I’ve heard some people say that Ron Paul will end all the “bad stuff,” if elected. I’ve heard that he will use Executive Orders to end the Federal Reserve, Department of Education and other “unconstitutional”  agencies and programs (doesn’t go far enough, but would be a good first step). From listening to some of the chatter, some folks are making Ron Paul out to be some kind of Messiah.

Unfortunately, it is not true and those things will never happen.

First of all, Ron Paul doesn’t believe that Executive Orders are Constitutional, so he would never use them. If he did, he would be helping to legitimize the process and open himself up to criticism from his detractors and those who do want to use them (“If you don’t believe they’re Constitutional, why are you issuing them?”), so don’t hold your breath waiting for Ron Paul to use dictatorial “stroke of the pen, law of the land” stuff anytime soon.

Second, even if Ron Paul was elected, he would be overriden by the Legislature at every turn, in the same way that Mark Sanford (former Governor of SC) had around 98% of his vetoes overriden with every new budget. Also, nearly every time Sanford wanted to push through a new idea, eliminate wasteful spending, cut taxes, consolidate agencies or eliminate redundant offices, the State Legislature pounded him from every angle, used the progressive (WIS-TV, The State Newspaper, PBS/ETV, Free Times, etc.) local media to make him look like an idiot for even asking for those things, and then boldly refused to give him what he was asking for–and it was done by both Democrats AND Republicans.

The only reason I could see for The Powers That Be to give–yes, give–Ron Paul the Presidency would be for accomplishing something like eliminating the Electoral College–something the progressives have wanted to do, for decades.

If Paul wins the “Presidential Preference” vote (public vote), the Electors are not bound to cast their votes for the popular choice (the candidate for which the public cast the most votes). If the Electors choose to cast their electoral votes to elect a different candidate, the country will come close to another civil war, with riots in the streets. The cries for eliminating the Electoral College will be heard far and wide, and the People will probably be duped into going along with it–including an increase in police power and presence to control any “civil unrest.” (Not that there should be elections for Masters, in the first place, but you get what I’m saying.)

The end result would be that the Statists have more police power and control, and the Socialist Republic of California has control of every new presidential election.

Remember: No matter who is elected, the State always wins.

In over 200 years of voting, we have only gotten higher (and more) taxes, more regulations, more currency manipulation and wealth destruction, more war, more surveillance (monitoring emails and phone calls, street cameras, tracking our cell phones, etc.), and so much more. Minor “victories,” once in awhile, keep the clueless Sheeple thinking that voting can make a difference, but history shows otherwise, so STOP VOTING! Stop legitimizing the rigged game of politics and keeping it alive! Separate yourself from it, and get “off the grid,” as much as possible.

Personally, I would actually like to see Ron Paul win, for one main reason: When his supporters watch as he is rendered completely ineffective, they will come to realize that voting accomplishes nothing but giving the People more of what they were getting, before. Even Ron Paul, himself, stated that he could “only be so independent.” At that point it will hopefully be easier for supporters of Voluntaryism (http://voluntaryist.com/fundamentals/introduction.html) to share the message of peace, cooperation and real freedom.

So…yay! Ron Paul 2012! Woo-hoo!

We constantly hear you say words words like “freedom” and “liberty,” yet your actions show that you have no respect for, or belief in, such things.

You have a group of people that call themselves the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Supposedly, they are working to keep us safe from contaminated foods and fake medicines, but the FDA kills people through such activities as delaying the approval of new drugs, by ten years on average.

How many people have died waiting for your FDA group to allow them to try to save themselves with new treatments? Shouldn’t it be up to the dying person to weigh the risks involved with a treatment that might save his/her life? Seems to me that your lengthy approval process is defeating its stated purpose–or maybe population reduction is your purpose.

In addition to attempts to control, water-down and/or ban dietary supplements altogether (herbal treatments, vitamins, etc.), I see state and federal officials raiding storehouses of natural (non-genetically modified, no pesticides) foods and raw milk. In one instance, alone, 50,000 pounds of unprocessed cheese was ordered destroyed—and for what purpose? I dare say the people seem much healthier than the rest of the Fast Food Nation, so why bother them? To me, it seems more about food control than protection and health.

