Insight

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. - James Madison


It is impressive how insightful Madison and Jefferson were.

Democracy is Mob Rule

A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. - Thomas Jefferson 


The majority can be wrong.


(Other posts on Government) 

Perverted Government

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson 


This is why the Constitution of the United States was written limiting the power of the government. By slow progression the undereducated people have given over power to Washington - my fear is that it will lead to greater and greater tyranny.


(Other posts on Government) 

The Nature of Coin

All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation. - John Adams 


This seems to hold true even over 200 years later - fantastic insight!


(Other posts on Money) 

Planning for Posterity

When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary. - Thomas Paine 


Our Constitution was written with this perspective though our current bureaucracy assumes the opposite.


(Other posts on the Constitution) 

Founding Principles

The challenge is always before us. Whenever we lose sight of the principles that mattered to our founders we run into trouble. - Jesse Helms

Don't be afraid to remind people about the principles that mattered to our founders.

Separating the State

I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death. - George Carlin  

The same could be said about separation of the Economy and State - too bad the framers didn't go there.

Second Amendment Sense

A constitutional guarantee subject to future Judges assessments of its usefulness is no constitutional guarantee at all. - Justice Anthony Scalia (June 26, 2008)

  
It's about time someone said this.

Stable Ideas

'Tis plain there is not in nature a point of stability to be found; everything either ascends or declines: when wars are ended abroad, sedition begins at home; and when men are freed from fighting for necessity, they quarrel through ambition. - Goethe

Let's not confuse stability of ideas with lack of change. A building can be remodeled on a strong foundation.

Trivial Presidents

There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don't know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president. - Kurt Vonnegut

The flaw does not need to be fixed. Just limit government (like it was in the beginning) so that the role of President becomes more or less inconsequential.

A Gift From Santa

I found this in an old garage sale trunk. It is a cover to the "Pictorial Gravure Section" of the Sunday Oregonian, December 7, 1930. It was painted by Andrew Loomis with the caption "There IS a Santa Claus." The young lady being presented on a silver platter has a gift tag attached to her ankle which reads "For a Good Boy!"

Now before you go all weird on me with claims of sexism, hear me out.

This was 1930 (even before I was born) but things didn't change very rapidly in those days so I'm sure it was the same as when I was growing up.

This was before women were equal. At that time they weren't - they were special. If the boat was sinking it was "Women and children first." I bet putting "women" before "children" was intentional in this old saying. Women were special - more special than children.

When I was growing up the worst offense you could commit was being disrespectful to your mom or grandmother. If you did it generally got you a whoppin' (1). This punishment was generally carried out in the woodshed (outside the house) because it was not to be seen by the women of the house - they were special - it was a lesson taught to a boy so that he may become an honorable man. The only time I was punished in such a manner was for this very offense and it only took once to see the error of my ways and convince me that women were indeed special. I'm not talking about a simple slap on the wrists nor am I talking about child abuse. It hurt. I knew I had done wrong. I was sent to bed without dinner (2).

"But!" you say "Women didn't originally even have the right to vote!" Look at how our country was formed. It was a Representative Republic. Representatives were elected (Senators, Representatives) and they were originally elected by the men - the head of the households. The men voted as the Representative of their family. They voted for their children, their wives and their country. Times changed and so did the election procedure (or was it the other way around?). The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution went into effect in 1920 (ten years before this painting) but women were still special. Perhaps women should mourn (a little bit anyway) the day they became truly equal.

(1) You got a "whopping" rather than a "whipping" because a whip was what was used on a horse or cow. A whip used on these critters is not cruel - their hide is much, much thicker than a kids. A whopping generally was done with dad's belt or a shaving strap (a leather strap used to sharpen a razor). Both were a couple of inches wide.

(2) Being sent to bed without dinner was a punishment about equal to getting a whopping. Though we were never short on calories, I'm sure we were deficient in vitamins. Food was not shipped all over the world and fresh fruit and vegetables was not available in the winter-time. You lived on meat and canned goods. It is possible for your belly to be full but still be hungry.

Slave Masters

Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters. – C. S. Lewis



It's not that you should complain about the way you are governed. It is that you should realize that not even a majority has the right to tell you what to do.