If Government Were Less Intrusive, Politics Would Be Less Divisive

One of the reasons that politics has become a blood sport in the last several decades, is because of the extent to which government has inserted itself into our daily lives. Government redistributes our wealth and it regulates practically everything we do.

It pits the haves against the have nots as it takes wealth from those who earned it, and gives it to those who have not. That isn't charity; it's slavery. It pits special interests against We the People, as special interests use the force of government to ram their agenda down our throats.

The original idea was that we all mind our own business, voting for our own best interest with our dollars every day of the week in a self-regulating free market. The first amendment guaranteed freedom of speech and of the press, so we could freely argue all sides of an issue with no fear of government reprisal.

The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits. -- Thomas Jefferson

Government provided a minimal set of laws and services to provide for a civil society in which We the People were at liberty to lead our individual lives. It wasn't until the idiotic idea of "social justice" replaced "liberty and justice for all" that we began our downard spiral into oligarchy and strife.

If government were less intrusive, politics would be less divisive. We need an impartial government that once again guarantees liberty and justice for all.

The Strange Case of the Obama Meltdown

Victor Davis Hanson is one of my favorite writers and philosophers.

Strange things are happening to the Obama administration and quickly so. His polls are diving and may not stop at 50/50, the most precipitous drop in approval of a first-year President since Bill Clinton in 1993 (cf. Hillary care).

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Now It's Personal

It has come to my attention that ObamaCare proponents want to specify the configuration of the most intimate part of the anatomy for every newborn American male. That's right; they are promoting circumcision to reduce the spread of AIDS. Typical of government activism, it is a laudable goal and a lousy implementation.

Dear reader, we know what spreads AIDS, and it isn't foreskins. I am sorry to be so explicit, but AIDS is spread primarily through unprotected promiscuous (especially anal) sex, and the sharing of intravenous drug paraphernalia. Everyone should know how to avoid it. If not, here is an opportunity for an educational campaign.

It is true that the incidence of AIDS is somewhat lower in circumcised males, but that does not justify the pre-emptive amputation of perfectly healthy body parts without the victim's consent. The assumption (for the good of society of course) is that he may elect to engage in risky behavior later in life. Better to amputate the offending member than to take that risk. If this isn't an attack on liberty, I simply do not know what is.

In case you are one of the dwindling number of people who still believes that the foreskin is just an unhygienic flap of skin, this article should give you a much needed projectile Kool-Aid emesis. Whether you believe that the anatomy we are born with is the result of millions of years of adaptation and refinement, or intelligent design by God, the hubris of a government policy recommending a design revision without even asking its owner should offend you deeply.

Update: Some readers find this post offensive because I say that ObamaCare proponents are calling for forced circumcision. I should not have phrased it like that. What I want to say is that when government controls health care, these things have a way of becoming mandatory. Not in the initial bill, but when the program is actually implemented (by bureaucrats -- congress is long out of the picture). Doctors who do not conform to the constantly changing regulations and standards, or who do not perform the requisite number of each type of procedure will not be reimbursed at as high a level as those who do. This is not some hypothetical rant. It happens frequently. Look at the FCC, the FAA, the FDA, the EPA. I have firsthand experience with the FCC as a radio engineer. You do what they want, or you have a devil of a time come license renewal. I was always a conformant little citizen, so our renewals came through with flying colors.

U.S. Government Unveils Health Care Partnership With God Inc.

Iowahawk strikes again...

Killing Obamacare

Killing Obamacare in National Review Online underscores the need to resist this abomination any (legal) way we can.

Some people have a problem with my label "I Hope Barack Obama Fails". Given that I fundamentally disagree with what Obama wants to do, why on earth would I want him to succeed? If Obama's agenda succeeds, America as we know it, fails. I am not down with that. Obama must fail if America is to succeed.

Special Note To Detractors

To help you improve your attempts to discredit me, I offer this helpful bit of advice: When you re-publish elements from my blog, it would be more effective if you cut and paste accurately. All it takes is a bit of practiced mousemanship.

"Kakistocracy: Government by the least qualified or least principled citizen" means something quite different from what I actually wrote: "Kakistocracy: Government by the least qualified or least principled citizens".

While I think Barack Obama is unqualified and doesn't seem to support the founding principles of our government as embodied in the Constitution, I certainly don't want to exclude any number of representatives and senators from their well-earned kakistocratic classification.

Fundamental Principles

The fundamental founding principle of our government is liberty, that is, the absence of government oppression. With all of its bureaucracy, programs, rules, regulations, and takeovers, this government is oppressive. Stifling innovation and creativity, making it much harder for We the People to solve our own problems, and to prosper.

Spooky Health Care Reform

Health care reform has given these words a spooky new meaning: I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Now before you go running off, thinking that I am a death panel junkie, let me explain. I do not think there is a provision in HR 3200 specifically designed to select death as an option for anyone, but unintended consequences can and do happen when government is involved. They do in the free market also, but absent oppressive government industry regulation, we are at liberty to create new solutions at will.

Chamber of Commerce Opposes Obama's Plans

The US Chamber of Commerce opposes Obama's plans. In the article, they state "A fortress for the business community, the chamber has emerged as a multitasking, multimillion-dollar defender of the private sector against presidential initiatives."

If that is the case, then what does that say about the Obama/Pelosi/Reid machine?

Topical Quote from Mark Twain

“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”

What I Wanted to Tell Rick Larsen

Dear Congressman Larsen,

I attended your health care town hall meeting in Mt. Vernon on Saturday. I appreciated hearing from everybody on the issue. I had prepared a statement/question which I had hoped to deliver, but time did not permit, so I will email it to you.

