From Public Servants to Rulers - Granite Grok

From Public Servants to Rulers

Sadly, we see in this Obama Administration (but starting before it, I’m sore afraid) another instance of public servants now believing that they are above “their” law and have become Rulers when their illicit behavior affects those of us who are just law abiding – a double standard. From Betsy’s Page:

This gives the scandal new and legitimate legs, for a couple of reasons. First, despite having demanded these records from the IRS for over a year, the agency waited until now (and in a Friday afternoon document dump, no less) to inform Congress of the supposed loss of emails. That makes it look very suspicious, and put together with Lerner’s refusal to testify, even more so.

The second reason is that the IRS is the one agency that demands everyone else keep spotless records for seven years or more on their returns. Now we find out that they’re only keeping their own documentation for six months? For a nation founded on the rule of law and equality under it, this retention for thee but no for we will likely offend a lot more people than extra scrutiny for conservative tax-exempt applicants did, and the lame dog ate my homework excuse will offend the rest.

Sadly, the rule of law seems to be the biggest fantasy of all in the case of the IRS targeting scandal and the abuse of power it represents.

The above is part of a commentary on the IRS scandal that deals with evidence now missing from the investigation that Lois Lerner was actively coordinating with the White House on the IRS targeting Conservative / TEA Party groups before the 2012 Presidential election.  This action, I believe is part of Obama’s “fundamentally transforming” America – the diminishment of The Rule of Law.  The Rule of Law (in addition to the Right to Private Property) is fundamental to our notion of Liberty and Freedom – part of what makes up American Exceptionalism.  No, not just the practice of it but the philosophy of it – that EVERY  one EVERY where is subject to the exact same standard.  What is good for me is good for thee when we stand before the judicial bench and the good Lord above.  It expects that I will behave the same way that other will – and just as important, that the same conditions in the law will apply to others that it applies to me: Equality before the Law.

Unfortunately, we see that Progressives have put The Practice of Politics before The Rule of Law.  They have fundamentally changed the rules of the game, arbitrarily.  They, by doing this, have tacitly agreed that obtaining, keeping, and wielding of Power outweighs that silly Rule of Law.  Why?

Like the Constitution, The Rule of Law is supposed to be a limiting factor.  It is supposed to constrain otherwise limitless behavior that would do what it wants.  The Progressive answer to that is “unboundless license to act as I want” – a child like attitude that is now coming home to roost for the rest of us as it is being wielded by adults driven to silence those that disagree with them.  And what happens when it becomes rooted in Government behavior?  What is the end result for citizens?

And I will point out, it is not limited to the Federal Government either.  A local restauranteur that I talked with on Sunday (happen to have gone to lunch; he just sat down opposite me) asked for my presence at my town’s Planning Board meeting – a sordid reason but dealing with a scenario that the town had first given him permission to open a “donut trailer” on his property for early AM folks (the regular restaurant is only a seasonal one doing lunch and supper – VERY popular and a good reputation) and then turned around and had the code enforcement officer shut him down on opening day.

So he’s invested thousands of dollars for a trailer that is set up for food service, set up a plot of land that runs to code for it, and run all the services.  He’s jumped through all the hoops that have been laid down by all levels of Government and passed them with flying colors and is awarded with those precious pieces of paper JUST in time for the most highly trafficked time in our area: Laconia Bike Week.  Yes, 250,000 of my favorite biker buds are rolling around in an area that normally has about 30-35 year round residents.

And right after opening, he gets shut down.  Scuttlebut has it that the donut vendor he picked had been supplying the biggest local farm in Gilford for their indoor farm stand (the farm is a big operation) but they had a falling out when the vendor didn’t meet the farmer’s wife’s demands for services.  The farmer also sits on an important land use board in town.  Connect the dots.

So the restauranteur went formal and demanded approval at the meeting to head this latest problem at the pass and I pulled an Alinsky and asked “is there anything in your rule book that would preclude this additional use on private property in this Resort / Commercial Zone”?  Oh yeah, when the Planning Board Chair came in and saw me, he turned around quick and went “oh crap” knowing that it would get some wide area viewing.
A note to the wise: the rubric of “it may be local here, but I betcha it’s happening in your neck of the woods too!” applies.
Anyways, what made my jaw drop and reinforced the IRS part above and as well as the title was another case concerning a local motel / hotel putting in a 1.4 acre sized Photovoltaic (“PV”)  farm on a 15 acre site.  Again the Planning Board said “we don’t know enough” and put him off AGAIN (I think this was the 3rd or 4th time and not making a decision). After all, if it is not “in the Book” and “not in the plan”, government tends to go rigid and “deer in headlights”.
But what caught my ear was the Planning guy reeling off some ordinances from other towns saying they had put in PV for schools and another one for a DPW building and then said, quietly:
“but those are different – Government can do what it wants”
In essence, what he was saying was that only Citizens and residents must be bound to minutia of behavior – even when it comes to their own Property.  The Right to Private Property now comes with many caveats and it does force me to ask: if you cannot do with your property what you would like, is it really your property in the first place?
But more importantly, and MUCH more insidious is the reinforcing example this shows and buttresses the IRS example of above.  One could say that the sheer size of the IRS allows such an attitude, that of bureaucrats in Government can be above the Law.  In fact, it engenders it – after all, WE are the ones that know what the rest of you should do (we’re SPECIAL).  And that kind of authority breeds contempt for those over which it is lorded.  Yet, here it is, blatant as can be, said by a bureaucrat in a 3 person department of which the whole hamlet’s employees wouldn’t add up to Lerner’s section of the IRS.
So for those of us that believe that Government exists to serve us, this should be a wakeup call.  Either it is time to wake up, or determine it is time to hunker down – which will it be?
 It seems this is what we have come to – we Citizens have rules by which we MUST abide by (zoning and codes, backups for IRS audits) but Govt skates freely…..
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