From my Soap Box
The first thing I would like to do is to encourage everyone reading this section to register to vote. If you are not registered, get registered, learn what the issues are, learn who the candidates are and what their opinions on the issues are, then on Election Day, get out there and let your voice be heard. Don’t forget to VOTE.
This area is my platform, a place for me to use as an outlet for delivering my opinions on subjects that I feel passionate about. These opinions are mine, and not intended to offend anyone, but I am sure they will offend some. If you are easily offended, please do not read further.
The United States of America was founded to be a FREE country, however our freedom is being chipped away from us by our government one by one, and I believe that one day; it will no longer be free in any way shape or form. The government has decided it should be the self appointed “nanny” for all of the citizens, and they decide what we can and can not do, all the while, taxing us to the point of choking us to death. The American people in my opinion have become far too complaisant, and just allow this to happen to them. We are not the people who fought England to become a free nation; we are a bunch of cows following the herd (being lead to slaughter), most just believe whatever they are told by the government without ever actually researching it for themselves and making an intelligent decision on the subject. I am sure our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves at what we have become.
This is supposed to be a free country, we should be able to drive a car, without having to wear a seat belt, if that is our decision, we are intelligent enough to know the danger if we get into an auto accident, but no, they have to pass a law and make everyone wear one, for our own good, why, are we children? The same thing applies to riding motorcycle's and having to wear a helmet, do they think we do not know the danger of not wearing a helmet? I believe we should be allowed the freedom to choose for ourselves and not have the government as our "nanny". No, they do not care about your health; they pass these laws to increase their power over the people and to gain revenue (tickets for not wearing a seat belt or a helmet) AND CONTROL OVER THE PEOPLE. People in power are only interested in two things, money and power and tend to do what ever is necessary to increase both.
Don't let them take your right to bear arms either!
The British, during the revolutionary war, did not want the colonial's to be armed, it was easier for them to quell a mob with pitch forks than it was to stop an army with guns. That is why our second amendment to the constitution was put in place.
Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Some do not believe that this means the people of the United States have the right to keep and bear arms, but the military only. Wrong, it is stated as it is because the PEOPLE who wrote it just fought a war against a tyrannical militia (The British) and they knew that there might be a time when they might have too do that again. So they made the possession of firearms a right that they knew the militia could never take away.
Remember this quote:
When the people fear their government there
is tyranny; when the
government fears the people, there is liberty.
--Thomas Jefferson
Our own government needs to think carefully about what they take away from us and we need to remember that they can only take away what we allow them to, GET OUT AND VOTE.
For my first entry here and as an example of our freedom being trampled on, let me use what the State of Illinois has decided for its citizens, which took effect on January 1, 2008. They decided to pass the “Smoke Free Illinois Act”. The state legislature, despite the opposition they were given to this act from smokers, non-smokers, and business owners, decided it its infinite wisdom, that smoking should be illegal to do, basically everywhere.
So they pass a no smoking law, ignoring the property owners (business owners) rights to run their business they way they want to, a loss of freedom of choice. The business owner has spent from thousands of dollars to millions of dollars to get their business up and running, they pay outrageous taxes, business licenses, etc. but can not have a smoking area if they decide that is what they would like to have in their business. Smokers no longer have the freedom of choice as to having a smoke in a business (IN A SMOKING AREA). There are about 15 million businesses and about 3 million smokers in Illinois. There are 12 million people. So the freedom of choice was taken away from 18 million (15 million business owners, some non smokers themselves, and 3 million smokers) to satisfy the 9 million non smokers, who now have their freedom of choice. The numbers don’t match up, do they? They could have passed a law that made more sense and that would have satisfied both sides of the issue. For instance, they could have said that any business who wanted to keep smoking had to place the smoking area to the back of their business, erect walls, and install state of the art air filtration systems to keep the second hand smoke away from non smokers.
