September 11th, 1960

On September 11, 1960 at a conference in Sharon, Connecticut a bunch of young conservatives, led by William F. Buckley adopted The Sharon Statement:

“In this time of moral and political crises, it is the responsibility of the youth of America to affirm certain eternal truths.

We, as young conservatives, believe:

That foremost among the transcendent values is the individual’s use of his God-given free will, whence derives his right to be free from the restrictions of arbitrary force;

That liberty is indivisible, and that political freedom cannot long exist without economic freedom;

That the purpose of government is to protect those freedoms through the preservation of internal order, the provision of national defense, and the administration of justice;

That when government ventures beyond these rightful functions, it accumulates power, which tends to diminish order and liberty;

That the Constitution of the United States is the best arrangement yet devised for empowering government to fulfill its proper role, while restraining it from the concentration and abuse of power;

That the genius of the Constitution–the division of powers–is summed up in the clause that reserves primacy to the several states, or to the people, in those spheres not specifically delegated to the Federal government;

That the market economy, allocating resources by the free play of supply and demand, is the single economic system compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government, and that it is at the same time the most productive supplier of human needs;

That when government interferes with the work of the market economy, it tends to reduce the moral and physical strength of the nation; that when it takes from one man to bestow on another, it diminishes the incentive of the first, the integrity of the second, and the moral autonomy of both;

That we will be free only so long as the national sovereignty of the United States is secure; that history shows periods of freedom are rare, and can exist only when free citizens concertedly defend their rights against all enemies……….”

Although nearly fifty years have passed since this statement was adopted on September 11, 1960, ten of them following the assault on America on September 11, 2001, I believe America still holds these truths to be self-evident.    God Bless America.

From Hope to Nope

An editorial in the New York Times this morning calling the Republican party “The Party of Nope” tickled my funny bone. 

It reminded me of the story of the little girl in Arizona who prayed for snow for her birthday.  Her parents, afraid the child may lose her faith in God, asked her how she felt about God not answering her prayer.   “He did answer my prayer,” she said.  “He said no.”

God has answered the prayers of more than half the country by sending us a representative to just say no to an administration that has come to believe it is now sitting in God’s seat.   Wrong assumption.

Amanda’s Thought for the Day

We’ve all heard that the world is divided into two types of people, the givers and the takers. However, there’s also a third type: the ones who are happy to give yet refuse to be taken.  They are the foundation of democracy.

Robin Williams as The American Flag

From the Raped Mountains of Appalachia:Perspective on the Bailout

Shame on your greed, shame on your wicked schemes, I’ll say this, I don’t give a damn about your dreams      Bob Dylan, Thunder on the Mountain

Feel like my soul is beginning to expand, look into my heart and you will understand.

You brought me here, now you’re trying to run me away, the writing on the wall, come read it, come see what it say.

Thunder on the Mountain heavy as can be, mean old twister bearing down on me.

All the ladies in Washington scrambling to get out of town, looks like something bad gonna happen, better roll your airplane down.

The hammer’s on the table, the pitchfork’s on the shelf, for the love of God you ought to take pity on yourself. 

Amen