DEREGULATE THE INDIVIDUAL: An appeal to the US Legislator

I have sent the following letter to each of my representatives in Washington D.C. and plan to send a modified version to my Utah State representatives.

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I just discovered another way that the affordable care act has made my health care less affordable. According to the article at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=227308,00.html

Apparently HSA and FSA accounts cannot be used to purchase over-the-counter health products without a doctor's prescription any longer. I am a 32-year old father of four children four and under, with an annual pay of $34k, and my wife is a stay-at-home mom. Roughly half of my gross pay goes to provide medical care to my family. I have medical and dental insurance through my employer with them paying 50% of the premiums, and I contribute another $400 a month to my HSA to cover the additional expenses.

The biggest thing working for me in this whole equation has been that my HSA is pre-tax dollars so my taxable income is small, shielding me from a tax code that punishes success to all but special interests.

The biggest conerern I have here though, is those who have already filed their 2011 taxes without knowing that they were in violation of this new regulation. There is now no possible way to know which charges were incorrect and how much 'unallowed' product was charged on them. The newly-upsized IRS labor force is quite likely to single these individuals out and enforce upon them as they see fit the law which was intended by God to protect us from force. The law now initiates force and creates legal justification to do something that was prohibited by the constitution, and are among the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independance:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Laws were intended to protect us from the initiation of force, specifically to prevent our government from forcing us to do, or not do anything that our human rights grant us the moral authority to choose for ourselves. The goal is freedom, not 'fairness', 'prosperity', or 'equality'; FREEDOM. Write this down: FREEDOM IS THE GOAL.

We, the people are no longer free. To avoid enforcement, we must ask for permission or study the prohibitions whenever we do anything, even in our own homes; knowing that at any time, we may have done something illegal that we were unaware was such. This adultration of moral laws has happened on your watch, and on mine. SHAME be upon us forever. As you go about your responsibilities please consider the moral authority that you have as a duely elected representative, and consider the duty you have upon you as a human being, and as a child of God hoping to have the stamp of His approval: 'well done, my good and faithful servant'.

"Stand up for freedom, no matter what the cost. It can help to save your soul; and maybe your country." -Ezra Taft Benson

May God give you the strength and the wisdom to fight this battle appropriately; this eternal battle against the adversary who wanted to deprive mankind of their agency. Every law or rule that regulates any individual's actions outside the framework of 'infringing on another's rights' is an unjust law or rule; and it grants the devil more power. Please reduce this power while you still can.

I am a county delegate. Now what?

Having been elected previously in precinct caucus meetings to represent those in my community, when I was nominated and elected as vice-chair of SF-05 this year I wasn't as overwhelmed by the responsibility. I knew what I was in for. As my part of this vetting process, I'm analyzing all the candidates I can see and posting some of their links on my blog.

First, the election I see happening at the county level that is getting the most attention is the new Senate District 7 for the Spanish Fork area. The two major candidates here are Diedre Henderson and Glen Roberts.

http://deidrehenderson.com/

Diedre was a part of Jason Chaffetz's successful US House campaign and is a very driven, professional, apparently successful woman. Her principal political issue is the solvency of the State of Utah due to the devaluation of our land in relation to the escalating size of our bonds and debt limit. She is for smaller, more constitutional government at the state level and wants more localized government rather than larger more centralized government.

http://glen-roberts.com/

Glen Roberts is for less laws. Glen is a licensed attorney who runs a title company. He is very much in favor of a smaller government on all levels and went so far as to tell me that he would support legislation requiring the repeal of two laws for every new law passed. His belief is that the american dream and individual freedom are being retarded by an overreaching, overly-burdensome government at federal, state, and local levels. His campaign visibility is much less than his opponent and this may be his weakness, he sees it as proof that he is not in anybody's pocket. He frankly brought up that he had read Ron Paul's book (in my opinion this was to demonstrate his ideals agreed with those of Dr. Paul) and that he was in support of individual freedom first-and-foremost.

The next interesting election I'm vetting is that for Utah Congressional District 66. The major candidates are Carolina Herrin, Mike McKell, and Kyle Roberts.

http://carolinaherrin.com/

Carolina Herrin is for less regulation, specifically that which is burdensome on individuals and our small businesses. When I asked her what her principal issue was, and what she wanted to achieve, she jumped first to reigning in the Utah State Department of Commerce. She wants less laws to tie down Utah individuals and businesses; and more laws to tie down (restrict) the State bureaucracy's ability to write rules or regulations that are tied to legislation-- making administrative law criminally applicable. As I dig down into her past experience and job-history, I'm led to question vigorously how this has become her primary focus since she has worked as a bureaucrat and enforcer at the state level and her husband is ex-military and current law enforcement. Her message rings true to me, but I can't help but remember the quote attributed to Cicero:

"A bureaucrat is the most despicable of men, though he is needed as vultures are needed, but one hardly admires vultures whom bureaucrats so strangely resemble. I have yet to meet a bureaucrat who was not petty, dull, almost witless, crafty or stupid, an oppressor or a thief, a holder of little authority in which he delights, as a boy delights in possessing a vicious dog. Who can trust such creatures?"

