Some quotes from Thomas Jefferson

I've been doing a little reading in Jefferson by Albert Jay Nock, about Thomas Jefferson's presidency. I cam across some really good quotes I thought I would share.

Concerning making public appearances as President, Jefferson wrote,"not reconciled to the idea of a chief magistrate parading himself through the several States as an object of public gaze and in quest of an applause which, to be valuable, should be purely voluntary. I had rather acquire silent good will by a faithful discharge of my duties than owe expressions of it to my putting myself in the way of receiving them."

At the beginning of his first term as President, Jefferson said this,"the path we have to pursue is so quiet that we have nothing scarcely to propose to our Legislature. A noiseless course, not meddling with the affairs of others, unattractive of notice, is a mark that society is going on in happiness."

Here is a great quote from Jefferson about seeking office. Jefferson said, "whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct."

Jefferson told this to James Madison before he became President, "the accounts of the United States ought to be, and may be, made as simple as those of a common farmer, and capable of being understood by common farmers."

And later to another, "the finances of the Union as clear and intelligible as a merchant's books, so that every member of Congress and every man of any mind in the Union, should be able to comprehend them, to investigate abuses and consequently to control them."

Wouldn't it be nice to see our Governments financial records that simple and clear? Our own Congressmen do not understand the finances of our government, and the finances are so complicated how could they?

Getting ready to return to Virginia that "Mother of States"

R.L. Dabney writes in The Life and Campaigns of Lt. Gen. T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson, about the series of events that led to secession in Virginia, one of the last straws being Lincoln's resupplying Ft. Sumter, which is an act of war, and then declaring war without the proper Constitutional authority. Virginia could no longer stay in a union that would tear the binding compact in two, and then try to coerce a sovereign state back into a voluntary union. I thought Dabney's words on these events were very moving and inspiring, I wish we had MEN enough to stand up today for what is just and right! R. L. Dabney writes:

"But they did not stop here: on April 14th, Lincoln made a proclamation, without the authority of a shadow of law from Congress, declaring war against South Carolina and the Confederate Government, and calling upon the States for seventy-five thousand soldiers to invade them. The Governors of all the Southern States, except Maryland, refused compliance. In Virginia all remains of hesitation were instantly extinguished; the Convention, which was in session, on the 17th of April, passed an ordinance resuming the seperate independence of the State; and the Governor immediately began to prepare for war."

..."They said, the old "Mother of States and statesmen" was decrepit, that her genius was turned to dotage, that her breasts were dry of that milk which suckled her Henrys and Washingtons. They thought her little more than a cowering beldame, whom a timely threat would reduce to utter submissiveness. And thus they dared to stretch over her head the minatory rod. But when the tyrant tried the perilous experiment, he was startled by a result as unexpected as that which followed the touch of Ithuriel's spear. She, whom he thought a patient, hesitating, helpless paralytic, flamed up at the insolent touch, like a pyramid of fire, and Virginia stood forth again in her immortal youth, the unterrified Commonwealth of 1776, a Minerva radiant with the terrible glories of policy and war, wielding that sword which ever flashed before the eyes of her aggressors, the "Sic semper Tyrannis."

The Creature of the Sovereign States

I am continually amazed while reading books written by those people who were actually there during the events in our nations history, how they describe the beauty of the way our government is suppose to function. How completely misled and mis-taught we have been in our own country about our own history is heart-breaking. This quote is a little lengthy, but I believe very important and relevant today, seeing that the Founders were trying to avoid the type of authoritarian government we now have and how our own government breaks its own rule of law everyday. I also believe more and more that it is our duty, especially if we are believers in Christ, to understand how our governments are supposed to function. I would try to sum up this quote, but it is so simple and straight to the point that I thought it speaks for itself. R.L. Dabney, while writing about Gen. Stonewall Jackson and his political views as a 'States Rights Democrat' says this:

"This name did not denote the attachment of those who bore it to the dogmas of universal suffrage and radical democracy, as concerned the State Governments; but their advocacy of republican rights for these Governments, and a limited construction of the powers conferred by them on the Federal Government. Their view of those powers was founded on the following historical facts, which no well-informed American hazards his credit of disputing: - That the former colonies of Great Britain emerged from the Revolutionary War distinct and sovereign political communities or commonwealths, in a word, separate nations, though allied together, and as such were recognized by all the European powers: That, after some years' existence as such, they voluntarily formed a covenant, called the Constitution of the United States, which created a species of government resting upon this compact for its existence and rights; a government which was the creature of the sovereign States, acting as independent nations in forming it: That this compact conferred certain defined powers and duties upon the Central Government, for purposes common to all the States alike, and expressly reserved and prohibited the exercise of all other powers, leaving to the States the management of their own affairs. They, therefore, did not sacrifice their nature as sovereignties, by acceding to the Federal Union; but, by compact, they conceded some of the functions of an independent nation, particularly defined, to the Central Government, retaining all the rest as before. These facts and this inference were uniformly held by the Commonwealth of Virginia at all times, being solemnly asserted when she joined the copartnership, and frequently reaffirmed by her Government down to the present day. They were, in substance, embodied in the Constitution of the United States itself, by a formal amendment, immediately after it went into effect. Since the era of the elder Adams, when the centralizing doctrine was utterly overwhelmed by the election of Mr. Jefferson, they have been professed in theory, though often violated in act, by every Administration of whatever party it might be, and by nearly every State."