And how many starving, homeless, malnourished people could 50,000 pounds of cheese fed? Again, your purpose is in question.

If you don’t have the freedom to decide what you will put into your own body, you have no freedom at all–and, obviously, someone else thinks they own you.

The Federal Reserve is a non-governmental corporation that magically creates fiat “money” out of thin air and then loans that created “money” to the US Government. Government then taxes the People to pay the interest on that funny “money.” It’s a brilliant plan for separating the unenlightened masses from their wealth–and it’s absolutely criminal for you to allow it to continue.

Cut all ties to the Federal Reserve. Now.

Instead of listening to what We The People have to say, and meeting our demands, you have spent billions on monitoring our Internet connections; reading what we post on social networking sites; checking what we buy in stores (through loyalty cards and credit/debit card purchases); listening in on our phone calls; tracking us through our cell phones (E911); trying to change (instead of listening to) our opinions, by planting psy-ops operatives in major media outlets; ignoring our letters and phone calls; militarizing the police against us; trying to stop us from peacefully assembling (and attacking us when we do); herding us into out-of-sight “free speech zones”; molesting us at airports in the name of some measure of safety that you cannot truly provide; arresting us for growing our own food; destroying our wealth and employment opportunities through currency manipulation and interference in the marketplace; secretly experimenting on us with drugs, radiation and biological agents; watching us with camera-equipped drone aircraft, and cameras on street corners and in neighborhoods; dumbing us down through the use of regimented education techniques and social promotion; forcing children to submit to having potentially deadly/crippling substances injected into their bodies; genetically-modifying our food, in order to find a way–among other things–to “vaccinate” us through it; instituting plans for civilian internment, and posting ads online for “Internment Specialists”; stopping us on the street to make sure we’ve paid money to the government for certain permissions (free people don’t need permission), and to see if you can extract even more wealth from us once you have us stopped…and that doesn’t even scratch the surface.

You claim that the aforementioned activities are being done in the name of fighting terrorism, but the only real terrorists I’ve ever come into actual contact with are government officials–you folks with nice offices and fancy titles, who get paid for controlling and forcibly extracting wealth from everyone else. If we refuse to comply with your orders, rules, mandates, whims and decrees, we are assaulted, kidnapped and caged. You ridicule us, insult us, steal from us and control us, but when we show our displeasure you arrest us for insulting you. That doesn’t sound like freedom, respect, or being a “public servant,” to me. Animal Farm much?

If you’re supposedly fighting terrorists because they hate our so-called “free” way of life, you can stop fighting and spending our wealth; the terrorists won that battle, a long time ago. If you really think we’re going to believe your nonsense about them bombing us because of our way of life, you’re out of your mind. We’re not as stupid as you seem to think we are–and I’m not convinced that these “terrorists” you speak of (and always at the most opportune times, for government) even exist, in the first place.

The World Trade Center buildings were destroyed on September 11, 2001. Whether or not you had a hand in it, or allowed it to happen, you used it to immediately push through the freedom-crushing PATRIOT Act and institute a Police State and surveillance society, through implementation of the Department of Homeland Security.

The world has seen a “Fatherland” and a “Motherland,” and now we have a “Homeland”–complete with parallels to Nazi Germany. How fitting.

Your  real enemy seems to be The People of the US. A government that has a higher prison population than that of all other countries, combined, cannot claim to be a friend of freedom–or its People.

Government has far outlived any initially-perceived benefit to society (not that there ever was one). It is time to abolish institutionalized slavery–government–and begin to work together for a more prosperous and peaceful coexistence. If humans cannot be trusted with governing themselves, surely they cannot be trusted with governing others–and let’s not forget that you are human, too.

In the famous words of Neo (The Matrix), “I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid; you’re afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin. I’m going to hang up this phone, and then I’m going to show these people what you don’t want them to see; I’m going to show them a world…without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.”

