A CALIFORNIA PRINCIPAL'S OPENING MESSAGE TO STUDENTS

Dennis Prager, a principal at a high school in Redding, California, on the first day of classes in 2010:

To the students and faculty of our high school:

I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that  have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against  your teachers, and against our country.

First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow, or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian, or European,  or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships.

The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your humanity.  And the only national identity this school will care about is American. This
is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make  better Americans.

If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial, or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity-, race- and non-American-nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of 
America , one of its three central values -- E Pluribus Unum -- "from many, one."  And this school will be guided byAmerica 's values.

That includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation, or whatever else may become in vogue in a society
divided by political correctness.

Your clubs will be based on interests and passions -- not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with the self -- while the purpose of 
education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that  transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages  you do not already speak, carpentry, and more. If the only extracurricular  activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on ethnic or  racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really  interests you.

Second, I am  not interested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united 
America 's citizens for more than 200 years, and it will unite us at this  school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has  always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent  English-language skills, I will have been remiss in my duty to ensure that you  are prepared to compete successfully in the American job market. We will learn  other languages here -- it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English. But if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.

Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in
our society dress more formally for a meal at a nice restaurant than they do for church or school. These people have their priorities backwards. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.

Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the "F-word," you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission plus epithets  such as the "N-word," even when used by one black student to address another, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that  by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few of your age to distinguish instinctively between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.

Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school self-esteem will  be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until the state of  California decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it. One
immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.

Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from  politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about  smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global  warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom-wearing and teaching you 
to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will be  no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not  white, or not male, or not heterosexual, or not Christian. We will have failed  if any one of you graduates from this school and does not consider him or  herself inordinately lucky -- to be alive and to be an American.

Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them  out to you.

What Thomas Jefferson learned from the Muslim book of Jihad

Democrat Keith Ellison is now officially the first Muslim United States congressman. True to his pledge, he placed his hand on the Quran, the Muslim book of jihad and pledged his allegiance to the United States during his ceremonial swearing-in.

Capitol Hill staff said Ellison's swearing-in photo opportunity drew more media than they had ever seen in the history of the U.S. House. Ellison represents the 5th Congressional District of Minnesota.

The Quran Ellison used was no ordinary book. It once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and one of America’s founding fathers.

Ellison borrowed it from the Rare Book Section of the Library of Congress. It was one of the 6,500 Jefferson books archived in the library.

Ellison, who was born in Detroit and converted to Islam while in college, said he chose to use Jefferson's Quran because it showed that "a visionary like Jefferson” believed that wisdom could be gleaned from many sources.

 

There is no doubt Ellison was right about Jefferson believing wisdom could be "gleaned" from the Muslim Quran. At the time Jefferson owned the book, he needed to know everything possible about Muslims because he was about to advocate war against the Islamic "Barbary" states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli.

 

Ellison's use of Jefferson's Quran as a prop illuminates a subject once well-known in the history of the United States, but, which today, is mostly forgotten - the Muslim pirate slavers who over many centuries enslaved millions of Africans and tens of thousands of Christian Europeans and Americans in the Islamic "Barbary" states.

 

Over the course of 10 centuries, Muslim pirates cruised the African and Mediterranean coastline, pillaging villages and seizing slaves.

 

The taking of slaves in pre-dawn raids on unsuspecting coastal villages had a high casualty rate. It was typical of Muslim raiders to kill off as many of the "non-Muslim" older men and women as possible so the preferred "booty" of only young women and children could be collected.

 

Young non-Muslim women were targeted because of their value as concubines in Islamic markets. Islamic law provides for the sexual interests of Muslim men by allowing them to take as many as four wives at one time and to have as many concubines as their fortunes allow.

 

Boys, as young as 9 or 10 years old, were often mutilated to create eunuchs who would bring higher prices in the slave markets of the Middle East. Muslim slave traders created "eunuch stations" along major African slave routes so the necessary surgery could be performed. It was estimated that only a small number of the boys subjected to the mutilation survived after the surgery.

 

When American colonists rebelled against British rule in 1776, American merchant ships lost Royal Navy protection. With no American Navy for protection, American ships were attacked and their Christian crews enslaved by Muslim pirates operating under the control of the "Dey of Algiers "--an Islamist warlord ruling Algeria.

 

Because American commerce in the Mediterranean was being destroyed by the pirates, the Continental Congress agreed in 1784 to negotiate treaties with the four Barbary States.

 

Congress appointed a special commission consisting of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, to oversee the negotiations.

 

Lacking the ability to protect its merchant ships in the Mediterranean, the new America government tried to appease the Muslim slavers by agreeing to pay tribute and ransoms in order to retrieve seized American ships and buy the freedom of enslaved sailors.

