Okay, you know my politics.  You know that I don't believe the entire 'all the liberals are socialists...' mantra.  Do I think they're a little confused?  Yes, I certainly do.  But I don't think they have this grand plan to make us all wards of the state.  Are there a few wackjobs out there who do not understand the free market and how it works, and how fewer regulations are generally better than a lot of regulations?  Yes (my favorite was reading in the Economist a couple of weeks ago when it was discussing banking, and the article noted that banking was probably the most regulated industry in the entire world...if you need any more proof that regulations aren't necessarily the answer- there you go).

Which is why I hate those that paint with a broad brush.  Yes, I understand that you have to make it 'us against them' (that's why the Huns eat babies.  I am part Hun, and not ALL of us do- Uncle Adolf can't stand them and Uncle Rudolf will only eat them on special occasions- so there)..

That being said, I recently received the monthly magazine from the State Union.

And it disturbed me.

It was a column by Ken Brynien, and this was his final paragraph- '(Gov George Clinton) attempted to keep the public's tax burden low by confiscating and selling the land of wealthy Tories.  Let's hope history repeats itself.'

Huh?  This is a column appearing in a Union publication, and even if someone truly feels that way, he's foolish enough to say this?  He feels we should confiscate the land of the wealthy in order to keep taxes low?

I wrote an impassioned letter to the Union stating that 1)I could not disagree more and 2) I hoped that he was making a joke, but even if he were, it was a poor joke (I know about those, just ask the person who isn't reading this column).  Given the view of half the country about unions, it could be harmful to the cause as well.

I have not received any response back yet.

-Zjabs (Rochester's Official Columnist)

© 2012 Zjabs - 6/10/12