Never did I believe that I would see the day, when Americans could be put in jail for not buying health insurance. Never did I think I would see the day that we would be fined and taxed for not having it, but also fined and taxed for having too much of it.

Tonight, the House passed Pelosi's bloated ballsack of a bill on healthcare. If the Senate passes it as well, then I believe we are truly no longer free. While our freedoms have been eroded steadily for decades, the pace has now been stepped up so much that we may barely recognize this country in a few years. This is simply too large a step. To be imprisoned for not buying insurance, or for not paying the tax because you have too much insurance...I don't have sufficient words to describe the stupidity, moral corruption, hubris, and sheer totalitarianism of this.

Witness, then, the death of our country.

http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=153583

To What End...?

I have wanted to write so much over the last few months, but I just haven't had the time or the mental energy. Little by little, I have begun to feel that speaking out will no longer serve any purpose. I am usually at a loss for words these days, and I'm afraid that it may be too late to stop what is happening to this country.

Where do I begin?

• Government takeover of…everything…is well underway.
• Political opponents are being silenced (through non-violent means, so far).
• News agencies are under attack and are being threatened with losing their FCC licenses if they don’t tow the line.
• More and more radical FREAKS are being appointed to high-level positions: communists (all of Obama’s advisors, I think), anti-capitalists (new manufacturing czar), those who believe sex between a man and a boy is OK (new education czar), and on and on and on.
• Health care reform (takeover) is in the works, where we will actually be fined by the govt (in other words, taxed) for not buying health insurance. Can someone tell me how in the hell the govt has the authority to do that??? Nancy Pelosi sure can’t.
• Children in our schools are taught to sing the praise of a certain person, a savior for the new millennia, who will make everything OK. Which sounds eerily like North Korean children singing the praises of their “Dear Leader.” Because we all know how much he’s done for his flock.
• The dollar continues to tumble, while the govt prints more money and blames Bush for the deficit. Of course, under Bush the deficit was only one fourth what it is now, but it only had to grow because Bush was so evil that Obama had no choice but to make it bigger to combat all the evilness Bush brought to the country. Right? Let’s hear it for accountability.
• I’m sorry, I just have to come back to this one...you're going to FINE ME for not buying health insurance? And if I have it, you're going to TAX ME BECAUSE ITS TOO GOOD?? LIKE HELL!!! When the tax man comes to your door and demands payment of several thousand dollars for the “right” to keep your “Cadillac” health care, what will YOU do?
• The chief economic advisor at the White House says that all the benefit of the stimulus plan has already passed. Really. So let’s give them more money!

I’m forgetting volumes of other transgressions, power grabs and constitutional atrocities, I know. But my brain is simply fried at this point.

The latest blow to the senses comes in the form of Barney Frank and the Treasury working on a bill that will give govt the authority to seize private companies and dissolve them OUTSIDE of bankruptcy proceedings. So, essentially the govt can take over any company and do with it as it pleases.

But wait a minute, they would never do that, you say. People would cry out, you say.

But they already have. And no one said a word (except Fox News).

What do you think happened to Chrysler and GM? They were essentially taken over, the bankruptcy court was frozen out of the deal, the bondholders were screwed, and union cronies reaped the benefits. And no one said a word.

Now, Barney Frank wants the govt to have the authority to take over any company it deems too big to fail. Oh, they may start with financial companies. But will they really stop there?

No.

And it makes me sick. I am watching the death of my country, and I don’t know what to do about it. How long before the dollar, and the economy, collapse entirely? How long before the UN comes in to “stabilize” things? How long before we wake up one morning to find a blue flag flying over the Capitol?

How long until the greatest nation of the modern age passes into the history books?

How long before net neutrality and the Fairness Doctrine prevent me from saying what I believe anyway?

(…and the school kids sing, “Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama…”)

Health care reform??

My view on health care is simple. While it could be better, it is still better than anyone else's. We have friends in Canada who wait 2 YEARS to get a family doctor. A major medical procedure that we could get in a couple weeks, takes them 6-12 MONTHS. That is UNACCEPTABLE here in the US.

And the government expects us to believe our system is broken??? Our system is the best there is in the world at the moment.

We must NOT have a govt health insurance option. To think that it could be run properly is lunacy. There is so much corruption and favoritism in the current administration that a new healthcare program would simply be a tax on most of us to provide benefits to the president's friends and supporters.

