"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." This should be enough to bring out the FBI, and rend Janet Napolitano's head bald. But this was not shouted at a Tea Party, it was authored by George Washington. The founders of the republic knew well that a government of men needed to be tempered by checks and balances. If the states were told they would have to give up their sovereignty and the Bill of Rights would be temporary, they would have never ratified the Constitution. It was the worst bait and switch in history.
The most damning smear is the threat about "... rejecting government authority in favor of state or local authority." This is the most direct attack against the democratic principles embedded in the republic. Citizens can monitor their local and state officials, whereas, in Washington, the Democrats rush bills through without reading them.
Meanwhile, the onslaught by the Democrats continue as they usurp as much private sector money to build an unsustainable national debt; impose taxes on the consumer; increase corporate and capital gains taxes; and strip the defense budget in a dangerous world. Money can be used for good or for evil; in the avaricious hands of government, it is a weapon of social control, in the hands of the private sector, it is a tool for economic expansion. Furthermore, what about the jobs that could have been saved and created if they had moved to lower taxes?
Ronald Reagan once said: "Government does not solve problems, it subsidizes them." Unfortunately, Obama will continue to prove him right.
I can't think of a better group to compose the core of the Republican Party. That group should solidify whoever remains on the right — into a dense brick. Good luck. Goodbye. Good riddance.
But as a thoughtful American, I need the thoughtful opposition. A one-party system won't work. The righteous right beliefs notwithstanding, we don't govern ourselves by "truth" but by consensus.
We need conservatives like George Will, and Hoppy Kercheval, and former City Council member Jim Manilla; people you can actually disagree with, because they actually listen. If yo lose the argument you're not humiliated, and everybody is smarter.
Contrary to Dennis Clark's opinion, (DP-May 31) we liberals welcome constructive discussior His so-called "liberal disdain for veterans" is simply made up and untrue, a figment of Clark's imagination.
We learned a lot from Vietnam: about war, about our military, about our society and about ourselves. Iraq and Afghanistan are courses still in progress.
The reason the commander-inchief was, is and will remain a civilian is that war is far too dangerous to be left to the generals alone. Quick: Who's the commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces? [Her Majesty Elizabeth II].
Supreme Court justices are appointed for life for a reason — we expect them to keep learning, among themselves. Then again, wisdom, born of life's experience, is a terrible thing waste.