"The party of the States'-Rights usually taught, from these principles, that the Federal Government ought to continue what it was in the purer days of Washington and Jefferson, unambitious in its claims of jurisdiction, simple and modest in its bearing, restricted in its wealth and patronage, and economical of expenditures, save in the common defense against external enemies. They held that all acts of legislation which interfered with those functions appropriate to the States as Commonwealths, and all those acts which turned aside from the general interests common to the States alike, to promote particular or local interests, were partial, usurping, and in virtual violation of the spirit of the Constitution. Among these, they classed all bounty laws designed to favor the inhabitants of a section, all protective tariffs, the chartering of a vast Banking Corporation in one of the States, and all meddling with the institution of domestic slavery in the States. They also held that the very Government, being the creation of commonwealths which acted as independent nations in forming it, and originating in a covenant which they voluntarily formed as such, derived its whole authority from its conformity to the terms of that covenant: that, if the covenant were destroyed, the Government was destroyed, and its rightful title of allegiance from any person was annihilated- that being gone which was the sole basis of it; and that, in the dernier ressort upon any vital instance of usurpation, the States themselves must be the judges whether the covenant was destroyed, and judges too of the necessity and nature of their redress. This right, to be exercised, indeed, under those moral obligations which should govern all international intercourse, they held to be inherent in the States as originally sovereign; while to suppose their federal compact divested them of it was preposterous, and what was, in the nature of the case, impossible. It would represent their voluntary act in acceding to the covenant as a political suicide. And it would have been equally preposterous for the Federal Constitution formally to confer it; it would have been the absurdity of the offspring's attempting to confer on its own parent the rights of paternity. Hence the absolute silence of the Federal Constitution concerning this inalienable right of the States was logically consistent, and is as incapable of implying anything against, as for, its just exercise." -R.L. Dabney

Quote is from Life and Campaigns of Lt. Gen. Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson by R. L. Dabney

What is Reform?

I am currently reading a book called Democratic Despotism by Raoul E. Desvernine in 1936. I found it at a used book sale here in Louisville a few weeks ago, and it has so far proven to be an excellent $2 buy. From what little I can find out, Mr. Desvernine was a lawyer for the American Liberty League, that spoke out against Roosevelt's New Deal. I thought this little exerpt was intersting, keeping in mind that this was written 60 years ago, but relevant seeing that the 'New Deal' was not what I was taught it was growing up and how it did not bring this country out of the depression.

Desvernine writes:

"It needs no argument to prove that some reform is imperative, for to deny that reform is necessary is to suggest the absurdity that perfection has already been attained, and to close one's eyes as well to many glaring examples of its need. Reform must, however, be distinguished from Revolution. Reform is the correction of abuses, the prevention of their recurrence, the adaptation of the existing State to changed conditions; it is not the discarding of the existing order and the susbstituting of a different system. It is the objective sought which supplies the rest of the social value of the effort, but we must be careful, that in our enthusiasm to attain this objective, and in our righteous indignation against abuses, we do not even unconsciously select and pursue methods which alter all our accepted concepts of government.

Nor has it yet been demonstrated by the New Dealers, or by anybody else, that our political institutions are substantially outmoded, that malpractices and abuses cannot be corrected, and that all adjustments needed to square them with progress, cannot be made within the framework of our institutions. Moreover, we need not look far to see that the ultimate fulfillment of the "reforms" which are being proposed leads to a system even more tyrannous and class-privileged than that which these Minor Prophets claim the present system to be."

A Speech from Mississippi

This is a Tea Party speech given by a friend in Mississippi, Mr. Lesley Riley. I have watched a couple of times and thought that I would like to post it here, so some that probably would never come across it might have an opportunity to watch. It is in three parts. The link to the Mississippi Personhood website mentioned in the speech is: http://www.personhoodmississippi.com/

The Immorality of Taxpayer Funded Abortion

The Immorality of Taxpayer Funded Abortion

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Here is a link to an article written by Congressman and Dr. Ron Paul about the so-called healthcare reform, and how there is a hidden measure for taxpayer funded abortions. Also this link is to the Campaign for Liberty website, which I would encourage all to look at. This is a great resource for what is really going on inside the Government. Also Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve is now in the Senate as S 604. There are 276 cosponsors in the House and already 19 in the Senate. They also make it easy to contact your representatives in Congress.

The entire National Anthem

Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything, partly because I haven't had anything to post. I have thought about posting something on the National Anthem for some time now and remembered to look it up and post it now. I was able to go to the first and only political rally for who else but Dr. Ron Paul last year when he came through Louisville. Before Dr. Paul spoke, I believe, three girls stood up and sang the national anthem. Well, when I thought they would stop because it was over, they kept going. I thought that was strange it only has one verse right? Well, come to find out it has more to it, we just don't sing it. Of course, it was written by Francis Scott Key originally as a poem titled "Defence of Fort McHenry" in 1814 about the war of 1812. I think it is very interesting with the last verse, that God is acknowledged and praised. I wonder if that has anything to do with why we have only ever sung the first verse. Here are the full lyrics:

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming.
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Getting the word out about Rand Paul

Yes, that is RAND Paul, not Dr. Ron Paul, its not a typo. There is a very good possibility that the son of Congressman Ron Paul may run for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky. This is great news and I just found a link that will give you some more information about him. It is: http://www.rand2010.com/rand_paul

All of us that live in the state of Kentucky have a duty to elect representatives that have integrity and stand on principles, namely that have read and will truly uphold the Constitution. From what little I have read and seen so far Rand Paul could be one of these people. If you live in Kentucky I recommend you check out some of the videos and stories about Rand Paul as I am.