We must NOT have rationed care. It is outright cruelty, and the first time you tell someone they have to die because someone "more worthy" will get the treatment instead, you will have rioting and civil unrest on your hands.

I will NOT pay for health care for 20 million illegal aliens with my tax dollars. ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

If there is a way to reduce health care costs, great. I agree that costs for both insurance and procedures have gone up too much. But lets focus on why, instead of trying to give every humnan on the planet free health insurance.

Maybe tort reform? I know that many doctors simply cannot afford their liability insurance. Why? Too many lawsuits.

There are things that could be done better in our health care system, but honestly I do not see the big emergency. No one knew there was a health care emergency until the govt and the news media started screaming about it. We don't have an emergency just because some talking head says so.

So...SLOW DOWN! READ THE BILL!

How dare Rep. John Conyers say that he doesn't have time to read the bill? That's his job!!!
We may need some tweaking, but we do NOT need a wholesale restructuring of our system.

Let Me Help You (by stabbing you in the back)

OK, so I went to my bank to see about changing some things with my home equity line of credit (HELOC). The bank froze it last year when the value of the house dropped like a stone. While I was there, I asked why we were not allowed to refinance the mortgage. I had been told on numerous occassions that we could not because we were over 100% loan-to-value (LTV). Of course, this made no sense to me because the bank already had our business and would not be assuming any new risk by doing the refi.

Well, I learned today that the federal govt has regulations limiting a bank's ability to do a refi if the borrower is over 100% LTV.

Really...can someone tell me why in the HELL that would be?

Does allowing me to refi not reduce the risk? It lowers my payment, making it easier to afford, thereby making me less likely to default. Why would the govt want to make it MORE likely for me to default? Maybe because that would make it more likely that I would need a govt program to help me out later. And if I need the govt's help, I am beholden to them.

So, here's some change we can believe in: our govt will create new bailout programs to help me with my mortgage, but it WON'T allow me to bail myself out thru refinancing on my own. Oh, did I mention that I don't qualify for the govt mortgage help anyway? Yeah, hold out your hand to rescue me, then stab me in the back with the other.

Besides, if I'm allowed to do something on my own, it might make me think I'm free to do other things on my own. And we can't have that, now can we?

"Charging" Our Way to Socialism!

Hmmm...Congress is close to passing a bill (thru one house already) that will restrict credit card companies from charging higher interest rates to those who carry balances. This will reduce credit card company revenue (boo hoo, I know). Here's the problem: where do you think the CC companies are going to go to make that revenue up? How about charging more to the people who pay their balance off every month?

Remember when we all had to pay annual fees on CC's? The companies then started rewarding responsible customers by waiving this fee and charging lower rates. That's how Cap One got to be so big. Then we started getting offers for 0% for so many months etc. Now, all that will probably go away because the CC companies will start charging the responsible people more to make up for what the irresponsible are no longer paying.

So, they will take from the "successful" and give to the "less fortunate."

My, where have we seen this concept before?

So, to recap, the federal govt now controls:

• banking
• manufacturing (auto industry and its suppliers)
• credit cards
• education (thru the "blackmail" of federal funding)
• higher education (coming soon)
• healthcare (coming soon)
• firearms (coming soon thanks to CIFTA, if it passes)
• firearms (even if CIFTA fails, there are still the other 20,000 gun laws on the books)
• freedom of speech (just kidding...sort of)
• your thoughts (refer back to education)
• and anything else they might think of

Did I leave anything out?

Welkome to United Socialist States of Amerika. Please check your freedoms and any notions of liberty at the door, comrade. And have a nice day.

Remove Nancy Pelosi now!!!

I am almost speechless at the gall and sheer arrogance that Nancy Pelosi has displayed over the last couple weeks. She claims to have known nothing about water boarding, but…oops, she wrote a memo about it back in December ’07 detailing how it had been used and how there was video footage of it. She also said in the memo that she knew about it in February of ’03.

But she didn’t really know about it. Because this is all a vast right-wing conspiracy by Bush (who is no longer president) to discredit her and Osam…er, Obama. Really? Yeah, right. Because releasing the interrogation memos somehow wasn’t an attempt by Osam…er, Obama to discredit Bush???

Please!

