A Faux Democracy

Those in the know have well been aware of the fact that though America is a purported representative democracy, in truth it is neither representative, nor is it a democracy. Though allegedly the will of the people is what governs our land, there is no longer even a pretense of such a structure. The governmental system of checks and balances that was instituted by our Founding Fathers has completely broken down. The system is running amok, and has effectively negated the checks and balances that were emplaced to prevent tyranny.

As today's news heralds the overturning of the California ban on gay marriage, so the power structure is again revealed for what it truly is. Twice, the people of California voted that only marriage between one man and one woman should be recognized by the state of California. Proposition 22, enacted in 2000, was struck down by the state Supreme Court in 2008. For that reason, Proposition 8 was proposed for the November 2008 election, giving the voters another opportunity to express themselves. The voters again chose to define marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman.

Yet, today our government has yet again declared that they do not serve the will of the people. The legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government have again demonstrated that their agendas are more important than the will of the people. Each branch continues to overstep their legally-appointed bounds, as we see the judicial branch effectively working to create their own laws, through striking down or reinterpretting those laws they deem unfit. The legislative branch is more than happy to spend taxpayer dollars and pass oppressive laws in spite of public opposition to various acts and pieces of legislation. The executive branch readily oversteps their boundaries by involving us in unapproved wars, violating clear rules of procedure in enforcing the law and engaging in scare tactics as a means of extorting citizens.

The writing is on the wall. Anyone who misses the clear revelation of the power structure in America is either ignorant or living in denial. The American government is not concerned with the well-being of its citizens. Presently, government qua government functions only to further its own agendas and perpetuate an increase in governmental power. Today marks another victory for tyranny and oppression. For those of us who love freedom and who believe that the only legitimate role of the government is to serve the interests of its constituents, this new ruling is yet another harbinger that America is no longer a nation that believes in either of those key principles. We are living in a faux democracy. Even those things that we directly vote for are not given serious consideration by our overlords.

Tyrannical Housing Act

As my roommate will be moving out at the end of January, I have begun the hunt for a new roommate. Ordinarily I would try to find a close friend to live with, but at the moment I don't really have that luxury since all of my closest friends either don't earn enough money to afford living on their own, or don't want to pay for a place when they can live at home for free. Given the present condition of the economy and the housing costs in my little part of the world, I really don't blame them. In addition to letting several of my social groups know of the available room, I also thought it would be prudent to post a few online ads. I was just about to start posting a little ad on Craigslist, which I've had much success with in the past, when I was confronted with the pleasant little warning:

Fair Housing is Everyone's Right!

Stating a discriminatory preference in a housing post is illegal.

When making any posting on craigslist, you must comply with section 3604(c) of the Federal Fair Housing Act. This law generally prohibits stating, in any notice or ad for the sale or rental of a dwelling, a discriminatory preference based on any of the following protected categories:

Race or Color
National Origin
Religion
Sex
Familial Status
Handicap / Disability

--You can be fined more than $10,000 for each discriminatory ad, plus damages in court, plus loss of license if you are a professional

--Avoid phrases which could be interpreted as discriminating by race/color/origin (e.g. 'hispanic area'), religion (e.g. 'christian home'), age / familial status (e.g. 'no kids'), disability, sexual orientation, or source of income

As bad as that is, for my state they have even stricter restrictions. Even stating a preference for age is illegal, such that I could be fined $10,000. Of course, this all completely goes against anything remotely akin to common sense! Not only can I not state what sort of roommates I will and won't allow to live with me, I am not even permitted to state ANY preferences about what sort of person I would like to live with. Now, perhaps if I were a business owner renting my properties to the masses, I can possibly grasp what possessed our egalitarian politicians to create such a law. But, as an individual who does not even own my own property, and will necessarily be sharing my domain with another human being for at least a few months, this "Fair Housing Act" cannot possibly be seen as anything but tyrannical.

