"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Benjamin Franklin
Echoing Donald Trump’s knee-jerk reaction to news of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Mr. Bykofsky argues that “good guys with guns”, now becoming commonplace in schools, …
“It’s not the FBI’s role to investigate Ford’s claims”.
President Donald J. Trump
Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans seem committed to send Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court to the full Senate next week despite recent allegations he may have committed a prior sexual assault; and while thousands of pages of his …
“You see the Nazi platform in the early 1930s and what was actually put out there … and you look at it compared to like the DNC platform of today, and you’re saying, man, those things are awfully similar, to a point where it’s actually scary,”
Donald J. Trump, Jr.
Donald J. …
“Why can’t we just invade Venezuela?”
President Donald Trump
Astonishingly, there has not been a single word of outrage from any member of Congress, Democrat or Republican, to recent revelations that in August 2017 President Trump asked top foreign policy advisers about the possibility of invading Venezuela during a meeting on diplomatic …
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
H. L. Mencken
Dear President Trump:
Immediately after your election, your defenders and detractors alike opined perhaps you were new …
“They broke into the offices of one of my personal attorneys … an attack on our country and what we all stand for”
Donald Trump (April 10, 2018)
President Trump’s explosive tirade over recent FBI raids on Michael Cohen’s office, home and hotel suite should come as no surprise. Again, Trump has …
“There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual consent and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
James Madison
To the framers of our Constitution the issue of personal privacy was not of overriding concern. Rather, the absolute right to …
“There should be no doubt that Russia perceives that its past efforts have been successful and views the 2018 midterm US elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations. Frankly, the United States is under attack.
Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence
Whether on the subject of Russian interference with our …
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently”
Henry Ford
House Intelligence Chair Nunes’ release of a Republican-drafted factually misleading memo accusing the FBI and Justice Department of improperly using their surveillance authority against the Trump presidential campaign while suppressing a dissenting Democratic minority report is indefensible!
When Americans …
The actions of people—and especially of government—always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended.
The Law of Unintended Consequences
The so-called tax reform and job creation bill working its way through Congress has no chance of producing the type of tax relief or job growth that the President and his Republican minions …
“You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
John Dowd’s, President Trump’s attorney, assertion, “The President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer … and has every right to express his view of any case,” is frightening to …
The NFL players taking a knee are “very disrespectful to our country.”
President Donald Trump (September 30, 2017)
The furor over athletes taking a knee, raising a fist or sitting during the national anthem or people burning the Flag continues unabated, with President Trump fanning the flames those believe that such actions …
“Get that son of a bitch off the field”
Donald Trump (09/22/2017)
Referring to NFL players who have followed Colin Kaepernick’s lead and taken a knee during the national anthem, President Trump’s recent rants demonstrate he has clearly forgotten his oath of office to, “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the …
“It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President,”
Donald J. Trump
President Trump’s recent tweets provide unmistakable evidence he has forgotten, does not understand or chooses to disregard the oath that he and all other federal officials …
“I used to say, ‘Go out and get the best people, and trust them.’ Over the years I have seen too many shenanigans, and now I say, ‘Get the best people and don’t trust them.’”
Donald Trump (2000)
As the country prepares to celebrate its 241st birthday, President Trump continues to be …
“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.”
James Bovard (1994)
By the 2010 census, our nation’s population had grown to 308,745,538. Buried in that figure are changes in the populations of the fifty states. The Constitution mandates Congressional seats be apportioned …
“United we can solve our problems and divided we have nothing.”
Louis Farrakhan
Early on the morning of November 9th of this year, you spoke to the American people.
“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. To all Republicans, Democrats, and independents across this nation, I say it is …
“Those who expect to reap the benefits of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
Thomas Paine
The report Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence’s charter plane ran off the runway at LaGuardia raises the spector of the death or incapacitating medical problem happening to a presidential candidate or their running mate …
“Public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the Journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of the events and issues.”
Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics
The reporting on last evening’s Republican presidential debate …
“Be careful what you wish for …”
Adage – author unknown
Supreme Court appointments can be a president’s most important and enduring legacy. While rarely registering on lists of voter concerns, the untimely passing of Justice Scalia has made such appointments toxic political fodder for presidential wannabees!
Under the Constitution, a president’s term …
“You can’t be neutral in a public-sector union”
Rebecca Friedrichs (2016)
It is clear that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn its 1977 ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education which affirmed that a union shop, legal in the private sector, is also legal in the public sector. They found …
” the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.”
President Obama (January 2016)
While President Obama lamented on the increasing polarization during his Administration, he needs only to look in the mirror. His demonizing those who disagree with him, unwillingness to compromise other than on his terms …
“Agency shop” laws, which require public employees to pay union dues as a condition of employment, violate well-settled principles of freedom of speech and association.”
Plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association
It is clear that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn its 1977 ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of …
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams
What do the crop for presidential candidates really believe?
In the wake of the Fox News, CNN and CNBC Republican debates and CNN Democratic debate, there has been much justifiable criticism …
“The more I see the representatives of the people, the more I admire my dogs.”
Alphonse de Lamartine (1850)
The current impasse between Governor Wolf and the Commonwealth’s Republican-controlled Legislature represents our government at its worst!
So polarized are the major players they simply ignored their respective obligations to enact a balanced budget …
“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”
Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)
Islam means “submission to the will of God”; its fundamental tenet, “There is only one God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”
Since the September 11th attacks, a debate has raged over whether Islam is a “religion of peace” …
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Voltaire (attributed- circa 1764)
The assassinations of the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo, a Muslim policeman and four French Jews is simply the latest in an escalating string of brutalities committed by Islamic militants …
“The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or party.”
John C. Calhouun – Speech on February 13, 1835
President Obama’s November 21st Executive Orders on Immigration were an “in your …
“Congress has become the “broken branch” of government, marked by extreme partisanship and few achievements.”
Cato Institute – January 2011
A friend recently lamented about frustrations his daughter was having in planning her daughter’s wedding. Chief among the challenges was where people would sit at the reception. “Obviously, so-and-so can’t be at …
“The greatest danger to American Freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution”
Thomas Jefferson
Speaker Boehner’s announcement to seek House authorization initiating a lawsuit against the president is long-overdue by Congress in light of their solemn oath to “support and defend the Constitution”.
A system of checks and balances between the three …
“The fact that unintended consequences of government regulation are usually (but not always or necessarily) negative is not an accident.”
Freakonomics
On April 14th 2014, Michigan lawmakers endorsed a call for a constitutional convention (to require the federal government to balance the budget) pursuant a scenario inserted into Article V of the …
“You should protest about the views of people you disagree with over major moral issue and argue the down, but you should not try to silence them, however repugnant you find them. That is the bitter pill free speech requires us to swallow.”
Julian Baggini
This past week, the New Jersey Motor …
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Presidential Oath of Office
US Constitution – Article II, Section 1
The President, all members of …
Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.
John Perry Barlow
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/privacy.html#lSxBojgVIZorW82A.99
“Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds”
John Perry Barlow
In the aftermath of recent the disclosures …
“No democratic government can last long without conciliation and compromise”
The Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin
While the federal government remains “sort of” shut down (although Congressional and White House personnel continue to get paid while visible programs affecting average folks, children and veterans are always targeted in such situations) and our national …
Christine Brennan’s September 12th USAT0day OpEd plea for the Washington Redskins to change their name as, “if only some Native Americans think it’s racist … It’s racist”, is yet another sad example of selective political correctness and displays her lack of appreciation for the very rights which make her profession …
Christine Brennan’s September 12th USAT0day OpEd plea for the Washington Redskins to change their name as, “if only some Native Americans think it’s racist … It’s racist”, is yet another sad example of selective political correctness and displays her lack of appreciation for the very rights which make her profession …
With the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, there is a deafening silence over the Administration’s threats to bomb Syria, an action which can only be defined as an act of war. However, under our Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war, …
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887
While many people have differences of opinion over the policies of the Obama Administration, so long as the Executive Branch acts within the limited scope of its authority as granted under Article …
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
James Madison (1788)
The President, members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices and federal officials swear to “support, preserve, protect and defend the …
“No democratic government can last long without conciliation and compromise.”
