Joy has misinterpreted what the quote means. The phrase "to PROMOTE the General Welfare" is NOT the same as PROVIDE for the general welfare. There are some that will always need to be cared for such as, elderly, children, mentally and physically disabled. But technically it is not the duty of the government by the Constitution to provide that care. It should be voluntary and charitable. And that is how it was handled for many years. The main thing that changed everything was, the FED and the mishandling of the economy by Progressives over a long period which resulted in the collapse that triggered the depression. The programs that came out of the much lauded presidency of FDR and his administration were actually responsible for the prolonging of the depression.

My version of the specialized discipline of Economics is very simple. Don't spend money you don't have and pay your bills on time. You'll sleep a lot better. And that is my vociferous opinion. BTW, maybe Ben Bernanke might take a lesson from this quote. He obviously does not know what he is doing.

It is the ever expanding Progressive government that has infringed our liberty and freedom. As Ronald Reagan said, "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."

Carlton, we may "hire" statesmen, but they invariably morph into politicians once they take up residence in the swamp.

Hey, Anonymous. YOU wake up! George Soros is the one on the other end of that Blackberry. Obama is a cunning pawn of the Soros machine. Wall Street and the greed therein is only part of the equation. The Fed, the Central Bank is not even affiliated with the government and should be audited and dissolved. Read the pamphlet by Wickliffe B. Vennard, "The Federal Reserve Corporation, 42 Years of Subversion in 100 Acts," so you can see the light. It was written sometime in the 40's. If you want to learn something, go to the following website, and order a copy. www.alibris.com.

Gene, Thank you for saying what needs to be said. The Progressive onslaught over the last century and the George Soros take over, which is finally emerging from the shadows, has had a devastating effect on America. However, The radical secularization of America has been the most destructive of any single issue to our country. Madelaine O'Haire (sp?), Ten Commandments removed from the public arena, repression of Christians in any number of ways, Chaplains dismissed for using the Holy Name of Jesus, disallowing Nativity scenes, challenges by the ACLU to have crosses removed from the graves in Arlington national cemetery, the president literally changing the wording in the Declaration of Independence by omitting "endowed by their Creator," twice!!...removal of any study of the Bible which was at one time part of the school curricula in public education and any number of other instances of bigotry and outright attack against the Christian religions has done the most harm. By denying We the People the free expression of our religions, which is guaranteed by the first Amendment to our Constitution, our religions have been marginalized and the practice thereof eroded, which eventually has caused a subtle separation of persons faith life as intrinsically linked to our public life. And this to our detriment as a People founded on Judeo-Christians principles.

"The economy boomed during the 1920s and increasing revenues from the income tax followed. This allowed Congress to cut taxes five times, ultimately returning the bottom tax rate to 1 percent and the top rate down to 25 percent and reducing the Federal tax burden as a share of GDP to 13 percent. As tax rates and tax collections declined, the economy was strengthened further." The above quote is from the "United States Department of the Treasury History of the U. S. Tax System." Until then taxes were implemented to suit the needs of the times and were primarily excise and tariffs with other taxes periodically imposed and rescinded. The 16th Amendment ratified by 36 states during the administration of the Progressive president Woodrow Wilson gave Congress the "POWER to lay and collect taxes on incomes from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." The quote at the top of this comment from the U.S.Treasury Department clearly illustrates that when the free market is allowed to function as intended, revenues increase. Congress was able to cut taxes 5, yes FIVE TIMES during that period of prosperity. The stock market crash of 1929 ended that period and from that point on taxes have become more and more oppressive.

Anonymous/Reston,VA--You seem to enjoy stating the polar opposite of truth and common sense. Since Obama has been in office the IRS has been in the process of hiring 16,000 new agents. My nephew is one of the recent hires, so don't try to get away with your deceit. I wonder if Geithner, Daschle, and Rangel and the literally many hundreds of other federal employees that have not paid their taxes, will finally be forced to pay those taxes plus interest, or lose their jobs. Everyone of them should be on a plan to resolve their tax debt. It infuriates me that I pay as much tax as I do on as little income as I have and they can skirt their obligation for YEARS!! And now the government wants to take my ONLY deduction for my mortgage! The last two sentences of the quote are a description of a gestapo regime and it is legitimate in our own government.

History does repeat itself. Very sad, but very true. Will we overcome the inversion? Are we past the tipping point? The next two years will tell the tale.

That is exactly why every time a Van Jones or Anita Dunn leaves the Obama inner circle, it only leads to more of the same or worse.

We are not a Democracy, we are a Constitutional Republic. Democracy, "majority rules,"and is another form of Tyranny. Excerpt from an article by Walter Williams for World Net Daily in January 2005 The Constitution's Article IV, Section 4, guarantees "to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." Moreover, let's ask ourselves: Does our pledge of allegiance to the flag say to "the democracy for which it stands," or does it say to "the republic for which it stands"? Or do we sing "The Battle Hymn of the Democracy" or "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"? John Adams captured the essence of the difference when he said, "You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe." Nothing in our Constitution suggests that government is a grantor of rights. Instead, government is a protector of rights. Chief Justice John Marshall observed, "Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos." The Founders knew that a democracy would lead to the same kind of tyranny the colonies suffered under King George III. If it becomes necessary our Constitution has provided for the removal from office of the president and/or the vice president In Article 11, section 4.

