tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034481282396160492024-02-19T06:07:09.862-05:00Americas Survival GuideWhere America comes for to learn about the past, the present, and the future in order to survive as a free republicMichael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-65830233097663956052011-08-09T21:37:00.000-04:002011-08-09T21:37:12.873-04:00We hold the fate of AmericaOn the eve of his inauguration, Abraham Lincoln addressed Governor Oliver Morton and the citizens of Indiana with these telling words:<br />
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<blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGGgR9CMU5rBRChLOHlNkliyxuJV5Hf81Odyhr3xREc1b2MgZD4fNF9oDWNRBkTEycpxMHeb0qf_E7sjZakCPhn8msW8TjLUM-zDP9m7azszB5qDfChXsyK7AGM3RAOAwtJvU2qFJVzM/s1600/Gardner-Photo-Lincoln.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGGgR9CMU5rBRChLOHlNkliyxuJV5Hf81Odyhr3xREc1b2MgZD4fNF9oDWNRBkTEycpxMHeb0qf_E7sjZakCPhn8msW8TjLUM-zDP9m7azszB5qDfChXsyK7AGM3RAOAwtJvU2qFJVzM/s200/Gardner-Photo-Lincoln.jpg" width="127" /></a>In all the trying positions in which I shall be placed, and doubtless I shall be placed in many trying ones, my reliance will be placed upon you and the people of the United States - and I wish you to remember now and forever, that it is your business, and not mine; that if the union of these States, and the liberties of this people, shall be lost, it is but little to any one man of fifty-two years of age, but a great deal to the thirty millions of people who inhabit these United States, and to their posterity in all coming time. It is your business to rise up and preserve the Union and liberty, for yourselves, and not for me. I desire that they shall be constitutionally preserved.</blockquote><br />
What say today's political class to this? It does not matter, what matters, as Lincoln remarked, is what <i>we</i> say - and do.<br />
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For more on Lincoln and our future, visit <a href="http://www.PatriotWeek.org./">Patriot Week</a> and <a href="http://www.AmericasSurvivalGuide.com/">America's Survival Guide.</a>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-24389323594822071302011-08-08T23:16:00.001-04:002011-08-08T23:16:32.499-04:00America: Blessed by God<br />
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 22px/normal Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.75em; position: relative;">America: Blessed by God</h3><div class="post-header" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6203557983149942996" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hwo2K8wA8Yhftl-0wY33mEaZiTEFKPqwETG1cewi3EgmYOWpHY0dkKhwMqdygDGjPcCv8s59OUSjbgyijCB2c_1IyouJmv42qYRQbYCkozwybCi_2sXmQ5X-FPKviaiSjISxrcQyh5xj/s1600/492px-Portrait_of_George_Washington.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #c98f24; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hwo2K8wA8Yhftl-0wY33mEaZiTEFKPqwETG1cewi3EgmYOWpHY0dkKhwMqdygDGjPcCv8s59OUSjbgyijCB2c_1IyouJmv42qYRQbYCkozwybCi_2sXmQ5X-FPKviaiSjISxrcQyh5xj/s200/492px-Portrait_of_George_Washington.jpeg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976562) 1px 1px 5px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976562) 1px 1px 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; position: relative;" width="163" /></a>George Washington perceptively commented in his First Inaugural Address:<br />
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<blockquote>"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency..." </blockquote><br />
Those that really know American history, no that this was no idle observation.<div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #707070; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -2px; margin-right: -2px; margin-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px;"></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-26226871641641544612011-08-06T22:38:00.000-04:002011-08-06T22:38:20.676-04:00Rancor: The Price of Freedom & Self-Government<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<div class="post-header" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2511200484818645743" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;"><blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWl97B_CxKVOsDIQkTSA5F9EFhSLYz_VBBTxFCg1-E6NoOoLWcYhSCUGd7SoUiIRNxfbV3EI1_ml4amFAhiuqwAesOOTmOUwzgmtVANKjOsaF0qtuQqiAgm06m_sbBCRZLpp5mp5Iy0PC/s1600/herbet_hoover_415w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #c98f24; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWl97B_CxKVOsDIQkTSA5F9EFhSLYz_VBBTxFCg1-E6NoOoLWcYhSCUGd7SoUiIRNxfbV3EI1_ml4amFAhiuqwAesOOTmOUwzgmtVANKjOsaF0qtuQqiAgm06m_sbBCRZLpp5mp5Iy0PC/s200/herbet_hoover_415w.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976562) 1px 1px 5px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976562) 1px 1px 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; position: relative;" width="150" /></a>"we have builded up a form of self-government and a social system which is peculiarly our own. It differs essentially from all others in the world. It is the American system. It is just as definite and positive a political and social system as has ever been developed on earth." Herbert Hoover.</blockquote><br />
