Giants On The Earth

There were giants on the Earth in those days, mighty men, men of renown…

Some of their observations:

* "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty."  - Thomas Jefferson.  (This has also been quoted as: 'When tyranny becomes law….")

* "He who governs least, governs best."  - Ibid.

* "No Nation can remain both ignorant and free.  It has never happened and never will."  - Ibid.  (Also, and as if to emphasize his point: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.")  

* "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny…but when the Government fears the people, there is Liberty."  - Ibid.

* "The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." - Ibid.

* "If ever a Time should come, when vain and aspiring Men shall possess the highest Seats in Government, our county will stand in Need of its experienced Patriots, to prevent its Ruin." - Samuel Adams

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." - James Madison ('The Father of the Constitution.'  You may have heard of him.)

* "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams.  And along this line:

* "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." - John Jay.  A leading statesman of the day, who was one of the pseudonymous authors of The Federalist Papers, and who became the first Chief Justice of the new U.S. Supreme Court.  And who also spoke to our day when he wrote a letter to G. Washington, in his role as Chair of the Constitutional Convention, upon that body's beginning to address the issue of the eligibility requirements for the office of the president of the Union:

"Permit me to hint whether it would not be wise and seasonable [reasonable??] to provide a strong check to the admission of foreigners into the administration of our national government; and to declare expressly that the Commander-in-Chief of the American army shall not be given to, nor devolve on, any but a natural born citizen."  (My emphasis)  Duly noted, and accomplished.  (After Alexander Hamilton tried to require that office holder only to need be merely a "citizen"-- and whose proposal was specifically turned down.  Thus, naturalized citizens AND dual citizens need not apply. 

     Oh, they could apply.  But they would be turned down.  By any halfway awake citizenry, of this "experiment in popular government" that was to become the United States of America.,, But to continue with this short summary of wise comments by the Fathers of our Country:)   

* "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people…it may be the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." - T.J. again.  (Couldn't resist throwing this one in right here…)

* "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive…I like a little rebellion now and then.  It is like a storm in the atmosphere."  - Who else. but…

And since he is speaking so eloquently to our time and occasion, I will finish this little exercise on two of his notes:

" The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so [that] the second will not become the legalized version of the first."  

And:

"What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun?  The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body."

All excellent observations.  Ah, but I am feeling the need to end on a more blood-boiling note - and Benjamin Franklin is just the man to assuage my deeper feelings:

"I am a mortal enemy to arbitrary government and unlimited power.  I am naturally very jealous for the rights and liberties of my country, and the least encroachment of those invaluable privileges is apt to make my blood boil."

Indeed, Ben.  Indeed.

Now, what were you saying about the latest batch of arbitrary-government decrees by this erstwhile dictator, this Usurper, this……… 

Enemy of the Constitution.

No giant, he.  Just a wannabe.

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P.S. As for the Left's attempts to take down this country's third president and the author of the Declaration of Independence, I would recommend the book 'The Jefferson Lies' by David Barton.
     Oh - and for those who like to play 'Denigrate the Founding Fathers,' we can trry  this quote on for size, e.g., in comparison:
     "A good communist finds use for everything, and nothing is more useful than a useful idiot."   That's V.I. Lenin talking.
     But then, you already knew that.  Didn't you.

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P.P.S. And as though right on time:

from Tea Party C.C.: 'Judge doesn't issue immediate ruling on request to block Obama execution orders on immigration' - posted by Asst Natl Dir Melony B. DeFord - Jan. 17 - orig. posted at therepublic.com - Juan A. Lozano (AP) - Jan. 15

("…Speaking on behalf of the [coalition of 25] states, Andrew Oldham, deputy solicitor general of Texas, told [U.S. District Judge Andrew] Hanen that Obama's executive action will cause states irreparable harm because it would cost them billions of dollars in health care, education and law enforcement costs. Oldham also argued that the executive action would induce more people to come to the U.S. illegally and that those already in the country illegally would have no reason to leave.

"Oldham said the issue was "whether the president can unilaterally suspend immigration laws, hand out millions of immigration documents and remove that operation from judicial review by calling it an executive action. If this president can do this, the next president can do the same thing with tax law, environmental law, workplace protection laws, with any laws."

"Hanen questioned the economic harm claim related to health care and education, as prior Supreme Court rulings already obligate states to provide such things to individuals in the country illegally.

"In response to Hanen's question about the government's justification, [U.S. Department of Justice attorney Kathleen] Hartnett said it has long been a feature of immigration enforcement that there is discretion at every step of the process when dealing with illegal immigration deportations…")

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Permalink Reply by Stan Stanfield 2 seconds ago (Jan. 17)

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."  Thomas Jefferson.  I'm not sure why this judge didn't just rule outright that an executive order that MAKES law rather than just applies some 'discretion' regarding how to EXECUTE the law, is unconstitutional, and let the court process proceed from that premise.  So things do not bode well for this lawsuit.  So things do not bode well for America.

So Americans need to face the possibility of having to deal with criminals in the judicial branch of their government as well as the executive branch.  But then, T.J. had a comment to make to that potential situation as well.  Quote:

"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive…I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere."  Not to mention how it keeps potential tyrants on their toes.  

He also said: "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty."  This is our nation's third president speaking.  May we heed wise words like this from our Founding Fathers.  And may [all] potential tyrants do the same.       

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As for this judge citing 'precedent'; another quote comes to mind:

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."  - Emerson.

Certainly not the thinking of giants on the Earth…