Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. - James Madison, Federalist #46, 1788
The 2nd Amendment has long been a cornerstone of Americans' rights under the Constitution and was one of the principal reasons for the American Revolution (Lexington & Concord, anyone?) and a hallmark of any free society.
By contrast, when countries restrict the right of the people to own firearms (looking at the three of you Canada, UK and Australia) they usually end up restricting other rights down the line.
The steady character of our countrymen is a rock to which we may safely moor; and notwithstanding the efforts of the papers to disseminate early discontents, I expect that a just, dispassionate and steady conduct, will at length rally to a proper system the great body of our country. Unequivocal in principle, reasonable in manner, we shall be able I hope to do a great deal of good to the cause of freedom & harmony. - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Elbridge Gerry, 1801
America's third president, Thomas Jefferson, is a divisive figure in American history. On the one hand, he was a champion for liberty and freedom, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and an author of the Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions in opposition to fellow patriot John Adams and the Federalists' Alien & Sedition Acts.
On the other hand, like a lot of Americans of the time, he was an ardent slaveholder and father of multiple children by slave mothers he owned as chattel property and while he should be condemned for that part, that does not mean he should be condemned elsewhere. Heck, Democrats still have in some places Jefferson-Jackson Dinners' and both Jefferson and (Andrew) Jackson were noxious people by today's culturally chauvinistic standards.
I thought calling for revolution was a bad thing, Sen. Markey...
Massachusetts is where revolutions are born. And the revolution against Donald Trump and Elon Musk starts here. pic.twitter.com/K0hJB8gkHV
— Ed Markey (@EdMarkey) February 17, 2025
Suffice it to say, people weren't having it and for good reason; one of the narratives over January 6th and the violence that day was that it was thwarting the will of the American people. Isn't calling for a revolution the same thing?
Markey's words also fail to note that DOGE (say whatever you want about them) has uncovered billions in fraud, corruption, waste and grift/graft; are they not concerned about that? Or are there concerns only when a Republican is sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
I hope, some day or another, we shall become a storehouse and granary for the world. - George Washington, letter to the Marquis de Lafayette, 1788
And for most of the 20th century and the 21st century, we have been; for instance, the U.S. exported to the former Soviet Union, on average, more grain than the Soviets themselves exported to their allies...and in most cases, with no strings attached. Gifts, essentially.
That's part of the soft power diplomacy the U.S. is well known for and something I honestly hope Pres. Trump continues - that is, after rooting out the corruption and graft within USAid.
Founders' Quotes are quotes by those who were involved, in one way or another, with the founding the United States - either through the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States or through close proximity to either, followed by a comment from yours truly.
We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times - George Washington, letter to Philip Schuyler, 1777
Life always has bumps and dips and troubles; always has since the first humans walked the earth. The trick is to get through those problems to the other side.
Say whatever you want about J.D. Vance but he isn't playing on the issue of free speech. Just ask poor former MSNBCDNC host Mehdi "hope you don't have a beeper" Hasan....
The American media/left attack on Vice President JD Vance for calling out censorship during his speech in Germany is a truly alarming thing. How do you stand with censorship rather than with the person calling it out?
We even saw the crazy moment where "Face the Nation's" Margaret Brennan claimed that free speech had been "weaponized" by the Nazis to "conduct a genocide." Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to school her on how nuts that was if she thought that free speech was somehow the cause of the Holocaust — that, indeed, the Nazis didn't allow free speech.
After folks on the right called out this insanity, leftist media personality Mehdi Hasan tagged JD Vance in an effort to compare Vance's criticism of the Germans to the White House blocking the AP from the Oval Office and Air Force One. -- Hey @JDVance, I know you’re busy lecturing the Europeans on free speech, but have you seen this? (Mehdi Hasan, 17 Feb. 2025)
Vance's repsonse was epic... Yes dummy. I think there’s a difference between not giving a reporter a seat in the WH press briefing room and jailing people for dissenting views. The latter is a threat to free speech, the former is not. Hope that helps! (VP J.D. Vance, 17 Feb. 2025) (RedState)
Do you think Mike Pence or any other recent vice president would've sent that zinger at a leftist pundit? Nope; they'd just bent over and taken it like establishment types are want to in past years. It also doesn't help that Mehdi Hasan is a we;;-known near-terrorist sympathizer who once accused a conservative commentator of supposedly threatening him on live television.
Paraphrasing something Omar Little once said on The Wire, "You come at Vice President Vance, you better not miss!"
So, get out there, enjoy life as you can and keep a sharp mind, alright?
