One day when I heard Mark Levin say that “every day our circle of liberty gets tighter and tighter around us”, I made a note of it to post one day… Boy does that statement ring true…
There are a myriad of reasons why it is true and most all of them go against the original notion of the nation’s framers to limit government and to keep government from interfering with our God given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…
The sheer number of local, state, and federal regulations are absolutely mind boggling. We seem to need permission from some government agency to do nearly anything – even if its on our own property or in our own home.
Guess how many pages of federal regulations came on the books just last year?
While reading an article from thehill.com, a study revealed that during the year 2015 the publication of the federal government’s rules, proposed rules and notices amounted to 81,611 pages! There have been 3,378 final rules and regulations among the pages of the Federal Register during 2015 alone!
The number of specific regulatory restrictions listed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) has topped one million, and the print edition of the CFR takes up 238 volumes while the index alone runs 1,242 pages!
Here’s a statistic for you… according to a study from spectator.org, there has been a new federal regulation every two hours and nine minutes—24 hours per day, 365 days per year, for the past 20 years!! All this while every year, government agencies continue to issue thousands of regulations costing billions upon billions of dollars adding up to trillions…
As the government continues to fatten (picture ‘Jabba the Hutt’), so too do the hundreds upon hundreds of federal agencies continue to issue rules and regulations while self-justifying their reason for existence…
Ever wonder what are some of these federal agencies?
List of Federal Agencies
And that’s just federal… now factor in your own state and local regulations! The obstacles to true liberty are absolutely enormous! There’s little doubt that each and every one of us are probably inadvertently breaking many laws, rules and regulations each and every day.
Is all of this really necessary? Are all of these government regulations supposed to save us from ourselves? Does government really know best?
Speaking of the tightening circle of liberty, just look at how much we’ve lost since 9/11, and since the implementation of the various ‘terrorist’ acronyms which scare the people into accepting further loss of privacy and liberty. It has become seemingly quite easy to strip away our privacy for the sake of so called ‘safety’. While I’m not downplaying the fact that there are those in the world who wish to kill us, I’m asking (hypothetically) to what extent and at what cost to our freedoms are we willing to go in order to feel more ‘safe’??
Various government “Act’s” have enabled enormous potential and apparent legal justification to haul nearly any one of us away if they so wanted to… Unless you’ve been living in a bubble, most of you know that .gov listens, watches, reads, and profiles everything that you do – thanks to technology. While some may say something like “Who cares… I’m not doing anything wrong so I don’t care”, it’s people like that who enable the tightening of the circle of liberty. And one day when it’s gone, they’ll say “How did this happen?”.
I suppose I could go on while elaborating on more examples of the tightening circle of liberty, however I would rather hear from you and your opinions…
Of interest:
US Constitution: and Declaration of Independence
The Federalist Papers
Common Sense (Thomas Paine)
During the era of US territories, men wore guns on their hips and duelling was legal. Now that is an expression of liberty.
sheesh…
wonder how it compares to Canada….
sort of think we are even worse off…
seems to me, at least in the States you can protect Home and Person from attack..
in Canada, if someone breaks in to your home, attacks you with a weapon, YOU can still be charged if YOU hurt them with a weapon/shoot at them…
@Canada Too, It is truly amazing how a people can become ‘enslaved’ to such an extent that THEY become the criminal when defending themselves. Truly and absolutely remarkable… While we in the U.S. have more rights in that regard (e.g. firearms, self-defense, etc..) there are many states and regions where those rights have diminished or have been stripped away. And there is a great desire and surge among .gov (and many from the ‘left’) to strip everyone else…
Ken,
yes, it is amazing. Hadnt given it much thought, other than the protection one (which we wonder from time to time how DOES one protect one’s life/home without ending being charged..?)
did a quick google, came up with this, from news sources
The Slow and Painful Death of Freedom in Canada
Less than a generation ago, Canada was a world leader when it came to the fundamental democratic freedoms of assembly, speech and information.
In 1982, Canada adopted the Access to Information Act — making it one of the first countries to pass legislation recognizing the right of citizens to access information held by government, and as recently as 2002, Canada ranked among the top 5 most open and transparent countries when it came to respect for freedom of the press.
Less than a generation ago, Canada was a world leader when it came to the fundamental democratic freedoms of assembly, speech and information.
