As we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, I am reminded of the words of John Quincy Adams. On July 4, 1837, he spoke these words:
“Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? … Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth. That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before?”
Adams was exactly right: America’s birth is directly linked to the birth of our Savior. In fact, the United States of America is the only nation established by Christian people, founded upon Biblical principles, and dedicated to the purpose of religious liberty. This truth is easily observed within America’s earliest history.
[As he left public life, George Washington had serious concerns for the country he helped bring into being. He had surprising insights into the situations this new nation would face and (often ignored) advice on avoiding pitfalls that have destroyed other nations in the past. The language is difficult to comprehend at times, but we can learn from his wisdom or we can continue to ignore it at our peril.]
It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.
There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.
[As he left public life, George Washington had serious concerns for the country he helped bring into being. He had surprising insights into the situations this new nation would face and (often ignored) advice on avoiding pitfalls that have destroyed other nations in the past. The language is difficult to comprehend at times, but we can learn from his wisdom or we can continue to ignore it at our peril.]
Friends and Citizens:
The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.
I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness, but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both.
Legislation has been introduced by Senators Chuck Shumer (D-NY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) that would grant visas to foreign citizens who will come into the country and buy at least half a million dollars in real estate. It has been added to their new immigration bill with the idea of helping our floundering housing market. We are told it is a great deal all the way around as buyers with cash (hopefully) would be brought into the market, homes would be sold, real estate agents would get paid, banks may be able to reduce their inventory of foreclosed houses and, best of all, we are told, it won’t cost us a cent.
This sounds like a deal that is too good to be true. And, when we look at it a little more closely, it really is too good to be true. This has been presented as a bi-partisan approach to the problem. This description brought to mind the late comedian George Carlin’s thoughts about such proposals, “Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out.”
While all the benefits we are supposed to experience because of this bill are necessary and to be desired, we really have to consider what we will do to get them. One of the provisions is that the visas will not be work visas, so buyers will have to have an independent source of funds. We are told that this is the kind of people we want… they are the priority immigrants. They are to be desired if they will come into our country and spend their own money. It is certainly better than people sneaking across the borders and becoming wards of the state.
New York, NY – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reference to the United Nations as the “theater of the absurd” is an apt description of an organization that was designed to bring peace among nations. The UN has lost its legitimacy in light of recent events.
Rather than entertain a request for statehood of the Palestinian Authority (PA), presented Friday by Mahmoud Abbas, the UN should reject it outright. The PA’s request for statehood includes the Gaza strip, Judea and Samaria (the so-called West Bank), and the Golan Heights, but the PA does not control the West Bank or the Golan Heights, where hundreds of thousands of Israelis live and where Israel provides security. How can the UN entertain a request for statehood on land not controlled by the entity making the application?
Abbas and the PA sanction terrorism against Jews and refuse to recognize the right of Israel to exist. Like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, Abbas denies the Holocaust. Abbas, using his other name, Abu Mazen, studied at the Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow, where he earned a doctorate degree and wrote a dissertation entitled, “The Other Side: The Secret Relations Between Nazism and the Leadership of the Zionist Movement,” in which he attempted to prove that the Nazi Holocaust of Jews never occurred. As Abbas denies the Holocaust of the Jews, refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist, and sponsors terrorism against innocent Jews, he is in the same company as Hitler or other leaders of genocide. Read more of this article »
The Federalist No. 2
John Jay
Wednesday, October 31, 1787
[Editors note: Earlier this week we posted an article that referenced Federalist 2, written by John Jay. I thought it would be well to include the full article as there is much to learn from Jay's valuation of unity.]
To the People of the State of New York:
WHEN the people of America reflect that they are now called upon to decide a question, which, in its consequences, must prove one of the most important that ever engaged their attention, the propriety of their taking a very comprehensive, as well as a very serious, view of it, will be evident.
Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers. It is well worthy of consideration therefore, whether it would conduce more to the interest of the people of America that they should, to all general purposes, be one nation, under one federal government, or that they should divide themselves into separate confederacies, and give to the head of each the same kind of powers which they are advised to place in one national government.
When United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced his plan “to fundamentally transform the global economy — based on low-carbon, clean energy resources,” few realized he was calling for a new global tax to be designed without public scrutiny, but that is exactly what he meant. To thwart it, the UN’s flawed process and its tax design scheme must be exposed.