Given that one's home is such a sacred and vital place, it is essential that one's roommate be someone who is easy to get along with, who communicates well and who treats the apartment with respect. Beyond those basic essentials, it's a nice bonus if you have a roommate whose presence you actually enjoy. It goes without question that one must be selective in process of choosing a roommate. As such, I really don't see the point in making such selectiveness illegal. It makes no sense! Not only does it not prevent any discrimination from occurring (since I'll choose whoever I damn want to, thank you very much!), but it also makes the entire roommate-finding process needlessly more cumbersome. Since I cannot state any preferences regarding age or lifestyle, I'll have to filter more people out than I would if I could clearly state my criteria in my ad.

Thank you, oh gloriously tyrannical legislatures, for stripping me of my freedom and wasting the time of both my prospective future roommates and myself! Keep writing such marvelous laws that herald the ceaseless progression of our nation towards its new egalitarian utopian form!

Tyrannical Health Tax

Today in the news, Obama is celebrating the newest revision of the Health Reform Bill. Being one of Obama's big-ticket items, the hype for this bill is absolutely insane. Previously, I've written about the the whole ideology behind such a bill being based on lies, and the unavoidable rising healthcare costs that would result from the passage of such a bill. As expected, the propaganda surrounding the present incarnation of the bill is as loaded with lies as usual.

Speaking on the steps of the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress was at a "historic moment" and lawmakers were "on the cusp of delivering on the promise of making affordable, quality health insurance available to every American."

While populist demagoguery always sounds appealing, it always promises what it cannot deliver. No entity can provide truly free (or cheaper than cost) goods or services to people. The simple fact of scarcity guarantees that "affordable, quality health insurance" for everyone is impossible. You can possibly have two of the three, but not all three. Affordable, quality health insurance could be provided to a privileged few. Quality, but expensive healthcare could be available for everyone. Affordable, low quality health care could be available to everyone. But, the laws of supply and demand ensure that there can be no such thing as affordable, quality healthcare for everyone. Liberals are very good at promising what they cannot deliver, and as we have conclusively witnessed with the economic bailout their fairytale promises demonstrate a clear ignorance of both basic economics and simple arithmetic.

Large firms would be required to cover their workers, and most individuals would be required to carry insurance.
The bill would require nearly everyone by 2013 to sign up for health coverage either through their employer, a government program or the new exchange.

Of course, while this would accomplish the goal of expanding healthcare coverage, I for one, think that mandating coverage is a horribly tyrannical idea! Not only will the cost of the healthcare rise, the quality and speed of service drop, and the government become even a larger and more extensive monster than it already is, but mandating coverage essentially amounts to a health tax. While pretending that they want people to be healthy and focus on preventative medicine, the government simultaneously forces healthy people who take good of themselves to spend money they wouldn't otherwise spend. Right now, since I eat well, stay fit and take good care of my body, my health is excellent and I have no need of health services of health insurance. Not having health insurance allows me to walk home with $1,300 more cash every year. If this bill passes, the government is effectively penalizing my health, responsible lifestyle by requiring to pay $1,300 in exchange for... wait for it... absolutely nothing! This "healthcare reform" bill is really just a tyrannical tax on being healthy.

For my own sake, for the sake of all Americans, for the sake of decent healthcare and for the sake of freedom, I will oppose this bill adamantly! Join me!

Descent Towards Tyranny

Thomas Jefferson once said:

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

America was founded directly as a result of rebellion against tyranny, with the goal of being a haven of liberty and justice, with all unreasonable use of power kept in check by a government with many checks and balances. Unfortunely, having begun a descent towards tyranny in 1861 by restraining personal and collective freedoms of the people, we have been heading rapidly towards a deeper and darker tyranny. This year is one in which America is hastening her demise by picking up the speed at which individuals liberties and unalienable rights are being trampled.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines tyranny as: "oppressive power exerted by the government." Though some people are quite happy with all the new changes that Obama is enacting, I am quite appalled and concerned about most of them. Since Obama has come into power, we have seen a lot of new laws, expenses and programs in the works:

Just yesterday morning, Obama signed an anti-smoking law. This bill creates a Center for Tobacco Products which will regulate the tobacco industry and restrict what sorts of product they are allowed to create and market. Additionally, they are requiring even more warning labels and graphics to be printed on cigarette cartons. Obviously, the only reason people smoke is because they can't read the already obstrusive Surgeon General's warning on the package. People choosing to smoke must be a case of insufficient warnings!

