Welcome to the Banana Republic of the United States of America

I have never travelled to a banana republic. Seen mostly in tropical areas, these places are those where there is a coup every other week and your local policeman will accept a bribe of $5 to ignore the dead body in the car next to you. They are wonderful places, mostly because the antics of the banana republic provide endless humor and enjoyment to those of us who do not live under it. However, I am no longer laughing.
Our Dear Leader is pushing us down to become a banana republic. He puts us into bed with total banana republics like Venezuela, supports deposed banana politicians like Manuel Zelaya, and has put out feelers to make himself the President for Life here. Yeah, the likelihood of that happening is small, but with there still being a sizable minority of people for whom Our Dear Leader is the second coming anything is indeed possible. There are other ways in which the United States now is going to be a banana republic, if we don't do something to stop it.
First, just like a banana republic we are being remade into a structurally high unemployment economy, where a majority of the population depends on the government. At our current stage, about 43% of the population pay no income tax. As soon as this number reaches 51%, then a majority of people in this country will not have any concern of just who pays for things that the government does. They won't care who gets taxed, and how much they get taxed, because it won't be them and then there is more money to "vote" towards their own wallets. Remember, Benjamin Franklin once said: "When people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
This voting of money is the single greatest push towards banana republic, and did not begin with Our Dear Leader unfortunately. The massive bloating of the federal government began in 1913, with the passing of the 16th and 17th Constitutional Amendments. It has taken over ninety years for these mistakes to come to full flower. For those with a public school education, the 16th amendment repeals the prohibition of the income tax and the 17th makes senators directly elected by the people. What do these things mean? Well, the income tax allows the federal government to grow to absurd sizes, and with more money can place it ever more areas that it previously could not. With the amendment there was finally an amount of money there that people would be interested in, and only one obstacle stood in their way of voting for it, the Senate. Prior to 1913, the state legislatures appointed Senators, which gave the states a measure of power in the federal government. They also would act much like the House of Lords does in Great Britain, slowing down the passions of the people when they would do something that is unwise. With the Senate under the pressure of the normal populace, now no one could stop the exaggerations of democracy, with the lone exception of the courts, which are the least democratic of the three branches of the government.
Secondly, we slide to banana republic with each czar that is appointed, and each private company taken over by the government. Banana republics nationalize private corporations, often because they need money. We nationalize corporations to change their ownership, and give them to people who did not earn them so secure votes. The Dear Leader appoints czars to provide authoritarian control over sectors of the economy, and to push through massive changes through the bloated bureaucracy, which for once could work in our favor if it could slow down these horrible changes. The appointment of authoritarian judges also accomplishes this, judges like FJSS. Her judicial philosophy is one of making law without democratic input, thus making the Court even more tyrannous than it currently is. Fortunately we have a number of justices who do not follow that philosophy, but it is a sad state of affairs when appointments to the Court have such importance to the normal man. The Court was never intended to be the most powerful of the three branches of government, a position that it holds in the modern era.
Thirdly, and finally, a banana republic must have a leader. These leaders are "beloved" by the peasantry, and are often charismatic people who enjoy a wide following around the world. These leaders often have a cult of personality, and posses rabid supporters for whom the leader can do no wrong. Our Dear Leader fits this profile perfectly. A banana president surrounds himself with people who can accomplish his mission of holding on to power, including those who are criminal. They also discredit the former leaders of the nation, as to prevent them from returning to power. Convicting them of crimes is often the way that this is done.
How do we, as free citizens, stop this criminal action? First, we must dismantle the power of the government. Repeal the 16th and 17th amendments would be a great first step. The government would starve out of money. Most of the problems of graft and corruption would disappear if there was no money to be had. Tossing out the leader would be the next step, one that unfortunately has to wait until 2010 or 2012 to be accomplished. People who value freedom and limited government must be elected as soon as possible, and if this is done, the Dear Leader can be curtailed or impeached for high crimes against the people when good statesmen are elected. Finally, each of these destructive policies must be opposed with tooth and nail by the population of the United States. We can stop this slide towards dictatorship by pressuring our Congress to end all new government programs. Removing the illegal government structure will have to come with a new president. It is not too late to stop the banana republic without a total revolution, but it will take the right steps.