The UN’s one nation, one vote system has been used since its founding to render the U.S. impotent, regardless of the fact that we are its major financial donor. It is credulous to think that UN reforms could fix its flawed process. Banning the press and global tax opponents from its July 13-14 tax design meeting in Tokyo, Japan, for example, is anathema to a democratic process, but the UN is not a democracy. Rather, its unelected bureaucrats use a “collaborative decision-making process” to reach “consensus” with no debate or expressed opposition. The UN calls it “global governance” and Ban Ki-moon describes how it works: “While we are all in the same boat, not all have a say in how to steer it.”
The tax saga began in earnest last December in Cancun, Mexico when the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1992, created a Transitional Committee charged with designing a new Green Climate Fund. The Committee is to design the Fund to amass a minimum of $100 billion a year, which is to be approved at the next major meeting of the UNFCCC in Durban, South Africa this December. Read more of this article »
As with Romans chapter 13, Jesus’ instructions recorded in Matthew 22:21, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s,” are likewise much misinterpreted. The same people who love to quote Romans 13 to justify their cowardice in the face of oppressive government also use Jesus’ words in Matthew 22 to do the same thing.
Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 22 puts two misconceptions to rest: 1) the fallacious philosophy that a man can be a law unto himself and is, therefore, not subject to any civil government or authority, and, 2) the draconian doctrine that government (Caesar) is, itself, above the law and can force God’s people to submit to anything it so desires. In one brilliant statement, the Lord Jesus forever expunges both errors.
Obviously, if men were perfectly sinless, there would be no need for human government; but, since every man has tasted of Adam’s fallen nature, God instituted human government for the overall peace and safety of civil people. No man is a law unto himself–including people in government! This is especially true in the United States, because America has no Caesar! America’s founders clearly understood this principle. Thomas Jefferson reflected this understanding when he said, “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.” Read more of this article »
Barack Obama’s election to the highest Office in our Country is undeniably historic; he will forever be known as the first black man elected President of the United States. And we’re the generation that finally surpassed this racial threshold signifying how far we’ve come as a Nation. His election reflects the fulfillment of what Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed about so many years ago, where all men would be judged only by the content of their character and no longer by the color of their skin… as it should be.
Obama’s election is also historic for what he can uniquely do in the job, as no other President before him. Having won the highest platform of power and influence in the land, he could bring closure to the wounds of racism in America, and take us to the next level of rising above the sins of the past.
I grieved the night Obama won the Presidency, for two reasons, the second dovetailing the first, and neither had anything to do with objecting to a black man in the White House; on the contrary. I 100% do not agree with his ideology, his policies, or his desire to “fundamentally transform America.” I am not disappointed or surprised by his Presidency; it’s exactly what I expected and feared, and therefore why I grieved – I knew what was to come and didn’t want to go there. Now that we’re here in the thick of it, I feel all I never wanted to feel. I became part of the TEA Party to express that. The dovetail is I felt robbed of the joy of fully celebrating the first black president because I couldn’t celebrate Obama being the president. A black president is something I had longed and prayed for America and always believed I would see in my lifetime, just not someone as far left as Obama. Read more of this article »
“Backfire”; was the prophetic word for 2011 that I believe that the Lord revealed to me in late December, 2010.
The word “backfire” often describes a scenario where the opposite of the desired effect happens to our enemies. It is when their plans for our demise blows right up in their face(s) without us having to do anything.
This prophetic “word” will encourage anyone that has ever been used, betrayed, or rejected by a jealous or opportunistic person.
It is important for us to stay focused on G-d’s purpose for our lives when enemies rise up against us in these “end times”. We must stay focused and be strengthened by His Word:
The twelfth chapter of the book of Genesis begins:
The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:1-3 NIV)
This it was from the very beginning. Israel was created to be a unique nation in the world, with a special relation with God. Later we see:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity. (Psalm 122:6-9 NIV)
These passages make it pretty plain that our Creator is looking out for the nation of Israel and expects those who follow him to do the same. This is true even though the modern country is a relatively new addition to the brotherhood of nations, but even it’s brief history is full of miraculous appointments and interventions. Read more of this article »
After several weeks of moving and settling in, many readers have been writing me asking for an update on our move to the Flathead Valley of Montana. First, let me say, we love it here! The scenery is spectacular, especially now that winter has arrived. What the snow does to the landscape in this mountainous region is breathtaking! Driving through the mountains is like driving through Narnia. I have never seen such beauty.