Last month a credit card reform bill was passed, which certainly has some good components, but definitely limits young the freedoms of persons under 21. Though I understand that such a restriction is done with the best of intentions, it unreasonably takes away freedom from young people and makes it much more difficult to establish good credit. I got my first credit card when I was 18, and by using it responsibly I now have a large credit limit and an excellent credit score, which have served me well in making large purchases and would put me in a great position if I were to need a business or home loan. With the new regulations in place, my younger siblings will have a much harder time establishing good credit. The best way to encourage responsibility is to allow people to face the consequences of their decisions; preventing them from making autonomous decisions is counterproductive and slows the maturing process. People can vote, join the army or be drafted into the military at 18, but they can't be allowed to manage their own borrowing practices? Absurd!

Another bill that is currently working it's way through the Senate seriously threatens free speech and religious expression. The Matthew Shepard Act is an extension of hate crimes law, which will broaden the classification of hate crimes to include protection not only based on race, color, religion, or national origin but also protection based on sexual characteristics, such as a homosexual sexual orientation, or even for any of the clinical forms of sexual deviancy (which include nearly every sort of perversion you can imagine, and probably quite a few that you can't). Though the bill allegedly won't threaten free speech, if any language or religious preaching can be considered influential in motivating any sort of violence towards a protected individual, it could result in a trial for hate speech.

Yet, those new and pending laws are the least of our worries! The massive economic bailout has been expending vast amounts of money. Obama is only responsible for about $787 billion dollars of it. Only $787 billion dollars! To give you idea of how much money that is, with $787 billion dollar you could buy 2.6 million average-priced houses in the US. Or, you could buy 39.3 million brand-new 2010 Toyota Camrys. Alternately, you could pay an average salary to 12.9 million people for an entire year. That is a lot of money! And where is this money coming from? The federal government gets nearly all of its money through federal income taxes. All the money that government is spending has either been taken out of your paychecks already or will be taken very soon. Given that the federal debt is rapidly increasing, and that during the past 7 years we have had major deficit spending, the amount of money that each person will be required to surrender to the federal government is becoming astronomcially large!



If our expenses for the economic bailout isn't bad enough, there is significant talk about creating a public health-care system and requiring all Americans to have health insurance. Not only will this be a major blow to the freedom of Americans (since health insurance will no longer be optional), but it will also undoubtedly result in major government expenditures in addition all the money we are already haphazardly throwing to the wind. According to US News:

Yet neither bill addresses outright how to pay for reform.These omissions are not oversights; they are political calculations. The cost of healthcare reform could top $1 trillion over the next decade, and the proposals for raising that money, which include everything from eliminating tax breaks for employers to putting new taxes on drinks that contain high-fructose corn syrup, are contentious and risk alienating lawmakers.

In short, in year 2009, our freedoms are consistently being eroded, more of each person's money is being spent without permission or approval, and the government is seeking to mandate more "right choices" rather than allowing individuals to make their own choices and choose their own path in life. The "will of the people," as interpretted by the federal government, is exerting more tryannical force over individuals and asserting its dominance and control over each and every citizen of America by systematically stripping them of their rights to keep what is theirs, spend their money as they see fit, speak out against evil and enjoy private vices. If time permitted, I would mention the government trying to enforce its brand of morality by attacking the "conscience clause" and mention how religious and family rights are being trampled on by the supreme court. All of these new laws and programs in the works are just a taste of what is to come. The tyranny of the federal government is rapidly expanding and Obama is dedicated to taking even more control for the government. These are increasingly bad times for average American citizens!