I have no problem with rebelling against illegitimate authority and government force. The problem I have is when people decide to purposely engage officers of the State, knowing that they will probably be manhandled and arrested. On top of placing themselves at the mercy of serial kidnappers, it’s another opportunity for the State to extract more wealth (fines). Sorry, but I have no sympathy for self-inflicted pain, and I fail to see how that is a win for the advancement of freedom.

If you don’t show up armed to the teeth, ready to fight back against those who would initiate force against you while you are peacefully going about your business, you’re wasting your time–and probably your money. Folks need to begin to understand that by taking a government job and initiating force against another person, they might get hurt–or worse. Government officials get away with what they do, mainly because they are not seriously challenged and therefore have no incentive to change.

No one wants things to escalate to the level of physical/armed conflict, so instead of giving the State more opportunities to jail and steal from activists, let’s do everything in our power to separate ourselves from government and work towards collapse. That means no more voting, no more support for politicians of ANY stripe, lowering our tax liability as much as possible (agorism, barter, black markets, etc. whenever possible), mutual aid and defense, and personal responsibility. Continuing to vote for politicians, and legitimizing their slavery systems, will never give you freedom.

If freedom is to come, it won’t be done by way of throwing yourself at Master’s agents and allowing them to lock you up and steal more wealth from you. If you aren’t prepared to fight back against aggression–and I mean really fight–STAY HOME. You will be more productive in educating others, and leading by example, than being locked away in a cage, out of sight.

First of all, according to 2009 City Data figures there were 129,333 people in Columbia, so someone please tell me how Amazon building a new distribution center–not retail store–in the Midlands would “destroy” a number of jobs equal to nearly THREE TIMES THE POPULATION OF THE CAPITAL CITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, and tack on another 12% in unemployment, statewide!

All that because of a distribution center? Absolutely preposterous!

This is evil, outlandish, anti-competition fear-mongering at its worst, folks. If Amazon was going to destroy “Main Street,” it would have done it a long time ago, because Amazon’s retail presence is ONLINE, not on the street corner–and has been for years.

And why should businesses down on “Main Street” be protected from competition, in the first place–and let’s be honest: That’s exactly what this is. Horse-and-buggy makers didn’t like automobile competition, back in the early days of cars, either, but progress is a wonderful thing!

But I digress.

Even if Amazon did construct a new distribution center, nothing would change; people are ordering from Amazon, right now–in South Carolina, too (*GASP!*)–and a new warehouse isn’t going to change a thing.

Amazon’s opponents say it’s “unfair” to let Amazon off the hook for collecting sales taxes on purchases made from people in South Carolina, while stores on the streets have to do so at the point of sale. Again, what is it that these people aren’t grasping about a DISTRIBUTION CENTER? It’s not a retail store! There are no–and will be no–Amazon point of sale purchases on the streets, in South Carolina.

Sometimes, it’s very easy to see why South Carolina consistently ranks near the bottom in educational achievement, because our government “leaders” are apparently dumb as rocks, too.

Many people who have decided not to vote have awakened to the realization that the people they “elect” will be expected to initiate force against their friends, family and neighbors–a criminal activity–and those non-voters have chosen not to be an accessory to crime.

To those who claim to be a part of the “freedom movement,” please understand that you shouldn’t have to band with others to petition ‘Master’ (government) for your freedom. The system’s very nature is to control; that’s what government does. So, to ask people who gravitate to positions of power and control to please not exercise power and control over you is a waste of time–actually, it’s dangerous and counterproductive.

When you cast a vote, regardless of your intentions, you are helping to perpetuate and legitimize the system. By doing so, you are giving other people–typically an unenlightened majority–the opportunity to vote for things with which you disagree. Also, the votes cast may not even be the true results, but as long as masses of people show up to the polls the outcomes can be manipulated fairly easily.

