Natural Rights - Who? What?

What is a 'natural right'? It's interesting that we, as Americans, have lost the self-image of ourselves as a free people, and instead think of ourselves as a free nation. The difference is that we see ourselves as part of a greater being, a group rather than individuals. The danger in this thinking is that we do not pay attention to the fact that what we should be protecting is our individual, God(?)-given rights, rather than our concept of proper politics or form of government.
When you look at the Declaration of Independence, which separated this great country of ours from the Oppression of the King of England, and I quote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Notice where the rights come from...not from any form of governing body, not from the rule of the iron fist, but from our Creator. These are natural rights. As human beings, we have the natural right to live life as we see fit. A government can not take these rights away from us. A government should only help us protect each other from the exercise of these rights by others when it will interfere with our own rights.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed

Government derives its power from the governed, to secure the rights of the individual. Government is a tool meant to protect our natural rights. Look to your candidate for the upcoming elections. Ask yourself whether this basic premise is the premise for the platform upon which they stand. If it is, vote for them. If not, find yourself another candidate. It's your natural right to be governed by someone who has YOUR best interest(s) at heart. And if you can't find yourself another candidate, may I suggest looking at Ron Paul, the only candidate I've heard mention our natural rights as the basis of his beliefs.

An Honest Conservative Politician is Running for President.

Why am I backing an underdog in the 2008 election? Ron Paul spoke with Tucker Carlson today on MSNBC. Tucker asked him about some of his decentralized economic policy, asking him outright if he sounded callous or mean. Dr. Paul's response was fantastic. He spoke about how Federal programs aren't working out, how FEMA seems to make more of a mess than local efforts would have provided.
The more I think about what he said, the more it makes sense to me. He used the term 'bread crumbs promised' by the federal government. Is it good to depend upon the freebies that the government provides us rather than depending on ourselves and our localities to provide? When you give someone a helping hand, isn't the common problem that the person you've helped will only look to you for a handout each and every time they get into trouble and end up depending on you instead of themselves? For the freebies, don't we also have to give up something in return, part of our freedom? Is that loss worth the price?
And what is the cost of a government handout? If the government gives you $1, but it costs the country $10, then what is the benefit to the country in the end? Aren't we just subsidizing a huge inefficient bureaucracy whose primary purpose is to shuffle an ever-devaluing dollar?
These are all just thinking points for me right now, and I welcome debate, but this man makes a lot of sense to me when I hear him speak. Hopefully his campaign takes off. Perhaps the Republicans will realize that to win in 2008 they will have to offer up a candidate that is very different from the current regime. Swing voters, fence-sitters and true conservatives aren't going to vote for Rudy - he's just more of what we already have.

Body Count Counts

When you're making a mafia play, series, movie, whatever, what counts is the body count. The best episodes of the Sopranos are those in which somebody gets whacked. Last night, four and a half people got whacked (one is in critical condition). It was the best episode of The Sopranos since Big Pussy got shot up by Tony and his crew. The higher the profile of the whackee, the better. Of all the things I'll remember about the Sopranos, every single memory will involve someone getting killed or getting his/her ass kicked. After all, what's a mafia movie without someone getting the smackdown?
David Chase and his ilk should take note that the most talked about episodes always involve the greatest violence. When Tony gets to dreaming about horses in the living room, no one goes to work the next day and interrupts their coworkers with 'Hey, did you see that horse in the living room? That was funny, eh?'. But you can hardly contain yourself from gathering around the water cooler with 'Did you see them blast that Ukranian dude last night? What a bunch of jerk-offs, eh?'
You see, human tragedy is both mind-scarring and funny. That's what a successful mafia movie is all about....tragedy. And last night, The Sopranos delivered.