What happened to the 4th Amendment?

For the last few days as I watched events unfold in Boston my mind was a jumble of thoughts. I

watched as innocent people suffered at the hands of terrorists. I watched as Americans tried to rally against those terrorist who would make us afraid to leave our homes and to gather in mass to follow American traditions.

As time passed I watched the news and tried to to pick real facts out of a maze of distortions cast by the media and the police themselves. I cast no blame for that misinformation because I know some was done by accident and some for good intentions. I suspect it might be a long time before we have all the true facts of the story, and it's that reason I tread lightly here.

I spent my life trying to understand the how and why of all things. In this search I have seen a lot of rights and wrongs. I have come to the conclusion that the greatest question we can ask is, what is right? There are many perceptions of right and wrong, of moral and immoral. Sometimes the path to enlightenment lies in the questions themselves. So let's ask some questions.

Who is correct, the political left or right? I think both sides are correct, but it's in the solutions where the differences lie. Not long after the Occupy Wall Street event I spent all night talking to both organizers and participants. I found them to be greatly divided on solutions, in part because that always happens and we all think differently. Part of the reason for their differences was that some of the organizers were out for power and money, while others were average citizens wanting a voice.

Eliminate the Tax Scam

Each year we watch a parade of politicians promising us everything in order to gain our vote. We know that most of these promises will never be fulfilled. We also know that they will blame those failed promises on the other party. I am here to talk about the promises they do keep.

We have amassed a $16.5 trillion dollar debt. We have some telling us that the debt doesn't matter. I m told it won't matter until we reach $20 trillion. At the rate of debt growth we can see this happening in at least four years. We have one side telling us that we need to stimulate the economy. We have the other side spending more and wanting to raise taxes on the rich. That same side also tells us that we need to stop subsidizing certain industries, while increasing subsidies for others. For those who are unclear, a subsidy is no more than a tax exemption on certain aspect of that business. This is done to move the businesses in certain directions.

Social Conservatism vs Bigotry

This country is built on the foundation of freedom to worship as we please. The founders remembered a time in Europe where the kings allowed only one religion. Because government and church were so intertwined great minds like Copernicus were executed as a heretics for simply believing the Earth wasn't the center of the universe. Our founders wanted to insure the same thing never came to pass in the new country.

Despite that dream this country has struggled to keep government and church separated, and all the courts have maintain that separation. Alcohol prohibition was one of the most violent periods in modern times. This prohibition was based on religious beliefs. Eventually the folly of the 18th Amendment was overturned. Today the country faces the same problems with the declared war on drugs. This country learned nothing from its previous mistake. No matter the political party in power, the war on drugs continues. I dare say the war on poverty has had the same disastrous effects.

Obama Syndrome

President Obama's overall performance rating has been constantly above 50%. This week the daily tracking poll had it at 54%. Since the election we have wondered how he won so easily and people still believe he is doing a good job. Right after the election I wrote as to why he was re-elected. Now that some time has passed, and some of the shock has worn off, I began to think after seeing this poll result.

Another factor that led to this new look is the on-street interview where Jimmy Kimmel asked people what they thought about the Super Bowl, even though it had yet to be played. One man went so far as to say he lost $200 on the Ravens. Some went on about Beyonce and her performance at halftime.

The UFO Syndrome

I want to begin by saying this isn't about UFOs and space aliens. What it is about is our government and how it controls speech. It began one night in 1947 Roswell, New Mexico where something crashed in the desert. After discovery of the craft, the local paper's headlines were about some type aircraft crash. The government seemed to be talking openly about the unidentified craft. Then  something suddenly happened, the crash became a weather balloon, none at the scene were allowed to talk.

In time, stories began to spread about what had happened that day. The government turned these stories into a joke, laughing at them. In time the government laughed at anyone who talked of anything flying that couldn't be defined, whether it be extraterrestrial or secret government programs. The government had discovered the greatest disinformation tool possible, mockery. The media was all too happy to join in because they feared being mock themselves. They had a reputation to maintain.

Political Ideology Diagram 2013

This is another revision to my ideology graphic. I believe this one more accurately reflects what we have today. Some might be confused by where I placed the perceived moderate. I believe most people fall in that category even though they might think they are more to the left. Most people are sadly driven by party instead of personal beliefs. Most people vote for whom they believe cares the most for them.

Because the US Constitution by which all other laws are measured, that should be the moderate. Because too many people no longer care about the Constitution, I have placed it on the edge of moderation. The Kennedy administration is a good point to begin the modern moderate. He seemed to try to adhere to the Constitution, while his party might have been more progressive. Because of the FDR period it was impossible to move Kennedy farther to the right because of his connection to the Democratic Party.

I'm Called the Extremist

Each day I'm told over and over by the media how people who think like me are extremists. I was recently de-friended by someone on a social site because of my extreme views. Extremism is often relative to the other person's beliefs. I wanted to go over a few things that led this person to view me as an extremist.

The country is approaching the so-called fiscal cliff and my belief is in the end the country might be better off if we take the dive. For a decade we have listen to government talk about cutting spending and then pat themselves on the back when they propose a spending bill that cuts projected spending by a few billion dollars. What they don't tell us is that once again spending increases dramatically. We are running a trillion dollar deficit and neither party seems to care. The Democrats want to raise tax rates on the top 2% earners which would raise only about $80 billion. Neither party is willing to rein in the IRS and look at all the deductions. They love deductions because that's how they repay those that contribute to their campaigns. Because I point out that tax on the top 2% is simply misdirection, and say we get only double speak from both parties, I'm called an extremist.