The issue is a matter of jurisdiction. A stop sign isn't a law, it is a rule made by agreement whether implied or written. Pedestrians walking on the sidewalk manage to avoid others travelling in the opposite direction not because of 'laws' -- it is everyone's self interest to do so. The less we are allowed to self-govern and the more rules imposed WITHOUT our agreement, a de facto authority becomes established. This gradually erodes personal responsibility and centralizes power into the hands of others who derive their sustenance from regulating/taxing others.

The American Republican government is an agreement between the people and the people. Republican government is empowered ONLY by the agreements of the parties of the compact. What most Americans have either forgotten or never learned is the power of their word, their signature, their consent. Without that consent, government employees have NO claim to regulate any activity undertaken by a free man/woman. The surrendering of responsibility for oneself to another for agreed upon benefits is a contract with terms and conditions, the violation of which may have severe consequences.

The usurpation is the assumption that we ALL have agreed to surrender to 'authority' like subjects of the Crown. Placing ourselves into a permanent state of indentured servitude with the power only to vote for a choice of rulers. Waffler is a perfect example of that consciousness.

As for majority rule, it is ALWAYS limited by the inalienable rights of the individual. Voting for anything is limited by jurisdiction and agreements of the people in the association. Club members may not impose their rules upon others who have not agreed to join the club. We are freemen first, not automatically on the hook for the debts/promises of those that preceded us.

For the most part, Washington DC has imposed its authority on the sovereign states by applying MUNICIPAL statutes of the District of Columbia to the States themselves (Congress serves both functions for the federal government of the USA and the municipal government of the Washington DC). Little by little, a DC government is being established over the sovereign States -- only a small percentage of Sheriffs have dared to tell the feds to get the hell out.

The scary part is that American youth have been indoctrinated for several generations now that the NAZI party platform sounds normal. 'What other purpose for government is there,' they ask?

This is one of those quotes that collectivist group-thinkers will have trouble understanding. Instead of left vs right, think of statist vs individualist.

Either the individual is responsible for himself and associates with others by mutual agreement, or the state is responsible, and all individuals are compelled to obey. It matters not that the state is made up of members of society if the authority of the state is bestowed upon certain individuals to dictate to the rest under threat of violence (prison, confiscation, death). In fact, in an individualist society, yes, cultural customs hold more sway than statutes -- that is as it should be. That is true self-government, everyone deciding how best to live in a society without a 'lord' to whom they must serve.

One cannot be 'taught' history -- if there is any real 'learning' it is driven by one's quest for knowledge, limited only by the ability to discern shit from Shinola. Any personal investment I have in another's promise is likely to prejudice my view in my favor. Most of us in our youth have been exposed to a solid decade of 'education,' indoctrination, intimidation, conditioning, propaganda, social work -- applying every mass psychology technique to instill perpetual obedience and submission to the authority of government officials and bureaucrats -- and I managed to 'graduate' without really learning my rights and responsibilities for being independent, productive, and HONORABLE. I was not taught the responsibilities of a 'freeman.' I was trained to put on a suit and sit at a desk. Trade schools were for the lower end of the scale -- keep the laborers ignorant of their real power and potential. And keep the rest of the 'kids' in school as long as possible to keep them out of the work force to protect the jobs of older higher paid people. School was hardly for my education, it was for social engineers to regulate me (and millions of others) into predetermined outcomes. "The Advantages of Liberty, Mischiefs of Licentiousness, Benefits arising from good Laws and a due Execution of Justice, &c." were hardly covered.

Absolutely right on.

The contagion is so massive, that every elected official is dependent upon a system of debt and subservience to the national credit line in order to survive. Responsibility and production be damned -- get elected on promises of giving money to the robbed and enslaved, bound and regulated by rules that keep the racket(s) going.

Yes, jim, the biggest heist in America -- the stealing of the entire US gold money supply in exchange for interest-bearing paper. The nation has been in a perpetual state of bankruptcy ever since, presided over by the Federal Reserve who took all the nation's gold as collateral for perpetual debt money called Federal Reserve Notes. Since then, the US has gone from the most independent and productive society ever to the most indebted country on Earth. Jackson survived an assassination attempt for killing the central bank's charter in his day. Lincoln, Garfield, and Kennedy weren't so lucky...

It's only about money and power now. Who is going to get access to the government's unlimited credit line, and who is going to pay the interest? The actual debt is never paid because that money is needed in circulation. The US government can only survive if it continues to create money out of nothing to give to those that will keep the politicians in power. Instead of letting the system crash, it is regulated into 'crunches' focused in specific areas to get rid of the hot potato. Greece is one of the latest sacrifices. Who will be next?

