As we, as a nation, are now faced with the greatest threat to our freedom and liberty - and as inconceivable as it would seem to those who pledged their "...lives, (their) fortunes, and (their) sacred honor..." this threat emanates in and from, the person and policies of the current president of the United States, and his willing accomplices on the Left - it is instructive to contemplate a portion of the words of warning offered by our first, and arguably, most-beloved president, as he publicly bid farewell to the nation he loved so dearly.
His words, though somewhat anachronistic to the modern ear, echo still, down through the ages.
We ignore them at our peril.
(EMPHASIS MINE.)
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp
...Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.
Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.
The UNITY OF GOVERNMENT which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, FROM DIFFERENT CAUSES AND FROM DIFFERENT QUARTERS, much pains will be taken, MANY ARTIFICES EMPLOYED to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which THE BATTERIES OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ENEMIES WILL BE MOST CONSTANTLY AND ACTIVELY (though often covertly and insidiously) DIRECTED, it is of infinite moment that YOU SHOULD PROPERLY ESTIMATE THE IMMENSE VALUE OF YOUR NATIONAL UNION to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; AND INDIGNANTLY FROWNING UPON THE FIRST DAWNING OF EVERY ATTEMPT TO ALIENATE ANY PORTION OF OUR COUNTRY FROM THE REST, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.
For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. THE NAME OF AMERICAN, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism MORE THAN ANY APPELLATION DERIVED FROM LOCAL DISCRIMINATIOINS. With slight shades of difference, YOU HAVE THE SAME RELIGION, MANNERS, HABITS, AND POLITICAL PRINCIPLES. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes...
...IN CONTEMPLATING THE CAUSES WHICH MAY DISTURB OUR UNION, it occurs as matter of serious concern that ANY GROUND SHOULD HAVE BEEN FURNISHED FOR CHARACTERIZING PARTIES BY GEOGRAPHICAL, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. ONE OF THE EXPEDIENTS OF PARTY TO ACQUIRE INFLUENCE WITHIN PARTICULAR DISTRICTS IS TO MISREPRESENT THE OPINIONS AND AIMS OF OTHER DISTRICTS. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; THEY TEND TO RENDER ALIEN TO EACH OTHER THOSE WHO OUGHT TO BE BOUND TOGETHER BY FRATERNAL AFFECTION...
...To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is indispensable. No alliance, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, YOU HAVE IMPROVED UPON YOUR FIRST ESSAY, BY THE ADOPTION OF A CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT BETTER CALCULATED THAN YOUR FORMER FOR AN INTIMATE UNION, AND FOR THE EFFICACIOUS MANAGEMENT OF YOUR COMMON CONCERNS. This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. BUT THE CONSTITUTION WHICH AT ANY TIME EXISTS, TILL CHANGED BY AN EXPLICIT AND AUTHENTIC ACT OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE, IS SCAREDLY OBLIGATORY UPON ALL. (AND ESPECIALLY, I SUBMIT, THIS INCLUDES THE PRESIDENT, HIMSELF) THE VERY IDEA OF THE POWER AND THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ESTABLISH GOVERNMENT PRESUPPOSES THE DUTY OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL (INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT) TO OBEY THE ESTABLISHED GOVERNMENT.
All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; TO PUT, IN THE PLACE OF THE DELEGATED WILL OF THE NATION THE WILL OF A PARTY, OFTEN A SMALL BUT ARTFUL AND ENTERPRISING MINORITY OF THE COMMUNITY; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.
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. (REMIND YOU OF ANYONE?)
Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you RESIST WITH CARE THE SPIRIT OF INNOVATION UPON ITS PRINCIPLES, HOWEVER SPECIOUS THE PRETEXTS. ONE METHOD OF ASSAULT MAY BE TO EFFECT, IN THE FORMS OF THE CONSTITUTION, ALTERATIONS WHICH WILL IMPAIR THE ENERGY OF THE SYSTEM, AND THUS TO UNDERMINE WHAT CANNOT BE DIRECTLY OVERTHROWN. (SCOTUS, ANYONE?) In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property...
