Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Well, Let's See ...

The federal government wants to know about my hemorrhoids. They have a need to know about my drinking habits. They want to know if I smoke. They are concerned about the possibility of my drinking a 16-ounce soda pop, or how many happy meals I consume in any given month. They want to restrict religious freedom, and they would dearly love to tax the Internet and therefore impinge upon my right of self-expression. Government also wants to know how I discipline my children, and they want to know how much money I make in order to extort their fair share of the money I earned. Does it ever stop? Is there no such thing as too much government in our lives?

Of course, the answer to this question is “No, there is no such thing as too much government.” It is not enough that government places closed circuit television cameras at intersections to see if I have rolled through a stop, or turned right on red without coming to a full stop. Now, Big Brother wants to install a “black box” inside my automobile to determine speed, acceleration, seat belt use, wheel spin, steering wheel behavior, and direction—and while this may assist insurance companies determine cause and culpability for automobile wrecks (I have never been in a wreck), it is a massive government intrusion of my personal right to privacy.

I also have an E-Pass device in my car. In my state, this allows me to pass through tollbooths without slowing down. The transponder records my passage, and the toll appears on my credit card each month. It is a great convenience if you use toll roads and bridges. It also allows the state police to track me down if they decide I am a person of interest in a crime. Obviously, this last example of too much government was self-inflicted, but while I was led to believe this device allows ease of passage through tollbooths, no one mentioned the tracking capability.

The issue here is not so much the government’s right to investigate serious accidents; it is a matter of trust. How does one trust a government that continually seeks to exercise extraordinary powers over “we the people” who ostensibly believe that WE are the government? For example, what happens when police begin downloading data from the “Event Data Recorder” and then begins issuing tickets by mail because data shows that I was traveling 5 miles over the posted speed limit on four separate occasions in one day? Suppose “law enforcement” did this for a solid month and the cost of each “speeding violation” was $100.00? What if this was not about public safety, but rather a program designed to force me to use a government-funded electrical car, or force me into using mass transportation as opposed to my own vehicle…

I guess my real question is this: Are we going to put up with this abusive behavior for very much longer? If so, then maybe I need to move to a less restrictive country, such as communist China.

27 comments:

Always On Watch said...

Mustang,
I can't help myself from making this comment.

When I saw the first sentence of this blog post, I knew that this HAD to be your post here at Z's. Hehehe. Great hook (pardon the expression).

Always On Watch said...

You mentioned E-Pass. We have something similar here in the D.C. area.

I don't have one.

I won't get one.

BUT...

My caution is to no avail. They now have cameras installed at the tollbooths and photo my license plate every time time I pass through the gate. **sigh**

There is no escaping Big Brother now, IMO.

elmers brother said...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/07/30/Obama-nudge-squad

Always On Watch said...

EB,
As in Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451!

Brave new world! **frown**

JonBerg said...

It's "Frog Boiling", pure and simple!

sue hanes said...

Z - Now that I read your post I would say that there can be too much government. The question is - how do we stop it from consuming our private life. By writing posts on blogs - is a start. By making an awareness instead of just sitting by the wayside and letting it happen.

Louis H. said...

If the Obama wants to nudge us, then I am thinking we must nudge him back. Only, maybe a little harder, yes?

Jim at Asylum Watch said...

"Is there no such thing as too much government in our lives?"

Not to those we allow to govern us.

Mustang said...

@ AOW …

Yes, it is true. My writing lacks the grace of the mistress of this blog.

You are right: the closed circuit TVs are to “save us” from the tens of millions of ghoulish fiends just waiting to prey upon us … but no one seems to have made the connection that these cameras only record events; they do not save us from anything. By the time the police arrive, we are already dead. So if that is true, then the TV cameras must have some other purpose. Hmmm. I wonder what that is …

@ ElBro … and Louis

We definitely need to nudge them back. Maybe even, shove …

@ JonBerg

You have hit it squarely on the head: frog boiling. Man!

@ Sue

You ask a very good question. I think we can save our Republic in only one way: by getting involved in local and state politics. Make our states sovereign once more, and demand that state legislatures refuse to play the communist games engineered from inside the beltway.

Unknown said...

No, I think we need more government. you know, someone to tuck us in at night. Someone like Kathleen Sabilius or some other communist dweeb. And a live-in chef would be nice. And as long as we have the IRS, we don't need the services of government funded prostitutes.

All is well in America, isn't it?

