Robert Spottswood, a member of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, had the following to say about non-native species of lizards and snakes in Florida.
“I’m very sensitive to the people in the pet trade and enthusiasts, but this action is a result of invasive species that continue to get into the wild. These animals are doing lots of damage, and we are incumbent to do something” [emphasis mine].
Every bureaucrat who is about to steal liberty and freedom from people uses this excuse, “we are incumbent to do something.” Frankly, it is past time for the scab to be ripped off this excuse and sunshine disinfectant applied! When these words are uttered, injuries are about to abound, and the political representative is about to gain personal power through political theft!
For the record, I will presume that the entire Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are behaving as “the sons of Mary,” possessing nothing but the best of intentions in their plans are programs. Yet, I have to ask, who authorized you to “do something?” Where does your authority to steal people’s livelihoods derive? Who granted you the power to restrict trade, shutdown commerce, or interrupt individual people’s lives and livelihoods? Why does “doing something” always include the loss of liberty and freedom in a population when a government entity acts?
I get it; invasive non-native species of animals are a problem. I detest snakes with a passion and will kill them with prejudice, regardless of the laws when they cross my path. Not an enthusiastic fan of lizards and would never consider one a “pet.” But hey, to each their own in a Constitutional Republic, act as a responsible pet owner, and you will never have a problem with me. But, how did we get from irresponsible owners to restricting trade and curtailing freedom?
Why is “doing something” not including increasing hunts for non-native species of reptiles? I have seen the enthusiasm for hunting non-native species in the hunters; why not increase the bounty and open the hunt to more people? Why not look at other means and methods of controlling the non-invasive species than curtailing freedom and destroying commerce? If we can invent drugs and chemicals to moderate mosquitos, non-natives snakes and reptiles should not be a problem.
Why are all bureaucratic responses the same, shoot the messenger, kill commerce, and pray nobody figures out what is happening behind the curtain? The Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) investigated after the death by suicide of a veteran three-days after discharge from a mental health unit in Missouri. The bureaucrats there had a similar excuse, “we need to do something,” and the actions taken were so subpar, it makes an underground car garage look like the Taj Mahal! Bureaucrats covered their “doing something,” a veteran died by suicide, a family is bereft and emotionally broken, and all the people behind the incident can say is, “we did something.” Not the right action, not the standard action, not a correct action; they merely “did something,” and a dead veteran testifies to their ineptitude!
Speaking of bureaucrats and the insanity of “doing something.” Kathleen Noftle, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release for diverting morphine while she was employed as a nurse in the hospice unit at the Bedford VA Medical Center. In October 2020, Noftle pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge. The inspectors can claim they “did something,” and a hospice nurse has been convicted of one count of tampering and one count of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge. Seriously, this is all! What about her manager, other nurses, and the other VA Leadership who had to have been aware of this problem long before this one nurse was caught and plead guilty for one crime? Was this a “plea bargain” so the prosecutor can declare they “did something” to curb the abuse of veterans at this hospice unit?
The excuse, “we are incumbent to do something,” is the most ridiculous, haphazard, and detestable excuse any bureaucrat can derive, and it is past time to see this excuse ended forever! Speaker Pelosi used this excuse to pass legislation, then claimed, “We have to pass it to know what’s in it.” Lame, tepid, worthless excuses that should never have seen the light of day are being accepted as “work” done on the public’s behalf by elected and unelected officials of the various government levels across America.
For the record, NO; you, the government are not “incumbent to do something!” You are there to enforce the law equally and leave people alone! Not create new laws to destroy commerce, create policies that increase suicides, and definitely not make deals with criminals placed in positions of trust as they steal and harm patients in healthcare settings! You, the government, are exceeding your authority, and the only excuse you can provide is, “we are incumbent to do something,” this is unacceptable!
I have witnessed the abuse of animals; I do not like it, but that is the owner’s problem, and the owner will eventually have to face justice for the mistreatment of animals. The government is not responsible for policing animals. I do not have pets; why; because I physically cannot care for their needs. Thus, I am a responsible pet owner. The government does not, and should not choose to be, “incumbent to do something.” The government cannot enforce morality in a population; thus, why are the bureaucrats claiming otherwise as they act to strip liberty, kill people, and destroy the US Constitution? Martin Luther King Jr. is quoted as saying, “Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.”
A “Liberty FIRST Culture” must recognize the government’s lie; every action the government takes will be injurious to all citizens. Hence, the only government needed is a small, tightly controlled government that follows the citizens’ rules and strictures! End the charade, close out the farrago, and stop the insanity of runaway bureaucratic nonsense. Deny those claiming, “we are incumbent to do something,” the right to dictate and ruin before it is too late, and America is lost.
© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.
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