“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 …
“Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions.”
Justice William O. Douglas
The hallowed chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, where those men and women elected to serve the people once debated ways to enhance the rights of man, recently became a cheap forum for …
“Of my many sorrows, this is without doubt the worst”
Norma (Jane Roe) McCorvey
Americans and their media continue to define most of our complex social controversies in ways which reduce their respective antagonists and their positions to little more that simplistic and uncompromising incarnations of good and evil. This irresponsibility is …
“Political campaigns are designedly made into emotional orgies”
James Harvey Robinson
As part of their campaign strategy, the Republican Congressional leadership unveiled its “Contract with America”. A unique and innovative campaign gimmick, their “Contract” spelled out a legislative agenda to which its three hundred signers committed their support if elected and if …
“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 …
“A wise and frugal government …”
Thomas Jefferson
With the results of the 1992 election now a fait-accompli, President Clinton finds himself faced with the same type of hostile Congress as did his two predecessors. And, while there have been the predictable, post-election peace overtures from both the White House and the …
“If the American Constitution shall fail there will be anarchy throughout the world.”
Daniel Webster
The framers of our constitution, a diverse lot representing thirteen varied constituencies, were unified in their goals to establish a national government with limited powers and which had to operate within the law. The document which emerged …
“Freedom is something people take and people are as free as they want to be.”
James Baldwin
For decades, New Hampshire residents have prided themselves on being a population of contrarian individualists, bucking such trends as implementing a state sales or income tax. Local and national pols have been quick to laud …
“We must learn to live together as bothers or perish together as fools”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Forty years have passed since Thurgood Marshall successfully argued before the Supreme Court schools which were separate, however equal, were inherently unequal. In the wake of the now famous Brown v The Topeka Board of …
“Our objectives are clear, our forces are strong and our cause is right.”
President Bill Clinton
Whether divined by fate or simply an accident of good fortune, President Clinton has recently stumbled into and apparently emerge from two extremely dangerous international minefields a stronger and more decisive world leader. And, while he …
“Leave the matter of religion to the family alter … “
Ulysses S. Grant
It’s no secret, the nations schools remain in a state of disarray. Even with a conscious dumbing- down of academic standards, student performance, as measured by classroom grades and scores on standardized test continues at unacceptable levels. Concurrently, …
Baseball’s exemption is “unreasonable, illogical and inconsistent”
U.S. Supreme Court
The conclusion of Ken Burns’ recent, nostalgic documentary, “Baseball” has left devotees hanging, without their annual World Series fixes. Accordingly, they must content themselves with reading about seasons long gone, tuning-in the growing network of inane sports radio talk shows or simply …
“Congress shall make no laws …”
Article 1 – Bill of Rights
Predatory sexual behaviors have been a reality ever since our ancestors diverged from their proconsul forebears. In its primal form, such conduct was an ancient and instinctive holdover, likely contributing to early human survival for many of the same reasons …
“Belly Dancing is like Jello on a plate with a vibrator under the plate”
J. Donald Silva (UNH)
There is no greater danger to individual rights than committed zealots, operating under the color of real or usurped police authority, as they attempt to reorder public policy. Their actions become all the more …
“Congress shall have the power … to declare war”
Article I, Section 8, U.S. Constitution
In what may become the nation’s shortest and most unpopular use of military might, President Clinton stands poised to order American soldiers, sailors and airmen to intervene in the internal affairs of an independent sovereign nation which …
” We will not have another Mariel boat life.”
President William J. Clinton
Just as hundreds of unseaworthy rafts flounder northward across the shark-infested waters of the Florida Straits … American foreign policy wallows in a sea of uncertainty and indecisiveness, without direction and often accomplishing little. Driven primarily by domestic …
“Live free or die.”
John Stark
Once again powerful forces across the Granite State are embroiled in an emotional debate testing the mettle of New Hampshire’s movers and shakers. For more than half a century this highly charged polemic has ebbed and flowed from the Connecticut River to the Isle of Shoals …
No American should be denied basic medical care simply because they lack financial resources to pay for such services! Not surprisingly, few Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, find any exception with that simple, humanitarian axiom. Yet, health care reform remains a noble but elusive aspiration.
Partisan wrangling aside, the inability …
“Hypocrisy is the most difficult vice man can pursue”
W. Somerset Maugham
Once again New Hampshire’s forces of law and order have rallied their troops to protect the public from itself. In these latest crusades, many of the state’s law enforcement resources have been squandered in trying to stamp out what may …