“Am I confused or was this repealed by the Gruber amendment?”
The American people do not love the Constitution nor do they perceive anything Obama is doing limits their freedom. Likewise, the majority of members of Congress do not respect the document or the founders concept of individual liberty. The members of the ruling class in academia, politics, journalism, big business, the media, the bureaucracy, and the military are statists. Their loyalty is to self and the secular institutions on which their wealth and power is dependent, not God, Country, or Freedom.
Each of Obama’s actions is carefully calculated to permanently increase and consolidate the power of his party and the executive branch, enrage the minority conservative right, and establish precedent that fundamentally changes the relationship between the people and government. The American people no longer believe they have inalienable rights endowed by God. The majority now believe rights and benefits are granted by the central government on groups of people based on their importance to the ruling class. As we are seeing with the expansion of affirmative action for minorities and women, gay rights, and immigrant rights it is political action and loyalty to party that secures rights and status as a protected class. Other citizens without protected status are punished through taxes (expropriation of property) and loss of political power.
Consider Obama’s victories despite the election of the Republican Congress. The Republicans signed onto the big spending bill that gives him enough discretionary spending in every department except Homeland Security to do whatever he wishes. He has asserted control over the internet by decree without even a token attempt by Congress to stop him. As a result over the next two years he will shut down the voices of opposition using the internet to communicate broadly. Having easily assumed greater power for the FCC, he can turn to shut down opposition voices on talk radio.
Republicans in the Senate easily caved on the Homeland Security funding bill. Passage of this bill will give Congressional authority to Obama’s executive actions on immigration amnesty and will result in Congress permanently ceding authority over immigration and citizenship to the executive branch. The House will cave within two weeks. The courts rightly will rule Congress has delegated its authority under the Constitution to the Executive branch.
Obamacare has not been overturned or defunded in any form. Congress has the power to cut off funding even if a presidential veto would prevent them from ending the program. The Republicans will not engage in a budget battle over Obamacare.
Working through interest groups and the judiciary Obama has overturned state marriage laws so that gay marriage is fully instituted in half the states and the Supreme Court shows every indication it will write protections for homosexuals as a defined protected class into the “living” Constitution later this year. This battle is not really about gay rights. It is one more nail in the coffin of states rights and part of the plan to strip what limited powers the states have as independent governing entities. The states are being transformed into administrative districts of the federal government that levy taxes and carry out the plans and programs decreed from Washington.
The groundwork is also being established for the federal government to consolidate control of state and local law enforcement under Homeland Security and the Justice Department.
The press furor over Netanyahu’s visit is all about further diminishing Congress in the eyes of the American people and distracting them from other issues. The propaganda machine is softening up the sheep for a sellout to Iran. The Bibi speech is just one more example of the Republicans stirring up trouble while Obama is trying to make the world safe is the script being fed to the people. The reality is, the majority of the people are tuned out and don’t care.
Actually expropriation of private property (i.e. taxation) by the executive branch without the assent of the legislature has been going on for some time. Look at the fees on your telephone and cable bills which are assessed by agencies to fund free telephone and cable services for the poor (i.e. wealth redistribution). For the past six years the Justice Department has been shaking down companies (primarily banks) through lawsuits and obtaining billions of dollars in settlement money which has been arbitrarily doled out to interest groups by the administration instead of being put in the general fund. The IRS, DEA, and other federal agencies seize the property of citizens they perceive have violated laws every day without due process of law. Often the property is sold and the proceeds used before the citizen sees a day in court.
In the current environment it will be easy for Obama to decree new fees or order the IRS to eliminate credits, deductions and exemptions to the tax code. If he initially limits this executive action to corporations, there will be no opposition from the people who have been conditioned to hate capitalists. Obama’s actions will be perceived by the public as just, not overreach. Once he has usurped the power to amend the tax laws for business it is only a matter of time before he does the same to individuals. The large numbers on the Democrat plantation who pay no taxes will not care. A few in Congress may give speeches, but Congress itself will do nothing.
Through the summer we will be treated to another budget spectacle. Congress will pass spending bills telling us they are being fiscally responsible but these bills will still include billions of dollars of discretionary spending authority previous presidents would not have dreamed of getting from Congress. Obama will say, not enough, he needs more for the middle class. He is going to set the Republican Congress up for one more public battle and loss over the budget before the 2016 election season. The Republicans will either acquiesce or risk being blamed for shutting down the government. They will cave, giving Obama the discretionary spending authority to transfer billions of taxpayer dollars to the public interest groups supporting the Democrat Party and registering the now documented foreign workers to vote. The Republicans will tell conservatives they have to go along in order to win the White House in 2016.
We are living the last fifty years of the Roman Republic as it transitioned to imperial rule. Unlike the Roman Republic it appears our elected representatives will cede their authority to the executive without bloodshed. The majority of people today, like the plebes of Rome before us, cheer Caesar because he promises bread and circuses.
After all, what is freedom today for the urban dweller in blue states? Government guarantee food, clothing, shelter, television, a smart phone, basic medical care, free public education, and no limits on sexual expression. With all that, who cares about old fashioned notions of liberty defined by some 18th century slaveholders?
Brutus?
Like you, I have long held to the notion that the USA is now a Nation of “bread and circuses”...by design.
There is so much truth in your post that the only thing I can think to do any longer is to pray.
Pray for myself, my family, my friends and for my compatriots everywhere that we somehow endure and survive the coming spiral into chaos.
All in order that we may rise again like the Phoenix...
The majority of people today, like the plebes of Rome before us, cheer Caesar because he promises bread and circuses.
Oddly enough, that is what net neutrality is about, at least nominally. Sure, there could eventually be censorship by some means, but the internet is designed to work around censorship and the countries that try, like Iran and China, fail miserably.
No, what net neutrality really means is circuses, in the form of Netflix soft core porn and lots of meaningless, drivelous entertainment takes priority over all other content on the internet. In my own case it is stark. I have few choices for internet in my rural area. If just one person between myself and the tower decides to stream some garbage, I get no bandwidth other than a few packets every now and then. That's the same thing China does when cranking up the filtering in a vain attempt to only let permitted content through. My providers will be forced to allow streaming video without throttling and I will get no service.
The funny thing is that they could turn that to their advantage: instead of passing funding bills, they could pass bills abolishing huge sections of the government in order to rein in government spending
and prevent a government shutdown
, and then when Obama vetoes these bills paint him as the one who is unwilling to prevent the government shutdown.
The final step will be an Executive Action mandating a Coronation.
Game Over!