And what has voting gotten you, anyway? Do you have more freedom than you parents enjoyed? How about less taxation? A stronger economy? More opportunities for enterprise and prosperity? More privacy? Less government intrusion into your life?

Every election cycle, we hear the people cry to “Vote the rascals out!” What has that done for the country? It’s given us increased taxation, a destroyed economy, a worthless currency, more surveillance cameras, militarized police, Homeland Security, email and Internet monitoring, cellphone tracking, more required licenses and permits (permission from a pay-off), molestation of our kids and spouses at airports, more checkpoints, more wars, more invasions, more murder, more destruction, more angry world neighbors…and on and on.

Because you voted, this is what you have received–regardless of what you wanted. YOU are the only one who cannot complain, because you enabled it by participating!

Voting doesn’t ensure success, anyway, regardless of the vote total.

I’ve sat through meetings and watched government officials hear 95% of people in a room say “No!” only to watch the officials vote “yes.” They know you’ll just complain to your friends, write an angry letter to the newspaper editor (which probably won’t get printed, anyway), and post an angry status update on Facebook–and then you’ll get over it and forget, because your kid’s soccer game, or going clubbing, is more important than the risk involved with running these officials out of town. As a politician once stated, “You can complain all you want, as long as you pay your taxes.”

The only way to truly bring about change is to STOP VOTING and participating in the system. Operate outside of it, as much as possible. End all support for it. When support is gone, there will be no system left to manipulate.

And Libertarians should take note: Government is borne of an entitlement mentality. Even if you want a “small,” “limited,” or “Constitutional” government (something that has never been and never will be), you are saying that you feel entitled to some government function and you feel that others should be forced to pay for it (taxation). Sorry, but that’s a socialist mindset–certainly not freedom–and it makes you no better than the other socialists (Rs & Ds) who are destroying the country. You all want to steal and spend the wealth of others; you just differ on how much, and where it should be spent.

Break free from the Matrix. Think outside the box. Overcome your conditioning. Be what you want to see in others. And, please, stop helping to perpetuate a slavery system!

(What is government, anyway? Read this and have your eyes opened, further: http://anarchistpov.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/reality-check/ )

Here’s a list of the Representatives who stood against Amazon:

Agnew, Paul L.
Alexander, Terry
Allen, Karl B.
Anderson, Carl L.
Anthony, Michael A.
Barfield, Liston D.
Bedingfield, Eric M.
Bikas, Eric J.
Bowen, Don C.
Bowers, William K.
Brown, Robert L.
Chumley, William M.
Clemmons, Alan D.
Corbin, Thomas D.
Crawford, Kristopher R.
Crosby, William E.
Delleney, F. Gregory, Jr.
Dillard, Chandra E.
Edge, Tracy R.
Erickson, Shannon S.
Funderburk, Laurie Slade
Gilliard, Wendell G.
Govan, Jerry N., Jr.
Hamilton, Daniel P.
Hardwick, Nelson L.
Hearn, George M.
Henderson, Phyllis
Hiott, David R.
Hixon, William M.
Horne, Jenny Anderson
Hosey, Lonnie
Howard, Leon
Jefferson, Joseph H.
Johnson, Kevin L.
King, John Richard C.
Limehouse, Harry B., III
Long, Deborah A.
Lowe, Phillip D.
Lucas, James H.
McCoy, Peter M., Jr.
McEachern, Joseph A.
Moss, Dennis C.
Munnerlyn, Elizabeth R.
Murphy, Christopher J.
Nanney, Wendy K.
Neal, James M.
Norman, Ralph W.
Owens, Phillip D.
Parker, Steve A.
Parks, J. Anne
Pinson, Lewis E.
Pitts, Michael A.
Pope, Thomas E.
Ryan, Kevin R.
Sandifer, William E., III
Simrill, J. Gary
Smith, G. Murrell, Jr.
Smith, Garry R.
Smith, J. Roland
Taylor, Bill
Thayer, Anne J.
Tribble, David, Jr.
Vick, Ted M.
Viers, Thad T.
Weeks, J. David
Whipper, J. Seth
White, W. Brian
Whitmire, William R.
Williams, Robert Q.
Willis, Mark N.
Young, Thomas R., Jr.

