Rogue Politics » Entries tagged with "history"
Give Me Liberty!
[March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry took to the floor of St. John's Church in Richmond VA where he addressed the state's leading citizens. It had been a year and a half since the Boston Tea Party. It had been not quite a year since General Gage led four regiments into the same city. Just the month before John Hancock helped lead the Massachusetts Colony in establishing defenses against the unwanted British. Henry spoke from the heart - recognizing the dangers that lay ahead for the freedom seeking colonists, yet urged them forward anyway. May we be worthy of this man and the rest of the courageous founders who laid the groundwork for this great nation.] No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Regulars
He Who Forgets History…
A young man from Palm Beach, Florida shows there is hope for today’s youth. He studied his Jewish heritage, traveled to the concentration camps of Poland and was determined to do his part to be sure the tragedy of Nazi Germany is not forgotten. While recognizing the huge numbers who died in the holocaust, Michael Marcus puts a personal face on what happened to six million individuals who were born into families, with mothers and fathers who loved them, and raised them the best they could… then were brutally tortured and killed. In the early and middle thirties, storm clouds of prejudice on the German horizon along with an increasingly powerful and dictatorial government. The German people were a cultured people. They had art, music and advanced education. They were civilized. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Regulars
The Crisis By Thomas Paine – Part II
I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are held by the Tories: a noted one, who kept a tavern at Amboy, was standing at his door, with as pretty a child in his hand, about eight or nine years old, as I ever saw, and after speaking his mind as freely as he thought was prudent, finished with this unfatherly expression, “Well! give me peace in my day.” Not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and a generous parent should have said, “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;” and this single reflection, well … Read entire article »
Filed under: PageTwo
The Crisis By Thomas Paine – Part I
[Editors note: In this classic article, Thomas Paine discusses the choices that laid before the colonists just prior to Christmas 1776. In many ways, they are the same choices we face today. Please return for Part II tomorrow.] December 23, 1776 Part I THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put … Read entire article »
Filed under: PageTwo
Could a Nazi-type takeover happen in America?
The Kindertransport Association (my grandfather and his brother were on the kindertransport) recently asked, “Could a Nazi-type takeover of our Federal government happen in America. Why? Why not? Could it happen in Western Europe?” My response made the front page of their newsletter: History teaches us that society is always at risk of losing its freedom and descending into tyranny because there are always people who wish for and actively seek to rule over others and profit at their expense. With the separation of powers and checks and balances, western civilization has created systems, best exemplified by the United States Constitution, designed to prevent demagogues from gaining power. However, when people think the political system no longer functions properly, they will demand change, thinking that “anything else will be better than this.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
The Founding Fathers Solve Our Debt Crisis
The United States accrued a huge debt to fight the American Revolution. The debt equaled 35 to 40 percent of GDP at a time when government spending and taxes were just 2 percent of GDP. Interest consumed about half of the government’s revenues. Numerous states and the government under the Articles of Confederation were negligent in paying interest and principle. The nation faced a real debt crisis. The Founding Fathers recognized the burden of such a large debt and wanted to pay it off. No measure can be more desirable, whether viewed with an eye to its intrinsic importance, or to the general sentiment and wish of the Nation” than to establish “a systematic and effectual arrangement for the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt. ~ George Washington No pecuniary consideration is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Come See Some History
If you have not made your vacation plans and live within a few hundred miles of Williamsburg VA, or if you happen to crave TSA molestation, now might be a good time to check out the walk back in time at early capitol of Viginia. You can travel down the same streets that Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson walked. You may even run into President Washington or Marquis de Lafayette. The children, even those in their 60s will find the early craftsmen fascinating as they explain how created the necessities of life in the eighteenth century with simple tools and a little ingenuity. However, it would be best study your history before treading these hallowed streets. The physical plant is superb, but the funding for much of … Read entire article »
Filed under: PageTwo
Just Lower Your Standards
I was chatting recently with a friend in the Republican Party about some of the people looking for the presidential nomination. Although I like and respect the gentleman, it was a meeting of the two kinds of Republicans – one a party person and the other an issue person. We both agreed that the pretender to the presidency was taking us in the wrong direction. Our solutions, though, would take us in two different directions. The traditional Republican approach is to use conflicts with the Democrats to try to work out a compromise. The idea is to get concessions from the other side – for instance, in giving them a debt ceiling increase in exchange for significant cuts in spending. This traditional approach makes the assumption that they are 1) dealing … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
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