“…Would any reasonably prudent businessman sign a proposed contract involving a large-scale venture to be conducted over many years, if the other party admitted that most of the contract’s terms were undefined, that some terms were so vague as to be undefinable, and that in the future he intended to interpret all of the contract’s provisions in whatever matter might suit his own purposes at that time? Obviously not. Yet this is precisely the theory of “the living Constitution” that all too many judges and lawyers actually put into practice today…”
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As president, Jackson worked to take away the federal charter of the Second Bank of the United States (it would continue to exist as a state bank). The Second Bank had been authorized, during James Madison’s tenure in 1816, for a 20 year period. Jackson opposed the national bank concept on ideological ground. (from Wikepedia)
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“…The original American patriots were those individuals brave enough to resist with force the oppressive power of King George. I accept the definition of patriotism as that effort to resist oppressive state power. The true patriot is motivated by a sense of responsibility, and out of self interest — for himself, his family, and the future of his country — to resist government abuse of power. He rejects the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state…”
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“…Islamic Republic of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a message to the American nation, “Both our nations are God-fearing, truth loving and justice seeking, and both seek dignity, respect, and perfection…”
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The following prophetic speech delivered to the United States Senate (in the hope of stopping the adoption of the United Nations Charter) was published in the Congressional Record, recording the testimony of Mrs. Catherine P. Baldwin who pleaded with the Senators to reject adoption of the United Nations Charter, and to realize that acceptance of this global Charter would lead to divesting our nation of its substance, (that which held the nation together), and would erode the barriers and safeguards, which had always protected the foundation and principles of our freedom and liberty. Evidence now abounds that U.N. membership (globalization) is destroying U.S. substance.
—courtesy of Second Amendment Committee
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Excellent speech by Congressman Usher L. Burdick, N.D., printed in the Congressional Record of April 28, 1954 relating to United States membership in the United Nations and the dangers to U.S. Sovereignty. One excerpt follows: “…Who were the principal movers at San Francisco for this United Nations Charter? Who wrote the charter, and who had the most to do about shaping its provisions? The answer is that the Russian Communists and Alger Hiss, a representative of our State Department, were the prime movers and schemers in arranging its provisions. That is the same Alger Hiss who was convicted for perjury when he denied sending secret material to the Soviet Union representatives…”
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“…I have been involved in politics for over 30 years and have never seen the American people so angry. It’s not unusual to sense a modest amount of outrage, but it seems the anger today is unusually intense and quite possibly worse than ever. It’s not easily explained, but I have some thoughts on this matter. Generally, anger and frustration among people are related to economic conditions; bread and butter issues. Yet today, according to government statistics, things are going well. We have low unemployment, low inflation, more homeowners than ever before, and abundant leisure with abundant luxuries. Even the poor have cell phones, televisions, and computers. Public school is free, and anyone can get free medical care at any emergency room in the country. Almost all taxes are paid by the top 50% of income earners. The lower 50% pay essentially no income taxes, yet general dissatisfaction and anger are commonplace. The old slogan “It’s the economy, stupid,” just doesn’t seem to explain things…”
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In the 1780s, George Mason, a state leader in Virginia, opposed the Constitution and worked against its adoption by writing his own pamphlets. He was concerned that too much power would be concentrated in the new federal government and that individual rights
would not be protected. As you read note Mason’s remark, “In the House of Representatives there is not the substance but the shadow only of representation” and his objections to the structure of the judicial branch, one can see just how right he was in his objection. Although many concepts from his Master Draft of the ‘Bill of Rights’ were folded-in and adopted into the Constitution, it is interesting to note that this true patriot of individual liberty and sovereignty eerily foreshadowed our current political state as a “corrupt tyrannical Aristocracy”.
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In a rousing and provocative speech before the House, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) took the US government to the woodshed for decades of economic destruction both foreign and domestic by continiously printing and ‘enforcing’ the use of a debased fiat dollar by a military industrial complex. Paul patriotically echoes and connects the modern dots found in such infamous speeches as “President Jackson’s Veto Message Regarding the Bank of the United States”, “The Bankruptcy of The United States”, “Congressman McFadden on the Federal Reserve,” and of course, “President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Speech.”
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“…In a speech of less than 10 minutes, on January 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his political farewell to the American people on national television from the Oval Office of the White House. Those who expected the military leader and hero of World War II to depart his Presidency with a nostalgic, “old soldier” speech like Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s, were surprised at his strong warnings about the dangers of the “military-industrial complex.” As President of the United States for two terms, Eisenhower had slowed the push for increased defense spending despite pressure to build more military equipment during the Cold Was arms race. Nonetheless, the American military services and the defense industry had expanded a great deal in the 1950s. Eisenhower thought this growth was needed to counter the Soviet Union, but it confounded him. Though he did not say so explicitly, his standing as a military leader helped give him the credibility to stand up to the pressures of this new, powerful interest group. He eventually described it as a necessary evil…” — www.classbrain.com
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There are two themes from the speech which are particularly important. He urges Americans to unite for the good of the whole country. Two political factions that developed into political parties in the early 1790s were the Federalists, and the Democratic-Republicans. The Federalists backed Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton’s plan for a central bank and other strong central economic plan based on manufacturing while the Democratic-Republicans opposed the strong government inherent in the Hamiltonian plan, and favored farmers as opposed to manufacturers. The second theme consists of harsh words warning to avoid entanglements with foreign powers, particularly in Europe. A large part of this section of the address was derived, at least in part, from Washington’s fear that party factionalism would drag the United States into this fray. –Wikipedia
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Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850 – November 9, 1924), was a Republican statesman and noted historian. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (NOT the Council on Foreign Relations which I suspect was cleverly named to sound similar) he led the successful fight against American participation in the League of Nations proposed by President Woodrow Wilson at the close of World War I. Lodge did not believe The United States needed to be tangled with the “intrigues of Europe” and as he argues here in this speech given August 12, 1919, “Our first ideal is our country, and we see her in the future, as in the past, giving service to all her people and to the world. Our ideal of the future is that she should continue to render that service of her own free will.” This staunch nationalistic view was the key in keeping the United States out of Woodrow Wilson’s gloabalist League of Nations.
