If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people
under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy. - Thomas Jefferson


Friday, March 30, 2012

BIG brother

Wow... Though this Executive Order has been around since Truman (no big surprise there), I did not realize what our government is prepared to do at any time they decide it is necessary.

I mean, I'm not really surprised, but after reading the Executive Order in its entirety (do I know how to celebrate my Friday nights, or what?!) I'm quite ill at ease about seeing the ways our government plans to implement martial law "during peacetime, graduated mobilization, and national emergency."

Here is a paragraph derived mostly from a Snopes article describing it in an alarmist way. They say it is a false claim in that the government doesn't actually have the power, but they do have plans on the books to make it so:
  • The National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order [defines the need for plans that] allows the nationalization of pretty much the entire USA, even in peace time, if the President desires.
  • They can, under this order, restrict civilian travel by any mode. They can close our roads, highways and interstates, they can set up check points anywhere.
  • They can ration food, gasoline and electricity.
  • They can restrict water usage, even from private wells.
  • They can ration health care, including any and all drugs, including OTC and vitamins.
  • They can collectivize farms and the food processing/distribution system.
  • They can take over all energy production, including home solar units.
  • They can take over our factories and command what they should produce.
  • They can take charge of the resources (natural or otherwise) needed to keep the nationalized factories churning.
  • They can draft civilians into the military.
  • If they have need of your skills, they can compel you to work for no compensation.
I am pretty sure this isn't what our founding fathers had in mind when discussing and framing our liberties and freedoms... And just because they're planning it without having executed it doesn't really make it much better, in spite of what the press would have you believe.

And that they can implement these plans at any time by declaring a "National Emergency" is just plain old messed up. Technically, they don't even have to do that!

This is why I keep saying: We need more options. We need a party that would see this and say "WOAH! I AIN'T SIGNING THAT SHIT!" Every president, republican and democrat for over 50 years has put their name at the bottom of revisions of this Executive Order. I think we deserve a president that wouldn't dare sign off on such an un-American travesty of everything we supposedly stand for.

Meanwhile, the media keeps us busy arguing about who is gonna pay for condoms, whether or not we'll be forced to buy health insurance, and how each state is going to vote for Romnetorum...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Oklahoma takes the bull by the horns

Finally, the Oklahoma state government is taking care of the big problems. None of this sissy budget balancing for them. After all, how can a state possibly go on without an official state motto?

They do have a state slogan on the state seal, but who the heck can get up in the morning to "Labor Omnia Vincit" (Labor Conquers All Things)? Screw that bullshit, they need a good solid American motto they can feel proud of. Something original.

In God We Trust.
YEEEEEE HAAAAWWWW! Now that's a motto that will put hair on your chest.

At least the article I read quoted State Rep. Ryan "Are you fucking kidding me?" Kiesel in saying this resolution is a "frivolous waste of legislative time."

THIS is why
oklahomanspaytaxes.
read more:Oklahoma Could Soon Have New State Motto(koco)

Sunday, March 18, 2012

NDAA - Natural Disposition to Apprehend Americans

Meh... Bad title... This whole post is just an excuse to re-post of a Facebook rant I wrote tonight. It has everything to do with this blog, in that our tax dollar supported government is doing shit that is most-certainly not in our best interest... This is far more political than I like to go with this blog, but at least I show that my intent is non-partisan (even though the hate is directed at the current president).

Straight to the rant:
A post and some responses led me to write an Obama is better than Bush comment on a friends wall. In it, I referred to wars and Bin Laden - easy pickin's for a Obama vs. Bush thread. However, with my bent on moderation and the necessity for more political parties and less polarization, I couldn't go out like that. So, I took a minute to articulate my main hate on Obama too. Having finally put words to a thought that has been bugging me for a few weeks, I thought I'd cut'n'paste 'n' share:
---
Why Obama should indeed be shown the door:

1.) He is the first president in the history of our great nation that signed a bill into law allowing the federal government to apprehend and detain any one of us as long as they want. The only requirement is that they claim the detention is based on suspicion of "terrorism or supporting terrorists." That he signed it 'reluctantly' is irrelevant. That the current administration may never use this power is irrelevant. That our government can abduct us and make us disappear is unacceptable.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/317046


2.) The federal government has equated cannabis use as terrorism in the past. In an ad ran by the Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Bush years, "Sharing a joint in your friend's back yard" was described as support of terrorism.
http://www.cannabis-marijuana.com/drugterrorist.html


Put 1 and 2 together and we are not that far away from the government rounding up pot heads and detaining them indefinitely, without charges, without the ability to defend themselves in the courts. While this is extreme and highly unlikely, Obama's signature on that bill make this a possibility. That some future administration, in even more polarized times may take up the mantle of ending the war on drugs once and for all, is a possibility that seems unimaginable today.

Again, I point out that we need more options because it is starting to feel like 1984 up in here. With republicans we're screwed, with democrats we're shafted. Either way, I'm not loving it, no matter how many times McDonalds tries to tell me otherwise.
---

After reviewing the cut'n'paste, I realized it is a bit centered on cannabis users. While some of the best people I know regularly use cannabis, I'm trying to illustrate the truly profound depth of this law. While it is easy to draw the connection to highlight the contrast between everyone's favorite pot head and people who support terrorists, I'm not just talking about hungry people that don't feel like getting off the couch to find food. The vagueness of the terrorism charges is intense and by being forbidden due process, the government cannot be held accountable. A sitting administration can round up its opposition, claim terrorism, and lock them up. Period. No review. No chance to call bullshit. Nothing. Gone for good with no avenue for recourse.

Not acceptable. We need to be far more pissed off about this than we are. Screw the 99% vs. 1%... The Patriot Act didn't even go this far. This is the kind of thing we expect from China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia. This is not what we expected the founding father's vision of freedom in our country to turn into.


THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Crack patrol

Its kinda like a light bulb joke, but the punchline kinda pisses you off...

Q: How many government agencies does it take to put a guy with $200 of crack on him in jail for 2 weeks?

A:
  • Special Assistant United States Attorney, Justin Lightfoot
  • the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force
  • the Linn County Sheriff’s Office
  • the Cedar Rapids Police Department
  • the Marion Police Department
  • the Iowa City Police Department
  • the Clinton Police Department
  • the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement
  • the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
  • the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services
  • the Iowa National Guard
THIS is whyipaytaxes.
Sometimes, I find the story already put together for me: How Many Law Enforcement Agencies Does it to Take to Prosecute One Man for Buying $200 Worth of Crack?(reason.com)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Tax Protester FAQ

Not something I made, but something right up this blog's alley...

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Unemployed gangs

$30,000 in unemployment benefits were provided to local gangs in Los Angeles on behalf of Anthony "can't find work in jail" Garcia.

Garcia wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box, having been arrested for a murder after having some of the evidence of the murder scene tattooed on his chest.

But he still proved to be too spry of a crook for the unemployment office to catch on to his scam that had family members collecting $1,600 per month from October 2008 to March of 2010.

Checks, balances, aww, forget it...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.
read more: Father & Girlfriends of Inmate Arrested for $30,000 Unemployment Fraud(
ktla)