“Liberty, once seized, is seldom reclaimed.” -M. Levin
Many reptiles owners who are concerned about HR2811 and S373 may not realize it but these bills are positioned almost 100% along party lines. Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate are in favor of it. Republicans oppose it. Republicans do not oppose these bills because they love pythons. They oppose the bills because they seek to bypass normal processes that have been in place for a long number of years, a point USARK has been trying to make.
The fundamental nature of the Democratic party is to seize the liberty of individuals in order to provide for the perceived benefit of the masses. According to Democrats, the impacts on individuals are secondary to the needs of the many. The way that state-minded Democrats (state as in “statism”) endeavor to do this by taking steps to give government more and more control over the lives of individuals. Easy examples include Social Security, the current health care debacle and the huge ownership stake government has recently taken in both the automotive and financial services industry. Bailouts were given and control was taken to protect the masses. The result: a larger government with reach yet further into the lives of individuals.
Fellow snake owner, you are now poised to be on the receiving end of that same seizure of liberty so often employed by the Democratic party. They want to take away your right to own the snake of your choosing for the betterment of the masses. It is a decidedly Democrat thing to do. What makes it worse is that all of you know that the reasons offered for why your rights are about to be seized are not even based on facts.
Remember this the next time you go to the polls and have to choose Republican or Democrat. Many people in this country are single-issue voters. In our last round of elections many chose to vote Democrat solely because it wasn’t “voting for Bush”. The result of those elections are that we now have a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, a Democrat-controlled Senate and a Socialist, er, Democrat President. The Humane Society of the United States swooped into action as soon as that criteria was met (Democrats all-around). The result to the reptile community is the pain we are all feeling today. Never forget that.
Cheers,
Colin Weaver
P.S. – Mid-term elections are about a year away. If we can survive this round we can fix our problems (the reptile problem, that is) at the ballot box next year.
Note: I opened this up to discussion on the ball-pythons.net forum but they moved it to their “Quarantine Room” that is not visible to the general public. I guess it was more direct and to the point than what they like on their site. It’s their site, their call. Someone on that site suggested that I was unfairly trying to make this into a partisan issue. Uh, I’m not trying to make it a partisan issue, IT IS A PARTISAN ISSUE. This isn’t a secret. Pretty much across the board Democrats appear to be lined up to vote in favor of it and Republicans will oppose it. That is a fact and not a politically motivated attack on the democratic party. It is what it is.
- In June 2008 HR6311 was introduced by a Democrat. This bill had the same aims as HR669. Despite being introduced in a democrat-controlled House, HR6311 never even made it out of committee. Nobody fought too hard for (or against) this bill because George Bush was in office and he would have vetoed it.
- On January 26th, 2009, less than a week after Obama was sworn into office and the Democrat hat-trick was complete, HR669 was introduced by a Democrat. The reptile community had its first unified and loud reaction. The House sub-committee backed off in response.
- On June 10, 2009, HR2811 was introduced by a Democrat. This bill seeks to perform an end-around on the legislative process by adding large constrictors to the Lacey Act.
- On February 3, 2009, barely 2 weeks after Obama’s inaguration, S373 was introduced by a Democrat. This is the Senate version of HR2811. This bill also seeks to perform the same end-around on the legislative process by adding large constrictors to the Lacey Act.
There are two themes at work in the timeline above: 1) There have been repeated efforts to take away the rights of pet owners and 2) they have always been introduced by HSUS-sympathetic Democrats.
Colin, another insightful read as always… Please step away from the twitter and come back here!!!
I’m not terribly interested in having a philosophical discussion on the pros and cons of our system of government. Not on a reptile-related web site, at least.
The facts in this situation don’t lie. This is a problem championed by the democratic party. That’s what I care about and that’s why this is the perfect time to discuss it.
I am interested in preserving the well-being of my family and my business. It’s my job to do those things. To do that I have to vote republican (yes, yes, the lesser of two evils). It is decidedly clear that voting democrat means my right to own the reptile of my choosing is on the line. All other rhetoric is not relevant.
If you voted democrat and live in a district with a democrat in the house or if you live in a state with a democrat senator you can decide if your rights as a pet owner is a single-issue voting position. If it is, tell your representative that. Their mission is to stay in office. Knowing that they are losing constituents over the python and boa ban will not go unnoticed.
Colin feel free to post it up for discussion on my forum man we have a bunch of people(including myself who would love to talk on this one.
Excellent points, and I do agree about the Democrats needing to be kept on a short leash. That being said, I don’t think going Republican is how we fix this. That would be like the proverbial cutting off of the nose to spite your face.
I’m a former Republican turned independent (thinker), and yes, I’m an Obama supporter. As much as I love breeding reptiles for a living, I would rather find a new career than try to make ends meet in a Republican run America. I’ll be the first to admit, the Democrats aren’t much better, but until there’s a snowball’s chance in hell for an Independent candidate to be elected, I will continue to support the Dems. The Republicans are crooked, and their agenda revolves more around corporate America’s interests than it does my America’s interests. For that reason, I doubt I will ever support another Republican, ever.