Although Hoover is not a particularly popular icon today, his understanding that America has a unique system - based on a foundation of self-government - is undeniably correct. In the words of the Declaration of Independence, America's system rests on the "consent of the governed." This consent is a key component of our First Principle of the <a href="http://www.americassurvivalguide.com/social-compact.php" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">Social Compact</a><br />
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This is why we allow protests - even those we despise; why we vote for our political leaders; why we allow initiatives, recalls, and referenda; and why public opinion is so important in public decision making. This is in striking contrast to many regimes on earth, where speech is oppressed; leaders are imposed; laws cannot be challenged; and public opinion is irrelevant.<br />
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We have been - and continue to face - a heated public dialogue (perhaps rancor is the better word) about many public issues, but it is the price we pay for our freedom.<br />
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For more about the Social Compact, visit <a href="http://www.AmericasSurvivalGuide.com/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">America's Survival Guide</a> and <a href="http://www.PatriotWeek.org./" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">Patriot Week</a><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #707070; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -2px; margin-right: -2px; margin-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px;"></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-49423530999418093852011-08-05T00:23:00.001-04:002011-08-05T20:31:49.259-04:00Free Speech: Cherish, Don't Cheapen It<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6Z3NfY0Aqeqj4jQ1lNRZlvwTQzf-RdPVfvKXV07eMqF4brMxub0EF-JmYU99hbWJYf42z_6dEj419hJM0vvtob-941EQs3h9eLHOvjCfoxhQ-yHbqVJRcctbNG0rvc92J956gqyz5mI/s1600/220px-Oliver_Wendell_Holmes_Jr_circa_1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6Z3NfY0Aqeqj4jQ1lNRZlvwTQzf-RdPVfvKXV07eMqF4brMxub0EF-JmYU99hbWJYf42z_6dEj419hJM0vvtob-941EQs3h9eLHOvjCfoxhQ-yHbqVJRcctbNG0rvc92J956gqyz5mI/s320/220px-Oliver_Wendell_Holmes_Jr_circa_1930.jpg" width="218" /></a><br />
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5701414573269910340" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;">In his famous dissent in Abrams v United States, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote that "the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes can be safely carried out. That at any rate is the theory of our Constitution."<br />
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Patriot Week celebrates the First Principle of unalienable rights - and the freedom of speech and press are some of our most cherished unalienable rights.<br />
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Today, this sentiment seems to be accepted as law, but under assault in practice. Too often political commentators engage in <i>ad hominen</i>attacks and character assassination. The demonization of those on the other side of political disputes is so commonplace, that it hardly is noticed.<br />
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Stated another way, although freedom of speech and press are precious rights, they have been cheapened and weakened by today's corrosive atmosphere. When is the last time we had a serious political debate invoking the higher principles - the better angels - of our nature?<br />
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But Justice Holmes is correct - it is the competition of ideas - in a free marketplace - in which the best public policy and ideas can be derived - and attacking the messengers does nothing but corrupt and denigrate the quality of the debate - to the detriment of all.</div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5701414573269910340" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;"><br />
</div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5701414573269910340" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;">For more about Patriot Week, visit <a href="http://www.patriotweek.org/">Patriot Week</a>. For more about our how our liberty is at risk, visit <a href="http://www.americassurvivalguide.com/">America's Survival Guide</a></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-15339158247594300172011-07-31T17:44:00.000-04:002011-07-31T17:44:30.929-04:00Education, Linchpin of Freedom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCRpnF2wUw6E-QofB2Kw6wzJLgRuqBBqbTl1Iy9u_HT2qiYboXkge9JbcmLO2QU03zXAR6JWVxuh5W5RTp1UAYnoIUgkzbSItsatl9RGhms_fCJ4Xge9-YO52_QlE8pCebFQGxIYyPmE/s1600/Thomas+Jefferson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCRpnF2wUw6E-QofB2Kw6wzJLgRuqBBqbTl1Iy9u_HT2qiYboXkge9JbcmLO2QU03zXAR6JWVxuh5W5RTp1UAYnoIUgkzbSItsatl9RGhms_fCJ4Xge9-YO52_QlE8pCebFQGxIYyPmE/s1600/Thomas+Jefferson.jpg" /></a><br />
<blockquote style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Charles Jarvis, 1820.</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This sentiment expressed by Jefferson is as true today as it was at the dawn of our experiment in liberty. In light of the multitude of crises that are facing our nation, many have taken the attitude that only expert elites can save us from ourselves; and others question whether the people have the fortitude to preserve our freedoms. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If such a attitudes and doubts have validity, it is because we as a nation have done such a poor job in educating ourselves about the foundation of our freedoms. As Jefferson explained, the solution is not shut the people out, but to ensure they are well grounded in our First Principles and history. And only then can we expect that our freedoms will be sure.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more on our educational crisis and how to combat it, see <a href="http://www.AmericasSurvivalGuide.com/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">America's Survival Guide</a>. For more about Jefferson and our First Principles, visit <a href="http://www.PatriotWeek.org/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">Patriot Week.</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In his Inaugural Address, John F. Kennedy eloquently explained America's First Principle of unalienable rights:</div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.</div></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In all the clamor, passion, and heat of current politics, when is that last time we heard that sentiment? Rarely if at all. Yet, if we believe anything else, we are doomed to arbitrary whims of politicians to control our most fundamental rights. This is not the American understanding. JFK had it right. Let's remember it or everything we believe in is at risk.</div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-30981208626420805562011-07-25T22:50:00.000-04:002011-07-25T22:50:09.993-04:00America: Land of Equality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0g_Lva6sn8CBu57lZNNZlfDDmXrd8hozsGNvb3VKrsTGsM1q7LLeC6HTPPVp5r_bj66SRo0BUF1dLWkbJSIY1Su5h2zoterxPlM1IngbK8xzctPXyTpk8wPudGp2EMvkKh7DX3eJc4cc/s1600/Gilbert_Stuart_John_Adams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0g_Lva6sn8CBu57lZNNZlfDDmXrd8hozsGNvb3VKrsTGsM1q7LLeC6HTPPVp5r_bj66SRo0BUF1dLWkbJSIY1Su5h2zoterxPlM1IngbK8xzctPXyTpk8wPudGp2EMvkKh7DX3eJc4cc/s320/Gilbert_Stuart_John_Adams.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6334892506753621974" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;">In his seminal, A Defense of the American Constitutions, John Adams wrote:<br />
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<blockquote>"In every country we have found a variety of orders with very great distinction. In America there are different orders of offices, but none of men. Out of office, all men are the same species and of one blood; there is neither a greater nor lesser nobility."</blockquote>Indeed, at the time of the American Revolution, America was alone in the world in rejecting nobility, hereditary advantages, and distinctions embedded in the law. The Founders believed that "all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights . . . ." This great equality under the law allows those who prove their worth - through the "content of their character" as Martin Luther King Jr. would say - to excel regardless of their original station in life. This is a First Principle that is worth remembering, cherishing, and fighting for.<br />
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For more about the First Principle of equality, visit <a href="http://www.PatriotWeek.org/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">www.PatriotWeek.org</a> and <a href="http://www.AmericasSurvivalGuide.com/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">Americas Survival Guide.</a></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-11084104423726450472011-07-05T22:12:00.001-04:002011-07-05T22:12:12.713-04:00Patriot Week Bill Passes Michigan State House<a href="http://spinalcolumnonline.com/patriot-week-bill-clears-house-panel/">http://spinalcolumnonline.com/patriot-week-bill-clears-house-panel/</a>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-55233521356819542422011-06-19T13:11:00.001-04:002011-06-19T13:18:00.055-04:00Happy Father's Day President Washington<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Considering that George Washington had no children, it seems a bit inappropriate to write about him on Father’s Day. However, there is a reason he is called the “Father of Our Country.” He is, in a very real sense, the father of all Americans.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Washington’s remarkable career is too lengthy to detail here, but I will focus on three major accomplishments. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHa1mf2q69Zx44IZAwSECEZ1Z_YMKOvTsybJSeinmMBAuRt1jIX2a5iKXTLl62c86K_FhHCtFJR7fyjnrQ8mwYolOkLupsbs_NScfDH7WD1t8iTC031qz0F0b4DtB8qncrqLeX1ilXDw/s1600/Washington_1772.