and outgo get out of balance and stay that way - even though there are always endless attempts to wish it away by legislation. But I started looking for little signs and what some call silly-season symptoms. I want to mention one of the obvious symptoms: Violence. Muggings. Sniping. Arson. Bombing. Terrorism of any sort. Riots of course - but I suspect that little incidents of violence, pecking way at people day after day, damage a culture even more than riots that flare up and then die down. Oh, conscription and slavery and arbitrary compulsion of all sorts and imprisonment without bail and without speedy trial - but those things are obvious; all the histories list them.

What are the marks of a sick culture? It is a bad sign when the people of a country stop identifying themselves with the country and start identifying with a group. A racial group. Or a religion. Or a language. Anything, as long as it isn't the whole population. A very bad sign. Particularism. It was once considered a Spanish vice but any country can fall sick with it. Dominance of males over females seems to be one of the symptoms. Before a revolution can take place, the population must lose faith in both the police and the courts. High taxation is important and so is inflation of the currency and the ratio of the productive to those on the public payroll. But that's old hat; everybody knows that a country is on the skids when its income

TAXPAYERS, our taxes help more and more people and they are voting for more help.....

TAXPAYERS, our taxes help more and more people, and they are voting for more help.....

From each person's heart, let loose the lions of freedom that we may destroy the dogs of chaos.

"The Book of Freedoms is never burned, it is quietly torn apart one page at a time as the people look elsewhere" "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." (President Gerald R. Ford) As our federal government continues to grow in size and power, remember that "All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" (THE PRINCE, by Nicolo Machiavelli). No government self regulates, it is the responsibility of the citizens to limit the power of those they elect, if not, the citizens soon become the subjects. From each heart, let loose the lions of freedom, so that we may destroy the dogs of war!

human zygote, human embryo, human fetus, human baby, by any other name it is still human.

It would be "good" if Ted took a .45 cal and chewed on the working end.

Fetus, baby, biomass..... A human by any other name is still a human.

uhhh... in order to get a Presidential Pardon one must have been convicted of a crime. A pardon is not for a conviction yet to come. Therefore, if there are things found out AFTER President Obama leaves office, then any and all persons found to have commited a suspected crime can be prosecuted.

uhhh... in order to get a Presidential Pardon one must have been convicted of a crime. A pardon is not for a conviction yet to come. Therefore, if there are things found out AFTER President Obama leaves office, then any and all persons found to have commited a suspected crime can be prosecuted.