Health insurance, a hot topic today, is a real problem in this country…and in an industry comprised of nothing but hobbyists and small businesses, this is a real problem for everyone who breeds reptiles for a living. Being a professional reptile breeder with a diabetic business partner, the lack of decent insurance options is far more alarming than the thought of not being able to sell giant constrictors.
I’m healthy as a horse and my current health insurance is good, but the thought of being dropped if I get sick has always been in the back of my mind since I decided to pursue a career in reptiles. For me, fixing an ethically bankrupt health insurance industry is far more important than being able to sell big snakes. Ideally, we should be able to do both, and I think that’s what we should be shooting for…not sacrificing the health and well-being of 40+ million Americans to save our beloved giant snakes.
Before you vote Republican, think about this….
In a Republican run America, you can sell giant constrictors to your heart’s content…that’s great, but if you get sick, you may very well lose your business AND your health insurance. Being sick without health insurance, not to mention bankrupt with a building full of big ass snakes…let’s just say it doesn’t sound like the American dream to me.
Anthony, Thanks for your comments. I appreciate them. As time passes I believe more and more that people who vote Independent are probably the most rational and well-balanced (politically) people. I also agree that corruption is rampant in both major parties. The statist mentality, which is most closely aligned with the Democratic party, is something I can never support …even if they happened to love snakes. Republicans have no love for the reptile industry. Their objections to S373 and HR2811 have more to do with the reckless disregard for the legislative process than anything else. Democrats going back to Roosevelt and the New Deal have constantly sought to replace the government put in place by our Founding Fathers and replace it with a government that is large, strong and controlling over the lives of the individual. That scares me to my core.
I am a self-employed small business owner and my company pays for the health insurance of its employees. It is horribly expensive and the annual increases are debilitating (both personally and as a corporation). I agree that health-care reform is necessary but the manner in which it is currently being conducted is deplorable. I fully acknowledge that if Republicans were in control of the House, the Senate and the Oval Office they would do something equally inappropriate. Our political culture is venomous. It would be nice if an Independent could actually win more than a random election or two but I don’t see it likely in the near future. Knowing that a vote for an Independent is more than likely a throw-away vote (that seems to often help Democrats more frequently than Republicans) I have to stick Republican. I believe too deeply that each individual is responsible for their own success; that no state control over my life will every do anything other than rob me of my liberty and take my success and redistribute it to others. I do not work as hard as I do for the benefit of others. My successes and my failures belong to me and my family. I am a successful individual and I struggle each day to make that a true statement. I do not accept that everyone else cannot do the same. If they choose to be lazy, expecting someone to hand them their happiness …screw ‘em.
Colin Weaver
Hey Colin,
Thanks! You make some excellent points once again. The reason I’ve never voted independent is exactly for the reason you said. It’s realistically just a throw away vote and it only helps another party. For that reason, you may as well just choose the party you dislike less. People who vote independent just to protest our flawed two party system, no matter how much I agree with that point, make me just as crazy as people who don’t care enough to vote in the first place. No offense to anyone who has cast a ballot for Perot or Nader, but WTF were you thinking?
The two party system really frustrates me because in many respects, I’m still a conservative.
I can’t agree more with you on the Robinhood wannabes on the far left. Giving my money to some lazy pig who says he or she is “disabled”, when the fact is that they just don’t want to work…that doesn’t sit well with me, especially when my work schedule takes so much time away from my family and my life. The way I see it, the government is essentially making me work more (in the form of higher taxes), so that those scum don’t have to. In fact, I have some pretty radical views on what we should do with those folks. I won’t go there, but let’s just say I don’t think John Smith was completely off base. If you don’t work, you don’t eat…I won’t say “PERIOD”, but the list of legitimate exceptions would be a short one.
At the same time, there are people who really can’t fend for themselves for one reason or another, and I think our society as a whole is better off if those people aren’t left to starve on the streets. Even the most moral person, when left to starve to death, will lie, cheat and steal if that’s what it takes to survive. To me, taking care of these people is the right and moral thing to do. But even if you don’t care about what’s fair (no doubt, life is not), taking care of the truly disabled is still a less expensive proposition than dealing with all the crime we’d have if we didn’t.
I don’t know how many people are on government assistance in this country (not counting unemployment), but it wouldn’t surprise me if 70-80% of them could work if they really wanted to.
Unfortunately, there seems to be no happy medium, and I doubt there ever will be in a two party system. In my ideal government, anyone who gets help from the government would have to prove, without any doubt, that they really can’t work. Not by getting a note from THEIR doctor, but seeing a doctor whom the government can trust to give an honest report on said person’s physical condition.
So I guess telling you I hurt my back wouldn’t help me talk you into giving me a Silver Surfer ball?
Sweet combo, by the way. You should buy a lotto ticket!
Anthony,
Thanks again. I completely agree on the point about people who TRULY need help.
As to the Silver Surfer ball …it usually goes without saying that a winning lotto ticket is preceded by many, many, many losing tickets.
Any snake person who quotes Mark Levin is A-OK by me….although i think Mark borrowed it from Edmund Burke or John Locke
Dont know if its an exact quote but Ben Franklin said that those who would give up a little liberty to gain security deserve neither and would end up losing both. Lets hope the American people still see it that way.
Great discussion Gentlemen. Amazing how civility leads to common ground.