 

Adams argued in favor of paying tribute as the cheapest way to get American commerce in the Mediterranean moving again.

 

Jefferson was opposed. He believed there would be no end to the demands for tribute and wanted matters settled "through the medium of war." He proposed a league of trading nations to force an end to Muslim piracy.

 

In 1786, Jefferson, then the American ambassador to France, and Adams, then the American ambassador to Britain, met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the "Dey of Algiers" ambassador to Britain.

 

The Americans wanted to negotiate a peace treaty based on Congress' vote to appease.

 

During the meeting Jefferson and Adams asked the Dey's ambassador why Muslims held so much hostility towards America, a nation with which they had no previous contacts.

 

In a later meeting with the American Congress, the two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja had answered that Islam "was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Quran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."

 

For the following 15 years, the American government paid the Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. The payments in ransom and tribute amounted to 20 percent of United States government annual revenues in 1800.

Not long after Jefferson's inauguration as president in 1801, he dispatched a group of frigates to defend American interests in the Mediterranean, and informed Congress.

 

Declaring that America was going to spend "millions for defense but not one cent for tribute," Jefferson pressed the issue by deploying American Marines and many of America’s best warships to the Muslim Barbary Coast.

 

The USS Constitution, USS Constellation, USS Philadelphia, USS Chesapeake, USS Argus, USS Syren and USS Intrepid all saw action.

In 1805, American Marines marched across the desert from Egypt into Tripolitania, forcing the surrender of Tripoli and the freeing of all American slaves.

 

During the Jefferson administration, the Muslim Barbary States, crumbling as a result of intense American naval bombardment and on shore raids by Marines, finally officially agreed to abandon slavery and piracy.

 

Jefferson's victory over the Muslims lives on today in the Marine Hymn, with the line, "From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli, We fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea." It wasn't until 1815 that the problem was fully settled by the total defeat of all the Muslim slave trading pirates.

 

Jefferson had been right. The "medium of war" was the only way to put an end to the Muslim problem.

 

Mr. Ellison was right about Jefferson. He was a "visionary" wise enough to read and learn about the enemy from their own Muslim book of jihad.

By Ted Sampley

Concerned Americans Turn to the Constitution

It seems altogether fitting in this month of December that as the Nation officially celebrates the birth of the Savior of mankind, we reflect on the document that guarantees to us the opportunity to do so.
It was only about 50 years after the writing of the Constitution that a young twenty-six year-old Abraham Lincoln, then a member of the Illinois General Assembly, raised a warning voice about a trend he observed by those who would sidetrack America's great experiment of freedom.

Gratitude to the Founders for the Gift of Liberty

In a speech to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, entitled, The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions , Lincoln declared:

“We find ourselves in the peaceful possession, of the fairest portion of the earth, as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate. We find ourselves under the government of a system of political institutions, conducing more essentially to the ends of civil and religious liberty, than any of which the history of former times tells us. We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings. We toiled not in the acquirement or establishment of them—they are a legacy bequeathed us, by a once hardy, brave, and patriotic, but now lamented and departed race of ancestors. Theirs was the task (and nobly they performed it) to possess themselves, and through themselves, us, of this goodly land; and to uprear upon its hills and its valleys, a political edifice of liberty and equal rights; 'tis ours only, to transmit these, the former, unprofaned by the foot of an invader; the latter, undec ayed by the lapse of time, and untorn by usurpation—to the latest generation that fate shall permit the world to know. This task of gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to posterity, and love for our species in general, all imperatively require us faithfully to perform.”

From where should we expect the approach of danger?

In our comfortable circumstances, he asked if we should ever again be in danger of losing our freedom:

“At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a Trial of a thousand years.
“At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”

Lincoln then observes, “…there is, even now, something of ill-omen amongst us. I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country….”

Freedom may slip away while citizens aren't watchful

“I know the American People are much attached to their Government; -- I know they would suffer much for its sake; -- I know they would endure evils long and patiently, before they would ever think of exchanging it for another. Yet, notwithstanding all this, if the laws be continually despised and disregarded, if their rights to be secure in their persons and property, are held by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob, the alienation of their affections from the Government is the natural consequence; and to that, sooner or later, it must come.”

Let the Constitution become the Political Religion of the Nation

Young Abraham Lincoln then gives the answer which reflects his life's work until his tragic death:

“The question recurs ‘how shall we fortify against it? The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well-wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; --let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap --let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; --let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; --let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislat ive halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.”

