Commitments that transcend personal choice

"People are not better off when they are given maximum personal freedom to do what they want. They’re better off when they are enshrouded in commitments that transcend personal choice — commitments to family, God, craft and country.

The surest way people bind themselves is through the family. As a practical matter, the traditional family is an effective way to induce people to care about others, become active in their communities and devote themselves to the long-term future of their nation and their kind. Therefore, our laws and attitudes should be biased toward family formation and fertility, including child tax credits, generous family leave policies and the like."
David Brooks

Certain Permanent Truths about the Human Condition

How did President Wilson's view of government differ from the founders?

"Wilson saw government as a problem solver. As problems change government has to adapt. So, people should be free to adapt their government to whatever problems they wanted government to address.

From the point of view of the founders, certainly they wouldn't have disagreed with Wilson that people have to make of government what they think best. What the founders would have said that we are all governed by our human nature, that our Creator gives us a certain nature, that brings with it certain permanent truths about human condition.  We have passions that may be a danger to us.  Just as well, we have reason that gives us the capacity for self-government.

While we are free to do with government what we wish, we are not able to free ourselves from the basic law of human nature which binds us all as human beings."

(Ronald J. Pestritto, Part 2 of Hillsdale College course "Constitution 201 Schedule", "Woodrow Wilson and the Rejection of the Founders’ Principles")

Quotes

2015-07

“Experience constantly proves that every man who has power is impelled to abuse it; he goes on till he is pulled up by some limits. Who would say it! virtue even has need of limits.”
―Charles de Montesquieu


Here are a few quotes I keep referring to.  I will put them here for easy reference.

"we will keep federal spending at 20 percent of GDP, or less. That is enough. The choice is whether to put hard limits on economic growth, or hard limits on the size of government, and we choose to limit government." Paul Ryan VP acceptance speech


This is a money quote


"We own this country. We own it. Poltiticians are employees of ours... When somebody does not do the job, we got to let him go." -Clint Eastwood, GOP Convention 2012

Be kind to others, even on the internet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfwwHa-7Ux8&feature=player_embedded

And this, "To Everyone I Know During This Election"

The Definition of Tyranny

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. "

(James Madison "Federalist 47" Via Constitution 101 - "Separation of Powers: Preventing Tyranny")