn't mean that our leaders will always abide by it. Many in our own government don't seem to understand this simple concept and pat themselves on the back and claim that they're doing one helluva job in Washington because they're up there passing laws. If they truly held the notion of freedom in their heart, they'd be passing far fewer laws.
What they'd really do if they were genuinely interested in their fellow citizens and their God-given right to live freely, would be to review existing laws to see if they're still needed, and to repeal them if they weren't. This would also go for regulatory agencies.
An even better thing to do would be to include a sunset provision in each and every law that would require it to be re-enacted after, say, five years.
So, here's today's lesson, gentle readers: More laws = less freedom.
And, laws should be written clearly, in plain English. Most of today's laws are written by a cross between a lawyer and the Godfather: you get an offer you can't understand.
This is done on purpose. Heaven forfend that a law be written so that it can be easily understood by everyone. Who then would we pay to decipher it? How else would we know what to do to live in accordance to the law but pay a lawyer? What would our Supreme Court do?
Oh well, maybe one day we'll set everything right and get back to having some common sense in Washington.
Until then, here's Bill Whittle, our Virtual President, to expand on this idea. Enjoy.