Hmm, name me a great cause that has not degenerated into a racket... The next step of course is REFORM. The quote is bang on. Good examples: organized religion, banking, representative government, medicine, law, construction, manufacturing, telecommunications, transportation, ... what have I missed?

Waffler has no conception of money. If there are only 829 billion dollars in circulation, how will a debt of 15 trillion ever be paid? There is only as much money in circulation as has been 'borrowed.' QE 1,2,3,4 'printed up' a couple trillion dollars just to buy all the toxic debts that the big banks had bundled together to prop up the stock market. Money includes not just paper bills, but check book money, debit cards, credit cards (which create money on-the-fly whenever you buy something and destroys money as soon as the bank is paid) -- most of the money/debt in circulation is in the form of bank balances, there would be no way to convert all the money to 'cash'. This is what Jefferson eludes to -- speculation using the nation's currency "sweeping away in its progress the fortunes and morals of our citizens" into the hands of the banking cartel. It happens over and over and over -- as long as the same system is put in place after every crash.

No one's rights are safe if they are subject to the passions of the majority. If the consumers vote away the property of the producers, production will come to an end, and everyone will starve.

Great discussion! Intelligent points all around.

The current support of 80% of millennials for avowed socialist candidates demonstrates the obvious corruption of what John Adams called the 'American Mind' by the Department of Education. Until the Constitution of the US and every State are amended, only a republican form of government is lawful. Socialism, and its edicts and regulations is UNLAWFUL in the USA. It is being accomplished by making people into commercial entities and thus subject to the federal regulation of commerce. This simple corruption of giving equal standing to paper and flesh has allowed GIANTS (corporations) to dominate over the common man. As well, corporations are being treated as 'persons' with 'rights' -- whereas, in the commercial jurisdiction, commercial entities have no rights, only agreed upon terms for the association. Rules set up for corporations could never be forced upon people who did not agree to them.

Money creation is a racket -- few have ever learned how it really works. The terms 'credit' and 'securities' have been completely redefined to mean their polar opposites. The lust for power has filled Washington DC with racketeers. Everyone must be in debt in order to survive -- even our own currency is borrowed at interest -- and if people pay back their loans, the money disappears from circulation. Perpetual debt forever. Every president who has tried to return to real money has been killed -- Lincoln, Garfield, Kennedy -- except for Andrew Jackson who got away with a couple bullets in him. The problem cannot be solved by a President -- it will take entire States to balk at federal funds/debt. They may simply start using gold and silver again and kick the federal government out like they should have done a long time ago...

Government is now the number one employer -- how did that happen! This is completely backwards -- people are paid more in the public sector than in the private sector. America is producing less and less and borrowing more and more to buy foreign made goods. One half of the country is living off the backs of the other. This much power was NEVER to be centralized in Washington DC -- NEVER -- for the very reason that the States and the people would become permanently indentured to a national government (not federal) that assumes all power over them.

America's biggest problem is INTEGRITY. And the price of dishonor is literally everything.

The thumbs-downers above are in denial about their beloved socialism -- or shall we say government social work. The threat of being bankrupted with fines and being imprisoned accompany every unlawful tax foisted upon the people. Constitutionalists are considered 'terrorists.' Children being taken away from home-schooling parents. Marijuana smokers imprisoned who have hurt no one. Assassinations of those who pose any real threat to the banksters (without which socialism/communism would be impossible) occur at the highest levels to intimidate any others who dare to expose the racket. Socialism is a hierarchy of mobsters and use the same tactics -- fascism is a form of socialism in which the Executive directs all regulating power to himself, but every mob boss needs bosses underneath him.

Socialists conveniently ignore the millions upon millions murdered by socialists in the past in pursuing their collectivist utopia. Talk about an 11th grade mind set ...

Government as a service provider really sucks, since they prevent competition, cannot be fired, and the clients hold no sway in the improvement of the quality. Government 'jobs' are usually just that -- jobs. Forget about the service to be provided. The goal is to employ people. And since no government jobs produce anything of value, the costs far out weigh any benefits to the clients. The only thing government can do is control the production of others -- and they are ever expanding their arbitrary jurisdiction over everyone's actions and power. Why do we continue to let them?