In the 2013 World Press Freedom Index — an evaluation done by Reporters Without Borders on the autonomy of a country’s media environment, Canada came in at a paltry 20th, putting us behind liberal-democratic powerhouses such as Namibia, Costa Rica, and the Western Hemisphere’s new champion of free media — Jamaica.
Abrupt confiscation of the right of citizens in the province to spontaneously demonstrate and protest in public spaces — seen recently at the totalitarian debacle known as the Anti-Police Brutality Protest, where over 250 people were arrested for failing to register with authorities before assembling.
Bill 78 requires organizers of assemblies involving 50 or more people to register the details of any demonstration with the police at least eight hours before it begins. Anyone who does not comply with the law faces a fine from $1000 up to $125,000 depending on his or her involvement and leadership in the protest.
(Uhm…some folks can go around with their face always covered…but not so your average Joe)
trend with Bill C-309 — criminalizing the act of covering one’s face during any sort of display of civil disobedience. And as opposed to the customary fine, the bill carries with it a penalty of up to five years in prison.”
—
and this, I remember hearing in the news..
Apparently in Canada, the RCMP have the right to use your private yard/property for “training purposes” (without your consent)..huh???
Roger and Cindy Smith notified the BCCLA after they saw an RCMP dog and seven or eight police officers run through their suburban Nanaimo yard at noon on May 25.
Upset Vancouver Island homeowners are calling on local Mounties to stop training dogs in their backyards.
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has complained about the practice to the federal Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.
“It was such a shock — you have this posse suddenly showing up in your backyard,” Smith said.
As a homeowner, I was not happy about this apparent loss of my freedom/property rights.
I recall, at the time, hearing some quote from the Head Office of RCMP something about it being “within their rights”…Come on…What about my rights/my property rights/my safety/ etc etc…
here is another one of these “Police training on your property”..
all I can say is WTF?
A Chilliwack, B.C., family is furious after their six-year-old pit bull was shot and killed by police who came onto their property unannounced to perform a training exercise with a police dog.
Two police dog handlers and a police dog came onto the family’s property without advance notice.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Peter Thiessen told ctvbc.ca Tuesday night that the training exercise was being performed by an Abbotsford police officer connected to the Lower Mainland Regional District Police Dog Service and a Chilliwack RCMP officer.
He said that the two officers were training a police dog to track a suspect through a residential area.
When they entered the property, the police dog came under attack by the pit bull, Thiessen said.
(duh..yes..the dog was defending its property…owners…again WTF???)
This is very true. That is why if they break into your home, you make sure that they can’t press charges. 😉
And it’s also a good idea to keep a couple of very hungry pigs around….they eat bones and all….just a thought.
Plus the added benefit of pork apparently being a deterrent to a particular ‘radical element’ just as light is a deterrent to the vampire (couldn’t resist)…
@ Ken
Ohhhhhhhh, That’s BAD!!!
HAHAHA
NRP
We had numerous incidents of abused women in The ER who didn’t want to press charges. As mandated reporters nurses are required to notify local law enforcement of assaults. At least in California the abused women doesn’t have to press charges, the State will do it for them. Getting them to testify is a another story.
Dead people can’t press charges but their families can sue. After all your “excessive force” deprived them of their means of ability to buy their drugs. Oops I mean their means of support.
Got to love it. Once they are published “Its the law,” and ignorance of all these billions of obscure regulations that rule us is no excuse. Let freedom ring! Another notion I love is driving is a privilege not a right. It is my taxes that build and maintain the roads. They are public property. Most times driving is the only way to get around and they say it is not a right. And so the circle of liberty tightens–around our necks….
cheers
The reason there are so many laws and regulations is because that is what “the people” want. You folks that post here may not be “the people” that voted for this crap but just think about it for a moment. How many people do you know who would jump at the chance to have a law or regulation passed to keep you from doing something they don’t approve of?
Over the years, I’ve talked to a number of people I know, about all kinds of issues, and finally quit doing so when I realized that all of them would sell me down the river in a heartbeat if they could, all the while claiming to be my friend. They all voted for this crap, not me. Same for taxes.
The people rush to the polls every election to pass tax increases to “help the children”, “give the poor teachers a pay raise”, “fight the drug war”, “fight the terrorists”, “give poor firefighters or cops a pay raise”, “build a community center”, and on and on and on.
