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When the French people overthrew their feudal government beginning in 1789 they aligned to the slogan, “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” (ou en Anglais): Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Equality (doing away with privilege) was the most important part of the slogan, and to obtain equality the revolutionists were willing to sacrifice liberty and brotherhood, which they did when they accepted the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte who in 1804 dropped all pretense of a constitutional republic and declared himself Napoleon I, Emperor of France. Could such an overbearing, insidious system of government happen here? I think it’s possible; and we seem to be trending in that direction. Watch for upcoming proposals suggesting ending the presidential two-term limit because, “I-didn’t-have-enough-time-to-get-it-done.” I suppose get-it-done means completing the downhill slide of the country into third world status because (sob) it isn’t fair! Aside: I think most of us agree that if term limits were applied to congress the country would be in much better shape. That would be a logical and prudent method for doing away with excessive privilege and self-interest in my opinion. I need to cop-out with a weasel-type disclaimer before I complete my point-of-view. (Hey, at least I have intellectual honesty!) See here’s the deal: Anyone can make a case, no matter how ridiculous and convoluted, by citing scripture, statistics, and history. Keep in mind that I am not an expert about any subject, but I am a logical thinker. Ideologues from both sides of our divided society resent that. Expressing an opinion based on thought, data, and analysis (without spin) is rare these days. We’re supposed to simply believe sound bites from government and media talking heads. Not me because I’m th-pecial. (Here you need to visualize a spit-flying Daffy Duck accent.) Here’s what got me going… Recently our esteemed vice president, that veritable king of plagiarizers, made an overnight trip to Paris. I believe the occasion was a funeral. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) provided some data relative to the cost of that trip, which I have provided below. In these tough economic times where jobs are lacking you’d think our government officials would have a little empathy, you know, tone it down a bit. BTW, I do not count 18,000 new IRS jobs and those flipping hamburgers as equivalent to the thousands of management, professional, and skilled labor jobs that have been lost no matter the White House spin. The price tag for Biden’s trip: $585,000 for a one night stay, which included 130 hotel rooms at one site and 100 at another. In addition, $321,000 for limousines to cart around his entourage PLUS Biden had his personal limo flown over! In addition, Obama and his bride use Air Force One like their personal taxi service using the privilege (there’s that word again) for four exotic vacations in four months including spring break for the girls. The Democrat strategists bristling from criticism played their tired, old blame-Bush card shrilly crying he-did-it, but at least Bush’s vacations were at nearby Camp David not Hawaii. Anyway, this in-your-face, screw-you spending spree of the elitist regime puts me to mind of France circa 1789 and the extravagances of Marie Antoinette, Austrian-born queen of hapless Louis XVI. Like Biden, she managed to spend a lot of cash in Paris. That said, here’s some real irony: the last straw, the tipping point that kicked off the French Revolution was $250 million provided to the fledgling United States. The actual revolution start date was May 5, 1789, the REAL Cinco de Mayo, or more accurately, le cinq mai, although the French celebrate the day they stormed the Bastille prison, le quatorze juillet (July 14) as their Independence Day. Equality to rank-and-file 18th century Frenchmen meant to gain equal rights with members of the nobility and clergy, which is a bit different than our American version of equality. Our definition has morphed into everyone demanding equal “stuff” no matter whether or not it is deserved or earned. France had three estates; viz., nobility, clergy, and commoners; and the Third Estate (commoners and merchants) got saddled with all the taxes; the first two estates being exempt! They were also assessed mandatory feudal dues from the first two estates. Again, that’s different from the American experience where the top five percent of earners pay 85-percent of the taxes, and still the libs squeal that’s not enough. Romney’s 47-percent remark was right on mark. That is, at least 45-percent pay no taxes. What a wimp for backing down! Did you ever see a group of people going around stepping on their own johnsons like the Republicans? By the way, folks, one reason the so-called American superrich pay less tax because their wealth is in ASSETS not annual earnings. Capital gains taxes aren’t collected until an asset is liquidated. The French Revolution and accompanying Reign of Terror was propagated by left-wing activists (the radical Jacobin Club) stirring up the Third Estate, and (according to some historians) were heartily egged-on by Freemasons. Here’s a lesson from history, and the human condition: When leftists gain power they become the new elite trampling on peoples’ liberties for their own gain; in other words, they become just as bad (usually much worse) as the blackguards they replaced. Napoleon’s words: “Liberty is a necessity felt only by a not very numerous class. It can therefore be restricted with impunity. Equality on the other hand pleases the multitude.” And get this: Even in 1792 politicians used carefully crafted words to fake-out societal non-thinking followers. The ruling cadre, chaired by Maximillien Robespierre, was called the Committee of Public Safety (What a BS name!), and for the “safety” of the “people” sent thousands to the guillotine, including those in their inner circle who criticized their excesses. The end of the Terror, and the functional demise of the Jacobin Club, occurred when Robespierre faced Madame Guillotine July 28, 1794. We witnessed the same lefties-become-righties phenomenon when socialists / communists took over the Warsaw pact nations, China, and Cuba. Another symptom of socialist rule is ruination of the societies they govern; witness Detroit and California where attempted programs of everyone having equal “stuff” in exchange for votes ruined both. Note: When I lived in California, it had the fourth best economy IN THE WORLD! In our country the clergy is pretty much impotent, but the inside-the-beltway elite have become the Western Hemisphere’s First Estate noble class—or so they act. So my warning is to heed the creeping excesses in DC by both parties and kick the bastards out. The whole place is filled with Marie Antoinettes. Same on the state levels. Did you see the story about some city official (a minority female) in a northern California city receiving $400,000 a year versus that of her peers across the country being paid about $150,000? During my relatively short time on this rocky orb politicians, lawyers, and educators have transformed hypocrisy into sanctity, vice into virtue, falsehood into truth, faith in the absurd into theological science, and their every act testifies to cruelty, perfidy, hatred toward mankind, barbarity, and rejection of science. Another symptom to watch for is stripping citizens of arms. In recent history, both the National SOCIALIST (Nazi) Party of Hitler and the Communist regimes of Lenin and Stalin declared an armed citizenry illegal. I don’t own guns, swords, and/or bow-and-arrows, but maybe I should. I’m thinking about getting a Gatling gun to tow around with my car. How cool would that be? Here’s where I leave you with a long, meaningful sigh. With all of the evidence (and much, much more) in front of your noses, and my teeny-tiny warning, I still don’t expect you to give-a-damn because it can’t happen here, right? By Gene Myers author and gleeful dispenser of extraneous information. A tout a l’heure, mes amis!
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equality, Napoleon, term limits, GAO, Biden, Marie Antoinette, excesses,
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