The economic conundrum should come as no surprise to any American. Rather, it should be viewed as the inevitable result of confiscatory taxation and bureaucratic regulation that has strangled the capitalist intent of our forefathers.   Way back when, a few folks gathered to throw some tea into Boston Harbor to protest government excess that was far less egregious than we are witnessing today.  

While unaccountable government officials decided “what is best” for you and I, we are commanded to sit idly by as Wall Street and the Big Three get cash that is seemingly spent on executive outings and corporate jets.   Wouldn’t it be nice if someone inside the beltway actually recognized that the solution to the problem isn’t a solution from the top down, but rather from the bottom up?   Perhaps that person may exist in the form of Texas Representative Louis Gohmert who is proposing a two month tax holiday for all Americans. 

Mark my words, this will get no publicity from the Treason Times, AP Obama or the Clinton News Net, but it’s getting some attention from yours truly. According to American Solutions, an organization founded by former Speaker New Gingrich, Americans pay $101.6 billion per month in personal income tax and $65.5 billion per month in FICA tax. Under Gohmert’s proposed plan these taxes would not be paid during January and February, 2009.   This is money that would stay in the hands of the people who earned it in the first place and no better than any government bureaucrat how to spend it.   For less than half the cost of the current bailout proposal, this would likely have exponentially more impact on the economy. 

Will this happen? Don’t count on it because liberals in congress will do their best to muzzle any word of this plan, just as they plan to muzzle your right to free speech in the coming session. Remember, liberals are all about power and control and if they were to let Americans see how much money is actually being seized out of their paychecks it could lead to an all out taxpayer revolt. Then again, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. 

Perhaps this should be taken one step further.   How about we repeal the insidious 16^th Amendment that permitted the government to steal money from our paychecks in the first place.   Just as Americans are being forced to do without as the result of government irresponsibility, maybe it’s time for them to do without.   Just how many ridiculous social programs, bridges to nowhere or butterfly farms on the moon could we do without? Just how many union jobs could we axe in federal, state and local governments that contribute absolutely nothing to our society?  

My suggestion is that you immediately write your Congressional Representative and tell them to support the Gohmert plan.   Tell them to nix the idea of a silly stimulus and their $50 million dollar mailings to advise us that a check is in the mail.   We need something that actually matters, like the right to keep what is rightfully ours to begin with. 

The average life expectancy of a free society is approximately 200 years.   Our nation has celebrated freedom for 232 years, although it can be argued this virtue, once an embodiment of our nation, is on life support today.   As the young, the dumb and the uninformed head out to cast their vote for their messiah, I ask you to decide where we are in the cycle of freedom.

Let’s go back to the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townsend Act of 1767, both moves by the British government to increase taxation on the colonists.   Some colonists, but not most, were angered.   In fact, the anger boiled over in 1773 in an act known as the Boston Tea Party.    Arguably, this was the first move by the colonists, or our forefathers, to restore freedom to their land.  

Clearly we are in a similar set of circumstances today, with an increasingly intrusive government that will have no choice but to increase taxes.   In fact, I will bet my paycheck that we have a 100% chance of seeing a tax increase put forth by the Democrat controlled congress in the next twelve months that will impact everyone who works.   The only chance of a veto is John McCain who sadly, due to the vote of the nanny state portion of the electorate, will be nowhere near the White House.  

Let’s look back at history, for it is the past that foretells the future. In 1773 our nation entered the first phase of a free society as they broke from bondage and moved to spiritual faith, devising a scheme to create one nation under God.   In 1776 the founders moved from spiritual faith to great courage as they picked up arms against the British.    They moved from courage to liberty over the next decade culminating on September 17, 1787, with the signing of the Constitution.  

As our nation embraced liberty, the masses recognized the courage of the few who had risked their freedom, fortunes and lives to bring prosperity to all, which took us to the next phase of our society; abundance.   Over the past two hundred years we became a nation of great abundance which unfortunately led to complacency.   Simply put, we got fat and happy and took our eye off the ball which allowed the government to go unchecked, as a result of the next phase which is apathy. 

Unfortunately, this apathy has led many in our nation into a state of dependence.   The dependence began in the Great Depression, with more and more handouts.   But it is plausible that this dependence goes back even further, to the creation of government schools, which have been used to brainwash and indoctrinate our youth into an acceptance of government control.    This dependence has grown greater as government used Great Society programs to destroy the black family.   They now seek to control our health and well being.   There is no doubt that we are in a full fledged state of dependence which is the next to last phase of any free society.

