I use the name "gitmo" because I grew up in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during the late 50's through the mid 60's. We were there during the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missle Crisis. 'Twas a great place for kids to grow up.

The basis for the USA:"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government…. We have staked the future upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God."-James Madison

Liberty and virtue: Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. -John Adams

Prayer: ‎"Prayer is not getting man's will done in heaven, but getting God's will done on earth. It is not overcoming God's reluctance but laying hold of God's willingness." - Richard C. Trench

Re: Liberty and virtue (again): Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is the truest friend of the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue. -Samuel Adams

Re: The Resurrection: “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.” -Chuck Colson

Re: Treating people nice: Be careful, the toes you step on today are attached to the ass you will have to kiss tomorrow. -Morgan (FR)

The role of the People in this nation: We the People are the rightful master of both congress and the courts - not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." --Abraham Lincoln (Political debates between Lincoln and Douglas), 1858

How will the United States fare? Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings, which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others. - Patrick Henry wrote this on the back of the resolves passed in the House of Burgesses in May, 1765.

The purpose of government: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. -The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

Resolve:Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong -President Ronald Reagan

Government role in the family (USSR): Article 53 [Family, Marriage]

(1) The family enjoys the protection of the state.

(2) Marriage is based on the free consent of the woman and the man; the spouses are completely equal in their family relations.

(3) The state helps the family by providing and developing a broad system of child-care institutions, by organizing and improving communal services and public catering, by paying grants on the birth of a child, by providing children's allowances and benefits for large families, and other forms of family allowances and assistance.

Republicans and Democrats: Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15. -- President Ronald Reagan

Tyranny: I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every from of tyranny over the mind of man. - Thomas Jefferson

Nanny State Tyranny: "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C. S. Lewis

The way things are:Things are more like they are now than they ever were before. -Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms: No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort against tyranny in government. -Thomas Jefferson

American form of government:A republic, if you can keep it. The response is attributed to Benjamin Franklin at the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, when queried as he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation—in the notes of Dr. James McHenry, one of Maryland’s delegates to the Convention.

GospelAugustine said, "If you believe what you like in the gospels and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself."

Freedom is expensive: These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. -Thomas Jefferson (First Inaugural Address)

It's too late: America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards. From the book: — 101 Things to Do ‘Til the Revolution (1996)

Independence day: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. -John Adams in a letter to his wife Abigail

Founding Father on our foundations:"I have always considered Christianity as the strong ground of republicanism." -Benjamin Rush

On atrocities: “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” - Voltaire

On Hope: If I have distressing apprehensions.. I am supported.. by a confidence, that the most gracious Being, who has hitherto watched over the interests and averted the perils of the United States, will never suffer so fair an inheritance speak to become a prey to anarchy, despotism, or any other species of oppression. -George Washington 1789.

On the Free Market: If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand. -Milton Friedman

Leftist definition of Peace: Peace is the absence of resistance to Marxism/Socialism - Vladimir Lenin

Defending Liberty: Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined...The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun. -Patrick Henry

Moderation: A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice. -Thomas Paine

The Free Market: Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. -Milton Friedman

The Origin or Rights: The Sacred Rights of Mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power. -Alexander Hamilton

Laws: "Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with." ('Atlas Shrugged' 1957)

Time flies:Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana - Groucho Marx

imagineImagine a world with no hypothetical situations.

Concensus: Consensus is the negation of leadership -Margeret Thatcher

A Reagan Great:Well....there you go again... President Ronald Reagan

Guns and children: The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power

Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world ...

The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come is to teach men to shoot! -Theodore Roosevelt

On cowards and those who enslave others: Every Rebel guerrilla and jayhawker, every man who ran to Canada to avoid the draft, every bounty-hunter, every deserter, every cowardly sneak that ran from danger and disgraced his flag, every man who loves slavery and hates liberty. . .and every villain, of whatever name or crime, who loves power more than justice, slavery more than freedom, is a Democrat. - James A. Garfield, 1866

Appeasement:No man escapes when freedom fails, the best men rot in filthy jails, and those that cried appease, appease, are hanged by those they tried to please. -Horace Mann (1796-1859)

RE:John Kerry ''His vote against the first Gulf War was, he says, a sign of his support for the first Gulf War. Whereas his vote in favor of the Iraq war was a sign of his opposition to the Iraq war. And his vote against funding America's troops in Iraq is a sign of his support for America's men and women in uniform. On the same principle, I think the best way voters this November can demonstrate their support for John Kerry is by voting against him.'' -Mark Steyn