...It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A JUST ESTIMATE OF THAT LOVE OF POWER, AND PRONENESS TO ABUSE IT, WHICH PREDOMINATES IN THE HUMAN HEART, IS SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY US OF THE TRUTH OF THIS POSITION. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositaries, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. BUT LET THERE BE NO CHANGE BY USURPATION; FOR THOUGH THIS, IN ONE INSTANCE, MAY BE THE INSTRUMENT OF GOOD, IT IS THE CUSTOMARY WEAPON BY WHICH FREE GOVERNMENTS ARE DESTROYED. (OBAMA: I'M ISSUING THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER BECAUSE IT'S "THE RIGHT THING TO DO!") The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield.
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, RELIGION AND MORALITY ARE INDISPENSABLE SUPPORTS. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: 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.
It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?...
... Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it - It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? CAN IT BE THAT PROVIDENCE HAS NOT CONNECTED THE PERMANENT FELICITY OF A NATION WITH ITS VIRTUE? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?...
...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.
How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them...
...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.
Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government, the ever-favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.
Geo. Washington
Monday, July 2, 2012
George Washington's Farewell Address - A Warning Across the Ages
Sunday, July 1, 2012
What We All Must Now Do
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/28/todays-scotus-decision-dooms-obama-presidency
I hope you're right, Mike. We ALL have to do our part this year.
As we approach this most important election of our lives, allow me to make a few suggestions:
First and foremost - if you can't say with certainty that you already are - GET RIGHT WITH GOD.
(And make sure that everyone you care about does the same.)
No matter WHAT happens this Fall, how we all respond to God's gift of salvation, which He made available to us through the sacrificial, substitutionary death of His one and only Son on the Cross, will determine where each of us will spend Eternity.
When all else is said and done, when our lives are over, and each one of us is standing before the Creator of the Universe, giving an account of those lives to the Ancient of Days - something the Bible tells us we will ALL have to do someday - none of the rest of this is going to matter.
On that day, it won't matter how smart you were, how much money you made, how big your house was, how many titles were before your name, or how many degrees after, how good a person you were, or how often you went to church. None of that will matter.
The only thing that WILL matter is if your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. (Revelation 20:11-15)
If you are unsure how to go about doing this, or simply have questions, here are a few websites worth visiting:
http://www.joelrosenberg.com/
http://www.cru.org/how-to-know-god/would-you-like-to-know-god-personally/index.htm
http://www.godandscience.org/
My prayer for all who read this and are NOT believers, is that God would reveal Himself to you in a supernatural way, and that you and your loved ones would experience God's mercy and grace, and you would come to know the love of Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. (Revelation 3:20)
(Now, back to the small matter of sending Obama and his lovely bride back to Hyde Park next January where they belong, taking back the Senate, strengthening the Republican majority in the House, and then, finally, REPEALING OBAMACARE - AND TAKING OUR COUNTRY BACK!)
By any and all means, get informed - i.e., read Conservative websites, listen to Conservative radio/satellite radio, go to Glenn Beck's website and sign up - http://www.glennbeck.com/ and http://www.gbtv.com/
(Read Glenn's book, The Original Argument. I also recommend Mark Steyn's After America and Ed Klein's The Amateur.)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Original-Argument-Federalists-Constitution/dp/B006W3Y5UK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341147382&sr=1-1&keywords=the+original+argument
http://www.amazon.com/After-America-Get-Ready-Armageddon/dp/B0076TKQ8E/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341147487&sr=1-1&keywords=after+america+mark+steyn
http://www.amazon.com/The-Amateur-Edward-Klein/dp/1596987855/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341147535&sr=1-1&keywords=the+amateur+edward+klein
Go to a rally, give money to CONSERVATIVE candidates, tell all of your friends and family what's at stake this November, and make sure that EVERYONE you know is registered to vote - well, everyone, that is, except your LIBERAL friends. In fact, you might consider telling them that THIS year, the election will be held on Election WEDNESDAY, not Tuesday as they might have remembered. ;)
BTW, if you are wondering what to do with the kids this summer, why not take your children (or grandchildren) to the nearest Civil War battlefield and tell them the story of all those brave men who gave their lives so that ALL men (and women) could live free?
