- Lawlessness and distorted truth triumphs when political expediency becomes the decision maker
- When the power of political payback becomes the leading driver in moving legislation we have reached a crisis point in our system of governance – collapse and failure are imminent
- Naïve and self-serving ideological zealotry has instilled within its ranks and pursued a callous disregard for the foundations of personal freedom and liberty, which are unashamedly declared in our founding documents, for the citizens of this country
prb 5/2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
The Blind Side - the message within the message
Have you seen the movie 'The Blind Side'.....there in a nutshell is the picture of what government can and can not do...Michael left the gov't supported housing projects (government involvement in 'helping the poor' stay poor) because he knew that it would not mean life for him....it would be slavery to the 'system' as seen by those who stayed there....
Only thru the involvement of the individual can true 'social justice' (what ever that really means!) be accomplished....it is those who live a life of perseverance, who long for liberty and freedom and understand the unhealthy dependence that sustained gov't intervention creates.
It also takes those individuals who live a life of charity and know where their hope truly comes from...and it is NOT the government...
Only thru the involvement of the individual can true 'social justice' (what ever that really means!) be accomplished....it is those who live a life of perseverance, who long for liberty and freedom and understand the unhealthy dependence that sustained gov't intervention creates.
It also takes those individuals who live a life of charity and know where their hope truly comes from...and it is NOT the government...
Monday, March 22, 2010
something to ponder on this 'historic' day
The insidiousness of the federal government's unprecedented drive in our day to regulate and control more and more of life's daily activities belies its stated purpose. This continued unmitigated concentration of power at the federal level
is the antithesis of what this country was founded upon and what made it a great nation. The striving for freedom and liberty that every soul longs for and is the foundation of our constitutional form of government is slowly being usurped
for what is being sold to us as the 'greater good'. But is it really? World history has proven that the concentration of power never results in more freedom and liberty but less. With statistics reflecting a steady increase in dependence upon the public dole within our country the ebb and flow of reliance bodes well for the continued concentration of power at the federal level.
Americans' antipathy towards forsaking their freedoms and liberties have long held the government's power grabs in check but recent history has proven the proverbial 'frog in boiling water' analogy - slowly, consistently and no one will notice until we are all cooked! I believe we have reached the boiling point and people are beginning to feel the heat.
Shall we become a feudal state with the federal government as our lord and master? The recent show by a handful of our federal elected officials (they are public servants no more) arrogant and flagrant push for unilateral power should shock all freedom loving Americans. The continued disdain for individual freedom and liberty shown by these 'servants of the people' and their plan to push more people into the bondage, that is reliance on the federal government, underscores their unrestrained appetite for the greater consolidation of power. And here is what we shall reap as our reward for following this path:
- Individual freedom restrained - replaced by control of an oppressive benefactor
- Self reliance rebuked - total dependence upon the system becomes the objective
- Liberty destroyed - indentured servitude of the many resulting from autocracy’s victory
- Hope for the future will be transformed into a hopeless longing for what we have given up
prb
Here are some quotes from history to consider:
Woodrow T. Wilson -
“Liberty has never come from Government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it... The history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero -
“When a government becomes powerful it is destructive, extravagant and violent; it is an usurer which takes bread from innocent mouths and deprives honorable men of their substance, for votes with which to perpetuate itself”
William Moulton Marston -
“Every crisis offers you extra desired power”
James Madison -
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny”
is the antithesis of what this country was founded upon and what made it a great nation. The striving for freedom and liberty that every soul longs for and is the foundation of our constitutional form of government is slowly being usurped
for what is being sold to us as the 'greater good'. But is it really? World history has proven that the concentration of power never results in more freedom and liberty but less. With statistics reflecting a steady increase in dependence upon the public dole within our country the ebb and flow of reliance bodes well for the continued concentration of power at the federal level.
Americans' antipathy towards forsaking their freedoms and liberties have long held the government's power grabs in check but recent history has proven the proverbial 'frog in boiling water' analogy - slowly, consistently and no one will notice until we are all cooked! I believe we have reached the boiling point and people are beginning to feel the heat.
