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davjohns

..the blood of patriots...

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Sometimes, I wonder how our Founding Fathers would have fared in today's world. For instance, if this had been posted on facebook along with much of the other things said by some of them. Would they have been locked up on suspicion of being unstable and potentially violent? Let's face it, they were eventually violent...

"[W]hensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force."

-- Thomas Jefferson

(1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President
I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

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Sometimes, I wonder how our Founding Fathers would have fared in today's world.



They wouldn't be able to cope. The world today is completely different than it was in their time. This is one of the reasons I get pissed off when I read people who have misquoted them or taken their quotes out of context in support of something the Founding Fathers knew absolutely nothing about.

All a person needs to do is look at the US Constitution as written and originally amended by them to see the world they lived in bears no resemblance to the way things are today.

If Jefferson met Obama, I think Jefferson would be speechless. Not because of anything Obama has done, but simply because he's a black President, which would have been absolutely 100% unthinkable in Jefferson's day.

If Jefferson was given a demonstration of an AR-15, he just might shit his pants.
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The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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While I think they might be troubled about the choices that have followed them, I don't agree with your examples regarding Jefferson. He was well versed in history and government and had a mistress who was part black with whom he had multiple children. His sympathies were that slavery was wrong and destined to die away. To make the leap that a black man might one day be president would not leave him speechless IMO. I also think he would take apart an AR and see the simplicity within moments. He was, afterall, an inventor himself. And the basic workings of an AR are pretty simple.
I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

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I think the aircraft carrier awes modern man. I can't imagine he would be any more awed than I am.

The atomic bomb is easily understood at it's roots. It might make him sad. I hope so. It makes me sad. I think seeing it on a hand held device would be the amazing part.
I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

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If Jefferson met Obama, I think Jefferson would be speechless. Not because of anything Obama has done, but simply because he's a black President, which would have been absolutely 100% unthinkable in Jefferson's day.



If Thomas Jefferson had a son he might look like Barack Obama
"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

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But that's the beauty of our constitution...it's timeless.



Timelessness...that can be amended. So, that's not really timeless, is it.



Sure it is...unless you want to chuck the whole thing and start over. As equally divided between R's and D's as the country is it'll be snowing in hell before we see another amendment.
Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

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What would you want to ammend?



Where to start?

Strengthen the separation of powers, so members of one branch of the government are barred from occupying any other branch. Members of the Bar, for example, being Officers of the Court are thus banned for life from elective office in the Executive or Legislative branches.

No retirement or lifetime medical plan for members of Congress.

Strict term limits, say two to a customer for the Senate, and maybe three for Congress.

Select Legislators by a draft system. We could hardly come up with a more malevolent lot of cretins than those we have already; make it a burden without a payoff and we won't suffer from the results of the conflict of interest that now exists.

Abolish the Fed. The Federal Reserve system is purely an end run around the Constitution as it stands; plug the loophole.

Enact a Sundown Clause. If stupid laws were half as easy to get rid of as they were to pass, it would greatly simplify life. It is not possible to adhere to the law if it is not physically possible to stay abreast with what is proscribed or mandatory at any location or point in time.

This is just what comes to mind off the top of my head.

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Enact a Sundown Clause. If stupid laws were half as easy to get rid of as they were to pass, it would greatly simplify life.



That's a novel thought, at least to me. We might like something like this up here in the Great White North...

John

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If Jefferson met Obama, I think Jefferson would be speechless. Not because of anything Obama has done, but simply because he's a black President, which would have been absolutely 100% unthinkable in Jefferson's day.



If Thomas Jefferson had a son he might look like Barack Obama


That is fantastic, cleaver and funny. :D
When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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If Jefferson met Obama, I think Jefferson would be speechless. Not because of anything Obama has done, but simply because he's a black President, which would have been absolutely 100% unthinkable in Jefferson's day.



If Thomas Jefferson had a son he might look like Barack Obama


That is fantastic, cleaver and funny. :D


Ya, that's cutting edge hilarity right there...:P
Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are...

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Do you consider yourself an existentialist?



I'm curious what you think the term "existentialist" means, Ron.

(And to be clear, I ask because a lot of people use the term loosely - or just plain wrong - and it's not always clear which way it's being used. Are you asking whether he believes existence precedes essence?)
Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography

Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

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Do you consider yourself an existentialist?



I'm curious what you think the term "existentialist" means, Ron.

(And to be clear, I ask because a lot of people use the term loosely - or just plain wrong - and it's not always clear which way it's being used. Are you asking whether he believes existence precedes essence?)



I was thinking in terms that nothing has meaning and purpose except what the individual places on it, like situational ethics.
Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

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I was thinking in terms that nothing has meaning and purpose except what the individual places on it, like situational ethics.



I had a feeling it was something like that...

Have you ever read any of Søren Kierkegaard's works? He was a Christian existentialist. From a quick read of some of your posts on dropzone.com, he might be right up your alley. (I'll admit his actual writings aren't all that exciting - his books tend to be a bit dull and slow - but if you pick up commentary on him, you might dig it. Heck, you can even start with the the Wikipedia article on him...) Or better yet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_existentialism

But to my original point, for what it's worth, "existentialism" doesn't mean "situational ethics."
Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography

Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

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