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"In a country where no law may be voted and no tax may be levied save with the consent of those whom the law is to govern and upon whom the tax is to fall, the public can be robbed only if it is first deceived.... Discuss, if you feel so inclined. :-)
Our ignorance is the raw material of every extortion that is practiced upon us, and we may be certain beforehand that every sophism is the precursor of an act of plunder.
My friends, when you detect a sophism in a petition, get a good grip on your wallet, for you may be sure that this is what the petitioners are aiming at." (quoted in Frederic Bastiat: A Man Alone)
Also, what are your thoughts on having a regular quote "feature" here?
9 comments:
I like the quote feature!
It is so ironic that Obama "promised" transparency, yet everything that has passed so far has been done quickly, and in a manner that no one has had a chance to read them.
A headline I saw on Fox said something to the effect that Dems were begging Obama to speed things up even more. Heaven forbid the people be allowed time to understand what is happening in Washington!
Another thing I like about that quote is how applicable it seems to the cap and trade tax Obama is set on implementing as soon as he can.
Perhaps what he really meant was that the *ambition* and *corruption* and *manipulation* would be transparent, LOL...
I do feel the need to say - perhaps I'll post about it later - that I'd be calling "socialist!!!" on McCain, too, if/when he did the same things - I bet he wouldn't have tried to cram it into the first 100 days, though, and he sure wouldn't have been treated with such complacency by the general media!
Very timely, indeed.
I like the quote feature!
I agree--McCain was not my ideal candidate. But with the media and Congress attacking him daily, he wouldn't have been able to act so quickly.
I appreciate his efforts to fight the Omnibus bill by pointing out each earmark contained in it. And I believe he voted against the Stimulus Bill earlier. Whether he would have vetoed either bill as President is a different question.
I kinda think there are people behind the scenes pushing for things (sophism, if you will) and whoever becomes president gets subjected to the pressure. It would take an extremely principled person to act against it.
I don't think Bush came up will all the things he did on his own. And I don't think Obama has either. I just think there's something else driving this train. Things happen so quickly, bills are written and prepared in advance, I dunno... just a feeling. I don't like it. Our politicians look like puppets to me lately. (Almost) none of them are strong enough to break their strings.
And I LOVE quotes, btw!
Another related quote:
“It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.” James Madison
Carissa - I tend to agree that there's something deeper and more pervasive going on - I know Obama kept saying he was ready to hit the ground running when he took office, but still, the sheer number of things he's done - virtually unquestioned (and uncriticized if he refuses to answer when he *is* questioned) by the traditional media - is astounding and shows a great deal of prior work... waiting for the right moment, perhaps?
It is troubling, even above the rammed-through-in-violation-of-promises level of troubling.
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