Samuel Elliot Morrison – “The Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin” (1961)
While the leaders of our Republic have engaged in divisive and often virulent disagreements since John Adams ran against and defeated Thomas Jefferson, such disputes were generally between individuals. However, during the …
“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are so confident while the intelligent are full of doubt”
Bertrand Russell
As voters continue to desert the Republican and Democratic parties (44% of registered voters are independents, unaffiliated or belong to third parties), the extreme activists of the major parties effectively select …
“The Congress shall have the Power … to Declare War”
Article I, Section 8, US Constitution
Not since December 8, 1941 has the United States Congress passed a Declaration of War. Yet, since then our country has sent its men and women in “harm’s way” in no less than 27 conflicts, nearly …
“No democratic government can last long without conciliation and compromise.”
Benjamin Franklin
Partisan politics have been part of the American landscape since the bitter 1798 presidential campaign between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. However, the endless divisiveness and unwillingness of our Beltway representatives to work across party and ideological lines has so …
“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.”
John Adams
In the endless debates over reducing federal deficits Republicans offer little other than spending cuts, too many of which impact the most vulnerable in our society. They and …
“The budget should be balanced, the treasury refilled, public debt reduced the arrogance of
officialdom tempered and controlled … lest Rome become bankrupt”
Cicero
For the decades, our federal government has perpetuated a myth that, unlike individuals, it can routinely spend more than it takes in … so long as such deficits …
“Congress shall have the Power …. To declare War”
US Constitution (Article I, Section 8 Clause 11)
If any nation lobbed missiles at US targets or interdicted the movement of US military men and materials the defacto conclusion would be the attacker had declared war on America!
By such a rational standard, President …
“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.”
James Bovard (1994)
In late December the US Census Bureau announced our nation’s 2010 population had grown to 308,745,538. Buried in that figure are the relative changes in the populations of our fifty states.
As …
“The budget should be balanced, the treasury refilled, public debt reduced, the arrogance of officialdom tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt.”
Cicero
The Congressional election results were neither a mandate for extremist social or political agendas of Republicans and Tea Party activists nor the …
“We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion;and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still”
John Stuart Mill – Liberty – 1869
Some 26,000 scientists, environmental activists, world leaders and media descended on Copenhagen this week, cheered on by …
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible”
Reinhold Niebuhr (1944)
Sometimes in life there are no good choices. Attorney General Eric Holder decision to to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four associates in connection with the 9/11 attacks is an vivid example of choosing least damaging of a number of no-win options, …
“Politics, like religion, hold up the torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error.”
Thomas Jefferson (1811)
News of the recent conclave of world leaders, few of whom ever ran a business or created a job, suggest there is unanimity on how to solve the economic quagmire into which the world has …
We have met the enemy and he is us!
Pogo
While a “bailout” may be an incorrect term for what seems to be the only plan on the table to restore liquidity in US and world financial markets, for the average American taxpayers and their children the costs will be enormous, bringing …
“If the flag needs protection at all, it needs protection from members of Congress
who value the symbol more than the freedom the flag represents.”
Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-New York)
It is clear that Mike Fitzpatrick and Jonathan Last simply do not get it!
In recent OpEds Congressman Fitzpatrick defended his recent vote …
“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Presidential Oath – Article II, Section 1, U.S. Constitution
President Bush, like many of his predecessors … …
“Of course my motives were religious.”
Percival Davis
Creation science, like the fabled phoenix, has again risen from the ashes. In its latest incarnation, terms like “God” and “the Creator” have vanished; replaced by what the Christian Right hopes will become a politically-correct and legally-acceptable surrogate, “intelligent design”.
This latest effort to interject …