Americans Returning to Their Constitutional Roots

If President Lincoln were here today, no doubt his message would be the same, but with perhaps even more urgency. The good news is that more Americans than ever are becoming interested in learning about our Constitutional roots. Their hope is that perhaps in this inspired document lies answers to America's problems.

Abraham Lincoln is best known as the president who saved the union. He did it by teaching and upholding the Constitution. Our task seems to be much similar to his—that of preserving the union. Let us use the same tool he used—the United States Constitution.
Merry Christmas,

Earl Taylor, Jr.

DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT THOMAS JEFFERSON!

Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.

    �         At 5, began studying under his cousins tutor.
    �         At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
    �         At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

    �         At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
    �         At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
    �         At 23, started his own law practice.
    �         At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

    �         At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America " and retired from his law practice.
    �         At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
    �         At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence .
    �         At 33, took three years to revise Virginia ’s legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
    �         At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.

    �         At 40, served in Congress for two years.
    �         At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
    �         At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
    �         At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
    �         At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.

    �         At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .
    �         At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation’s size.
    �         At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

    �         At 65, retired to Monticello .
    �         At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
    �         At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.
    �         At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams

    Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government.  He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man.  That happens to be way more than what most understand today.  Jefferson really knew his stuff.  A voice from the past to lead us in the future:

     Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
    I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.  If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive
the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

 

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the

brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement:

"This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to

gather at one time in the White House with the exception of

when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

The Brilliance of Thomas Jefferson‏

When we get piled
upon one another in large cities, as in Europe,
we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist
when you take away from those
who are willing to work and give to those who would not. 
Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every
generation to pay its own debts as it goes.
A principle which if acted on would save
one-half the wars of the world. 
Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for
Americans if they can prevent the government
from wasting the labors of the people under the
pretense of taking care of them. 
Thomas Jefferson  

My reading of history convinces me
that most bad government results from too much
government. 
Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred
the use of arms. 
Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the
people to retain the right to keep and bear arms
is, as a last resort, to protect themselves
against tyranny in government. 
Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be
refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants. 
Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with
his taxes the propagation of ideas which he
disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. 
Thomas Jefferson 

Principles of Liberty in our Founding Documents

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Those who are familiar with the 28 Principles of Liberty outlined in The 5000 Year Leap, are acquainted with the claim that these are the principles upon which the Founders based our new government, thereby assuring us of lasting peace , prosperity, and freedom. Occasionally the question is asked, "Where can we find these principles in our founding documents?" This letter will help the reader make that connection.

First, however, one point needs to be made clear. There is a notion today that the Declaration of Independence is not really a part of American jurisprudence and that the principles contained therein cannot be referred to as a basis of American law. This line of thought is usually concluded by saying that if a principle cannot be found in the Constitution, such as a belief in a Creator, it is not part of American culture or law. This idea is blatantly false. The Declaration of Independence has been repeatedly cited by the Supreme Court as part of the fundamental law of the United States of America . (See John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution , pages 360-362)

The following, then, are some of the ways in which the 28 Principles of Liberty were emphasized as the Founders structured our government.

Principle 1. The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law. Natural law was defined as the order in which the Creator made everything work properly. There are certain laws which govern the entire universe, and just as Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, there are laws which govern in the affairs of men which are "the laws of nature and of nature's God." If governments and human relationships are formed according to these laws, they will succeed, if not, they will surely fail, as history has proven. (First paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.)

Principle 2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong. The Founders knew they could not succeed in this political building without the support of the "Supreme Judge of the world" and without a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence ." They knew this would not happen unless they kept His commandments which amounted to being virtuous and morally strong. (Last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.)

Principle 3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders. No greater case can be made of the damage done to a free people by power-hungry and tyrannical leaders than the long list of abuses Thomas Jefferson listed in the Declaration. While directed at King George, these abuses are typical of leaders who are without virtue and morality. (List of grievances in the Declaration of Independence)

Principle 4. Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained. As in Principle 2, the Founders knew they could not succeed in this political building without the support of the "Supreme Judge of the world" and without a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence ." They believed they would have His support and protection if they relied on Him, constantly kept His laws, and taught their children to do likewise. (Last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.)

Principle 5. All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible. The Founders considered the existence of the Creator as the most fundamental premise underlying all self-evident truth. The words Nature's God, Creator, created, Supreme Judge of the Universe, and Divine Providence are used throughout the Declaration of Independence.

Principle 6. All men are created equal. (An exact quote from the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence)

Principle 7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things. "-That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men." (Second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence)

Principle 8. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. (Second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence)

Principle 9. To protect man's rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law. The Founders knew that God had revealed certain laws for human happiness, such as laws against killing, stealing, adultery, lying, coveting, etc. These are reflected in the right of man to form a government to protect his unalienable rights of life, liberty, and property outlined in the Declaration and the Bill of Rights.

