Toy Soldiers brave away those tears
toy soldiers hope for better years
today I strike out on my own
the dog is dead, the kids have grown
ay didly oh, didn't you know
you fade once you glow
didn't you know child
after the rhyme high time
didly oh didn't you know
you fade once you glow
didn't you know child
after the rhyme high time.
CARBON LEAF on the brain. Just spent a few days down in San Diego. I was in school while the fam got to play at Old Town San Diego. I think I got the short end of the stick in that deal. They had a good time though and I learned alot. Now all I have to do is take it back to work and apply it.
Patty is starting to feel the baby. It's cool. She's big for four months. I keep telling her it's twins. we'll find out on Wednsday.
My Dad came to town with my Mustang. Now I have to figure out what to do with her. Poor girl needs a home which I don't have right now. I certainly can't afford to fix her yet. HMMM. I'll worry about that tomorrow.
off to bed. goodnight.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Quotes from Albert Einstein
The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest
What does a fish know about the water in which it swims all its life?
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity
The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe
The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible.
The physicists say that I am a mathematician, and the mathematicians say that I am a physicist. I am a completely isolated man and though everybody knows me, there are very few people who really know me.
The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax
Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing
Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?
If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.
I don't believe in mathematics
Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
Before God we are all equally wise — and equally foolish.
The bigotry of the nonbeliever is for me nearly as funny as the bigotry of the believer.
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality
To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.
What does a fish know about the water in which it swims all its life?
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity
The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe
The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible.
The physicists say that I am a mathematician, and the mathematicians say that I am a physicist. I am a completely isolated man and though everybody knows me, there are very few people who really know me.
The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax
Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing
Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?
If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.
I don't believe in mathematics
Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
Before God we are all equally wise — and equally foolish.
The bigotry of the nonbeliever is for me nearly as funny as the bigotry of the believer.
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality
To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
LIFE OF A DEMOCRACY
Not sure how accurate these conclusions and statistics are, but it's an interesting read....
LIFE OF A DEMOCRACY
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage"
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:
Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million; Bush: 143 million
Square miles of land won by: Gore: 580,000; Bush: 2,427,000
States won by: Gore: 19; Bush: 29
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Gore: 13.2; Bush: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegals and they vote, then goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.
LIFE OF A DEMOCRACY
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage"
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:
Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million; Bush: 143 million
Square miles of land won by: Gore: 580,000; Bush: 2,427,000
States won by: Gore: 19; Bush: 29
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Gore: 13.2; Bush: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegals and they vote, then goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
THE LIE THAT DESERVED ANOTHER
A man returned home after traveling abroad, eager to brag about his adventures.
"I've seen things you've never imagined, not even in your dreams," he told his friends. "Once I saw the longest ship afloat. The captain was standing at the stern, and he gave the cabin boy a message to take to the first mate, who stood at the bow. The lad was only ten when he started; his white beard swabbed the deck by the time he'd reached the mast. I didn't wait to see if he lived long enough to make it the rest of the way."
His friends looked at each other. One said:
"That's nothing. You didn't need to leave home to find sights like that. Why, in the forest just over that ridge, I've seen a tree so tall it poked a hole in the sky. Once a bird tried to fly over the top, but by the time it reached just the third branch from the bottom, it was too old to go any further. So it stopped and laid and egg, and told its chick to continue the journey. Seven generations of birds have been flying towards the top, and they're not halfway yet."
"That's ridiculous," the traveller scoffed. "I've never heard such a lie in my life."
"If that's the case," asked his friend, "where did you get the tree to make the mast for your ship?"
"I've seen things you've never imagined, not even in your dreams," he told his friends. "Once I saw the longest ship afloat. The captain was standing at the stern, and he gave the cabin boy a message to take to the first mate, who stood at the bow. The lad was only ten when he started; his white beard swabbed the deck by the time he'd reached the mast. I didn't wait to see if he lived long enough to make it the rest of the way."
