Thomas Jefferson Quotes

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.

I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to Heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.

No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.

The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then.

And, finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.

What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible machine is man! Who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment & death itself in vindication of his own liberty, and the next moment ... inflict on his fellow men a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with more misery than ages of that which he rose in rebellion to oppose.

Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle.

A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicity.

Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories.

I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people' (10th Amendment). To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specifically drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible to any definition.

Is uniformity attainable? Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites.

Yes, we did produce a near-perfect republic. But will they keep it? Or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction.

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.

We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our calling and our creeds...[we will] have no time to think, no means of calling our miss-managers to account but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers... And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for[ another]... till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery... And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.

An elective despotism was not the government we fought for, but one which should not only be founded on true free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among general bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.

Barack Hussein Obama Gaffe Videos

Obamacare Is Losing Support

It looks like President Obama's speech a couple of weeks ago to congress didn't help sway the American people. Just 41% of voters now support Obamacare - down a couple of points from last week:

Just 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down two points from a week ago and the lowest level of support yet measured.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform

So what are Obama and the Democrats going to do? They could ram Obamacare through - they have the votes to do it - but will they? The Democrats have lost their political capitol on the health care reform debate, and since so many oppose Obamacare, it's unlikely that they will ram it through; I doubt the Dems will risk pissing off the majority of voters, considering 2010 is right around the corner. It's going to be interesting in the next couple of weeks.

If Obama cannot get some type of major health care reform passed, he's going to rile the far left base. Personally, I think part of the problem is over saturation. Obama is on television more than any other President in history. People are sick and tired of seeing the man. The more he talks, the more chances there are to catch a fabrication; Obama has a problem with talking out both sides of his mouth. He makes Bill Clinton look like an amateur!

Anyway, I'm sure the far left will blame talk radio and right-wing propaganda for the sudden sink in support for Obamacare. It never fails.

BOA Drops ACORN

And yet another blow to ACORN. It seems as if ACORN had their hand in a lot of ventures. Bank of America throws ACORN under the bus:

In response to questions from The Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for the banking company said it has "suspended current commitments" to Acorn Housing, an affiliated group, and "will not enter into any further agreements with Acorn or any of its affiliates," pending assessments by the bank of the organization's operations.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125409478511144963.html

My thoughts: What a shame - not! First the Census Bureau, now BOA.

I think it's time that the FBI officially investigates ACORN, under the RICO act. After all those tapes being released, it's warranted. Obviously illegal behavior on behalf of ACORN wasn't and isn't an isolated issue. Those two brave, undercover investigative journalists' hidden camera videos have proven that.

I remember the lead-up to the election and the numerous reports of ACORN being involved in illegal activity. Conservatives desperately wanted people in power to take a look at the organization. The left, of course, accused Conservatives of being racist (ah, that pesky race card again). Liberals fought tooth and nail for ACORN; they defended them at every opportunity. Now that these hidden videos were released, and the story finally caught on with the MSM, the left dropped the subject of ACORN like a hot potato!

Everything Is George Bush's Fault

Didn't you hear? Everything is George Bush's fault. Yep. 9 months into Obama's term, no matter what blunders Obama has made, everything is still Bush's fault; according to Barack Obama and the left.

In the lead up to the election, and many times since, President Obama has made it known that, "The buck stops here." Well if the buck stops at Obama, why is he continually blaming the Bush administration?

The Obama administration said that unemployment wouldn't reach 8.5% if the stimulus bill was passed. Well, the porkulus bill was passed, and we currently stand at 9.7% unemployment, officially. Yet the President continues to blame the previous administration.

Don't get me wrong, Bush's administration certainly contributed to the mess we now find ourselves in - but Obama has added to the problems.

It's time that Obama starts taking responsibility. It's time that he's held accountable. The media coddles him like an infant, along with the left. Let's not forget that Obama was elected to the highest office of the land, and probably the most important and powerful position in the world; it's fair to start treating him as a competent man! Unless, of course, you don't think he's capable enough to be held accountable and criticized fairly for his missteps. You know the saying - poo poo, or get off the pot.

Ben Stein Writes Scathing Piece On Obama

It's a little old, but I wanted to post it for those who haven't read it yet. Ben Stein rips Obama a new one:

Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?

Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:

The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.

They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.

They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.

The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.

Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.

The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.

Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.

The American people already know that Mr. Obama's plan to lower health costs while expanding coverage and bureaucracy is a myth, a promise of something that never was and never will be -- a bureaucracy lowering costs in a free society. Either the costs go up or the free society goes away.

These are perilous times. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation. Now, we face a devastating loss of freedom at home in health care. It will be joined by controls on our lives to "protect us" from global warming, itself largely a fraud if believed to be caused by man.

Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms.

There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America.

Source: http://spectator.org/archives/2009/07/24/weve-figured-him-out

I agree with most of what Stein writes about in his piece. Almost everything. The jury is still out on whether Obama's "anti white." In my opinion.

Quotes From George Washington - First & Greatest POTUS!

Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.

When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.

We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.

Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.

True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation.

To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.

There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate, upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good.

The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.

The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.

The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure.

The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.

The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.

The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.

Some day, following the example of the United States of America, there will be a United States of Europe.

Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.

Nothing can be more hurtful to the service, than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army the superiority over another.

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.

Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.

Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.

It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.

It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a Free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it.

It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.

If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth.

Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.