Principle 10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people. The last paragraph of the Declaration makes it clear that the people as a whole, by their representatives in Congress, have complete authority from the Supreme Judge of the Universe to govern themselves in every way and to take their rightful place among the sovereign peoples of the earth.

Principle 11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical. The second paragraph of the Declaration makes it clear that the people have a God-given right to throw off dictators and establish a government that will better protect them in their rights.

Principle 12. The United States of America shall be a republic. Article 1.2.1 of the Constitution sets forth the provision that gives the American people the right to vote for their own representatives, thereby making the United States a constitutional republic of the people.

Principle 13. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers. In forming our government on the basis of Natural Law, the Founders dealt directly with the human nature characteristic that power almost always corrupts. The separation of powers, checks and balances, and limited governmental powers in the Constitution were all methods employed to check the human frailties which result in run-away power. That is why the Constitution will never be obsolete or outdated.

Principle 14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure. The fifth amendment of the Bill of Rights specifically prohibits the federal government from taking private property of the people for public use without just compensation. It is a recognition of the sacred right to property and that property is really an extension of one's life and liberty.

Principle 15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and a minimum of government regulations. Other than setting up a proper monetary system and ensuring the free flow of commerce between the states, no power is given to congress to regulate economic affairs of the people. It is a manifest intent to keep the federal government completely out of the free-market economy and to leave any needed regulation to the states.

Principle 16. The government should be separated into three branches - legislative, executive, and judicial. Articles I, II, and III of the Constitution create this beautiful separation of powers to prevent the tyranny of consolidated government.

Principle 17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power. This constitutional system of pitting human nature against human nature by checking each other's power is pure genius.

Principle 18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution. Of the 200 or so nations on the earth today, about 125 of them have written constitutions. However, ours is the oldest one-one of the youngest nations has the oldest written Constitution. The Founders were the first in modern times to realize that the best way to preserve good government and the rights of the people, is to write them down.

Principle 19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained in the people. Article 1.8 contains the twenty powers delegated to congress; Article II contains the six areas of responsibility of the president; and, Article III contains the eleven kinds of cases assigned to the federal courts. The Tenth Amendment reminds us that all other powers are reserved to the states and the people.

Principle 20. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority. Article VI declares the Constitution to be the supreme law of the land. If a law is passed which violates the rights of people, it can be declared null and void by the guardians of the Constitution.

Principle 21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom. The Tenth Amendment leaves most power to govern with the states and local governments. This is where freedom really manifests itself.

Principle 22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men. The people reserve the right in Article I.1.1 not to be governed by any law not passed by their representatives. Article III gives the power to the judiciary to prevent a citizen from being prosecuted by an unjust law which violates the unalienable rights of the people.

Principle 23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education. The reaction of King George to the list of grievances in the Declaration of Independence is an example of why tyrants want to keep the people ignorant of their actions. In order to preserve and encourage the sacred right of people to gain knowledge, the Constitution forbids the federal government from involving itself in education of the people. It leaves this responsibility to the states and the people where it can be locally controlled. (Tenth Amendment)

Principle 24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong. Article 1.8 gives Congress the power to maintain a military.

Principle 25. "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations - entangling alliances with none." No authority can be found in the Constitution for the United States to tie its sovereignty to any other nation or to give the people's money to foreign rulers.

Principle 26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity. No authority can be found in the Constitution to involve the federal government in family affairs. The Founders knew any laws dealing with these kinds of sensitive issues must be kept close to the people, thereby best preserving this most sacred institution.

Principle 27. The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest. Article 1.8 lists "to pay the debts" as the first use of public funds. The Founders considered it immoral to pass debts on to the next generation.

Principle 28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race. The entire Constitution was intended to be such a model for the world of how a people can govern themselves and thereby enjoy an unlimited amount of freedom, prosperity, and peace. Our greatest export was to be freedom.

As we experience this season of Thanksgiving, let us be thankful that our Founders rooted our wonderful country in solid and lasting principles.

Sincerely,



Earl Taylor, Jr.

“An Assembly of Demigods”

Any honest student of the United States Constitution must stand in amazement at the incredible accomplishment that took place in Philadelphia 223 years ago. It was eleven years after declaring our independence from England and only four years after the Treaty of Paris that officially ended the War for Independence. America was in turmoil because, as Thomas Jefferson had predicted, if people or states do not know what to do with freedom, it can be worse than under tyranny. So the calling of a Constitutional Convention was itself an incredible happening, or as Jefferson called it, “an assembly of demigods.”