On government restraint: The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests. - Patrick Henry

On enumerated powers: The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. James Madison, Federalist Papers No. 45

Inscription on the Liberty Bell: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto the inhabitants thereof." Leviticus 25:10

Beauty:Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms: The leaders of my country are as afraid of your 200 million private firearms as they are of your ICBMs. Never give up your guns. -Arkady Shevchenko, the highest ranking Soviet official to defect to the West

RE: Free Trade and the democRat party: There is this difference, however. Republicans are principled free traders, while the Democratic Party, as a wag put it a while ago, is simply a gathering of warring tribes that have come together in the anticipation of common plunder. Pat Buchanan

Churchill put it in 1936, "So they [the Government] go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent."

Dangerous Times:If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace –Thomas Paine

RE: Loss of Freedom: I believe that there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. -James Madison

Loss of Liberty: It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much to forget it. James Madison

Liberalism:Liberalism is a faux compassion that condescends at best and subjugates at worse. Senator Jesse Helms, 12/09

On Debt: There is no practice more dangerous than of borrowing money; for when money can be had in this way, repayment is seldom thought of in time, the interest becomes a loss, exertions to raise it by dent of industry cease, it comes easy and is spent freely and many things are indulged in that would never be thought of if to be purchased by the sweat of the brow. -George Washington

On Debt (foolish words): Now, people when I say that people look at me and say, 'What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?' The answer is yes, that's what I'm telling you. -Joe Biden

On Constitutional Interpretation "On every question of construction of the Constitution, let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invent against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." -Thomas Jefferson

Good men in government: It is tempting to believe that social evils arise from the activities of evil men and that if only good men (like ourselves, naturally) wielded power, all would be well... To understand why it is that "good" men in positions of power will produce evil, while ordinary man without power but able to engage in voluntary cooperation with his neighbours will produce good, requires analysis and thought, subordinating the emotions to the rational faculty. -Milton Freedman Aug. 15, 1994 (from a column in the International Herald Tribune)

Where power should reside in government: Government power must be dispersed. If government is to exercise power, better in the county than in the state, better in the state than in Washington. [Because] if I do not like what my local community does, I can move to another local community... if I do not like what my state does, I can move to another. [But] if I do not like what Washington imposes, I have few alternatives in this world of jealous nations. -Milton Freedman (Capitalism and Freedom 1962

On the Freedom of the Press: The only security of all is in a Free Press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary to keep the waters pure. -Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette 1823.

Arguing with liberals and other idiots: It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into -Jonathan Swift

On liberty and Christianity: "The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other…. If any hold that the religious spirit which I admire is the very thing most amiss in America…I can only reply that those who hold this language have never been in America and that they have never seen a religious or a free nation." -Alexis de Tocqueville 1830

Freedom:The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. -- John Stuart Mill

Tyranny: It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains -Patrick Henry

Liberty is a gift of God: 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? -Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson's theology: My views…are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from the anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he wished anyone to be, sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others… -Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, dated April 21, 1803 voicing his opinion on religion.

Design: Everything works great ‘til the current flows.

The Women's Movement:I love the Women's Movement, especially when viewed from behind. -Rush Limbaugh

On democRats in Congress: “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

RE: Limiting the powers of government: The history of liberty is a history of the limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it. - Woodrow Wilson

On Liberty: We stand in danger of losing our liberties, and . . . once lost, only blood will bring them back . . . -J. Reuben Clark, Jr.

God and Man The fool asks if God is on his side. The wise man asks if he is on God's side. -me

Separation of Church and State It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors. -- George Washington (Thanksgiving Proclamation, 3 October 1789) -- Reference: George Washington: A Collection, W.B. Allen, ed. (543)

Separation of Church and StateArticle 52 [Religion]

(1) Citizens of the USSR are guaranteed freedom of conscience, that is, the right to profess or not to profess any religion, and to conduct religious worship or atheistic propaganda. Incitement of hostility or hatred on religious grounds is prohibited.

(2) In the USSR, the church is separated from the state, and the school from the church.

