Not only is our government incompetent, but now we have law enforcement agencies that are actively working AGAINST our country.
From the Washington Times, ICE gags sheriff (h/t to the great Michelle Malkin)
The spat between controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surfaced on July 23 and 24 when the sheriff's deputies were ordered by ICE officials to release illegal immigrants who had been caught in a broader criminal sweep. Sheriff Arpaio complained to the media; a federal spokesman claimed the release was the sheriff's fault; and the sheriff then released audiotapes proving that ICE officials, not he, had ordered the release.
Caught looking foolish, ICE officials threatened to withdraw the sheriff's authority to enforce any immigration laws because the sheriff had violated a ban on contacting the media without first obtaining approval from the Department of Homeland Security, which is ICE's parent agency.
Yes, you read that correctly: The sheriff was ordered to shut up. To make it clearer, ICE's principal legal adviser, Peter S. Vincent, wrote to Arpaio attorney Robert Driscoll on July 31 that the sheriff's department, under the terms of its agreement with ICE, must "coordinate with ICE regarding information to be released to the media regarding actions taken under this memorandum of agreement."
To Mr. Driscoll's complaint that the requirement violates the sheriff's First Amendment rights (not to mention the public's right to know), Mr. Vincent replied: "Few courts would consider an obligation to consult with the federal government before releasing information to the media that may involve sensitive law enforcement issues to be an unreasonable burden on the right to free speech." Furthermore, he wrote, government can "lawfully" require "the surrender of a constitutional right ... provided the conditions are reasonable."
Our Dear Leader is happy to compromise your fundamental Constitutional rights, but will make those same rights freely available as ABSOLUTE rights if you are not a citizen and are able to sneak over the border illegally.
If you do not see a big problem here, you are numb. It is time to rise up.
Liberal efforts to get you to believe that current efforts to "reform" health care will not be a government takeover are a lie.
Yes, when they say this they are liars. Representative for Life Barney Frank (Comm - MA) let the cat out of the bag.
And what will Single Payer get you. This is the plan used in Canada and the U.K. Just in case you believe it when supporters of Single Payer tell you that these health system are taking adequate care of their patients, read this;
The Government's drug rationing watchdog says "therapeutic" injections of steroids, such as cortisone, which are used to reduce inflammation, should no longer be offered to patients suffering from persistent lower back pain when the cause is not known.
Instead the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is ordering doctors to offer patients remedies like acupuncture and osteopathy.
So, they will give up effective therapy and substitute "alternative" junk because it is cheaper - effectiveness be damned. Does the government care at all?
No.
The NICE guidelines admit that evidence was limited for many back pain treatments, including those it recommended. Where scientific proof was lacking, advice was instead taken from its expert group. But specialists are furious that while the group included practitioners of alternative therapies, there was no one with expertise in conventional pain relief medicine to argue against a decision to significantly restrict its use.
Dr Jonathan Richardson, a consultant pain specialist from Bradford Hospitals Trust, is among more than 50 medics who have written to NICE urging the body to reconsider its decision, which was taken in May.
He said: "The consequences of the NICE decision will be devastating for thousands of patients. It will mean more people on opiates, which are addictive, and kill 2,000 a year. It will mean more people having spinal surgery, which is incredibly risky, and has a 50 per cent failure rate."
There are thousands of cases like this in both the U.K. and Canada. This is not an unusual situation.
So, why will we do this to ourselves? Power, that's why.
I am a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer and a freelance performing 'cellist who brews his own beer. I am an Orthodox Christian. I am NOT a professional journalist, therefore nothing prevents me from writing what is true. I am now working as an Engineering Technician at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
