‘Editors Page’ Archives
Slavery & Secession: Treason Against the Hopes of the World
Liberty Letters, Thomas Jefferson, 1820 Editor's Introduction: In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Furthermore, with the exception of Missouri, this law prohibited slavery in the [...]
Three Dangerous Extremes: Citizen Beware!
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell In 1786, John Adams, a year prior to that Constitutional Convention that produced the world's best Constitution, argued in his "A Defense of the Constitutions of the United States for a balanced republic, complete with divisions of powers, checks and balances, the rule of law (and reverence and submission to [...]
Paul Revere At Lexington: In His Own Words
Americanist History, Paul Revere: 1775 Many of us have read Longfellow's marvelous poem "Paul Revere's Ride;" the account given below is from a deposition which Revere gave shortly after his ride. It describes his being taken into custody by British soldiers, repeatedly threatened at gun point, his gutsy straightforward responses, and after his [...]
Hamilton on the Disastrous Inefficiencies of The Confederation
Liberty Letters, Alexander Hamilton, 1778 Editor's Note: The date is 13 February 1778; the Articles of Confederation had just been sent to the states for ratification three months earlier; and Lt. Colonel Alexander Hamilton, General Washington's Chief of Staff, well in advance of the Constitutional Convention that would be held nine years [...]
Getting Up Front and Personal With the Ten Commandments
By Steve Farrell Should those who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the fundamental values of the Judeo-Christian ethic be free, like everyone else is free, to defend that outlook, and promote it, and attempt to inject it, in the pubic debate; whether it be in regards to the law, or public policy, or public employment, or in the local [...]
Federal Control of Education and the Decline of Community
By Steve Farrell In an excellent paper presented in a back issue of Modern Age: A Quarterly Review, Carl L. Bankston, III, Professor of Sociology at Tulane University, and author of Public Education-American's Civil Religion: A Social History, argues effectively regarding the undermining influences on family, community, and student performance, [...]
Fast Asleep in Philosophical Tranquility as a Civil War is Born
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell In my August 17th column (1), "For the Sake of Party or Principle," I promised to follow-up on John Adams' feelings regarding "party spirit" – that it was an impediment, a censor, a book-burner to the truth; ... and then it really gets ugly. Put party before principle, before truth, before thinking, [...]
Hooker, Paine, Roots of the Law, and the Need to Reform
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell It was in the spring of 1638 when three Connecticut towns, Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield, chose representatives and held a general court at Hartford to decide upon a general government. In the opening session the Reverend Thomas Hooker stood and preached a powerful sermon on the text "the foundation of [...]
Laying Claim Upon the Higher Law
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell In his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765) familiar to American colonial students of law, Sir William Blackstone said: Man, considered as a creature, must necessarily be subject to the laws of his Creator. ... This will of his Maker is called the law of nature. ... This law of nature ... is binding [...]
For the Sake of Party or Principle?
By Steve Farrell Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had different points of view on a few subjects. One significant point of departure, at least in Adams' mind, was on the supposed benefits of party spirit. Jefferson informed the Adamses (John and Abigail) on more than one occasion that there were two kinds of spirit always present among men, [...]
The Public Consequences of So-Called Private Choices
By Steve Farrell Should the decision to partake of illegal drugs become sacrosanct, now and forever? Or to put it another way, are all moral choices, no matter how extreme, beyond the reach of the law because they involve private decisions on moral matters? This is a good question. There are political forces both on the left and on the [...]
That Great and Terrible Lie
By Steve Farrell Liberty and license are not synonymous. Parents know better. Too many of them have had the unfortunate dilemma of dealing with the “I am free to do as I please” child who routinely, or upon occasion, exercises that egocentric proclamation to reckless extremes. These parents stand as witnesses that a widely accepted [...]
The Debt Crisis: Who and What’s to Blame?
Dis “n” Dat with Steve Farrell In an exclusive interview at NewsMax.com, Ron Paul tells it like it is regarding who and what caused our debt crisis: But right now all we’re dealing with in Washington is the blame game. Who’s at fault. Is it all Obama’s fault or is it something Republicans did in the past? I think it’s what [...]
Johnathan Edwards: New England and the Latter-day Glory
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell In his work, "The Latter-Day Glory Is Probably to Begin in America," Jonathan Edwards writes: And if we may suppose that this glorious work of God shall begin in any part of America, I think, if we could consider the circumstances of the settlement of New England, it must needs appear the most likely, of [...]
Christianity and Religious Freedom: On a Candlestick or Under a Bushel?
By Steve Farrell, The New American Nowadays, in order to justify each and every sin under the sun, each and every assault upon the moral fiber of our family,community, and nation, one approach fits all: opponents of everything good and right, sensible and salutary need only push the claim that their privacy has been violated. But how can [...]
Hang the Ten Commandments Back Up!
By Steve Farrell, The New American I am a fan of hanging the Ten Commandments (and the other great fundamentals of the Judeo-Christian moral system) back up in every public school showcase, every “hall of liberty,” or more to the point, in every public classroom right beside the American Flag so that they might be memorized, discussed, [...]
Candid Common Sense on Morality, Law, and the Nature of Man
By Steve Farrell, New American Hard to find in this day and age is a bit of honesty and common sense about why we creatures dubbed "human" subject ourselves to law, and why it is that since time immemorial those laws have had a moral foundation. Honest common sense answers came readily during the American founding era. For instance, Noah [...]
Divide and Command
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell In Federalist No. 7, Alexander warned as to America divided, as to America under a loose offensive or defensive confederation, as some 'save America' groups clamor for today: America, if not connected at all, or only by the feeble tie of a simple league, offensive and defensive, would, by the operation of [...]
The President’s UnConstitutional and Immoral War
By Steve Farrell, The New American I am opposed to U.S. involvement in the war in Libya. I feel confident that the vast majority of Americans, if they once again understood the moral and political fundamentals upon which this nation was founded, would oppose this war as well. I previously stated a couple of reasons why I stand against [...]
Getting Up Front and Personal With the Ten Commandments
By Steve Farrell, TheNewAmerican.com Should those who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the fundamental values of the Judeo-Christian ethic be free, like everyone else is free, to defend that outlook, and promote it, and attempt to inject it, in the pubic debate; whether it be in regards to the law, or public policy, or public [...]
The President’s UnConstitutional and Immoral War
Steve Farrell, TheNewAmerican.com I am opposed to U.S. involvement in the war in Libya. I feel confident that the vast majority of Americans, if they once again understood the moral and political fundamentals upon which this nation was founded, would oppose this war as well. I previously stated a couple of reasons why I stand against [...]
Trump Comes Out Guns Blazing About ‘Very Strange President’
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell NewsMax.com reports today: In the immediate aftermath of the White House’s release of President Obama’s birth certificate, billionaire Donald Trump came out with guns blazing in an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV. Trump described President Obama as a “very strange president” for not [...]
There’s No Place Like Home
A Way of Life with Steve Farrell The family is where the rubber meets the road, where selfless service is given daily, where eternal values are taught again and again until they are believed, practiced, and passed on to the next generation ... and spread outward to the community at large, where security from a confused and cruel world can be [...]
Monetary Treason: No Subtler, No Surer Means
Tyranny Unmasked with Steve Farrell For too many years, both Republicans and Democrats have flippantly stated regarding the national debt and the debasing of our currency through monetization of that debt, "We owe it to ourselves!" No, 'We owe, we owe, we owe! ... as will our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren! ... if this [...]
Why I Oppose the War in Libya
By Steve Farrell From the moment of the first notification of U.S. missiles being fired on Libya, I've been opposed to this war. I have my reasons. First, I believe in the United States Constitution as an inspired document, a Heavenly Banner; and those who serve under it take a solemn oath before God to uphold it. Remarkable, isn't it? Yet, [...]
The Real Internationalist
Tyranny Unmasked with Steve Farrell Here's the real problem with internationalism or Internationalists, the problem the novice or the willfully blind does not know or care to know; or the sympathizer and the dedicated propagandist will not say they know; but which an open, dedicated Communist, or men like P.E. Vyshinsky, occasionally will [...]
Comrade to Comrade About Spontaneous Revolutions
Tyranny Unmasked with Steve Farrell As we contemplate what the media and "experts" are calling a "spontaneous revolution" occurring throughout the Middle East, a little honest insiders insight from comrade to comrade by Vladimir Lenin might take our minds on a different turn. Quoting from Lenin's 1902 work "What Is to Be Done," we read in [...]
Obama Birth Certificate Issue Still Haunts the President
By Steve Farrell The to-the-point question: Where's the Birth Certificate? and for that matter, why is the President of the United States spending millions on legal teams to block access to it? has not, and will not go away until the President comes clean and produces the document and proves himself a naturalized citizen of the United States, [...]
Candid Common Sense on Law, Morality, and the Nature of Man
Steve Farrell, TheNewAmerican.com Hard to find in this day and age is a bit of honesty and common sense about why we creatures dubbed "human" subject ourselves to law, and why it is that since time immemorial those laws have had a moral foundation. Honest common sense answers came readily during the American founding era. For instance, Noah [...]
Spontaneous? I Think Not
by Steve Farrell From the mouth of university professors, U.S. State Department officials, and the media we repeatedly hear the mantra that socialist and communist revolutions are brought about by "the spontaneous actions of oppressed peoples." In one sense, there is nothing false about this; that is in the only sense possible, that Marx and [...]
Ideas and Guns are Dangerous Things
Tyranny Unmasked, Joseph Stalin "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas." So said Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (1878 – 1953) served as the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in [...]
Moral Beings and the Law
By Steve Farrell I am always puzzled by the query "Why do you Christians insist on legislating morality?" I suspect many of those who ask it are equally perplexed by my brief and to the point response: "That's what men do, Christians and non-Christians alike. We are all moral beings." Let me explain what I mean by first emphasizing why we have [...]
Rights, Wrongs, and the Law
By Steve Farrell One of the oddest, most harmful political beliefs to emerge in the past 50 years is the notion that one cannot legislate morality. What utter nonsense. Man has always legislated morality. Sir William Blackstone, the central legal mind the post-1787 U.S. courts looked to for guidance, wrote, “The primary and principle objects [...]
