Posts Tagged ‘Thomas Jefferson’
The beginning of the end – Part II
Three Supreme Court rulings changed our lives, making our Constitution near irrelevant. One gave the Supreme Court unlimited, unchecked power; the other two gave Congress unlimited power.
Are they asking the right questions?
The constitution . . . is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist, and shape into any form they please.”
Thomas Jefferson
Government economics and free markets
Can our free market economy survive the federal government? The president and Congress may get to learn what C.S. Lewis meant when he defined experience as “that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.”
What is public and what is private?
Does the public have a right to know everything? Does freedom of the press have any limits? Is anything private? Is everything fair game? How might Tiger Woods answer these questions? “Yes, no, no, yes.” Moreover, these questions have little to do with any claimed right to privacy, and all to do with the Constitution.
To be President of the United States
Robert Gibbs is a verb
The most entertaining moments of this presidency are watching Robert Gibbs explain the ramblings of Vice President Biden. With a straight face, a feigned sincerity and accompanied by the laughter of the press corps Gibbs says, “I understand what he said and I’m telling you what he meant to say.” He invented a new verb — “gibbsing,” a verb that well describes earlier rulings of the United States Supreme Court.
Who has the power – government or “we the people”
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article
of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress
of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money
of their constituents.”
–James Madison, 4th U.S. President
father of the United States Constitution
How to finance the U.S.S.A.
What did the Founding Fathers design our government to provide? Did they design a limited federal government to provide safety, freedom and opportunity? Or did they design a socialist welfare government to take care of our every need with unending entitlement programs?
The czars of the U.S.S.A.
In his inaugural address of 1801, Thomas Jefferson near-prophetically described our current government saying, “Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.”
Is the government the new “company store?”
How well does the government manage our money? Do our elected leaders spend it responsibly and frugally, as they should? Sen. Charles Schumer answered these questions saying, “Let me say this to all the chattering class that so much focuses on those little, tiny, yes, porky amendments: ‘the American people really don’t care.’” He was speaking about the wasted spending, the pork, in the $787 billion stimulus package. How much of the $787 billion actually stimulates the economy? According to the Wall Street Journal, only 12 percent “is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus.”
What should we ask Congress?
Last week President Obama reprimanded Wall Street CEOs’ for their outrageous salaries and spending, saying they must show “restraint and responsibility.” Should he have admonished Congress instead, because it puts Wall Street executives to shame with irresponsible spending? Moreover, Congress displays righteous indignation toward companies going on extravagant junkets and sponsoring lavish conferences, while it does the very same thing.
“to provide for the…general welfare of the United States”
Our Founding Fathers fought the Revolutionary War to free us from a government that controlled our lives. They created the United States of America with a Constitution granting specific, limited powers to the government, guaranteeing that “We the people” controlled the government. So how does Congress regularly circumvent the Constitution, expanding their power without “We the people” consenting? Remember, our Constitution begins with “We the people,” not “We the Congress.”
Roosevelt or Reagan?
Our country’s leaders believe President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal ended the Great Depression and saved the economy. Are they right? Did his New Deal end the depression or even shorten it? Take a moment and consider the Roosevelt logic Congress is using with our current situation. They believe they can fix the economy if they interfere with market forces and spend unprecedented sums of money. But, if all that is needed to end a recession is government meddling and spending, how could we ever get into a recession in the first place?
God bless America
Is the day coming when we must say “In nothing we trust,” or “So help me nothing,” or “Nothing bless America?” Educators in Woodbury, Vermont cowered to such demands and make students who want to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to do so away from the classroom, so no one can hear the word God. In 2002, the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional under the First Amendment, because it mentions God. This was followed by a 2004 Supreme Court decision reversing the ninth Circuit Court, affirming that “teacher-led Pledge of Allegiance recitals in public schools are constitutional.”
What really happened November 4th?
What really happened on November 4th? Whom did we elect as President? Did we elect a liberal, leftist, socialist President; a gun control President or a welfare President?
We need to return to a citizen government
Our Founding Fathers believed serving as President or in Congress was a duty to country, a sacrifice for country, a calling. They did not anticipate Congress becoming a career choice with members subservient to the power of the incumbency and the money it attracts. Rather, the Founding Fathers intended a weak federal government, subservient to much stronger state governments that served a powerful citizenry. Thomas Jefferson resisted all attempts to foster a strong federal government, adamant the power must rest with the people. What went wrong? Does the power rest with the people, as it should? Does Congress do the peoples’ work? The movie Charlie Wilson’s War explains how well Congress tends to the people. Asked by a political activist, “Why do congressmen talk so much and do nothing,” Charlie Wilson responded, “Tradition mostly.” The Founding Fathers intended a citizen government, run by people like you and me, serving our country, doing the peoples’ work, and then going home.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident” – July 4th
The birth of a nation, the realization of a dream, an eloquently simple statement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” During June and July 1776, the Continental Congress was debating the future of the Colonies. King George III continued his abuse of the Colonies with over a year of armed conflicts between the British army and the Colonists’ militias. The King seemed deaf to the Colonies’ concerns. For the first time in history a people were considering creating a new nation with the people designing their own form of government. This new government would get its power from the people, not vice versa.
Civility in presidential politics
Will civility ever return to presidential campaigns? Is it reasonable to hope for respectful debating? Or, are we obliged to accept the mudslinging as a given in politics? What would our founding fathers think if they were to witness one of today’s presidential campaigns? Would they be impressed or would they be embarrassed? Can we ever return to the ethical debating they so prized?
Taps for the fallen brave – MEMORIAL DAY
Today we remember those who died in our nation’s service. Today we proudly display the American flag, a small flag in the living room window or a huge flag on a flagpole, the size is irrelevant. The flag is flown at half-staff until noon to honor the fallen brave, and then flown at full staff the remainder of the day. At 3:00 P.M. offer a moment of silence, remembering those who died for us. Memorial Day is the day we are not republicans or democrats, we are Americans, united honoring our war dead.
Virginia Tech, one year later
April 16, 2008 is the first anniversary of the 32 people murdered on the Virginia Tech campus. The state of Virginia has reached a legal settlement with most victims’ families. The reactions to this settlement, the ongoing evaluations of what occurred that day, and the many assertions of who is to blame for the tragedy continues.