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Former Reagan administration official Alan Keyes was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Social and Economic Council and a 2000 Republican presidential candidate. Be sure to visit Alan Keyes’ communications center for founding principles, The Declaration Foundation. (As posted at WorldNetDaily.com)
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When a senator, congressman or any government employee, starts publicy announcing the truth, you can bet it will only be a matter of time before they will be discredited. Rep. James Traficant, Jr. (Ohio) was a Representative in the United States Congress from Ohio from 1985 to 2002 where he delivered the following speech, “The Bankruptcy of the United States” on the floor of Congress in 1993. After reading this speech, it was evident why he now occupies a jail cell in the Allenwood Federal Prison in White Deer, PA. He loudly proclaimed, “The United States Federal Government has been dissolved by the Emergency Banking Act, March 9, 1933, declared by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The receivers of the United States bankruptcy are the International bankers, via the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. All United States offices, officials and departments are now operating within a de facto status in name only under Emergency War Powers. This new form of government is known as a Democracy (instead of a Republic), being an established Socialist/Communist order under a new governor for America.” He alleged Corruption and Treason within the Justice Department and even requested FBI files on Janet Reno. He was most likely made an example of which I am sure many have not forgotten!
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This historic proclamation was issued by George Washington during his first year as President. It sets aside Thursday, November 26 as “A Day of Publick Thanksgiving anf Prayer.” Signed by Washington on October 3, 1789 and entitled “General Thanksgiving,” the decree appointed the day “to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.” While there were Thanksgiving observances in America both before and after Washington’s proclamation, this represents the first to be so designated by the new national government. After their first harvest, the colonists of the Plymouth Plantation held a celebration of food and feasting in the fall of 1621. Indian chiefs Massassoit, Squanto and Samoset joined in the celebration with ninety of their men in the three-day event. The first recorded Thanksgiving observance was held on June 29, 1671 at Charlestown, Massachusetts by proclamation of the town’s governing council. During the 1700s, it was common practice for individual colonies to observe days of thanksgiving throughout each year. A Thanksgiving Day two hundred years ago was a day set aside for prayer and fasting, not a day marked by plentiful food and drink as is today’s custom. Later in the 18th century each of the states periodically would designate a day of thanksgiving in honor of a military victory, an adoption of a state constitution or an exceptionally bountiful crop. Such a Thanksgiving Day celebration celebration was held in December of 1777 by the colonies nationwide, commemorating the surrender of British General Burgoyne at Saratoga. Later, on October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November as a national holiday. (As posted at earlyamerica.com)
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General Douglas MacArthur served in the U.S. Army most of his life, taking part in three major wars (World War I, World War II, Korean War) and rising to the rank of General of the Army, one of only five people to hold that rank in U.S. history. MacArthur remains one of the most controversial figures in American history. While greatly admired by many for his strategic and tactical brilliance and criticized by many for his actions in command. It is fitting to post this speech he made while accepting The Thayer Award on this day November 10, 2005 which marks the 230th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Yes you read it right, the USMC is celebrating more birthdays than the country…having been founded in 1775. I think MacArthur would have made a great a leader then as he did in the 20th century.
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On the last day of the Constitutional Convention, Pennsylvania delegate Benjamin Franklin, one of the few Americans of the time with international notoriety, rose to give a speech to the Convention prior to the signing of the final draft of the Constitution. Too weak to actually give the speech himself, he had fellow Pennsylvanian James Wilson deliver the speech. It is considered a masterpiece.
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The first time I learned about this speech was in a high school class called ‘Problems of Democracy’. As students we were required to read it, and I recall re-reading it at least one more time in a college political science course. Today, the media plays snippets from it–and the occasional documentary shows pieces of it. It seems everybody throughout the political spectrum quotes a part of this powerful address at one time or another. For the past year I have been studying many facets of current American politics and re-discovered this landmark communication a few days ago. I found myself amazed–many of the things we are led to believe by the two popular political parties about John F. Kennedy–and this speech–in particular are so skewed from what the words seem to suggest. It is now increasingly apparent to me that President Kennedy was in fact a true patriot, concerned about the American Republic, believing in individual God-given Liberty and each Citizen’s responsibility to that Liberty, supported an assembly of Sovereign states not a one world government, understood the reality that helping others is assisting them to help themselves, and finally proposed the expectation that we must lead by example by being aware of all these things.
Something worth mentioning but not in this speech is the Executive order 11110 President Kennedy signed that created interest-free government money, backed up by the silver reserve, contrary to the Federal Reserve money of today–President Kennedy also seemed to be following the Constitution!
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