I still have questions for this Sao Paulo-born political superstar. (Em que voce acredita mesmo?)

http://www.mikemckell.com/

Mike loves the 10th amendment. Specifically anything that applies to Utah's sovereign ownership of state land. Mike's principal issue is the fact that the Federal government owns and controls WAY too much land in Utah. As an attorney, Mike knows how to fight for what he wants and will be effective in whatever he pursues. He wants smaller, more accountable government and has proven this to me by being available to me, his constituent, at even the craziest of hours. It appears he knows each of his delegates personally- he discusses them all by name; which is an impressive feat, but with the amount of time he seems to be spending I can see that as possible. Mike can get things done and he seems to be an accountable kind of fellow.

http://kyleroberts.org/

Kyle has a deep understanding for constitutional fundamentals. Having received part of his formal education at George Wythe College, he would have learned things about politics and civics that his opponents likely don't even know exist. And you don't know what you don't know. His principal issue is education and ensuring that we, the parents have the tools and freedom necessary to ensure our children get the education we want for them. He is in favor of decentralized education and believes that a free-market approach to education fosters the best result. His economic focus appears to be pro-business by reducing marketplace regulation. Kyle hasn't made contact with this county delegate yet, which is somewhat concerning. I found out about him through one of his opponents. Fortunately, his website is actually functional and informative. I expect to search him out and ask him the tough questions in the two weeks leading up to the county convention.

Using only his site as my guidebook on Kyle Roberts, I am disappointed to see a George Wythe educated politician not bring up individual freedoms and civil rights in his literature. The current mommy-state mentality has been leading us down the path of modern-day slavery through malum-prohibitum criminal law. One in Nine adult Americans (13%) have been arrested, incarcerated, or are on probation or parole through our criminal justice system. Minorities bare most of this burden, but new 'white-collar' regulations are pushing a new demographic through 'the system'.

Mark Shurtleff will not be running as incumbent this year. He's through in his current job. The contenders for his position are John Swallow and Sean Reyes. As a county delegate, I don't get to vote for this election. I do have some food for thought here though: The Attorney General is the State's attorney; we want him to effectively represent the state's interests, right? The claim has been made that the Attorney General's office has represented the State AGAINST (vs) Utah Citizens more than all other activities combined. This is an important office that requires SIGNIFICANT research before the vote. While it is important to protect our citizens freedoms and rights from infringement by other citizens, protecting our state's rights and our citizen's rights from foreign authority seems much more important and relevant to this job.

The County Commissioner is another race that seems to be a hot topic. I have just started vetting the canditates, but here's what I can see so far:

Larry Ellertson

Larry is the current Commissioner for seat C. He is the incumbent. He is a CPA, and worked for UP&L for some years before becoming the commissioner. In a recent email from his campaign, he stated that "The proper application of the limited role of government is to help remove barriers and allow free enterprise to prosper". He takes credit for the current business-friendly environment that has helped Utah County prosper.

Lorne Grierson

Lorne is a successful businessman who wants to make sure that Utah County has the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the growth he sees coming here. He seems to have a good understanding how organizations work and he's visionary in that he looks at the county's future as his chess board instead of the past.

http://johndmorris.blogspot.com/

John Morris believes that people want freedom, and that freedom is the goal of government. His website lists first the issue of zoning and he discusses his support of property rights and importance of protecting those rights by reducing the governmental powers that can infringe on personal property rights. He is a constitutionalist to the core and appears ready to question society's "sacred cows" and pull back the curtain to show us the 'wizard' by which we've been oppressed. John Morris is the first politician this year to get my endorsement. I think he 'gets it'. I plan to talk to him personally to question him more fully about his views, but if he stands true to his views as expressed on his website, he has a willing supporter in me.

Joshua Powell Proven Guilty?

The evidence regarding Josh Powell's guilt now seems clear and convincing that he is capable and willing to kill someone close to him. As a father, I'm appalled and emotionally drained thinking that someone would intentionally harm children; especially one's own children.

While evidence in a courtroom requires that guilt be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, there will be no more courtrooms for Josh Powell; just a final judgment by someone who knows exactly what happened. A true, full, righteous judgment. The kind that only God can make.

For those of us on earth, left with a huge void where we expected an explanation, it seems clear that Joshua Powell intentionally killed himself and his two boys. The testimony of the most involved witness, (the case worker) and the email to his attorney saying 'I'm Sorry, Goodbye', I believe, would be adequate proof to convict him of their murder.

The whereabouts of Josh's wife and these two boys' mother is still unknown, most people will likely draw the conclusion that this act proves that she is dead at Josh's hand. I disagree that the explosion 'proves it', but agree that it does seem more likely now that Josh is the party responsible for his wife's disappearance.