His friends looked at each other. One said:
"That's nothing. You didn't need to leave home to find sights like that. Why, in the forest just over that ridge, I've seen a tree so tall it poked a hole in the sky. Once a bird tried to fly over the top, but by the time it reached just the third branch from the bottom, it was too old to go any further. So it stopped and laid and egg, and told its chick to continue the journey. Seven generations of birds have been flying towards the top, and they're not halfway yet."
"That's ridiculous," the traveller scoffed. "I've never heard such a lie in my life."
"If that's the case," asked his friend, "where did you get the tree to make the mast for your ship?"
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Just me Rambling as usual
Wow, I haven't been here in a month. That's Criminal. I guess I'm just too busy to express myself lately. It's seems everyday I have a whole list of things to do, not counting work for 9-11 hours. Yes, that is now my average day. Some might call me crazy, but I rather enjoy my job. The time goes by rather quickly. Buy, research, input data, negotiate with people we need to pay, argue with accounting, go to meetings, ect. It's a very busy job after 8am. The first 1.5 hours I reserve for myself. My coffee, time to check my messages and plan my day and input any left over data into the computer. It's also a great time to contact my East Coast contacts. By 8am, the mass is here and then it's one phone call after another of crisis. I become a reed in the wind returning to my desk to clear the paperwork whenever I get the chance.
Yesterday I received the strangest request yet. The production manager calls me, "Sean, I need you to get me a high powered BB Gun". You need what? Apparently he wants to use the gun to shoot the birds out of the rafters. "So, you want to shoot a high powered air rifle INSIDE the building?" YES! So I called the VP and he was all for it. I think their both crazy. They wanted it NOW. I escaped out of the escapade by declaring that the only way to do so would be to go to the store in person, and since my name isn't on any company credit cards, I wouldn't be able to purchase it. My boss, Sal, and I got a good laugh out of it though.
It's kinda strange calling Sal Boss. He's more like a friend who lets me do whatever I want. All I really have to do is be willing to jump through hoops when he needs me. The rest of the time I'm on my own.
My home life is good. Darrien is doing well in homeschool. He is excelling in math and doing about what we expected in everything else. Patty is starting to show. You can tell where the little whipper snapper is by the hard spot on her stomach. I like to move him/her around. She is still protesting the buying of maternity cloths.
We joined a Bible study group much like the Gel Groups of Forefront. Unfortunately we are going to have to leave before we get much of a start. We reallized after the whole group agreed to meet Wednesday that Darrien's AWANA (His bible study) meets on Wedneday. But how could you not have reallized this you ask? Well, it was still middle of summer when we chose and AWANA works on a normal school year schedule. It was the farthest thing from our mind.
The good news is the Dave, our Associate Pastor and great all around guy, is thinking of starting another group. Apparently Mic, his group leader, thinks he's crazy for driving as far as he does and keeps telling him to get lost. He's the black sheep of his group. Dave lives much closer to us and hopefully we all can come up with some arrangement.
Well I must be going. I have to finish an on-going project I'm helping my friend, Nova with. She is repainting her room. Normally this is a simple project. But her grandparents decided that the room should be painted with this high gloss paint long ago. The problem with high gloss paint is you can't paint over it, it won't stick. So I've had to spend a whole day just sanding the ceiling (last Saturday). That in itself was enough to wipe me out. Spent another evening laying down primer on the ceiling (only got one and a half coats down or up). Today, her uncle is going to join us and hopefully we will finish. Wish me luck.
Yesterday I received the strangest request yet. The production manager calls me, "Sean, I need you to get me a high powered BB Gun". You need what? Apparently he wants to use the gun to shoot the birds out of the rafters. "So, you want to shoot a high powered air rifle INSIDE the building?" YES! So I called the VP and he was all for it. I think their both crazy. They wanted it NOW. I escaped out of the escapade by declaring that the only way to do so would be to go to the store in person, and since my name isn't on any company credit cards, I wouldn't be able to purchase it. My boss, Sal, and I got a good laugh out of it though.
It's kinda strange calling Sal Boss. He's more like a friend who lets me do whatever I want. All I really have to do is be willing to jump through hoops when he needs me. The rest of the time I'm on my own.