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHa1mf2q69Zx44IZAwSECEZ1Z_YMKOvTsybJSeinmMBAuRt1jIX2a5iKXTLl62c86K_FhHCtFJR7fyjnrQ8mwYolOkLupsbs_NScfDH7WD1t8iTC031qz0F0b4DtB8qncrqLeX1ilXDw/s320/Washington_1772.jpg" width="272" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">First, he successfully led the American military effort for independence. The American efforts were much more arduous - and miraculous - than we often give them credit. That the ragtag (literally) Continental Army and militia forces were able to beat the greatest military and naval force in the word is testament enough. But none of it would have possible without Washington.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Second, he reluctantly left retirement to preside over the Constitutional Convention. His was the steadying influence that gave the Convention the credibility it needed to successfully proceed, and his support ushered in the adoption of the Constitution - still the envy of the world.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Finally, he voluntary retired after two successful terms as President. This unprecedented act ensured that America would not devolve into a kingship or lifetime rule by the President.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In these ways, and in so many more, he bequeathed to us - an entire nation - our freedoms and liberties. Happy Father’s Day President Washington.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #484848; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For more about Washington visit </span><a href="http://www.patriotweek.org/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Patriot Week </span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and </span><a href="http://www.Americassurvivalguide.com/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">America's Survival Guide</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-13291281544880945782011-06-11T23:54:00.002-04:002011-06-11T23:54:53.216-04:00A Committee Appointed; A Declaration To Be<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6205533137351802359" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On this date in 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a five member to draft a Declaration of Independence. The Committee Members included Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Adams explained to Jefferson why Jefferson was required to draft the Declaration of Independence: “Reason first – You are a Virginian, and a Virginian ought to appear at the head of this business. Reason second – I am obnoxious, suspected and unpopular. You are very much otherwise. Reason third – You can write ten times better than I can.” It was a fateful decision.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVRjVWTcMWquXA94LGjY21cD29kzoQHPr6iIgsdLhOrlzZnDpyAvxA3Cw7Zrft6cnaAmOXxxQHreUhPZXuMp73o3FFaTxAQdiNPxOh5iJn21xr78oeLHTS6EYZI6M23sN-HoAV2Kcn9s5/s1600/Thomas_Jefferson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #c98f24; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVRjVWTcMWquXA94LGjY21cD29kzoQHPr6iIgsdLhOrlzZnDpyAvxA3Cw7Zrft6cnaAmOXxxQHreUhPZXuMp73o3FFaTxAQdiNPxOh5iJn21xr78oeLHTS6EYZI6M23sN-HoAV2Kcn9s5/s320/Thomas_Jefferson.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976562) 1px 1px 5px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; position: relative;" width="280" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adams was truly the leading Patriot to the independence, and was well known for his ego. However, he knew his place - he had to submerge his personal feelings in favor of the greater cause of the Revolution. He turned to Jefferson to carry the argument forward.Jefferson, who had become a famous author with a prior work, <i>A Summary View </i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> of the Rights of British America (1774), <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">expressed the American sentiment in terms that would become perhaps the most famous words in world history.</span></span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">For more about Jefferson and Adams, check out <a href="http://PatriotWeek.org/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">Patriot Week</a> and <a href="http://americassurvivalguide.com/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">America's Survival Guide.</a></span></span></i></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-58240097027968079432011-06-07T23:46:00.000-04:002011-06-07T23:46:57.196-04:00"These united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states."On this day, in 1776, Richard Henry Lee, a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, rose and moved to the Congress that "These united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." The motion seconded by John Adams, and deferred for consideration.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7e2mRib4GQtHAZC8l5r9h-36ZpMtjhzMk55SgJE59yAPv0TN_aMUsGdOO0S3sP5rB_eIDaavsS7zTJ-dFdsqGkhHyRFAc1HBc5jzTySEezARqg07Iq8tuM6L3us3hMw-qRkZVcqkocA/s1600/richard-henry-lee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7e2mRib4GQtHAZC8l5r9h-36ZpMtjhzMk55SgJE59yAPv0TN_aMUsGdOO0S3sP5rB_eIDaavsS7zTJ-dFdsqGkhHyRFAc1HBc5jzTySEezARqg07Iq8tuM6L3us3hMw-qRkZVcqkocA/s320/richard-henry-lee.jpg" width="287" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Richard Henry Lee</div><br />