It has been reported that Governor Nikki Haley also opposed the Amazon deal, and that Wal-Mart organized a coalition to oppose the deal, as well.

Personally, I want to see each of these dirty, rotten, scumbag politicians stand face-to-face with the people who applied for those jobs and have the balls to tell them exactly what happened: “Amazon didn’t want to help fatten the State’s coffers, so we ran off all those jobs for which you applied. Yes, we realize these are very tough economic times, but the State getting money is more important than you being able to work and feed your families. Deal with it.”

These evil, crooked people should be tarred, feathered and run out of town–at the very least!

This is just another example of how government destroys prosperity and employment opportunities.

For instance, I caught part of a recent TV news broadcast that showed where arrests were made over “illegal” video poker machines, in the Columbia, SC area. I fail to see how video games can be involved in crime, but maybe I’m just stupid and need the we-know-how-to-run-your-life-better-than-you-do folks in the SC State Legislature to enlighten me.

When the battle lines were first drawn, opponents of video poker said such things as, “Video poker takes food out of kids mouths, because some people have gambling problems and dump most of their money into these games.” Because of these (unsubstantiated) claims, SC lawmakers outlawed video poker, several years ago. They said, “Gambling is wrong!”

But almost immediately, SC Government unveiled a plan to run a statewide lottery. They named it the “South Carolina Education Lottery,” and vowed to send tons of money raised through ticket sales to the state’s education system, so that most people who don’t really care for gambling would support it–or, at least, turn a blind eye and let it pass. “It’s for the children!” (wink, wink).

What’s the difference between buying lottery tickets and playing video poker? At least with the video game, if you’re good you can play for quite a while on just a few dollars–and, back in the good ol’ days, many people regularly won payouts, until those were made illegal, too.

With lottery tickets, you can blow your whole paycheck, in 5 easy minutes, at a convenience store checkout counter–and then take your chances with odds that show you’re many times more likely to be struck by lightning than win the lottery jackpot. Heck, the computer will even generate numbers for you, so you don’t even have to think!

Government views its statewide, State-run gambling system to be a wonderful thing, but they will restrict charity raffles and send armed officers to bust into the homes of peaceful, little old ladies playing a friendly, private game of poker with a few friends around the kitchen table–again, because “gambling is wrong!” (Yes, busting in on ‘grandma’ actually happened.)

South Carolina legislators and liberal media constantly, and unjustly, also targeted “payday lenders,” because they said people can get caught up in a “cycle of debt.” Personally, I hardly see a $45 charge for a very short-term $300 loan being cause to destroy an entire industry–and the jobs that went with it–especially when the State runs the largest gambling operation, and the banks that the State Government often partners with make millions of dollars in interest and fees. But what do I know, right?

The kicker: While government says “gambling is wrong,” the government-run South Carolina Education Lottery runs commercials advertising a gambling hotline–that’s right, a GAMBLING HOTLINE–for anyone who needs help with a gambling problem.

Am I missing something, here?

Apparently, if something is “wrong” it suddenly becomes perfectly acceptable if government can control it (regulate) and make money from it (taxes, tickets sales, etc.).

Hypocrisy, plain and simple.

Here is the list I compiled of (recent) past, present and future shows:

48 Hours

48 Hours: Hard Evidence

Alaska State Troopers

All Worked Up

America’s Most Wanted

American Greed

Animal Cops: Detroit

Animal Cops: Houston

Animal Cops: Philadelphia

Bait Car

Best Ranger

Bones

Border Wars

Boston Legal

Boston Med

Breakout

Burn Notice

Case Crackers

Castle

Cellblock 6: Female Lockup

Chasing Justice

CNBC Investigates

Coast Watch

Cold Blood

Cold Case

COPS

CourTV

Covert Affairs

Crime 360

Crime Scene Wild

Crime Stories

Crime, Inc.

