[godfry n. glad]

During my lifetime, I have watched as my national government, the federal government which oversees the enaction of national legislation by Congress and the execution of that legislation by the executive. It seems to me that with LBJ, there was an extension of presidential power. To be frank, I can see how the exercise of federal power has been a boon, especially in assuring civil rights. But, it seems that the federal government itself has become ponderous and overwhelming...and venal...especially in the hands of those who would plunder the public trust and sew anger and resentment around the world.

Someone earlier mentioned the U.S. Department of Education. I wonder too, of the necessity of such an entity. I've always pictured education as familial or very close community and truly have difficulty understanding why the national federal government would have a hand in educating our children...other than to assure a 'proper' inculcation of attitude toward the nation.

It seems that the amount of money we funnel to Washington, DC, largely pays for somebody with much better connections than my local elected officials to apportion out and reward their friends and family. It seems to me that could be done on a much more effective basis right near my home. Why do I need to send that much of my annual income to Washington, DC, and have them do stupid things with it like invade Iraq?

We don't need a military force sufficient to invade other nations. We should have a trained officer corps, a duly-regulated militia, a draft system without loopholes and our focus should be the defense of our rights, our constitution and our nation.

The horrors of watching the clowns of two Bush administrations and Ronald Reagan play games with the national debt and lie to the public about their true intentions, leads me to think that the federal government is the wrong level to do much of anything. It's too ponderous and corrupt. It needs to be minimized. LBJ was bad enough, but now it's much, much worse. The imperial presidency should be dismantled. Soon.