Don’t let things go to hell in a handbasket

Freedom

by Bruce Becker

Some folks may take this as an excuse to explain away the bad things that Edward Snowden did; but nothing could be further from the truth.  I don’t condone how Mr. Snowden went about his business.  With that said, I do wish to offer a plausible explanation on why Mr. Snowden may have felt he had to do what he did.

Since 2012, my business partner and I have been fighting the bureaucracy that is called the federal government.  The reason, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stole our intellectual property, provided it to a preferred vendor, and then blacklisted our little company; driving us out of business.  After writing to our congressional representatives on Capitol Hill to report the crime, writing to the Small Business Administration, the Inspector General’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, and even the President of the United States, absolutely nothing happened.  No one even bothered to respond.  No one was held accountable.  Heck, we even called the whistleblower’s hot line, and we were hung up on.  We wrote to the director of the Office of Government Ethics only to be told that he wasn’t really responsible for ethics, just for making sure that forms get filled out. (!)

So, what if Mr. Snowden tried to report wrong behavior to the federal government according to the rules and regulations established, and received the same run around that we received?  Could his frustration level reach the point where mine is today, and perhaps he said “screw this”, finding another way to bring improper behavior to the light of day? Deep down inside, I can’t blame him.

We are now at a critical juncture in our government’s history.  A historic election pitting an outsider against all the things that are wrong with our government.  Yes, I do believe that Hilary Clinton epitomizes all the bad behavior that takes place in Washington D.C.  There is nothing in her past or present that shows that she will have an ethical administration.  We have an electorate with a “throw the bums out of office” philosophy.  We have the political elite backed into a corner in a fashion that has never happened before.  But no matter what your perspective on politics, whether right wing or left, all politics come from the same bird.  Career politicians conspiring to stay in power.  Nothing matters to these people except keeping their personal power.

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I am personally hoping that Mr. Trump is not all bark and no bite.  Whether Trump is your personal choice or not, this country needs a leader who will return power back to the states and the people that live in those states.  Reduce the size and scope of government.  Enable the entrepreneur to once again be successful.  Wrestle away power from the special interest groups and just support what is right.  Take away the pay to play political system we currently have in place.  Install term limits to prevent career politicians from milking the people dry.  Enact laws that prevent career politicians from robbing from our seniors to pay for something else. Make it unlawful to change contracts mid-stream with the veterans that served this country–if you said healthcare for life; guess what, that means– healthcare for life.

There are so many things wrong with our current political system.  So many people are disenfranchised because they don’t have the resources to play in the game.  I never thought I would become this cynical. If I didn’t witness the corruption first hand, I probably wouldn’t believe it.  But I must tell you this, our government robs the livelihood of its citizens.  Ruins their lives.  Then has the unmitigated gall to call them unpatriotic for not allowing them to run rough shod over them.

With the current laws that have recently been passed, a patent is nothing more than another tool to generate revenue for this bloated government.  When you try to enforce the protection of a patent you will hear from the lawyer that it almost impossible to win.  Especially when it is against the government.

Well, enough ranting.  I now have to ask you, the American People, for a favor.  Please don’t cover your eyes as you see your government spiral out of control.  Yes, right now it may not affect you, but eventually it will.  And when it does, there may be no one left to support you. No matter your political persuasion please demand that your leaders hear what you are saying.   Enough corruption, enough fraud, enough protecting of those in public life that break the law. Enough is enough.

 

Investigating Complex Issues