As for the climate, it is not near as cold as people made it out to be. Coming from a warm weather State like Florida, one must learn how to dress in a cold weather State like Montana, of course. We have quickly learned to layer our clothing–and wear the right type of clothing. That is for sure. But in all honesty, I’ve felt colder in the Southeast than I often do here. Obviously, the cold weather lasts longer here, but the dry climate moderates the cold temperatures to a great degree. What I’m saying is, the cold weather of Western Montana is no big deal!
But the greater treasure of the Treasure State is its people. We love the people here in the Flathead Valley! As I have said before, it is my studied opinion that there are perhaps more freedom-loving people (taken on the whole) in this area than in any area of the country. Our living among the people of the Flathead only confirms my estimation. And even better is the fact that more and more patriots are moving to this area all the time. Read more of this article »
[Editors note: Speech by Patrick Henry to the Virginia Ratifying Convention given June 16, 1788]
Mr. Chairman, the necessity of a bill of rights appears to me to be greater in this government than ever it was in any government before. I have observed already, that the sense of the European nations, and particularly Great Britain, is against the construction of rights being retained which are not expressly relinquished. I repeat, that all nations have adopted this construction — that all rights not expressly and unequivocally reserved to the people are impliedly and incidentally relinquished to rulers, as necessarily inseparable from the delegated powers. It is so in Great Britain; for every possible right, which is not reserved to the people by some express provision or compact, is within the king’s prerogative. It is so in that country which is said to be in such full possession of freedom. It is so in Spain, Germany, and other parts of the world. Let us consider the sentiments which have been entertained by the people of America on this subject. At the revolution, it must be admitted that it was their sense to set down those great rights which ought, in all countries, to be held inviolable and sacred. Virginia did so, we all remember. She made a compact to reserve, expressly, certain rights.
When fortified with full, adequate, and abundant representation, was she satisfied with that representation? No. She most cautiously and guardedly reserved and secured those invaluable, inestimable rights and privileges, which no people, inspired with the least glow of patriotic liberty, ever did, or ever can, abandon. She is called upon now to abandon them, and dissolve that compact which secured them to her. She is called upon to accede to another compact, which most infallibly supersedes and annihilates her present one. Will she do it? This is the question. If you intend to reserve your unalienable rights, you must have the most express stipulation; for, if implication be allowed, you are ousted of those rights. If the people do not think it necessary to {446} reserve them, they will be supposed to be given up. How were the congressional rights defined when the people of America united by a confederacy to defend their liberties and rights against the tyrannical attempts of Great Britain? The states were not then contented with implied reservation. No, Mr. Chairman. It was expressly declared in our Confederation that every right was retained by the states, respectively, which was not given up to the government of the United States. But there is no such thing here. You, therefore, by a natural and unavoidable implication, give up your rights to the general government. Read more of this article »
In the September issue of the “New Guard”, Congressman Paul Ryan mapped out his plan to reclaim the American Idea. As a Tea Party leader it was necessary to respond with an alternative Tea Party Road Map. The most challenging task is to confront our ballooning and unsustainable entitlements and other usurped government spending from State and local governments, commerce, charity and the individual.
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid grew to an unsustainable level through the legislature’s lack of prudent fiscal responsiveness to increased life spans and political pressures that expanded care under Medicare and Medicaid without regard to the costs. I submit these programs should never have been anything more than minimal fully portable safety net protections executed through private products. The conflict arose when the government decided to run these programs.
Social Security is not held to the same reserve requirements as the private sector hence we have no money set aside to pay these obligations. Government continues to expand government to “fix” the conflict of interest that exists from government engaging in the market and who then regulates, taxes and oversees its competition (the private unsubsidized market) and itself and its agents (subsidized Corporations and non-for-profits.) Government spending is now driving unemployment and preventing a recovery.