My home life is good. Darrien is doing well in homeschool. He is excelling in math and doing about what we expected in everything else. Patty is starting to show. You can tell where the little whipper snapper is by the hard spot on her stomach. I like to move him/her around. She is still protesting the buying of maternity cloths.
We joined a Bible study group much like the Gel Groups of Forefront. Unfortunately we are going to have to leave before we get much of a start. We reallized after the whole group agreed to meet Wednesday that Darrien's AWANA (His bible study) meets on Wedneday. But how could you not have reallized this you ask? Well, it was still middle of summer when we chose and AWANA works on a normal school year schedule. It was the farthest thing from our mind.
The good news is the Dave, our Associate Pastor and great all around guy, is thinking of starting another group. Apparently Mic, his group leader, thinks he's crazy for driving as far as he does and keeps telling him to get lost. He's the black sheep of his group. Dave lives much closer to us and hopefully we all can come up with some arrangement.
Well I must be going. I have to finish an on-going project I'm helping my friend, Nova with. She is repainting her room. Normally this is a simple project. But her grandparents decided that the room should be painted with this high gloss paint long ago. The problem with high gloss paint is you can't paint over it, it won't stick. So I've had to spend a whole day just sanding the ceiling (last Saturday). That in itself was enough to wipe me out. Spent another evening laying down primer on the ceiling (only got one and a half coats down or up). Today, her uncle is going to join us and hopefully we will finish. Wish me luck.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
That's criminal!!!!!!!!
Reading the newspaper today I came across an article on the crime/non-crime of cd/dvd burning. Apparently over 70% of our youth (13-26 year olds) are convinced that it is a crime to copy a cd they bought or a dvd they bought.
This train of thought got me reminiscing to my childhood. I remember side by side vcr's designed soley for the purpose of copying vhs tapes. Side by side tape decks designed to what... that's right, copy tapes. I have fond memories of spending hours compiling my favorite music onto one tape (a task which can be done in mere minutes today). And in all this 'copying' I can't recall anyone ever claiming they were breaking the law. It was just a given that you could do as you pleased with what you bought, and that included copying said item.
In trying to analyze how we came to this conclusion that making copy's of stuff you bought is a crime, I can come to only one conclusion. The whole dilema is driven by greed. Producers just can't stand the thought of someone enjoying something they made without recieving money for it. Apparently multi-billion dollar sells just aren't enough anymore. No, now they must acuse kids sharing their favorite songs of piracy. How dare they do that without our concent?
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most revered and succesful scientist/inventors of his time. Yet he refused to Patent a single invention. He felt that his inventions were for the benefit of all men, and that to Patent them would be criminal. I wonder what he would think of today's America where you are lucky if they haven't Patented the sneeze. Where the sharing of information is a crime.
I guess I'm amazed to see how drastically thinking has changed in just my short lifetime. Makes me wonder what the popular train of thought will be when I'm a grandfather.
This train of thought got me reminiscing to my childhood. I remember side by side vcr's designed soley for the purpose of copying vhs tapes. Side by side tape decks designed to what... that's right, copy tapes. I have fond memories of spending hours compiling my favorite music onto one tape (a task which can be done in mere minutes today). And in all this 'copying' I can't recall anyone ever claiming they were breaking the law. It was just a given that you could do as you pleased with what you bought, and that included copying said item.
In trying to analyze how we came to this conclusion that making copy's of stuff you bought is a crime, I can come to only one conclusion. The whole dilema is driven by greed. Producers just can't stand the thought of someone enjoying something they made without recieving money for it. Apparently multi-billion dollar sells just aren't enough anymore. No, now they must acuse kids sharing their favorite songs of piracy. How dare they do that without our concent?
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most revered and succesful scientist/inventors of his time. Yet he refused to Patent a single invention. He felt that his inventions were for the benefit of all men, and that to Patent them would be criminal. I wonder what he would think of today's America where you are lucky if they haven't Patented the sneeze. Where the sharing of information is a crime.
I guess I'm amazed to see how drastically thinking has changed in just my short lifetime. Makes me wonder what the popular train of thought will be when I'm a grandfather.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Life is like a box of chocolates....