Delegates Miraculously Gather

Although previous attempts to get the states together had failed, it was fortunate indeed that each of the states sent some of its most outstanding leaders to the convention. Only Rhode Island failed to send any delegates. One of the surprising things connected with the convention was the fact that George Washington, who had pleaded for a convention so long, almost did not attend himself. His brother had just died, his mother and sister were seriously ill, and he was in such pain from rheumatism that he could scarcely sleep at night. Nevertheless, the general decided to go. James Madison and others pointed out that because of his position in the public mind as the most trusted leader in the nation, it would appear that he had lost confidence in the Congress and perhaps in republican principles if he did not attend. Although he had been carrying one arm in a sling because of rheumatic pain, he left Mount Vernon at sunrise on May 9 and arrived in Philadelphia th e day before the delegates were to convene on May 14.

Altogether 73 delegates had been appointed by the states, but in the end only 55 actually participated. Many of the states had not provided for any travel or expense money, and this accounted for most of the absenteeism. In fact, many of those who did come, including James Madison, had to borrow money for living expenses before the convention was over.

Adams and Jefferson Tutor Delegates before the Convention

Two men who made some of the greatest contributions to the constitutional precepts of the day were unable to attend. One of them was John Adams, who was serving as the American minister to England. Nevertheless, he had written a treatise entitled A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States , and that document had been widely read by delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

The other intellectual leader was Thomas Jefferson. He was absent serving as the American minister to France. However, he had sent over a hundred carefully selected books to James Madison and George Wythe, the best reference works available. Madison made himself a walking encyclopedia on the history and political philosophy of governments of the past, and Jefferson corresponded with him on what he considered to be the essential elements of a good constitution.

A month before the Convention, Madison wrote a summary of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation entitled The Vices of the Political System of the United States . He then outlined the kind of constitution which he thought would remedy the situation. No one came to the Convention better prepared for the task at hand than James Madison.

The Nation's Best

In terms of experience and professional training, the 55 delegates represented a cross-section of the most capable men in the country.

• Two were college presidents (William S. Johnson and Abraham Baldwin).


• Three were or had been college professors (George Wythe, James Wilson, and William C. Houston).


• Four had studied law in England.


• Thirty-one were members of the legal profession, several of them being judges.


• Nine had been born in foreign countries and knew the oppressions of Europe from firsthand experience.


• Twenty-eight had served in Congress, and most of the rest had served in state legislatures.


• Nineteen or more had served in the army, 17 as officers, and 4 on Washington's staff.

Dr. Samuel Eliot Morison of Harvard writes:

"Practically every American who had useful ideas on political science was there except John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, on foreign missions, and John Jay, busy with the foreign relations of the Confederation. Jefferson contributed indirectly by shipping to Madison and Wythe from Paris sets of Polybius and other ancient publicists who discoursed on the theory of 'mixed government' on which the Constitution was based. The political literature of Greece and Rome was a positive and quickening influence on the Convention debates."

• A distinctive quality of this convention was the youthfulness of most of its participants. The average age was about 41.


• Five (including Charles Pinckney) were under 30.


• One (Alexander Hamilton) was 32. Three (James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, and Edmund Randolph) were within a year of being 35.


• Three (Washington, John Dickinson, and George Wythe) were 55.


• Only four members had passed 60, and Benjamin Franklin, at 81, was the oldest member by a gap of 15 years.

Major William Pierce Describes Characters at the Convention

The following are comments about some of the principal personalities at the Convention as observed by another of the delegates, Major William Pierce of Georgia. For those who believe the Founders represent a very special group of people, perhaps even raised up for the very purpose of founding America, here is just a little more evidence for that belief.

Dickinson, John , delegate from Delaware.

"Famed through all America, for his Farmers Letters ; he is a scholar, and said to be a man of very extensive information.... He is ... a good writer and will be ever considered one of the most important characters in the United States."

Franklin, Benjamin , delegate from Pennsylvania.

"Well known to be the greatest philosopher of the present age; all the operations of nature he seems to understand, the very heavens obey him, and the clouds yield up the lightning to be imprisoned in his rod.... He is ... a most extraordinary man.... He is 82 years old, and possesses an activity of mind equal to a youth of 25 years of age."

Hamilton, Alexander, delegate from New York.

"Colonel Hamilton is deservedly celebrated for his talents. He is a practitioner of the law, and reputed to be a finished scholar. To a clear and strong judgment he unites the ornaments of fancy, and whilst he is able, convincing, and engaging in his eloquence the heart and head sympathize in approving him.... Colonel Hamilton requires time to think; he inquires into every part of his subject with the searchings of philosophy, and when he comes forward he comes highly charged with interesting matter; there is no skimming over the surface of a subject, he must sink to the bottom to see what foundation it rests on."

