In the last few weeks there have been many incidents that should have outraged us as Americans. I was infuriated by such items as the Border Patrol being told to "run and hide" to the President lying about the Affordable Care Act. These are items that should upset our citizens. A few years ago, the Tea Party movement was founded when conservatives were concerned about tax increases. Today there is nary a whimper when the government stomps on our individual freedoms and our rights. Could it be that the government has done so many outrageous things that "We The People" are burned out? Have we as a nation decided to accept government overstepping their authority instead of resisting it? Have we become T.S. Eliot's The Hollow Men? (http://allpoetry.com/poem/8453753-The_Hollow_Men-by-T_S__Eliot). Let's look at a couple of examples:

Under a new policy directive, the Department of Homeland Security requires the Border Patrol and other law enforcement personnel to "run and hide" when an armed person starts shooting people. (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/29/border-patrol-union-claims-homeland-security-safety-course-promotes/). This increases the likelihood of mass slaughter of innocent civilians. Policemen "running and hiding" is not the preferred solution. If law enforcement refuses to protect us, then every American will need to defend themselves. A policy of "running and hiding" only encourages vigilantes taking the law into their own hands. If the police refuse to stand against armed criminals, then "We The People" must stand firm to defend our families, our property and our neighborhoods. In a society where the police run from the criminals, the criminals will prevail. Janet Napolitano, the head of Homeland Security, needs to stand and deliver on her promise to defend and protect the Constitution and our citizens. She must countermand this policy directive and do it quickly. Why are concerned citizens not outraged at this policy?The President continues to lie about Obamacare. He repeatedly states that there are no taxes in the Affordable Care Act, but there are penalties. The President's own lawyers argued before the Supreme Court last week that the individual mandate is a tax. The Supreme Court then ruled that it was a tax. Immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, Obama reiterated that it was not a tax. Let's be clear. There are over 20 new taxes or tax increases in Obamacare. (http://www.atr.org/full-list-obamacare-tax-hikes-listed-a7010). This act includes a 3.8 percent tax on investment income. The investment income tax targets those who saved for years to fund their retirement by carefully saving and investing their hard earned wages. The tax on the individual mandate is the largest tax increase in the history of the United States. The taxes on medical devices will hurt those who can afford it the least, our senior citizens. The Social Security tax increase will hurt the working poor. These are all taxes contained in the Affordable Care Act. How can the President deceive the American people when he says there are no taxes in this legislation? Where is the Outrage?The town of Depoe, Oregon canceled their annual fireworks display this year. For the last 19 years, Depoe has celebrated Independence Day with a fireworks display on July 3. This year, a federal agency was concerned that the fireworks disturbed a few birds. They based this on a study conducted last year that showed that the birds fly away when the fireworks scare them. They also proved that the birds do return to their nests once the fireworks stop. Now a few wacko federal government environmentalists are forcing a community to cancel their celebration of our nation's birthday. They might as well force the town to cancel the parades and the bands playing patriotic music as this too could scare the birds away. Where in the Constitution does it say that we cannot celebrate the founding of our nation? Where is the public outrage? (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2168384/Depoe-Bay-Oregon-cancels-fireworks-disturb-birds.html?ito=feeds-newsxml).This article could not be complete without mentioning our Attorney General (A.G.) Eric Holder. I was astonished a few weeks ago when his Justice Department sued the Arizona government over Arizona's enforcement of our immigration laws. A.G. Holder decided the state enforcing a federal law was unconstitutional even though he never read it. In fact, he made his decision from what "he's read in newspapers or seen on television". (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/13/holder-hasnt-read-ariz-law-he-criticized/). If the A. G. chooses to use the newspaper as the basis for legal issues, then we should all send him some newspaper articles of those few illegal aliens who murder our citizens, rape our daughters, and poison our children with drugs. Instead of giving them a fair trial, he can use the newspaper articles to convict, jail and then deport them.It was bad enough that A. G. Holder sanctioned the Fast and Furious gun running operation. But when he lied to Congress in an attempt to cover it up, he demonstrated that is not the person we should have as our Attorney General. When he decided to defy Congress and withhold documentation related to Fast and Furious, he was held in criminal contempt and civil contempt of Congress. The Justice Department decided not to pursue the criminal charges against their boss, Eric Holder. This smells of conflict of interest! The President then used Executive Privilege to protect the documents from being released to congress. When this story first broke, I wondered why A.G. Holder did not turn the documents over. Now that the President has exerted Executive Privilege, I believe that the documents must contain information that implicates the administration and possibly the President in this illegal gun running operation.When the dust settles, I hope that someone will be held accountable for the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Whoever authorized this operation is as guilty of agent Terri's death as the criminal who pulled the trigger. The President and the rest of his Chicago Mafia are complicit in Fast and Furious and should be held accountable. Where is the outrage?I could continue to cite examples until I am blue in the face. We are stuck with this arrogant Administration at least until November. My concern is that "We The People" are not standing up to these issues. Several years ago, conservatives across this great country stood up to the government in protest. The Tea Party movement took up the cause and marched on Washington and the state capitals. Our points were made and in the 2010 elections, we started the process of "flipping the house" by voting out corrupt politicians.We must again band together with other conservatives to stand up against this corrupt Administration. At the least, in the November elections, we should purge Washington of the Chicago Mafia and send them back home. We should also investigate others, such as A.G. Holder to determine if there actions where illegal. If so, they should be tried and if guilty, punished to the full extent of the law. Someone has to pay for the death of Brian Terry and hundreds of innocent Mexicans killed by the government funded and supported gun running operation. It is time for justice to prevail.© 2012 Gordon Smith