Government Gone Wild

Perhaps you've heard the stories. The Massachusetts State police shutdown a 12-year-old refugee from Fukushima, Japan, who was selling green tea because he had no permit. Police in Coralville, Iowa, closed up three different children's lemonade stands because they lacked a vendor's permit and health inspection. A resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was growing herbs in her front yard. The city destroyed the garden. A woman in Phoenix was handing out water to the homeless on one of their 110°+ days and was ordered to stop because she didn't have a permit. A 90-year-old veteran of World War II in Florida was serving meals to the homeless which he had done for two decades when the police ordered him to "Drop that plate!" It is a criminal offense in 71 cities to feed the homeless without a permit.

Remember when New York City banned big sizes of sugary drinks? Sure, it died, but it was there. Back in 2011 the city of San Francisco banned Happy Meals. Well, that's not entirely accurate. They banned toys in meals marketed for children if the meal was more than 600 calories. You might think that parents should be making these decisions, but the guy who introduced the ban has a young daughter himself and he complained about the "pester power" of young children making it impossible, apparently, for parents to refuse. And, of course, the first lady has worked hard to determine what school children should and should not be allowed to eat, because government should be doing that for you and your family.

We are all aware of Obama's recent transgender bathroom rule. All public schools in the country must surrender logic, ignore science, and admit to the lunacy that anyone can be any gender they feel. It is not a state issue; it is a federal issue. Submit, or there will be trouble. Expensive trouble. Well, New York City's commission on Human Rights followed suit with a law that requires businesses to accommodate an individual's chosen gender identity. Oh, and that is not a short list. They've listed 31 possible gender identities, including "genderqueer" for someone whose gender identity is neither man nor woman but beyond gender, "gender bender" whose identity changes, mixes, or combines genders, and "gender fluid" for someone whose gender identification shifts about. There is even the "two spirits" gender which is a Native American category for someone both male and female which is a distinct gender. But, wait! The new rule includes civil penalties up to $125,000 for violations, and up to $250,000 for violations that are the result of willful, wanton, or malicious conduct. "Violations" include the failure or refusal to call a person by the pronoun they prefer. Think that's crazy? Then you're not up to date. An elementary school teacher in Oregon who identifies as "transmasculine" (which, by the way, is not on New York City's list of 31 -- already time for an update, I guess) was awarded $60,000 from the school district because they wouldn't use the pronoun, "they", to refer to her. (Note: In New York City it is conceivable that my use of the pronoun "her" in that last sentence could be punishable by a 6-figure fine.) The school district enacted a slew of new policies on the subject and warned that any teacher refusing to use the selected pronoun could be fired.

Times, they are a'changin'. That's what the song says. You used to think that the constitutional "right to bear arms" meant that we would have the right to bear arms. They'd like to change that. You used to think that the restriction on government on the free exercise of religion meant that you'd be free to stand by your faith. They've already begun to change that. You used to think that this was a free country -- you know, "the land of the free". Not anymore. When the government is going to decide that kids can't have lemonade stands and people can't grow herbs in their garden and a permit is required to feed the homeless, it's not so free anymore. When the government decides what you can and can't eat, it's not so free anymore. When reason and science exit in favor of "felt gender" (especially when "felt gender" is fluid and therefore undefined) and everyone must succumb to this insanity, it's not so free anymore. Don't expect it to get better.

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. (Psa 146:3)

Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:5-7)