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The Most Dreaded Enemy of Liberty
by James Madison, April 20, 1795
4th President of the United States; James Madison
Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. . . . [There is also an] inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and . . . degeneracy of manners and of morals. . . . No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. . . .
[It should be well understood] that the powers proposed to be surrendered [by the Third Congress] to the Executive were those which the Constitution has most jealously appropriated to the Legislature. . . .
The Constitution expressly and exclusively vests in the Legislature the power of declaring a state of war . . . the power of raising armies . . . the power of creating offices. . . .
A delegation of such powers [to the President] would have struck, not only at the fabric of our Constitution, but at the foundation of all well organized and well checked governments.
The separation of the power of declaring war from that of conducting it, is wisely contrived to exclude the danger of its being declared for the sake of its being conducted.
The separation of the power of raising armies from the power of commanding them, is intended to prevent the raising of armies for the sake of commanding them.
The separation of the power of creating offices from that of filling them, is an essential guard against the temptation to create offices for the sake of gratifying favourites or multiplying dependents.
James Madison was the fourth president of the United States.
This is from Letters and Other Writings of James Madison.
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=32445
Posted by Jeff Gates on May 22 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Legislation, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Jeff, Madison was spot on. I’m still waiting for you to acknowledge that Dr. Alan Sabrosky, former Director at the Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, has publicly and loudly announced that Israel orchestrated 9/11 and led us into these wars in the Middle East. What gives?
Here’s a link for Sabrosky: http://www.bigeye.com/sabrosky.htm
I’d say the more noise we make, the better the chances that the patriotic Dr. Sabrosky and his family continue to live in safety. But I may be quite naive.
There are a couple of interviews with him which people should hear and pass along:
http://iamthewitness.com/audio/Dr.Alan.Sobrosky/TiU.TFC.SMITH.OGNIR.Dr.Alan.Sabrosky.29-03-2010.mp3
and
http://www.archive.org/details/TheLibertyHour-WithDr.AlanSabrosky
James Madison was another true American hero. Well posted, Jeff.
Tom Texas Vet
Jeff, I might add, though war is the culprit you talk of, it is those secretive ones behind the promulgation of wars (and therefore, increased profits and taxes)that are the real villains.
I maintain that if every Veteran was properly taken care of, the downstream costs of war would be so great, that wars would essentially disappear.
T.
[...] Via veteranstoday. com [...]
[...] murder spree began one day before debate commenced on Senate Resolution 46 proposed by Senator Joe Lieberman to authorize the use of U.S. forces in [...]
“Israel is Our Ally”
Submitted by Windcharmer on Mon, 06/14/2010 – 10:31
in Daily Paul Liberty Forum
How many times have we heard these words spoken by US public officials and media talking heads? It seems the more it is said the more we should believe it. This reminds me of the Nazi dictum of ‘telling the big lie ad infinitum until people believe it.’
Here’s a link to the Yale University Avalon Project. The project is designed to compile and provide access to the important documents of history. It seems like a pretty inclusive list.
Can someone point out the document that makes Israel out ally? I can’t find it.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/20th.asp
Thank you windcharmer and Daily Paul
FLOTILLA ATTACK MIRRORS USS LIBERTY
By Harmony Grant Daws
17 June 10
Thanks to the internet, Israel’s terrorist attack on the Free Gaza ship, Mavi Marmara, could hardly be less publicized. Yet on June 8, 1967—43 years ago—Israeli air and sea forces attacked another ship in international waters. It was the USS Liberty, conspicuously flying its American flag in clear weather; Israel used bombs, napalm and torpedoes against it. The attack on the Liberty remains the only maritime incident involving fatalities in US history which was never investigated by Congress. The attack occurred in international waters, and reports by eyewitnesses flatly contradict the Israel-excusing narrative to which the US agreed.
This article examines stunning parallels between the Liberty attack and the recent brutal takeover of the Gaza-bound flotilla. Both attacks occurred in international waters. In both, Israel heavy-handedly silenced eyewitnesses, discredited survivors, controlled a biased investigation—after having ordered the attacks to protect an even greater crime.
Joe Meadors survived both attacks. He was aboard the Liberty in 1967 and also an activist passenger on the flotilla this June. Meadors says international waters were violated both times. The Israelis, he says, “ think they can do no wrong. Every time they speak they say they don’t break any laws, they always abide by international laws. But, they break them with impunity and the US Government is not going to hold them accountable, nobody is.”
Rest of the article can be read from Truthtellers.org [National Prayer Network]
We have seen darling little kids being beheaded by criminal Israel and we most recently had Israel’s massacre of aidworkers on the flotilla and are we going to allow Israel continue these atrocious murders? No we should not. That is why we need politicians of high caliber who will say no to these atrocities and by supporting people like Rand Paul we will not change anything.
Internet Censorship has started already. I am not able to get articles on the website, Daily Paul. Neocon warmongers are trying to destroy the Liberty movement and it is suspected that they have infiltrated this group and are trying to sabotage it from within. Rand Paul should be blamed for this. This man has proven to be a traitor and I don’t understand why anyone in the Liberty Movement should donate money for his campaign. Being the son of Ron Paul should not give him the priviledge of collecting money at the expense of other candidates who truly deserve financial help for being true Libertarians instead of the traitor Rand Paul.
It is not about personalities but principles. Ron Paul, you must discipline your greedy, power hungry and devious son who is destroying the efforts of millions of people who have put their faith and money into building this Movement or else both of you leave the Liberty Movement. We have no time to play around and we need people for the Cause of Liberty and Rand Paul is for destroying Liberty and freedom of countries/people whom Israel perceives to be its enemies.
Ron Paul has done a bad job of raising this man who has turned out to be another traitor and because of whom the entire Liberty Movement is at risk. We need Rand Paul to leave politics. If not father ansd son both should leave.
We need new blood. We need people whom we can trust and they don’t have to be lawyers and doctors. They can be farmers, carpenters, plumbers, retired post masters, little shop owners, truck drivers, house wives, people who have courage to stand up to the tyrant Israel and point the finger and say “you did 9/11, you bombed USS Liberty, you did Levon Affair and we are coming after you”. [Please we don't need freemasons or eastern stars as politicians]
I want Ron Paul and his supporters know that I got upset with him because of his son. I have financially supported both of them in the recent months and had plenty of faith in both of them before I heard about Rand Paul’s support for Israel which simply made me sick.
I got to know about Ron Paul only after the 2008 election and he should have been our president in 2008. I was being brainwashed by Fox news and the conservative radio hosts who–were unfair to him during this election. If he were the president we would have saved lives of so many of our troops and more Muslims. I really want to have someone like Ron Paul but I feel his son is now in the way for which I get upset with him as well as Ron Paul.
I want to give him all the credit for everything he has done for so many years and God bless Ron Paul!
I am concerned whether he has the same passion he had in 2008 and whether his own son feels embarrased at his father’s foreign policy ideology now that he has become one of neocons. I love Ron Paul’s foreign policy ideology, his wanting to end the fed, end income tax, abolish the CIA. I am even for abolishing FEMA, energy department and homeland [in]security.
If Ron Paul became the president in 2008 Israel would not have attacked the peace activists and there would be no war against iran.