“All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree.” — James Madison

From Save the fourth amendment, The Economist

“Much indeed to be regretted, party disputes are now carried to such a length, and truth is so enveloped in mist and false representation, that it is extremely difficult to know through what channel to seek it. This difficulty to one, who is of no party, and whose sole wish is to pursue with undeviating steps a path which would lead this country to respectability, wealth, and happiness, is exceedingly to be lamented. But such, for wise purposes, it is presumed, is the turbulence of human passions in party disputes, when victory more than truth is the palm contended for,” – George Washington, in a letter to Timothy Pickering, July 27, 1795.

“It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.” –Thomas Paine (courtesy of TheAgitator.com)

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” -Benjamin Franklin (attr)

Numquam ponenda est pluritas sine necessitate.

People should not fear their government. Governments should fear their people.

“I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance.” -Reuben Blades

“Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” -Ronald Reagan

“I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves.” -Ronald Reagan

Some people may prefer a strict application of the law, across the board. Some may prefer a lenient application of the law, across the board. A case can be made for both. I also think a case can be made for strict application of the law as applied to the government, but a lenient application as applied to the people. But the least defensible position, it seems to me, is the one that dominates: Strict justice for the people and leniency for the government.

-Tim Lynch, via TheAgitator.com

The cop who nicks crooks

What a foreign concept that’s become — police working to curb crime, arrest criminals, and not just generate revenue with silly traffic citations, needless “drug-related” arrests, and harassment of law-abiding citizens. Maybe some US police chiefs can take note of this?

“THE RIOTING IN France by primarily Muslim youths and the hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam’s sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims.”

Read the questions in this article by Dennis Prager on latimes.com

The FBI’s statistics also concluded: “Violent crime rates are highest overall in states with laws limiting or prohibiting the carrying of concealed firearms for self-defense.” (FBI Uniform Crime Report, 1992)

“We sent men with rifles into Afghanistan and Iraq and kept our best weapons in their silos. We’re standing there dying, daring to do nothing decisive because we’ve declared ourselves to be better than our terrorist enemies–more moral, more civilized. Our image is at stake, we insist. But we didn’t come this far because we’re made of sugar candy. Once upon a time, we elbowed our way onto and across this continent by giving smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans. That was biological warfare. And we used every other weapon we could get our hands on to grab this land from whomever. And we grew prosperous. And yes, we greased the skids with the sweat of slaves. So it goes with most great nation-states, which–feeling guilty about their savage pasts–eventually civilize themselves out of business and wind up invaded and ultimately dominated by the lean, hungry up-and-coming who are not made of sugar candy.”

Paul Harvey
23 June 2005