1776-2008: America as we knew her, may she rest in peace

Welcome to the New World (Dis)Order, and to the United Socialist States of America. Or is it still the same ol' place?

Just moments ago, Pres. George W. Bush signed into law the "Wall Street Bailout," shortly after the House approved the pork-laden "new" version of the bill they had rejected earlier this week.

Seven hundred billion dollars, a "really big number," in one dollar bills laid end to end, would stretch from the Earth to the Sun over 3,700 times (or 370 or 37,000 — knowledge of math doesn't seem to be a requirement anymore, especially in accounting). That's a lot of macaroni and cheese and tomato soup Main Streeters (and their children's children's children) will have to eat while the Wall Streeters renew their standing orders for caviar and champagne.

If you were against this bailout, how can you in good conscience now vote to elect either senator as U.S. president? Both Barack Obama and John McCain supported and voted for this bill that "gives away the farm" and our country.

Here is the list of U.S. representatives who voted yea and nay on Monday. It will be interesting to see who changed their votes today.

U.S. Representative Ron Paul warned against this financial meltdown many times. As you saw during the primaries, the mainstream media wouldn't let Dr. Paul express his views during the debates, and seldom wrote anything positive about him during his campaign.

Former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr is now the Libertarian Party nominee for president, and is being ignored by the press almost as much as Ron Paul was. If you don't like the direction our country is now heading — and as of today, it's heading in a direction we never thought possible — consider the only alternative we may have left. The bailout votes this week should have proven to the world that there really isn't a dime's worth of difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Image: The U.S. flag flown upside down is a sign of distress, not of disrespect. Long may she wave.

Congress | Wall Street Bailout | Bob Barr | Libertarian Party | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Are we really a nation that believes in the rule of law?

We hold ourselves to be a nation of laws, but are we? Apparently, it's perfectly okay these days for a government official to off-the-cuff decide which laws will and which laws won't enforced.

Here are a couple of examples where the law apparently means nothing.

• Under Georgia and federal law, the influenza vaccine is held to be a "dangerous drug" that requires a prescription by a licensed medical doctor. Despite this law, you can get a flu shot just by walking into most any chain pharmacy in the state, and have been able to for years.
  
  Georgia's Gov. Sonny Perdue (a Freemason, by the way), when asked why this protective law isn't enforced, said that the State wasn't going to be "persnickety" about the law, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week.
  
  "This administration will not call for sanctions against those acting in the best interests of Georgians and in a manner consistent with past practices," he said in a prepared statement. "It is my expectation that health care professionals will act in the best interests of public health and continue prior practices."



• Former Congressman Bob Barr, who is running for President of the United States as a Libertarian, has filed a lawsuit in Texas demanding that both Senators Barack Obama and John McCain be removed from the Texas ballot because neither candidate met the official filing deadline.
  
  "The seriousness of this issue is self-evident," the lawsuit states. "The hubris of the major parties has risen to such a level that they do not believe that the election laws of the State of Texas apply to them."

Sonny Perdue | Barack Obama | John McCain | Bob Barr | Vaccinations | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com