>>At the risk of starting a flame or political war here...
>
>What could possibly make you think that? < g >

>Beautiful words indeed, but even nicer when they are followed. This country went for a long time ignoring these words, at least if you were a slave. Even Jefferson himself owned slaves. And as far as the consent of the governed goes, well, don't try and express your opinion by voting if you were black and living in the South before the 60s.

All moot points.

>My view of Congress is that they try to create a level playing field. While their attempts are not perfect, I like it a lot better than doing nothing. If you are a white male in this country, life is pretty good. If you are not, well, it can still be pretty good, but look at all the hurdles you had to overcome. Is there anything wrong with overcoming hurdles? No, its part of life. Anything wrong with hurdles deliberately put in place by some in the majority based on the color of your skin? Yes, as those hurdles try and deny them their pursuit of hapiness.

You are extracting from my statement nothing I stated explicitly or implicitly. For example, I did not say everyone is entitled to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness only if you are a WASP. There have been several amendments to the Constitution that eliminated barriers based on race, sex, etc. There are also laws already on the books that go unenforced. We are at a point now where we do not need more laws. The problem now lies in the hearts of bigots and racists.

>I agree, but I would like to see out country do a better job of taking care of our less fortunate. And by this I don't mean the welfare queen having 24 kids at the expense of taxpayers. I mean the physically handicapped or mentally ill who cannot work. And as far as the welfare queen goes, who suffers when she is cut off welfare? She does for sure, which doesn't bother me any, but mostly it is her children.

I have no problem with help for disabled and mentally ill. I do have problems with fraud and abuse. Rewarding aberrant behaviour is an abuse.

>I am not really clear on what Libertarian principles are. And as far as the current trend toward higher taxation, I don't recall seeing a higher tax rate since the George W. "Read My Lips" Bush Sr. tax hike. < g >

Libertarian principals -- government should get the hell of my back and out of my wallet! And he lost the next election because of it. Where were you the first 2 years of the Clinton administration?

>Praise the all-mighty dollar.

No. Praise the self-motivated and the right to reap the rewards of your own labor. Our current tax system penalizes success and does not equally share the risk when a venture fails. If you succeed, pay the gov't 20 to 40%. If you fail, the gov't does not suffer proportionately with you. That is wrong.