“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 …

“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)
In the wake of 9/11, American freedoms are falling victim to the crusades of activists from both sides of the political spectrum …

“Freedom of speech means that you shall not do something to people either for the views they have or the views they express or the words they speak or write.”
Justice Hugo Black
We have recently been witness to several news items which do not bode well for the preservation of our …

“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 …

I was privileged to have had the opportunity to serve as a “community” member of the Courier Times Editorial Board during the several months running up to the recent November elections.   With that perspective as background, it was interesting, and sometimes amusing to read several of the published Letters to …

“Political campaigns are designedly made into emotional orgies which endeavor to distract attention from the real issues involved.”
James Harvey Robinson (1937)
Recently, Pennsylvania House Minority Leader Bill DeWeese went on record as stating that he would take all necessary steps to keep Ralph Nader from appearing on the Commonwealth’s November presidential …

“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.”
H.G. Wells
If the preservation of a democracy and scientific progress rely on a knowledgeable and well educated populace, then America may be teetering toward an uncertain future. 
The first warning came with the publication of, “Why Johnny Can’t Read.”  …

1-914-CLI-NTON.   Ring………………..!

Chelsea:               

“Hello.”

George:

“Hi Chelsea, it’s the President.”

Chelsea:

“Al?”

George:

“No, George, George Bush.   Is your dad around?”

Chelsea:

“Oh, just a second, I’ll check.   Dad, telephone.   It’s for you.”

Bill:

“Not now, honey, I’m busy.  Who is it anyway?”

Chelsea:

“It’s your tenant.”

Bill:

“Oh, I’d better take it.   Hi, George.   How are you doing?   How are Laura and the girls?”

George:

“We’re …

“Justice Moore would make a great official of the Inquisition”
Rev. Barry W. Lynn

In his defense of Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s refusal to remove the four-foot, 5,280-pound granite monument engraved with the Ten Commandments from his courthouse, Reverend Jerry Farwell suggested if Judge Moore was following what he …

“Political campaigns are designedly made into emotional orgies which endeavor to distract attention from the real issues involved”
James Harvey Robinson (1937)
With the 2002 elections now history, it’s time to reflect on events which continue to undermine a free and open playing field for all candidates for public office.
High on that …

“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”
 Justice Louis Brandeis (1928)
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be …

“Our Government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher.  For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example.”
 
Justice Louis D. Brandeis (1928)
The Pennsbury school district’s recently announced policy to use drug sniffing dogs to conduct warrantless searches of student lockers would be laughable if its consequences weren’t …

“Every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own.”
Pope Leo XIII
 
So fundamental are property rights to our heritage that during the American Revolution liberty and property were thought to be indivisible.   The concept that citizens were protected in their property rights was deemed so important that  …

“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
 
In the wake of the recent election night flip-flopping by the television networks over who won the Florida presidential election, there …

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
George Orwell
I am embarrassed to admit to having discovered that I am one of those Lower Makefield residents who has been totally oblivious to the plight of as many as ten thousand of the town’s residents.  That I could …

“Governments must be accountable to someone besides themselves”
Walter Lippmann
The budget charade currently playing at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue is enough to turn even the most objective patriot into a hardened cynic, particularly where fiscal responsibility is concerned.
Perhaps the biggest shams in this American tragedy are the “deficit reduction” and …

America’s current tax system, another example of government run amuck, is generally perceived as unfair, overly complex, full of loopholes and desperately in need of a major overhaul. Yet, as with campaign finance reform and a host of other important issues, our elected representatives seem impotent and/or lacking the political …

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when the do it from religious convictions”
Blaise Pascal
Religious freedom is a treasured heritage and one of our most important constitutional guarantees. 
Adherence to, and rebellion against, 16th and 17th century European religious intolerance provided a major impetus for the exploration and …

“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
Thomas Paine
In the ongoing debate over whether to reign in the powers of the Internal Revenue Service and, if so, by what magnitude, the battle lines have being drawn.  At stake is whether …

“Campaigns are designedly made into emotional orgies which endeavor to distract attention from the real issues involved.”
James Harvey Robinson
 
The recent pronouncement by the Federal Election Commission to limit the upcoming presidential and vice presidential debates to the Democratic and Republican standard bearers is yet another glaring example of the two …