Social Security
The fundamental problem is that we are all forced to participate in these programs, we have few choices, lower return on our investment and a massive loss of opportunity through inflationary measures to shirk the debt these unsustainable programs demand. Transitioning from a program for all to a minimal fully portable safety net benefit may take decades but all participants need to be part of the solution from existing retirees to the teenage employee. For Social Security, increasing the eligibility age to 70, capping the income paid out and moving to private accounts will be the ultimate solution for America. Products that guarantee a rate of return that covers inflation will be the minimal option available in the market. Read more of this article »
This past weekend, several thousand of us in the Old Dominion enjoyed the Virginia Tea Party Convention. Unlike many tea parties in the past, we saw many elected office holders, including the top three offices in the commonwealth and some former Senators, with at least one looking to get back into the game. We were told this was the largest such gathering of it’s kind, and it was the most enthusiastic, involved crowd I’ve been part in years. I was fortunate to run into a lot of old friends and made some knew ones.
While we were regaled by numerous heroes of the movement, including Dick Morris, Ron Paul and Lou Dobbs, along with a few hopefuls and wannabees, the real rock stars of the event were Herman Cain and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. The two were outspoken critics of both parties as they stirred the crowd by talking about how we got in our current mess and what we have to do to get ourselves back the the America we knew and loved.
But, as great a time as we had with the big names, the real heart of the event was the breakout sessions where all sorts of information was available including such topics as A Nation At Risk – Illegal Immigration, How To Use The Tools That New Media Offers and What We Can Learn From Reagan’s Revolution. There was an abundance of knowledge available, and the patriotic Virginians were soaking it up. Read more of this article »
“What’s Wrong With Sharia Law?” I have been asked. Isn’t it just some sort of quaint religious observance? It has religious practices that some countries have used to go to extremes, such as stoning a woman caught in adultery, cutting off body parts and throwing homosexuals off high buildings? No, these punishments are part of the Medina verses of the Koran. These punishments are the result of the type of theocracy many on the left fear from Christians and many Christians are blinded to as the influence of Islam continues to build in the United States.
Those who just see a foreign religious system may be surprised to learn that in New Jersey, a man had charges dismissed for beating his wife because a judge accepted it as part of his religious belief system. Some Imams go so far as to give “sermons” on the proper way to do this to control women who are looked on as less intelligent and inferior.
In Michigan police refused to protect Christians who attempted to hand out literature at an Islamic festival, because it is against their law to even acknowledge such literature. The law of Islam trumped the free speech guaranteed by our constitution, and that is the law the police recognized. Read more of this article »
One of the tragedies of the current misled, uninformed, and otherwise preoccupied American citizenry is the seeming apathy regarding the importance and necessity of electing constitutionalist sheriffs. In many ways, State governors and county sheriffs just might be the most important elected offices in America. It is no hyperbole to say that State governors and county sheriffs form the last line of defense against tyranny and oppression. If our governors and sheriffs do not understand the principles of freedom and federalism, there is virtually zero protection against the abuses of liberty–save the right of the people to personally and individually defend liberty via the principles of God-given Natural Law.
Hence, a freedom-minded sheriff is invaluable to liberty’s defense. And perhaps at no time in America’s history has it been more necessary that we elect freedom-loving sheriffs than it is today, what with the ever-growing propensity of the federal government to trample and usurp State and constitutional protections of freedom.
For example, in an almost totally non-reported incident, an armed conflict between federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents and a Nevada Sheriff’s SWAT team was averted only by virtue of the fact that, at the last minute, BLM backed down from the impending confrontation. Read more of this article »
The decision by Congress to socialize medicine in the US ranks among the most draconian, most egregious, most horrific actions ever taken by the central government in Washington, D.C. This bill rocks the principles of liberty and constitutional government to the core. It changes fundamental foundations; it repudiates historical principle. Oh! The same flag may fly on our flagpoles, the same monuments may grace our landscape, and the same National Anthem may be sung during our public ceremonies, but it is not the same America. The Congress of the United States has now officially turned America into a socialist state.
On March 21, 2010, Congress passed, and on March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the dreaded national health care bill into law, and as such, these dates join a list of dates that have each inflicted unconstitutional, socialistic, and sometimes even tyrannical action against the States united and have, therefore, contributed to the destruction of a free America.