Quantitative Easing anyone? The Federal Reserve Note is used not just by the US but around the world -- some countries use US dollars along side their own currency. By constantly printing up more money (QE1,2,3,4,...), to buy up bad debts, the currency becomes more and more diluted. It sure seems painfully obvious that the phony US dollar is purposefully being crashed and dumped. With each expansion and contraction of the money supply, real property is confiscated to cover the counterfeit currency. It is the oldest trick in the banker's book.

Mind you, this isn't communism or socialism, this is BANKSTERISM which is the ruling power of the Western world. All governments are beholden to the private central banks that issue their currency. No presidential candidates will ever make it to the ballot if they do not support banksterism. Trump and Cruz both are beholden to the banks, as are Clinton and Sanders. So they have already got their racket covered. The media is ALL IN the banksters pockets and keep the propaganda flowing while fostering a culture of debt and dependence as a 'right'.

Right on, Mike! Deception is the order of the day. Keep the general populace ignorant and entertained with 'programs' that condition them to a culture of schools, cops, lawyers, hospitals, court rooms, and government buildings to which we must all bow in obedience in the name of the law and order. A far cry from the republican government the States chartered into a federal government of limited and enumerated powers.

The tool that turned the republic upside down was the establishment of a central bank that could print up its own money and lend it at interest, thus the power to buy (i.e. own/control) the entire country and everyone in it. States cannot afford to exercise their sovereignty because they will lose the federal funding upon which they now depend. Same for the people -- the currency will lose its value literally overnight once enough lose confidence in it. When the US dollar really crashes (maybe the next time...) that will be the best time for States to reassert their sovereignty and kick out the federal government from within their borders. The nations of the world must extract themselves from this system of extortion and usury, it is not enough for Americans alone to wake up. It is happening, but you won't hear about it from the MSM.

Unchecked power, protected from opposing power through statutes, creates an insatiable leviathan that cannot be tamed. And this is the danger of Liberty, the regulators say, while in fact, the beast has been fed by legions under the thumb and in perpetual debt due to statute and so-called regulation. Centralized power should be distributed to keep such a beast from ever becoming. Income distribution is simply the centralization of power -- it is the exact OPPOSITE of republican government principles.

Waffler, you reveal yourself when you say, "I bet good Tom decided what food his slaves ate and I bet he and his household were concerned and assisted with medicine and advise when his slaves were sick." Well, if he was a considerate slave owner, I suppose good Tom did take good care of his slaves. Here's the thing, Waffler, Tom didn't use his office as President to take care of EVERYONE else, too.

The People are not the slaves of the President, Waffler. And that is the very point being made, Americans are being conned out of their freedom and accountability for PROMISES of being taken care of and kept 'safe.' Waffler isn't against slavery, he is just for improving the conditions and expanding the plantation to include every one.

The only 'laws' man can make are 'rules.' The rules become 'law' either by consent or by threat. A human law IS a threat. Natural laws are automatically enforced -- the dangers in life are to be avoided because of the natural consequences -- breaking them will punish without judgement. Human laws often start as agreed upon terms of voluntary association, then with time, the people often forget that these 'rules' are by agreement and cannot be forced upon those who have not agreed to them. Most of us are governed by conscience and social custom and quite frankly are ignorant of 99% of all the 'laws' we are supposed to 'obey.'

Yes, Bobble, I have the right to privacy and my secrets. Since knowledge is power, certain knowledge carries with it a degree of maturity and responsibility. Look at Einstein's contribution -- many advances in technology have resulted from his discoveries, and now humankind can make atomic bombs and nuclear power plants. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Copyright law and patent law however do prevent the application of new knowledge and its dissemination. Facebook has even gone so far as the attempt to copyright the word 'Face.' Energy-saving patents have been bought up by competing energy providers to keep them off the market. Cancer-killing therapies and technologies have been removed from medical journals, and their inventors attacked by the AMA with threats to take away licenses. And the government has given itself the 'right' to store all our emails and phone calls for querying whenever they 'need' to. Censorship/Prohibition by the State is tyranny, self-censorship and self-prohibition is personal responsibility.

The power to declare paper 'money' or 'laws' cannot be defeated by bombs alone -- the authority of such 'writers' must be rejected else they will write themselves the power again.

Remember that the Declaration of Independence is a 'declaration' of the people of their Independence from those that lay claim to them. While the pen alone is not sufficient to defeat cannons, it was the declaration that the people were fighting for -- it was THEIR declaration. That declaration was the true power behind the revolution -- a revolution in the hearts and minds of the people. Same is true today -- declaring who I am and what I am about is a powerful statement -- even more if it is true! ;-)

Well said, Patrick Henry. A falsehood held near and dear is a fence all on its own. The truth shall make you free.