One complaint... ONE... has resulted in a change in government policy regarding the flag-folding ceremony that takes place at the funerals of our nation's veterans.

An October 25th article on the Riverside, CA Press-Enterprise's website stated, "A spokesman in Washington said the complaint originated from someone who witnessed the ceremony at Riverside National but would provide no other details and declined to release the directive banning the flag-folding recital, saying it was 'an internal working document not meant for public distribution.'"

The portions of the recital deemed offensive contained the "G" word. Yes, you probably guessed it.

"God".

So now we're left with the question, "Who's the insanest of them all?" Is it the unnamed complainer, for whom tolerance is obviously a one-way street, or is it the US government, which insists upon catering to the delicate sensibilities of a mental midget?

On the heels of my post yesterday regarding New Jersey's #1 leading export (disgruntled taxpayers), comes this MSN report on property tax burdens by state.  At last, we can truthfully say that the Garden State has finally ranked #1 in something other than political corruption.  We have the highest per capita property taxes of any state in the nation

From this day on, I will refer to the state's Democratic party as the Kleptocrats, with the derivitave term being that we New Jersey taxpayers live in a Kleptocracy, as referenced by WikiPedia:

A kleptocracy (sometimes cleptocracy)... is a government that extends the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats) at the expense of the population.

If the shoe fits.  I'm sure our Founders would be just so proud we've come to this.

We've been saying it for years, but it seems that NJ citizens just won't wake up.  These three articles all cite the cost of living as a central theme to explain the exodus of taxpayers from NJ to other states.  But what's troubling is that not a one of them addresses the constant violation of our liberties.  Oh, no.  That'd be politically incorrect, of course, to criticze the liberals and their philosophies.

“Politicians in New Jersey have treated their citizens as ATMs,” said one taxpayer interviewed.  The article continues:

 "But today Jersey is a cautionary example of how to cripple a thriving state. Increasingly muscular public-sector unions have won billions in outlandish benefits and wages from compliant officeholders. A powerful public education cartel has driven school spending skyward, making Jersey among the nation’s biggest education spenders, even as student achievement lags. Inept, often corrupt, politicians have squandered yet more billions wrung from suburban taxpayers, supposedly to uplift the poor in the state’s troubled cities, which have nevertheless continued to crumble despite the record spending. To fund this extravagance, the state has relentlessly raised taxes on both residents and businesses, while localities have jacked up property taxes furiously. Jersey’s cost advantage over its free-spending neighbors has vanished: it is now among the nation’s most heavily taxed places. And despite the extra levies, new governor Jon Corzine faces a $4.5 billion deficit and a stagnant economy during a national boom. "