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August 29th, 2011 "They
are not to do anything they please to provide for the general
welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose. To consider the
latter phrase not as describing the purpose of the first, but as
giving a distinct and independent power to do any act they please
which may be good for the Union, would render all the preceding and
subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It would reduce
the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a
Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the
United States; and as they would be the sole judges of the good or
evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please."
--Thomas Jefferson, Opinion on National Bank, 1791
August 15th, 2011 "An elective
despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in which the
powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the
several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their
legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the
others." --James Madison, Federalist No. 48
January 24th, 2011 "As a very
important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One
method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible: avoiding
occasions of expence by cultivating peace, but remembering also that
timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much
greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of
debt, not only by shunning occasions of expence, but by vigorous
exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars
may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the
burthen which we ourselves ought to bear." --George Washington, Farewell
Address
January 16th, 2011 "With hearts fortified
with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the
world, declare, that, exerting the utmost energy of those powers, which
our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the arms we
have compelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every
hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance employ for the
preservation of our liberties; being with one mind resolved to die
freemen rather than to live as slaves." --John Dickinson & Thomas
Jefferson, Declaration of the Cause and Necessity of Taking up Arms,
1775
October 23rd, 2010 "The
ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the
prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous
and mistaken policy." --Benjamin Franklin
October 5th, 2010 "It has been said
that all Government is an evil. It would be more proper to say that
the necessity of any Government is a misfortune. This necessity
however exists; and the problem to be solved is, not what form of
Government is perfect, but which of the forms is least imperfect."
--James Madison, 1833
August 31st, 2010 GOD OUR FATHER,
WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES; AND PLEASE WATCH
OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY; AND PLEASE PROTECT OUR FREEDOMS, AND WATCH
OVER OUR TROOPS, WHO ARE DEFENDING THOSE FREEDOMS. AMEN
August 12th, 2010
The below speaks to the repeal of the 17th amendment which allows for
the election of senators to congress instead of being appointed by
each states legislature.
"The proposed Constitution, so far
from implying an abolition of the State governments, makes them
constituent parts of the national sovereignty, by allowing them a direct
representation in the Senate, and leaves in their possession certain
exclusive and very important portions of sovereign power. This fully
corresponds, in every rational import of the terms, with the idea of a
federal government." --Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 9
August 4th, 2010 "This balance between
the National and State governments ought to be dwelt on with peculiar
attention, as it is of the utmost importance. It forms a double security
to the people. If one encroaches on their rights they will find a
powerful protection in the other. Indeed, they will both be prevented
from overpassing their constitutional limits by a certain rivalship,
which will ever subsist between them." --Alexander Hamilton, speech to
the New York Ratifying Convention, 1788
July 27th, 2010 "Were we directed
from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want
bread." --Thomas Jefferson
July 20th, 2010 "In the first place,
it is to be remembered, that the general government is not to be
charged with the whole power of making and administering laws. Its
jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern
all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by
the separate provisions of any." --James Madison, Federalist No. 14,
1787
July 8th, 2010 The Congressional
Budget Office or CBO statement on current economic policies.
"Large budget deficits would reduce
national saving, leading to higher interest rates, more borrowing from
abroad, and less domestic investment -- which in turn would lower
income growth in the United States. Growing debt would also reduce
lawmakers' ability to respond to economic downturns and other
challenges. Over time, higher debt would increase the probability of a
fiscal crisis in which investors would lose confidence in the
government's ability to manage its budget, and the government would be
forced to pay much more to borrow money."
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10871/BudgetOutlook2010_Jan.cfm
The 4th of July,
2010
A small group of brave men changed the
world 234 years ago.
The adoption of the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776, was a clear, public announcement that the
American colonies thought themselves free and independent from British
rule.
It was an ambitious, gutsy move, one
that Americans still hold today as an underlying tenet of our society.
Many of us may recall the second
paragraph from the document after memorizing it years ago in grade
school:
“We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Upon those 35 carefully crafted
words, America’s early beliefs of how a country should be formed and
the basic rights its citizens deserve were formed.