If you had talked to me a month ago, I'd have told you my life was in chaos and no matter how hard I tried looking, there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
But times are a changing and God, as always, is working wonders in my life. My wife is still pregnant. We "discuss" baby names, sleeping arrangements, read pregnancy websites, Poor lass still has the ever so pleasant, all day, morning sickness, or else she's napping. Darrien is in homeschool heaven as Mom usually falls asleep before they get too far into lessons.
As of today, I am working two jobs (at least for the next two weeks). I learned today that I have alot to learn at my new job. I'm stepping out of the blue collar, tool toting mechanic world, into the computer geek, air conditioned office job of Maintenance Planner/Buyer. My pay is actully a little lower, but since I'll be working much more, that won't matter. I have two separate data bases to learn (the company database and the maintenance database). I have to finish the maintenance data base, as it is only about 70% complete (that may sound like alot, but there is still plenty left to do). I have to learn the plant lay-out, new parts, new machines, and keep up with a developing Preventative Maintenance plan. Not to mention fight 'proverbial' fires, buy parts, like I've been working here for years, and know everything I can't possible know immediately, even though at the moment I'm only working, part time (which means any day I'm not at Saint Gobain). And my boss who hired me has only been with PAC (my new company) for 2 months, so he won't be much help.
So, once again, it's sink or swim kid. I'm sure I'll be fine, but man am I in for a ride. On a brighter note, Tuesday begins my last week of graveyard. I think I'll throw a party. Also, good old June is finally starting to pay me for the business, so I can finally get out from under my business loan. Saint-Gobain is giving me $4400 severence pay (woohoo, time to catch up and get ahead), and my union is giving me a $500 Ralphs gift card.
So, in short, God is bringing a new child into my life, he is lifting me out of the financial ruin I sunk myself into, he's raising my status in my field of work, which can only benefit me in the future, and he's has freed me from that horrible rotating schedule I've been tortured with these last few years. And he has presented me with a huge challenge in my new job. What can I say? God is good.
I'm glad he's on my side.
One last note. My wife is extremely pleased that my new career requires I improve my wardrobe. No more beach bum look for me... snff...
But times are a changing and God, as always, is working wonders in my life. My wife is still pregnant. We "discuss" baby names, sleeping arrangements, read pregnancy websites, Poor lass still has the ever so pleasant, all day, morning sickness, or else she's napping. Darrien is in homeschool heaven as Mom usually falls asleep before they get too far into lessons.
As of today, I am working two jobs (at least for the next two weeks). I learned today that I have alot to learn at my new job. I'm stepping out of the blue collar, tool toting mechanic world, into the computer geek, air conditioned office job of Maintenance Planner/Buyer. My pay is actully a little lower, but since I'll be working much more, that won't matter. I have two separate data bases to learn (the company database and the maintenance database). I have to finish the maintenance data base, as it is only about 70% complete (that may sound like alot, but there is still plenty left to do). I have to learn the plant lay-out, new parts, new machines, and keep up with a developing Preventative Maintenance plan. Not to mention fight 'proverbial' fires, buy parts, like I've been working here for years, and know everything I can't possible know immediately, even though at the moment I'm only working, part time (which means any day I'm not at Saint Gobain). And my boss who hired me has only been with PAC (my new company) for 2 months, so he won't be much help.
So, once again, it's sink or swim kid. I'm sure I'll be fine, but man am I in for a ride. On a brighter note, Tuesday begins my last week of graveyard. I think I'll throw a party. Also, good old June is finally starting to pay me for the business, so I can finally get out from under my business loan. Saint-Gobain is giving me $4400 severence pay (woohoo, time to catch up and get ahead), and my union is giving me a $500 Ralphs gift card.
So, in short, God is bringing a new child into my life, he is lifting me out of the financial ruin I sunk myself into, he's raising my status in my field of work, which can only benefit me in the future, and he's has freed me from that horrible rotating schedule I've been tortured with these last few years. And he has presented me with a huge challenge in my new job. What can I say? God is good.
I'm glad he's on my side.