April 9, 1865
This is the date when General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Regardless of where one comes down on the subject of the Civil War, one fact is undeniable: Abraham Lincoln seriously dismantled the Jeffersonian model of federalism in America. Ever since, virtually every battle that free men have fought for the principles of limited government, State sovereignty, etc., has stemmed directly from Lincoln’s usurpation of power, which resulted in the subjugation and forced union of what used to be “Free and Independent States” (the Declaration of Independence). In fact, the philosophical battles being waged today regarding the recent health care debacle (and every other encroachment upon liberty and State power by the central government) have their roots in Lincoln’s tyranny. Read more of this article »
The Monday, July 19, 2010, edition of The Washington Post featured an investigative report entitled “Top Secret America,” with the subtitle, “A hidden world, growing beyond control.” The report begins, “The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
“These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.
“The investigation’s other findings include:
*Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States. Read more of this article »
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli responded to a request from fellow patriot, Delegate Bob Marshall about the legality of regulating abortion clinics. Del. Marshall publicized this historic opion in the following press release.
VIRGINIA CAN REGULATE ABORTION CLINICS TO PROTECT WOMEN
Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli issued an opinion that “the Commonwealth has the authority to promulgate regulations for facilities in which first trimester abortions are performed, as well as for providers of first trimester abortions, so long as the regulations adhere to constitutional limitations.”
“This is a victory for women and children across Virginia,” said Delegate Bob Marshall. It is my hope that the Governor will issue health regulations as soon as possible.”
Delegate Marshall had asked for the Attorney General’s opinion earlier this year. Virginia’s Department of Health had regulated abortion clinics until Chuck Robb became Governor and ended the practice. Read more of this article »
I came across this video and had to share it. Listen to what Marco Rubio has to say. He gets it and should be a model for other candidates who are afraid of their own shadow. If you haven’t seen much of him, now is a great time to watch and learn. America is still the greatest place to live… let’s keep it that way.
I am going to borrow heavily from two outstanding columns that appear on my son’s website, LibertyDefenseLeague.com. One author, Russell Longcore, is a publisher; the other, Wilton Strickland, is an attorney. Both are avid proponents of State sovereignty and independence.
Longcore’s column is entitled “Edwin Vieira on Secession, New World Order and the American Republic.” See it at: http://tinyurl.com/longcore-on-secession
Strickland’s column is entitled “Staying Away From The Federal Courthouse.”
See it at: http://snipurl.com/strickland-avoid-fed-court
Both of these gentlemen share my conviction that the only chance we have to maintain and defend liberty in these United States is for free and independent states to rise in righteous indignation against the onslaught of federal tyranny that is rapidly destroying our republic. America–as one nation–is beyond redemption. The federal government is too arrogant, too malevolent, and too drunk with power to ever allow itself to be returned to the principles of federalism and constitutionalism. And this is true no matter which of the two political parties is in charge. Read more of this article »
[Editors Note: See what James Madison had to say about the powers and limitations of the Federal government. Then compare it to what we see today.]
General View of the Powers Conferred by the Constitution
For the Independent Journal.
Author: James Madison
To the People of the State of New York:
THE Constitution proposed by the convention may be considered under two general points of view. The FIRST relates to the sum or quantity of power which it vests in the government, including the restraints imposed on the States. The SECOND, to the particular structure of the government, and the distribution of this power among its several branches. Under the FIRST view of the subject, two important questions arise: 1. Whether any part of the powers transferred to the general government be unnecessary or improper? 2. Whether the entire mass of them be dangerous to the portion of jurisdiction left in the several States? Is the aggregate power of the general government greater than ought to have been vested in it? This is the FIRST question. It cannot have escaped those who have attended with candor to the arguments employed against the extensive powers of the government, that the authors of them have very little considered how far these powers were necessary means of attaining a necessary end. They have chosen rather to dwell on the inconveniences which must be unavoidably blended with all political advantages; and on the possible abuses which must be incident to every power or trust, of which a beneficial use can be made. Read more of this article »
There is a movement afoot that has kept pretty much under the radar, that will take us one more step toward establishing national government supremacy over the free and sovereign states. It is called the National Popular Vote movement. Up to this point, such conservative bastions as Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, Hawaii, Washington and the Peoples Republic of Maryland have approved the cockamamie plan to ignore the voters of their state and instruct their electors to cast their votes for the winner of the national popular vote.
