Quotes from the Sons of Liberty

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined."

Patrick Henry

Groping for Answers

by Mike Calpino



Mike Calpino

 The news of the week are the new procedures implemented at airports around the country in the name of security. Once again we are closing the barn door after the horses are gone and refusing to consider the fact that it is a broken latch that keeps letting them out. First there was 9/11 so the list of prohibited objects in an airport grew immensely. Then there was the shoe bomber so we all have to take off our shoes. Then there was the underwear bomber so now we have to endure the hands of TSA employees in places only our wives or husbands should see. There have already been terrorists who placed explosives in various body cavities, and drug smugglers have been doing that for years. Are we going to have to endure full body cavity searches next?

Our security procedures are a strange mix of political correctness and a total disregard for our rights to be secure in our persons. Political correctness because we are afraid of offending the terrorists who want to kill us, the overwhelming majority of whom are young, middle eastern men from specific countries. They are not toddlers, senior citizens or nuns. Disregard for our rights because no one should be subject to such intimate and invasive procedures just because they want to travel. 99.99% of airline travellers are not terrorists and those 99.99% should not be treated as potential terrorists or criminals just because they want to fly to see grandma over the holidays. Certainly we have the choice as to whether or not we want to fly but it should be our free choice to enter into a private contract with an airline to provide us a service and the government should not require we check our rights or our dignity at the door when we enter into that contract.

Thoughts from Washington

"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness."

George Washington

Quotes from the Sons of Liberty

"There, I guess King George will be able to read that."

John Hancock remarking on his signature on the Declaration of Independence.

Quotes from the Sons of Liberty

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

Samuel Adams

Andy Harris and the sense of entitlement

Representative Elect Andy Harris had an embarrassing moment at Freshman orientation when, according to a Politico.com report which quoted and an unnamed staffer "He stood up and asked the two ladies who were answering questions why it had to take so long, what he would do without 28 days of health care."

Harris, according to the unnamed staffer, asked if government healthcare could be purchased in the interim.

Now Harris portrayed himself as knowledgeable of Health Care during the campaign, would he not know he could continue COBRA coverage from his previous employer?

Bill Clinton's New Job

I saw this on Julie Brewington's site. Certainly we are all upset and concerned about the new body scanners and getting a pat down that goes above and beyond the call of duty. We have qualified individuals stepping up to help ensure the process goes smoothly.

A General's View on Banking

“I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for.One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights.War for any other reason is simply a racket."

Quote by: Major General Smedley Darlington Butler(1881-1940) Major General USMC, "Old Gimlet Eye'' and "Hell Devil Darling", most highly decorated military man from the pre-World War II era.
Source: from a speech in 1933