The way I see it, “the people” in America will eventually get EXACTLY what they deserve when their a$$es are hauled off to some prison camp somewhere, or they are summarily executed or starved to death. Sadly, the rest of us minority will also have to pay one way or the other. That’s what has me concerned and that’s why I prep. Not only do we have to prep with resources and hone and maintain our abilities but we must be mentally prepared to deal with the aftermath, on whichever path we choose.
Amen Brother!!! If martial law was ever enacted when I go out it won’t be peaceful & there is no way I will be taken to any kind of camp!!!
Here’s a novel idea. Let congress meet one year and pass new laws (like we need more) the next year when they meet they can not pass any laws but must repeal the same amount of laws that they passed the year before… It would be real interesting to say the least.
Why delay a year?
And how about 2 repeals for 1?
Either way, it wouldn’t do any good. They have a way around it. Laws used to be a page or two. Now the number of pages would be too heavy for me to carry, and the laws aren’t even on those pages. Laws now say the regulators shall pass the “rules and regulations.” Those are thousands of pages more.
So even with my “improved” idea, you would lose 5 or 10 pages of obsolete regs, and gain tens of thousands of new ones.
Daisy K
Yet, just think of all the outhouse tp paper one would have, one for the bottom and another for reading. Covering both bases lol…sorry I just could not pass up on this. Yep just bom bay bad I am. 🙂
Most people don’t even have their front door secured. They truly believe they will fight back when they come until it happens. When it happens 98% of people are still laying in their beds when they open their eyes at 4AM with the agency pointing at their heads.
I really, really suggest everyone customize their front doors and other entrances. 4:00 AM, a flash bang and then it’s all over in under 10 seconds. They already have a footprint of your rooms. They already sat down and discussed how it will go down. They have it all planned when they come. You only have seconds and without a secure door you’re cooked.
Like I said 99% have zero chance because they have never secured their doors, and I am not talking about a few extra longer screws. I am talking about welding and steel with threaded rods similar to hurricane hardware. Heck, most of the doors I see could be back kicked in and without a flash bang or ram, I could beat most out of bed. When will most prepare and this is not talking about food.
If you are honestly expecting to have to make a stand at your front door you already lost.
I pay no attention to the stupid regs and laws, I do my own thing like breathe without a permit to do so. Everyone including those who make these laws, break them. I am secluded enough I can run outside around my home naked 50 times, breaking decency laws, I can put a pallet on the ground for my firewood, breaking zoning laws. I can cover a low lying mud puddle with dirt the gov’t claims it owns and violate the water act. I violated the law moving out of Pa without a moving permit.
Stupid laws are made to be broken, and if someone tries to pick the splinter in my eye, I will point out the forest in theirs. Most authorities don’t know these regs or laws exist.
@Stardust,
You have the right attitude!
I’ve been on some of the websites or read news stories that list crazy laws here in CA, and some of them are just hysterical. Some of them are obviously outdated (going back to horses and carriages in cities), and some are just crazy. I remember when Clint Eastwood was mayor in Carmel and it made the news that he got the “no eating ice cream on public sidewalks” law repealed.
I remember hearing of one city that had a law that if you set off a nuclear weapon in their town there would be a $500 fine. Obviously a well-crafted deterrent to those thinking about detonating a nuclear device. One city had rules about animals not copulating near public gathering places (for all those law-abiding critters) and it goes on and on. I’m sure every town has these stupid things on the books, and they need to be repealed and dumped… what a joke!
Ever wonder where these regs and laws come from? Someone who has a bitch and money to support an official in government who will do favors for that money. This back door dealing has been going on since the beginning of civilization. There never has been freedom as the founders intended it to be, everything is bought and paid for, mostly under the table and back rooms.
Yup, time to water the tree of liberty!!
“there has been a new federal regulation every two hours and nine minutes—24 hours per day, 365 days per year, for the past 20 years!!”
Wow Ken!! When you put it into numbers like that it really blows my mind. I knew it was bad but had no idea it was that out of control.