A vote would eventually be taken on July 2, and the Second Continental Congress unanimously approved the resolution (New York abstaining). Two days later, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. A nation was born, tyranny was put aside, and the world would never be the same. <br />
<br />
For the first time in human history, a nation was founded on ideals: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.</blockquote><br />
Lets keep it alive by renewing the American Spirit! For a couple of ways to do that, check out <a href="http://PatriotWeek.org/">PatriotWeek.org</a> and <a href="http://AmericaSurvivalGuide.com/">AmericaSurvivalGuide.com</a>.Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-31837786483875981942011-06-07T00:00:00.001-04:002011-06-07T00:00:37.789-04:00D-Day: Some things are worth dying for<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Today marks the anniversary of DDay, which was the beginning of the end for the Nazi regime. Thousands of brave Allied Forces stormed the beaches of France to liberate Europe from German oppression.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7s190_M7SYahjsnYCcmDZj8ngVnpxvZf5J-KmPjJIkWbeB9-wku4V8SMVGdzXNeotDQFWvedAp7xaq_9Glx4kYEGWMNrNsD_M_T1VEanJswnM9ZTi7Saj_JzALsCPch5unWHK2pdAxUU/s1600/d-day02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7s190_M7SYahjsnYCcmDZj8ngVnpxvZf5J-KmPjJIkWbeB9-wku4V8SMVGdzXNeotDQFWvedAp7xaq_9Glx4kYEGWMNrNsD_M_T1VEanJswnM9ZTi7Saj_JzALsCPch5unWHK2pdAxUU/s320/d-day02.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Many Americans lost the lives on that day to preserve liberty for Europe, America, and the world. On D-Day, the Allies suffered approximately 10,000 casualties. The Battle of Normandy involved over 400,000 total casualties. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On the 40th Anniversary of D-Day, Ronald Reagan addressed Americans who stormed the beaches and reflected:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It was the deep knowledge and pray God we have not lost it that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.</div></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Reagan was right.</div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-79485946119891575262011-06-02T23:58:00.002-04:002011-06-02T23:58:43.276-04:00Happy Birthday Martha<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6941692426088904000" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;">Martha Washington was born on June 2, 1731 near Williamsburg, Virginia. America's first First Lady distinguished herself long before by tending to the troops during the revolutionary war. She supported her husband's efforts to defend the freedom of Americans even in the face of dire consequences to herself. She wrote, "I think I am more like a state prisoner than anything else." But she understood the importance of George's work when she reflected, "I cannot blame him for having acting according to his ideas of duty in obeying the voice of his country." Indeed.<div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #707070; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -2px; margin-right: -2px; margin-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px;"></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-34253172316518669672011-05-30T22:46:00.000-04:002011-05-30T22:46:32.478-04:00Memorial Day - Time to Renew the Spirit of America<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="color: #8cdfff; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; line-height: 24.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The National Holiday Act of 1971 destroyed Memorial Day. It did so by making it a floating day to ensure a 3 day weekend. Memorial Day once served as solemn day to commemorate those who gave there last full measure of devotion to our republic. Today it is an empty excuse for carpet and appliance sales.</span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; line-height: 24.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; line-height: 24.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We are the beneficiaries of hundreds of thousands of servicemen and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Let us remember them, and let us renew our commitment to ensuring that that their sacrifices were not in vain. We need to deepen and renew the Spirit of America by defending our way of life, our Constitution, and our freedoms and liberties. </span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; line-height: 24.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; line-height: 24.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I fear we will never reverse this trend of the commercialization of our civic calendar, which is why Patriot Week is so important.</span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; line-height: 24.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We can honor our sacred dead by relearning our Founding First Principles and history, and ensuring that those in power do the same.