I am beginning to think that there is nothing that makes me sicker than partisan politics. If their guy screws up, its because there is a vast ___-wing conspiracy out to get them and its not their fault. If the other party’s guy screws up, its because he really is the antichrist and will lead us to eternal damnation and all that. But their guy would never do that. No. Not ever. Because they love puppies and kittens and are infallible and will lead us all to utopia.

Why do we not demand better from our politicians? Why has Pelosi not been run out of town already? Why do we not fire these bastards (and bastardettes?) when they lie, cheat and steal from the American people?

How much more brazen bullcrap, lies and monarchy-worthy arrogance are we going to stand before we demand a change? Is this really the best that America has to offer? Lie to me and I’ll keep voting for you because I like your lies better than the other guy’s?

What possible future can we have as a society if this is all we ask for? Hmmm, just ask the Romans. They were once in a similar spot. Oh wait, you can’t. The Roman empire fell. The greatest civilization in the history of the world, dead and gone because of its own apathy, arrogance and avarice.

What’s that they say about history repeating itself?

You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a record baby...

Ah, yes. Our benevolent government at work, yet again. Incompetent AND full of lies, a real double-threat, eh?

The New York Federal Reserve Bank found out about the bonuses that would be paid to AIG execs back in September of last year. And who was the head of the NY Fed at the time…why, Timothy Geithner of course. So why did the poo only hit the fan months later? Well, I would imagine because the govt wanted to cover all that up. Why else would they have hired PR firms?

Can you believe it? The govt actually hired PR firms to try to figure out how to tell us what was happening in our own country. You know its bad when the masters of spin (“That depends on what your definition of “is” is”) have to get outside help on how to spin something. How about this:

“Uh, we are going to give billions of dollars to AIG. They have already agreed to pay $160 million in bonuses and we cannot legally block that, so the bonuses will be paid. We expect this to happen sometime early next year.”

Gee, was that so hard? You know people are going to be pissed, so you might as well tell them up front so that later on, we won’t ALSO be pissed at you for trying to cover it up. You f-ing dolt!

And on top of all the smoke and mirrors that came after the fact, Congress actually tried to pass legislation to tax the bonuses at 90%. Since when can the govt tax specific people for no reason? Oh wait, there was a reason…to save face! So our own govt was going to tax a select few of its citizens, and deprive them of legal compensation, just to appease the voting masses and make it look like they had done something about it.

Hmmm…sounds like a good reason for a tea party, don’t you think?

Free-thinking Americans Are a Threat? To Whom?

The Department of Homeland Security released a report yesterday that outlines several potential threats to the US, focusing mostly on right-wing extremist groups. While I’m sure the intent of the report was never to say that all gun owners or all military veterans are “extremists in the making,” it nevertheless sheds some light on how the government thinks, and why.

It has been said that the government should fear its people, rather than the people fear their government. Ideally, government should have nothing to fear, so long as it is made up of citizens governing by the rule of law and not meddling in people’s lives any more than absolutely necessary. Clearly, however, our government is afraid of us. Why?

What is our government? Is it citizens applying the principles of the Constitution in an unbiased way? It should be, but it’s not. There has been a change over the last century when it comes to how the federal government works. Does it seem that the government has become a monstrous entity unto itself, a perverted mutation of what it was once intended to be? No longer content to be OUR government, it is now our Government. And Government knows what is best for us and will guide us by its all-knowing hand. Government is a kind master (or so it wants you to believe). Either way, it is still your master, and you its slave. Government has crowned itself king in an attempt to control every aspect of our lives.

Long live the king.

And yet the government is still made up of individuals. How, then, does it find itself with this singular mentality, this singular identity that feels so threatened by ordinary citizens? Per haps it is because those individuals have forgotten who they are. For decades now, this change has been occurring. It seems that each person who is elected to “power” comes to think of him or herself as part of the Government, rather than as a citizen who was elected to represent the people and govern according to the rule of law. Thus, the Government grows, and the individual is lost.

Eventually, the individual becomes the Government. This is what happens when you have career politicians who serve without term limits. They spend 20, 30, even 50 years as the king of the hill, with all the power and prestige a man could want. They have no incentive to give it up, so they seek more and more ways to retain their thrones. Re-election to the Government – that is their Holy Grail. Not service to the people. And so, they become Government.

Why does the DHS report show this fear of veterans? Of gun owners? Of people who support the Constitution? Because we are free thinkers. And free thinkers are a very dangerous thing to a Government that means to be our master. Government suggests we are a threat to the United States because we support the Constitution. That’s funny, because the Constitution is the document that ESTABLISHED this country. How could we be a threat to the country, when we support the very ideals and founding documents that gave this country life in the first place? (Answer: we are NOT a threat to this country, only to those who have hijacked the constitutional government and crowned themselves kings).

They suggest that gun owners may be a threat to this country? This country was founded by free thinking men who fought their masters and won their freedom WITH THEIR GUNS. Again, we merely support the founding principals of this country, so how could we been seen as a threat to it?

It occurs to me, then, why Government is afraid of us. Government is confused . Those who make it up have become disoriented during their mad grab for power and the insane moral contortions required to keep it. You see, the ones in power believe that they ARE the United States. They believe that they ARE the Government. They have failed to remember that the government is OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people. It is not Government who is the United States. It is US.

So when Government says we are a threat to the United States, what it really means is that we are a threat to THEM. To any politician, Republican or Democrat, who sells their soul and their citizenship for power. And they are right.

No true patriot would ever rise up against the United States. But every true patriot is prepared to rise up against those who hijack our government and use their position for their own gain. It is time to remind those in OUR government that they are not THE government; they are only its stewards.

It’s time for a change in stewardship. It’s time for We the People to take back control of our government.

2nd Amendment - "so, why do you NEED those guns?"

This will be the first of many posts concerning the 2nd Amendment. To sum up my beliefs in one quick tag line: all your other rights are useless without the means to defend them. I feel more strongly about this issue than any other and could easily go on all day about it. However, I will break it down into more manageable chunks by hitting just one question or aspect of it at a time.

Today’s topic is my reply to those who say, “Yeah, but you don’t really NEED that gun anyway.” This is what my boss says when the conversation turns to that scourge of mankind, that wellspring of evil - the AR15 (for those who don’t know what that is, look it up. And here’s a hint: it is neither evil, nor an “assault weapon”). Seems like a reasonable question at first, doesn’t it? I mean, do I really NEED an AR15 to get me to work on time? Um…no. Do I really NEED a pistol to help me get my groceries? Um…still no (unless the economy collapses and all hell breaks loose, in which case…yes).

For a long time I struggled to find the right response to this. And then, it hit me. Here’s my biggest problem with the “you don’t really NEED it” argument: our system of government in America (and our society in general) was not founded on the belief that you have to justify wanting or needing something. You are entitled to the pursuit of whatever you choose, so long as you do not intentionally hurt someone else along the way. This is the whole idea of freedom: freedom of speech (you do not have to justify what you say, you are simply free to say it); freedom of religion (you do not have to justify your God, or lack of one, you are simply free to believe as you wish).

Our system is NOT about justifying why you need something; it is about justifying the need to RESTRICT something. Our system was designed so that the GOVERNMENT has to justify (rather extensively) why they should be able to RESTRICT your needs/wants/rights. That is the point of a free society.

Think about that for a moment. If you had to justify your need for everything in life, how would you do it? Do you really NEED freedom of speech to get to work on time? Well, no (just ask North Koreans or the Chinese). Do you really NEED freedom to worship in order to get your groceries? Again, no. So, you do not NEED these freedoms, yet you demand them anyway.

Why?

Because at a fundamental level, you know that it is right to do so. You can feel it in your bones, that to be denied the ability to speak your mind is WRONG! That to be denied the right to pray to your god is WRONG! That to be denied the ability to protect and defend your life, family, home, and country is WRONG!

Wait…what did I just say? The right to protect your family? Your home? Your country? Isn’t that why we have police and the military? Actually, no. Well, yes to the military, but no to the first one. It is not the responsibility of the police to protect you or your family. That responsibility rests with you. All the police do is try to deter crime by being present in the area, and investigate it later, after it happens. There are 300 million people in America, and less than a million police officers. Do the math. They can’t be everywhere.

