Some Timely Quotes From Mr. Jefferson

"Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive."

-Thomas Jefferson

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"We may consider each generation as a distinct nation, with a right, by the will of its majority, to bind themselves, but none to bind the succeeding generation, more than the inhabitants of another country. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

-Thomas Jefferson

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny. "

-Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. " 

-Thomas Jefferson

What Should These united states Be Like; In My Opinion

What does the government need to do?  

1. Build Raods

2. Provide For Defense

3. Provide Courts

4. Provide Police

5. Regulation to enforce advertising and Contracts (so you know that things are "as advertised")

6. Powers granted in the Constitution

Things which are optional but the governement should slowly stop handling:

These things should evenutually become private charities

1. A voluntary scholarship fund for children to attend charter type private schools

2. A voluntary medical assistance fund for the poor and disabled

3. A voluntary monetary assistance fund for the poor and disabled

4. A voluntary food assistance program for the poor and disabled

How it should all be funded:

1. taxes should be collected at local levels and dispursed up to state and national level

2. If an income tax is levied, no more than .oooooo3% flat tax (each person is only 1 of ~300,000,000)

3. flat rate tax on all consumption, whenever a product or service is bought

4. All the above voluntary programs should funded voluntarily, not with tax dollars

That is it; nothing more.  Now I know it will most likely never get this good during my life time, but we need to start shrinkning government, and maybe one day things can become close.

The Naivitee of Artists

   I myslelf am an artist of sorts; as a writer/producer/director; however, the naivitee of other artists is staggering for me to think about.  When the Gulf War happened and we left without doing anything to Sadaam Huusain many artists had a thing or two to say.  Most notable of these was David O. Russel's Three Kings 

div>However; after George W. Bush invaded Iraq to oust Sadaam, Russel made an anti-Iraq war documentary called Soldiers Paydiv>

Many clebrities now talk about the horrible things taking place in Africa, especially Dafour.  However, they fail to mention that such corrupt governments confiscate most of the money and goods that come into the countries.  You have to do one or the other; war or ignore them.  These ragimes take most of the money and food we send, so this current situation is a black hole.  Either have the balls to spend the money to liberate people or have the balls to be fiscally responsible and draw back our military.  We can't have both, aid to these countries won't work; if we are going to help these people we need to put some power to our words, otherwise it is just a "feel good" waste of money.   I am not one for war; but if you want to free these people, that is the only way, sending aide is like jacking off and hoping to have a child.

The Fear of Freedom

   I  think I have finally figured it out, why Republicans and Democrats think the way they do; it's the fear of freedom.  Not their own, but of others.  Of course they want all the freedoms they can handle, but they are afraid of giving freedom to others.

   Republicans fear the repeal of drug prohibition because they fear that everyone else will just be high all the time and driving around selling drugs to kids.  They fear gay marriage because they think it will lead to people doing crazy things like marrying horses (no kidding, this is what my dad actually says).

   Democrats fear guns, and think if guns are banned that people will run around shooting everything in sight.  They fear small government because they think people can't take care of themselves.

   How can anyone walk around being this afraid of things?  I mean, I have generalized anxiety disorder, I have days where I stay in my house because I'm afraid to go outside.  My biggest fear in all the world is puppets.  I'm usually convinced people are doing things just to spite me.  But even I think it is paranoid to be as afraid of freedom as Republicans and Democrats.

   To want freedoms for yourself because those are the freedoms you like, and to deny people other freedoms because you don't like them is not acting in self-interest.  If only everyone acted in self-interest (do unto others as you would have them do unto you type stuff)  then there would be no problem, and I think if we spent half as much time teaching our children how to properly behave as we dosending them to public schools which teach a horrbly skewed socialist pallet of half-truths and useless nonsense, then we'd be ok.