by Ken King

What a month this has been. First, and the saddest, is that I had to have Boscoe put down. He had been becoming a little violent as he was aging and that had bothered me some. I felt I had a good handle on keeping him in the yard and hadn't been worrying about it much. Well I should have, as he got a hold of my arm the other night and I thought he was about to break it. Knowing he would bite me that hard, my concern turned towards the neighborhood kids and what would happen if one came into the yard and surprised him or if he got out amongst them. The only decision was to have him put down. I think I should mention that he had been suffering from arthritis for some time and his muscle tissue was declining at a fast rate.

Anyway, we contacted Vet-A-Pet out of Medley's Neck and they came by and did the deed here at the house. They were terrific. The part I liked most about doing it this way versus taking the dog to a clinic is that I got to hold him as he was sedated and was able to obtain some closure as I stroked his coat until he fell asleep. This was a lot different then what we went through several years ago when my wife's aging dog was put down. We took her to a clinic and had to leave her in a cage. That ride home was hell as the wife grieved and wondered about her dog. With Boscoe we were together and from all I could observe he went very peacefully to his final rest. A much preferred method for us as we witnessed his life's end. Well enough of that.

I think I will put that soft side of my persona away for awhile and get back to that obnoxiously opinionated person that I am, here goes. The whining, crying, and sniveling going on up on Capital Hill makes me wonder who it is that our representatives are actually representing. Are these people there to serve us or are they there to justify their existence? One of my latest pet peeves is the debate over taxes. If our representatives believe that the excess tax collected is a surplus for their use, as they see fit, they aren't representing us they are furthering their existence. If they believe that the excess tax is an overpayment needing to be refunded to those that paid it then they, in my mind, are representing us, the people. Not all of them feel the money is for their use, for example, this is what Rep. Ron Paul had to say on the matter; "The single greatest threat to our liberty in America is uncontrolled spending by Congress. Americans need to understand the stark reality behind the often boring and confusing budget rhetoric: Congress will spend nearly $2 trillion in 2002. This amount represents almost 11% more than Congress will spend in 2001. This massive spending funds an unbelievable number of federal departments, agencies, programs, and personnel. Most Americans understand that the federal government is far too large, yet most of their representatives in Congress continue to vote for spending increases every year. As a result, the same unconstitutional agencies grow, the same counterproductive programs are perpetuated, and the same military adventurism expands around the globe. In short, this spending insures that the federal government has more and more power over our lives, power never dreamed of nor intended by the authors of our Constitution. The more Congress spends, the less liberty we have." I hope other representatives share some of his beliefs.

These were pretty stinging remarks to his brothers and sisters entrusted with the governing of the people. He makes perfect sense to me, until he hammers on the military, but I will hold judgement until I can research some more on what it is he thinks they are doing wrong or excessively. I might agree with him on that depending on his point of view. What gets me most is the idea that we will have an 11% increase in spending when the economy is growing at a slower rate. Simply put that means we are pumping more and more of our money into an untold number of special interest projects. That is if you believe all the rhetoric about how Bush's plan does nothing for so many of the major budget items.

Why do our representatives support so many fruitless endeavors? Why should they be able to hold my hard earned money to support an activity that isn't related to the common defense or general welfare of the nation? I see "pet projects" (aka pork) flourishing in numerous districts throughout the nation. A lot of these projects don't meet their Constitutional criteria that Rep. Paul was referring too. 

Another area that I see them continuously invading is our personal liberties. Why do they seem to do nothing more than strip our dwindling freedoms from us? How many of you are tired of this "political correctness" that has filtered its way into every aspect of our lives. I know I am and I am also fed up with all of this "you can't say this and you can't do this" because you can now be fired, arrested, denied services and other penalties because of how you think. What has happened to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Where is the America our founding fathers created? Why can't I be ME as long as I am not hurting YOU? 

This has crept into all aspects of politics and we even observe it at our local levels of government. The uproar over the opening of the Tiki Bar is a perfect example of what I am talking about. All some people wanted to do was have some fun and because of that some of our citizens felt they were being harmed by the actions of a very select few. Because of this the event was threatened to be cancelled or "shut down" by the local constabulary. How does this benefit the masses? What good was served by the expenditure of county funds to "police" the event? What needed activity will be put off because of this type of action by our elected officials?