His very prescient writings convince me that we are headed towards a Second American Revolution which will be necessary to protect what little freedoms and Liberties we still have in America. An ever growing, out of control Federal Government has become the BIGGEST danger facing our Republic. The Founding Fathers knew that we would come to this point in America.....how We the People respond to this unlawful, unconstitutional Imperial President and his supporters will decide the future of this great nation!

soft & nice hitman, chip off the usg block ("g" is for guidoment) on jefferson, etc...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

The enshrinement of compromises over slavery within the text of the Constitution was a congenital defect that eventually proved fatal. Beyond this, the imperfections in the Constitution are one and the same as the imperfections in ourselves: vanity, powerlust, rationalization, greed.

No compact can defend itself before the eyes of an uncaring public. And most people, given even a little, or even illusory, sugar in the form of loot will willingly swallow whole the most odious of policy prescriptions.

The reason is this: Their lusts seem more real to them than their natural prerogatives. And they somehow cannot in logic and reason connect the loss of their prerogatives to the pains they feel when their freedom to act is denied.

trojan horse "defects" - hollowed out compartments - are purposely manufactured, rather than congenital. if anything, the slavery "compromises" facilitated metastasis of enslavement. hummel's title hits it: "emancipating slaves, enslaving free men".....

Flawed like all of us, Jefferson still deserves the title of a great and visionary man. Thanks for the article. We would all do well do look more closely at how early some of the founders began to see failure in our great experiment. At least it might cause some to ponder the American Exceptionalist fog they live in.

One thing that I've always found a little disconcerting about Jefferson is that he was good at saying things that were logical and "right," but he never, ever went into harms way to actually "do" anything. During the Revolution, Jefferson went into hiding. Even 80 year old Ben Franklin took a commission as General to help plan a battle or two.

So, the statists took over long ago, they don't care about all of intellectually stimulating Jeffersonian rightness blogged on the internet, because that's about as much of a threat to their power as voting. Just sayin.

Having served in war, it became increasingly apparent that this line of duty is not meant for everyone. Just because Jefferson did not take the field does not mean he was a coward, but it may mean something you and I do not understand about the man. Though many fought in the revolutionary war, Jefferson and Adams seem to take the intellectual field on our behalf. For this, I am eternally grateful.

Many wish to fight and seem glorious in battle, but it is not as great as many people perceive it to be. War damages the soul of a man, something he must live with from day to day, baggage if you will. All the thoughts of "should have" or "I wish" forever haunt the mind.

The real illusion in all of this is the Constitution itself. As Americans we wrap ourselves in the flag and look at this wonderful thing that was created. Like Lysander Spooner said, "But whether the Constitution really be one thing,
or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a
government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In
either case it is unfit to exist.”
At what point do we de-legitimize this, as a ruse to make people THINK they have freedom?

Rob,
My answer to your question would be that the mess we're born into is right and natural providing we don't expect it to be something it plainly isn't and can't ever be while we remain cosmic duds. It's a foil against which we hone our character, or soul. It's a process we might call de-dudifying ourselves. You don't test a soldier's merit by sitting him at a desk. Once we see the beauty of the calamity we've created for ourselves, we can get busy with the polishing. The biggest problem to be met there is that the great bulk of humanity will think you're weird. They may even get so upset that your life may be taken from you. That will mean the polish job was as good as it gets.

Weird? One of the great strengths of this country is it's legitimacy of freedom from the Founding Fathers establishing libertarian(classical liberal) beliefs. The fact is, that we have gone 180 degrees in the opposite direction towards collectivism and fascism. Through the dumbing-down in our education system and mass-media propaganda, we have sustained the myths. The legitimacy is being worn away through a growing police state, higher taxes, inflation, less financial freedom, etc. "An idea whose time has come is stronger than any standing army". The fact that the chains of tyranny are becoming tighter while we basque in our supposed freedom is becoming ever more obvious.

'Supposed freedom' is right. Freedom is an attitude of mind, not something a Constitution, a Bill of Rights, a President or Congress can assure you have. It's in the mind and all we need to do is draw it out. Instead we look around outside us. We're bound to fail. So we become neurotic and fear-filled. It's no way to live, or even subsist. Dogs do it better.
Here's some good advice from 800 years ago:

"Take someone who doesn't keep score,
who's not looking to be richer, or afraid
of losing, who has not the slightest interest
even in his own personality: he's free.”
―Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (aka Rumi)

Oh, Laura Lee, give us a break. This is what almost all religions prognosticate. Islam says this in a different way, but yet it is condemned in America because it's viewed by Christians as having the intention to take over the world. Is that not what Christianity also teaches? How does a Christian come to disdain other religions such as Islam when Islam is directly derived from both Judaism and Christianity; same God, same beliefs vis a vis the beatitudes and the God of the old Testament at once? All religions are man made. Some of it in the hope to satisfactorily explain the unknowns in the world and the balance of belief relies on faith for that which is incomprehensible.

