Posted on 10/23/2001 8:48:28 AM PDT by sendtoscott
May I suggest "Stalin Man", "Mao Man", or "Hitler Man" instead?
As an example of why you are "mis-named", Ronald Reagan knows that the US Constitution does not grant any rights. It merely enumerates those unalienable rights that are granted by the Creator. You are not free to own a firearm because some document grants you this right. You are free to "keep and bear arms" because you possess the right to self-defense.
Please, change your screen name!
Hard to tell, at least you've kept it polite which is more than a lot do here.
you seem to indicate a significant level of fear and indignation. If I'm reading you wrong, please correct meI am deeply concerned that the federal governmnet will turn even more tyrannical than it is. I remember growing up in '50s without 95% of the federal government that we have today. We didn't have to lock our doors, you could buy firearms at the hardware store, and the overall tax burden was considerable less. Since then the government has extorted a significant fraction of my total life's work, burdened me with hundreds of thousands of pages of federal regulations that I can go to jail for, and worked very hard to make sure I'm defenseless.
My life is not any better not that it was then because of anything the government did. Any improvements came from private industry. The car I drive now has 40 hp less than the one I had in '65, and cost almost 8 times as much thanks primarily to federal regulations. I pay about half of my income to government at all levels, a figure which creeps up every year. And what do I get for it. I government that can't keep a bunch of arabs from destroying innocent civilians. Now the selfsame government that has grown fat on the backs of working Americans is whining that it needs more powers. Well no one killed 5000 American civilians in the '60s (although I did get to learn about M-16s, L shaped ambushes, grenades and all that crap at government expense during that decade) Frankly I think we'd be better off if they got rid of some of the huge bureaucracy that they have to micro-mismanage our lives and devoted some of those resources to:
I don't believe America is on the road to becoming a totalitarian state
I disagree here. Gun control, Internal passports, government carte blanche to pry into every fact about you, secret trials, asset seizure without trial, etc. is totalitarianism.
And lastly, (Ben F.)I believe his outlook on things would be much different
I disagree on this too. Human nature is exactly the same as it was in 1776. The nature of government is the same too, except King George would never dream of looting a much as government in the US loots today. If they were able to see us today, I think the founding fathers would turn from us in disgust at how we squandered the freedom that they bought with their lives their fortunes and their sacred honor.
So am I, but I can't find any 81mm :-(
You have taken issue with Franklin's warning against trading liberty for security. It seems you are willing to give up at least some liberties.
That does not mean you approve of tyranny or oppose the Constitution. In your response to zeugma, you wrote,
Having said that, it's still very important that we the people, also protect and defend our Constitutional rights. It's a serious balancing act. Surrendering our individual rights isn't acceptable. But the giving of some additional time and a little privacy in order to help fight terrorism is a very patriotic thing to do. IMHO, of course!
The problem is that the "serious balancing act" you propose is difficult -- perhaps impossible -- to pull off. Once the federal government is allowed to exceed the bounds set for it by the Constitution, it resists being pushed back. Governments are never satisfied with the citizen's sacrifice of a little time and a little privacy (which are themselves important rights); their tendency is always to demand more.
And we have a real leader, his name is President George W.Bush. If you don't like it, too bad! Work to get someone else elected POTUS in 2004. Until then, shut up.
Yep. The death of America is speeding up.
The real question is what are you babbling about?
To compare the revolutionary world of 1776 to the terrorist world of 2001, shows either sheer ignorance, or pure folly on your part. The "Tories" have little in common to 21st century terrorists. If you can't see the differences, thats your problem.
No, I'll stick with Reagan Man. Thanks anyway a-hole!
Sport, you flamed me on a thread the other day, and I ignored you, because it's my habit to ignore ignorant people.
The fact is, that if you truly believe what you spout, you're either a) on the wrong side or b) a clueless sheep. I'm supposing it's only b). I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
I've been actively involved in the fight to keep What's Left of America free for many many years. The Bill of Rights is essentially dead, and is ignored almost totally by our "rulers." You don't think so? Then you haven't been watching. This once-great nation has become EXACTLY what the men who founded it feared and tried so hard to prevent by the Constitution they wrote and its attendant Bill of Rights. And it's only getting worse.
Sadly, most Americans, just like most Germans several decades ago, will only wake up when it's far too late.
As for it being "war time," so we "need to give up some liberties" - never forget that Evil rides in on the back of a white horse.
Ronald Reagan and Reagan Man both know that it's not called the Bill of Rights for nothing bucko.
Please, change your screen name already a-hole!
Unfortunately, you are correct. Sad, isn't it?
And Japanese pilots committed an act of war at Pearl Harbor. In response, it is Congress's constitutional duty (if you 'conservatives' can remember what that is) to declare war.
We don't need Congress to declare anything
Why does the Constitution require Congress to do so? Does the Constitution mean anything to 'conservatives' anymore?
We are at war with international terrorism. Period! Your rhetoric means nothing.
Maybe this should mean something:
Article. I., Section. 8., Clause 11: "To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water"
As you said, z., no can do here either.
The people who built this country were FAR wiser than we are today. They were educated, well-spoken, and they understood world history and human nature. Franklin and Jefferson and Sam Adams and many more were RIGHT. It's a pity that today they are thought of so lowly by ignorant people who can't hold a fraction of a candle to their intellect, understanding and reason. It'd actually be laughable, if the stakes weren't so deadly serious.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.