Shall we become a feudal state with the federal government as our lord and master? The recent show by a handful of our federal elected officials (they are public servants no more) arrogant and flagrant push for unilateral power should shock all freedom loving Americans. The continued disdain for individual freedom and liberty shown by these 'servants of the people' and their plan to push more people into the bondage, that is reliance on the federal government, underscores their unrestrained appetite for the greater consolidation of power. And here is what we shall reap as our reward for following this path:
- Individual freedom restrained - replaced by control of an oppressive benefactor
- Self reliance rebuked - total dependence upon the system becomes the objective
- Liberty destroyed - indentured servitude of the many resulting from autocracy’s victory
- Hope for the future will be transformed into a hopeless longing for what we have given up
prb
Here are some quotes from history to consider:
Woodrow T. Wilson -
“Liberty has never come from Government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it... The history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero -
“When a government becomes powerful it is destructive, extravagant and violent; it is an usurer which takes bread from innocent mouths and deprives honorable men of their substance, for votes with which to perpetuate itself”
William Moulton Marston -
“Every crisis offers you extra desired power”
James Madison -
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny”
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Mount Vernon statement Feb 2010
Constitutional Conservatism
A Statement for the 21st Century
We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.
These principles define us as a country and inspire us as a people. They are responsible for a prosperous, just nation unlike any other in the world. They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.
Each one of these founding ideas is presently under sustained attack. In recent decades, America's principles have been undermined and redefined in our culture, our universities and our politics. The self-evident truths of 1776 have been supplanted by the notion that no such truths exist. The federal government today ignores the limits of the Constitution, which is increasingly dismissed as obsolete and irrelevant.
Some insist that America must change, cast off the old and put on the new. But where would this lead -- forward or backward, up or down? Isn't this idea of change an empty promise or even a dangerous deception?
The change we urgently need, a change consistent with the American ideal, is not movement away from but toward our founding principles. At this important time, we need a restatement of Constitutional conservatism grounded in the priceless principle of ordered liberty articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The conservatism of the Declaration asserts self-evident truths based on the laws of nature and nature's God. It defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It traces authority to the consent of the governed. It recognizes man's self-interest but also his capacity for virtue.
The conservatism of the Constitution limits government's powers but ensures that government performs its proper job effectively. It refines popular will through the filter of representation. It provides checks and balances through the several branches of government and a federal republic.
A Constitutional conservatism unites all conservatives through the natural fusion provided by American principles. It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America's safety and leadership role in the world.
A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda.
• It applies the principle of limited government based on the rule of law to every proposal.
• It honors the central place of individual liberty in American politics and life.
• It encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and economic reforms grounded in market solutions.
• It supports America's national interest in advancing freedom and opposing tyranny in the world and prudently considers what we can and should do to that end.
• It informs conservatism's firm defense of family, neighborhood, community, and faith.
If we are to succeed in the critical political and policy battles ahead, we must be certain of our purpose. We must begin by retaking and resolutely defending the high ground of America's founding principles.
February, 2010
A Statement for the 21st Century
We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.
These principles define us as a country and inspire us as a people. They are responsible for a prosperous, just nation unlike any other in the world. They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.
Each one of these founding ideas is presently under sustained attack. In recent decades, America's principles have been undermined and redefined in our culture, our universities and our politics. The self-evident truths of 1776 have been supplanted by the notion that no such truths exist. The federal government today ignores the limits of the Constitution, which is increasingly dismissed as obsolete and irrelevant.
Some insist that America must change, cast off the old and put on the new. But where would this lead -- forward or backward, up or down? Isn't this idea of change an empty promise or even a dangerous deception?
The change we urgently need, a change consistent with the American ideal, is not movement away from but toward our founding principles. At this important time, we need a restatement of Constitutional conservatism grounded in the priceless principle of ordered liberty articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The conservatism of the Declaration asserts self-evident truths based on the laws of nature and nature's God. It defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It traces authority to the consent of the governed. It recognizes man's self-interest but also his capacity for virtue.
The conservatism of the Constitution limits government's powers but ensures that government performs its proper job effectively. It refines popular will through the filter of representation. It provides checks and balances through the several branches of government and a federal republic.