The final phase is bondage, where the government takes from those who can and gives to those who can’t.   Some call it spreading the wealth around, Karl Marx called it from each according to their abilities to each according to their means.   Throughout history it has been called Marxism, socialism, communism, fascism and today in the United States it is called liberalism.   There is no difference, bondage is bondage and we are now faced with the very situation from which we emerged in the 1770’s.

Back then folks like Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Revere, Franklin and Paine were considered out of the mainstream.   They were viewed by liberals in much the same way as Boortz, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and millions of fellow conservatives are viewed by liberals today.   Liberals have always hated freedom and demonized those who sought to protect it.   Freedom takes away the power of liberals to control our lives which is the scenario we are once again faced with. Remember, the only greater threat to our freedom than Islamic fascism is domestic liberalism.  

The popularity of someone as unqualified and radical as B. Hussein Obama should call into question the intellect and fundamental acceptance of freedom of each and every person who casts a vote his way.   Put aside his associations with unrepentant terrorists, convicted mobsters, racist preachers and anti-Semitic fascists and look at his views. He loathes our Constitution, the framework of our society, and will appoint judges to undermine this document.   He is the embodiment of everything hard working Americans are against, yet he may very well be our president. 

As we go to the polls today, it is time to understand that voting should be an IQ 80 thing. Look around you and ask yourself how many of those casting ballots know the name of their Congressman, a Supreme Court judge or even our first president. In every state in America one must pass a test to drive, yet anyone can cast their vote which is far more dangerous to our freedom.    Perhaps it is time that we realize that voting, like driving, is a privilege. There is no Constitutional guarantee of the right to vote (Bush v. Gore, 2000) and it is time that we put an end to that myth before we are faced with having a choice of having to live on our knees or die on our feet.  

Christopher Van

www.christophervan.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pnRN0KBHuc

Yesterday's 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court to protect the Constitution was a bitter defeat for liberals, but should also show each and every American how precarious our rights truly are.

The case involved Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns, which of course has resulted in the city becoming the murder capital of America. To put it bluntly, any resident of the nation's capital has been a sitting duck since this insidious law was passed 32 years ago.

The liberal wing of the court ruled against the right to bear arms, which is basically nothing more than supporting the rights of crimnials. The conservative wing voted to support the Constitution and individual liberties, again reflecting just how critical the upcoming presidential election, as that is the person who appoints judges to the federal bench.

In reading the opinion and dissent, it was clear that the liberal minority believes that they have a duty to alter the Constitution, while the conservative majority continues to protect this cherished document.

While some Americans, in particular the pro government liberals, may disagree with this decision one cannot lose sight of the true intent of the Second Amendment. This is not about whether you like or dislike guns, as that is your opinion but has no relevance whatsoever in the context of the intent of the Constitution.

Our forefather's had great and justifiable fear of government and realized that the only protection for the citizen's was to have the ability to rise up if the need arose. By arming the masses, a system of checks and balances was established. As society has evolved, the need for guns has become greater as the threat of criminality has prospered during the last half century of liberal activism in the courts where the rights of criminals are places above victims.

If you don't want to own a gun, that is your perogative. If someone chooses to put their safety in a call to 911, that is certainly their right. However, that right does not supercede the rights of the rest of the population who chooses to ready their gun and blow some criminal away who threatens their life, liberty or property.

The ruling by the Supreme Court reinforces the need for more justices like those appointed by President George W. Bush. We need justices who will stand up for our rights and we need to educate the public just how close, a mere one vote, we are to losing even more rights which will certainly be flushed down the commode if B. Hussein Obama is sent to the White House.

As for the new look of my newsletter, I hope you like it. There are links to a variety of other news sources and you can catch my blog which is now being posted in Townhall.com. I an currently having some issues with the outbound email, so you may get this newsletter via my personal address which is gochiefwahoo@aol.com to which you are more than welcome to provide responses. Also note that my webhosting company for christophervan.com is moving to a new architecture, so I am moving the contents to the home of the Golden Pansy Awards at www.goldenpansy.com where you can check in to find out about latest recipient of this less than distinguised award.

Christopher Van
www.christophervan.com