Government control...

It's been a month since I last blathered on here - even though I've had plenty to say I just haven't had the time. However, there are two unrelated items that bring me to my keyboard and away from enjoying the hazy, lazy days of summer.

This is about control. Every time a government organization comes up with a way to "save" us - regardless of whether it's federal, state or local - it is about control. Control over what you can think, hear, see, read, smoke, drink, eat or do. Make no mistake - it is about control. Taking it slowly, with small steps, chipping away at your personal liberties in the name of helping. It's the slow trickle of water that forms the Grand Canyon and it's been happening since the late 1800s.

Our first item takes to Washington, DC where the elite and effete of liberty thieves take up residence. One of the many targets is something called the "Fairness Doctrine". (side note: these folks may not know their ass from a hole in the ground, but they can surely name their legislation in ways that would make PT Barnum proud). The Fairness Doctrine is a relic of the past that forced broadcasters to give equal time to opposing points of view. On the surface it sounds like a well intentioned effort. (Paging LUC!) In it's day it was meant to enhance the discussion. Today, however, it's intention is to combat the successes of conservative talk radio. The liberals couldn't do it in the marketplace since it seems that every effort by them to establish a talk radio presence ends up in a financial failure. Radio Stations, when faced with the choice of putting up money losing content for an equal amount of money making content, will choose the path of least resistance and just find something else to run in the time slots. This will have a chilling effect on the public discourse that occurs on these shows. If radio stations thought they could have successful shows based on liberal ideas and hosts - then they would carry them. It's about ad dollars and not political persuasion for the owners of radio stations.

The scary part of this is the potential for the "Fairness Doctrine" to potentially be extended elsewhere. Imagine the cry that wold come from Hollywood when our government decides that movies and TV shows need to be rolled into the doctrine. What about magazines, newspapers, and blogs? The Fairness Doctrine is an assault on the rights afforded by the first amendment. All because the left can't figure out how to succeed on the radio.

One congressman has put forward a bill to abolish the Fairness Doctrine forever. That bill will never make it to the floor for a vote as long as Democrats control the congress. Write your congressman and senator (you can do it online - Senators - Congressmen)

Next on the hit parade is another, smaller, government entity that feels the need to think for the people they represent. Los Angeles City Council has decide that poor people don't deserve the same choices as the rest of us. Or perhaps they've concluded that poor people are too dumb to make the right choices. Either way - this is just wrong.

The LA City Council has decided to ban fast food franchises in one of the poorest parts of the city because poor people are getting too fat. Once again, government feels the need to think for the people. They wrap it up in a package that seems like they are doing this to help (and I'm sure the council is well intentioned) but regardless of their intentions it's an assault on liberty. First is taking away the choices of the citizen, the option and ability to make their own decisions. Second is taking away the potential positive economic impact of new business in an area that needs an infusion of jobs to help the poor raise themselves out of poverty. The feds just increased the minimum wage and now the local government has just limited the number of jobs that would potentially be created in that area. Jobs that would be directly impacted by the increase in minimum wage. All in the name of babysitting the citizenry.

I'd like to point out the craziness that is America's poor people being too fat. The left likes to always compare the US to the rest of the world so lets do that a bit. America's poor are too fat - the world's poor go hungry and starve. America's poor have televisions, dvd players, cell phones and cars. The world's poor live in mud huts (if they're lucky) and don't have running water or electricity. America's poor have every advantage to pull themselves out of their condition if they choose to work for it. Free education, plenty of jobs, and the freedom of movement in search of success. The world's poor rarely can move beyond their local boundries (unless they become refugees due to war, genocide, etc). Get no education. Have no job prospects regardless of their desire to change their situation. America's poor in the current age are living more comfortably, with more amenities, than our parents and grandparents had while working for a living. America's poor would be the rich folks in most of the world's villages.

Government control. It's all about control of the citizenry. It's about making the people of this country more and more dependent on Uncle Sam. It's about power in the hands of the few. Our government has forgotten that they work for the people and not the other way around. It's the audacity that our government takes 30% of our hard earned income in order for it to pay for itself. It's the forced redistribution of wealth. The vilification of those that succeed as not paying enough. Needing to "Pay Back" which would imply that their success has been given and not earned. It's the top 1% paying more than 40% of the bill - the top 5% pay 90%....and then still being called greedy. It's about initiating class warfare to keep the populace off balance and distracted. It's about shredding the bill of rights in the name of "fairness" and the bastardization of that word.

It's about getting and keeping control.