Madison, James, delegate from Virginia.

"A character who has long been in public life; and what is very remarkable, every person seems to acknowledge his greatness. He blends together the profound politician, with the scholar. In the management of every great question he evidently took the lead in the Convention, and though he cannot be called an orator, he is a most agreeable, eloquent, and convincing speaker. From a spirit of industry and application which he possesses in a most eminent degree, he always comes forward the best informed man of any point in debate. The affairs of the United States, he perhaps, has the most correct knowledge of any man in the Union. He has been twice a member of Congress, and was always thought one of the ablest members that ever sat in that council."

Mason, George , delegate from Virginia.

"A gentleman of remarkable strong powers, and possesses a clear and copious understanding. He is able and convincing in debate, steady and firm in his principles, and undoubtedly one of the best politicians in America."

Morris, Gouverneur , delegate from Pennsylvania.

"One of the geniuses in whom every species of talents combine to render him conspicuous and flourishing in public debate. He winds through all the mazes of rhetoric and throws around him such a glare, that he charms, captivates, and leads away the senses of all who hear him. With an infinite streak of fancy, he brings to view things, when he is engaged in deep argumentation, that render all the labor of reasoning easy and pleasing.... He has gone through a very extensive course of reading, and is acquainted with all the sciences. No man has more wit ... than Mr. Morris. He was bred to the law, but I am told he disliked the profession and turned merchant."

Morris, Robert , delegate from Pennsylvania.

"A merchant of great eminence and wealth; an able financier and a worthy patriot. He has an understanding equal to any public object, and possesses an energy of mind that few men can boast of. Although he is not learned, yet he is as great as those who are. I am told that when he speaks in the Assembly of Pennsylvania, that he bears down all before him."

Pinckney, Charles , delegate from South Carolina.

"A young gentleman of the most promising talents. He is, although only 24 years of age [actually he was 30], in possession of a very great variety of knowledge. Government, law, history and philosophy are his favorite studies, but he is intimately acquainted with every species of polite learning, and has a spirit of application and industry beyond most men. He speaks with great neatness and perspicuity, and treats every subject as fully, without running into prolixity, as it requires. He has been a member of Congress, and served in that body with ability and eclat."

Randolph, Edmund , delegate from Virginia.

"Is governor of Virginia, a young gentleman in whom unite all the accomplishments of the scholar and the statesman. He came forward with the postulata, or first principles, on which the Convention acted, and he supported them with a force of eloquence and reasoning that did him great honor."

Rutledge, John , delegate from South Carolina.

"His reputation in the first Congress gave him a distinguished rank among the American worthies. He was bred to the law, and now acts as one of the chancellors of South Carolina. This gentleman is much famed in his own State as an orator.... He is undoubtedly a man of abilities, and a gentleman of distinction and fortune. Mr. Rutledge was once governor of South Carolina."

Sherman, Roger , delegate from Connecticut.

"In his train of thinking there is something regular, deep, and comprehensive. He ... deserves infinite praise. No man has a better heart or a clearer head.... He can furnish thoughts that are wise and useful. He is an able politician, and extremely artful in accomplishing any particular object; it is remarked that he seldom fails.... He sits on the bench in Connecticut and is very correct in the discharge of his judicial functions.... He has been several years a member of Congress and discharged the duties of his office with honor and credit to himself, an advantage to the State he represented."

Washington, George , delegate from Virginia.

"Well known as the commander in chief of the late American Army. Having conducted these States to independence and peace, he now appears to assist in framing a government to make the people happy. Like Gustavus Vasa, he may be said to be the deliverer of his country; like Peter the Great, he appears as the politician and the statesman, and like Cincinnatus he returned to his farm perfectly contented with being only a plain citizen, after enjoying the highest honor of the Confederacy, and now only seeks for the approbation of his countrymen by being virtuous and useful. The General was conducted to the Chair as president of the Convention by the unanimous voice of its members."

Wilson, James , delegate from Pennsylvania.

"Ranks among the foremost in legal and political knowledge.... He is well acquainted with man, and understands all the passions that influence him. Government seems to have been his peculiar study, all the political institutions of the world he knows in detail, and can trace the causes and effects of every revolution from the earliest stages of the Grecian commonwealth down to the present time. No man is more clear, copious, and comprehensive than Mr. Wilson, yet he is no great orator. He draws the attention, not by the charm of his eloquence, but by the force of his reasoning."

Wythe, George , delegate from Virginia.

"One of the most learned legal characters of the present age.... He is remarked for his exemplary life and universally esteemed for his good principles. No man, it is said, understands the history of government better than Mr. Wythe -- nor anyone who understands the fluctuating conditions to which all societies are liable better than he does.... He is a neat and pleasing speaker, and a most correct and able writer."

