Waffler, your take on this denies everyone all freedoms except thinking! That is about all anyone in a dictatorship can do. They cannot speak, they cannot write, they cannot do anything, but think. And guaranteed, anyone under the oppressive thumb of a dictator will think, but those thoughts would almost certainly be for rebellion. Until I got to the following line in this quote I was wondering just what he meant. "A society in which men recognize no check on their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few -- as we have learned to our sorrow. What then is the spirit of Liberty?" His being a judge gave me pause so that I continued to read and then began to understand, this is an activist judge! What is Liberty? It is the freedom to live our lives without dictates from a King, a tyrant, or dictator. It is the freedom to own property, to work and keep our earnings, a right to vote in order to elect acceptable candidates to do the business of caring for and defending our country. There should be no check on our freedoms other than what is enumerated in the Constitution. How can you possibly reconcile his comment that "only a savage few" would have liberty? Or are you referring to the Founders that rebelled and forged freedom for all Americans? The Constitution tells us what we and the government cannot do. It is necessarily a negative document, setting only the limits needed to maintain a civilized society.Our freedoms i.e., liberties, come from God, not man.

Mike, I concur.

Waffler obviously does not know history or the Constitution, for if he did, he would understand how much of our freedom has already been usurped by this government with the objective being to become a part of the "New World Order." The first time I heard that phrase many years go, my blood ran cold. If anyone is interested, Google the name Wickliffe B. Vennard who wrote in the last century on the Federal Reserve Act in a booklet titled, "The Federal Reserve Corporation:42 Years of Subversion in 100 Acts." Reading this booklet will make your hair stand on end. There is also another site, www.alibris.com where a number of his writings can be found at a reasonable cost. And Waffler, please do some research.

It is entirely different, Anonymous!! Muslim Jihad REQUIRES that they are on the offensive to kill anyone that does not convert. Freedom is the ability to live together and respect each others right to have freedom of religion. The meaning is not literal. It does not mean "you can't take a cruise." It means we must be vigilant in order to protect our freedoms, which in essence is a defensive posture. We defend our freedom or we lose it and we are all in it together. Remember in November!

I agree, Carlton. The Fed has done more harm than any other single entity in this country. It repeatedly destroys the economic health of our citizens. We have come to think of it as the cyclical nature of capitalism, but it is not. It is an insidious plan to rape the American people of their wealth. The meaning of wealth in this instance is the people's hard earned living, not that the middle class is wealthy by any means. It's the middle class that suffers the most. The Fed should be abolished, but the Progressives will never allow it.

This needs some context or elaboration. It sounds as if it relates to a specific case to be judged. I rated it with one star instead of thumbs down due to the vagueness of the quote. It rates at least one star because these are George Washington words.

J. Carlton, I agree. If Obama was subtle like all the Progressives of the last century, we would still be lulled into thinking our government was basically doing it's job even if we were a little uncomfortable with some of it's policies. We had to be blindsided with a radical so obvious that it is impossible to overlook. The czars are also enough to scare the wits out of every American that loves liberty and wants the country back that our Founding Fathers gave us. However, one of the most serious threats comes from Obama making lifetime appointments of radical, leftist, Progressive USSC judges. He will do whatever it takes to pack the bench. Remember in November.

Idealism is what gave us the most free, most prosperous, most blessed country in the world. It is also what gave the Founders the vision to write our beloved Constitution. Because of this our countrymen have not been compelled by negative circumstances to develop a rank cynicism...until now. With the awakening of the American public to the dangers from within, we may have a chance to revive the vitality to which Cooke referred and not sink into the decadence that would ultimately destroy our country. Remember in November.

Jim K, you're right. Drug cartels do not want legalization to spoil their "business." If drugs were to be made legal and taxed, we could probably retire our national debt. There will always be people that will waste their lives on drugs or alcohol and they will always have to be taken care of. At least the taxes would help to defray the cost. Most of the time rehabilitation is a waste of time and money. Once a person's brain is hard wired for drugs, which is what happens with Oxycontin, they could spend the rest of their lives trying to free themselves of addiction without lasting success.

As in the near adoration of FDR. His policies are still destructive in this country. At least the People wised up and as soon as he died, a law was passed on term limits for the presidency so that no one could ever again "rule" America. We must have short memories though. Look at what we've got ourselves into now.

Sadly, the People don't seem to recognize those cunning men that would do this country harm. Why do you suppose that has happened? In order to differentiate between good and evil, a person must have a strong sense of values and morals, a sense of right and wrong. Our present culture does not foster those guidelines. I'm convinced that in my lifetime, changes have been wrought in this country that have so desensitized us to the point that we do cannot make valid judgments for the good of ourselves and our country. There is more than can be covered in this small space, but some of the influences have been the tearing down of religion or any faith life a person may have, loosening restrictions on content in music, Hollywood, and on TV and the internet and every other form of media that inundates the American people daily. At one time there was a modicum of standards to which the media adhered. That is no longer the case. It's an "anything goes" attitude that has brought porn, filthy lyrics, aberrant entertainment and many times abhorrent conduct with a total disregard for what should be acceptable, right into our living rooms. It is so pervasive in our society that we are, by our apathy, part of the problem. An entire generation and more have been raised in this negative and destructive atmosphere. It is rotting our country from the inside. The question is, what can be done about it.