One last note. My wife is extremely pleased that my new career requires I improve my wardrobe. No more beach bum look for me... snff...
Monday, July 17, 2006
God's little miracle
According to the ever dependable EPT test (I'm told it's very reliable) the world is expecting a new Spawn of my loins. Or in lame man terms, the lady of my house is with child. And as my mother-in-law has already calculated out for us, the little tyke is due sometime between March and April.
So praise to the good Lord for our new little blessing and a request for lots of prayer for the health and safety of my wife and child. The poor girl has morning sickness all day long. So glad God made me a man.
Thinking about pregnancy cravings. I always joke with my wife that she has pregnancy cravings (she gets the wierdest cravings all the time). Now that she actually is pregnant, will the cravings get more extreme?
So praise to the good Lord for our new little blessing and a request for lots of prayer for the health and safety of my wife and child. The poor girl has morning sickness all day long. So glad God made me a man.
Thinking about pregnancy cravings. I always joke with my wife that she has pregnancy cravings (she gets the wierdest cravings all the time). Now that she actually is pregnant, will the cravings get more extreme?
Friday, July 07, 2006
George Washington's Fairwell address
I was recently reading George Washington's Fairwell address. I can only imagine a modern day President giving such an address.
To any who wish to read it themselves
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/
milestones/farewell/text.html
Here are a few of the highlights in my opinion
-He calls the office of President an important trust
-"binds a dutiful citizen to his country" I found this an intersting notion in todays unpatriotic society.
-"The impressions, with which I first undertook the arduous trust, were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable" Ok, can you imagine a polititian today admitting to his own 'Fallible Judgment"?
-"Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty"
Damn, I used to be a part of the overgrown military establishment.
-"18 However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion" they are here... they are here...
- The evils of Political Parties...
"20 I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.
21 This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
22 The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.
23 Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.
24 It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.
25 There is an opinion, that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the Government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of Liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in Governments of a Monarchical cast, Patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in Governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And, there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume"
-On Separation of Church and state
"Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. "
-I wonder what he would think of today's national debt
"30 As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is, to use it as sparingly as possible; avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts, which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen, which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should cooperate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there must be Revenue; that to have Revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties), ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time dictate. "
-"36 The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connexion as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop."
-" hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy"
-"41 Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies"
-"43 In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated. "
-Remember, our country was founded by athiest..
"50 Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope, that my Country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. "
For those of you still reading, why don't you just read the whole thing? I think old GW would have been laughed out of politics in todays political arena. Maybe we should turn the joke on our politicians and laugh them out of office.
To any who wish to read it themselves
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/
milestones/farewell/text.html
Here are a few of the highlights in my opinion
-He calls the office of President an important trust
-"binds a dutiful citizen to his country" I found this an intersting notion in todays unpatriotic society.
-"The impressions, with which I first undertook the arduous trust, were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable" Ok, can you imagine a polititian today admitting to his own 'Fallible Judgment"?
-"Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty"
Damn, I used to be a part of the overgrown military establishment.
-"18 However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion" they are here... they are here...
- The evils of Political Parties...
"20 I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.
21 This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
22 The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.
23 Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.
24 It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.
25 There is an opinion, that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the Government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of Liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in Governments of a Monarchical cast, Patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in Governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And, there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume"
-On Separation of Church and state
"Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. "
-I wonder what he would think of today's national debt
"30 As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is, to use it as sparingly as possible; avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts, which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen, which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should cooperate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there must be Revenue; that to have Revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties), ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time dictate. "
-"36 The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connexion as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop."
-" hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy"
-"41 Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies"
-"43 In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated. "
-Remember, our country was founded by athiest..
"50 Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope, that my Country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. "
For those of you still reading, why don't you just read the whole thing? I think old GW would have been laughed out of politics in todays political arena. Maybe we should turn the joke on our politicians and laugh them out of office.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Why Are Americans So Angry?
This is Ron Paul addressing the House of Representatives. Long but good in my opinion. It give a daunting view of the state of the Union.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul331.html
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul331.html
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