Criminal Minds

CSI

CSI: Miami

CSI: NY

Dark Blue

Dateline NBC

Deadly Women

Diagnosis: Unknown

Disappeared

Disorder In The Court

Dog The Bounty Hunter

Drugs, Inc.

Evening News broadcasts

Extreme Forensics

Fight Quest

Flashpoint

Forensic Files

Fringe

Fugitive Chronicles

Grey’s Anatomy

Haunted

Haven

Hawaii Five-O

Hawthorne

Heavy Metal Task Force

Homeland Security

Hot Pursuit

Human Target

I (Almost) Got Away With It

ID Channel

In Plain Sight

Inside American Jail

Inside Cocaine Submarines

Jack Ford: Courtside

JAG

Judge Joe Brown

Judge Judy

Justice 101

Justified

Las Vegas Jailhouse

Law & Order

Law & Order: CI

Law & Order: SVU

Leverage

Lie To Me

Lock Up: San Quentin

Lockdown

Locked Up Abroad

Lockup: Holman

Lockup: Raw

Mall Cops

Mall Cops: Mall of America

Manhunters

Masterminds

Memphis Beat

Mercy

Most Daring

Most Shocking

Murder By The Book

Mystery Diagnosis

NCIS

NCIS: LA

North Mission Road

Numb3rs

Operation Wild

Outlaw

Paranormal Cops

Parole Board

Party Heat

Past Life

Pit Boss

Police Women

Police Women of Maricopa County

Police Women of Memphis

Prison Wives

Psych

Psychic Investigations

Rizzoli & Isles

Rookie Blue

Rubicon

Sanctuary

Science of the Elite Soldier

Scrubs

Shadow Soldiers: Mexico

Showdown: Air Combat

Solitary Confinement

Solved: Extreme Forensics

Southern Friend Stings

Southland

Speeders

The Closer

The Event

The FBI Files

The First 48

The Forgotten

The Good Guys

The Investigators

Three Rivers

Trauma

TruTV

UnderCovers

Warehouse 13

Whale Wars

White Collar

World’s Wildest Police Chases

World’s Wildest Police Videos

It’s hard to look at this list and realize that people view this stuff–slave driving (law enforcement)–as entertainment.

For those who say this isn’t slavery, can you speak freely without consequences from the State, work any kind of job you desire, travel unimpeded, start a business, freely exchange goods and services, eat what you want, smoke what you want, marry whomever you choose, build without a permit or license (permission), and not be forced to give your wealth to other people, etc.? No, you can’t, and just because you don’t have physical chains on your legs doesn’t mean you aren’t a slave to the will (“law”) of others.

The worst part about all these cop and emergency shows is that they are being used 1) to psychologically condition you to obey your law enforcement masters, and show you the consequences that may result if you don’t; 2) hopefully make you think that these people are just regular good guys, like you, who are just doing their jobs (jobs that they voluntarily signed on for, I might add, so them trying to hide behind that excuse is ridiculous); 3) condition you to understand and accept that law enforcement will be in every area of your life, from womb to grave, and you should accept it as normal; and 4) as a recruiting tool for authoritarians.

Even National Geographic and Syfy have introduced cop shows into their channel lineups. Is nothing sacred, anymore?

I want to be clear that I do not support any kind of activity that harms another person. But in this case, all types of “criminal” activities are being used in TV programming to condition you to a Police State. Don’t fall for it, and see these shows for what they really are–and turn them off!

1.  First and foremost, I want to punch all the people who said that Windows 7 was their idea. If they had anything to do with another buggy software product from MicroSoft, they deserve a good smacking.

2.  Most modern-day so-called “rock” music only seems to rock me to sleep. I guess that’s what they mean by “rock,” these days.

3.  Companies that say you can get a new laptop computer for only “$29.99 per week for 12 months” are rip-off artists.  You can currently get a brand new laptop at major office supply stores for only $299.99, so why in the world would you pay $1559.48 for one? Don’t fall for this crap!