“As the government continues to fatten (picture ‘Jabba the Hutt’), so too do the hundreds upon hundreds of federal agencies continue to issue rules and regulations while self-justifying their reason for existence…”
As a Star Wars fan since day 1, your analogy of the government as ‘Jabba the Hutt’ was perfect. A gluttonous monster that is evil and cares only about keeping its power and control.
That got me thinking (staying with the Star Wars theme). Jabba the Hut was eventually strangled to death by the smaller Princess Leia whom he had chained to his throne like a slave.
So we have a gluttonous government doing whatever they can to control us and keep its power. Then I guess there will be a time when a small percentage of the population (slaves) will rise up and strangle and destroy the beast!!
Sounds good to me!!
Have a good day.
Adapt and Overcome.
@11HE9,
I also thought Ken’s “Jabba the Hut” analogy was spot-on. It’s a perfect visual image for anyone who’s seen Star Wars – our .gov as a huge, bloated beast growing bigger and greedier by the day. Our liberties are decreasing but our national debt is increasing… what a combo our elected officials have put together for us. Sigh!
An average of 10,000 pieces of new legislation per year is the number I heard–from a Senator, who in the same breath said he can’t read it all and has to vote on most of it blind, with only what is said on the floor and a precis from his staff. When Pelosi said “We need to pass it so we can find out what’s in it,” that would have resonated with most of the legislators.
To: Confused and in the dark,
I’m sorry to say that driving is a privilege within the US. Cars, trucks and insurance all cost MONEY. That makes legal driving an expensive privilege. Having driven ambulances for years, I also tend to view cars and trucks as potential weapons. I never remember getting a lecture on driver safety from an ambulance worker when I was a teen driver on learning permit(it would be a gory lecture- might prevent some kids from riding motorcycles).
Driving is one thing, going through life under the influence, drunk, stoned, otherwise screwed up is another(also take time to mention those with an IQ of 70 or lower). THESE are the people I would like to see never getting the privilege of driving/ obtaining loaded firearms/ operating heavy machinery in my world. Bad things tend to happen when people with poor judgement and no impulse control are at the steering wheel/controls/trigger.
Ken, sorry to go counter to your article. I am a believer in personal liberty within the US. However, I was raised with the saying that with liberty comes the need for responsibility. My work within the Healthcare Industry proves out this statement on a daily basis.
Along these lines, I do not want to live in a world run by doctors either. Doctors banding together have eliminated some things like 3 wheel ATVs and they tried to outlaw jet-skis(that one failed). Some states, one cannot buy Sudafed for nasal congestion without a prescription. I moved from a state that banned the use of lead bullets for hunting(suitable substitutes are mighty expensive). Sometimes, it is best to vote with your feet. I suspect this is why Ken moved to New Hampshire rather than New Jersey.
I believe it would be appropriate to mandate that Congress can NOT pass a law until or unless each Congress person has ACTUALLY read the law THEMSELVES. That might slow things down a bit! LOL
Seriously though, I read approximately 18,000 pages of law each year just to stay current in my field. This is a sad statement. I used to be impressed that CO was a common law state and all of its statutes fit into 43 titles when CA was in the hundreds (where I first started). Now, all I can say is govt in general is out of control and probably “too big to fail”???
How don’t we whittle it back to reasonable size?
See my comment above. 10,000 pieces of new legislation every year (the guidelines and regulations are on top of that). They CAN’T read them all. It’s physically impossible.
There is no way to “whittle it back to a reasonable size” without a complete reset. We can vote to replace those in power but has that really ever changed anything? The whole system is corrupt and rotten. They will never give up what they currently have and will always want more.
Adapt and Overcome.
Quote, “The whole system is corrupt and rotten.”
**That is precisely correct**
In my estimation there is absolutely no way in this world that it can be whittled back to a reasonable size. Why? Because we have long since passed the point of no return with ‘the people’ allowing it to happen (and to benefit from it). This may end very badly. It’s just a question of which ‘ending’ will it be?
Quite some time ago they passed a law saying that a bill could only contain what was in the title. It was an effort to avoid the pork and earmarks, which make most bills just carriers for things that were entirely unrelated. By the time the bill was passed, the bill itself included a sub-clause in the title that said “And other purposes.”
The Liberty Tree is getting very thirsty…..
“And what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.” “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.”
-Thomas Jefferson
If Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin and some of the other founders were alive today, they’d be shaking their fingers at us and saying this is exactly what we were warning you of.