Most of the discussion centers on implementation details of HR 3200, with very little discussion over whether a government solution is fundamentally flawed, which I believe it is. I only want two things from congress:

1. I want congress to reverse deficit spending
2. I want congress to reverse the concentration of power in Washington D.C.

This is important if we are to preserve states' rights and individual liberty for future generations.

Especially since 2006, congress has been going in exactly the wrong direction, seizing control of private enterprise and manufacturing, Cap & Trade – and now, health care. I believe nationalizing health insurance would be a giant leap in the wrong direction.

We the People are supposed to have the liberty (and the responsibility!) to take care of ourselves, our families, and the less fortunate -- locally and voluntarily. We don’t need – or want – the federal government to take that liberty away.

There are 300 million of us, vs. 535 in Washington D.C. Given that ratio, surely We the People are more likely than government to have the ingenuity and resourcefulness to solve our own problems. I know you feel you need to help, but as the priest in the old joke says, "Please God, I'd rather do it myself".

I Attended Rick Larsen's Town Hall on Saturday

I attended Rick Larsen's Town Hall meeting on health insurance reform (HR 3200) in Mt. Vernon on Saturday. The place was packed, with standing room only, and overflow into the courtyard outside. I found a seat in the third row inside the meeting room (I arrived about two hours early). I had prepared a statement and question that I had hoped to deliver. Congressman Larsen never called on me, so I didn't get to speak up. However, several other people said what I would have said (or words to that effect).

Being inside, I didn't wave my sign, because it would block other people's view. I think there was about a 30%/70% split pro/con. There were people from all sides, and the applause lines were all over the map, but I think the ones that got the most applause and cheers (which we were asked not to do) were the ones involving less government intervention. Congressman Larsen appeared to be unbiased and open to all views, but as with Cap & Trade, I think he's just waiting until the implementation details favor his district, and then he'll vote for it. I can't fault him for wanting to favor his district, but sometimes principle should win out over favors.

We spent most of the time quibbling over implementation details, and not about whether a government solution is fundamentally flawed. Toward the end of the meeting, one man did raise that question to great applause, but little impact on the congressman. Larsen feigned agreement in principle (what else could he do?) but I don't think he was about to change his mind. At one point, the congressman went on at some length about his commitment to, and love for the Constitution, but honestly, I didn't understand what he was talking about. It was as if we were both thinking of different documents.

One poignant moment was when an 11-year old girl asked Larsen what he was going to do about deficit spending, because she didn't want to be left with the bill for our mistakes (I can't remember her exact words, but they were very challenging). I don't think he was expecting that question, and he danced around the issue, justifying the deficit and the stimulus package without addressing how we would deal with the deficit. I guess it will be our legacy to our children, just as the New Deal was our grandparents' legacy to us, and the Great Society was our parents' legacy to us. Thanks a heap.

I have to give the congressman credit, though. The meeting was scheduled for an hour, and he met with us for two and a half hours. With all the media coverage about angry mobs, he might have been apprehensive, but there was no need. There were reporters and cameras from at least one major Seattle television station. I think they were anticipating a bloodbath. None was forthcoming. We weren't an angry mob. There was some heckling and booing (from various quarters), but little or no shouting down or gross incivility within my view. I did receive email from attendees who were outside holding signs opposing the health insurance reform bill, and they said that they were heckled and intimidated. There was one bigoted redneck inside, whom I'm sure reinforced the stereotype of all conservatives as bigoted rednecks. I didn't appreciate him, even though I agreed with some of his points -- his delivery was profoundly offensive and antagonistic.

My Message to the Obama Administration

Here I am! Here's the fishy stuff! You had better come get me, I'm strenuously exercising my first amendment rights! Somebody stop me!

You people certainly have some nerve, urging my fellow citizens to rat me out for spreading "disinformation" about ObamaCare. A difference of opinion, or a difference in fundamental principles does not "disinformation" make.

My Message to Congressman Rick Larsen

Here's what I plan to say to Rick Larsen at the health care town hall meeting tomorrow, if I get a chance:

I'm Karl Uppiano from the Bellingham Tea Party. We're not automatons programmed by the insurance companies. We've come to the same conclusion independently:

Congress must reverse deficit spending. Congress must reverse the concentration of power in Washington, D.C.

This is important because we need to preserve states’ rights, and individual liberty for future generations. If we stay on our present course, we could lose our founding principles forever.

Especially since 2006, congress has been going in exactly the wrong direction. The bail outs, taking over private enterprise and manufacturing, Cap & Trade – and now, health care – nationalizing health care would be a giant leap in the wrong direction.

We the People are supposed to have the liberty, and the responsibility, to take care of ourselves, and our families, and the less fortunate, locally and voluntarily. We don’t need – or want – the federal government to take that liberty away. We the People have the ingenuity and resourcefulness to solve our own problems.

You know, people I’ve talked to in the tea party movement don’t want to be doing this. We’d rather be at home with our families, or minding our own business. We elect representatives to uphold and defend the constitution for us. But when you do the opposite, then we feel we have to get involved.

US Soldier Questions Socialized Medicine at Town Hall Meeting

Town Hall Meetings Not Friendly to Socialized Medicine

Setting aside for the moment that the Constitution does not authorize the federal government do most of this stuff anyway, Michelle Malkin has posted videos from town hall meetings of grass roots revolts against socialized medicine.