Important Documents

• The Articles of Confederation
• Competing Plans for a New Constitution
• The Constitution of the Confederate States of America
• The Declaration of Independence
• The Federalist Papers
• The Anti-Federalist Papers
• United States Code
• The United States Constitution
• The Bill of Rights
• The Other Amendments
• The Wealth of Nations

Quotes:

• "If one rejects laissez faire on account of mans fallibility and moral weakness, one must for the same reason also reject every kind of government action."
  --Ludwig von Mises
• "One of the traditional methods of imposing statism, or socialism, on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. Most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can't afford it."
  --Ronald Reagan
• "There's a reason why the Obama administration wanted to cram this massive spending bill through the Congress by Abe Lincoln's birthday. Speed is of the essence: The longer it lingers, the more details emerge, proving this egg is rotten to the core. Republicans are now using those details to build skepticism about this freight train of partisan pork."
  --Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center
• "You know how Congress is. They'll vote for anything if the thing they vote for will turn around and vote for them. Politics ain't nothing but reciprocity."
  --American humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
• "Big government is where nations go to die -- not in Keynes' 'long run,' but sooner than you think."
  --columnist Mark Steyn
• "Americans now know that the 'change we can believe in,' which President Obama promised, means a taxes-optional administration."
  --columnist Debra Saunders
• "We can’t afford the bailout. And we certainly cannot afford the misnamed 'sweeteners' intended to buy the votes of House members. Using money the government doesn’t have to persuade legislators to spend even more money they don’t have is a fiscal and moral outrage. Turning normal bills into fiscal Christmas trees is bad enough, but the administration’s and congressional leadership’s attempt to avoid a genuine vote on the merits of legislation so expensive and far-reaching is a travesty."
  --Bob Barr, Libertarian Party nominee for president
• "These two entities – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – are not facing any kind of financial crisis."
  --Rep. Barney Frank, in rejecting a 2003 Bush administration plan to reform the mortgage industry.
• "The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny. The wise and correct course to follow in taxation is not to destroy those who have already secured success, but to create conditions under which everyone will have a better chance to be successful."
  --Calvin Coolidge
• "If government subsidized beaches, we would have a shortage of sand."
  --Ronald Reagan
• "The government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have."
  --President Gerald Ford
• "Taxes are commonly a calamity for the people and a nightmare for the government. For the former they are always excessive; for the latter they are never enough, never too much."
  --Juan de Mariana (1535–1624)

 

The Way We See it:

• Balanced Budget Amendment Redux
  People go for ideas and slogans that sound cool, and don't take the time to research them to see if they're really wise. Proposed Balanced Budget Amendments--from henceforth referred to as "BBAs"--have generally had provisions that would allow Congress to raise taxes with a 2/3 majority vote. I could foresee that a BBA would always trigger tax increases by a Congress and a President who are unable to cut spending.
• Am I Simpleminded about the Tenth Amendment?
  When I read the Constitution and see its list of things that the federal government is authorized to do, I assume that those are the things that the government is authorized to do. When I read the Tenth Amendment and see that the federal government isn't authorized to do anything that's not in the list of authorized duties, then I assume that the federal government isn't authorized to do anything that's not authorized in the Constitution. So, when I see that administering health care isn't in the list of authorized duties, I naturally assume that the federal government isn't authorized to administer health care.
• The Balanced Budget Amendment vs. The Tenth Amendment
  I realize that I'm a bit at odds with most Tea Partiers over this issue, but I absolutely do NOT support the idea of passing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. While I see many problems with it, the biggest is that we already have a Balanced Budget Amendment of sorts. It's called the "Tenth Amendment".
• My Pledge of Allegiance
  It was a sad day indeed when it dawned on me last week that I could no longer, in good conscience, recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Ironic isn't it, that a former Texas A&M University Naval cadet and patriotic American citizen should find himself in such a position.
  by Kurt Nauck
• What's Wrong with Social Security?
  Recently, Alan Greenspan has shaken up the major news media with his testimony to Congress about the health of the Social Security system. Headlines scream, "Greenspan says that Social Security benefits must be cut!" Well, duh.
  by Donald A. Tevault
• John Q., National Health Care and the Hollywood Left
  Denzel Washington is a brilliant actor who wastes his talent by starring in some really stupid, poorly-written movies. I now only watch his movies whenever I happen to be someplace where one is playing on television. That was the case a few nights ago, when I saw John Q. on the Starz channel. John Q. isn't just a bad movie, though. It's also a two-hour long propaganda piece that extols the virtues of national, government-run health care.
• THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT!--President Bush and Big Government
  Many Outrage readers recoiled in fear from the idea of a Gore presidency. What would happen if he were declared the winner of the 2000 election?
  From The Outrage. Used by permission.
• The Farce of Campaign Finance Reform
  The U.S. Congress have just shredded the First Amendment. So, why hasn't there been more of a public outcry?
• Why Study Civics?
  As is the case with most every webmaster, I like to get a general idea of who visits my site, and how people find it. So, a few weeks ago, I noticed from my Hitbox statistics that someone had found my site by asking a search engine, "Why study civics?". That is a good question. And, I believe that it deserves a good answer. There are, after all, some fairly important reasons.
• Economic Lessons from the California Power Mess
  The current mess in California proves how important it is for everyone to have a good, soa good, solid understanding of basic economics. Indeed, one has to wonder if anyone at all in California has even the least bit of a grasp on this particular topic. Certainly, California's politicians don't. The voters don't either, or else they'd vote these rascals out of office.
• Adventures in Watching CNN
  I never watch CNN because I choose to. The only time I ever watch CNN is when I just happen to be some place where someone else is watching it. Such was the case on Thanksgiving day 2000, when I visited my aunt up in Alpharetta, Georgia. In a very short period of time, I pointed out to her several instances of blatantly biased reporting.
• Should Everyone Vote?
  You've heard it all before. "It's your civic duty to vote! Democracy depends on it!" Even MTV gets into the act with their ridiculous "Rock the Vote" campaign. The main problem with this is that too many people--dare I say, most people?--have absolutely no business coming within 100 yards of any polling booth. Why? Simply because, they haven't a clue as to what they're doing.
• About Those Executive Orders
  The subject of presidential executive orders has been a controversial one for many years. While President Clinton has made extensive use of executive orders, he's not the first President to have done so. In fact, his uses of executive orders haven't always been the most controversial.
• The Tenth Amendment--Forgotten, But Not Gone
  The founding fathers of our country believed in a small federal government with limited powers. So, accordingly, they wrote a constitution that is short, sweet and to the point. In it, they enumerated the powers and the duties of each branch of the federal government. Then, in an attempt to ensure that the federal government would remain small and unobtrusive, they added the Bill of Rights. It's hard to read the news without seeing something mentioned about one of these rights. One that's never mentioned though, is the tenth amendment. Since the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the tenth amendment has been completely ignored. As a result, the federal government is now doing all kinds of things that the constitution does not authorize it to do.

Law and Order

Back to Table of Contents

• More Civilians Killed Last Year in One Mexican Border Town Than in All of Afghanistan
  More civilians were killed last year in Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican city across the border from El Paso, Texas, than were killed in all of Afghanistan.
  By Edwin Mora
• Investigation of 'antiwhite bias' grows
  Justice official accused of saying: No more cases against blacks
  By Brian Fitzpatrick
• Dem defends organization whose leader said 'kill crackers'
  'Panther Party was trying to . . . level playing field'
• “Soft” Censorship: Honor Killings That You Won’t Read About
  I am talking about how rarely the American mainstream media covers honor killings committed in North America.
  by Phylllis Chesler
• No Mystery Here
  You don’t need a convoluted device to explain Alexander Litvinenko’s demise.
  By Charles Krauthammer
• More illegal aliens tried in gang rapes
  Two new cases uncovered in unnoticed crime wave.

Culture

Defense Issues

International

Political Watch