“No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” James Madison

“It is in war that the State really comes into its own: swelling in power, in number, in pride, in absolute dominion over the economy and the society.”  Murray Rothbard

As American citizens we are letting down our warriors and veterans  when we tolerate never ending war, loss of freedom and an ever expanding police and military state; we must stand up to politicians and insist on a new direction for our nation....

On this memorial day America has many to honor and many to mourn. Brave men and women have been sent to foreign lands to bravely stand for freedom and keep our enemies off our shore. They have fought valiantly and triumphed far more often than met defeat. Yet the costs are high as sons and daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers are injured irreparably or sacrifice their lives fighting with their brothers and sisters in arms. Other prices are paid in lost treasure and continued borrowing from foreign banks and foreign countries that place our children in the debt of  those who do not share our believes in freedom and a government of law and not men.

Avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty.” George Washington

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Sun Beam Times continues its evaluation on morality and modern society in preparation for a Morality Catechism study on Saturday, 5/26 in St. Petersburg. Nearly any government program is offered for "the common good", however many actually hurt the common good and leaders engage in immoral acts in their implementation (continued below).

Morality Catechism Study Saturday, 5/26, 10-12 a.m., 431 Southwest BLVD N, St. Petersburg, Fl. At the offices of Dr.

 “Freedom makes man a moral subject. When he acts deliberately, man is, so to speak, the father of his acts. Human acts, that is, acts that are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment of conscience, can be morally evaluated. They are either good or evil.”  Catechism of the Catholic Church

Morality. Seems pretty easy to figure out, doesn’t it?  Well, sometimes people go down certain paths to work for good, and actually work for evil without intending to.

Following is a Guest Editorial on the Pier Debacle. The City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on the $50 million contract for the $150 million pier. The Tampa Bay Times and the St. Pete political class is cheerleading the effort.  If you want the Council to STOP, TAKE a BREATH and vote NO, you need to show up today at City hall at 3 pm at 175 5th St. N.

The City Council and the Mayor have already decided they need to raise taxes and/or fees to cover a phony $13 million budget shortfall for 2012-2013. They simply need political cover to do it. They need to create the illusion that there is a ground swell of public support for raising taxes. For instance, St. Pete resident Jim Latchford had a well-timed letter published in the Tampa Bay Times today stating that the city should not do “less with less”. Then, in an amazing coincidence, Mayor Foster used the same line tonight in his statements to the crowd.

The City of St. Petersburg is itching to raise taxes. They have a nice political cheerleading squad helping them do it: Times, People’s Budget Review and now Occupy St. Pete. Today, on their Facebook Page, the Occupy St.

The city of St. Petersburg Government is shedding crocodile tears over having a “$13 million shortfall” in property tax revenue last year. Seems they only talk about losses in their revenues and never talk about gains. For instance, when the city was raking in more property tax dollars every year from 2000-2007, there was no public crises about “surplus” tax revenues with dozens of meetings on just how to give the money back to taxpayers!  There are plenty of current examples of increase revenue to the city these days too (follow link to 2012 St. Pete budget). For instance, the city is projecting and additional $1.85 million in new revenue from Red light cameras.

 “Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Ronald Reagan

It is crystal clear that the Mayor and the City Council will try to vote to raise property taxes or other taxes this year. The Mayor has claimed to work to cut government “to the bone”, but that would only be true if the bone is on the surface of the skin above multiple layers of fat, and now he claims there is no choice but to raise taxes. The only argument about tax hikes in City Council is how much to raise them and whether it should be in the form of a per property “fire fee” or a standard property tax hike.