Free Republic

Obama should really pick up a history book sometime, and read about how one of his predecessors, and one of our nation’s Founding Fathers, handled the threat posed by radical Islamic jihadists, way back in 1801. [snip] According to Jefferson, Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja replied that Islam “was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Qur’an, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could...

PARIS – Tens of thousands of people including more than 40 world leaders streamed into the heart of Paris on Sunday for a rally of national unity to honor the 17 victims of three days of terror. The aftermath of the attacks remained raw, with video emerging of one of the gunmen killed during police raids pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and detailing how the attacks were going to unfold. Also, a new shooting was linked to that gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, who was killed Friday along with the brothers behind a massacre at satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in...

23/02/2006 - Duke: Duke study posits presidents had mental illness U-Wire via NewsEdge Corporation : By Haley Hoffman, The Chronicle (Duke) DURHAM, N.C. -- No one would ever expect the general who led the Union army to victory in the Civil War to have a debilitating fear of blood. But Ulysses S. Grant was among the 49 percent of former U.S. presidents afflicted by mental illness, according to an article published recently by psychiatrists at the Duke University Medical Center. Jonathan Davidson, professor of psychiatry and director of the Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Program, has a particular interest in history,...

The “Smithsonian” magazine compiled a list of the “100 most significant Americans,” and to the dismay of his fan base President Obama failed to make the cut. Adding insult to injury, former President George W. Bush made the list. But it gets even better, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was also included. The liberal website Raw Story bemoaned the very idea that the Smithsonian Institution “decided that George W. Bush is a more ‘significant’ figure in U.S. history” than the exalted one. Curiously, the only redeeming qualification Raw Story named when mentioning Obama is that he was the country’s first...

Vice President Joe Biden was exactly right when he said as he campaigned in Iowa on Oct. 27, "Folks, this election is even more important than the two elections you elected Barack and me." With President Obama's approval rating tanking to 38 percent in September, I can understand why Biden is shaking in his boots. The fact is that this election can serve for the 6 in 10 voters who are disappointed with the administration as a mega-loudspeaker and overarching referendum. As a way of showing the potential power of that vote, I want to share what America's founders told...

Based on the other weird cartoons (the Noam Chomsky one in particular), the artist appears to be a lib, but this is pretty darn funny.

The question “Who started the Democrat Party?” is not an easy one to answer. We know Democrats say Thomas Jefferson because he was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. Aside from the chronological problems with this claim – Jefferson was long out of active politics before the first actual Democrat president Andrew Jackson was elected- Jefferson stood for things that are exactly opposite of what Democrats have ever stood for. He disliked omnipotent central government and loathed an overly powerful judiciary. Clearly, the Democrat Party’s claims to have its roots in the legacy of the great Thomas Jefferson are preposterous....

If TJ is in heaven right now, and he’s able to peer through some celestial portal and behold the BS Barack has saddled this nation with -- a country, by the way, that Jefferson labored to make independent from tyrants -- then I would bet that Thomas is more ticked than a boar that just had its balls clipped. How do I know Jefferson would loathe Obama and seek to jettison our Jester-In-Chief? Well, it’s principally via Thomas’ musings -- musings that, for the time being, we’re still afforded the wherewithal to access; principles that also happen to have made...

August 16, 2014 College Board Erases the Founding Fathers. By Patrick Jakeway The classic novel Brave New World describes a future in which people have lost all of their liberty and in which they have become drugged robots obedient to a central authority. It also details how this control was first established. First, the rulers had to erase all history and all the people’s memory of a time before their bondage. Today, the history of George Washington's leadership has been erased in the new Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History test/curriculum, taking effect in the fall of 2014. The College Board,...

Do you know that the verdict in this case actually limited the Court’s power? Following the loss of the presidency and Congress in the election of 1800, the lame-duck Federalist Congress enacted the Judiciary Act of February 3, 1801, creating 58 new federal judgeships and new circuit courts. Two weeks later, Congress created 42 justices of the peace in the District of Columbia. Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth resigned, and President John Adams named Secretary of State John Marshall to replace him. The judicial commissions were signed by President Adams, and the Seal of the United States affixed by the Secretary...