Second hand smoke, as it has been represented, is based on junk science; they based this “decision” on junk science studies on second hand smoke. I t has never been proven that second hand smoke causes any harm. I would direct you to watch this you tube video clip of Dr. Michael Crichton and second hand smoke, he did his research (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGoZ-b1OaW4) Or this video clip, although silly, the facts are correct (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ar3NOFKgUg&feature=related) Another very good source of information (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01PdsZ5EdHU&feature=related) or consider this letter to the tobacco institute by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health (http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.807/healthissue_detail.asp) several more articles to read here (http://www.acsh.org/search/home_result.asp)
I live in Alton Illinois, very close to the oil refineries in Wood River and Hartford Illinois, those smokestacks give off more smoke, and carcinogens than any cigarette does, why don’t they close them down for violation of the Smoke Free Illinois Act?
So now they have their control over people, businesses have reported major losses in Illinois, for instance the Alton Belle Casino reported a 21.6 percent loss in January of 2008 due to the smoking ban. The Illinois Gaming Commission reported that the Alton Belle Casino lost 30 MILLION dollars that first year that they said was directly related to the smoking ban. That is a substantial loss for any business. The Alton Belle Casino just reported a 24.94 percent loss in February of 2008. The numbers are getting larger, not smaller.
They say that the city of Springfield Illinois, who passed a no smoking law a while back, took TWO years to "recover" from the law. They did not recover, they had to take the time for it's citizens to get used to living on a lower income, that is what happened.
Illinois set up a toll free number for people to call to make reports of any violations of the new law (which I consider making this more of a police state, having the people police each other).
This is a question to consider, Cigarettes are still legal to purchase in Illinois, but illegal to use, and that sounds like an oxymoron to me. Since the State of Illinois also suffered income losses, from both cigarette sales and income from casinos and bars due to smokers taking their business elsewhere, have decided to raise the taxes on cigarettes also, another slap in the face of smokers. The governor also announced he is considering raising the casino’s taxes they pay to the state due to the loss of income, which is intelligent, pass a law that caused them to loose revenue, and then make them pay the state more. They are even talking about allowing bars and casinos to purchase a “smoking license” to allow smoking again (from rumor only, about $5.00 per square foot of their business space) yet another way to get another tax in place and get more money for the state. Why pass the law in the first place? Why, more control over the people and with the taxes, more money, both of the things they are only concerned about.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree cigarette smoke stinks (you probably thought I was a cigarette smoker all along while reading this, but I am not), but this is not about the smoke, that could have been take care of with writing a law that made sense, it is about loss of freedom of choice, both smokers and business owners. And it is about loss of property owners rights (business owners). This is about giving up yet another little bit of our freedom.
How much freedom are you willing to give up? If they continue, what freedom will they take next? I bet when they take something a non-smoker does not like, all hell will break loose then, because it is something THEY did not want to loose. Therefore, all non smokers reading this, you should care about this one also; they are coming after us all for more of our freedom, not just smokers.
Smoking can kill you, second hand smoke, not even a measurable trace amount. But then driving a car can kill you, instantly, maybe they should ban driving, but they can’t do that, they would not get any revenue from driver’s licenses, license plates every year, speeding tickets and so forth. How about a law prohibiting farting or burping in public, that releases offensive gasses, let’s ban those next. How about breathing in general, that also releases offensive smells. Where does it end?
I encourage everyone to write their state representatives and senators about any issue that has passed, or is coming up for vote in the state or federal congress, these issues will affect you, if not today, eventually, I DID.
Back to the smoking in casinos for a second, I talked with a non smoker before the ban took effect, who did not care if the did not allow smoking in the casino where he frequented (the Alton Belle Casino), I mentioned that when it went into effect, the machines would not be getting played as much and it would effect him financially, since the machines would not be paying out as much, they would not pay out as much. I spoke with him recently (two months after the ban took effect) and he said I was right, his losses were much more than they were before the smoking ban was in place. He did not think it would affect him, now he knows different, he, by the way now goes across the river to the casinos in Missouri, where all the smokers here have migrated and he is winning money again. The ban effects everyone, not just non smokers and business owners.
Enough of my rant, it is my belief that Illinois (as well as all of the states who have passed this ban on smoking) are becoming fascist police states, something Adolph Hitler would have been proud of.
And this is just one issue folks, I could probably write an entire book on issues of the government interfering where it does not belong.