Rose colored glasses...

The human mind is a very powerful force, although too many Americans seem willing to abrogate their ability to think to someone else, be it a boss, the government, advertisers, opinion polls, the media, or whomever else.

When individuals make up their mind about something, most become unwilling or unable to objectively consider information which may be contrary to their preconceived notion.

Case in point, those on the right who have made up their mind that George Bush is a good man of pure motives. Love him or hate him, most Americans simply refuse to give credit when it is due while the others refuse to criticize serious errors in judgment or policies which are misguided and potentially disastrous to America.

One of my main gripes with the current adminstration comes from its huge expansion of the federal government to act as a police agency while setting aside the basic civil liberties of Americans to be free from unwarranted search and seizure.

Specifically, I find the TSA to be a slap in the face to hard working Americans who are treated like criminals as they pass through airports day after day.

Similarly, I have major problems with those in the Justice Department who want executive authority to execute search and arrest warrants with no prior judicial review.

The administration has linked 9/11 and the terrorist "threat" into the mission statement or statement of purpose of virtually every federal agency, and because Americans have mostly lost virtually all sense of independence and individualism, most are more than willing to trade liberty for security, or the illusion thereof. Sadly, the administration has failed to connect the dots publicly about the role of the Border Patrol in the "War on Terror" while creating the Department of Homeland Security and the office of the Director of Central Intelligence and staffing each with experienced bureaucrats.

Have I discovered any egregious examples of overzealous federal employees, or any glaring examples of losses of civil rights by individuals? No, however, the number of small examples grows almost daily, each of which relatively insignificant in and of itself, but taken as a whole the picture looks rather grim for the future of individualism and limited government in America.

Do I consider bans on lighters on commercial aircraft to be a major infringement upon my civil rights? Do I consider the suspension of habeas corpus to violate my rights?

No, however incrementalism is a favorite tool of politicians, and I wonder which of our God-given rights will be the next target of the government. After all, most Americans have accepted the notions of federal gun ownership laws, obsessive taxation used for pork spending and income redistribution, limits on free speech during federal electoral campaigns, and 4th amendment violations of suspected criminals.

Whether or not George Bush actually is a "good", God-fearing American who loves his country and respects the Constitution is not the issue.

The real issue comes in the future when someone like Hillary Clinton assumes control over our federal executive branch. Can she be trusted to manage the FBI with its newly invented power to ignore the Constitutional protections of individual Americans?

If the 1990's were any indication of what we can expect from the far-left when it gains control of our federal government, I can only despair at the potential for disastrous policies which will be hoisted upon the People by men and women appointed to power within the various executive agencies and the federal courts.