Absolutely the opposite, Fred.  Wars are caused by undefended wealth.  There is a right to defend oneself for a reason — predators avoid prey that can fight back.  Like it or not, we must always have the ability to defend ourselves from thieves and murderers.  It's the primary reason a 'utopia' is impossible...  Plunderers prefer those that cannot defend themselves.

The character of the Founders and framers of the American Republic is unsurpassed.  If only we had men of such character today!

NO!  No more "Forward' towards a Marxist society!  Enough!  

NO!  No more Marxist claptrap!  It is poisonous, treasonous, and designed to break America, which it has almost nearly done if it were not for the indominable spirit of Liberty that still resides within the true patriots of the nation.

Sorry, Fred.  There is not enough money in circulation to pay the debt — the 'debt' IS the money supply!  If everyone paid off every loan, there would be no money and we would still owe more.  The money supply has been 100% borrowed — that is how currencies are 'minted.'  I don't blame you for not understanding, only one in a million understands it — but every currency trader on Wall Street understands it, and so do the Federal Reserve Banks, the EU central banks, the Chinese central bank, and every bank in the world knows how currency is created out of thin air whenever it is 'borrowed.' It is called 'monetizing debt.'

The US money supply consists of government debt, mortgage debt, credit card debt, student loans, car loans, and every other kind of loan issued from banks.  The economy absolutely requires perpetual borrowing even just to continue to pay the interest of the existing debt. 

Before this system was foisted upon the nation in 1913, the US was the richest and most prosperous country in the world.  There were NO income taxes — all funds necessary for the government were collected via excise taxes, i.e. tariffs.  WWI & WWII were the direct result of switching to this fiat currency system.  Every war is a banker's war!  "Endless money forms the sinews of war." (Cicero)

BTW, socialism absolutely requires this banking system because it cannot even begin to pay for all the government programs promised without endless debt.  Educate yourself, and learn that whoever controls the issuance of currency controls all industry and commerce — this is NOT capitalism, it is a central plank of communism and designed to crush any true capitalist system.

Hey, Robert, great to see you back! 

Heck, lets start with banning Federal Reserve Notes!  Why hack at the branches when we should be cutting the root!  A return to sound money (requiring sound money management...) is the true solution.  A tall order indeed, but when the interest to pay on the issuance of US currency is greater than any federal program, is it not clear who the real masters are? 

This was the actual cause of the American Revolution — issuing colonial script rather than being forced to use British script.  When issued interest-free in proportion to that needed for trade and commerce, fiat currency works very well, as long as a commodity-backed currency is also allowed to circulate with a non-fixed exchange value with the fiat script.  Cash and credit can work together as long as sellers have the option of accepting one or the other as terms for trade.

El Salvador, Argentina, and the African Union are all making tremendous strides in cutting the ties to the banking cartel ruling the world.  We need more of this!!

Patrick Henry's stand expressed here demonstrates the courage necessary to preserve Liberty.  Nothing less can sustain it as the enemy is willing to murder all who stand in their way.

Good grief, Fred.  Socialism is the great thief that lays claim to everything and everyone.  I have never seen such intolerance as that found among socialists.  They blame others, taking no responsibility.  Their love is conditional, and are truly ugly.  They do not respect life other than their own.  Their 'religion' is to the god of power with a history of murder no religious war has ever matched.  Delusion is the pillar, lies their modus operandi, and servitude is the result — every time.

Once again, Fred, you describe the 'end' without describing the 'means' to that end.  The freedom guaranteed by our Constitution is only supportable by men and women of honor and mutual respect for the rights of others.  This of course requires conscientious study and compassion for others.  Your philosophy ignores that without a voluntary adoption of your proscribed behaviors, the 'utopian' dream of 'sustainability' is impossible to implement without statist force.  True fascism is what you describe over and over, dressing up your posts with flowery words without substance.  The end result is the same: government above all, and everyone in 'service' to the state's dictates.

