Inside Mesa

I wanted to take the time to thank the Editorial staff at the East Valley Tribune for the piece they wrote in Tuesday’s edition. Now I know that the content of the piece was not on a subject near and dear to Mesa, and I know that this Blog was designed to address issues in Mesa, but, when our local paper gets it right, they need to hear from their subscribers that their words are not just dying a miserable death in a land fill. The piece was titled, "We want the bad guys caught before they act," and it is right on the money. Since the events of 911 we have seen this country polarized, we are at war with an enemy who has no creed, no country of origin, no border… they are here and everywhere. This war is a perfect storm of sorts for those who dislike the current administration; it provides them with the ability to politicize it to their advantage. Case in point the content of the editorial I mentioned at the opening. In it the Editorial staff points out that the arrest of the seven men in Miami who were plotting attacks on American soil. There are those among us who believe that these arrests were more of a matter of convenience and timing rather than a serious strike against terror. They claim that these men were nothing more than a group of disgruntled, uneducated keystone cop styled wannabe terrorists. They advance the idea that the Bush Administration is making a mountain out of a mole hill with this one. The Tribune Editorial staff got it right, they reminded us that the 19 men who boarded planes and flew them into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and attempted to hit another target in Washington DC (if it were not for the brave men and women of United Flight 93 they might have) were nothing more than hapless idiots that nobody took seriously except a few FBI agents, one or which was located here in Arizona. The Tribune Editorial staff gets two thumbs up and a snap from this reader and contributor for recognizing that today’s idiot could become tomorrow’s biggest mass murderer and politicizing any aspect of this war on terror by either side serves nothing more than to further divide a country already standing on the edge of a vast valley of discontent.

My style, my version of a Blog is a bit different than what you may or may not be use to; I write what I refer to as "Blogatorials." With the advent of the web and the popularity of Blogs, anybody can get their views, opinions or rants out into the world. Publishing at any level has always been a club for a select few, the media elite is not just a catchy phrase but a reality. Publishers and editors have always held control in the palm of their hands and as a result many good writers have had no other venue to express their viewpoints or their ideas until now. That has all changed, now a housewife in Middle America can garner as much attention as journalist in a large media market. I guess what I am saying here is that I would encourage those of you who read this Blog or others to get as involved as you can, respond to the people who contribute and contemplate contributing yourself. We live in a new era of journalism, every citizen can bring something new to the process, and every citizen has an opinion that is relevant to their city, state and this country as a whole. I want to thank the Tribune for having this forum, for caring what citizens of Mesa have to say. Keep this Blog alive by continuing to support it, by continuing to keep the lines of responsible communication aligned. We are entering into a very heavy political season and input from the city of Mesa can have an impact not only for us here, but nationally as those who seek office look for direction from all of us. Have a great weekend and hug a Blogger if you meet one.

Since I began writing this Blog I have attempted to walk a fine line between bitter partisanship and a hippie view of flower power love. I have come to realize that we are all so different that we will never see eye to eye on every issue in this country or this city for that matter. I have learned that the first key to progress is that we find common ground and realize that we have to just agree to disagree on many subjects while tempering those disagreements with respect.Over the weekend I read a piece in the Tribune written by Sam Coppersmith a Democratic party activist and former member of the U.S. House and I realized that my utopian view of both parties getting along and respecting one another for their views is the equivalent of a drug induced pipe dream. Mr. Coppersmith in his bitter partisan attack showed the true colors of the radical left. He showed that they have no interest in working together rather a stated position and attitude that everything is the fault of the right, they control everything so therefore they are to blame for anything. Now I am no Pollyanna, I realize that where you have elements of the radical left fringe you will also find elements of the radical right. The key is that we keep both in exactly the same place they are right now, relegated to the outer fringe sucking the life out of their fellow fringe dwellers. Mr. Coppersmith attacked with reckless abandon the right wing of our political system lumping them all into one ball. He used obscure examples as a template to show the conflict in the conservative movement using issues that even as a nation we will all never agree as some sort of litmus test for the truth. He fails to see his radical ideology for what it is… a partisan effort to co-opt everyone into his world, his way of thinking because he knows better than we do what is good for us. I have said it before and I will say it again, anyone who stands before you and tells you that they know the truth, that they have all the answers and that their way is the only true and enlightened way is full of, well you know what I mean. Here is the truth, we are all never going to agree on everything, what we can agree on is that our goal should be to enhance those areas where we agree, make them better while at the same time attempting to bridge the gap where we don’t agree. People like Sam Coppersmith and members of the radical left and radical right have an agenda that would widen the chasm between people, further divide them into armies who serve an unholy master bent on maintaining control through fear tactics. Republicans will no more destroy this country than Democrats; however, the radical fringes of both these parties will continue to attempt to unite armies to wage battle for the control. It is up to those of us who find ourselves caught in the middle to stand up and defend this democracy because if you haven’t noticed we are at war within our own borders and the armies of the radical right and the radical left are gearing up for the final assault that will determine who controls your destiny. These fringe dwelling mental midgets who masquerade as leaders and spokesmen are a threat, don’t buy into the hype and hysteria they are peddling.

