HOW TO EXPAND GOVERNMENT WITHOUT EVEN TRYING

It is the unending goal of the Democratic Party to continually expand the role of the Imperial Federal Government and its influence and control on the lives of every American.  Leftist Democrats have literally never seen a government program, or an idea for the expansion of government that they didn't like.  Unfortunately for those of us who value individual liberty and  who recognize our responsibilities to ourselves, the left has found an almost foolproof formula for government growth.  It's really very simple ... find a symbol of pathos, and build your bigger entitlement-centered government around that image. 

You'll find this formula being used at both the federal and the local level .. and every day's news carries stories of leftists putting this technique to work.

Yesterday John Kerry was in Atlanta.  His message?  Socialized medicine.  Now of course John Kerry doesn't exactly call it socialized medicine in his various discussions and speeches.  Other phrases will suffice ... phrases like "affordable health care."  Wordsmithing aside,  the Democratic goal is and has been a system of health care wherein all Americans are completely dependent on government.  Let's face it ... once Americans are dependent on the federal government for their health care, any semblance of personal independence and limited government will be a memory.  So .. how is John Kerry putting the formula to work?  Yesterday in Atlanta he was pushing the idea of guaranteed health care for .... who else .. the children.  If you dare to speak out against Kerry's proposals then you are cast as being against children.  You are an evil person who doesn't want children to receive health care.  Perhaps you even want children to die from infectious diseases!  There's your camel's nose in the tent.  Once you have the federal government in a position of guaranteeing health care for all of our children the road to socialized medicine is greased and the slide cannot be stopped.  From that point on the Democrats will campaign each and every year with a warning that if you vote for Republicans they will make you pay for your own child's health care.

The local level?  Glad you asked.  Let's look at Minnesota.  There we have House Speaker Steve Sviggum (a Republican!) who is working the big-government system.  This particular politician's idea is to create a very expensive package of taxpayer-funded health care for disabled Minnesotans.  If anyone dares to disagree with you, like Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, for instance, then merely tell the people that your opponent hates the disabled and doesn't want them to lead healthy, fulfilled lives.

This formula for growing government is almost foolproof.  A principle enabler here is our wonderful system of government education.  Year after year, generation after generation, Americans go to government operated schools staffed by government employees where they learn that when problems or difficulties arise, government is the answer.  Is it any wonder that so many Americans are so eager to accept any offer of a government solution to their daily travails?

How do we stop this? Know what?  I'm not at all sure we can.

ANTHRAX AT THE PENTAGON

Sensors at a Pentagon mail facility yesterday detected the presence of Anthrax, the biological weapon of mass destruction.  Where did it come from?  Who knows?  Maybe it was a false positive .. maybe not. Thankfully, no one there seems to be infected.

You have to wonder how many college professors around the country told their classes yesterday that if there was Anthrax at the Pentagon that would not be a bad thing.  You do remember that some professors actually celebrated the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on 9/11.

Let's just let this serve as a reminder.  It wouldn't take all that much for some Islamic goon, or a terrorist of the domestic variety,  to get a small amount of Anthrax or some other chemical agent and release it into a populated area, killing hundreds ... maybe thousands.

Hopefully this is just a small amount from some disgruntled scientist, and not evidence of a larger plot.

GAY MARRIAGE BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

I can hear the gnashing of teeth.  Here comes that gay marriage thing again.

Tell you what.  I promise to get really upset about gay marriage when some of you can convince me that it is going to have some real affect on my life, my marriage and my freedoms; or if you can convince me that gay marriage demeans the institution of marriage any more than do those Hollywood couplings we're reading about on a daily basis. 

Until then ... it's a non-issue.

Paraphrased from The Daily Show: Two thirds of the House and Senate plus three quarters of the states says that a heterosexual couple is better than a single mother, which is still better than a gay couple which is about equal to a man having sex with a box turtle.

MEDIA SUPPORTED KERRY

The annual report by a press watchdog group aligned with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism reports that media coverage of last year's presidential election was three times more likely to be negative toward George Bush than it was toward The Poodle.  The study found that 36 percent of the stories were negative toward Bush, while only 12% were negative toward Kerry.  Still think there's no media bias?  Well, here's your proof.

But what about the study?  How was it compiled?  They looked at 16 newspapers of all different sizes across the country, four nightly newscasts, three network morning news shows, nine cable programs, and nine websites, all in 2004. Quite a comprehensive sample there, isn't it?  There are probably a few conservative newspapers in there too.  So who was the most negative?

The three nightly newscasts plus PBS tended to be more negative than positive, while Fox News was more positive than negative.  All of this confirms what we've been telling you for years.  The mainstream media is made up of liberal Democrats, votes for Democrats and slants their stories in that direction.  There were all too many cases in 2004 where you could see the Bush-bashing template in action.

Now we have proof ... but it will receive limited attention and will soon be forgotten.  Par for the course.

FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME

Newscasts continue to lead all over the country with the lie that gas prices are about to reach an all-time high.  Gas prices, in fact, are nowhere near the "all-time high."  How can this be so?  As has been explained over and over again, the mainstream media never takes into account inflation.  You simply cannot compare the purchasing power of a dollar today to that of 20 years ago.  Likewise with prices.  So what is the all-time high for gas prices?

In March of 1981, gasoline cost $3.08 a gallon, adjusted for inflation.  We have a long way to go.  The same people who are jumping up and down about the price of gas will also do nothing to bring down its price.  The enviro-wackos and hypocrites on the left complain about the high cost, but won't allow us to decrease our dependence on foreign oil by drilling for our own.  Nor will they allow us to build more refineries.  They want it both ways.

So when you go fill up your car today, just know that we are nowhere near the all-time high for gas prices.

Gas Price Resources:  AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report | gaspricewatch.com | How gas prices work

I LOVE THIS STUFF ... MORE EMAIL!

Then again ... maybe not.  I looked for some good hate mail to include in the Nuze this morning ... couldn't find any.  This is not good news.  It means I'm not getting through to some people.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch is endorsing John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.  Will other liberals follow suit?  Not a chance.

Here we go again.  Private airplanes are now being called prime terror weapons again.  Let's get those rich bastards with their private airplanes.  In the meantime .. ignore that rental truck parked in front of your building.

An odd tale of an incident at the Atlanta airport involving Atlanta Quarterback Michael Vick, a TSA screener's watch, and a payoff.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is speaking out these days.....calling out his fellow Men In Black for their atrocious ruling banning the juvenile death penalty.  He may also be a candidate for Chief Justice.

Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Beirut against the occupation by Syria.  Apparently, despite what the mainstream American media might think, those people do actually want to be free.

John McCain's latest ethical lapse shows that he hasn't changed at all, writes Jacob Sullum. He also takes the Senator to task for the disastrous McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation.

Is it possible for the United States to lose the war on terror?  Senator John Kyl says there is one way it could happen.

The Bush administration wants to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska (ANWR.)  Gale Norton, the Secretary of the Interior, says it's time for a little common sense on the issue.

Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali has called the United States a totalitarian regime.  Stephen F. Hayes takes a look at the attitude at the UN toward America.

Washington DC is a very cynical place, and Thomas Sowell recounts some of his own experiences, and also takes a look at Mona Charen's new book.

Is the dollar dead?  Probably not.  Bruce Bartlett explains how it all works, and how much of the national debt is held by foreign investors.  All in plain English...and think how smart you'll be today!

Are Democrats going to win and defeat personal Social Security accounts?  Only if Republicans let them, says Jack Kemp.  He says the public will see right through the Democratic leadership.

Remember when we asked you to help get shoes to Iraqi children? It was much appreciated.

WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE POINTY HAND THINGS?
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