Have you tried living in Arizona? They're not allowed to ask for your papers -- at least when you're voting.

Oh, my contempt for our government institutions is anything but casual. This SCOTUS decision proves the uselessness of this "last line of defense" against a capricious and overbearing government. I already believed the executive and legislative institutions to be malign.

Our own government has contempt for the Constitution, the supposed supreme "law of the land."

I think Scalia wrote the decision, speaking of knife through the heart.

Next question: What's the point of Republican appointments to the SCOTUS?

1) Are they desperate to become citizens? Or are they desperate to enjoy the benefits of living here, while hoping to go undetected as illegals and not be harassed for their illegal status? I'd say the trend from our government is definitely toward sanctuary cities/states, amnesty, and open borders. We're witnessing_citizenship_nullification.

2) Obama is a secular humanist leftist, not a Muslim. He rather obviously has Muslim sympathies, though, and disdains "Bible clinging" Christians, don't you think? It is my considered opinion his administration actively opposes the Catholic Church.

It's only a matter of time now that non-citizens can vote for representation per the Supreme Court. Our government is capricious and lawless. The aforementioned states don't save us from drawing the tender attention of the federal government. They just impose fewer ministrations compared to other state governments.

Again, I'm not looking to move. I'm looking to obtain a more advantageous status. I think we've tipped over into citizenship being a disadvantage, and resident alien status being an advantage.

How about if I just register my home as a mosque?

I guess we're all in a grim mood. The Supreme Court decision didn't help. If the SCOTUS is our last line of defense against arbitrary, intrusive government, the line has clearly been breached. 

I'm grateful for the America of history. I feel no affinity for New America. I don't even recognize the place or many (most?) of the people in it. They're a new breed, and one I don't even respect, let alone admire.

I think you misunderstand the point. What is the advantage of citizenship if, for instance, non-citizens can vote for representation in the government?

I'm not looking for another country to live in. I'm looking for a residency status which is most advantageous for being left alone in the country in which I'm living.

But, what happens if I renounce my citizenship and don't leave? I assume there are penalties, I'd just like to know what they are.

Can I opt for resident alien status, or am I really a captive "subject" as Ray and Linda suggest? Would my status be worse than someone here illegally? Does anyone know?

Collapse happens. And quickly too. If the garbage man decides he's better off mugging and looting, it's not just the mugging and looting that's a problem. It's the garbage strewn streets that invite more decline.

These people have no time for dabbling with novelties like homosexual marriage, do they? I don't think we're so far removed from where they are.

Thanks for posting.

I seem to recall something about "nothing new under the Sun" and "keep your lamps full," where eternal consequences were implied. What we're seeing now is the infantilizing notion that there will be no negative consequences tomorrow for today's actions, if tomorrow comes at all. Go ahead kids! Have relationships without commitment. Have sex without babies. Have food without working. That's not in the Bible. Just the opposite. 

I think the expectation of life without consequences is, in part, the result of paternalistic helicopter government, which sees to your every need before you even knew you had it. It's a consequence-free world our kids are promised. And now they feel entitled to it.

The other parts I attribute to secularization and despair. Also less common in more circumspect times.

You're more optimistic than I, CJ. 

Haven't a clue really. Can't I just be a citizen of the world like any good left-winger?

I'm not really asking the practical question. I'm asking the philosophical one. When does citizenship become more of a burden than a privilege? If non-citizens can vote for our representation (as suggested by the SCOTUS decision today), what's the advantage of citizenship?

I think I agree with you. The flaw is in human nature -- the insatiable desire for "somethin' for nothin'." And once acquired, the almost universal, permanent addiction to it.

But, bearing that in mind, the one protection, and perhaps in the long run the most important, our Founders failed to embed in our founding documents was the absolute prohibition of redistributionist schemes through the federal government. If the common good served by the federal government was strictly defense of liberty and property from enemies foreign and domestic, our federal government would be a lot smaller, weaker, and cheaper. And a lot less corrupt and corruptible.

While the Founders couldn't have foreseen Marx, it's a damn tragedy they preceded Bastiat by only a few short decades.

Second, or third(?), the stop in Cody to the museums there. Something for everyone.

For a fun and unexpected sight in the high desert west of The Great Sand Dunes, there's the Colorado Gator Farm.  They use a geothermal well to grow tilapia for the restaurant business, and they use gators to consume the waste. If you've got a herpatologist in the family, it's a must see.

Near Mount Rushmore: Custer State Park (lots of bison, great scenery), Mammoth Dig Site (fun for kids interested in paleontology and great glow-in-the-dark t-shirts), Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary for the horse lovers (bus ride through dusty Black Hills for a glimpse of the Old West, including Indian petroglyphs) and, of course, Hot Springs.

On your return trip, unfortunately Santa Fe has been "discovered." It will always have the Loretto Chapel and the Plaza, but the Hollywood types have made it less than kid-friendly. The artwork -- oy. And kids don't like gallery hopping all that much anyway. You might consider Taos as an alternative. Try to stay in an adobe-style B&B. There are some in downtown Taos and on the outskirts, depending on your preferred experience.

Oh - if you're traveling from Mesa Verde to Taos/Santa Fe, be sure to see the Brazos Cliffs, although your kids would probably enjoy a stop at The Great Sand Dunes even if it is the long way around. Be prepared to spend the better part of the day walking up the dunes and frolicking in the ankle-depth stream bordering it.