A Tribute to Freedom

In honor of the birthday of Thomas Jefferson (1743), 

our 3rd President of the United States 

and the principal author the The Declaration of Independence:

  http://totallyfreeimages.com/109819/

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~

I'm sure our Founding Fathers would endorse these modern-day books on freedom and wise governance:

FREEDOM UNDER SIEGE 

by Ron Paul
          I was disappointed that my library only had one book by Ron Paul, and it was published in 1987, just before his 1988 run for the Presidency as a third party candidate. I would have preferred a more up-to-date book. But Paul's message remains the same over the long-haul. 

           Long-time Representative Paul (R-Tex) is the leading advocate in Washington for individual rights over group rights, limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies. He never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution.          In this book, he takes a hard look at the way the Constitution has been ignored, tweeked, torn asunder, and nearly destroyed by the politicians of the 20th century. The chapter on Foreign Policy was an eye-opener, and he carefully explains why a noninterventionist foreign policy is NOT the same thing as isolationism. He strongly denounces the Federal Reserve and the military draft as unConstitutional.
          I kept having to remind myself that the book was written over 20 years ago, as it tackled issues that continue to erode our freedom and our greatness as a nation. This book was written before the Gulf War, 9/11, and the war in Iraq, but Ron Paul had a foreboding of what was to come when he wrote: "Economic conditions as they are and military preparations going on---in spite of the fact that we are not at this particular time [1987] in conflict---are indicative that there are strong forces determined to lead us unwisely into armed conflict. For the first time in our history, we significantly increased the military budget 70% to be used to defend nations other than America, even though we are not at war. This, along with the Supreme Court's sanctioning the drafting of men for the purpose of combat, is certainly a sign that we re closer to war than we have been in many years."
          In the chapter about our monetary policies, he is just as prophetic, seeing in the near future the devastating crisis in the banking industry and on Wall Street that we suffered in 2008 and are still reeling from.
          The man is intelligent, principled, and offers a sensible approach to smaller government and the preservation of the Constitution and our individual rights. I'm eager to read more from him.

[NOTE: This book review was from 2010. Since then, as everyone knows, Dr. Paul has gone on to run for the Rep. candidacy for President in this year's election. I don't understand why, since it was obvious in the early Rep. debates that the establishment/media was just going to ignore him and never let the American public hear much about this candidate and what he stands for. And it wasn't only Paul. They chose their favorite sons and "weeded out" the other earlier candidates with obvious, unfair bias. I'm sick! This is what our country has come down to, and sadly, most citizens don't even care. Why bother with elections any longer?]

GUNS, CRIME, AND FREEDOM 
by Wayne LaPierre 
          ©1994 Gun-control is a hot-button political topic. Although this book was written during the Clinton administration, and is therefore somewhat dated, it’s filled cover-to-cover with common sense reasoning for the preservation and protection of our United States Constitution and our 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Recommended reading for all Americans, pro or con, to better understand what’s really at stake here.


GLENN BECK'S COMMON SENSE 
by Glenn Beck 
          Whether you love him or hate him (or anything in between), #1 New York Times bestselling author Glenn Beck has given us food for thought in this short, easy-to-read book which lays out "the case against an out-of-control government." And, for me anyway, reading Glenn Beck is preferable to watching him on TV.
          The central issue here boils down to a two-party political system which is ruining America with its power-guzzling greed and corruption.
          I think of my personal right to vote as almost sacred. I've voted in every election since 1972 and I consider myself to be an Independent. The thing that troubles me is that in almost every election, I have voted for the lesser of two evils (Rep or Dem), because I've resigned myself to the lie that to vote for an independent 3rd party candidate would be like throwing my vote away. But why, I ask, should we have to vote for evil???
          Beck says that we never waste our vote if we vote our conscience. 25% of Americans claim to be independents. Add to those all the people who consider themselves Dems or Reps but are fed up with the mess the 2-party system has made of this country --- if all of these good people would band together and vote their conscience, I believe we could wrest the power from "the establishment" and really put our country on the road to serious, effective reform.
          This quote is not from Beck's book, but it's a favorite of mine and I think it pretty much sums up where we find ourselves as we enter the second decade of the 21st century. Way back in 1922, D.H. Lawrence said: "Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves." What an absolutely prophetic observation! We are selling our grandchildren into slavery as we continue to allow the American political machine (the parasite with two heads: Dem and Rep) to dominate and chip away at our Constitutional rights.
          Glenn Beck: "One day we will face our children and grandchildren as they ask us what we found more important and valuable than freedom. They will ask if our big, unaffordable homes, "free" universal health care, and "buy it now" lifestyle were worth enslaving them for."
I think this is a book all Americans should read.