As we saw with the last presidential election, democracy is dying.  Oh sure, those who voted for Bush don't think that.  But, let me just say, I believe our democracy is dying.  The idea of democracy won't die.  In the history of the world democracies have risen and fallen.  There is a steady, but sure, decline to all of them.  It's because vigilance is the cost of democracy.  Becoming lazy about one's rights is a surefire formula for the erosion of democratic rights.

As we saw in the last two presidential elections, vote counts are fudged to favor one candidate over another.  In the history of this country there have never been two more blatant examples of one candidate stealing an election the way George Bush did in 2000, and 2004.  But, was he run out of office?  Was he impeached?  Was he scared to try it a second time in the 2004 election?  No.  If anything the voting controversy was even more blatant in the 2004 election than in the 2000 election.  Yet, the millions that voted for Kerry didn't make a sound.  They grimaced, thought about moving to Canada, but they didn't fight.  The one thing that we should have done is fight for our voice.  Like how those brave patriots fought for their rights in the Ukraine this year.  They forced not just a recount, but a new election.  But not us.  We're used to this democracy thing.  We don't even care to defend it anymore.  Oh sure, fly a plane into a building and we're off to fire bullets at anyone that moves.  But, that's not the way one keeps democracy alive.

The economy is doing great.  Right?  Taxes need to be lower to spur the economy.  Right?  I mean, I've heard these things over and over again that I've come to believe them.  But then the other day I was thinking, do I believe these things because they are true, or because I've heard them so many times?

You know, it's really hard to say at this point.  I think that they are true, but that probably comes from hearing them so many times.  Am I hearing them over and over again because they are true, or just because they are being repeated?  It's hard to tell at this point.  When you become so saturated with something you tend to believe it.  Even if it's something you would never believe if you heard it once.  I hear it's called conditioning, repeation makes things true.  Yeah, probably.

All I can tell you is that I keep hearing that taxes are too high, and should be lowered.  I don't really know what happens when taxes are lowered.  Sure, I get to see a few more dollars in my pocket.  But, is that really a saving?  I'm beginning to wonder.  If I pay less in income taxes, but the government still spends as much as it did before the tax cuts, who is to say that it's really a savings?  Who is going to pay that debt the government incurred?  I guess the answer is not me.  Since I'll probably be long gone by the time someone comes around to collect on that debt.  At least I hope I'm long gone.  I sure hope that I'm not in the middle of my Social Security years when the bill comes, and my benefits are cut.  That would not make me happy at all.