That brave declaration and the
absolute determination to win the Revolutionary War led the young
revolutionaries to eventually build the greatest nation in the world.
While we celebrate the greatness of
our country, we admit that it is not perfect, only something made by
the Creator could be. But despite its flaws, our country eventually
works out its problems for the best.
As we enjoy our independence each day, we hope that every citizen will pause
for a moment and remember what that
truly means.
From the most precious of all rights
— those granted by the First Amendment to the Constitution — from
living and working where we choose to the
simple right to take a leisurely day of hanging out at the lake or at
the backyard barbecue, we are lucky to live in such a great country.
And, we’d be wise to count our
blessings and be thankful for all that we have.
6-24-10 "A nation under a well
regulated government, should permit none to remain uninstructed. It is
monarchical and aristocratical government only that requires ignorance
for its support." --Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, part 2, 1792
6-18-10
"Let us recollect that
peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however
moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation,
or hope to extinguish the ambition of others." --Alexander Hamilton
6-10-10 "To
give to every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of
his own business; To enable him to calculate for himself, and to
express and preserve his ideas, his contracts and accounts, in
writing; To improve, by reading, his morals and faculties; To
understand his duties to his neighbors and country, and to discharge
with competence the functions confided to him by either; To know his
rights; to exercise with order and justice those he retains; to
choose with discretion the fiduciary of those he delegates; and to
notice their conduct with diligence, with candor, and judgment; And,
in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the
social relations under which he shall be placed." Thomas Jefferson, Report of the
Commissioners for the University of Virginia, 1818
5-27-10 "The
multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income,
growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting
the employment of the pruning knife." - Thomas Jefferson
5-4-10
"No
morn ever dawned more favorable than ours did; and no day was every
more clouded than the present! Wisdom, and good examples are necessary
at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm." George Washington, letter to James
Madison, 1786
4-12-10 "The example of changing a
constitution by assembling the wise men of the state, instead of
assembling armies, will be worth as much to the world as the former
examples we had give them. The constitution, too, which was the
result of our deliberation, is unquestionably the wisest ever yet
presented to men." Thomas Jefferson, letter to David
Humphreys, 1789
3-20-10
"If we can prevent the
government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of
taking care of them, they must become happy."
--Thomas Jefferson
3-2-10 "The citizens of the United States of America have
the right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples
of an enlarged and liberal policy worthy of imitation. All possess
alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now
no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were by the indulgence
of one class of citizens that another enjoyed the exercise of their
inherent natural rights, for happily the Government of the United
States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no
assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection
should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all
occasions their effectual support."
—George
Washington, letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island,
1790
12-15-09 A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the
species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate
exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence
to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature,
are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let
your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks."
--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, 1785
10-29-09 "In questions of power, then, let no
more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by
the chains of the Constitution." --Thomas Jefferson
9-30-09 "The
first and governing maxim in the interpretation of a statute is to
discover the meaning of those who made it." --James Wilson, Of the
Study of Law in the United States, 1790
9-23-09
"To be prepared for war, is one of the most effectual
means of preserving peace."
George Washington
9-2-09
"The people can never willfully betray
their own interests; but they may
possibly be betrayed by
the representatives of the people; and the danger will be
evidently greater where
the whole legislative trust is lodged in the hands of one
body of men, than
where the concurrence of separate and dissimilar bodies is
required in every public
act." --Federalist No. 63
8-19-09
"We lay it down as a
fundamental, that laws, to be just, must give a reciprocation of
right; that, without
this, they are mere arbitrary rules of conduct, founded in force, and
not in
conscience." Thomas Jefferson, Notes
on the state of Virginia, 1782"
8-4-09 What
have we learned in 2,064 years?
"The
budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public
debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be
curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to
work, instead of living on public assistance."
Cicero - 55 BC
So,
the answer is….evidently nothing..
And
we know what happened to Rome, don’t we.
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