When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When people fear the government, there is tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson
It looks like it’s time for a reset. I think the last one was about 1776.
BI
I agree with so much of what has been said on this thread.
There are databases that hold tremendous amounts of info about all of us. Insurance companies know how much we use our vehicles (and in some cases our “driving habits” are logged), retailers track our purchases, we are watched/recorded on camera systems, our club affiliations, memberships and subscriptions are compiled, our credit cards purchases are monitored (for fraud and who knows what else), our communications are fair game, and our banks report every time we sneeze around some cash. Then there’s drones and who knows what all else we don’t hear about. And that’s the stuff for “regular” people, not someone who is actually on some type of watch list.
We are told all of this is for our safety, but no one with a brain in their head feels any safer. Privacy is a thing of the past. I think all of our personal liberties and freedoms are going or gone – with no solution in sight. That was a cheerful post – sorry.
So Cal Gal
yuppers…All IS Known..
and have you noticed the huge number (In both United States and Canada)
of Laptops which are “stolen” from “Doctors doing research” which just happen to have total data bases of hospitals on them..?
LOTS
Golly Gee… just who is paying for this info/thefts…???
Anon,
You’re right, medical databases have been a target. Who would benefit most from that – big pharma companies? Identity theft rings looking for Soc Sec # info? Anyway you slice it all of our info is out there and it seems none of it is any too safe.
The times have changed and they are a changin still. Most of what we think are laws, are not laws but “regulations” put upon us by bureaucrats in the alphabet soup agencies. Think EPA, BLM, FDA, DHS, IRS and the list continues seemingly forever.
Our public education (indoctrination) system totally controls the education of our young people today. The Federal Reserve private bank totally controls our national economy. We, as a people have lost so many liberties a little at a time that I do not see us ever regaining them without a great deal of struggles and hardships. We have, in many states, lost the ability to protect ourselves from predators.
When the guns are confiscated the final liberties will be lost for a long, long time.
The ruling class wishes to have control over the working class (serfs) and they are doing a pretty good job of it, I am sad to say.
I suppose one should invest in precious metals (lead) tar, feathers and some good rope to weather the upcoming storm .
No one wants to kill Americans more than the American Government. All you have to do is add up all the experiments on Americans the government has done without their consent. Then look at the government trying to prevent GMO labeling, Fast and Furious gun running to Drug Cartels, Financing ISIS thru Saudi Arabia, Starting AlQueda in Afghanistan in the 80s to fight the Soviet Union, Spying on all US citizens, etc etc. Thats just the stuff that is proven.
I remember when I lived on one of the highest taxed states in the country.
(Now they seem to increase yearly).
Anyway, I lived in a nice, semi-rural location, and would burn most of my burnable waste (cardboard, newsprint, etc), in a “burn-barrel”
The one I was using had just about passed it’s useful life, and I had added a replacement for it.
A big city “Libtard” showed up one day, and asked me why I had two “Burn_Barrels”
I responded “One is for my normal pollutants, and the other is for my
“Hazardous Waste”. The look on his face was absolutely precious.
@ Ozarks Hermit
“One is for my normal pollutants, and the other is for my
“Hazardous Waste”.
HAHAHAHA, I will have to remember that one LOL
NRP
Mark Levin, another Neocon wolf in sheep’s clothing, is one to whine about the erosion of liberty. See who this shill is supporting for POTUS. Show me who you are with and I will tell you who you are.
@Texasprepper, If those people were here today, they`d be wearing t-shirts that say “Let`s Make America Great Again”. If those people were here today the Bible and prayer would be reinstated in the public schools, every class would start with the Pledge of allegiance, and our nations patriotic songs would not be forgotten. If those men and women were here today there would be patriotic rallies where those songs are sung, our wonderful patriotic music played, and recitations of America`s greatest speeches would be heard. If those people were here today our enemies would fear us, our friends would respect us, and they coming through our borders would only be able to do so legally. If those great men and women were alive today, they`d take us to the wood shed for letting the greatest opportunity for freedom that the world has ever seen become what it is today. They`d be embarrassed, disgusted, and ashamed. But being the great people that they were, I`d like to think that they would give us a second chance and show us how to expand the circle of liberty(had to get the topic in there :).