Free Republic

"No free man shall ever be debarred from the use of arms." Who said that? Some right wing zealot, clinging to his “guns or religion,” a lifetime member of the NRA who takes the Second Amendment seriously and believes that it means exactly what is says? No, that statement, among others concerning America's constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms, was made by an internationally recognized intellectual, founder of a university, statesman, farmer, businessman, diplomat, eloquent author of our most meaningful federal papers and two term President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The quote was in Jefferson’s first three drafts...

There is an old worn out cliché of a political joke that goes, "How can you tell when a politician is lying? His lips are moving." And while this is somewhat overstating the situation, lately, it seems that every few days we are reminded that all too often it's true. Of course, this is nothing new and follows no strata of government or party line and, unfortunately, is fairly common at city halls, state legislatures and is not unknown on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue.