By Nathan Barton

Good morning!  Politicians love to equate giving with taking:  they take and take and then give (some of it) to others.

This is the sort of thing you expect more from Democrats than from Republicans, but they are all statists.  John Kasich, a GOP governor, claims that the Bible, specifically Matthew 25:42-43, supports that Abomination called ObummerCare: that it is government’s “duty” to steal from people to pay for other people’s health care.  Sorry, it is not there: there is NOTHING in the New Testament that says that it is right for government to force people to care for or feed other people, nothing that says that government can force “sharing.”  But Kasich, like so many other politicians desperately wants to have religious justification for his power-grabbing habits.

Speaking of giving, for all our wealth and stupidity like Kasich, Americans seem to be more generous than others.  An article from the Fraser Institute, “Generosity in Canada and the United States: The 2014 Generosity Index,” discusses this.  Being raised in a family and tradition which pointed out that “giving” was to be equal or more than the tithe (tenth) of your increase expected under the Law of Moses, it is incredible to me that either Americans or Canadians give so little to charity (including churches).  Understandably, with government sucking down so much, many have less to give…

It is not just taxes that hurt normal people, of course, that damage our families and lives and the economy. Licensing laws hurt consumers, as proven time and time again; and hurt many workers as well.  I find it amazing that so many states require coaches to be licensed: although I am sure that fear of child-molesters is at least a part of the warped logic behind that.  But exactly how can someone be licensed as a coach?  Work and education and experience?  Numbers of wins and losses?  How?  I suspect a lot of fraud.  If I voluntarily credential myself to offer a service to a client or customer, that is one thing: if I am FORCED to do so, and he or she is FORCED to use only the services of a state-licensed person, where is the freedom in that?

Speaking of which, I was again reminded today that some kinds of fraud last a very long time.

We talk a lot about ObummerCare (the Abominable Act) but sometimes forget more “minor” issues like ObummerPhones: the 13 MILLION cell phones given away just in 2014 to the “poor” and “disadvantaged” through a program that taxes every one of us on every phone call we make.  But the program started (very small, and for landlines) under Reagan: at this rate, there will be 50 million in another decade.  Is it a right, is it right, for people to have phone service (or any other kind of service) at the expense of others? If I pay for a cell phone for someone voluntarily, that is one thing.  This is another.

Is this right?  In Arkansas, a gun range owner has very publicly banned Muslims from her establishment, and her business has skyrocketed.  Now, I figure Arkansas doesn’t really have that many Muslims, but still…  As a private business, she should and does have every right to choose her own customers.  She is willing to put up with hatred from Muslims and their apologists, and take the risks of being attacked and even put out of business by governments.  Businesses, which are made up of people  however they are organized, have freedoms: it is essential to human freedom.  And like all other freedoms, those are being stolen by government as rapidly as possible, in the name of “rights.”

For your information: I find it interesting to make periodic visits to a map showing botched SWAT raids across the Fifty States, found at Cato.org.  Virtually every state and region has some examples, although some go back 25 years.   The pattern is obvious and growing: it is worth checking frequently, especially to see how your own area is being hit.  SWAT teams are the cutting edge of the police state: their growth and ever increasing use is a sign of tyranny that is widespread and ubiquitous: few of us can avoid its impact, sooner or later.