Bumper Stickers

Most bumper stickers, although maybe humorous, are trite or worse. Yet, I have seen some good ones, giving pause for thought. One was "No Blood for Oil," on an SUV driving in excess of 80 mph on the expressway. I saw another a few weeks ago which read, "Trust the Government? Ask a Native American."

This comports with a book I'm finishing up, The Dirty Dozen. No, it's not the novel of the Jim Brown movie of the '60s or '70s. It's about twelve rotten Supreme Court decisions (with some "Dishonorable Mentions") that have abrogated clear, Constitutional rights. I know, even to myself, I sometimes seem/sound paranoid, but the implications, real and perceived, are quite frightening.

Do you know, for instance, that to fix someone's hair in Mississippi in an "African braid" requires about 3000 hours of courses/classes--the state of Mississippi says so? that if the gov't says you can't grow, say 300 acres of wheat, even if it's for use on your own farm, going to nobody else let alone to another state, you can't do it? that if gov't wants your property, not for a park or road or school, but to give to another private individual (or corporation), it can take it--and not necessarily give you just compensation for it? that your political speech is restricted, esp as election time nears and esp in favor of incumbents? There are many more examples, too.

I know, personally, from my small, limited battle with the IRS (I still look in the mail daily for my audit letter). Even my elected federal officials (Well, my two Dem Sens offered this "help"--"Look on the IRS Web site." Thanks, guys. At least my Rep Congressman or one of his aides met with an IRS manager, though, to no avail.) couldn't stand up to the IRS. Funny, if I owe the IRS money, I have to pay in advance; if the IRS owes me money (a refund) it takes months to get here.

What is it, then, about "We the people...?" Let's just go on watching American Idol, wearing our Red Wing jerseys, etc. (Again, I have nothing against these things, as long as they aren't the primary foci of people's lives, to the detriment of letting gov't become perverted and omnipotent.) Remember, "First they came after the Jews. I wasn't a Jew so I said nothing. Then they came after.... Then, they came after me and there was nobody left to say anything."