'Freedom Is About Authority': Excerpts From Giuliani Speech on Crime

New York Times ^ | March 22, 2007

[Cincinatus' Wife]

...We constantly present the false impression that government can solve problems that government in America was designed not to solve. Families are significantly less important in the development of children today than they were 30 or 40 years ago. Religion has less influence than it did 30 or 40 years ago. Communities don't mean what they meant 30 or 40 years ago.

As Americans, we're not sure we share values. We're sometimes even afraid to use the word values. We talk about teaching ethics in schools -- people say, "What ethics? Whose ethics? Maybe we can't." And they confuse that with teaching of religion. And we are afraid to reaffirm the basics upon which a lawful and a decent society are based. We're almost embarrassed by it.

.... What we don't see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.

... The fact is that we're fooling people if we suggest to them the solutions to these very, very deep-seated problems are going to be found in government.

... They are going to have to be just as solid and just as strong in teaching every single youngster their responsibility for citizenship. We're going to find the answer when schools once again train citizens. Schools exist in America and have always existed to train responsible citizens of the United States of America.

If they don't do that, it's very hard to hold us together as a country, because it's shared values that hold us together.

[dirtboy]

What's to explain? His name says it all...Pork Duncan.

That's the name you gave him. Which doesn't jibe with reality.

Hunter publishes his earmarks, unlike most Congresscritters. And they are all defense-related. Items such as finding ways to counter IEDs in Iraq.

Try again.

[AuntB]

It falls under the "if you tell a lie often enough" theory.

Dirty politics.


No one yet has shown the 'pork'.

Here's information on 'porkers' and Hunter ain't there.

Here's the list since 2001 of the porkers of the month. Lots of R's and D's there, but no Duncan Hunter or House Armed Services Committe, which he headed .

They do show as porkers among many: Tommy Thompson, Sen. Robert Bennett, Sen. Joe Lieberman , Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison , Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) , Sen. John Thune,Reps. Tom DeLay , Sens. Hillary Clinton , Sen. Larry Craig

http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=news_porkerofthemonth_hallofshame

[NCSteve]

Classic rallying cry of the fascists. I've suspected as much all along.

[jmc813]

A fellow neolibertarian!!!

So "neoolibertarians" are cool with grabbing guns? If so, they're not libertarians at all.

[mugs99]

Hunter publishes his earmarks
LOL!!!
Titan Inc?
Titan Inc. is one of his biggest campaign contributors. Two of his "earmarks", the term "earmarks" is no longer in use, Go to Titan Inc, a very controversial defense contractor.

Hunter voted against Flake, the bill to stop pork earmarks...like the bridge to nowhere in Alaska.

Want more?
.

[mugs99]

No one yet has shown the 'pork'.

Titan Inc?
Want more?
.

[dirtboy]

Here is what Hunter did for Titan:

Despite strong objections from the Navy, House Armed Services Chairman Hunter added $25.7 million to the FY07 defense authorization bill to upgrade an experimental high-speed vessel based in San Diego and developed by one of his biggest political donors.

$25.7 mil makes Hunter the king of pork? That's absurd, dude. Even if it were pure pork (and Hunter has turned down other projects for companies in his district who donated to him), that's a pittance compared to most of the real porkers. As AuntB noted, Hunter has never made the leading porker reports. And he reveals what his earmarks are for, unlike the rest of the congresscritters out there.

[AuntB]

Show us what you've got that you're so proud of.

[Registered]

"I speak as a man of the world to men of the world; and I say to you, Search the Scriptures! The Bible is the book of all others, to be read at all ages, and in all conditions of human life; not to be read once or twice or thrice through, and then laid aside, but to be read in small portions of one or two chapters every day, and never to be intermitted, unless by some overruling necessity." -
John Quincy Adams

I wonder why he chose a lawbook to take the Presidential Oath of Office on rather than the Bible? Might as well and go ahead and categorize him as a Lefty like you do everyone else that disagrees with you. LOL.

[TheKidster]

You yourself agree that there is a system set up, it was set up by the people, and that system was set in place to set limitations on behavior that we deem unacceptable.

---

You are completely wrong. It wasn't set up to put restrictions on us, it was set up to place restrictions on Federal Government.

You do not understand the intent of the founders and you don't understand the basic nature and function of our constitution.

Basically, we are all born completely free and completely accountable for our actions. We loan some of our power to government and pool it so that we can be protected as individuals from nations, individuals, companies, etc. that would infringe upon our liberties through the use of unequal force.

Our rights don't come from the constitution, we are born with them. The constitution restricts government and protects our rights from govt. tyranny.

The misunderstanding illustrated in this post is why socialists like Rudy have popular support. His supporters mostly believe authority, power and rights come from govt. and that we need govt. to keep us safe from ouselves and our bad life choices.

True conservatives believe that govt. only infringes upon individual liberty and by its nature it is an enemy of liberty but a necessary evil for a civilized nation. It can never grant liberty, freedom or fairness. It can only grow, consolidate power and infringe upon your individual liberties, BY ITS VERY NATURE.

Rudy's statement comes from a statist mindset with the belief that govt. is the answer and statism is healthier than liberty.

[TheKidster]

Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do. It sounds nicer when she says it.

[TheKidster]

Yes. He's a social libertarian and a hawk. That's what I want in a President.

[Admin Moderator]

I have a question...If Hunter is such a favorite on this board, as some on this htread have claimed..why is that they leave him off the "POPULAR KEYORDS" list????

Keywords are added by posters, not by management, and are easily manipulated.

[beansox]

Thanks for the answer.

[Spyder]

And a sense of humor. even better.

[ellery]

Frankly, we won't have to worry about the gun grabbers much after the SCOTUS rules on the 2nd District case re: gun bans.

I disagree. Regardless of what the courts say about guns, the BATFE has a great deal of power to shut down gun sales. As the BATFE is part of the executive branch, it would be exceedingly dangerous to vote in an executive who is anti-RKBA. Check out more on the BATFE's malfeasance: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=batfe

[ellery]

Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.

Then why is Rudy grabbing guns and supporting restrictions on speech instead of ceding to the lawful authority of the Constitution? I guess that's the problem with authoritarians -- they think they make the law, and it's for other people to follow.

[Leatherneck_MT]

"Then why is Rudy grabbing guns and supporting restrictions on speech instead of ceding to the lawful authority of the Constitution? I guess that's the problem with authoritarians -- they think they make the law, and it's for other people to follow."

Because Rudy isn't a lover of freedom.

He's a totalitarian bent on control, anyone who believes that freedom is about surrendering authority to the Government is my enemy.

He no longer is just thinking different than I do, he's my blood sworn enemy.

[ellery]

I agree. I'm having a hard time even fathoming that someone would reduce blessed freedom to being "about authority." I mean, paints and pigments are made in part of clay, but what kind of pedant would say that the masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is "about dirt?"

These statements just turn the philosophy of our Founders on its head.

[mugs99]

Show us what you've got that you're so proud of.
Be nice, AuntB...You know We can't do that on FR.
.