A return to constitutionality was supposed to be a hallmark of the 2010 election. Part of the GOP's Pledge to America read, “We will require each bill moving through Congress to include a clause citing the specific constitutional authority upon which the bill is justified.” Republicans took over the House with considerable help from the Tea Party and other constitutional conservatives. How has Congress fared in delivering on its promise to comply with the Constitution?   Read the rest of this entry »

Many think the Founding Fathers were a bunch of old-fogies who lived way before iProducts, and have little to contribute in handling modern economic issues. Those people would be wrong. Today’s biggest problem is a stumbling economy that is not generating jobs. This is only the second time that the American economy has not come roaring out a downturn that was measured in months, not years. The other time, of course, was the Great Depression, when we followed the same economic policies as today. What would the Founders think about our current economic problems? Here is what they said in their own words.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Founders distrusted overly strong governments. That’s why they engineered a limited republic. Today, Americans seem to turn to their government to validate and protect real and presumed rights, and increasingly rely on government to guarantee the substance of life. Many modern Americans embrace national authority and fight to enlarge governmental powers. The Founders would be appalled. What would the Founders think about growing government power? Here is what they said in their own words.   Read the rest of this entry »

This has not been a particularly joyful season inside the beltway. All we’ve seen is a lot of clamoring, to little effect. In the hinterlands, we hear the echoes of the politicians' raucous debate about government spending, government borrowing, and government intrusion into our homes and business. One side yells that the only solution is to tax the rich until they squeal, while the other side of the aisle insists we must reform entitlements or go the way of Greece. What would the Founders think about all this? Here is what they said in their own words.   Read the rest of this entry »

In order to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, we need to understand it. Luckily, there are some great learning tools available to every American. These include an online course at James Madison’s Montpelier Center for the Constitution, the webcast series Introduction to the Constitution from Hillsdale College, and several good books, including The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, Tempest at Dawn, and Decision in Philadelphia.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Founders feared an overly powerful government. Governments govern ... which means they exercise power. George Washington may have said it best, “Government is not reason: It is not eloquence, it is Force, like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” James Madison chimed in by adding, “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.”   Read the rest of this entry »

Nathaniel Philbrick's book on Custer's last stand is well-researched and very readable. This would be a great book to read prior to visiting the battlefield and taking the driving tour at the Little Big Horn.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Founders viewed Liberty and Freedom as two very different concepts. In their view, Freedom is something that man can grant to his fellow man, but Liberty is derived from a higher authority. Every human is endowed with natural rights and the free exercise of those rights is called liberty. On the other hand, a person released from slavery or indentured servitude obtains his freedom from the person or persons releasing them from bondage.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Founders believed that the Constitution was a legally binding agreement between Americans and their government. Here are some quotes contrasting the views of some of the document's framers with that of some politicos of more recent times.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Enlightenment concepts of first principles and natural rights were important to the Founders. They served as the basis for the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and many other founding documents.   Read the rest of this entry »