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Happy Fourth!
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
“It is the duty of every patriot to protect his country from its government”
– Thomas Paine
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Happy 4th to you too Radley Balko.
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing. Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the People, who have… a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean the characters and conduct of their rulers. There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free ‘government’ ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty. Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among people.” -John Adams
Great quote, Radley. But my, have times changed:
I beg to differ with you, Mr. Giuliani;
Freedom – noun
1. the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint: He won his freedom after a retrial.
2. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
3. the power to determine action without restraint.
4. political or national independence.
5. personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery: a slave who bought his freedom.
6. exemption from the presence of anything specified (usually fol. by from): freedom from fear.
7. the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.
8. ease or facility of movement or action: to enjoy the freedom of living in the country.
9. frankness of manner or speech.
10. general exemption or immunity: freedom from taxation.
11. the absence of ceremony or reserve.
12. a liberty taken.
13. a particular immunity or privilege enjoyed, as by a city or corporation: freedom to levy taxes.
14. civil liberty, as opposed to subjection to an arbitrary or despotic government.
15. the right to enjoy all the privileges or special rights of citizenship, membership, etc., in a community or the like.
16. the right to frequent, enjoy, or use at will: to have the freedom of a friend’s library.
17. Philosophy. the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination. Compare NECESSITY (def. 7).
Since my “freedom” stops where another person’s “freedom” starts, the truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as “freedom,” for those who live in a society, whether the law is involved or not…
Great quote. Can we get that on a T-shirt?
Or a bumper sticker, so that when you’re driving… Oh, wait.
It is the duty of every patriot to protect his country from its government
And what better means to do so than by disbanding the government?
“I guess you will have to go to jail. If that is the result of not understanding the Income Tax Law, I will meet you there. We shall have a merry, merry time, for all our friends will be there. It will be an intellectual center, for no one understands the Income Tax Law except persons who have not sufficient intelligence to understand the questions that arise under it.” – Senator Elihu Root of NY, 1913 -
“The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.” – Will Rogers -
“I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” – Will Rogers -
“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” – George Washington -
“Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule–and both commonly succeed, and are right.” – H. L. Mencken -
Happy In Dependence Day.
@ Mister DNA # 2
That Guiliani quote is both the scariest and most depressing quote I have seen in a long time.
Scary, because he is (or was) considered a serious contender for the Presidency.
Depressing, because there seem to be so many people – right and left – who agree with him.
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
–Thomas Jefferson
“You can be absolutely free…only if you want to be”
-Frank Zappa
“Only YOU can set YOU free”
-Living Colour
Happy 4th to one and all. Be safe. Be responsible. Have fun!
-Helmut
Props to Helmut for quoting Living Colour… I think “Cult of Personality” has taken on a whole new relevance since Obama was elected president.
I went to the town parade and fireworks. At one point in the parade there was an old police car that said “Mayberry Sheriff” and it was playing the Andy Griffith music. The next vehicle in the parade was a tank that said “Sheriff S.W.A.T. # 1.”
To the extent several websites, most notably liberal Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore, are now claiming as “fact” that Governor Palin resigned because she is “under federal investigation” for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation. This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who re-publish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, the New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law. The Alaska Constitution protects the right of free speech, while simultaneously holding those “responsible for the abuse of that right.” Alaska Constitution Art. I, Sec. 5. http://ltgov.state.ak.us/constitution.php?section=1. These falsehoods abuse the right to free speech; continuing to publish these falsehoods of criminal activity is reckless, done without any regard for the truth, and is actionable.
Thomas Van Flein, for
Governor Sarah Palin
Radley,
Can you source that quote? I was looking for it today (for use in this post), but the only real thing I could find was a very similar Edward Abbey quote.
If you can let me know where this quote is attributed to Thomas Paine, I’d greatly appreciate it.
Yes, Happy Fourth. And in December you can wish us a Merry December 25th.
“Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.” –Thomas Jefferson
No one is perfect – certainly not Jefferson.
#2 and #12
What is scarry is that Rudi might have been the most libertarian of the viable contenders for President.
I mean really do you think that Obama, McCain, etc have a better definition of freedom?
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” -Howard Zinn
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin
One of my favs, and sure to annoy the fundies:
“the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion” – Treaty of Tripoli-
Background info: The preliminary treaty began with a signing on 4 November, 1796 (the end of George Washington’s last term as president). Joel Barlow, the American diplomat served as counsel to Algiers and held responsibility for the treaty negotiations. Barlow had once served under Washington as a chaplain in the revolutionary army. He became good friends with Paine, Jefferson, and read Enlightenment literature. Later he abandoned Christian orthodoxy for rationalism and became an advocate of secular government. Joel Barlow wrote the original English version of the treaty, including Amendment 11. Barlow forwarded the treaty to U.S. legislators for approval in 1797. Timothy Pickering, the secretary of state, endorsed it and John Adams concurred (now during his presidency), sending the document on to the Senate. The Senate approved the treaty on June 7, 1797, and officially ratified by the Senate with John Adams signature on 10 June, 1797. All during this multi-review process, the wording of Article 11 never raised the slightest concern. The treaty even became public through its publication in The Philadelphia Gazette on 17 June 1797.
So here we have a clear admission by the United States in 1797 that our government did not found itself upon Christianity. Unlike the Declaration of Independence, this treaty represented U.S. law as all U.S. Treaties do (see the Constitution, Article VI, Sect.2: “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”)
I’ll go with another quote from Thomas Paine:
“An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”
Laws made by common consent
Uh…
I think it’s bad form to down ding Thomas Jefferson.