</span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; line-height: 24.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; line-height: 24.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For more on our founding First Principles and history, visit:<a href="http://www.americassurvivalguide.com/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #0c25a6; text-decoration: underline;">www.AmericasSurvivalGuide.com</span></a>. for more Patriot Week, visit <a href="http://patriotsweek.blogspot.com/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #0c25a6; text-decoration: underline;">www.PatriotWeek.org.</span></a></span></div></span></span></h3>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-92154090372599181192011-05-28T22:40:00.000-04:002011-05-28T22:40:46.763-04:00Jonathan’s and Washington’s Example: A Few Make All the Difference<blockquote><div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“Perhaps the Lord will help us, because it is no more difficult for the Lord to grant victory through a few than through many.” 1 Samuel 14:6.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jonathan, the son of King Saul, uttered these words to his armor-bearer as the two alone proceeded to attack a small enemy outpost. Within a few minutes they had slain 20 enemies, and the outpost panicked. That panic lead to a full scale retreat of large army that vastly outnumbered the Hebrew forces led by Jonathan and Saul. Israel proceeded to gain an enormous victory over their enemies.</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jonathan's courage foreshadowed the courage of our Founding Fathers and other great Patriots who have led the fight for freedom and liberty here and across the globe. The British Empire should have overwhelmed the ragtag army barely held together by Washington (the indispensable man), but by perseverance and divine intervention, we won our freedom. Likewise, we survived other threats by holding fast and true to our ideals - and each other - in the face of adversity.</span></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When someone tells you that "it can't be done," you are outnumbered - remember Jonathan, and the Founding Fathers - you will be in good company.</span></span></div></blockquote>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-20443127571438949202011-05-24T22:04:00.000-04:002011-05-24T22:04:37.135-04:00Michigan Supreme Court Vindicates Dorothy Comstock Riley in Leaving Hugh Clarke on the Bench - SBM Blog<a href="http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2011/05/michigan-supreme-court-vindicates-dorothy-comstock-riley-in-leaving-hugh-clarke-on-the-bench.html">Michigan Supreme Court Vindicates Dorothy Comstock Riley in Leaving Hugh Clarke on the Bench - SBM Blog</a>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-63275453640017613212011-05-23T23:44:00.001-04:002011-05-23T23:44:26.208-04:00Freedom is Not Free<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On the 175th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, President Harry Truman remarked:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Some things have not changed at all since 1776. For one thing, freedom is still expensive. It still costs money. It still costs blood. It still calls for courage and endurance, not only in soldiers, but in every man and woman who is free and how is determined to remain free.</div></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Indeed, President Truman's words continue to ring true today. The challenge of American liberty lies at our feet. We are responsible for its preservation - or demise. That's why efforts like <a href="http://www.patriotweek.org/">Patriot Week</a> are so vital. But so are so many other efforts to preserve our liberty - the wars, the soldiers, the treasure, the teaching. For all those working so hard to preserve our republic - I salute you. For the rest of you, get it together or lose freedom's last best hope. Truman was right - it takes <i>every </i>man and woman to keep our freedom.</div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-65292819186278779702011-05-01T15:07:00.002-04:002011-05-01T15:07:44.840-04:00"It is not the critic who counts. . . The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . . ."<div align="right" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how</i></b> <i><b>the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."</b></i><b><br />
</b></span></div><div align="right" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Citizenship in a Republic,"<br />
