State Power
Photos like this and the photo on this page are pictorial evidence of the dictum that power corrupts. I thought about the photos of the riot cops attempting to intimidate and frighten the protestors all day, and sometimes I admit I looked at the troopers' pudgy bellies and thought, "Hey guys, lay off the donuts!" But mostly, I was sickened.

If you weren't sickened by the sight of armed riot cops blocking the entrance to the state Capitol as the people's alleged representatives sought to impose an unwanted an unconstitutional income tax, you need a refresher course in what it, supposedly, means to live in a free democratic republic.

Hint: it ISN'T armed riot cops threatening to bludgeon with wooden bats anyone who dares attempt to enter their state Capitol to protest the possible enactment of an unconstitutional new tax.

And trust me, had you attempted to pass these storm troopers of the Sundquist administration, you would have been stopped with violence force. Never forget that last year an anti-tax protestor was physically assaulted by a state trooper for being loud.

Of course, the administration claims riot cops were necessary because of last year's "riot" in which a window was broken by a protestor. Count me a skeptic. The administration has at various times described the "weapon" as a brick, a rock, and a stick. It allegedy landed at the foot of some lawmaker inside the governor's office. But where is the rock or brick or stick? Surely, if such a crime was committed, the witnesses would know if it was a rock or a stick or a brick, and the evidence would have been collected. The rock ... or brick ... or stick ... would be in investigators' hands. We would have seen a photo of it. But we haven't. Why? Until there is solid evidence otherwise, my guess is: because it doesn't exist.

The Sundquist administration claims it exists, however, and so the media has bought the story without really questioning it, just as they've bought the administration's multiple lies throughout the 3-year income tax debate. And so, an income tax that clearly lacks popular support among the people continues to survive while Jimmy Naifeh looks for a way to cram it down the people's throats while state troopers are sent to intimidate those who would dare protest.

That's state power. It feeds on ego and arrogance, but mostly on an ever-ready supply of taxpayers' money. Which is why the photos are such a powerful argument for NOT giving the state yet more of our tax dollars. Just like power, money corrupts. If it didn't, Jimmy Naifeh and Don Sundquist and Bob Rochelle would not be seeking to violate their oaths of office and the state constitution in order to take for themselves an extra $1 billion of your money to spend.