Let’s dig a little deeper here. We know we live in a society where we are free to pursue our lives unmolested, as long as we do not hurt others along the way. Well, to those who say that my AR15 is hurting them, I say this: from inside its 800-pound safe, it’s not hurting anyone. However:

- your SUV spews pollutants into the air that do hurt me. Therefore, you no longer have the right to purchase, own or operate any vehicle that gets less than 40 MPG. You don’t really NEED that Cadillac Escalade anyway.
- your stereo plays loud music that hurts my eardrums and diminishes my hearing. Therefore, you are no longer permitted to have or use any music-playing device. You don’t really NEED that iPod anyway.
- large homes over 1500 square feet waste energy and are an affront to the less fortunate. Therefore, no family in America will be permitted to occupy more than 1500 square feet of living space. If your home is larger than this, it will either be demolished, or you will be forced to take on new residents. You don’t really NEED that big house anyway.
- all religions that differ from my own shall be abolished, and following their teachings will be punishable by imprisonment. Your teachings are different from mine, so they might be bad for me. You don’t really NEED freedom of religion anyway.
- how about access to books? Movies? Your fishing boat? Golf? You can live without them.

So, justify why you should be allowed to keep these excessive, flashy, polluting products. You can’t. When you look at it, there are a lot of things we don’t really NEED in life, in order to survive. But if I were to take them away, you would fight me to the bitter end. As well you should. Without them, life becomes meaningless.

Chief among these needs - is liberty.

Chew on that. And keep your hands off my AR15.

New Baskin Robbins flavor - Barocky Road

Someone e-mailed this to me...priceless!

In Honor of the 44th President of the United States , Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream has issued a new flavor, "Barocky Road." Barocky Road is a blend of half Vanilla, half Chocolate, surrounded by Nuts and Flakes. The Vanilla portion of the mix is not openly advertised and usually denied as an ingredient. The Nuts and Flakes are all very bitter and hard to swallow. The Cost is $100.00 per scoop. When purchased, it will be presented to you in a large beautiful cone, but then the Ice Cream is taken away and given to the person in line behind you. Thus you are left with an empty Wallet, no change, holding an empty cone, with no hope of getting any Ice Cream.

Aren't you feeling stimulated?

Congress = Hypocrites!

OK, so let's start with the obvious - the economy. This is obviously big in everyone's minds right now, but what sticks in my craw has to do with "politics as usual" in Washington. Where to begin...let's see, AIG execs get big bonuses. Congress is "outraged" over this fact, even though they passed the stimulus bill that had language in it allowing them to get the bonuses. Of course, Dodd and Geithner both claimed to know nothing about the language..."it must have been my staffers who did it."

Yeah...right. Here's what kills me, and why I say Congress = hypocrites. They blasted the $160 million in bonuses that AIG execs got. But that's just a drop in the bucket compared to what Congress got. Let me 'splain...the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress contained numerous provisions for all sorts of stuff. But when you read the bill, you realize that only 10-15% of the money is for stimulus-related projects. The other $700 billion or so goes to...you guessed it...pork projects for the senators. So Congress used the current economic crisis as an excuse to get their own pet projects passed/funded, ultimately to keep their re-election bids secure.

Um...so it's bad for AIG to pay $160 million to its employees, but its OK for Congress to take $700 BILLION from the American taxpayer for their own special projects??? Or, are they taking from the taxpayer? It's hard to tell, since the current admin keeps saying they are not raising taxes. If that's the case, where the hell is that $700 billion coming from?

It used to be that politicians tried to hide their greed and corruption from the public eye, but not so anymore. They are much more brazen nowadays. If it was so horrible for AIG to waste taxpayer money, why in the hell is it OK for Congress to waste 4375 times more?!? To use a global economic crisis as a means to further your re-election bid is inexcusable, and should result in those responsible being run out of office. They have clearly violated their oath of office and need to be called to task for it.

Inauguration Day!

Hello everyone! This is my first post here on Blogspot, hopefully the first of many. I have created Government Cheez as a place to vent about/discuss what is going on in America today, specifically with government, politics and current events. I will admit right up front that I am not the most educated person on matters of politics or current affairs, and I will surely make mistakes as I go, but I do feel very strongly about a number of things that are happening in this country and wanted to have a place to get things off my chest.

I welcome all points of view and look forward to some good, heated debates. All I ask is that the truth prevail! I tend to be more of a convervative myself, but I will ALWAYS tell it like it is. I do not blindly support anyone just because of their political party and will happily call anyone to task for their actions. Please, no B.S. or other related shennanigans here, just good honest discussion.

Thanks for stopping by!