I will have to admit that there are some aspects of this that does seem to be appealing. Who could be opposed to the President being selected by the majority of voters? This is the way it is meant to be. However, when you consider that nine or ten states could make the voters in the rest of the country irrelevant, it doesn’t seem to be such a good idea. What follows from this is that there would be even less incentive for national candidates to deign to visit the smaller, less populous states.
Polling tells us roughly 70% of the American people would be in favor of simply going by the total votes for each candidate. I have no doubt that the numbers support this. What I wonder is if these good people would be so agreeable if the question were asked how they felt about representatives from their state casting votes contrary to the majority of their neighbors. As with any poll, the way you phrase a question has a great influence on the results. Read more of this article »
[Editors Note: If we haven't read this recently, now is a good time to do it again.]
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. Read more of this article »
This weekend we celebrate Independence Day. Many wonder, “independence from what?” or “does it really matter?” Unfortunately, so many of our public schools no longer honor, or in many cases even educate the our children about the fifty six men put their names to our Declaration of Independence. Each one believed so strongly in the ideal of freedom that he pledged their life, his fortune and his sacred honor to the cause.
Each one, as they emerged from that hall in Philadelphia on that warm summer day in 1776 knew he had placed his neck in a British noose if their quest for liberty failed. Most were men of substantial means and many lost a great deal in the conflict… some, family members, some everything. But to each, the thing of even greater value that they refused to loose was their sacred honor.
The concept of honor seems somehow, quaint in today’s political environment where we quibble about the definition of ‘is’. But to a man, they would tolerate the loss of everything they counted of value before they would dishonor themselves, or their commitment to the others and the cause of freedom. To these men, this honor was sacred because they pledged themselves to this pursuit before and in the name of almighty God. Read more of this article »
Politicians in Washington, D.C., love to manufacture a crisis. The crisis generates fear within the citizenry, thereby allowing the federal government to centralize more and more power. During a crisis, the citizenry becomes much more forgiving of federal abuses and accommodating of federal encroachments than it otherwise would be without a crisis. Hence, we have a federal “war on drugs,” and a “war on poverty,” and a “war on terror,” and an “oil crisis,” and an “energy crisis,” and a “domestic terrorism crisis,” and an “education crisis,” and a “border crisis,” and an “economic crisis”–Blah! Blah! Blah!
You can mark it down: every major crisis that America has faced over the last several decades has been either manufactured or facilitated by policies and activities originating in Washington, D.C. But at the same time that DC is creating these crises, it categorizes any ideological group it finds distasteful as a convenient scapegoat. These convenient scapegoats can include “angry white guys,” “tea party extremists,” “a vast right-wing conspiracy,” Constitution Party or Libertarian Party “extremists,” “Second Amendment extremists” (gun owners), “pro-life extremists,” ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
Yet, while DC’s elitists are plotting America’s next crisis and figuring out whom to categorize as America’s next “extremist,” some real enemies are waging war against the freedoms and liberties of our once-great republic. And, ladies and gentlemen, these enemies are much more subtle, a lot closer, and much more dangerous than almost anything you are being told about. Read more of this article »
The Stanley Cup Finals are over and World Cup soccer time is upon us. I suppose we need the break from the drama and excitement of men flashing across the ice and bashing each other into dasher boards to get the little puck in the net. The World Cup time is an ideal time to relax, have a cook out with the family, go to the beach, or even read a good book. According to a recent Zogby poll, only 31% of the American men and 17% of the American women are planning to watch any part of the matches. Observing the hype on TV, one would think this is a major event for the people of the United States.
Numbers for the under 30 crowd are somewhat higher than this average, reflecting the globalist thinking foisted up the students in the public schools and academia. Yet even in this group, there is enough realism the prevent them from believing that soccer will become a major sport, ranked with football, baseball, basketball and hockey, in the US. It is notable that auto racing was not included in the question, even though it outdraws the other sports leaders.
