'Free' is a relative term in America freedom at issue....

'Free' is a relative term in America freedom at issue
STEVEN GREENHUT

Sr. editorial writer and columnist
The Orange County Register


http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister...le_1741595.php


Virtually all Americans love to talk about – nay, boast about – their
freedoms. We are the freest nation that has ever graced the planet,
people commonly say. One cannot drive along a crowded freeway without
seeing scores of bumper stickers bearing the stars and stripes and words
such as, "Liberty is not free." All the major presidential candidates
from both parties "know" that Osama bin Laden and his bands of suicide
attackers are not driven to kill Americans because of our foreign policy
or anything we have done (banish that heresy from your ears!), but
because they are offended by our freedoms.

Even those of us who dispute the version of the 9/11 events encapsulated
in the previous sentence understand that America was founded on some
pretty amazing principles. The idea of individual freedom is not common
over time. The history of mankind is a history of tribalism, violence,
war, pillage, enslavement, dictatorship, totalitarianism, mass murder
and social experiments in which the government has supreme power.

America's founding ideas were beautifully detailed in 1776 with the
release of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these Truths to be
self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – That to secure these
Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers
from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to
alter or to abolish it."

That's radical stuff, a call to revolution against a government that
imposed unjust tax burdens, trampled on the rights of individuals,
abused its power, and went far beyond the core mission of protecting the
life, liberty and property of its citizens. One of the main complaints
was that the king "has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent
hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People, and to eat out their
Substance."

It's at this point that the discussion usually ends. Most people nod in
agreement about the importance of the Declaration, content with the
sense that we are free Americans, who can live as we choose without
suffering under the thumb of oppressive government. Our leaders echo
that view. In one typical 30-minute talk given by President George W.
Bush, he used the word "freedom" 37 times and the word "liberty" 18
times. Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton used the word "freedom" 29 times
and the word "liberty" 13 times in a recent talk she gave. We all are in
agreement. We are a free people and that's the end of that.

Clearly, by comparison with most countries, Americans do pretty well.
There's no Gestapo, dictator or prison camps for dissidents. There's
talk of building a wall at the border, but to keep people from coming
in, not to keep them from getting out. Still, I think Americans would
benefit from thinking more closely about the state of our liberty. Every
few years, I write a column that updates the erosion of our freedoms. It
mostly deals with simple, everyday stuff, but it's rather telling. Here
is my latest installment:

If I want to build a new house, I need to petition any number of
government agencies and commissions, and can build only what they allow.
Those agencies decide not only if my project conforms to some basic,
easily understood rules, but whether it conforms to their own
preferences regarding style, color, historical influences, size, number
of stories, and so forth. If I ever want to add on or improve that
house, I must wait until a government inspector approves it. If I am a
developer, and want to build a larger number of properties on a site, I
must fight for years to get approvals – and usually the final project
will bear little resemblance in style or design to my original vision.

If I want to start a new business, I not only will have to pay a large
portion of any earnings to the government, but I must first get all the
necessary approvals from myriad governments. I must pay my employees a
minimum rate determined by the government. They may only work the number
of hours set by the government. If it's a restaurant or business that
serves the public, I must get a conditional-use permit – a long list of
conditions that micromanage exactly how I run the place, from the hours
to the number of tables, based on the whims of the commissioners who
must approve the business.

The government can, at any time, take my home or business and give it to
someone else if officials, for any reason, prefer the new use to my use.
The government can, at its discretion, steal all the value from my
property by declaring it a wetland or by finding on it some "endangered"
rodent or other species. No compensation need be paid as long as I still
have any use of the land.

The government's officers can launch a "no-knock" raid of my home (if
they get a tip about, say, a drug deal) and can shoot and kill me if
they say that they viewed me as a threat. Abusive federal agents or
local police officers can, by law in California, keep all their
disciplinary records secret. Those same agents can arrest me and throw
me in jail for decades for possessing those "drugs" that the government
determines to be illegal. Meanwhile, the government maintains files on
all my personal and financial data and will use them to assure that I
pay the amount of taxes the government determines that I must pay.

If I refuse to pay the full amount, I will become a ward of one of the
biggest growth industries in the country: the government-run prison
system. I am free to pay about half of all my earnings to the
government, which will use those taxes to erect a multitude of offices
and pay its workers salaries and benefits that are far more than most of
us will ever earn. The government's "child protective services" workers
are free to take anyone's children away from them based on their
discretion. Parents are then forced into a totally secret court system,
in which they must prove their innocence rather than having the
government being forced to prove guilt.

We are all free to travel where we choose after government agencies
search, poke and prod us. We can drive on government roads, pay
government tolls, fly out of government-owned airports and pay for
government-issued bond debt. We are free to pay for the government
schools, which teach our children what the government wants them to learn.

The government can seize our personal property and not give it back even
if we are cleared of any crime, and even place us in permanent
detention, without any hope of legal representation, if the government
determines that we are an enemy combatant. The government can bomb any
government it chooses, based on any shoddy pretext (i.e., weapons of
mass destruction). We are free to speak and write as we choose as long
as the government doesn't decide that we broke campaign-finance laws or
engaged in "hate speech."

The 18th century German poet Johann Goethe said: "None are so hopelessly
enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free." Am I off-base to
wonder whether we are careening down that road?

Contact the writer: or 714-796-7823




CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...

"fx" wrote in message
...
(snip)


CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY
BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY
AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Why do you continue to place these lies at the end of every post? They have
been disproven again and again, yet you continue.

Honesty is a virtue. One that you apparently choose to ignore. Give
honesty a try, you might find it refreshing.

Ron


Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that are
supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per 100,000
children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse and kills
more children then parents in the United States. If the citizens of this
country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold parents too. No
judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY government agency
because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and death than any human
being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more human rights violations
and deaths of children then the homes from which they were removed. When
are the judges going to wake up and see that they are sending children to
their death and a life of abuse when children are removed from safe homes
based on the mere opinion of a bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF REFORMING
OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES TAKE A
STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY ARE
"FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...