All courtesy of Brainyquote:

A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.

All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree.

America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.

Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.

By rendering the labor of one, the property of the other, they cherish pride, luxury, and vanity on one side; on the other, vice and servility, or hatred and revolt.

I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent
encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpation’s.

It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.

Madison was one of the founding fathers whose contributions to the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the nation, were prodigious.  He was the author and primary proponent of the Bill of Rights.

Madison served in Congress, as Secretary of State to Jefferson, and was the first Congressman to be elected President.

His wife Dolley set the standard for future first ladies (serving in that role unofficially for Thomas Jefferson during his administration as well).

Tags: Madison, wisdom

A big Shout Out to all the Veterans out there.

The American Veteran is a Liberator.  A friend to the oppressed; an enemy to the oppressor.

Courtesy of Military.Com, here is a history of Veterans Day:

Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938,November 11 was “dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’” As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.

In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress — at the urging of the veterans service organizations — amended the Actof 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, Nov. 11became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

In 1968, the Uniforms Holiday Bill ensured three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. Under this bill, Veterans Day was moved to the last Monday of October. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holiday on its original date. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on Oct. 25, 1971.

Finally on September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of Nov. 11, beginning in 1978. Since then, the Veterans Day holiday has been observed on Nov. 11.

There is a lot more good information and background there.  Please stop by.

And while you are enjoying this holiday, please remember those who have served, and those that serve today.

Tags: Veterans

Courtesy of the Guardian UK:

Nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power 20,000 homes will be on sale within five years, say scientists at Los Alamos, the US government laboratory which developed the first atomic bomb.

The miniature reactors will be factory-sealed, contain no weapons-grade material, have no moving parts and will be nearly impossible to steal because they will be encased in concrete and buried underground.

The reactors, only a few metres in diameter, will be delivered on the back of a lorry to be buried underground. They must be refuelled every 7 to 10 years. Because the reactor is based on a 50-year-old design that has proved safe for students to use, few countries are expected to object to plants on their territory. An application to build the plants will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission next year.

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

Of course, I can see Energy Secretary Gore, of the Obama Administration, disallowing the use of these units in the United States, until we have a “solution” to the waste storage issue.  Of course, that requires that he, Like Pres-Elect Obama, ignores the $Billions that we tax payers have already spent on the Yucca Mountain facility.  But Senator Palpatine Harry Reid, (D – Caesar’s Palace), doesn’t like Yucca Mountain, so it’s a no go.

Tags: Nukes

Yeah, that’s right, Newt for President.

Like Reagan in the late 70′s, Gingrich is the spirit of Conservatism is the early 21st century.

Even if he chooses not to run for the Presidential nomination, he must certainly be intimately involved in reforming and re-energizing the GOP and the Conservative movement.

Spend some time at his website.  You’ll like it…

Tags: Newt

->  It should be glaringly obvious at this point that – as distasteful as it is, and what it says about our society – a winning candidate for President needs to be telegenic.  The more telegenic the candidate, the less substance they need to have to their platform.  I think the new generation of GOP leaders has this covered, from Palin, Steele, Jindal (ok, not quite so much), Romney and others.

->  For the most part, the election returns confirm that solid conservatives are still winning elections, and the country is still a right of center country.  But being a RINO (or Squishy Republican) is a recipe for roadkill.  You can’t out-Liberal a Democrat.  Again, the backbench seems to have it down.

->  There are 15 Democrat and 19 Republican Senate seats up for election in 2010.  It is imperative that the GOP begin placing candidates today, and building a coherent POSITIVE message.  Don’t even THINK of running against Obama; run against the excesses and mistakes of the left, with a message of positive steps, and, to appropriate the word: Change.  You can be sure the Democrats are already calculating how they can get a filibuster proof majority in the Senate…

->  The GOP needs to bring some of the old hands from 1994 back, to help in crafting what should, in essence, be a new Contract with America.  But this time, it should be somewhat more long term.  The Contract was a wonderful idea, but once the line items were exhausted, the Republicans got fat, lazy, and overwhelmed by ability to spend money.  A new Contract – call it a Compact for America, perhaps – should spell concrete legislative actions, and bind all signatories to pledges to fight any and all earmarks, change the tax code to a fair tax/flat tax/anything but the IRS, and other positive steps to make life better for America, while reducing government interference in our lives.

->  The GOP MUST learn to tap the Internet.  There is a huge pool of Internet and New Media savvy people on the Conservative side.  The GOP needs to bring these people into the fold, not to duplicate the lefts efforts, but to surpass them.  It is obvious that the traditional media is nothing more than an organ of the Left at this point.  Efforts need to be made to wage 21st century campaigns using 21st century media.

->  The GOP must immediately cease and desist from participating in any primary or caucus process that is open to non-party members.  Participating in open primaries is what saddled us with McCain in the 2008 campaign.  The GOP must regain control of it’s nominating process.  Imagine, if Romney – the successful business man – had been the nominee when the Demcrat time bomb at Fannie Mae/Fredddie Mac exploded.  It would have been an entirely different race.

Tags: 2010

Tags: Overlords

The longest Presidential campaign in memory is now over.

Of course, the 2012 campaign starts tomorrow, regardless of the outcome tonight.

I believe that both Obama and Palin are already thinking about the next cycle, at least in concept, though the results of today’s voting will affect which one is running as the incumbent (well, VP, in Palin’s case), and which as the “rematch” candidate.

You can bet that Hillary Clinton is already putting her team together to challenge for the Democrat nomination.  I’d be surprised if Mitt Romney was not also having those planning sessions. And you can be sure that Bobby Jindal will also be looking for the GOP nod.

I suspect that it is going to be a long night, in any case.