Funny how that line about I support the charities I believe in, reminds me of Ebeneezer Scrouge excusing himself from giving to charity that makes a provision for the poor at Christmas. Are there no Prisons? The work houses and the tread mill, are they still in operation? Those are the institutions I support <br
Yes, but many would rather die that go there <br
Then they should do it and decrease the surplus population <br
Remember Jacob Marly's message about forging his chains in life by living only for himself. None of us does it all by himself or herself. We did not build the hospital in which we were born. We, most likely, will not dig the grave in which we are buried. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and are obliged to help others in exchange for the help we receive <br
A nation is judged by how well the very poor and the very old are cared for. We are not winning any ribbons, but Social Security and Medicare are blessings. If you do not believe me, wait until you are caring for an elderly parent <br
People against taxes always refer to, "your money." Why don't they ever talk about your benefits. And when they talk about giving money away to the less fortunate, why do they not also talk about the money given to corporate welfare? I would be more than willing for those who do not want to pay taxes to tell the government which services they will be glad to do without. If you will promise never to drive again, we won't make you pay for road building or maintenance or those that keep the roads safe. Of course, you realize that also means that you cannot take delivery of any goods transported by truck or van. If you promise not to fly, you will not have to pay taxes that go to heavily subsidizing the airlines & companies that make airplanes or paying for the air traffic controlers. Of course, you won't receive any more mail sent by air, either. If you promise not to use a boat, you will not have to pay the amount of your taxes that go toward protecting the coastlines, rescuing mariners and maintaining navigational charts . On the other hand, you won't be able to receive anything by boat or eat seafood again. If you feel like you do not benefit from food inspection, what little we have, you will not have to share the cost, but if you get sick, don't expect the government to investigate the food you ate. Likewise, if you don't feel that you benefit from financial protections to business & banking by the various government agencies, you can be on your own, but you cannot complain to the people like bank regulators or the securities and exchange people if a bank swallows your money or you are defrauded by some business scheme. If you promise not to take any more vaccines, you won't have to pay the part of your taxes for the public health service, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, the researchers that receive government money to study diseases & the FDA. You are welcome to think of other services that do not benefit you <br
Finally, if you do not feel that the extreme right would like to get rid of all of the people who do not fit their mold, remember that in the past few weeks, one of the spokesmen for these organizations called for a purge of all homosexuals who work for the legislative branch and other Republicans were upset that those homosexuals actually had connections to the Republican Party. And, do not think it has not happened before. In the early Fifties, all kinds of government employees were let go for violation of morals clauses. More than 100 gay employees were separated from the Library of Congress, many of them in one day during one such spasm of Senator Joseph McCarthy's search for un-American activities. Homosexuals were far more interesting to the population than Communists, and far more despised. If the religious right had their way, I fear that Gay and Lesbian people would be very unwelcome here, to the point where, as Robert said a while back, Canada could look very good because their electrical system would operate our vintage appliances. The Jews who fought in Germany's armed forces or converted to Christianity, or supported Hitler because of the stability he promised to bring to Germany, never thought that they would become victims of his plans, his Final Solution, any more than some Republican homosexuals feel endangered today by the people whose approval they so desire. You cannot will yourself to be blind to any plans that might include you. You need to learn from history and have alternate plans set up and thought through. You won't be able to depend on people you thought were friends, even though they are heterosexual and conservative. Those that do not actively hate us, feel that we and our situation are none of their business; you read it in earlier posts. Would that look like a back turned in time of trouble, a phone that is always on voice-mail, but no calls returned, emails without reply? Most of the Jews who survived the Holocaust got out while the getting was good, before borders were closed, before everything they owned was seized. They listened to the rhetoric of the party in charge, they realized even before the signs went up forbidding Jews to sit on park benches, swim in public pools, ride the buses or enter non-Jewish-owned stores. After Jewish property was destroyed, looted and burned on Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass, November 9 & 10, 1938, the insurance companies asked the people running the country how they going to do to cover the claims for losses. The answer was that Jews were not German citizens, therefore it was not legal for them to own property in Germany, so no insurance claims had to be honored. The people of Europe had been fed a steady diet of hatred towards Jews, just as Americans hear appeals for the Defense of Marriage Amendments, but that is only the foundation upon which more hate-inspired actions can be built. Pretty soon the majority of good, religious people has heard so many dehumanizing judgements against a minority; heard that they want to take over the wealth of the world, advance the Homosexual Agenda, recruit your children to the "homosexual lifestyle" or destroy marriage as we know it, that they allow actions to be taken without even thinking about wrong and right. This is why Gay & Lesbian people always need to be on the alert, be tuned in no matter how unpleasant the rhetoric and know what those who foment hate are planning and pushing, especially when they control all branches of the government.