And that, my friends, is exactly what is in store for us unless this country is returned to it's previous glory given to us by God through the Founders that pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.

Talk liberty to a democrat and he talks socialism.

The quote is not complete. It is not just to comprehend each other, we must also be willing to work together to reach consensus. Read the book by David Barton titled, "Original Intent, The Courts, the Constitution, and Religion." The Founders are the shining example of how society evolves.

The kindly and helpful comment is nothing more than a facade to cover the real intention of redistribution of wealth. We are all here together, true, but it is what we do with our lives that matters. This is not just a "piece of dirt." We are blessed with living in the greatest country on earth with everyone having the same opportunities. Last but not least, we are not heading toward our doom. Those that believe this quote are woefully lacking in any faith in a supreme being, a higher power, a God if you will, that gives meaning to our existence and guides our life with an innate sense imbued in us all. It is only our free will that damns us to the doom Darrow describes. This is a very negative quote.

Maybe something was lost in the translation. It has merit, but is not complete.

Wisdom is acquired through parents, experience, reading, and learning from others mistakes. Virtue in "doing it" is nothing more than living up to personal responsibility. The quote is brief and probably could have benefited from some elaboration.

Not only do I think the quote is a bunch of hogwash, I think RBESRQ needs to get a life. His list of authors, philosophers and professors ad nauseum has elitist snob appeal, I'm sure. I would recommend he add another book to his voluminous list...the Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton; just for a little balance.

Judith. One reason the Germans did no stop Hitler is because they TOOK ALL THE GUNS! America and Britain and others, after years of sacrificing our men and women, finally conquered his regime. We cannot let that happen in this country. The second amendment must be protected at all costs. Government needs to stay out of people's lives. Government is required to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the people. On those two most crucial responsibilities they have failed miserably. They have saddled us with enormous debt that is impossible to pay back in our lifetimes or even our children and grandchildren and to what end. You can NOT spend your way out of recession. They are fiscally irresponsible and there is no end in sight. The debt will continue to overtake our ability to pay it down even in more prosperous times. Our borders are not secure nor will they be in the foreseeable future with this administration in power. Their intention is to change the immigration laws to grant amnesty to those already here, then (if ever) secure the border. As for the enforcement of laws that you denounce, we are obligated to enforce the laws as they stand, otherwise chaos would reign. Come to think of it, it already does what with the bribes and kickbacks among other things. You mention the family units broken due to enforcing the drug laws. Do you think for a NY minute that drugs in and of themselves do NOT break up families? Of course they do!! It is not naivete to "go along" with the drug war. It is called being a law abiding citizen.

Okay, Judith. How about some references to the claims you make about prisons "being built on closed military bases,with barbed wire and GAS SUPPLIED ROOMS." That is quite a statement. I'm not saying I don't believe you...in this day and age anything is possible. However, that sort of comment MUST be verifiable. I too, remember the drills as a child. I remember all lights out at night and peering around a curtain to see if it was completely dark and hearing the air raid sirens. I remember my father leaving the house with a black band on his upper arm denoting the Civil Defense unit patrolling the neighborhoods. I agree our times are extremely dangerous from without and within. However, I don't believe that 9/11 was an inside job. If it was an "inside job" as you say, then why did 19 terrorists fly planes into the towers, the Pentagon and an attempt at the Capitol or White House, ending in a rural field in PA? And why would OBL sit in his cave in the wilds of Afghanistan and be proud of his accomplishment in the attack? I do believe there is fear mongering especially by this administration. They have no compunctions about saying "no good crisis should go to waste." If any administration is guilty of the scenario described by General MacArthur some 50 years ago, it is the one under which we suffer now.

Obama, Pelosi,Reid and the rest of the gaggle of Progressives would not know truth if it walked up and slapped them in the face.

Truer words were never spoken. The media should hang their collective heads in shame. They will have to answer for their dereliction of duty. Every one of them should do jail time for the damage they have done to this country.

Archer, Your astute commentary is refreshing to read. RBE, on the other hand, is way off base. I urge everyone to read the book by David Barton titled "Original Intent, The Courts, the Constitution, and Religion." It will make clear exactly what the Founders intended when writing the Constitution. Not only the Constitution, but the intention behind it must be known and understood in order to know why it worked so well for so long. So much of the misunderstanding is due to a lack of education. We can thank the Liberals and Progressives for the revisionist history that is, and has been, taught in our schools for decades. The American People are sorely in need of the information in the aforementioned book.

The only reasons or excuses for our"enslavement" are apathy and a lack of education. Many people don't even know what their rights are, only that they are free to do what they will. The People need to wake up and educate themselves, become active in preserving their rights or we will be like the insects caught in a venus fly trap; unsuspecting until it is too late.

Truer words were never spoken. And yes, our form of government was an experiment, a Great Experiment, one that worked very well until the radical, communist, marxist, fascist, Progressive Liberals have finally wormed their way into government with lies, deceit, and executive order. Our form of government is predicated on the Idea, that all men are created equal and our rights come from God, not the government, and WE are the government only electing representatives to do our work. Keep in mind, if we lose our right to dissent, we lose our freedom. How does jail time or hanging sound for saying what the government does not "allow?"