It has often been wondered, with doubt, if such an assembly could ever be brought together again today.

This September will be the 223 rd anniversary of their writing of the Constitution. Hopefully, we will honor them by honoring the document they gave us.

Sincerely,

Earl Taylor, Jr.

Mandatory Health Care and Interstate Commerce

During the recent discussions on Health Care, one former Congressman held up a copy of the Constitution and asked the TV host, “Tell me any place in the Constitution where the federal government has the power to pass this health care bill.” The host replied that it is the Interstate Commerce clause of the Constitution that contains that power. The argument then ensued, which like most arguments on current topics, never come to a proper conclusion because most people have no idea of the origin of Constitutional principles.

Background of the Power of Congress to Regulate Interstate Commerce
One of the challenges facing the states after the Revolutionary War was raising money to pay their expenses and debts. Most states knew taxing the people would be futile because the people had no money and they had just fought a war over the subject of oppressive taxation. So some states decided to set up taxes on commerce, that is, goods coming into or leaving the state, either at the ports or the inland borders. This tactic, however, tended to set states up as individual nations rather than as a common market. It would pit state against state and would lead to discriminatory taxation on certain industries.

Virginia was one of the principal offenders in this respect. While the Constitution was up before the convention of the various states for ratification, Washington wrote to Lafayette that his own state had recently tried to pass "some of the most extravagant and preposterous edicts on the subject of trade" that had ever been written.

But the other states were also gouging their neighbors with discriminatory regulations of commerce. Rhode Island , for example, met all of her expenses out of duties levied at one port where commerce had to enter from other states. New York also demanded oppressive duties on all imports coming through her major shipping channels. It was apparent that if the regulation of commerce were left to the states they would soon degenerate into isolated economic fiefs with each one using discriminatory and retaliatory regulations against surrounding states.

The question had to be resolved as to how to keep states from setting up these tariffs and regulations on goods flowing into or out of a state. To leave this to the states to solve might lead to civil war. It would certainly lead to dissolution of the union. There was no other way to keep a state from setting up these restrictions than by giving the authority to do so to a neutral entity, and that was the federal government.

James Monroe of Virginia (while serving in Congress from 1783 to 1786) had unsuccessfully tried to include the federal regulation of commerce in the Articles of Confederation. He is also credited with suggesting it for the Constitution. Madison felt it was "necessary to preserve the Union," for "without it, it (the Union ) will infallibly crumble to pieces."

So by the time the Constitutional Convention was held in 1787 it was clear to many of the delegates that unless the regulation of interstate commerce was placed in the hands of the national government, the states would wreck the union with their petty regulations designed to promote local prosperity at the expense of the general welfare.

Emphasis was on Maintaining a Free Flow of Commerce Among the States
Giving the national government the power to regulate interstate commerce, as a constitutionally delegated power proved to be the answer to maintaining a common market among the states. The commerce clause has consistently served as a barrier to the suppressive efforts of individual states to favor their own industry or economy. In more than 2,500 cases which have been brought before the state and federal courts, tax laws, license laws, and regulations of an infinite variety enacted by state legislatures have been held invalid as interfering with the free flow of interstate commerce.

As Economics Professor Gary Galles of Pepperdine University recently wrote: “The Commerce Clause was designed to take that abusive power from the states by giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce; ‘regulate' meant ‘to make regular or normal' or ‘to remove impediments….” ( Washington Times , March 27, 2010)

As with most constitutional provisions, the United States was the pioneer in discovering the advantages which the free flow of commerce among its several states contributed to national economic prosperity. Australia followed the opposite policy until 1900, when she conceded that provincial or state barriers to commerce were repressive. Brazil , Canada , and other nations with modern constitutions have generally followed the American Constitution in this respect.

It is crucial to note that, in the Founders' formula, the whole power to regulate interstate commerce dealt only with matters to ensure the free flow of goods, or in other words, transportation of interstate commerce, not with any control over the production, manufacturing, or sale of goods going interstate. As W. Cleon Skousen explained:

Doctrines relating to the protection of the states' sphere of power were set forth by the Supreme Court in the Sugar Trust Case. The court's decision stated:

Production is always local, and under the exclusive domain of the states.

Commerce among the states (interstate commerce) does not begin until goods commence their final movement from their state of origin to that of their destination.

The sale of any product is merely an incident of its production and is therefore under the domain of the state because its effect on interstate commerce is merely incidental

Combinations or associations organized for the sale and distribution of goods are under the regulatory power of the state since the effect on interstate commerce is indirect, not direct.