The traditional sports tend to be American generations, including hockey where the primary development came from our neighbor in the frozen north. Our sporting preferences show what our “betters” would describe as a negative North American-centric mind set that blinds us to virtue in other parts of the world. It is the ugly face of American exceptionalism that the left and academia (but I repeat myself) have been fighting for decades. Read more of this article »
This weekend news broke about a skirmish between Israeli commandos and a supposedly unarmed ship carrying humanitarian supplies to the Gaza strip. There are conflicting reports, but the one that gets the most play in the formerly mainstream media is that the ship was attacked for no reason and those killed were simply well meaning, innocents trying to deliver supplies to the poor downtrodden people of Gaza.
This fits the media template that Israel is just a bully pushing around anyone they jolly well please, completely disregarding the numerous times rockets have been smuggled into the area, later to fall into populated areas of the country. A look at a map, which is something most are unwilling to do, will show a country surrounded people who hate the Jews and their state more than they love their own children. Many consider it their holy duty to eradicate this country from the face of the earth.
Unfortunately there are those in our own country that feel the same way. Many in the current administration see the existence of Israel as the primary obstacle to peace in the middle east. Most Christians have a grasp of our spiritual kinship to the Jewish people and special place these people and their land have in God’s economy. Others have, to their detriment, rejected the reliability of the scriptures and have substituted the humanistic thinking propagated by academia, the media and our own government. Many of the mainline denominations… the ones losing members year after year, are the primary culprits here, but they are not alone. Some, who call themselves evangelical, want to spiritualize much of prophecy, in addition to adding the thinking that since Israel rejected His Messiah, God has forever rejected the Jewish people. Read more of this article »
RESUMING the subject of the last paper, I proceed to inquire whether the federal government or the State governments will have the advantage with regard to the predilection and support of the people. Notwithstanding the different modes in which they are appointed, we must consider both of them as substantially dependent on the great body of the citizens of the United States.
I assume this position here as it respects the first, reserving the proofs for another place. The federal and State governments are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people, constituted with different powers, and designed for different purposes. The adversaries of the Constitution seem to have lost sight of the people altogether in their reasonings on this subject; and to have viewed these different establishments, not only as mutual rivals and enemies, but as uncontrolled by any common superior in their efforts to usurp the authorities of each other. These gentlemen must here be reminded of their error. They must be told that the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone, and that it will not depend merely on the comparative ambition or address of the different governments, whether either, or which of them, will be able to enlarge its sphere of jurisdiction at the expense of the other. Truth, no less than decency, requires that the event in every case should be supposed to depend on the sentiments and sanction of their common constituents. Many considerations, besides those suggested on a former occasion, seem to place it beyond doubt that the first and most natural attachment of the people will be to the governments of their respective States. Read more of this article »
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As we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, I am reminded of the words of John Quincy Adams. On July 4, 1837, he spoke these words:
[As he left public life, George Washington had serious concerns for the country he helped bring into being. He had surprising insights into the situations this new nation would face and (often ignored) advice on avoiding pitfalls that have destroyed other nations in the past. The language is difficult to comprehend at times, but we can learn from his wisdom or we can continue to ignore it at our peril.]
[As he left public life, George Washington had serious concerns for the country he helped bring into being. He had surprising insights into the situations this new nation would face and (often ignored) advice on avoiding pitfalls that have destroyed other nations in the past. The language is difficult to comprehend at times, but we can learn from his wisdom or we can continue to ignore it at our peril.]
Legislation has been introduced by Senators Chuck Shumer (D-NY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) that would grant visas to foreign citizens who will come into the country and buy at least half a million dollars in real estate. It has been added to their new immigration bill with the idea of helping our floundering housing market. We are told it is a great deal all the way around as buyers with cash (hopefully) would be brought into the market, homes would be sold, real estate agents would get paid, banks may be able to reduce their inventory of foreclosed houses and, best of all, we are told, it won’t cost us a cent.
from 
The Federalist No. 2
by
As with Romans chapter 13, Jesus’ instructions recorded in Matthew 22:21, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s,” are likewise much misinterpreted. The same people who love to quote Romans 13 to justify their cowardice in the face of oppressive government also use Jesus’ words in Matthew 22 to do the same thing.
by Wendi Lynn G
The twelfth chapter of the book of Genesis begins:
After several weeks of moving and settling in, many readers have been writing me asking for an update on our move to the Flathead Valley of Montana. First, let me say, we love it here! The scenery is spectacular, especially now that winter has arrived. What the snow does to the landscape in this mountainous region is breathtaking! Driving through the mountains is like driving through Narnia. I have never seen such beauty.
