Mark wrote seriously (apparently) in response to a joke about the IRS:
>
> Obviously, wasteful spending and mismanagment of tax dollars occurs.
> However, a lot of good honest hard working men and women work in all
> areas of the United States Federal Government. These honest hard working
> men and women are very skilled in budget and finance and are doing an
> excellent job managing tax dollars to keep America strong. Despite all
> faults and flaws, the American system of Government is a model system
> that has withstood the test of time.
>
> Mark Gaffney
> http://www.alltel.net/~zebra/
He he he hehe ha ha ha ha ha he ho ho ho ho hoho....... Could you possibly have made a more fomulaic response? btw, you don't capitalize the term "Federal Government" unless you are either totally brainwashed or borderline Ted Kazinski....
The US federal government was once a model system of minimal government intrusion into the lives of ordinary people, that respected the founding concept that all rights originate in the individual and that the government is merely a delegated recipient of the authority which individuals decide to let it use. In some areas its getting even better, but in amny other ways it is getting far worse. Mad bombers and wackos like Tim McVeigh, Ted Kazinski, Aryan Nation, Koresh, and others are not born, they are made by a lifetime of government opression and intrusion into the lives of people in many ways. If our government were as good as you say, we would not have as many of these nuts running around taking actions like they do.
I once worked for the federal government in the military. I have never seen more graft, waste and abuse in my entire life than in the last year I was in the service. I have never seen as much arrogant self important rationalized government intrusion into peoples lifes as I have seen in the government in the last 5 years. People wonder why nobody gives a damn about the impeachment trial in the Senate, or of the President's behavior, its because more and more people know that the whole system is a scam run and perpetuated by crooks, liars, cheats, and theives, and all they can hope to get for their tax dollars is some entertainment value from watching it on the tube and in the papers.
As for your comment about 'good honest hardworking men and women' who work for the government: While I admit there are a lot of brainwashed people who still beleive that the government serves a purpose that cannot be served any other way, anyone who eats from the public trough is eating out of MY wallet, and has larceny in their hearts if they don't want to find a productive job in the private sector.
Mike Lorrey