I don't think that we have yet reached the state that Europe is in, teaching children in grade school that all things good come from government and all things bad come from private business.

Perhaps not Hugh, but the trends are disquiting. I have a brother and sister-in-law who are pretty liberal, and they seem to be convinced of two things. Those on the left are smarter (and more virtuous) and there are "experts" who work for the government who really do know the solutions to all of our problems.

TOTBAL people are the problem. Anytime they spot something they don't like, the response is likely "There Ought To Be A Law" against whatever.

I think TOTBAL against more laws.

I'm with you on abolishing most of the federal departments, along with several of individual state departments. But with the belief that local city and county departments would need to adapt to the changes.

I can tell you I believe that if a health-care bill gets passed, middle America from democrats to those that don't even claim a party will do everything they can to boot out most of Congress and Obama. These millions of voters don't want vague bills that become policy and law passed. Nor do they want to own corporations and bail out business and banks that should have been allowed to go under.

But the one thing that is not vague is the disrespect and disdain that the members of Congress and the various presidents have shown to the American public over the last seventy or so years.

It has become apparent that they view themselves as the masters of a people that are stupid and don't know what they want or need. When they should be working to protect and preserve not only our freedoms but to limit government control instead of increasing it.

And most American's know that they are not stupid peasants who need (or want) a bigger more intrusive government. Except for most of the ones that have been educated in our liberal universities and thus brainwashed.

I'm afraid that it is congress and the president and his backers are the ones who just don't understand or care.

Just as our Founders told us could happen.

Papa Ray
West Texas

The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed - where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once.
2009 Judge Alex Kozinski

Government sprawl is philosophical obesity.

The problem is that being against government poses problems if the goal is to get elected and help run government. Reagan stated that he wanted to abolish the Department of Education, but he ended up increasing its budget:

http://www.cato.org/research/education/articles/reagan.html

He also said he wanted to abolish Commerce and Energy, but that never happened either.

Because of the nature of the system, Republicans are placed in the position of making things they claim to hate work better.

Little wonder libertarians don't want to run for office. People who are against government don't want to be in it.

Your dinner conversation reminds me of the op-eds that appear in our local rag every time there is a vote to add a sales tax to fund some new issue. Typically it's some young person, usually a high school student, espousing the virtues of the "fix" (or least why a fix is required) while also exclaiming the cost is "only a penny." They just don't get it. Some fix is always necessary, but this time the solution is correct, and oh it's "only a penny."