Tolerance is defined in the dictionary as follows: 1- The capacity for respecting the beliefs or practices of others. 2- Leeway for variations from a standard. Tolerance is a word I have been hearing a lot lately. It is a word that has religious, philosophical and political implications. Tolerance is a wonderful word, it is a wonderful concept. Unfortunately, it is a concept that is being abused. We are being asked on a regular basis to embrace tolerance, but what are we being asked to be tolerant of? I am not going to point the finger here and say that I am speaking of this issue or that issue. I am going to suggest that before you embrace something, ask yourself if this is really something that we need to embrace as a society. The second definition of the word is a "leeway for variations of a standard." So we have established that we do have standards from which we work. My contention is that we are forever changing the standard, therefore as a society we are forced to tolerate more and more. I suspect that there is an ever decaying ring around that which protects society. I know that in the name of tolerance we have come a long way. We have seen civil rights rise from the ashes of a dream to become a reality. We have moved from the dark ages of aggression to an era of spreading liberty and freedom to people around the world. However, it is imperative that as a society we don’t tolerate too much and as a society I fear that is exactly where we are. Ask yourself if you are comfortable raising your children today? Do you like what your children see daily? Do you like what they are taught in public schools? Do you like the information that is out there at the tips of their precious fingers? Are the stories of teachers having sex with their students comforting to you? Do you like the examples being set by some of the corporate executives that are on trial for embezzling money? Do you like the great political divide that has occurred in this country and the vitriolic language that is being used between the parties? Do you like what the courts in this country have become? You see tolerance is what got us where we are. Good and bad, tolerance has delivered us to this time in history. The danger is that if we begin to tolerate anything eventually we will tolerate everything. Tolerance must be tempered with a societal common standard while protecting individual freedoms. Pretty tricky stuff isn’t it? So the next time you hear someone preaching tolerance ask yourself, where is this tolerance going to lead us?

Considering my outspoken rants over the proposed property tax that Mesa residents just voted down this may come as a shock to some of you. I recently received an email from a close friend that I thought I would share. It illustrates in vivid detail what is wrong with this country. It demonstrates just how intrusive government has become. It shows how government is like a cancer, if left unchecked it grows to the point where it kills the host. Ladies and gentlemen, boy’s and girls, you are the host and the cancer is taxes. It is killing you and you have yet to diagnose yourself. Let me share with you just a few of the taxes that you are responsible for every day of your working life: Accounts Receivable Tax, Building Permit Tax, Capital Gains Tax, CDL license Tax, Cigarette Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Court Fines, (indirect taxes), Dog License Tax, Federal Unemployment Tax, (FUTA), Fishing License Tax, Food License Tax. Fuel permit tax, Gasoline Tax,(42 cents per gallon), Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax Interest expense, (tax on the money), Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges, (tax on top of tax), IRS Penalties, (tax on top of tax), Liquor Tax, Local Income Tax, Luxury Taxes, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax, Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, Septic Permit Tax, Service Charge Taxes, Social Security Tax, Road Usage Taxes, (Truckers), Sales Taxes, Recreational Vehicle Tax, Road Toll Booth Taxes, School Tax, State Income Tax, State Unemployment Tax, (SUTA), Telephone federal excise tax, Telephone federal universal service fee tax, Telephone federal, state and, local surcharge taxes, Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax, Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax, Telephone state and local tax, Telephone usage charge tax, Toll Bridge Taxes, Toll Tunnel Taxes, Traffic Fines, (indirect taxation), Trailer Registration Tax, Utility Taxes, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, Workers Compensation Tax. 100 years ago not one of these taxes existed. Before that we were the most prosperous nation on the face of the earth. There was no such thing as a national debt or a trade deficit. We had the largest middle class in the world. There was such a thing as a single income family where mothers had the chance to stay at home and raise their children. We owned things back then, now our government owns us. We have become slaves to taxes, no longer working for ourselves we find ourselves indebted to the government.