Thought for Today

"The government must pursue a course of complete neutrality toward religion.*"

~~~~~ John Paul Stevens

(*Note that Justice Stevens wrote "religion," not "religion with the sole exception of Islam." Its adherents have the exact same rights and privileges as those of all other religions – no more; no less.)

Thought for Today

"Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Thus the beneficiaries are spared the shame and danger that their acts would otherwise involve... But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and gives it to the other persons to whom it doesn't belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime. Then abolish that law without delay ... No legal plunder; this is the principle of justice, peace, order, stability, harmony and logic."

~~~~~ Frederic Bastiat

Thought for Today

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury."

~~~~~ Alexander Tyler, 18th century Scottish historian

Jennifer Rubin: "The Lawless President"

Jennifer Rubin is Pajamas Media's Washington, DC Editor, a blogger at Commentary Magazine's Contentions, and an attorney. She believes that we are rapidly transitioning from the rule of law to the rule of men – and that if we don't stop the process now, it will be much harder to correct in the future. Alarming stuff! Here's how she begins:

Candidate Barack Obama promised “change,” but few suspected one of the biggest changes would be an unparalleled attack on the rule of law orchestrated from the Oval Office. It is, to say the least, an ironic turn of events for a president who fancies himself a constitutional scholar and who rode into office excoriating George W. Bush for “shredding” the rule of law.

Later on, Jennifer has this to say:

Once the rule of law is lost it is hard to recover &ndash and the implications for Americans’ prosperity, freedom, and security will be serious and long lasting.

You'll want to read the rest of it here.