-Constitution of the USSR

Freedom: Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! -Address to the Virginia Convention 23 March 1775 by Patrick Henry

Truth: Men stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up as if nothing had happened. -Winston Churchill

Education: “I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uhmmm, some people out there in our nation don't have maps and uh, I believe that our, I, education like such as, uh, South Africa, and uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uhhh, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, should help South Africa, it should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future, for us.” -Caitlin Upton Miss Teen South Carolina 2007

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms: It is impossible to invade the mainland of The United States, there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass. - WWII Japanese Admiral Yamamoto (mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor)

The Left is based on lies: The thing I like best about being a conservative is that I don’t have to lie. I don’t have to pretend that men and women are the same. I don’t have to declare that failed or oppressive cultures are as good as mine. I don’t have to say that everyone’s special or that the rich cause poverty or that all religions are a path to God. I don’t have to claim that a bad writer like Alice Walker is a good one or that a good writer like Toni Morrison is a great one. I don’t have to pretend that Islam means peace. -Andrew Klavan [The Big White Lie spring 2007]

God and the United States: Can liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed the conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever. -Thomas Jefferson

George Washington's first priority was serving God Almighty and Jesus Christ as Lord: Almighty God, and most merciful father, who didst command the children of Israel to offer a daily sacrifice to thee, that thereby they might glorify and praise thee for thy protection both night and day, receive, O Lord, my morning sacrifice which I now offer up to thee; I yield thee humble and hearty thanks that thou has preserved me from the danger of the night past, and brought me to the light of the day, and the comforts thereof, a day which is consecrated to thine own service and for thine own honor. Let my heart, therefore, Gracious God, be so affected with the glory and majesty of it, that I may not do mine own works, but wait on thee, and discharge those weighty duties thou requirest of me, and since thou art a God of pure eyes, and wilt be sanctified in all who draw near unto thee, who doest not regard the sacrifice of fools, nor hear sinners who tread in thy courts, pardon, I beseech thee, my sins, remove them from thy presence, as far as the east is from the west, and accept of me for the merits of thy son Jesus Christ, that when I come into thy temple, and compass thine altar, my prayers may come before thee as incense; and as thou wouldst hear me calling upon thee in my prayers, so give me grace to hear thee calling on me in thy word, that it may be wisdom, righteousness, reconciliation and peace to the saving of the soul in the day of the Lord Jesus. Grant that I may hear it with reverence, receive it with meekness, mingle it with faith, and that it may accomplish in me, Gracious God, the good work for which thou has sent it. Bless my family, kindred, friends and country, be our God & guide this day and for ever for his sake, who lay down in the Grave and arose again for us, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. -excerpt from George Washington's prayer journal From William J. Johnson, George Washington, The Christian (New York: The Abingdon Press, 1919)

On gun control The practical objective of gun control is to keep the law-abiding populace harmless, docile and manageable. The farmer may not have the time or resources to track and kill every predator that menaces his livestock, but he never fails to dehorn his cattle to make milking (and slaughter) safer and easier for him, nevermind that the cattle would have a better chance against predators with the horns in place. -coydog on Free Republic 5/16/2009

On Free Speech: The freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led like sheep to the slaughter. -George Washington in speech to the officers of the army, March 1783.

The Left's Unifying Principle: Hatred of those who think differently is the left's unifying principle." -Ralph Peters in The New York Post

Courage:Who fears the wrath of cowards? -Patrick Henry

"Our Democracy" It has been observed, by an honorable gentleman, that a pure democracy, if it were practicable, would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved that no position in politics is more false than this. The ancient democracies, in which the people themselves deliberated, never possessed one feature of good government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure, deformity. -Alexander Hamilton speaking in support of the new US Constitution.

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My Taglines:

Cursed be he who moves my bones. -Lassie

The perfect symbol for democracy: the guillotine.

Perhaps we should just remove "The United States of" from the country's name.

Why can't they be like we were, perfect in every way? What's the matter with kids today?

When this is over, I'm gonna need some serious therapy. Lookit my eye twitch! Did you see that?

What's in the Constitution isn't. And vice-versa. -SCOTUS 2003

The Clintons stole more national treasures from the White House than were stolen from Iraqi Museums. gitmo, 6/14

I really miss the Constitution. 6/2003.

The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. ~GWB

"You know, I feel more now like I did than when I first got here." -Captain of the Columbia's final flight.

Americans are learning world geography ... one war at a time.

Sorry. I lost my short-term memory in the '60s. No drugs. Just lost it somewhere.

We have left the slippery slope and we are now in free fall.

Affirmative action = racism = Diversity

Moderation in all things? Isn't that a little extreme?

Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.

Thanks Mel. I needed that.

I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less.

History books will read that Lincoln freed the slaves and Obama enslaved the free.

Vote Republican. At least they aren't traitors to the country.

If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is it?

FR vs DU: n4mage vs DUmmage

The democRats drew first blood. It's our turn now.

Give a conservative a pile of bricks and he creates a city. Give a liberal a city and he creates a pile of bricks.