From: wernerhetzner@gmail.com   
      
   We tend to hear a lot about "rights" in contemporary America - the right to   
   “a living wage” and the right to health care are some examples. Gary   
   Popkin from NYC wrote this wonderfully succinct explanation of how the meaning   
   of "right" has been    
   corrupted to the opposite of its real meaning:    
      
   "A 'right' as envisioned by the Founders meant that the government was not   
   permitted to interfere with your pursuit of them, i.e., your pursuit of   
   happiness was to be unhindered by government. The 'righ' of free speech means   
   that government cannot    
   interfere with your free speech. The 'right' of gun ownership means that the   
   government cannot infringe your gun ownership. What does 'right' to health   
   care mean? It means that the government cannot stand in the way of your   
   pursuit of health care, or    
   impede your obtaining health care.   
      
   Of course, 'right' has incorrectly come to mean that someone must supply you   
   with something. If your 'right' to housing means that some slave must supply   
   you with housing, and your "right" to health care means that some slave must   
   supply you with health    
   care...does your 'right' to free speech mean that some slave must supply you   
   with a loudspeaker, or TV air time? Does your 'right' to own guns mean that   
   some slave must supply you with guns? “   
      
   The 2002 Badnarik Presidential campaign website had this jewel:   
      
   “In crafting the Bill of Rights, the framers were careful to acknowledge   
   implicitly and explicitly two key truths: The first is that government does   
   not grant rights it acknowledges them. They exist independently of   
   government... The second is that    
   government is a servant to whom we delegate powers, not a master who dispenses   
   privileges..."   
      
   In contemporary America, Politics as Usual is about dispensing privileges -   
   creating new rights for some at the expense of others.    
   http://www.endit.info/how.shtml   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)