How many times do I have to write about the problems discovered in Common Core teaching? This time it deals with Pearson Education, one of the leading companies that helps develop and train Common Core teaching. According to their website: “As the leading education services company, Pearson is serious about evolving how the world learns. We apply our deep education experience and research, invest in innovative technologies, and promote collaboration throughout the education ecosystem. Real change is our commitment and its results are delivered through connecting capabilities to create actionable, scalable solutions that improve access, affordability, and achievement.” [Emphasis mine]...

Most everyone knows about America's 1776 Declaration of Independence. But did you know that on July 6 a year earlier, Congress initiated a Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms? It's true. According to History, on July 6, 1775, just a day after our Founding Fathers issued their Olive Branch Petition to King George III, Congress gave just reason for taking up arms against Great Britain. In the declaration, they wrote they would rather "die freemen rather than to live slaves." Three months earlier, patriot resistance and "the shot heard round the world" had fired off in...

Today marks the beginning of Jack Jouett's Ride in 1781. When Jouett spotted a British force moving toward Charlottesville, Virginia to attempt to capture the Viriginia government and Governor Thomas Jefferson, the "Revere Of The South" rode 40 miles in rough terrain to beat the British there and sound the alarm. He first notified Jefferson at Monticello, where several legislators were staying, then rode to Charlottesville a few miles further. Jouett's efforts saved Jefferson, most of the legislature and General Edward Stevens from capture by the British.

This week holds some critical dates. April 15 haunts most Americans as a tax deadline. April 18 and 20 this year commemorate the pinnacle in Holy Week -- Good Friday and Easter. But April 13 still stands as an important day that eludes most Americans. It's the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. We patriots love to quote the Founding Fathers, especially when they support our theses. And Jefferson remains at the top of the heap. But there are three beliefs or practices often attributed to Jefferson that are either myths or cherry-picked partial views. The first myth is that Jefferson was...

This is amazing history. Be sure to read the quotes in BOLD at the end. Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped. At 5, began studying under his cousin's 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. Also could write in Greek with one hand while writing the same in Latin with the other. At 19, studied law for 5 years starting under George Wythe. At 23, started his own law practice. At...

On this date in 1801, the fourth presidential election in the United States' history was finally decided. Presidential electors (which at that time could vote for two candidates) had cast 73 ballots each for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. This caused the election to be decided in the House of Representatives, which cast 36 ballots in 6 days. For the first 35 ballots, Jefferson won 8 states - one short of the required 9. Finally, on the 36th ballot, representatives from Maryland and Vermont changed their votes, giving Jefferson 10 states and the win. The Constitution was amended in 1804...

1) The more democracy we have, the better. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." This is why our Founding Fathers made this country a republic, not a democracy. They believed that the people should have their say, but also that certain underlying rules should remain in place that should take precedence over the will of a simple majority. Ultimately, that's the only way that the wolves and the lambs can happily co-exist over the long haul. Unfortunately, we've moved so far away from the plain reading of...

Alexander Hamilton won in the end. As Treasury Secretary in the 1790s he championed an array of “internal” taxes to supplement federal revenues from import tariffs. Thomas Jefferson despised Hamilton’s internal taxes as assault on liberty, and when elected in 1800 he made sure that they were abolished. The Jeffersonian view held sway for decades, but by the late 19th century the growth in government and concerns about high tariffs led to calls for new revenue sources. The first income tax was imposed to fund the Civil War and lasted until 1872. Another income tax was imposed in 1894, but...

We are not a violent society. We are a society sheltered from violence. No one in Rwanda spends time wondering what kind of man would murder people. They probably live next door to him. If your neighborhood is diverse enough, you might be unfortunate enough to live next door to war criminals all the way from Eastern Europe to Africa. Guns are how we misspell evil. Guns are how we avoid talking about the ugly realities of human nature while building sandcastles on the shores of utopia. It's not about the fear of what one motivated maniac can do in...

A few weeks ago in Part 1, I finished by discussing how Thomas Jefferson distinguished the U.S. from other countries in asking, "What but education has advanced us beyond the condition of our indigenous neighbors?" But is today's public education system what he and other Founding Fathers were imagining it could be back then? The answer is: Yes and no. Yes, Jefferson foresaw that public education would teach a broad range of basics. But no, he didn't imagine that academia would be run by the federal government or that it would turn into limited indoctrination camps for political correctness and...