Fear and Intimidation

In my first post on this blog, I cited my being a private person as a reason it has taken me so long to start speaking out. That is only half the story. The other half has to do with fear and intimidation.

Thugs in our government have effectively silenced the people through fear and intimidation. We are afraid of being labeled racist if we speak out against Affirmative Action or Amnesty for illegal aliens. We hate the poor if we are against Universal Healthcare or think welfare, Medicaid and Social Security need to be reformed. If we own guns, we are labeled extremist wackos.

Beyond namecalling, we are afraid of being harassed by the IRS and other government agencies for simply stating what we believe especially if those beliefs happen to be in opposition to those in power.

Am I afraid of being audited? Yes. Not because we have anything to hide, we pay plenty each year to have our taxes professionally prepared, but because our tax code is designed to be ambiguous. Five different IRS experts could look at the same section and come up with five different explanations as to its meaning. I believe this is intentional. I've heard some talk show hosts mention paying more than they could possibly owe just to avoid any doubt whatsoever. That seems like a tax on free speech to me.

Now we find that the IRS is charged with enforcing this new healthcare legislation. The IRS will come after you with fines for failing to buy health insurance deemed appropriate by the government. I will save the topic of the constitutionality of the federal government requiring citizens to purchase a product for another post.

This is not the first time the federal government has put the IRS in charge of something that would seem to fall outside its "jurisdiction". The IRS was the first agency charged with enforcing Prohibition. Gangster Al Capone was not arrested for his myriad violent crimes; he was busted for tax evasion.

Good old Prohibition. Another Progressive idea. The enlightened know what is best for all of us commoners after all. How did that one work out? Prohibition created a black-market with a web of organized crime to feed the (ironically) increased demand for alcohol. Beer, America's beverage of choice, was replaced with distilled spirits which had far less water and was therefore easier to transport. Diagnoses of liver cirrhosis increased.

Salt and transfats are on the Progressive Hit List now. Think of it, a black-market for Krispy Kreme's and the IRS charged with sniffing out the donut lovers.

I invited my dear husband to preview this post when it was half written. With a stern look on his face he made one of those manly grunts of disgust. Not aimed toward me or my writing, but to the fact that he felt the same fear and intimidation. This whole blog is stepping out a little too much for his comfort. He then said that it makes him wonder when They will single us out - pull him over on the freeway over this one day. Is this really what has happened to free speech in America?

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Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. -Ephesians 6:10-13