A Constitutional conservatism unites all conservatives through the natural fusion provided by American principles. It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America's safety and leadership role in the world.
A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda.
• It applies the principle of limited government based on the rule of law to every proposal.
• It honors the central place of individual liberty in American politics and life.
• It encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and economic reforms grounded in market solutions.
• It supports America's national interest in advancing freedom and opposing tyranny in the world and prudently considers what we can and should do to that end.
• It informs conservatism's firm defense of family, neighborhood, community, and faith.
If we are to succeed in the critical political and policy battles ahead, we must be certain of our purpose. We must begin by retaking and resolutely defending the high ground of America's founding principles.
February, 2010
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Freedom and Liberty
Freedom and Liberty
A costly price has been paid
so that a solid foundation could be laid
it was for freedom and liberty
And a country grew strong
a free nation built to last long
it was for freedom and liberty
A republic led by and for its people as a nation
the constitution to guide each new generation
it was for freedom and liberty
For 200 years the American dream we honored
working hard and sacrificing for our sons and our daughters
it was for freedom and liberty
But a strange wind is enveloping our land
an eroding away of the foundation that was planned
entitlement and arrogant enlightenment pervade our lives
ultimately undoing the many years of sacrifice
Freedom and liberty are fading away
our constitution ignored and rewritten each passing day
power and control our reality today
A crossroads in history confronts this great land
will it be for freedom and liberty that our country will stand?
A costly price has been paid
so that a solid foundation could be laid
it was for freedom and liberty
And a country grew strong
a free nation built to last long
it was for freedom and liberty
A republic led by and for its people as a nation
the constitution to guide each new generation
it was for freedom and liberty
For 200 years the American dream we honored
working hard and sacrificing for our sons and our daughters
it was for freedom and liberty
But a strange wind is enveloping our land
an eroding away of the foundation that was planned
entitlement and arrogant enlightenment pervade our lives
ultimately undoing the many years of sacrifice
Freedom and liberty are fading away
our constitution ignored and rewritten each passing day
power and control our reality today
A crossroads in history confronts this great land
will it be for freedom and liberty that our country will stand?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
laws and liberty
As we move through this time in the history of our country let us consider these two quotes – the first from history and second from the present day:
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." Tacticus, Roman senator and historian (56-115)
"As long as our federal government continues to play the role of 'usurper' we shall walk down the road of liberty absconded..."
Something to ponder !
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." Tacticus, Roman senator and historian (56-115)
"As long as our federal government continues to play the role of 'usurper' we shall walk down the road of liberty absconded..."
Something to ponder !
Monday, October 19, 2009
quotes to consider
A quote to consider:
"People ceased somehow to be their own selves in his presence. They all admired him and worshiped him. I don't think he enjoyed any great love of the nation: he was above it. It may sound strange, but he occupied a position previously reserved only for God."
It is a quote in reference to Stalin from his closest collaborator, Kaganovitch - his brother-in-law !
And as we continue to see momentum toward the further centralization of power in our nation's capital and the continued push towards 'socialistic agendas and policies' in our country here is another quote for your consideration:
"They make a semblance of believing in the ideal of socialism, in a future society without classes. In reality, they believe in nothing except organized power."
This is a quote from Milovan Djilas, a prominent Communist leader of Yugoslavia who was personally well acquainted with Stalin, regarding the ruling class of the USSR.
"People ceased somehow to be their own selves in his presence. They all admired him and worshiped him. I don't think he enjoyed any great love of the nation: he was above it. It may sound strange, but he occupied a position previously reserved only for God."
It is a quote in reference to Stalin from his closest collaborator, Kaganovitch - his brother-in-law !
And as we continue to see momentum toward the further centralization of power in our nation's capital and the continued push towards 'socialistic agendas and policies' in our country here is another quote for your consideration:
"They make a semblance of believing in the ideal of socialism, in a future society without classes. In reality, they believe in nothing except organized power."
This is a quote from Milovan Djilas, a prominent Communist leader of Yugoslavia who was personally well acquainted with Stalin, regarding the ruling class of the USSR.
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