Resolutions New Year and Otherwise

...the children [of men]...because that they are redeemed from the fall...they have become free...to act for themselves and not to be acted upon... portions of 2 Nephi 2:26

I am not a big believer in New Year's resolutions. I prefer to take stock of my life many times throughout the year and make necessary adjustments, but in the spirit of the New Year, I will share some of my current resolutions.

1. I will not let the media tell me for whom to vote. I am sick of the media stating a fact and then telling me what it means to me. For instance, "Rick Santorum is leading in the polls, this shows how undecided the Iowa voters are." Really! How! All it shows me is that Rick Santorum is leading in the polls. Similar "Fact-Fallacious Conclusion" techniques have been employed to undermine many a good campaign. I am going to sort through the facts and decide for myself what they mean to me.

I am already aware that I am going to vote for a sinner, because there was only one perfect human ever on the earth and he ain't running for office.

2. I will not let the government define who I am. Are you kidding me!?! Under the new government definitions, nearly half the population is poverty stricken. Really? Just think of the degradation inherent in that label. Not just poor, but stricken with it, as if the poor can't defend themselves from the pounding blows of capitalism. Of course, such a situation requires the protection of the Socialist leaning Federal Government.

That is in fact the point of these labels: black, hispanic, poor, elderly, female, you name it. Socialism requires the label, encourages the victim-hood and them swoops down to save them, but really it is just another form of slavery...enslaving us in a dependancy on the government. Suborning our will to theirs.

I will not be labled a victim, but I will determine for myself who I am and how I will proceed with my life.

3. I will quit believing that Federal Government agencies can protect me. The USDA, FDA, EPA, TSA do not protect us. In fact, if you talk to the TSA about why they pass their most recent restrictions, their response is "To make the public feel safe." Feel safe! Is that what we are paying the big bucks for? To feel safe? I'm only interested in being safe and if they can't do that then stop taking my money for nothing. If such agencies have any merit, they belong on the state or county level where they have a chance of making a difference, but even without the inherent corruption, graft a favortism that exists in such agencies, they are not doing enough to justify their existance.

Think about it. The FDA does not save us from unsafe drugs as millions are recalled every year, usually by manufacturers who have a capitalistic interest in not making us sicker. The USDA does not protect us from tainted food. How many incidents of deadly food poisoning occured just in the last year? The TSA does not protect us from terrorism, good intel gathering does. (Yes, I am for intel agencies because they fall in the Constitutionally mandated "Provide for the common defense.)

I will not hope that others will take care me, but I will decide for myself how best to cook my food, take my medicines, and protect my person.

In short, my resolution is to Act, not to be Acted upon.

Quick Takes

In a world of peace, there is no freedom.—Rachel Evans Darling

A few quick takes-

A limited war cannot be won. We should have learned this in Southeast Asia. It is a lovely notion to fight just enough, but it is not possible. We are still in Afghanistan because shortly after the first successful campaign it was decided to pull back and just do a little here and a little there the result is that the enemy leaves here and there and sets up camp in places we are not fighting at. War must be decisive. Hit fast, hit hard and come home.

Bureaucracy is a dinosaur and should go the way of all the dinosaurs. It lumbers along eventually stomping any who wander unwittingly into its path. Case in point: technically federal bureaucracy is under the direction of the executive office, but a few years back, the EPA sued then President George W. Bush because he overruled them and the court (another problem) ruled in the EPA’s favor! That’s right; they sued their leader and won. G.W. got stomped. If the courts will not let the legally designated leader control his own bureaucracy, then it is time to make that bureaucracy extinct. Bureaucracy has become a black hole of tax and spend legislation, with apparently no accountability to anyone. Bureaucracy truly represents taxation without representation! Let’s get rid of 99% of it and put those people back to work in productive jobs and get their footprints off our backs.

The eyes of the Tea Baggers are fixed on the federal spenders, and rightfully so, but they need to broaden their view. It is no longer enough for," we the people" to vote out the big spenders in D.C., we need to also look closer to home. In the election of 2010, we need to vote out every piggy who stepped up to the trough. Every school board member who took federal funds, every college administrator who accepted federal grants, and every state representative who spent federal stimulus dollars should be kicked to the curb in 2010. All who spend our, yes our, money must be held accountable.