Ya know we have in reality elected for the govn’t to take care of all of these things.

I didn’t elect anyone for that purpose. I didn’t volunteer to pay for those things. That money is forcibly taken from me (at gunpoint, eventually). Thus, it is not my responsibility.

And those types of socialist programs are usually based on household income, and the median (50% mark) for that is $43,389 as of 2003. Regardless, I have not assumed any responsibility for anyone else. Other people have thrust that burden on me, against my will.

Ya know we have in reality elected for the govn’t to take care of all of these things.anyone who grosses under $28,000 is elegable for all of the above. (i’m willing to bet that exceeds 50% of the population of the U.S.. which makes the following statement FALSE. sorry bud make a better arguement and post it for me…

It’s not my responsibility to protect you from making poor decisions.

If this secret had been revealed, they would have changed their codes to something we couldn’t break. In all probablilty we have lost the war. Millions more would have died, and most of Europe would have fallen under the heel of Nazi fascism. That’s no exaggeration.

So… for the people who knew this secret, it WAS their job to keep their mouths shut. And if some newsman caught wind of it, he WOULD HAVE BEEN directly responsible if he had announced it — such an act would have actively crippled the war effort.

The finance-tracking program was legal. Congress was aware of it. The NYT caught wind, and (par for the course) deemed “getting the story” more important than the success of a highly effective tool in our fight against Islamist fascism.

You’re right — it’s not your job to keep other people safe. But you don’t have the right to destroy others’ efforts to do the same.

By your argument, I could sneak in and deflate the tires of a firetruck, and then when somebody dies because the firemen couldn’t get there fast enough, say “Hey man, it’s not my responsibility to save people from fires.”

I’m basically a Libertarian, so I for the most part agree with you assessment of what responsibilities people (and government *don’t* have. But it is the government’s responsibility to do those things that individuals can’t do, and “provide for the national defense” is one of them. It’s even in the Constitution.

The NYT sabotaged that effort for nothing more than their own self-aggrandizement. Disgusting.

Everyone, regardless of how hungry or well-fed they are, should have equal protection of the law.

Well yeah, my point was that ‘the law’ changes when the national consensus changes (I read your list as a screed against taxation, was it not?) It’s not about the USA per se, I was just making a general point. I may write about it later on my blog and pingback.

But somehow it’s everybody else’s responsibility to elect people who’ll protect the well-fed from the starving?

Protect them how? Are hungry people in America planning an uprising? It really shouldn’t be a class warfare issue. Everyone, regardless of how hungry or well-fed they are, should have equal protection of the law.

# It’s not my responsibility to feed you.

But somehow it’s everybody else’s responsibility to elect people who’ll protect the well-fed from the starving?

What more could be added.