Denying Spiritual Man
By Steve Farrell The apostle Paul prophesied the time would come when man’s “conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1) Part of that searing, sad to say, has come in the form of a modern secular state that has, plain as day, utilized curriculum mandates, accreditation standards, and block grants to impose one standard, and one standard alone [...]
Robbing Man of His Divine Heritage
By Steve Farrell In the long battle to subvert the liberties of man a key to victory over the forces of liberty has always included center stage: 1. an all out effort to subvert the Judeo-Christian belief that man is a child of God, made in His image and likeness, possessed of a duel nature of spirit and body, endowed with the godlike qualities [...]
On the Dangers of Deficits and Perpetual Revenue
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell In the Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, Mr. Mason of Virginia, suggested: the necessity of preventing the danger of perpetual revenue which must of necessity subvert the liberty of any Country. If it be objected to on the principle of Mr. Rutledge's motion that public credit may require perpetual [...]
A Meaningless Old Parchment?
by Steve Farrell Today we are bombarded with the idea that private virtue has nothing to do, nothing to say, about proper governing and the maintenance of free government. Not so among America's Founders. On August 14, 1787, John Francis Mercer, a Delegate from Maryland to the Constitutional Convention rose to his feet. He said: What led to [...]
Korea: The No-Win War That Keeps Giving
By Steve Farrell In November of 1950, American General Douglas MacArthur triumphantly completed his reversal of the communist takeover of North Korea and their subsequent Chinese-led and Soviet-ordered invasion of South Korea, and won the war. In what has been described as one of the greatest displays of military genius in history, MacArthur [...]
Time to Leave No Child Left Behind, behind
By Steve Farrell It has been said that the most effective way to conquer a man is to capture his mind. There is no slave more devoted, no disciple more dedicated than one who has become completely obsessed with the vision of what he considers to be a great idea. (1) Thus, education has long been a proper object of concern among both freemen and [...]
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 [...]
Michelle Obama Caught In the Act
By Steve Farrell According to a pool reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times, the First Lady, Michelle Obama may have violated Illinois law when she solicited votes inside a voting center not far from the booths. She asked people to "keep her husband's agenda going." Her husband's agenda, as we know, is about change — change away from the [...]
Blessed Tolerance: The Virtue of a Republic in Decline
By Steve Farrell Approximately two and a half millennia ago, Plato, in his classic work, "The Republic," unveiled a more intimate look into our just discussed "National Law of the Harvest" – that is, Plato unveiled with precision and wit just what happens by and by to the individual 'democratic man' when he foolishly, or by matter of course, [...]
National Law of the Harvest
by Steve Farrell There is a Christian church in America that contends, as did many of our Christian forefathers, that America “is a choice land; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and captivity, and from all other nations under heaven; if they but serve the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ.” (1) An [...]
Young Men Think Old Men Are Fools
By Steve Farrell George Chapman observed, in 1605, "Young men think old men are fools." (1) So do American progressives young and old. They are the sort to daily spit into the wind of "all past historical experience" demanding the abandonment of everything American—especially our "horse and buggy" Constitution and the Judeo-Christian ethic that [...]
Only Those Who Do Things are Criticized
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell "He who fears criticism is hopeless," wrote Thomas Jefferson. He explained: "Only those who do things are criticized. To hesitate for fear of criticism is cowardly." Jefferson could speak. He was one of those who did something. For instance, he penned that Declaration of Independence that among other things [...]
Gerry Warns Fellow Founders On Popular Vote for President
The Moral Liberal with Steve Farrell In May through September of 1787 America's Founders met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a Constitutional Convention. Several issues generated considerable debate, one of the most controversial of all had to do with the manner of electing a national president. At one point several delegates suggested the [...]
The Event is In the Hand of God
by Steve Farrell As the delegates filtered in the week and a half prior to the start of the Constitutional Convention in May of 1787, George Washington turned to Gouverneur Morris and said: "It is too probable that no plan we propose will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be sustained. If to please the people, we offer what we [...]
There’s Theory and There’s Reality
By Steve Farrell The great American statesmen J. Reuben Clark Jr. noted: "Tradition has it that Solon, the great law-giver declared in reply to the taunt 'Are these the best laws you can devise?' 'No! but they are the best the Greeks can bare!'" Clark responds, "There is always a wide margin between the theoretically perfect and the practically [...]
Bringing America Home
By Steve Farrell Talk about self-evident patriotism! In Tom Pauken's latest, Bringing America Home, here is a writer who's heart and mind unabashedly rings out 'God! Family! Country!' from cover to cover. So does his commitment to striking a balance between faith and reason and a roll up your sleeves work ethic as he easily moves from broadside [...]
1787 Common Sense: Debating Minimum Citizenship Requirements
By Steve Farrell Some policies, laws, constitutional principles and traditions are about common sense. On August 9, 1787, Gouverneur Morris, one of the eight delegates to the Constitutional Convention from Pennsylvania, observed regarding minimum citizenship requirements for the United States Senate: "Every society from a great nation down to [...]