4.  Same goes for “free credit report” services. If you have to buy a product or service before you can get a report, it isn’t free. If you want a truly free credit report, you can get one every year by writing to the credit bureaus and simply requesting one.

5.  I’m really getting tired of seeing Safe Auto car insurance commercials that use the threat of police officers locking you up, or taking your car away, in an effort to sell their insurance. Personally, I wouldn’t use them if they were the last insurance company on the planet, because of it. Friends do not let friends buy Safe Auto insurance!

6.  If you’re going to hold up traffic, it’s probably a good idea to drive something other than a company vehicle. There are some companies I will not do business with, because their drivers have a regular habit of doing stupid crap on the highway–and because they were stupid enough to let me know where they work, I’m going to do my best to give their competitors my money.

7.  Speaking of bad driving, please stop holding up traffic so someone can make a turn across multiple lanes! So many accidents are caused by someone holding up traffic to make a gap for another car to cross through, while a car in the adjacent lane doesn’t see what’s going on and…BAM! Traffic collision. Don’t do it! Let them think you’re a prick, if they must. At least you’re safer. Get the driver of the other car to realize he needs to go to the nearest intersection and turn. Don’t take a risk of causing an accident, just because someone doesn’t feel like driving a few extra yards to a traffic light.

8.  Reading “a shine that lasts for weeks” on tire shine products really irritates me, because I know that the shine may “last for weeks” only if you don’t actually drive the vehicle. If you must actually drive it, the shine typically lasts for 3 to 5 days.

9.  Ever notice how the burger or sandwich you get at the fast food joint never looks like the product they display in those (false advertising) commercials? Getting a compressed, dried-out, lukewarm sandwich that looks to be about half the size of what I saw in the commercial is not cool, at all.

Okay, I think that’s enough venting for now. I’m sure I’ll have more to add, soon, because it seems the world is full of people who don’t get it or don’t care–or both.

Stay tuned…

The message began with this:

“Legislators made it clear:  they want to get rid of the free market in South Carolina. Instead, they want to control the economy themselves, behind closed doors with your money.

Tomorrow, we are going to tell them our state is not for sale, and we need your help to do it!”

At this point, I was pretty fired up and preparing for battle–that is until I read the next part of the message:

“We’ve told you about legislators’ plans to give a powerful out-of-state developer a huge tax break – one that will take dollars away from core services like education and law enforcement, and will cost South Carolina businesses. Retail incentives are the worst kind of corporate welfare, and economists are clear: they don’t create new jobs or generate new wealth.

Rarely do we have a chance to defend the American free market economy. We have that chance tomorrow, but we need your help.”

Whoa, wait a minute! Did I just detect Orwellian Doublespeak? Since when is allowing people to keep more of their money “welfare”?

If a thief breaks into your house and takes $900 of the $1000 in your wallet, is he giving you $100 in “welfare”? No, he just stole 900 bucks!

It’s the same thing with a business. If government takes a little bit less from your company, it isn’t “corporate welfare”; it’s a reduction in theft.

I thought the SC Policy Council was for “Limited Government, Free Enterprise, Individual Liberty.” How can they stand for all those things, and call their gathering a “defend the free market” rally, when they just stated they want to stop a business from getting a tax break?

Basically, this is protectionism on a statewide scale. Their statement is saying make sure the out-of-state business gets hit with the same evil tax (theft) that SC businesses have to endure. Misery loves company, right?

If they really supported a truly “free market,” they would be saying, “We favor reducing the taxes that SC businesses have to pay, to equal the lower rates of out-of-state businesses, to make things even across the board” (until we can eliminate taxes, altogether). Instead, SC Policy Council is pushing liberal tax policies (by their own words, increased taxes for social services). Given the organizations who are partners in this event, SCPC’s message comes as no surprise to me.

It all boils down to this: If you truly support a free market, you may want to pass on joining the SC Policy Council’s rally to impose higher taxes on businesses–out-of-state or otherwise.

A taxed and regulated market is anything but “free.”