If you can get there, you can't hardly beat walking the hills and fields of Gettysburg. I also recommend a tour of Antietam, Maryland, as well as Fredricksburg/Spotsylvania, Virginia. My boys and I did this last year and it was tremendous.
Also, if you DO decide to take a drive on I-95 this summer and you happen to pass through Savannah, Georgia, check out the Eighth Air Force museum - it's right off the highway, you can't miss it. Just follow the signs.
Many are aware of the horrendous loss of life that occurred during Civil War battles like Gettysburg and Antietam.
But many are unaware of the tremendous losses suffered by "The Mighty Eighth."
In a little more than three years of aerial combat during WWII, the 8th suffered more than 47,000 casualties, and more than 26,000 fatalities, roughly half of all casualties suffered by the entire United States Army Air Corps during the entire war.
If you decide to stop in, the tour of the 8th Air Force Museum will only take a couple of hours. Trust me - it is time well spent.
These are just a few of my ideas. Feel free to come up with your own.
Pray that God would continue to shed His grace on the United States of America.
And while you're at it, pray for the peace of Israel.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Ding Dong, Khadafi is Dead! Long live...Sharia Law?
So Khadafi is finally dead. Thus always to tyrants.
In the grand scheme of things, does this change anything for the better in Libya? In the Middle East?
Probably not.
There will now be a power struggle within Libya to fill the vacuum. As is no doubt true in Egypt, and contrary to the false narrative of the Western Media, after the inevitable descent into factionalism and possibly, civil war, The Flying Curmudgeon predicts the emergence of an Iranian-style Islamic theocracy in the oil-rich nation.
Farther east in the Mediterranean, with eyes on the glory days of the Ottoman Empire, and designs on a greater influence throughout the region, a reemergent Islamist Turkey has already begun to stick its fingers into the Libyan morass.
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-25/world/libya.turkey.funds_1_libyan-rebels-mustafa-abdul-jalil-transitional-national-council?_s=PM:WORLD
Now that President Obama has announced the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year, Iran and its proxies inside the country sit gleefully on the sidelines, waiting for their time to move, while the mullahs continue their relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons.
And with the dominoes falling all around it, Israel's window of opportunity to act against this growing Iranian threat is quickly drawing to a close. Benjamin Netanyahu, having a strong grasp of Israel's history, and an acute awareness of the sacred trust bestowed upon him as the leader of a free Jewish people, is not about to become the Israeli prime minister who presided over the Second Holocaust, without doing everything in his power to prevent it.
It's now not a question of IF Israel finally hits Iran's nuke sites - but WHEN.
As 2011 ends, the election year of 2012 portends to be a pivotal one for the United States - and for the rest of humankind, as well.
UPDATE: (24 October 2011) And in more sad news involving Turkey, there's been another major earthquake there.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204777904576650613185173524.html
Somewhat prophetically, a WorldNetDaily article from last Spring spoke of the increasing severity and frequency of earthquakes throughout the world in recent years.
TFC reports, you decide.
And may God have mercy on us all.
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=274761
TFC
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Marxist "Consensus" Shuts Down Civil Rights Icon
Although The Flying Curmudgeon admires his courage for standing up for civil rights as a young man, he's never been a particular fan of Rep. John Lewis' brand of knee-jerk Leftism.
However, watching this video, TFC has to say he felt sorry for the man, as even he was stunned by this shocking display of mindless collectivism - a frightening reminder of why "pure democracy" is just another way of saying "mob rule."
This is EXACTLY why the Founders created the United States as a "representative republic," and NOT as a "democracy" - and why we are a nation of laws, and not men.
TFC
Friday, July 2, 2010
The Americans Who Risked Everything - Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.