Laure Lee,

I don't know which Jesus you're referring to, but the one I know of didn't go along with this grace bit. That was devised well after his mission was abruptly terminated. He was the second Existentialist (Socrates being the first). He came with a sword, and it had no truck with saving people from their sins or forgiveness. None of that is compatible with the achievement of self-government he preached. We earn our forgiveness by making reparation for the sin we've committed. In other words, we reverse-engineer our devious deed until the offended party starts to smile a bit. The Catholic Church came up with the promise of a free lunch (the confessional farce) in exchange for submission. It was just one plank in a platform of gaining control of the minds of the mass of men. I find it incredible that people still go with that today.

There won't be any miracles other than the ones you create for yourself. As the quantum physicists all agreed, all is mindstuff now (since about 1901, with Max Planck). All the rest we paddle around in is pure illusion and self-deception. They were beaten to the punch on that by the fellow said (erroneously, the scholars say) to have traipsed up and down Palestine. Whether he was real or not is irrelevant. The Sermon on the Mount was the best modern psychology ever recorded. Alas, it also holds the dubious title of the most ignored tract of human wisdom on the public record. Go figure.

Greg,
1 more thing, the Catholic church I snot universally approved. The farce you mention was the genesis of Martin Luther's reformation and the beginning of the protestant church. Now I admit, unfortunately many of todays protestant churches have drifted back towards catholic and legalist Judaism.

"He came with a sword, and it had no truck with saving people from their sins or forgiveness."

I hope you are not referring to a metal sword used for aggression, rather a spiritual sword.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

~~ nor do i know which "Jesus" you refer to--p'r'aps a Mexican amigo?
Speaking in circles as you do, i dont believe you know much about the Jesus of the Bible. The Bible speaks "Grace" to us from the presentation page to the maps section. The two-edged sword refers to the Spirit and the Word of God, which signifies it is a spiritual battle for the minds of men we are engaged in, and there is no "fence" or neutral ground for anybody. You are either on the side of The Lord Jesus Christ, or Satan's.

We're not discussing churches here, whether the Roman Catholic, Protestant, or any other visible, physical man-made sect, cult, or denomination. Altho you appear to believe the physical realm we all know and love--our comfort zone--is all there be to life.

My friend, you can not be more ignorant of the Truth of the purpose and meaning of life, than when you claim Jesus is not relevant. The "terminated mission of Jesus" you refer to was prophesied about by dozens of "early iron-age men" (Blank Reg's comment) over centuries of time, and to lay claim to such an absurdity in the face of historical discoveries in many disciplines is to reveal the extent to which you and many others continue to "...paddle around in...pure illusion and self-deception...

Like the rest of us, you are going to have to wait till death. However I do agree, Christians could make this world a much better place although not heaven. This world will never be Heaven.

John 18:36

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

Far too many supposed followers of Jesus are adherents of the warfare/welfare state. They even boo Ron Paul when he suggests that our foreign policy should look more like the golden rule. When they begin to emulate the Prince of Peace more than sycophants of earthly kings, maybe I will consider taking them seriously.

The last caucus I Was at, the CC came out in full force to shutdown Paul and uplift santorum, lol. These people don't want a personal relationship with Christ, they want a totalitarian theocracy lead by men who worship false idols.

~~ you're wasting your time thinking about "taking "them" seriously. the purpose of our lives here on earth is to take Jesus Christ seriously --

Matthew10:28 -- "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

FEAR: φοβέω phobeō fob-eh'-o From G5401;
to frighten, that is, (passively) to be alarmed; by analogy to be in awe of, that is, revere: - be (+ sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence.
(thanks to: Rick Meyers ~~ www.e-sword.net)

~~ unlike Laura, i CAN relate to all those who think the state is god; i "assumed" it to be, back inna day, but could never figger out why my "lower-middle-class" parents, who worked all their lives, were living in a hovel in Lancaster oHIo back inna '60's when i came back to the states for a vacation. it took me several years to wrap my head round the Truths of our purposed existence on this ol balla dirt we call "home".

Much of the probs of "the church" today can be traced to several things, but one of the biggest, which NObody seems to address these days, is "INCORPORATION" as a 501 (c) (3) creation of, and under the dominant control of, the state system.

I've been called a communist, traitor, and skuckin bum fag, and asked, told, & encouraged in several ways to leave the country if i didnt like it, over the past 50+ years.. Of all the thousands of folk i've talked to, only a couple have returned and told me i wuz spot on in my prophesying. But i rest me in the thot: "it aint about me" -- Galatians 2:20 !!

