[Southack]

"You keep mentioning these same things while dozens of other abuses are being pointed out by other people here. I'm trying to an optimist. Don't you have anything else?"

Dear Child, you are the furthest possible creature from an "optimist" in recorded history.

...And yes, I have more (I can do this because unlike you, my *mind* isn't enslaved by pessimism and doubt).

The military draft, forced conscription, is gone. No longer are unwilling boys called up into combat service. That's a positive step for freedom. It's also life and death, and it *is* a big deal that it is no longer active.

One form of abortion, Partial Birth, has now been banned (that's a major, life and death matter of infringing upon the rights of the innocent).

Income taxes are now lower.

The estate tax is dead. No longer must families sell their father's farm to pay an estate tax bill.

National union shop laws have been repealed. No longer are workers in most states subject to tyranical "union shop" membership.

Union members have the right to be refunded whatever portion of their union dues were used for political purposes with which they disagree (thanks to President Bush's reversal of President Clinton's defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court's Beck decision, an intriguing case where once again the liberal news media refused to blast Clinton's intransigence).

We've repealed, nationally, Gun Controls Against Active, Retired, and Off-Duty Law Enforcement Personnel Carrying Weapons Into Local and State Prohibited Zones (7/28/2004)

We've killed the freedom-robbing Kyoto Global Warming nonsense, as well as withdrawn from the uber-Left-wing International Criminal (and gained exemptions from it in numerous foreign jurisdictional areas).

We've passed the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (less romantically known as H.R. 5382) which ultimately allows average Americans to hitch a ride on a civilian space craft at their own risk. The federal ban on such citizen travel was repealed by HR 5382 in 2004. The President signed that bill into law two days before Christmas.

We can now use the Internet for profit. We can now own as much gold as we can afford. We can legally consume/own alcohol again. Forced food and gasoline rationing is gone. Wage and price controls have been repealed.

Segregation is gone. Jim Crow anti-voting laws are gone. Women can vote. We can travel through "prohibited zones" with weapons legally stored in our car trunks without being subject to state, county, or local tyranny.

We can have flash hiders, 40 round clips, and folding stocks on our new assault rifles again. Commercial pilots can fly armed again.

Life is good. Enjoy your freedoms. I do.

[jonestown]

Dear Child, you are the furthest possible creature from an "optimist" in recorded history. ...And yes, I have more (I can do this because unlike you, my *mind* isn't enslaved by pessimism and doubt).

The military draft, forced conscription, is gone. No longer are unwilling boys called up into combat service. That's a positive step for freedom. It's also life and death, and it *is* a big deal that it is no longer active.

"Dear child", the draft is not "gone", it is merely waiting in the wings for the next major war.

One form of abortion, Partial Birth, has now been banned (that's a major, life and death matter of infringing upon the rights of the innocent).

What has been bureaucratically 'banned' can be unbanned. Ask Hillary.

Income taxes are now lower. The estate tax is dead. No longer must families sell their father's farm to pay an estate tax bill.

What has been bureaucratically --

National union shop laws have been repealed. No longer are workers in most states subject to tyranical "union shop" membership. Union members have the right to be refunded whatever portion of their union dues were used for political purposes with which they disagree (thanks to President Bush's reversal of President Clinton's defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court's Beck decision, an intriguing case where once again the liberal news media refused to blast Clinton's intransigence).

What has been bureaucratically -- yada yada.

We've repealed, nationally, Gun Controls Against Active, Retired, and Off-Duty Law Enforcement Personnel Carrying Weapons Into Local and State Prohibited Zones (7/28/2004)

We have acknowledged, "nationally", that Fed & State legislators have assumed the power to infringe on our 2nd Amendment rights. -- There should be no "prohibited zones" to our RKBA's.

We've killed the freedom-robbing Kyoto Global Warming nonsense, as well as withdrawn from the uber-Left-wing International Criminal (and gained exemptions from it in numerous foreign jurisdictional areas).

Yada yada, what has been bureaucratically -- yada yada.

We've passed the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (less romantically known as H.R. 5382) which ultimately allows average Americans to hitch a ride on a civilian space craft at their own risk.
The federal ban on such citizen travel was repealed by HR 5382 in 2004. The President signed that bill into law two days before Christmas.

The federal "ban" had no Constitutional basis to begin with.

We can now use the Internet for profit. We can now own as much gold as we can afford. We can legally consume/own alcohol again. Forced food and gasoline rationing is gone. Wage and price controls have been repealed. Segregation is gone. Jim Crow anti-voting laws are gone. Women can vote. We can travel through "prohibited zones" with weapons legally stored in our car trunks without being subject to state, county, or local tyranny. We can have flash hiders, 40 round clips, and folding stocks on our new assault rifles again. Commercial pilots can fly armed again. Life is good. Enjoy your freedoms. I do.

Your points have been well refuted by many here. Repeating them does not validate your concept. We continue our fight for freedom in America, and our governments are not here to help.

[Dan Evans]

The military draft, forced conscription, is gone.

The boys are still required to register for the draft. They can still be drafted but now they can be placed under a UN commander.

Income taxes are now lower.

How much have they cut spending?

The estate tax is dead.

You are an optimist. Don't count your money until it's in the bank. The estate tax is promised to expire in 2010 -- unless the Dems gain control of Congress or unless the Republicans continue their march towards Big Government.

National union shop laws have been repealed.

Might as well. Manufacturing is now done in forced labor camps in China thanks to the World Economy loved by both sides of the aisle. It's hard for me to enjoy my freedom when so many products I need are made by slaves.

We've repealed, nationally, Gun Controls Against Active, Retired, and Off-Duty Law Enforcement Personnel Carrying Weapons Into Local and State Prohibited Zones

Too bad the airline pilots have to run a federal gauntlet to carry weapons.

We've killed the freedom-robbing Kyoto Global Warming nonsense,

It's a monster that's still out there. Wait until Hillary's in office.

as well as withdrawn from the uber-Left-wing International Criminal (and gained exemptions from it in numerous foreign jurisdictional areas).

Instead of exemptions from it I would rather we didn't play patty-cake with the UN or any of these leftist international bodies. Better to form our own coalition.

The federal ban on such citizen [space] travel was repealed by HR 5382 in 2004. The President signed that bill into law two days before Christmas.

Good for him. When government gives us a break there might have a slight chance for some of us to leave this planet and get away from the UN and the international wolves that eventually will devour Western Civilization.

Segregation is gone.

Replaced with affirmative action programs and their new surrogates. Coming soon: reparations for slavery via class action suits.

I'm hitting the sack. Good night. You have the last word.

[packrat01]

The estate tax is dead. No longer must families sell their father's farm to pay an estate tax bill.

Not dead; merely in a coma. It comes back in 10 (9?) years...