Diogenes of the Rifle: watching the Skyline and some thoughts.

Watching current events unfolding in the area that I live in, I have some questions that aren't being answered. I know the answers but I wonder why they aren't being asked by more people. I wonder at the level of citizen that wanders through this country, never quite being aware of how they are, not only part of the problem, being milked dry by those that 'govern'.

One of the events I am watching is the downsizing of government. Tentatively speaking that is. It's not really being downsized, just manipulated to appear that way.
Locally there were 63 teachers layed off, some school programs axed, local busing axed, all due to a high deficit in that particular school system. My question to the people of that system is this: Did the Administrators reduce the size of their pay, or cut out non-essential admin positions in the management? (obvious answer is no) Second question: How is an administrator a key role in the education of the children? (obvious answer; they aren't) So, why does the populace allow the administration grow while essential services, that actually make up the need for the system, cut?

With that analogy, let's look at what is going on all over the place countrywide. Local, state, federal etc etc. Even here in the City I live in, they are budgeting back essential services but little to no elimination of administrative areas. There is one Mayor that wrote in a pay cut but she is an anomaly to the system(she believes in leadership by example, Now that's a rarity in these times.) She is the only one to do that though(we have 7 mayors, interesting but ineffective in my eyes)
Nationally we have hit a point where there are more Govt jobs than Private sector. Of these jobs, more than half are nothing more than administrative: pushing paper or crunching numbers. A vast majority of them are highly protected, not elected, for life positions with much higher levels of pay than the equivalent Private sector position. Very few are actually Production, some are service oriented, but the majority of them are more for collection of revenue(taxes no matter how you look at it. Whether its in a tax, ticket, or some other measurement/regulation/mandate, these are ways of taking money from one person to apply it to some other need/application/service/entitlement. THEFT as simply put as possible) What you have is a large group of people that do nothing EXCEPT take value from someone, without compensation, to give to someone else.

To say I am angry about it is an understatement. Knowing the facts of what our government has become and that this started long before I was born is of little consequence. But here is a fact. I am not going to go off the handle and start 'retaliating'. IF the shooting starts, it will be in self defense, not an attempt to 'suicide by cop'. I fully intend to die an old man in a bed somewhere in this country, not on a pile of brass surrounded by corpses. if that last is to be, then so be it, but I won't go actively looking for the fight. The Monkeys will have to bring the fight to me. On the same note though, if there is a war Civil or what not, I will uphold the oath I took so many years ago. I was given the boot and called a "patriot" when that wasn't fashionable because of that oath. I stand by it still. ( to quote Tamara."To whom it may concern:
If the authorities are reading this, I want them to know that I am not at all disgruntled. I am as gruntled as gruntled can be." )

I may be 'as gruntled as gruntled can be' but I am not a happy citizen. I see the path we are on, knowing full well that the problems reside not just on the hills of power but within the lemmings that vote for it. The Powers on the hills are but a visible symptom of the disease that is raging through this country. Sadly that symptom is also a catalyst for further infection.

And none of this is new. I think that is what gets me the most. This has been played out in history so many times, and here we are again. Either we never learn, or this is just human nature (and I don't care how 'civilized' we are, we are still animals running amok on the face of the planet. It shows in our cyclic growth)

We live in interesting times my friends, we will see history written in our lifetimes, history that will be told in schools, somewhere, but we are in the details of it, not some dates and names to be memorized. I guess the real question then, is: Do you know what side you want to stand on when it all starts to fall down? I know what side I will be on. Even if we lose I will be there.