Posts Tagged ‘democracy’
They Call it Democracy: Affirming the Civic Engagement Doctrine
BY CARL L. BANKSTON III The education for civic engagement crusade marches on. According to an article (1) in Inside Higher Education, a group of educators met on Jan. 25 at the annual meetings of the Association of American Colleges and Universities to discuss how to carry out the ideas set forth in a recent report on civic learning by the [...]
Defining the State: Aristotle’s Politics, Bk 3, Prt 9
The Moral Liberal, Classics Library Aristotle: "Politics", Book Three, Part 9, 350 B.C.E. Let us begin by considering the common definitions of oligarchy and democracy, and what is justice oligarchical and democratical. For all men cling to justice of some kind, but their conceptions are imperfect and they do not express the whole idea. [...]
Leaving Iraq
By Alan Caruba War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no [...]
Athens: Adams “Defense” No. 41
Liberty Letters, John Adams, 1786 A Defense of the Constitutions of the United States, Letter 41 Ancient Democratical Republics: ATHENS My dear Sir, CECROPS, an Egyptian, conducted a colony that settled in Athens, and first engaged the wandering shepherds and hunters of Attica to unite in villages of husbandmen. Although the [...]
Democracy Corrupted: John Adams
Liberty Letters Quote of the Day, John Adams 1786 But when a new race of men grows up, these, no longer regarding equality and liberty, from being accustomed to them, aim at a greater share of power than the rest, particularly those of the greatest fortunes, who, grown now ambitious, and being unable to obtain the power they aim at by their own [...]
The Naivete and Arrogance of Compelling Democracy
American Gumbo with Diane Alden Bringing democracy and Kentucky Fried Chicken to people who neither want it or know what to do with it when they are offered it - is naive and arrogant. Samuel Huntingtron the late Harvard don wrote in Clash of Civilizations ..."The idea is advanced that the spread of Western consumption patterns and popular [...]
The Circle of Life
By Alan Caruba Much that occurs in life is happenstance, being in the right or wrong place at the right or wrong time. So it is with birth. This was on my mind today because yesterday, October 27th, around 7 P.M., Zachary Caruba, the new son of my nephew and his wife, came into this world. He has by early report ten fingers and ten toes. One [...]
The Anti-Federalist Papers No. 68: William Grayson
On the Mode of Electing the President William Grayson, June 18, 1788 From a speech by William Grayson given to the Virginia ratifying convention on June 18, 1788. Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman, one great objection with me is this: If we advert to..... democratical, aristocratical, or executive branch, we shall find their powers are [...]
Qaddafi’s Death: The End of a Brutal Regime
Liberty Alerts, American Center for Law and Justice One of the world's most ruthless and barbaric dictators is dead. Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, who has been on the run for many months, was killed during an attack on Qaddafi's convoy. His death marks the end of his 42-year reign - a dictatorship that focused on the repression and murder of [...]
Who Lost Latin America?
By David T. Pyne, Esq Play It Again Sam! (A Look Back on how we lost Brazil to Communism: December 12th, 2002) Today, President Bush will meet with the newly-elected Communist-backed President-Elect of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula), at the White House. Both sides say they want close cooperation. Among the issues to be discussed [...]
The Anti-Federalist Papers No. 9: Montezuma
Liberty Letters, Montezuma, Anti-Federalist No. 9 October 17, 1787 "MONTEZUMA," regarded as a Pennsylvanian, wrote this essay which showed up in the Independent Gazetteer on October 17, 1787. We the Aristocratic party of the United States, lamenting the many inconveniences to which the late confederation subjected the well-born, the [...]
The Federalist Papers, No. 20: James Madison
Liberty Letters, James Madison, with Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 20 Tuesday, December 11, 1787 THE United Netherlands are a confederacy of republics, or rather of aristocracies of a very remarkable texture, yet confirming all the lessons derived from those which we have already reviewed. The union is composed of seven coequal and [...]
The Federalist Papers, No. 19: James Madison
Liberty Letters, James Madison, with Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 19 Saturday, December 8, 1787 THE examples of ancient confederacies, cited in my last paper, have not exhausted the source of experimental instruction on this subject. There are existing institutions, founded on a similar principle, which merit particular consideration. [...]
The Federalist Papers, No. 18: James Madison
Liberty Letters, James Madison, with Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 18 Friday, December 7, 1787 AMONG the confederacies of antiquity, the most considerable was that of the Grecian republics, associated under the Amphictyonic council. From the best accounts transmitted of this celebrated institution, it bore a very instructive analogy to [...]
The Federalist Papers, No. 17: Alexander Hamilton
Liberty Letters, Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 17 Wednesday, December 5, 1787 AN OBJECTION, of a nature different from that which has been stated and answered, in my last address, may perhaps be likewise urged against the principle of legislation for the individual citizens of America. It may be said that it would tend to render the [...]
Dalai Lama: “I am a Marxist”
By Selwyn Duke There is no better way to proclaim your lack of spiritual and philosophical depth than by, two decades after the fall of communism, disclosing that you’re Marxist. Yet this is precisely what Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama did during a speech before 150 Chinese students at the University of Minnesota this [...]
Government and the Black Plague of the 20th Century
By Dennis Behreandt People seem infatuated with the “miracle” of government, and their infatuation grows if their government calls itself a “democracy.” As a result of their infatuation, people far too often believe romantic notions about its benevolence. In the United States, the last two years have seen high-profile examples of [...]
Burke and Revolution: Jack Kerwick
By Jack Kerwick The “revolution” that began in Egypt and that is now spreading across the Middle East has many a Westerner, and even more Americans, smiling. Those who supported President Bush’s “Freedom Agenda” are now crediting the former visionary for setting in motion the domino effect that, they are convinced, promises to bring [...]
Parental Divorce the Major Predictor of an Early Death
By Bryan Fischer According to a new book, "The Longevity Project," parental divorce during childhood is the single strongest predictor of early death in adulthood. Children who experienced the divorce of their parents in childhood died about five years earlier, on average, than children who grew up in intact families. This is clearly a call [...]
Democrazy: Egypt and the Eternal Constitution
By Selwyn Duke A little less than a century ago, the West entertained the notion that WWI would be “the war to end all wars.” Insofar as this was seriousness and not just selling point, it was naiveté. Obviously, a military solution cannot solve a moral problem – nor can it change man’s nature. And while we should realize this [...]
Alden On Modern Democracies
American Gumbo with Diane Alden Modern democracies should be considered as oligarchies. In these systems, actual differences between viable political rivals are small, the oligarchic elite impose strict limits on what constitutes an acceptable and respectable political position, and politicians' careers depend heavily on unelected economic [...]
John Marshall: On the Federal Constitution
Liberty Letters, 10 June 1788, John Marshall Editor's Summary: John Marshall approaches Patrick Henry's objections to the proposed United States Constitution, one by one, and overcomes them solidly and persuasively. He discusses the abuses of political life under the Articles of Confederation that were ignored by Henry, and then moves on to the [...]
Democracy: A More Pure and Unmixed Tyranny
Liberty Letters Quote of the Day, James Wilson Mr. Wilson, after viewing the subject with all the coolness and attention possible was most apprehensive of a dissolution of the Government from the legislature swallowing up all the other powers. He remarked that the prejudices against the Executive resulted from a misapplication of the adage [...]
Obama Describes America: ‘Big, Messy Democracy’
Liberty Alerts, Penny Star, CNSNews.com President Barack Obama repeatedly has called the United States a “big, messy Democracy" in his many campaign stops around the country in recent weeks. Obama apparently is using the expression to defend his administration's difficulty in making "big changes" since he took office almost two years [...]
Pres. Hoover: We Must Seek Revival of our Religious Strength
American Minute with Bill Federer He coordinated relief to millions when the Mississippi River levees broke during the 1927 flood and he organized feeding 300 million in 21 countries of Europe and Russia following World War I. In 1928, he was elected the 31st U.S. President in a landslide victory. His entire life he refused to receive any [...]
Is Democracy the Voice of God?