Very clever, Mike and Carlton. A fine example is the report from the CBO on the Obama Health Care bill. The information "fed" to them was false, so the final cost analysis figures are totally inaccurate. The bill as implemented will bankrupt this country. I am 100% sure of that and I believe that is a true statistic.

I'll pass commenting on this one.

"A gun, like any other source of power, is a force for either good or evil, being neither in itself, but dependent upon those who possess it." I do not know the attribution of this quote, but it is a jewel in defense of our right to keep and bare arms. Accolades for comments from Carlton and Publius.

This quote is so rich in meaning! All the comments are excellent this morning. The one thing I might add is that We the People, having never been in servitude, cannot appreciate the full import of this pearl of wisdom contained in just eleven short words. It brings home ever more strongly how we must protect what freedoms we have and diligently work to regain those already lost. Our Constitution should be a part of the curriculum in our schools all through the primary and secondary levels. I agree with Carlton that the emphasis should be on our own history and culture. Progressive and communist teachers must also be purged to insure our children are not being influenced by their personal ideology. This will be an ongoing effort for the foreseeable future. This insidious erosion in our education system has taken place over many generations and has been so subtle and incremental as to be almost undetectable. We have narrowly missed the "Road to Serfdom." The author of the book just mentioned: F. A. Hayek.

Voicing that is the best thing he did for this country. The thumbs down is for the person, not the quote. What a butcher!

To J. Carlton. Well Said!! We can also add the Uncontrolled welfare state pushing many into Dependency - the lack of will to protect our country from enemies foreign and domestic with the idea that amnesty is the only answer and terrorism can be handled as a police matter - and finally the amoral behavior of those in Congress is okay as long as it does not interfere with governance.

Essentially P.J. is correct, however I would add BLOATED government does not solve problems well and that is what we have in spades with this administration. It has expanded exponentially on all levels. All P.J.'s other observations are spot on, except his reference to the "bouquet." The problem has been the "bouquet" has been very well organized and honing their organization for about 100 years, taking it one step at the time; the Progress so insidious no one really noticed the lethal threat. It's the frog in the pot of water coming to a slow boil. Sure, we may have been uncomfortable at times, but not enough to rebel. That changed with the election of the most dedicated, but inept president in history. It became so blatantly obvious that our country was hurtling down the track to a colossal train wreck that we actually woke up. So we can thank Mr.Obama for that. However, there is a lot of work to do and I hope the Fresh Blood entering Congress will do the work of the People with diligence, humility and common sense.

And the American People reacted Mightily. Lets hope the Progressives, from the president all the way to the most junior member of the Progressives in Congress understand they really do work for us. Let us also hope the Fresh Blood brought into power by We the People will understand it as well and will work as public servants not as part of an imperial administration.

And this is exactly why Benjamin Franklin, at the end of the Constitutional Convention, answered the woman that asked the question, "What have you given us, Sir?" He said, prophetically, "A republic, if you can keep it." There is a reason "We the People" is writ large as the first three words of our Constitution. It tells us We are responsible. It tells us We the People are the Keepers of that precious document.

If I remember correctly, there was time when the crime was so low in the UK that the Bobbies didn't even carry a gun or pistol. The only weapon they had was a billie club. When guns were banned and confiscated the crime rate Soared!! From the news available 24/7 from the UK, it seems the Bobbies are wearing riot gear and are fully armed. Hmmm. Doesn't sound much like the peaceable kingdom.

To Mike. You may not hate to begin with, but I have all ideas you would eventually come to that. As Jim K. said, it's all about control. Men yearn to be free and will eventually revolt, maybe not in the middle ages, but definitely now.

Just replace the word 'Canadians' and insert the word 'Americans' and it's as if we are reading our own Constitution. However, it would be more than sacrificing at the altar of political correctness. Confiscation of American citizen's firearms would be nothing less than another giant step toward totalitarianism, a dictatorship not much different than the take over in Germany that led to the holocaust.

This is why the electorate has been frozen in place for decades in retaliating against the Progressive nightmare that has been and continues to be foisted on this country. It took Obama to galvanize "We The People" to action. So if we can't thank him for anything else, we can thank him for the wakeup call. But Americans still find it hard to understand and believe that evil is afoot. When one or two or three freedoms are stripped, others will continue to follow until we find ourselves living in a country that looks nothing like what our Founders gave us. If this election does not rectify the damage done to our country, America will look vastly different in just a few more years. Hitler's term in power was from 1933 to 1945, just 12 years, but his evil is still pervasive in the world with Neo Nazi groups and the flawed politics of that era still functioning in various parts of the world as their form of government.

This is exactly what is being fed to us and has been for more than a century. And I guess the One and his cohorts will force-feed it to us until we no longer oppose his twisted ideas for America. Then they'll call it peace. It's called "twistory."