Why Do We Even Have States Anymore?
by John Riet

I can only hope this is just more grandstanding to appease the millions who believe that the government is their mommy. I hope beyond hope that Congress weren't serious in probing the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Because if this was serious… if they were to take into account the responsibilities of the states and those of the federal government, they could only come to one conclusion:

Louisiana screwed up.

Instead, they came up with the pandering theory that, "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff or a deputy should have been 'the central point' of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina."

Now. Can anyone point out the passage in the Constitution that says it is the federal government's job to bail out those hit by a natural disaster? Because I've totally missed it! To my understanding, it is the duty of the feds to protect our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From there on, we are on our own. If you decide to pursue your happiness below sea level… what can I say? You better buy yourself a hell of a lot of insurance.

You're welcome to tell me why I (living in Pennsylvania) am responsible to pay for rebuilding your home in New Orleans, when I had no say or opportunity to object before you decided to move or stay there. But you better bring your "A" game when you do.

The only responsibility for helping the citizens of Louisiana is the state of Louisiana. It was up to the Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin and Governor Blanco to make the necessary preparations and to INVITE the federal government into their state if they needed help in evacuating their citizens.

That's right. INVITE. For those of you not familiar with it, there's a thing called Posse Comitatus. It was passed after the Reconstruction Era of the south when southerners were fed up with the Northern army's presence and were afraid there was nothing to keep them from entering their respective states whenever they pleased. The federal government passed the law to ensure sovereignty. From then on, government forces must be invited into their states.

This is why Bush didn't respond to Hurricane Katrina - not because he doesn't care; not because he hates black people; not because he was having sex with an intern (Oops. Sorry. Wrong President). He didn't respond because, by law, he couldn't.

Of course, the publicly educated masses never learned about Posse Comitatus. Therefore, the fact that the feds did nothing to help the poor underwater population of New Orleans was simply because they are controlled by the Republicans, and the Republicans could care less about the poor and blacks.

Before you think I'm being insulting, let me just point out that up until a few years ago, I didn't know about Posse Comitatus. I came across it while learning about the Constitutional roles of government. The point being, the entitlement mentality of America today automatically assumes that when something bad happens to you, it is the job of the government to make everything better. In this America, you must really research on your own to find such a thing as Posse Comitatus.

Now, if we are to accept the ruling of this Congressional probe. If we accept that it is the responsibility of the federal government and the President to rescue those living in hazardous regions of the country, the question becomes; why should we have states anymore? Why not just have America? No more United States. We'll just have the Louisiana Region, the California Region, and so on. From now on, whatever the federal government wants must be true for every region. No more self-determination. No more Posse Comitatus. The military will be able to have the run of the country, imposing martial law whenever and wherever they wish.

Want to legalize gay marriage in your region? Want to legalize medicinal marijuana? Want to pass Jessica's law? Too bad! It's not your state anymore. It's just a region of America! What's good for the rest of the country is good for you!

Wouldn't that be wonderful? A nation that in no way resembles the one envisioned by our Founding Fathers. Let's go for it! Let's unite and perpetuate this ideal of one government that provides all of our needs and determines our most personal decisions - health care, retirement, commerce, etc. A world where politicians like Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin have no accountability for what goes on in their regions.

Or we could try something a little different - following the Constitution as written. The government was never meant to be your mommy. Take the diapers off, and take responsibility for your own lives.