By Steve Farrell Back in August 2010, Judge Vaughn Walker engaged in the increasingly played tyrannical game: "Stroke of the pen. Law of the land. Kinda cool!" when with no other authority than his own high opinion of himself and his revolutionary view of what he'd like California and American law to become, he struck down California's [...]
Gordon Gekko on Greed
Free Enterprise Zone, The Freeman, Sandy Ikeda Oliver Stone has made of sequel of sorts to his 1987 movie Wall Street. In the original the central character, Gordon Gekko, famously says, “Greed … is good.” He seems to have meant that wealth-creation and innovation is founded on “greed,” something that, understood in a certain [...]
Democracy Without Morals Would Eventually Reduce Freedom
American Minute with Bill Federer Fisher Ames helped ratify the U.S. Constitution. He sat beside George Washington during the service at St. Paul's Chapel following Washington's Inauguration. Fisher Ames authored the final House language of the First Amendment. At age 46, Fisher Ames was elected Harvard's president, but declined due to an [...]
A Blessing or a Curse? — George Washington
Liberty Letters Quote of the Day, George Washington In June of 1783, America's fate swung between the between the extremes of anarchy (because of too much democracy and too little executive power) and tyranny (the natural result of anarchy or the desire to restore order); which led George Washington to observe: "It is yet to be decided whether [...]
Afghanistan: War isn’t Wimbledon
By Bryan Fischer In all the dust-up over Gen. McChrystal’s comments in Rolling Stone, which made me wonder what all the fuss was about, one salient thing is being overlooked: We have already surrendered in Afghanistan. For the first time in recorded history, the commander-in-chief of the mightiest military in the history of the world has told [...]
Parents Have an Awakening about Curriculum
By Phyllis Schlafly What could motivate hundreds of parents to attend a local school board meeting? Well, parents in the Alpine School District in Utah have been attending in large numbers to demand comprehensive changes in the curriculum. It all began when a 6th-grade history teacher told eleven-year-old Susan Schnell that the United [...]
How the U.S. Can Become Greece — Alan Caruba
By Alan Caruba I find it interesting that an entire nation like Greece can face bankruptcy. Greece will be loaned billions that it is not likely to ever repay. Meanwhile, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland are financially shaky as well. England is not much better off and the United States is printing money in the basement of the Federal [...]
The Naked Communism of Earth Day
By Alan Caruba It is no accident that April 22, Earth Day, is also the birth date of Vladimir Lenin, an acolyte of Karl Marx, the lunatic who invented communism as an alternative to capitalism. Earth Day is naked communism. To begin, it substitutes a worship of the Earth, Gaia, for the worship of God, creator of the universe and the [...]
Alexis de Tocqueville, and Democracy in America — American Minute
On APRIL 16, 1859, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville died. After nine months of traveling the United States, he wrote Democracy in America in 1835, which has been described as "the most comprehensive...analysis of character and society in America ever written." Alexis de Tocqueville wrote: Upon my arrival in the United States the [...]
Looking for Democracy
By Alan Caruba Every time I use the word “democracy” to describe the process by which Americans elect their representatives, someone leaps to their computer to inform me that America is a “republic” and not a democracy. I am well aware of this, but it does not change the process. It got me thinking about Alexis de Tocqueville’s [...]
Democrats Hate Democracy — Chris Adamo
By Christopher G. Adamo Among the many absurdities proffered by Barack Obama sycophants in the media and throughout the liberal establishment is the notion that Obama possesses great leadership qualities. Throughout his public life he has consistently proven himself to be the antithesis of leadership. And ever since the “healthcare” debate [...]
One Hundred and Seventy-three Despots …
Liberty Letters with Steve Farrell Volume I, Letter 16, Jefferson There is too much talk about democracy and equality today, and not enough about republicanism and the rule of law. More than one Founding Father called democracy "the worst of all forms of government." Thomas Jefferson, like all of the Founding Fathers, believed in the [...]
Founder’s-styled election reform, by Steve Farrell
When it comes to limited government as defined by the Founding Fathers, the Latter-day Center for Moral Liberalism sides with the inspired electoral college process created in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, one which rather than making for a pure democracy (or something like unto it) gave us representative government - but more than that: [...]
