To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (632830 ) 9/26/2004 3:26:15 PM From: Lazarus_Long Read Replies (1) | Respond to So what? We really NEED at least one group of politicians to stand up for fiscal conservatism and smaller government! Over 200 years ago, an historian named Alexander Tyler bemoaned that the "American way of life" could not endure. His reason was chillingly accurate. "People do not want to take responsibility for their own choices." He went on to say that "people will invariably hand over their sovereign responsibility and freedom to that government which promises the most benefits… A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority only votes for candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by dictatorship." connectionmagazine.org Right now, both branches of the Republicrats are busting the bank... but reality cannot be suspended, only delayed for a short while. Eventually economic problems (of the '70-s era 'Stagflation' variety, or a dollar collapse of the Argentina or Russia variety... or perhaps just the slow drip, drip, drip of declining economic indices) will be the headlines. [If it's not involved in inter-state commerce then the Feds have no authority under the inner-state commerce clause of the Constitution.] "The feds nevertheless claim jurisdiction because distributors MIGHT send it across state llines." "CA has been butting heads with the feds for some years over medical marijuana, and Oregon over assisted suicide. The feds so far show no sign of retreating." "If they have legal authority in ALL of these areas, then they have controlling authority in everything... and the States might as well disband their governments, because the feds can claim authority over all economic and non-economic actions. [Now try to get Cy to take this test.]
