A letter emailed to: 

RE:     December 2009 Editorial: “Democracy’s New Challenge"

Dear Mr. Toedtman:

          Your December editorial was passed along to me by a “concerned grandmother” who was disturbed by the tone of the piece. I read it and also found some curious points.

          Your use of Sylvester Graham’s health crusade in the early 19^th century is a curious analogy for the federally mandated “health care reform.” Followers of Graham’s unique lifestyle chose to do so, they weren’t coerced, threatened, or otherwise forced. He promoted the presumed benefits of his prescribed lifestyle and those who liked it joined up. Of course, many others didn’t care for what he was promoting and chose to live in their own manner. Choice. That’s what our Republic is all about.

          I concur with your statement that “...proper response is to see the larger picture by learning the issues, the arguments and the options we face.” I do not see an array of options nor honest debate of the issues. I believe this is the reason polls indicate a majority of citizens reject the current bills before Congress.

          You illustrated the fate of dissent to Graham’s dictates when Oberlin College fired the pepper loving Professor: No dissent allowed. Perhaps the ill fated Professor used the 19^th century equivalent of Twitter to alert Bostonians what lay in store for them if Graham’s movement captured a government as well as academia. 

          Indeed, the opposition you allege to the butchers and bakers in Boston 172 years ago is replayed today. In St. Louis, on August 6, 2009, a peaceful assembly of citizens dissenting from the proposed budget and “health care” bills were disrupted by SEIU members, some of whom used racial slurs towards Kenneth Gladney, punched him in the face, knocked him down and kicked him in the head and back. The message was clear - no black man (or woman I suppose) can be allowed to question certain political positions. Such racial profiling is anathema to most Americans.

          The Secretary of State has declared, robustly, that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. Yet factions of her party employ thug intimidation against citizens during open and free discussion. Perhaps you can appreciate the concern that AARP leans too heavily towards one side of the “health care” issue. I don’t recall discussions of tort reform, expanding tax sheltered medical savings accounts, personal access to health insurance plans across state lines, or of a federally insured catastrophic coverage of last resort. These are solid concepts in the prevue of the federal government and would find great public support. Yet they are not considered. Odd.

          No doubt AARP has encountered vulgar and abusive commentary for its positions. However, that’s not the temperament, language, or nature of what’s called the Tea Party dissenters. I’d suggest AARP examine such foul commentary for the finger prints of agents provocateurs.

          I concur that it is “...important how we respond to the larger challenge of meeting the health care needs of all generations.” Let them choose. The single greatest factor in physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health is freedom. Top down, coerced, forced, compliance is a no-brainer. It has never worked in the past, it does not work in the present, and will not work in the future. I don’t gather from your tone that you open to discussion.

          Finally, as the concerned grandmother put it to me: “The majority of people do not want to be told how, when, where or what to do about their medical attention. They want to choose.” And, regarding the Congressional bills: “First show you can fix what is wrong with medicare.” I think she gets it.

PunditGeorge

The high church of Global Warming has suffered a collapse of faith in the academic testaments supporting the dogma that mankind is killing the earth with his prosperity. The whole concept of “green house gasses” has been suspect, especially when the thrust is to demonize people for, well, breathing. It’s that CO2 that’s killing Mother Earth. Now why the Priests of Global Warming want to kill plants is beyond me. Kill plants? Well, yes. Should the drastic reductions in emitted carbon dioxide be achieved (not possible, but that’s beside the political point) then the starvation of plants might severely alter the ecosystem.  Photosynthesis uses solar power and carbon dioxide to fuel the life and growth of many plants. Remove the CO2 and, well, sickly and feeble plants won’t sustain an ecosystem, let alone feed humans and animals (unless, of course, that is the long range sinister goal. Hmmm, didn’t Tom Clancey come close to that in Rainbow Six?) But, I digress.

Those factions driving the late Global Warming (a.k.a. Climate Change) agenda will have to find another boogie-man to scare the hell out of people to have them invite Big Brother to protect them. Big Brother is very expensive. Be on the lookout for a shift in fear mongering from the statists. Be on the lookout for headlines screaming the danger of electricity running unchecked in your home or apartment.

“Electricity attacks toddler, mother terrified.” Something like that. The effort is to create a panic that unregulated electricity in your house is a potentialy deadly threat. Mere citizens are not capable of understanding the workings of the capricious, human flesh eating, electron monster. In fact, I’d look for demonesque imagery based on once friendly and helpful Reddy Killowatt. Sort of the new household Godzilla.

What terror lurks in the home! At any moment, day or night, the wicked Reddzilla may zap from his lair (all those portals - plugs in the wall and such) and burn, fry, or charcoal the unprotected man, woman, or child. Pets will not be immune either, so Fifi is definitely prey. After a few years of headlines and news stories similar to “SUV strikes and kills pedestrian” (an actual headline) many people will become afraid of living in their house, knowing that at any moment, without any provocation, the killer may strike. Electricity is the enemy. Those who create the monster must be held accountable. This will include those conspirators in the auto industry who sneaked beneath Big Brother’s radar and conned the innocents into buying electric cars, rejuvenated by plugging into the killer juice in the walls. Wicked! A new round of Big Tobacco begins, renamed Big E-Auto.

The next thing you know, Cap and Trade is back on the drawing board. Sure, it’ll be worded differently since the evil factor isn’t “green house gas” emissions, but it’ll be clear to all beneficiaries of public education that less electricity in your house = less danger! Live better by living less. Or poorer, or something like that. Afterall, the United States has too much electricity anyway, depriving other continents their wealth. How dare you hoard such a resource! The cost of having the beast into your house will skyrocket.

How silly - something as liberating and transforming as electricity turned into something dreaded? It can be done. How many people devote time and energy to “reducing their carbon footprint?” Feel guilty about being alive? People who are “guilty” deserve punishment. Punishment is something Big Brother is very good at.

It’s an old tactic and it continues to work. Hammer the “big lie” enough and it becomes accepted. Then it becomes a belief. Then it becomes a faith. And woe to the unbelievers...

          Timothy Geithner, Tom Daschle, Nancy Killefer and Charles Rangel have clearly shown why the existing tax revenue structure for funding the federal government must be erased. Not repaired, not patched, but replaced with an entirely different system.

          Whether intention or otherwise, each of these folks got into trouble by not paying income/payroll tax. In a United States with the Fair Tax even the most negligent office holder would pay, in full, his/her tax obligation. Someone gives you a gift? Good for you. You give someone a gift? Good for you. Uncle Sam would no longer force you to justify keeping the money/wealth you accumulate. The IRS is out of business. In this rational, simpler, United States, Geithner, Daschle, Killefer, and Rangel would have paid their tax due with each retail purchase of a good or service. They’d sleep better at night knowing they didn’t have to hide  their income.

          The Fair Tax is fair to all, high and mighty, Joe/Jane six pack, the struggling worker, and those young folk entering adulthood. Uncle Sam no longer punishes a person for their earnings, but encourages it. The more people earn, the more they spend. The more they spend, the more revenue goes to the federal treasury.

          The Fair Tax IS possible - few issues seem to enrage Americans than high level “tax cheats.” If Americans are truly energized, and ready for change, this is the issue.   Elected officials, Republican, Democrat, Independent, will respond to a ground swell of citizen demand to abolish the current tax code and replace it with the Fair Tax.   Once people grasp the essentials of the Fair Tax, it’s a no-brainer. Even the least inspired politician will understand that.