Yes, we should put our trust in our government: in our democratic republic trust is the essential bond between the government and the governed. When government is perceived to be acting in our best interest, trust is warranted. However, when the government actions suggest — as in the present administration — that it is operating on his own agenda, rather than considering the wishes of the public, trust is not only not justified, but very unwise. It appears as that most, if not all, politicians have an occupational predisposition to avoid complete honesty. This does not make them criminals, but does put them in the same trust category as advertisers and “as seen on TV” salespeople.

So, while we can't expect absolute openness, we can hope that when politicians are elected for government office they will set campaign mode temporarily aside and communicate with a reasonable degree of veracity.

President Obama has made an excessive number of speeches, but he does not talk to the regular people of America. He speaks in code words and nebulous ideas without ever getting down to the real meaning of his words. For example, he proposes high taxes on "millionaires and billionaires" without ever disclosing the small amount of tax money these taxes will bring in. In fact, the administration's real targets are the people in the upper-middle-class who already pay a large share of the income tax.

Another favorite topic is the elimination of "tax expenditures." You might ask: What is a tax expenditure? It might seem that the aim is to eliminate unnecessary spending our tax dollars. In reality, the desired result is to raise more taxes, not to spend less. The term , tax expenditures, is jargon for closing tax “loopholes” thereby raising taxes. All of these so-called loopholes are favorable tax treatments that past congresses have awarded to various groups. Now, it may be that some of these special tax considerations do need to be examined and eliminated, but let's not pretend that they are cost free sources of additional funds.

Progressives like to talk about spending (borrowed) money for “investments” in the future. As country, we have made major investments that are important national benefits. Such things as the interstate highway system and great water control dams have paid dividends that exceed the original costs. On the other hand, we can learn from the present state of those worthwhile investments that they continue to require additional "payments" just to maintain their usefulness. Successful investments need to have a proven need and to design that ensures long-term payout.

If your neighbor said he was going to take, “kinetic action” on his yard, what would you think he intended? If you were confused, would substituting “a time-limited, scope-limited dissipating action” have helped? This is the essence of the administration’s attempts to hide its part in aerial war against Libya.

Regarding our government, we should use the Cold War judgment,"trust but verify"