Posts Tagged ‘government’
Does the federal government work for us?
“Politics is the art of making your selfish desires seem like the national interest.” ~ Thomas Sowell, Hoover Institution, Stanford University More than 200 years ago, the states united and wrote a contract, the Constitution, creating an employee, the federal government; and that contract outlined specific tasks the federal government would perform for the states’ […]
Gun control – the wrong discussion
“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories.” ~ Thomas Jefferson, 1781 A Connecticut man murdered 20 children and 6 adults, gun control proponents again advocating that disarming law-abiding citizens will solve the problem. And though I believe their logic is folly, […]
Reclaiming the Constitution – Part V
In 1804, the United States Supreme Court claimed absolute control over the Constitution, declaring only it could decide the Constitution’s meaning and neither the president nor Congress could overrule it. More than 100 years later, through sheer intimidation, President Franklin Roosevelt got the Supreme Court to use this control to give Congress powers not in […]
The path to socialism – Part I
“We do not have socialism. We have regulated capitalism.” – ISJ reader comment Is that true? Is it all or none? Or is the path to socialism a process so slow that each individual step is logical, masking the eventual outcome and encouraging inattention and indifference until it’s too late? More important, if we are […]
Subject or citizen?
“Oh posterity, you will never know how much it cost us to preserve your freedom. I hope that you will make a good use of it.” – John Adams, second U.S. president American statesman Dean Alfange, born in Istanbul in 1899, reflected the values of an American citizen when he wrote, “I do not choose […]
No more apologies – Part II
We grovel before Gadhafi and hide our flag. Critics claim we are a self-centered and selfish country, providing less foreign aid than twenty-one other countries when comparing the aid as a percentage of gross national income. Are our critics right? Are we not what we believe? Well, how might we fare if we looked at […]
Fundamental rights of Americans
The government, determined it knows what is best for us, continues expanding its role beyond its constitutional authority. It has little need for the Constitution because over 60 years ago the Supreme Court ruled that the founding fathers erred and actually meant for the general welfare clause of the Constitution to be a specific enumerated […]
Guns, the Constitution and Switzerland
A fact regularly ignored in much of the gun debate – the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. In 2008, the Supreme Court revisited the constitutional meaning of the right of the individual to “keep and bear arms,” and unequivocally affirmed our constitutional right of individual gun ownership. That should end the debate because […]
To be President of the United States
There are only two constitutional requirements to be president of the United States of America. You must be a natural born citizen of the United States and at least 35 years of age. That is all that is needed for the most important job in the world. Although considered enough in 1787, is that enough […]
Who are ‘real’ Americans
“Our great modern Republic. May those who seek the blessings of its institutions and the protection of its flag remember the obligations they impose.” President Ulysses S. Grant said it well. It is a blessing to be an American, protected under its flag. But who are the “real” Americans? I recently had occasion to ask […]
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 […]
“…equal protection of the laws”
New Haven, Connecticut, discarded a fire department promotion exam when white firefighters outscored minority firefighters. The city did so because it feared lawsuits, not because the exam was unfair. The United States Supreme Court ruled against the city, with Chief Justice John Roberts suggesting that had the scores been reversed the city would not have […]
What do we see in our flag? – Fourth of July, 2009
A high school social studies teacher took a unique approach to teaching her classes the value of being an American. She had all the student desks removed from her classroom. And, as each period’s class arrived, shocked there were no desks, she said to them, “I want you to have a desk, but before you […]
The Socialist States of America
Sir Winston Churchill said, “(Socialism’s) inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” To this Margaret Thatcher added, “The problem with socialism is that at some point you run out of other people’s money.” Shared misery and not enough “other people’s money.” Doesn’t that sound like the agenda the United States Congress has for us? Congress unashamedly follows […]
Selective law enforcement
What do you do with a county sheriff who treats criminals like criminals, who enforces all the laws, not just the politically correct ones? Simple. You claim racism, civil rights violations, and contact the Justice Department. His critics hoped it would seek to remove him from office. Instead, Loretta King, acting assistant […]
Can one person make a difference?
A nation with over 300 million citizens, over 10 million illegal aliens, 1 President, 100 United States Senators, and 435 United States Representatives. Can one person make a difference? No. Not anymore. That time has long since past. But, what if? What if one person could not look the other way? What if one person saw […]
Can we tax our way out of irresponsible debt?
Congress believes irresponsible debt and spending is needed to rectify the problems created by irresponsible debt and spending. Further, it believes raising taxes to pay for its irresponsible debt will actually stimulate spending. My father was raised on a farm in eastern Nebraska, sheltered from this unique congressional economic theory. He lived through the […]
Responsibility and self-respect
George Bernard Shaw said, “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” Are we willing to abandon self-respect for a handout? Are we willing to surrender risk and reward for indentured servitude to the government? Are we willing to exchange freedom and opportunity for a welfare state? We condemn the woman who recently […]
Is the United States an empire in demise?
George Bernard Shaw said, “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” What did our Founding Fathers want for this United States of America? Did they want complacency? Did they hope for mediocrity? Did they dream of dependency? Or, did they demand freedom and opportunity; freedom and opportunity at any price. What have […]
“Make my day” gun laws
Guns are back in the news, or perhaps more correctly, still in the news, this time in Colorado. A 22-year-old man drove home with a blood alcohol of 0.26, three times the legal limit. He drove to the wrong house, beat on the front door hollering obscenities when he could not get in, went to […]