“Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? It is feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. …[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.”

-A Pennsylvanian, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 20 February 1788

This quote courtesy of Founder’s Quote Daily, a service of The Patriot Post, the conservative journal of record. To subscribe, click HERE.

“We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.”

-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Samuel Kercheval, 12 July 1816

I found this quick quote to be especially relevant given the ‘Economic Stimulus Bill’ currently in debate in the US Senate which carries a price tag currently in excess of $900 Billion ($900,000,000,000).  Yes, that is a nine with eleven zeros after it – an enormous mountain of debt that the current liberal leadership wishes to saddle us and our children with.

download Disgrace movie

“Strive to be the greatest man in your country, and you may be disappointed. Strive to be the best and you may succeed: he may well win the race that runs by himself.”

“Wish not so much to live long as to live well.”

-Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1746

On December 23, 1776, patriot Thomas Paine penned Common Sense, a series of tracts concerning the American Revolution.  His writings stirred the colonists to strengthen their resolve, resulting in the first successful anticolonial action in modern history.

This is but a portion of paragraph one, The Crisis Part 1.

THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

Common Sense is powerfully written, full of depth, meaning and patriotic sentiment.   While we are certainly not fighting a war of revolution today, the words are just as pertinent as they were 232 years ago.

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever.”

-Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 18, 1781

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.”

—George Washington, First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789

Note:  In this day and age where the “politically correct” so loudly declare the imagined mandate of “Separation of church and state” (which never appears within the United States Constitution or any other formative or directive government document) it is enlightening to see one of our most beloved founding fathers so clearly stating his belief in God in of all things the first ever Presidential Inaugural Address.

“It is of great importance to set a resolution, not to be shaken, never to tell an untruth. There is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible; and he who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and a third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world’s believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good disposition.”

—Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August, 19 1785

Quote courtesy of The Patriot Post

“Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.”
-James Madison, Federalist No. 10

Today is election day in the United States of America.  If you are a US citizen, please take the time to fulfill your civic dury and cast your vote.

“Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”   – Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776)

“Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: ‘Tis onse step more to think one vote will do no harm.”    - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people.  Of course, that is not true.  Decisions are madeby a majority of thsoe who make themselves heard and who vote – a very different thing.”   - Walter H. Judd

“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”   – Theodore Roosevelt

“Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don’t vote.”   – William E. Simon

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.”

- Thomas Paine (The Crisis, no. 4, 11 September 1777)