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910</span></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-9416049511426339262011-04-28T20:03:00.000-04:002011-04-28T20:03:38.468-04:00Power: The True Test of Character<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 22px/normal Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.75em; position: relative;">“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln.</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALXmFPYsl2FnorrScsX5fwRi1EX4BGwxl2wkv5oJyILWgOiWlwJeN_B8TPtibBj0kOlV0wAkruUeMkxPi7d8ZdqK13v4avc7-qbXftu4a5H__YUfGZDWhlfdbMIYzSoxp2Ny0FwElwr4/s1600/Lincoln.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALXmFPYsl2FnorrScsX5fwRi1EX4BGwxl2wkv5oJyILWgOiWlwJeN_B8TPtibBj0kOlV0wAkruUeMkxPi7d8ZdqK13v4avc7-qbXftu4a5H__YUfGZDWhlfdbMIYzSoxp2Ny0FwElwr4/s1600/Lincoln.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4738711399976839626" style="color: #484848; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 490px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Lincoln's statement is simply profound. Today, it has become nearly commonplace to learn about how certain individuals have overcome adversity - be it broken homes, illness, job losses, poor schools, physical ailments, addictions, and other maladies. Those people are rightfully applauded for becoming successful by overcoming their challenges. They are exemplars and should be emulated.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">What you don't read about often is about the men and women who wield power and decline to use or abuse it. Of course, too often we learn about abuses and corruptions of power. Some such "leaders" are across the globe - witness North Korea, Cuba, Libya, and elsewhere; some are too close for comfort - witness Detroit's ex-mayor and the disgraced former governors of New York and Illinois.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">What we should keep in mind - and they are indeed a vanishing breed - are the men and women who are given great power, and use it responsibly - or even more rarely - refuse to exercise it - to allow for liberty to flourish. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">America was founded on the premise of limited government - that men and women are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, and that the purpose of government is to protect those rights. We must remember that the power to do good is also the power to do evil. That sometimes the most courageous exercise of power is to refuse to wield it. That sometimes people must be allowed to go their own way; that the spark of freedom is in much having the ability to strive and fail than anything else. As Lincoln said, the true test of character is to see what one does - or does not do - with power.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Don't forget to visit <a href="http://patriotweek.org/" style="color: #c98f24; text-decoration: none;">Patriot Week</a></span><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #707070; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -2px; margin-right: -2px; margin-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px;"></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-18381075781982009442011-04-27T00:02:00.000-04:002011-04-27T00:02:11.028-04:00Jamestown: The Spirit of America Sets SailToday marks the 404th anniversary of the departure of the <i>Discovery, Godspeed, and Susan Constant </i>to what eventually became Jamestown. The 104 colonists that arrived in modern day Virginia eventually founded Jamestown - the first permanent English settlement in North America.<br />
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Dr. Joseph Warren, a leading Patriot in Boston with John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, eloquently explained what motivated the Jamestown and subsequent settlers:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Our fathers having nobly resolved never to wear the yoke of despotism, and seeing the European world, at the time, through indolence and cowardice, failing a prey to tyranny, bravely threw themselves upon the bosom of the ocean, determined to find a place in which they might enjoy their freedom, or perish in the glorious attempt. Approving heaven beheld the favourite ark dancing upon the waves, and graciously preserved it until the chosen families were brought in safety to these western regions.</blockquote><br />
As we know, the going at Jamestown was miserable, and many lost their lives. Eventually, however, their persistence in the face of famine, disease, and clashes with Native Americans led to success and a thriving colony.<br />
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This spirit of determination for liberty eventually paved the way for the creation of the American republic. We are now the ark of freedom for the world. And we owe it to those who came before us to secure the ark for future generations.Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-5258815964277439702011-04-25T20:01:00.000-04:002011-04-25T20:01:24.880-04:00Marxism: Politics in US, Deadly Elsewhere, by Michael ConnellyMichael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-23734074915229535442011-04-19T21:46:00.000-04:002011-04-19T21:46:50.248-04:00Detroit: Important at the Founding and Important Today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOt6AwlhGGeMgXZoxduhA2gvb61ccECO75UU7CWdJ10jxJYLd9YYpBd1n2erZuC7fHBJxpKnnWuCYjDY6E4GHUZcECMeLDrkRt120bn2CIrpVvurw3T-7gUBxLg2q4Pn9pfhKFVSXJDk/s1600/492px-Portrait_of_George_Washington.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOt6AwlhGGeMgXZoxduhA2gvb61ccECO75UU7CWdJ10jxJYLd9YYpBd1n2erZuC7fHBJxpKnnWuCYjDY6E4GHUZcECMeLDrkRt120bn2CIrpVvurw3T-7gUBxLg2q4Pn9pfhKFVSXJDk/s320/492px-Portrait_of_George_Washington.jpeg" width="262" /></a></div>"I took the liberty of suggesting the propriety . . . of paying particular attention to the French and other Settlers at Detroit . . . " George Washington (1783).<br />