[Editors note: Speech by Patrick Henry to the Virginia Ratifying Convention given June 16, 1788]
In the September issue of the “New Guard”, Congressman Paul Ryan mapped out his plan to reclaim the American Idea. As a Tea Party leader it was necessary to respond with an alternative Tea Party Road Map. The most challenging task is to confront our ballooning and unsustainable entitlements and other usurped government spending from State and local governments, commerce, charity and the individual.
This past weekend, several thousand of us in the Old Dominion enjoyed the Virginia Tea Party Convention. Unlike many tea parties in the past, we saw many elected office holders, including the top three offices in the commonwealth and some former Senators, with at least one looking to get back into the game. We were told this was the largest such gathering of it’s kind, and it was the most enthusiastic, involved crowd I’ve been part in years. I was fortunate to run into a lot of old friends and made some knew ones.
“What’s Wrong With Sharia Law?” I have been asked. Isn’t it just some sort of quaint religious observance? It has religious practices that some countries have used to go to extremes, such as stoning a woman caught in adultery, cutting off body parts and throwing homosexuals off high buildings? No, these punishments are part of the Medina verses of the Koran. These punishments are the result of the type of theocracy many on the left fear from Christians and many Christians are blinded to as the influence of Islam continues to build in the United States.
One of the tragedies of the current misled, uninformed, and otherwise preoccupied American citizenry is the seeming apathy regarding the importance and necessity of electing constitutionalist sheriffs. In many ways, State governors and county sheriffs just might be the most important elected offices in America. It is no hyperbole to say that State governors and county sheriffs form the last line of defense against tyranny and oppression. If our governors and sheriffs do not understand the principles of freedom and federalism, there is virtually zero protection against the abuses of liberty–save the right of the people to personally and individually defend liberty via the principles of God-given Natural Law.
The decision by Congress to socialize medicine in the US ranks among the most draconian, most egregious, most horrific actions ever taken by the central government in Washington, D.C. This bill rocks the principles of liberty and constitutional government to the core. It changes fundamental foundations; it repudiates historical principle. Oh! The same flag may fly on our flagpoles, the same monuments may grace our landscape, and the same National Anthem may be sung during our public ceremonies, but it is not the same America. The Congress of the United States has now officially turned America into a socialist state.
The Monday, July 19, 2010, edition of The Washington Post featured an investigative report entitled “Top Secret America,” with the subtitle, “A hidden world, growing beyond control.” The report begins, “The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
I am going to borrow heavily from two outstanding columns that appear on my son’s website, LibertyDefenseLeague.com. One author, Russell Longcore, is a publisher; the other, Wilton Strickland, is an attorney. Both are avid proponents of State sovereignty and independence.
[Editors Note: See what James Madison had to say about the powers and limitations of the Federal government. Then compare it to what we see today.]
There is a movement afoot that has kept pretty much under the radar, that will take us one more step toward establishing national government supremacy over the free and sovereign states. It is called the 
[Editors Note: If we haven't read this recently, now is a good time to do it again.]
This weekend we celebrate Independence Day. Many wonder, “independence from what?” or “does it really matter?” Unfortunately, so many of our public schools no longer honor, or in many cases even educate the our children about the 
Politicians in Washington, D.C., love to manufacture a crisis. The crisis generates fear within the citizenry, thereby allowing the federal government to centralize more and more power. During a crisis, the citizenry becomes much more forgiving of federal abuses and accommodating of federal encroachments than it otherwise would be without a crisis. Hence, we have a federal “war on drugs,” and a “war on poverty,” and a “war on terror,” and an “oil crisis,” and an “energy crisis,” and a “domestic terrorism crisis,” and an “education crisis,” and a “border crisis,” and an “economic crisis”–Blah! Blah! Blah!
This weekend news broke about a skirmish between Israeli commandos and a supposedly unarmed ship carrying humanitarian supplies to the Gaza strip. There are conflicting reports, but the one that gets the most play in the formerly mainstream media is that the ship was attacked for no reason and those killed were simply well meaning, innocents trying to deliver supplies to the poor downtrodden people of Gaza.
From the New York Packet.
