A government should value the civil rights of its citizens over the welfare of the community.

Government and welfare. What a combination. They even have their own definition of "welfare" but I hope we will not be using that one because it may be somewhat flawed. Government's latest attempt at welfare in the broader sense, however, may be a disappointment. I refer to the http://www.washingtonpost.com... eight hundred nineteen billion dollar. Stop right there. That's thirty-five thousand dollars for every man, woman and child in America. Our government, if we are to believe it, has spent an enormous amount of money to stimulate the economy. Take a good look at this plan and tell me how it is supposed to stimulate the economy. It is obviously a plan to spend a lot of money without any economic impact except its gigantic cost. Filling potholes for people who didn't ask for their potholes to be filled will not generate income due to gas savings. It will give someone a temporary economically unsustainable job who will be paid with, and then pay taxes on, their own money. These jobs do not create any wealth and simply drain labor from the labor market in competition with the private sector, and create more debt, making economic recovery that much more remote. And there are an enormous number of "jobs" that will be "created." Assistance for unemployed workers and struggling families 45.7 billion Health insurance for the unemployed, 40.8 billion. 86.5 billion for the poor, about ten percent. The poor are getting ten cents on the dollar for their money. So a family of four could receive as much as $79 per month increase in food stamp allotment. They must be celebrating already as they start saving to pay for this plan for years to come. So it is not that great a deal for the government to pretend to place value on our welfare. Thanks a lot. At least when they take away our freedom they are not pretending to give us more. Freedom. Let's start with China. Students and teachers were locked down for over an hour while police dogs searched for drugs without any probable cause. Since no drugs were found, this "drill" was a great success, the government claimed. It gave the police dogs a good experience with real-life situations. We already know how the Chinese are about drugs and freedom anyway so this is not really surprising. One wonders why it is even in the news. We have problems of our own after all. http://www.freedomsphoenix.com... Except it wasn't China. It was Arizona. And also participating were the people who run private prisons just in case this turned into more than a "drill." They want more "clients." Might as well take them straight to the Big House and eliminate the middle man with all that legal fuss anyway. You know that's where you are going and they are not going to bring the prison to you. They have an excellent escape plan since they want you to bring all your friends back with you when you return. That means more profits. We already know how Arizona is about drugs and freedom anyway so this is not really surprising. One wonders why it is even in the news. We have problems of our own after all. The Patriot Act is not an Arizona law. It is the most egregious assault on our freedom in history. It and the hysteria surrounding it are more damaging to our civilization than the economic meltdown ever could be. We might learn to grow our own food and make our own clothes but we can not make our own freedom so easily. It makes a mockery of the Constitution, except that has already been done quite well. By immigration "reform." Border patrol vehicles pulling up right behind police cars on routine traffic stops. Our friends and neighbors are disappearing right before our eyes. This is not what America was supposed to be about. We are supposed to be about freedom and equality but instead we are turning into a Third World police state with neighbors encouraged to rat on neighbors. So it is not the government that needs to be concerned about our freedom after all. It is us.