Unknown said...

Have more light sabers, we must.

Speedy G said...

Mustang needs to attend a post-modern consumerist democracy Re-education and Acculturation camp. Hug your chains, Mustang!

Mustang said...

I don't think so, Speedy. I usually don't play well with others and would spend most of my time in the stockade.

Robert, I didn't know about the government funded prostitutes. Would that by any chance be part of the Affordable Care Act?

Light sabers. Hmmmm. Let me think about that one, Yoda.

Bob said...

"I have never been in a wreck)"

Well, you are in one now. This train wreck is compliments of the Obama Administration, the worst Presidency in the history of the nation by any measure.

Mustang said...

Yes bob, but that is only a temporary distinction. Just wait until Hillary is elected.

Bob said...

"Just wait until Hillary is elected"

Quite right. With Hillary you will get two train wrecks. The first is her socialism. The second train wreck is her face. Man, she is uglier than Bella Abzug.

Pris said...

In other words, we aren't perfect or politically correct! We human beings are used to being free. The Govt. will have a hell of a time getting all this information because they ask for it.

So, they'll get more forceful and God knows what they'll come up with to force us to obey the latest tyrannical dictator!

Oddly, the most imperfect and corrupt people are the ones running things, but since they think they're enlightened and powerful, they'll find a way to put fear into millions of people, and sooner or later, our country will become just like others whose people are bound with invisible chains!

We have heard that America can be a socialist country which can be successful as opposed to other socialist countries. Balderdash!!

There will be no difference, because in order to have it succeed the nudge will become force! It always has, and it always will be.

Bob said...

Pris said, "... the nudge will become force! It always has, and it always will be. "

Correct-o-mundo!

Anonymous said...

"My writing lacks the grace of the mistress of this blog."

False modesty is even more unbecoming than outright boastfulness.

Elayne Astelot

Mustang said...

Actually, there is nothing falsely modest about what I wrote. It is possible to describe my writing in any number of ways, but “graceful” is not one of them. On the other hand, our blog mistress is an exquisitely talented lady.

Mustang said...

Pris, I do agree with you that people waste time and effort searching for “perfect” candidates for office. There are no perfect candidates. There are no perfect people. But I also think it is true that the American people are being terribly served by the dregs who now occupy our government at the federal, state, and local levels. I very much agree with Mark Levin that if we truly wish to save the American Republic, we must do it from within the context of our states. The states are best equipped to challenge the federal government, whereas we inconsequential citizens who pay the bills, have no standing.

Isn’t it amazing how the government uses the power of taxation and regulation to force us to behave a certain way? Is this what our founding fathers wanted for the new republic?

Z said...

A friend of mine went on a site and suddenly was getting pop ups of a dating service with older men's pictures...she's in her early sixties and said they were just her age range. How the heck does a computer site know who she is let alone how OLD?

AOW...
Ya, I don't often mention hemorrhoids. :) Dead give-away!
And Mustang...thank you very much for the compliment.

I got back from the Excel thing earlier than planned; the first day was okay but we couldn't take in another 'advanced' day. ARE THEY KIDDING?
You could go for a year, every day, and not learn Excel 100%.

And, the best thing I got out of the seminar is what I SHOULD be using is ACCESS, NOT Excel, but...oh, well.. our office is into Excel.



Sam Huntington said...

Interior Secretary: We Benefit From 'Federal Gov't Encouraging the Right Kinds of Behavior'. This is so weird, because I’ve actually read the US Constitution and I don’t recall reading anything about federal control over citizen behavior …

Anonymous said...

Just wait until Hillary is elected

Honestly, the RINO Republicans are not any different. The Karl Rove and the likes are just a different flavor of power hungry statists. They just sell it differently.

Pris said...

Mustang, what I meant was that socialists believe we would be perfect if we all signed on to their agenda. That isn't going to happen.

Furthermore, if people such as those who stood up against the IRS, and blew their whistles, the American people would not have become outraged about it.

I don't think we the people are inconsequential. I think if our voices are loud enough, and we stand up for freedom, we all can make a difference.

I don't disagree that the states should challenge the Feds, but that is more likely to happen if the American people stand up and speak out against what our leaders are doing.

Mustang said...

We agree, Pris.

I don't think the American people are inconsequential, but I do believe that the government thinks we are ...

Pris said...

Mustang,
Oh yes, I agree with you. The Govt. does think we are, but the Tea Party should have taught them it is not so!