Hey Presbys,
Hang in there, sunshine. Sounds like you gotta brain and a soul. It takes cheek and a spotta gall to use em the way you do, but I can thinkuv another bod who did likewise and turned out alright even if the conformist mob didn't think so. You've created a self, which is tantamount to Self. That's more than most of us can say. Look after it. Treasure it. It's all you'll ever have that counts for anything because it's the only thing eternal about you.

So, in short, the message here is if one can stop being a puppet Type B and become a Puppet Type A, like you, all will be well because we'll be saved. What's this morbid fascination with puppetry we humans have? What's this aversion to being real flesh and spirit Jefferson's model of democracy required? Why this obsession with clapped-out, millennia-old, man-made Scripture? Legs are meant for standing up in strength, fearless, not kneeling down in submission, cringing. I might believe a small fraction of what you say if you'd just stop telling us what God wants and doesn't want. You don't know. Nobody knows. What unmitigated arrogance and pride! What sanctimonious drivel! Nobody wants to listen to crackpots, especially 'Godsent' crackpots. Spare us, please. Show some respect. You're on the wrong blog here.

We're all on a mission of discovery of what is. You've stopped the coach at the first relay station and want the rest of us to get out and join you in celebrating your borrowed, unoriginal, infantile, fundamentalist view of where we might have gone had we stayed in the coach. You can't sell ideas in this manner. You turn customers away. I'd leave it alone and try something you're good at. There must be something.

I don't seek authority over you, just your boring the arse off us on this blog. You're a blatherer, and it's tedious. Go away. I promise to do the same.

Shared sentiment, grieving over misplaced loyalty.

You guy are not alone, I am a Christian libertarian who understands Romans 13 is a strict limitation on government rather than encouragement to turn a blind eye...

Christian libertarian?! The central idea of libertarianism is that people should be permitted to run their own lives as they wish. The central idea of Christianity is that you subscribe to the doctrines of the Christian Church; things like the Ten Commandments and what have you. There's nothing libertarian about the content of the stone tablets. If you're a libertarian as well as a Christian, don't you see the dilemma you've created for yourself? There's this cake, see. You're obliged to either eat it or hang onto it. Well ... don't keep us in suspense.

No dilemma whatsoever ever. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Law, I now live by faith, saved by grace. No doctrines at all. I don't worry about others and how they live, that is up to them to figure out. I am pretty busy removing my plank... Seems like you are more worried about how Christians should live. See the dilemma you have created...
Matthew 7:3-5
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

In simple terms Paul says in Romans 13 government is only here to punish evil and commended goodness, to this they attend 24/7/365.
So to me, any time government acts in opposition to the above mandate, they are not a government, therefore I must not submit.

Nothing like a healthy dose of breathless evangelical dispensationalism to stimulate the discussion. Dumbass.

H. L. would really be proud of the dumbass using his name.

hl would've written it better. nobody ever wrote much of anything better. but he'd have had no problem with the sentiment.

I'm a fan of HL. He wrote well, and could therefore get away with a bit of self-indulgence. He demonstrated the maxim that when you do something well, people will give you a bit of rope. Some rope is also ideal for the less articulate to hang themselves.

i'd say mencken plaited his own lariats, roped bovines far & wide & at will. but as always, context, accidents/exigencies of time/place allowed him to do his thing w/o getting strung up or stampede trampled, attaining the survivorship that feeds the bias.

Indeed, the universe is too much a vast and awe-inspiring place to be left to the simplistic, anthropomorphic explanations in a book written by ignorant early iron-age men as a means of social control. That's why the Gary North's of the world are scared of us finding even a single microbe on places like Mars or Europa. Never mind another entire world orbiting a distant star.

~~ yo -- the "Book" is still here, after thousands of years; where you gonna be, in just a few years or a decade or so? meanwhile, the "state" system has us $pending trillion$ on space travel, trillion$ on this, trillion$ on that, and we're living like paupers while the fat-cat Mattoids who "lead" us are taking their ease.
But is continue to rest me in the thot and promise:
Luke 16:19-31; Matthew 19:30: &c....

The money spent on space travel is a drop in the bucket compared to the amounts spent killing and oppressing. At least space exploration, at its base, is an expression of man's curiosity to know what is just beyond the horizon. My beef with government funding it is that it is all done with blood money.

"at base" it was, remains, a states' race to militarize, take the highest of the high ground.

For the state, yes. But for the average person who looks to the stars, and supports the state's space program, it is about space exploration. But isn't that my whole point? The political is destructive.

"and supports the state's space program" is an average dupe tho, right? politics is just a method; authoritarianism is destructive. but, authority is not only imposed, it is sought. see those two in close embrace together & realize that man, generally, is destructive.

Fund your own space travel, soothe your own curiosity's. I found my answers, they are in the Bible. I don't need space travel nor a super collider to bring me peace.

So, any anaesthetic will do. Hmmmm.