How free are we, really?

Something to think about this 4th.

Today is Independence Day, so I think it’s appropriate to think about just how “free” we really are. I’m not referring to today’s obligatory whining from the Butt Hurt class—Mark Dice has done his usual stellar job of skewering them on YouTube—but I’d ask that you take a moment to reflect on the state of our freedoms as of right now.

I’m not going to make a laundry list of everything that’s wrong with the nation these days. If you’re reading this, you either have a good idea, or you’re here by mistake. Also, boring. I will point out this one curious thing I only realized today when I started thinking about this piece:

I haven’t heard anything about the size of the Federal Register since Biden was installed as the Resident of the Oval Office.

That’s odd, I think. Usually every few months there’s at least some mention of the thickness of the tome of all federal rules & regs, typically when a new batch are dropped on us. But, as hard as I try, I can’t remember seeing the figure in my usual reading…and I read A LOT.

The Register was nearly 100,000 pages when President Trump took office, and his “cut 2 for every 1” approach did shrink it a bit. Since Brandon became the Dementoid In Chief? Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip. Ziltch.

Given how willing Biden’s handlers have been to shove things in front of him for a signature, I’m almost afraid to know how big the Register is today. If it’s not comfortable over 100,000 pages, I’d be shocked. Shocked, I say!

Is there anything we do today that isn’t directly or indirectly regulated, taxed, licensed, permitted, fee’d, managed, proscribed or circumscribed by some government agency, apparatchik or assembly of idiots?

If you can think of any, please let me know. While you’re at it, think about the Founders did over a measly little Tea Act (that was actually NOT a new tea tax, but a bailout of the British East India company) and how they’d react to, oh, everything the feds have done since 2008’s TARP bailout.

Don’t think about how they’d react to the 2020 election, lest the Alphabet Stazi gulag you for seditious conspiracy to restore the Constitution.

I’ll leave you with this: as you go about your life this month, pay attention to the hand of government over everything you do. Ask yourself, “is this really necessary?”

I suspect an honest answer to that question will make you rethink the “freedom” you celebrated today.

As always, please share it with your friends, your contacts and on your social media. If you hate it, share the hate! Send it to your enemies! Either way, feel free to comment—I actually do read them, and usually respond (I’m getting better). If you want to receive future posts by email before they are posted to social media, subscribe! This Substack is free, because I despise paywalls. You can also follow @DocContrarian on Twitter, GETTR, Gab and Truth Social.

If you want to support me, help spread the word about my book about the MAGA Movement, Beyond MAGA. Get it, review it, and tell your friends. You might even enjoy reading it, but that’s totally up to you. The Large Print Edition is available now!