Get married without leaving your car
Clovis Commission denies zoning change request
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| Many protesters were just following the herd |
Swickard: A nation of criminals made by millions of laws
Commentary by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. - "I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." Robert Heinlein It is thought that what makes America great is that we are a nation of laws. Having laws that are written down allows each of us to know what is expected of us and what we can expect of our government and fellow citizens. That is the good part. The bad part is we have millions upon millions of laws, rules and regulations. Why do we have so many laws, rules and regulations? Because we do not always do what our fellow citizens think we should do. Consider this: if we would act in a certain way without being forced there would be no reason whatsoever for the government to get involved. And there is the rub with our freedom. Every day in every way some busy-body thinks of a new constraint on our actions. Some rules and some laws make good sense while others seem a giant leap from our senses. Example: I firmly believe that seat belts and air bags have made our lives much safer. And, they would not have been adopted if our government had not lead the charge. On the other side of smart is the never-ending need of some people to make rules and regulation to keep us safe from ourselves. That is always a journey in the valley of stupid. Recently the New York City government put a ban on sugary drinks that exceed 16 ounces. You can have as many drinks as you want, but only in a 16 ounce cup. So that rule asks: why not buy two drinks if I want 32 ounces of sugar poison? Why indeed. This imposition of a size of drink is just the nose of the camel under the tent flap. Today the focus is on 16 ounces or less for drinks. Tomorrow, I suspect that sugar drinks will be deader than Elvis. I can see in the coming ages the adage, if it tastes good spit it out because it cannot be good for you. Read column
The "Middle Class" and "Safety Net"
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| Jim Spence (left) |
If the answers to these very simple questions are “yes,” then we are done. No country that wants to continue to be the most prosperous nation on earth provides a safety net for half its population. And no such nation that has a government as deeply involved in managing everyday life as Washington can legitimately count those who pay nothing to support that government as members of the esteemed middle class. The dialogue on this subject would be laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic. Few elected officials in either party will even dare to answer these questions regarding what percent of the population needs a safety net and roughly where are the dividing lines on the so-called middle class everyone seems so concerned about.
This week a video tape captured Mitt Romney in a rare episode of truth telling regarding how we blow money. What did he get for his honesty? He got a huge dose of cowardice from ambitious people in the Republican Party who are too gutless to tell it like it is. And he got a predictable wave of hypocrisy from everyone in the Democratic Party who thinks safety nets should be provided for half the country. Democrats also continue to refer to millions of people as belonging to the "middle class" even though they don't pay any federal income tax to support their government.
In the meantime, back in the real world, astonishing trends continue right under our noses. Tattoos sell like hotcakes to people who are not asked to pay federal income taxes. I-phones are selling faster than hotcakes to people who pay no federal income taxes. Obesity (not hunger) is the biggest health threat to people who pay no income taxes. And not just a small percentage of senior citizens in need of a safety net, but ALL seniors hand over everything but a small fraction of their healthcare bills to their children and grandchildren through their agents….. in the federal government. The federal government blindly pays claims for a non-means tested giveaway program we call: "Medicare As We Know It."
Instead of putting a stop to this nonsense with intelligent votes, too many voters including baby boomers prefer to simply pretend there is no entitlement-based debt crisis. Working age baby boomers seem to be counting the days until they can sit in the wagon along with the other 49% of America and get other citizens to pull the dead weight of half the U.S. population up the hill.
This week Mitt Romney was shouted down in many quarters for a brief moment of clarity. The media wondered what he was thinking. Not me. I was wondering what all of us Americans are thinking and how did we go so terribly wrong.
Were You Better Off 6-years Ago?
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| Jim Harbison |
Partisan politics and the resultant gridlock have contributed to ongoing high job losses with long term unemployment, lower standards of living, reduction in individual wealth, lower property values, and increased foreclosures. Unfortunately, social safety net programs have become entitlement programs that are unsustainable and are heading for financial collapse. Congress has failed to pass a budget for three consecutive years and the President’s last proposed budget didn’t get a single vote.
The unemployment numbers are horrendous and are often under reported and then quietly readjusted upward several weeks later. In nearly every case the actual number is worst than initially reported. In order to make them look more favorable this administration has readjusted the criteria to reduce their adverse political impact.
Let’s look at the real unemployment numbers. According to a 9/7/12 article by Terence Jeffrey (http://cnsnews.com ) there was a record of 88,921,000 Americans not in the labor force and 119,000 fewer people employed in August than in July. He reported that the unemployment rate dropped from 8.3% to 8.1% because 368,000 people simply dropped out of the labor force in August and are therefore not counted in unemployment statistics. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the August participation percentage (those working or looking for work) has steadily declined since 2008 and is at a 30-year low. It dropped from 63.7% in July to 63.5% in August which ties the horrible September 1981 rate established by President Carter.
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