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2023-04-28 08:18:41 -04:00
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2023-05-03 17:06:31 -04:00
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<div id="conspiracy">
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<p>THE PRESERVATION OF THE BUREAUCRACY</p>
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<p>By JACOB G. HORNBERGER</p>
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<p>Two hundred years ago, our American ancestors instituted the
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most unusual political system in history. The Constitution
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called into existence a government whose powers, for the first
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time ever, were extremely limited. Thus, unlike other people
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throughout history, Americans lived without such things as
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income taxation, welfare, licensure, immigration control,
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business regulation, drug laws, conscription, and passports.
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Generally, and with exceptions (slavery and tariffs being the
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most notable), laws were limited to protecting people from the
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violence and fraud of others.</p>
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<p>What caused these Americans to institute this strange and
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novel way of life? The answer lies in the way our American
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ancestors perceived the relationship between the individual in
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society and his government.</p>
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<p>Americans of that time believed that the preservation of the
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individual--and the freedom to live his life and dispose of
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his wealth as he chose--was the highest political end. Thus,
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for them, government's sole purpose was to assist in the
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achievement of this end. Government officials were viewed as
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servants, and only as servants, to ensure the preservation of
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the individual, the freedom to live his life, and the
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disposition of his wealth, as he saw fit.</p>
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<p>Although Americans of today operate under the delusion that
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they subscribe to the same value structure as their ancestors,
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the uncomfortable reality is that they have instead rejected
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and abandoned it. Although they will rarely admit it to
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themselves or others, Americans today honestly believe that
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the supreme end in American society is not the preservation of
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the individual and his freedom to choose, but rather the
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preservation of the political bureaucracy and its unlimited
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power to control the lives and wealth of the citizenry.</p>
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<p>How do the politicians and bureaucrats, in turn, perceive the
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citizenry? Paying lip service to their role as "public
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servants," especially at election time, public officials, in
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reality, scoff at any such notion. In their eyes, the citizens
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are means, not ends, who exist solely to ensure the
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preservation of the bureaucracy.</p>
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<p>This philosophical perspective--that the citizen is merely a
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"cog in the wheel" which can, and will, be sacrificed for the
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greater good of the bureaucracy--holds true, of course, with
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the civil bureaucracy. Usually under the guise of fighting
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some domestic "war," or attacking some "crisis"--poverty,
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drugs, illiteracy, racism, or whatever--the civil bureaucracy
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exercises ever increasing control over the lives and wealth of
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the citizenry.</p>
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<p>But the same holds true with the military bureaucracy. No
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matter what the conditions are in the world--even if peace
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were to break out everywhere--even if democracies were
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suddenly found in every nation on earth--even if American
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politicians and bureaucrats appointed every ruler in the
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world--in the mind of the military bureaucrat, crises and wars
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will always be a "potential threat" to "national security."
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And so the military bureaucracy also wields ever increasing
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control over the lives and wealth of the citizenry.</p>
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<p>All money which government has, of course, comes from the
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citizenry through the coercive process of taxation.
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Government officials understand that, in this sense, they are
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parasitic--that is, that they survive and flourish through the
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earnings that are sucked out of the pockets of the citizens.
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They comprehend, for example, that if the citizenry suddenly
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decided to stop paying taxes, the bureaucracy's lifeline
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would, at the same time, dry up.</p>
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<p>The bureaucracy recognizes that, since it is a parasite, it
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must perform a masterful balancing act. On the one hand, it
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must ensure that the citizenry continue paying taxes at such a
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level that the bureaucracy is preserved, and hopefully
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expanded. But it must also ensure that the level of
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confiscation and plunder never gets so high that the worst
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fear of the bureaucracy--a tax revolt among the citizenry--
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materializes.</p>
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<p>Now, the intriguing question is: if the American people
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decided that their ancestors were right, and that 20th-century
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Americans are wrong--that is, that the preservation of the
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individual and his freedom to choose, should, in fact, be the
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end, and the government simply the means to ensure that end--
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would the politicians and bureaucrats comply with the decision
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of the citizenry?</p>
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<p>The answer is in doubt. Why? Because those in the bureaucracy
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honestly believe that they, not the citizenry, are "the
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country"; that is, they actually think that the nation, and
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the well-being of the nation, depend on their preservation.
