THOMAS JEFFERSON
At 5, began studying under his cousins tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary..
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America "
and retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence ..
At 33, took three years to revise Virginia's legal code and wrote a Public
Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with
European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American
Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican
Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States ..
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello ..
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine..
At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its
first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of
Independence.
John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation. At that time he made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
Thomas Jefferson
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson
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
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
Thomas Jefferson
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson
To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Saturday, May 07, 2011
An American Tragedy, Kent State University, May, 1971.
The month of May in Ohio ushers in the blossoming of flowers and long-awaited warmer Spring breezes. In 1971, however, May Day began a series of events that turned ugly and forever branded Kent State University.
On Friday May 1, a drunken downtown mixture of students, transients, bikers and others began a rampage. The Mayor declared an emergency and called in Ohio’s National Guard. Thus began the tragedy of Kent State and a May memory we would rather not have.
On Saturday, National Guard troops were activated in response to rioting on campus. They arrived at 10:00 pm, too late to prevent the burning of one of the three buildings housing the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). On Sunday a curfew was established in an attempt to prevent more violence.
Attempts to disperse a Monday on campus-crowd by the National Guard resulted in the killing of four students and wounding of others. Kent State University has never been the same.
In the aftermath, some students would “open our windows and play CSNY Four Dead in OHIO. Through this writers eye, it was nothing to sing about. However, if you HAD to, a more appropriate Crosby Stills, Nash and Young tune to play would have been “Teach Your Children.”
American families have suffered war losses since our founding. The Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Spanish-American War, WWI (nobly called the war to end all wars), WWII, et al. My family argues that war is NOT the natural state. Unfortunately, I believe it IS, but does not have to be.
Were I to sing a song today it would be for ALL families throughout the world who have suffered, and do suffer, because of war - Pete Seeger’s “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” I would sing it for our servicemen and women, for our children, our grandchildren and for We, the living.
Lest I be criticized for my views, I have paid my dues to say so. I AM an honorably-discharged American veteran who carried a gun for this nation here and overseas.
On Friday May 1, a drunken downtown mixture of students, transients, bikers and others began a rampage. The Mayor declared an emergency and called in Ohio’s National Guard. Thus began the tragedy of Kent State and a May memory we would rather not have.
On Saturday, National Guard troops were activated in response to rioting on campus. They arrived at 10:00 pm, too late to prevent the burning of one of the three buildings housing the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). On Sunday a curfew was established in an attempt to prevent more violence.
Attempts to disperse a Monday on campus-crowd by the National Guard resulted in the killing of four students and wounding of others. Kent State University has never been the same.
In the aftermath, some students would “open our windows and play CSNY Four Dead in OHIO. Through this writers eye, it was nothing to sing about. However, if you HAD to, a more appropriate Crosby Stills, Nash and Young tune to play would have been “Teach Your Children.”
American families have suffered war losses since our founding. The Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Spanish-American War, WWI (nobly called the war to end all wars), WWII, et al. My family argues that war is NOT the natural state. Unfortunately, I believe it IS, but does not have to be.
Were I to sing a song today it would be for ALL families throughout the world who have suffered, and do suffer, because of war - Pete Seeger’s “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” I would sing it for our servicemen and women, for our children, our grandchildren and for We, the living.
Lest I be criticized for my views, I have paid my dues to say so. I AM an honorably-discharged American veteran who carried a gun for this nation here and overseas.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Local School Board Levy Failure
I note the remarks made by School Board Superintendent Wayne Blankenship (News Leader 05/04/11). He is “tremendously hurt” because of the school levy failure. If I may speak on behalf of the voters who rejected it, we are tremendously galled that you have run up a deficit of almost four million dollars. Just when did you think the chickens would come home to roost?
Blankenship is right about one thing though, the students don’t deserve this.
The School Board deficit is reflective of a larger problem, that of local, state and national government overspending without any thought to who is going to pay for it. If we voters had the same spending attitudes we’d be on the street because we couldn’t pay our debts. I’m reminded of the line in the movie Top Gun; “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.”
Perhaps one possible solution to the problem might be a combination of reduced local, state and federal spending and reduced/eliminated billion dollar so-called “foreign aid” to governments who are taking We, the Taxpayers, for a ride
Blankenship is right about one thing though, the students don’t deserve this.
The School Board deficit is reflective of a larger problem, that of local, state and national government overspending without any thought to who is going to pay for it. If we voters had the same spending attitudes we’d be on the street because we couldn’t pay our debts. I’m reminded of the line in the movie Top Gun; “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.”
Perhaps one possible solution to the problem might be a combination of reduced local, state and federal spending and reduced/eliminated billion dollar so-called “foreign aid” to governments who are taking We, the Taxpayers, for a ride
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