"I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.'" - Arizona Senator, Barry Goldwater

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

It's getting to be about voting time again (Sept 12) and no matter how you feel about "adult-oriented businesses," I think anyone who reads what I have to say would agree that we have to keep the government at bay when they attempt to push their "idea" of morality on us. We decide for ourselves where to spend our money and what small-businesses to support, we don't need Mary Manross (who blushed at the words "Pink" and "Taco" when placed together) telling us what to do. The Scottsdale City Council spent taxpayer money to hire a lawyer from the Alliance Defense Fund to write the ordinance that will put Scottsdale strip clubs out of business. Nothing against my Christian friends, because I assume they are all more enlightened than the people behind this, but taking a backhanded approach to putting a business you find offensive out of business is NOT the role of government, at least not a tyrannical one. (And why the problem now? These business have been open in the same locations for decades and now, all of a sudden, they're hurting Scottsdale's image? Sounds shady to me. And the alleged "image" of Scottsdale is not as squeaky clean as the politickers would imagine it to be in the first place, but that's another blog, for another time.)

Whether or not you would ever consider frequenting one of these establishments and regardless of how you view them morally, this is not a moral issue. This is about government railroading a business out of town and as Americans, as free thinkers and as defenders of the constitution, we are all obligated to vote NO on 401.

Additional reading:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0831sr-roberts0831Z8.html
http://www.azcentral.com/community/Scottsdale/articles/0908churchpower0908.html
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=55141
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0831sr-stripdebate31-ON.html