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Washington's particular attention was a prophetic clarion call of the need to pay attention to Detroit. It has often the harbinger of things to come. Once a backwater fort, it became the arsenal of democracy and revolutionized the world with mass production. It built a middle class by giving the working class fair wages and working conditions, and established world class cultural institutions, schools, and universities.<br />
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Through its trials and tribulations, Detroit has become the symbol of all of what is right - and wrong - about America. Today, much of it is crumbling. But its spirit is strong, and even a cursory glance at the city reveals that there are many signs of hope and renewal. New developments are springing up across the city, cultural institutions are adapting to new realities, new superior schools are operating, and pockets of urban vibrancy are on the upswing.<br />
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To help in these efforts, Patriot Week is launching its kick-off, and 10th anniversary commemoration of 9/11, at Detroit's Historic Fort Wayne - a magnificent 1840s era fort on the Detroit river. If in all its adversity Detroit can be the center of a renewal of the American spirit, then surely the rest of the nation can follow. What will save Detroit will save America. Join <a href="http://patriotweek.org/">Patriot Week</a> and renew America.Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-32523100795908292822011-04-13T22:16:00.002-04:002011-04-13T22:16:18.891-04:00Patriot Bill an Easy Vote for LawmakersThe Oakland Press just endorsed a bill making Patriot Week permanently recognized in Michigan. Check it Out: <a href="http://theoaklandpress.com/articles/2011/04/12/opinion/doc4da4f3a08e86c422202071.txt">Oakland Press Editorial Supporting Patriot Week Bill</a>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-61014862568951620522011-04-11T00:03:00.000-04:002011-04-11T00:03:15.483-04:00The Lost Art of Minding One's Own BusinessWhen about to depart the presidency, Calvin Coolidge remarked, "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding my own business." <div><br />
</div><div>Today such a remark would be so shocking to the political and media class that it would likely be headline news. With a 24 hour news cycle, blogs, webcasts, and press release frenzy, it seems that politicians are encouraged and expected to comment on every bit of news, culture, movies, game shows, sports, scandals, and the ravings of unbalanced celebrities. No wonder there seems to be so little time for the important things - like debts, deficits, and wars.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Coolidge's wisdom was profound - but lost today. Do your part - ignore the likes of Charlie Sheen - and force the political class to focus on what is really important - the enduring and long-term values, principles, and finances of the country. </div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503448128239616049.post-38194518742354240972011-04-08T23:46:00.001-04:002011-04-08T23:46:10.962-04:00Keep Swinging!<div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Keep Swinging (april 8)</span></div><div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Today marks the anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's home run record. Hammerin' Hank reflected that "My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was to keep swinging."</span></div><div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Aaron's motto could accurately be dubbed America's motto. The American spirit has always included persistence, determination, and optimism in face of daunting odds. When we declared independence, it was against the greatest empire the world had ever seen. With a ragtag army, stationed on the outskirts of civilization, we were able to defeat the great military might of the British Empire.</span></div><div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We prevailed again in the War of 1812, survived the cataclysm of the Civil War, beat back German imperialism in WWI, and defeated Nazi Germany and imperial Japan in WWII. All the while, our future was not certain - but our determination to prevail was.</span></div><div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #484848; font: 13.0px Arial; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Today times are very tough - but with the right spirit, we have won in tougher times. We need to renew the American spirit - through efforts like <a href="http://www.PatriotWeek.org/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #0c25a6; text-decoration: underline;">Patriot Week</span></a> - to ensure we continue to win in the future.</span></div>Michael Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12001139578584854664noreply@blogger.com0