Encounters with Stupidity

What to do, as each day brings news of our crumbling Republic? And the rise of our new dictator, President Obama? Better to light a candle than curse the darkness, but what candle and how? I think many people are silent. The silent majority. They have jobs and families; they are trying to build their lives and essentially want to be left alone to prosper. Now some of these people are attending rallies - tea parties - to protest government spending, or our slide toward socialism. Or something. This outpouring of outrage needs to find a backbone; it needs to rest on some animating principles. Otherwise it's just frustration. Much of our recent history has lined up to deliver a fertile bed for a quick and dramatic move to the left, and Obama has seized many of the opportunities available to him. We have accepted government intrusion into economics; now we have more, but it's more of the same. Bush delivered an $800 billion package and all the democrats had to do was double or triple or quadruple it. Not a question of new ideas, just more government, more bailouts and more handouts. We accept government education for our children. Now we'll get a government-funded youth corps. And continuing pressure on the opposition, be it conservative talk radio (Fairness Doctrine) or "right-wing groups". More paving of the road, more laying of the bricks of a certain way of thinking -- a fascist way of thinking. Things not said clearly, but implied. These right-wing groups might be dangerous. Cast a pall over the entire right wing. Increase federal, state and local police attention on these groups. Never mind if they have actually commited any crimes, or have any truly criminal intent. For now, the opposition can speak. The world has an unprecedented level of free speech. Even China cannot stop its bloggers... but that's because it is losing the moral authority to do so. Thankfully, there is not just a single candle to fight off the growing darkness. I will be founding a new blog with a new name, and I will be dedicating it to the fight for preserving our natural rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Property.