Blah

I originally wrote a big long screed about the supreme court decision from yesterday, but it was too depressing so I killed it. The main gist is that it's the final turning point between freedom and subjectivity. That now absolutely any behavior (or lack of behavior) can be punished with a tax if you can just get enough of a temporary majority in congress to pass it, the flood gates will open. I bet $10,000 that the next thing will be tax penalties for 'non-green' things like SUVs and such. They'll argue that it's for the planet and you don't hate the planet, do you? And we will tax ourselves into oblivion.

Even worse, this was a battle that is now permanently lost. It would be one thing if things could be undone with an election. And yes, Romney could win and will repeal Obamacare and that would be great...until the next Democrat president rounds up a slim majority in Congress and decides to tax people for not buying GM cars or Al Gore books or Indigo Girls CDs or something. The press would cheer it all on and say it's all for our own good.

Freedom, once ceded, can't be recovered.

Many have circulated the 'constitution hanging by a thread' prophecy around in the last few days but I don't think this is the thing that will fulfill that. It would take 2-4 supreme court justices retiring in the next 4-8 years, a President Romney replacing them all with apostles, and then the court overturning this decision. So that won't happen. I think it's more to do with religious freedom, I'm guessing something to do with freedom to worship. I'm guessing that one day someone will conjure a right to gay marriage out of the constitution and then will try to force churches to participate? It's just a hunch but it seems logical to me.

In short, I completely agree with this guy's article, which says:

A bulwark for our constitutional liberty and rights has been smashed.  Taxes do not involve commercial-purchase mandates...If we do not abide by those definitions and limits, then there will be no limit on what SCOTUS will say Congress can “tax-mandate” out of our wallets.

Oh well.