There truly is no equal to the Declaration of Independence.  I love the part "it was intended to be an expression of the American mind."  Indeed!  The idea that the individual possessed their natural-born, God-given, inalienable rights was a revolutionary idea.  The claim of the 'divine right of kings' was wholly declared null and void. 

This is the true legacy and inheritance of the American Revolution, and the most misunderstood by the rest of the world.  In no other country do the people have this declaration, and their minds are conditioned to remain subjects of their statist ideologies in their many forms.  Only the republican form of government acknowledges and defends the sovereign rights of the people.  

Socialism is neither 'socially responsible' nor 'reasonable.'  It is a deadly con leading to a bottomless pit of empty promises.

Self-evident.

Maybe, but that ain't socialism...  socially responsible my a$$.

I for one believe the Nazis when they call themselves socialist revolutionaries.  Socialism is a con for the lower classes, promising them the wealth of the 'capitalists', all the while the central government authoritarians steal it all for themselves.

Cleverly avoiding the absolutely abysmal record of socialism, I see, Fred.  THIS is socialism.  Your communist rhetoric cannot refute the undeniable fact that socialism is servitude.

If only! ;-)

Thoreau is neither demonizing government nor alienating ourselves from it.  A million ignorances do not constitute one truth.  True 'self-government' starts with governing yourself and limiting what a central government can rule — this is primarily accomplished by keeping our servant government within its limited boundaries and taking personal responsibility for the condition and quality of one's life.

Facts are stubborn things ...

How about we stick to the Common Law definition of what is a crime, i.e. mens rea, meaning that any act committed with a malicious intent is considered 'criminal.'  In order to determine 'guilt,' mens rea must be proved, otherwise, the verdict must be 'innocent.'

The sentiment remains the same today among the school unions.  They unequivocally agree that the children under their guidance are 'theirs' and that parents have no say, just pay your taxes and complain at PTA meetings but they are under no obligation to do anything they don't want to do.  Another example of 'socialist' appropriation.

In other words, school choice.  I agree.

NO!  Absolutely not!  We do not need an unelected body of self-serving globalists to run the world.  That would be servitude for all under a statist, totalitarian government.  THINK, Fred.  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Government should be divided and subdivided into small manageable parts based on republican principles, not centralized authoritarian control, which has nothing but a dismal history of genocidal maniacs running things until the people can wrest control from them.  Communism has NEVER worked other than to reduce populations of independent thinkers to zero — hundreds of millions (perhaps billions) rubbed out.  Never forget!

"I have never suffered from self deception..." How would you know?  You've never been conned?  You've never believed a lie?  You've never lied to yourself?  Let me get this straight, upon examining your life, you have concluded that you have never been deceived by any idea you've ever had?  Wow, that's some real self-examination there!  Talk about self-deception...

Devils and angels come in all forms.  The 'devil' is a liar, the father of all lies.  Wherever there is purposeful deception, wherever there is hatred, wherever there is a blood lust, there is the devil. 

Indeed, the truth dispels lies and will order a disordered mind.  I invite you, Fred, to realize the Truth, for it not only brings peace and understanding, it liberates from the shackles of falsehood and deceit.  Have Americans been deceived by the powers-that-should-not-be?  Absolutely!  What can save us from this curse?  The Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.

In order to realize the truth, one must first be truthful with oneself — we cannot see past our own self-delusion.  The truth is indestructible, unlike untruth which must ever be propped up with lies.  Once the lie is exposed, the veil is lifted, the deception dissolved.  

I consider myself blessed in that in the pursuit of truth and the desire to uncover my own self-deceptions, the devil was revealed.  It is my experience that the devil will never show his cards until the cheat is exposed.  This unfortunately is the way of this illusory world.  I didn't believe it either until I was shown the truth ever in front of us. 

We have so much invested in that which is false.  Upon its discovery we have two choices, accept it along with what we have lost or double-down in hopes that the next hand will recover our losses.  (Psst — you can never win a rigged game... the lie can never become truth.)