It is possible that two years of public persecution, and more recent court decisions against him being with his children, had pushed him over the edge of his sanity. Only a man who is mentally ill could do what Josh Powell did yesterday. He would have had some justification in his mind, one that would have had to be just as insane as it seems to us. It is also possible that this insanity existed all along and was the cause of Susan's disappearance.

I sided with Josh in a previous post because the facts didn't seem to support the deprivation of his children. The facts now show clearly that he was a danger to those boys and himself. It is possible that the authorities had proof of that danger before and we were just not informed via the media. While it may now be too late for us to do anything about it, we can take heart that he will be dealt with properly and eternally for his actions.

Josh -- I'm sorry, goodbye.

Josh Powell's Nightmare

A Washington State judge ruled today that Josh Powell's children are not safe in the home with their father and will not be returned to him.

Josh Powell is the husband of Susan Cox Powell, the woman (wife & mother) who has been missing since December 2009. Josh Powell has said he took his boys, then 2 and 4, on a late night camping trip in freezing temperatures the day his wife disappeared from their West Valley City Utah home in December of 2009. West Valley police continue to call him a person of interest in the case because they say "he has not been cooperative with them".

This story has no shortage of bizarre circumstances and bone-chilling accusations. Two things this story does lack however, are FACTS and CRIMINAL CHARGES. Seemingly no one knows what happened to Susan Cox Powell and where she might be. Everyone has their opinion of what happened, and almost all of those opinions claim certainty of Josh's guilt in Susan's murder.

I don't know what happened. I don't claim to have some litmus test by which I can say that Josh MUST be guilty because of his bizarre behavior, his overall demeanor, or his father's alleged perversions. I think that almost all the circumstantial evidence revealed to the public points to Josh as being the responsible party. Since that is the only evidence I have in the case, my theory would be that Josh is somehow responsible for his wife's disappearance and concealment of her person or body. BUT I DON'T KNOW, and I don't have anywhere near enough information to make an educated decision; only an uneducated, emotional and irrational decision.

I do know some things that I think are very relevant AND factual.
1. Someone took two young boys away from their father under threat of force
2. The boys have been placed with Josh's in-laws
3. Josh and his in-laws are not on good terms, it is a very contentious relationship
4. Josh Powell has not been charged or convicted of any wrong-doing and no evidence has been shown that he himself is harmful to the boys
5. Josh Powell's father has been removed from the home along with any alleged lewd materials
6. According to the judge, Josh will not get his children back

The judge ruled for Josh's father-in-law during the custody hearing, agreeing with the complaint that:
"the children were being harmed because they had never received counseling about their mother's disappearance, they might have been exposed to the inappropriate videos and they had been cut off from their maternal grandparents without explanation."

May we all be intellectually honest enough to put ourselves in his shoes and at least ponder for a moment that he may be innocent (until proven guilty). Were this you:
1. Your wife of many years is missing
2. Because you left around midnight to go camping after a verbal extrication, you are considered the ONLY suspect in a pending murder investigation
3. You don't know where or how your wife is
4. The media have created a public picture, painting you as the bad guy who killed your children's mother.
5. You have been receiving death threats and other non-stop phone calls, letters, shouts, and other threats for nearly two years
6. You left the state to escape the persecution
7. Your presence at your fathers house has now brought attention and a search of his residence may have revealed his private weakness, perversion and criminality (allegations) so now he will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison
8. Armed police, ignoring your protests for due process, confiscated your children giving them to your accusatory in-laws who bitterly believe you are a murder
9. A judge, with proper jurisdiction, rules that your children will not be returned to you because you hadn't sought outside "professional" counseling, and because the media will not leave you alone.

What do you do? If Josh is indeed innocent of the claims being unofficially made against him, he may not remain innocent for long. I do not know what father could sit idly by and let these injustices be perpetrated against you and your children. Were I Josh Powell (and actually innocent as he claims), I would not stand for it. I would appeal to every elected representative, court, and individual that would hear it. I would stage a hunger protest, I would commit suicide by starvation if no one would hear me and bring equal justice to the equation, forcing into the courts my constitutional right to be presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty. I hope that's all I would do, I might become violent in defense of my rights, I would understand if Josh did too.

Josh, you have not been proven guilty. Unless that happens, I stand by you. I hear you. Guilty or not, I am shamed by the actions perpetrated against you in my name. I pray that your family will be restored to you and the presumption of innocence will be granted to you unless proven otherwise. May God be with you and hold you in the palm of his hand.

Educate or Incarcerate?

The United States accounts for 5% of the world's population, but locks up nearly 25% of the world's prisoners.

The truth will set you free, avoiding it will imprison you. Americans have neglected their duty of self-government for so long, our kids are more likely to be put in jail than to be put in office. This author believes the answer to this growing crisis is for the american people to educate themselves on what they're giving government the authority to arrest them for. Leave people alone and they will strive for better lives.

The link that follows will take you to an article that I found enlightening that sheds some light on the financial and societal problems facing Americans today.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/07/jealous.prison.reform/index.html?hpt=Sbin