Paradise Lost???

[lakeman1999]

Chapter #1<br />Once upon a time there was a people that inhabited a majestic land under an all-powerfull govenment. Now this government had the recources to control practically every aspect of human existance; hundreds of thousands of "public servants" could access the most personal details of every citezine's life because every one was issued a number at birth which the government would track him throughout his life. No one could even work in gainfull employment without this number.<br />True, the government left certain domains of individual action largely free, particularly matters concerning speech and sex. These activities posed no real threat to the government.

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #2<br />When not used to entertain and divert, the power of speech was used principally to clamor for more or better goods from the state, or for "reforms" to make the state work "better," thereby entrenching the people's dependency. And insofar as sex was concerned, well the people's behavior in this area also really had no effect on the scope of governmental power. In fact the rulers noted that people's preoccupation with matters of sexual morality-- whether premarital, teenage pregnancy, adultery, divorce, homosexuality, or general "who's zooming who"-- diverted the peoples attention from the fact that they were, for economic and all other intents and purposes, slaves.

 

[JB]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Huh??

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #3<br />Slaves, though, who labored under the illusion that they were free. The people were a simple lot, politically speaking, and readily mistook the ability to give free reign to their appetites as the essence of "personal freedom".<br />In that fruitfull land, the state took about 50 percent of everything the people earned through numerous forms of taxation, up from about 25 percent only a generation earlier. However, this boastfull people, who believed themselves to be the freeest on earth, retained the right to keep and bear arms. Tens of millions of them possesed firearms just in case their government became tyrannical and enslaved them.

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #4<br />In that land, an astronomical number of regulations, filling more than 96,000 pages in the governments's "code of regulations," were promulgated by persons who were not elected by the people. The regulators often developed close relaytionships with the businesses they regulated, and work in "agencys" that had the power both to make llaw-and to enforce it.<br />The agencies were not established by the government's constitution, and their existance violated that instrument's principal of seperation of powers. Yet the people retained the right to keep and bear arms. Just in case their government, some day, ceased to be a "government of the people".

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Methinks lakemean is on a rant about Truth, Justice, and The Democratic Way ... or the Liberal Way, if you will, lol<br /><br />The government is making dependent slaves of it people, making them dependent on the services it provides, in exchange for the "Tightening Of The Noose" on the collective necks of the people<br /><br />What hes really mad about is the slow yet sure loss of rights that are going on, taking away guns, taking away freedom, after all, when you can pass legislation saying that a private citizen, and lets get this straight people, most PUBLIC PLACES ARE OWNED BY PRIVATE CITIZENS, PROPERY OF JOE Q PUBLIC NOT UNCLE SAM GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR cant provide services to SMOKERS cause they OWN a so called public place, its not long before Draconia is on your door, beating it down with a blugeon and putting in cameras to keep an eye on you<br /><br />if NOT, well, thats sure as helll what I AM MAD ABOUT<br /><br />Can ya tell?

 

[oddjob]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Ba!da!Bing!

 

[JGREGORY]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Political Satire. I love it. So very close to the truth.

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #5<br />In that land, the constitution contemplated that people would be governed by two seperate levals of government- "national" and "local". Matters that concerned the people most intimately- health, education, welfare, crime, and the enviroment- were to be left almost exclusively to the local leval, so that those who made and enforced the laws lived close to the people who were subject to the laws, and felt their effects.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Hey, anybody see or hear about the Eminent Domain abuses that are going on?? I heard about it on the radio, then caught it on 60 minutes. Man, that made me mad

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #6<br />Different people who had different ideas about such things would not be subject to a "one size fits all" standard that would apply if the national government dealt with such matters. Competition among different localities for people, who could move freely from one place to another, would act as a reality check on the passage unneccesay, or unwise laws. <br />But in a time of great crisescalled the great economic downturn, the people and their leaders clamored for "national solutions to national problems", and the constitution was "interpreted" by the Majestic Court to permit the national government to pass laws regulating practically everything that has been reserved for the localities.

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #7<br />Now the people had the pleasure of being govorned by not one, but two beneficient governments with two sets of laaws regulating the same things. Now the people could be prosecuted by not one, but two governments for the same activities and conduct. Still this fiercely independant people retained the right to keep and bear arms. Just in case their government some day no longer secured the blessings of liberty to themselves or their posterity.<br />In that fair land, property owners could be held liable under the nations environmental legislation for the cleanup cost associated with toxic chemicals, even if the owners had not caused the problem.<br />Another set aof laws provided for asset forfieture and permited government agencies to confiscate property without first establishing guilt.

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: Paradise Lost???

this is not the most eloquent thesis, but its really riveting & entertaining & enjoyable.... its gotta at least rank up there with CBS up-to-tha-minit news <br /><br />i think lakeman found his niche

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #8<br />Yet the people retained their right to keep and bear arms. Just in case their government denied them due process by holding them liable for things that were not their fault. (The Majestic Court had long ago determined that "due process" did not prevent government from imposing liability on people who were not at fault. "Due process", it turned out, meant little more than a law had been passed in accordance with established procedures. You know, it was actually voted on, passed by a majority and signed by the President. If it meant those standards, it didn't much matter what the law actually did.)

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

In this mornings paper.<br />#1) New Jersey passed a law against driving while tired/drowsey??? --Question?? What and how do you present evidence in court??? Is it against the law to pull to the side of the highway/interstate/street/rest-area, and sleep/nap in your vehicle in New Jersey??? <br /><br />#2) The city of St. Pete in Florida just passed a law against committing suicide on stage in front of a paying audiance. Upon conviction, 60 days in jail (in or out of coffin), and $500.00 fine.<br />Taa Daaa

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #9<br />Oh well, the people had little real cause to worry. After all, those laws hardley ever affected anyone that they knew. Certainly not the people that mattered most of all: the country's favorite celebrities and sports teams, who so occupied the people's attention. And how bad could it be if it had not been the subject of a movie of the week, telling them what to think and how to feel about it? In that wide open land, the police often established roadblocks to check that the people's papers were in order. The police-armed agents of the rulers-used these occaisions to ask the occupants whether they were carrying weapons or drugs. Sometimes the police would ask to search the vehicles, and the occupants-not knowing whether they could say no and wanting to prove that they were good guys by cooperating-would permit it.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Paradise Lost???

HUH? OMG. HUH?

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Paradise Lost???

Chapter #10<br />The Majestic Court had pronounced these roadblocks and searches lawfull on the novel theory, unknown to the country's Founding Forebears, that so long as the police were doing this to everyone equally, it didn't violate anyones rights in particular. <br />The roadblocks sometimes caused annoying delays, but these lovers of the open road took it in stride. After all, they retained their right to keep and bear arms. Just in case their government, some day, engages in unreasonable search and seisures.