As Justice George Sutherland pointed out in Carter v. Carter Coal Co.:

"Much stress is put upon the evils which come from the struggle between employers and employees over matters of wages, working conditions, the right of collective bargaining, etc., and the resulting strikes, curtailment and irregularity of production, and the effect on prices; and it is insisted that interstate commerce is greatly affected thereby. But ... the conclusive answer is that the evils are all local evils over which the Federal Government has no legislative control. The relation of employer and employee is a local relation. As a common law it is one of the domestic relations. The wages are paid for the doing of local work. Working conditions are obviously local conditions. The employees are not engaged in or about commerce, but exclusively in producing a commodity.... Such effect as they may have upon commerce, however extensive it may be, is secondary and indirect.” ( The Ma king of America, p. 406)

Changing Emphasis from Commerce to Regulate
In the decades following the passage of The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and usually under the pressure of war and depression, the Supreme Court twisted or reversed traditional cases on interstate commerce and introduced the unconstitutional doctrine that the federal government may regulate anything that affects interstate commerce directly or indirectly. (For a list of cases, see The Making of America , pp. 403-408) One must ask: “What doesn't affect interstate commerce indirectly?” This has resulted in usurpation of power in the form of sweeping federal regulations over nearly every aspect of American life. These doctrines include:

Anything affecting the "current of commerce" from manufacturing to distribution is under federal authority.

Commerce includes all aspects of selling, trading, and trafficking, as well as interstate transportation. Therefore, the federal authority extends to every aspect of commercial activity connected with interstate commerce.

The federal government can regulate any activity which affects interstate commerce either directly or indirectly. It can therefore fix prices, wages, working conditions, health conditions, and the retirement of employees.

All interstate industries automatically come under federal authority for the purpose of intervening in strikes and labor relations. As the Supreme Court said: "When industries organize themselves on a national scale, making their relation to interstate commerce the dominant factor in their activities, how can it be maintained that their industrial labor relations constitute a forbidden field into which Congress may not enter when it is necessary to protect interstate commerce from the paralyzing consequences of industrial war?" This now includes all major industries in the country.

A Graphic Example – the American Hamburger!
In 1980, U. S. News and World Report published a Pictogram entitled, “Your Hamburger: 41,000 Regulations.” It reads:

“The hamburger, staple of the quick, inexpensive meal, is the subject of 41,000 federal and state regulations, many of those stemming from 200 laws and 110,000 precedent-setting court cases.

“These rules, cited in a three-volume study by Colorado State University, touch on everything involved in meat production—grazing practices of cattle, conditions in slaughterhouses and methods used to process meat for sale to supermarkets, restaurants and fast-food outlets. Together they add 8 to 11 cents per pound to the cost of hamburger.” And that was 30 years ago!

In a cut-away graphic, the report gave several examples, two of which are: “Ketchup—to be considered Grade A fancy, it must flow no more than 9 centimeters in 30 seconds at 69 degrees Fahrenheit” and, “Pickles—Slices must be between 1/8 and 3/8 inches thick.” ( U. S. News and World Report , February 11, 1980, p. 64) (This Pictogram can be viewed at www.nccs.net/seminars . Scroll down the right side to Webinar Archives – Part 3, let it load, then slide over to 1 hour and 20 minutes into the presentation.)

Mandatory Health Care Invents even more
Authority in the Interstate Commerce Clause
As stated earlier, the proponents of the Health Care legislation recently passed by Congress and signed by the President cite the Commerce Clause as authority for doing such a thing. As we have just shown, any honest student who reads the Founders' must admit there is no authority in the Constitution for such legislation, but, of course, the proponents like to cite Supreme Court cases to show how the authority has been added to the “living constitution” by the federal judiciary.

However, in citing court cases, no one can cite a single case in the history of the United States where it has been held constitutional for the federal government to require every person in this country to purchase a product or a service. This is exactly what this new legislation requires. Furthermore, it provides for a penalty to be paid if such health insurance is not purchased. This provision is so far beyond any authority in the history of this country, that it is difficult to envision even the Supreme Court of today approving such laws. The lawsuits are being filed. People are challenging. States are challenging. It seems that if by some irrational means the majority of the court does go along with this edict, which is far beyond even a liberal interpretation of the Commerce Clause to this point, there may be wholesale numbers ready to invoke the following paraphrased idea in the Declaration of Independence:

“…and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind [Americans] are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing [changing] the forms to which they are accustomed [that is, the form by which the people give Congress its power]. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government [or abusive power], and to provide new guards for their future security.”

Surely, this will push modern Americans to the point we reached in 1776.


Sincerely,



Earl Taylor, Jr.