The most dangerous threat to Liberty can be you.

What is one of the biggest threats to your personal liberty? I mean have you really stopped to think about this? Well, do this the next time you are out and about. You could be at work or shopping at the mall or just out for a drive on a sunny afternoon. Just do this and you will see what I am about to write about.

How do people act and react to you? How do you act and react to others you come into contact with? Do you drive like a maniac or do you allow time and distance for safety? Do you open the door for others or hold it when they are right behind you? How many times have you had a door “dropped” on you as you approached it?

You are probably saying these are nothing but examples of common courtesy. Or rather the lack there of. So what does this have to do with my personal liberty and freedom?

I will tell you it has plenty to do with it. Why do you think we have so many laws on the books? Think about it. It has been estimated that there have been more new laws put on the books in the last 20 years than the there have been the previous 210 plus years of our nations history.

Many of those laws come about because people seem to be lacking in simple human courtesy and decency. How many times have you seen something or had something happen to you and then you retort “there should be a law against that.”

Come on now. Every time you say that, you give some political hack the power to restrict your freedom. I will tell you that you may have said it once or twice about someone else but there have been at least twice as many folks who have said the same thing in response to something you did or didn't do.

All of these laws get put onto the books and they restrict your freedom. Your liberty. I bet you didn't know that it was against the law to spit in public. It is against the law to leave your car running while you run into the store for a pack of gum. It is against the law to curse in public or in front of children. It is against the law to do many things that we would normally just consider to be rude or crude.

Well you may think that some rude or crude things should be against the law. Well, some of the very things you do may also be someday against the law. Things that limit your freedom and put you in danger of losing your freedom and/or your money in the form of fines. Plus you will end up with a record.

The other problem with so many laws is than many Americans don't even know when they actually break the law simply because they don't know there is a law against their actions. Cell phones in cars is one that many states are looking into. It doesn't matter if you think that talking on cell phones is dangerous while driving. Soon you will find laws that restrict you from eating, being distracted by anything, and maybe even talking with others in the car.

You think that cannot happen. Some states already say that 16 and 17 year old drivers cannot have friends or anyone under the age of 18 in the car with them while they drive. Do you think that will stop with teen drivers?

When you hand over your rights to a politician for anything, you will soon find yourself with out rights you did not bargain to give up. Laws cannot and should not be enacted to take the place of common sense or common decency.

We already have gated communities that prevent you from flying the American flag other than on Flag day, Veterans day and July 4. Who would have thought there would be rules and laws that ban flying the American Flag? Where does this nonsense stop? Who is going to stop it?

So the next time you start to say, there should be a law, stop and think, do you really want to give up any more of your freedom and liberty? Because if you do, then be prepared for them to enact a law that limits what you do at some point in time. And the time you will find out about it is when a cop gives you a ticket or a court summons.

Now do you really think there should be a law against common decency?

The Week End Report Feb 9 and 10

The Week End Report.

This is really disturbing. It seems Ohio is trampling on its own state constitution in order to keep Federal money flowing to its coffers. But the issue is that the cost of the new law would far outstrip any amount of money the state would be eligible for from the Fed, some law enforcement authorities say.

The controversy is so big that there are judges in some of Ohio's counties that refuse to enforce the law. They issue stays from their bench as cases reach their courtrooms. It also looks like there have been over 80 civil challenges to this new law since it too effect back on Jan 2, 2008.

It is a law rewritten in order to comply with the Federal Adam Walsh Child Safety Protection Act. This law in and of itself is a huge constitutional bug a boo. But Ohio is taking this law a step further. It seems that this law would also be retroactive. This means that if a deal was made prior to this law and you did what you were called to do under the old law, you can forget it. That deal would be thrown out, you would still be convicted under the old law but would now have to abide by the new law no matter what your previous deal was. It could mean that if you were a juvenile sex offender, you would have to register for life.

It could be that if you followed the law and bought a home in a “legal” area under the old law, you may be forced to move under the new law. It could mean that if you bought some porn, you could be arrested and convicted of pandering and then would have to have special license plates for you car, have to register as a sex offender and would be barred from living in many places in the state and would have to get permission before you could move out of the state. Just for buying some porn?

Even I have to agree with the ACLU on this one. Even some child protection groups are working with the ACLU to fight this law. Its ridiculous. It tramples on individual rights. It crushes the state constitution. It enacts retroactively and it slaps the US Constitution to the curb. This is a bad law period and its a threat to individual liberty in all states.

Read more about it here:

The Plain Dealer

The Guide

The Toledo Blade

The Chronicle-Telegram

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It looks like the Tax Rebate is a done deal. The main problem with this thing is that people who do not pay any taxes are getting a "rebate". Now that is like you walking into a Best Buy, picking up a rebate form for buying a big screen LCD TV and sending it in without ever buying the TV.

Its not a rebate, its a redistribution of wealth and you and I are all paying for it. Not to mention such a tactic is really unlikely to boost the economy. If it is a good idea to let the American people keep more of their money to keep the economy going now, why is not just plain good policy to let the American people keep more of their hard earned money all the time?

Find out if you qualify and how to qualify for this rebate. By the way, of course I am going to keep my rebate and probably invest it instead of spend it willy nilly.

CNN Money

IRS

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The housing slump. This is not a crisis. More than 95% of mortgages out there are being paid. So that means less than 5% are in some form of default. Now there are two ways to get out of this mess for that 5%. First, you bought the dang house now pay for it. Doesn't matter that you may have to give up lattes at Starbucks. Pay for the house. Whatever happened to personal honor and integrity when putting your signature on a note?

Second, you banks out there know what a mess you help create so why not buck up and go to the table and help those people in trouble. You will save yourself a lot of money in the end. You will protect your profits in the end. And you will keep the market from being flooded with empty homes which only drags down the value of all homes in that area. Think about it.

A bonus third. Keep the Fed out of it. They will only screw things up and make things worse. When was the last time the Fed was able to directly help a poor situation? Exactly, never. Let the market correct its mess. Don't bog down the industry with more regulation, how will that help? Stay out of it. Job growth is still there. Unemployment is still low. The economy is not in a recession or a tailspin so don't force it down the tubes. Let it be and it will work itself back to health in a few years.

In the mean time...people pay your bills. That will do more to help the economy than anything else the Fed can do.