Better Times Ahead

Or maybe not

A treaty signed, last April, by President Obama and the President of Russia, calling for the reduction in the number of nuclear weapons which each country could hold in their arsenal, suddenly became top priority seven months later. The Democrats, with huge majorities in both Houses of Congress, apparently made no effort to bring that treaty up for ratification until the eleventh hour and now are pushing the Republicans to get it done. Who knows what is in that treaty? Is it like the Health Care Bill, about which Nancy Pelosi said, "We'll have to pass the bill before you will know what is in it?" After all the fallout from that bill can we really take a chance on rushing that nuclear treaty through without debating the issues? That could be extremely dangerous especially when we are dealing with Russia. I say, "take your time, try to get it right."

On January 4, 2011 the Republicans will not only take back control of the House of Representatives but will have made significant gains in the Senate. What will that mean for the next two years? It will probably mean that nothing of any importance will be passed. After all, the budget for this year hasn't been passed yet, only a continuing resolution which will need to be done again by December so as to provide authority to pay the bills. I guess passing a budget bill wasn't as important as the Health Care Bill, the bail outs, and the so-called "Cap and Trade Bill" which, it is claimed, would reduce our carbon emissions (footprint) along with raising our fuel cost to a level never before seen.

Do you remember when a Republican Congress passed a budget which appropriated less money than President Clinton ask for, he vetoed it, they passed a continuing resolution, he vetoed that too, shut the Government down, blamed it all on the Republicans, they caved in and gave him what he wanted even though they had already been branded as the villans? Watch out, it may happen again.

What about all this ado about full body scanners said to be equal to a strip search and the enhanced pat downs which some are referring to as professional "Groping" and/or examining your private parts before you can board an airplane here in the United States. I haven't even been on a plane in more than twenty-five years and I don't intend to ever be on one again so why should I care what they do in airports now? I probably wouldn't except that it makes me wonder what will be next. We should all worry even if it doesn't affect us directly.

In 1949 George Orwell wrote a novel titled "Nineteen Eighty-four" (sometimes written as "1984") which was about "Life in the Oceanian Province of Airstrip One in a world of perpetual war, pervasive government survellance and incessant mind control. The individual is always subordinated to the state, and it is in part this philosophy which allows the party to manipulate and control humanity. (Wikipedia) Could it be that we are on that path to the establishment of a "Big Brother" society?

Some who claim to be Constitutional experts say that the use of the full body scanners and enhanced pat downs are dis-allowed by the constitution but in my opinion it isn't. Think about it, you don't have to fly and that is the same arguement used to force us to buy licenses for automobiles (and so forth) and to stop smoking in public places. You aren't forced to use those places and things. Thanks for listening, stay tuned - William