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The dismantling of the bureaucracy, in their minds, would mean
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the destruction of the country. Therefore, it is entirely
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possible that, in the midst of what the politicians and
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bureaucrats would consider a "national crisis," they would
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refuse to comply with a mandate of the citizenry to dismantle
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the bureaucracy and end the taxation necessary for its
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preservation.</p>
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<p>One of these days, the American people will discover, much to
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their surprise and dismay, that which the Soviet citizens are
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discovering: that the bureaucracy will always tolerate the
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citizens' "freedom of speech" to complain about bureaucratic
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abuses and inefficiencies; but as soon as the bureaucracy is
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threatened by the citizenry with extinction, it will fight
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them "tooth and nail" for its "right" to be preserved.</p>
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<p>Complaints about governmental inefficiencies and corruption
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have become a well-recognized and accepted part of American
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life: "We must get rid of waste in government programs"; "We
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must get 'better people' into public office." So, attempting
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to "correct the system" by gaining political power over their
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fellow citizens, Americans expend much time, money, and effort
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to get themselves, or their friends, elected or appointed to
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public office. And the results? Even when victorious, they
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learn that things only get worse: expanded control, greater
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plunder, increased waste, and more corruption--only this time
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by them and their friends, rather than by others.</p>
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<p>Americans must finally come to the painful realization that
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their ancestors were philosophically correct: that the taking
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of money from one person, through the political process, in
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order to give it to another person is evil, immoral, and
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destructive; and that political interference with how a person
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chooses to peacefully live his life, and dispose of his
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wealth, is equally evil, immoral, and destructive.</p>
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<p>Moreover, Americans must finally conclude, as painful as it
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may be, that waste in government programs (actually somebody's
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income), no matter how great an effort is expended, is
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impossible to eliminate. Evil and immorality, even if
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democratically enshrined, cannot be made to work efficiently.</p>
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<p>And they must learn that getting "better people" into public
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office is not the solution either. One does not change the
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nature of a house of prostitution by voting in a new board of
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directors. And that is exactly what the American people of
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this century have permitted their government to become--a
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house of prostitution in which, for example, the principles
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receive "campaign contributions" and "speakers' honoraria" for
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"services rendered." Of course, some people, and especially
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those who were taught civics in their public schools and who
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were required to pledge allegiance every day for twelve long
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years, will consider this observation to be highly
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unpatriotic. But if it be unpatriotic to oppose a house of
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prostitution where once stood a great and glorious edifice,
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then make the most of it!</p>
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<p>No, the answer is not to engage in a futile quest to eliminate
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waste in government programs. The solution is to
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constitutionally prohibit the programs themselves. No, the
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answer is not to get "better people" into public office. The
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solution is to constitutionally prohibit public officials,
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whoever they may be, from plundering the citizenry and doling
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out money to others. No, the answer is not to reign in the
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bureaucrats. The solution is to dismantle the bureaucracy and
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return the bureaucrats, kicking and screaming, to rewarding
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and productive lives as private citizens. No, the answer is
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not tax reform. The solution is the repeal of the Sixteenth
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Amendment.</p>
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<p>In other words, the solution for America, as we enter the
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third century of this nation's existence, lies with the
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American people's recapturing the principles on which our
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nation was founded and limiting the power of government even
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more severely than our ancestors did. Not only would this
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restore our political system to a sound moral foundation and
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our society to one based on volunteerism rather than coercion,
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it would also unleash an economic prosperity unparalleled in
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history.</p>
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<p>But the heart of the solution is to make the individual in
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society once again sovereign over the state. Until the
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American people make the preservation of the individual, as
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well as his liberty and property, the highest political end,
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they will continue living their lives in subserviency to what
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has been the highest political end in the 20th century: the
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preservation of the bureaucracy . . . and the discord, misery,
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impoverishment, and destruction which it has brought in its
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wake.</p>
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<p>Mr. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of
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Freedom Foundation, P.O. Box 9752, Denver, CO 80209.</p>
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<p>------------------------------------------------------------
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From the February 1991 issue of FREEDOM DAILY,
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Copyright (c) 1991, The Future of Freedom Foundation,
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PO Box 9752, Denver, Colorado 80209, 303-777-3588.
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Permission granted to reprint; please give appropriate credit
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and send one copy of reprinted material to the Foundation.
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</p>
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