As poor as the American History instruction has become in many of our public schools and institutions of "higher learning," one would assume that most Americans are at least somewhat familiar with the names Thomas Jefferson, John and Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin.
These are four of the more well-known men, whose signing of the document which affirmed our God-given right to "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," we commemorate each July 4th.
But as another Independence Day celebration draws nigh, with all that that entails: hot dogs, hamburgers, and home-made ice cream, as well as stirring fireworks displays bursting high in a mid-summer night's sky, The Flying Curmudgeon thought it might be worthwhile to reflect on the stories of some of the not-so-well-known men who mutually pledged "...their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor..." on that hot July day, so many years ago.
This speech, taken from Rush Limbaugh's website and reproduced in the July 2010 issue of The Limbaugh Letter, is a speech that Rush's father, Rush Limbaugh Jr., would regularly give on occasions such as the 4th of July. Thank's to Rush's generosity, The Flying Curmudgeon has linked to this marvelous, moving story, and offers it in honor of Independence Day, 2010, and in memory of all those, throughout our nation's history, who have "risked everything," so that all Americans might live in Freedom and Liberty.
God bless them, and God bless the United States of America.
The Americans Who Risked Everything - Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.
Monday, June 28, 2010
"Where Have You Gone, Rahm Emanuel?"
Looks like Rahm Emanuel's days in the Obama White House are now officially numbered.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/7837686/Rahm-Emanuel-expected-to-quit-White-House.html
Though likewise from Chicago, Emanuel was never considered part of Obama's "inner circle," such as fellow Chicago-land denizens David Axelrod and Valerie Jarret. He was hired for his familiarity with Washington, his previous White House experience, (as one of Bill Clinton's closest advisors), and his ability to "get things done."
As chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006, for example, he was credited with helping wrest control of the House of Representatives away from the Republicans. By fielding candidates in conservative-leaning districts who were right of the mainstream Democrat party - later known as "Blue Dog" Democrats - by capitalizing on voter fatigue with Republican Party scandals and fiscal irresponsibility, and by riding the wave of voter frustration with President Bush and the War in Iraq, Emanuel helped take back the House for the Democrats, and set the stage for Barack Obama's election as President, two years later.
But in his success lay the seeds of his undoing.
The "Blue Dogs," by their very nature, had a tendency to buck the party establishment, especially Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. During the Health Care Debate, Pelosi even suggested that the Blue Dogs should "Take One for the Team."
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Pelosi-tells-vulnerable-Dems-to-take-one-for-the-team-on-Obamacare-85778682.html
And in the end, the "Stupak Coalition" notwithstanding, that's exactly what they did. Of 253 House Democrats, only 34 - many of these in vulnerable seats - voted against the Health Care Bill. 219 voted for it.
All 176 House Republicans voted against.
The lesson here? There ARE no "moderate" or conservative Democrats anymore. Call them "Blue Dogs," "Yellow Dogs," or "Whatever Dogs," when it gets down to brass tacks, they are all Democrats -FIRST, LAST, and ALWAYS. As such, in the end they will all vote in lock-step with whatever their party masters tell them to.
However, Nancy Pelosi has a long memory, and she blames Emanuel for much of the grief his "Blue Dogs" have caused her as Speaker.
Couple that with the inherent ideological clash between Emanuel's more "pragmatic" style, and the "idealism" of Obama's inner circle, not to mention Emanuel's stated desire to spend more time with his kids, and his early departure from the Obama Administration was somewhat pre-ordained.
"Never let a crisis go to waste," he'd famously said, shortly after Obama was sworn into office.
With the economy still in tatters, with trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, with 10% unemployment as the "New Normal" and no end to the recession in sight, with thousands of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico every day, with Islamic extremists relentlessly and continually trying to attack us, and with Iran on the verge of having nukes, whenever his departure may be, Rahm Emanuel can look back on this latest time in the White House and say, "Mission Accomplished."
To which The Flying Curmudgeon says, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."
TFC
