jim k, Tesla's views were even more unorthodox than Edison -- and look what happened to HIM! ;-)

Ron, I really like, "There is No conflict between Liberty and social justice!" What a great question for a liberal: "What conflict do you find between liberty and social justice?" Classic liberals valued liberty of self-expression, sexual freedom, religious freedom -- rights to conscience essentially. The conflicts between liberty and social justice lie with their respective definitions.

Never has bias in the press been more overt. As a result, the populace is being purposefully kept in the dark and constantly the object of 'social change.' Instead of reporting the news, journalists have taken on the role of 'opinion-makers.' It's all a show now.

Those that can 'flip the script' are the biggest dangers -- like Trump. The press cannot abstain from all the money Trump makes for them, so they continue to cover him many times more than any other candidate -- granted they portray him poorly (they think). But the talking heads believe their own propaganda, and find it unbelievable that viewers actually think for themselves.

The power of broadcast media has dwindled over the last couple decades -- people get their information from many more sources now. I tend to treat ALL publications and broadcasts to be 'slanted' by the writers/producers to their viewpoint -- and many believe they have a duty to report stories that will be a catalyst for changes they desire.

Understood. All writing is subjective -- it cannot be otherwise. If I am searching for the truth, I had better take an active role -- anything broadcast to us is for a purpose -- obfuscating the truth is their bread and butter...

Pithy, indeed! I like it.

Eric Russ nails it. The American courts of law are not for enforcing 'laws' (i.e. rules made up by government) -- they are for redress of a violation of one's rights or property. Legislation with the intent of 'social change' is an 'obamanation' of a free republic.

The American model of government is distributed power, founded upon the personal responsibility of the citizen to take care of himself/herself according to conscience and mutual respect. Collectivism is a model in which groups of power are consolidated into bigger and bigger blocs with centralized control. Sovereign states will need to exercise their sovereignty, to reclaim control over themselves, to be independent from subsidy from Washington DC. Brexit is a sign, Trump is a sign. The urbanization of the nation is not wanted outside the cities. Federal regulation of personal lives and business is way out of hand, and the State governments need to protect their citizens from federal overreach. 'Jobs' may be needed, but not government jobs that live off of the backs of the people.

Prosperity is not measured by how powerful the government is or how much is collected in taxes. It is the People living in their sovereign capacity, innovating, producing, trading, and prospering -- the Earth provides all that is needed, our cups DO runneth over. Yes, there is corruption in some people, which is why none are granted arbitrary power over another. But REFORM of the laws (i.e. rules) must happen once the laws themselves have created a system of plunder. Without that reform, the leviathan continues its rampage.

Never have so many eyes around the world witnessed the underbelly of the beast as they do today. Something has got to give...

Waffler, how many more economic crashes will it take to see what is plain on its face? I suppose that as long as your government pension check keeps coming, what difference does it make?

And I cannot live as a freeman unless I know all sides of the subject thoroughly, opposing arguments as well as my own.

To be an advocate of truth, one need only abstain from speaking falsely.

"It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters." This is true.

Remember that the liberation from bondage includes the liberation of the mind as well as the body. Liberty includes throwing off the yoke of telling falsehoods. Liberation includes the breaking of habits -- dependencies and addictions that prop up servitude must be forgone. What is true at the macro level is true at the micro level. Burke's quote can certainly be used in defense of statism, but it's entirely accurate when applied to the spiritual path.

BTW Dick, FDR's New Deal was pure fascism. The US has not turned off that road since.

Dick, the opposite of socialism is the absence of socialism. Define socialism. Define fascism. You will find that they are identical in most regards -- and frankly, fascism is what you get when you try to implement socialism without communism.

Left and Right are relative terms. What is to the left of the left? So naturally, a leftist sees nothing to the left of them, only to the right. But communism, socialism, fascism, monarchy are all forms of statism, the supremacy of the State over the individual. Liberalism in the original sense is the opposite of Statism. America is founded upon the ideals of Liberty, not Statism. This left vs. right paradigm is a con -- ever so evident when non-statist candidates manage to make it through the gauntlet of media and political shills for Statism. Legalized theft has become the modus operandi of Statism, and the seats of power created for the State promise immense power for those that can scratch and claw their way into them.

Liberty is Central. Statism occurs when we move away from the center -- when we abstain from responsibility, we end up empowering the State to rule. History is replete with examples.

Mike, I applaud your efforts to keep reminding us of the fact. If we realized that students attend a 'Statute School' instead of a 'Law School,' we might be able to protect ourselves from the arbitrary rules they make for us. Most of the 'laws' on the books are for commercial entities, paper corporations, not living breathing flesh and bones -- their rules do not apply! But as long as they have convinced the common man that he is obligated to follow their dictates, commercial statutes will be applied to the common man as if 'law.'

The mainstream media have long ago lost their souls. Journalism is now equated with 'opinion-making for social change,' free press be damned. The power to mold a culture of dependency has more far-reaching payoffs than an immediate profit. The truth indeed sets us free -- the corruption of the press does the opposite.

Why are lemmings in such a hurry?

That's what being a 'man' is.

Hector, in a free republic, in which everyone is considered responsible for their actions, one is judged by what they do, not by what they 'could' do. I don't pre-judge who is good or bad to determine what rights they may exercise. Like it or not, in a free country, a person walking down the street has the power to kill me at any time -- as do I! We all have that power, all the time. So how come 300 million killers, 100 million armed, did not kill anyone yesterday or the day before or ever?

On the contrary, when did 1 billion unarmed citizens of a totalitarian country ever free themselves from servitude?

Mike, do you think if instead of calling them "laws" they were called "rules," which in fact they are, would people obey them? I assert that people aren't actually 'obeying' laws, just not intentionally breaking them as they know them -- they act as they do based upon the circumstances and the potential reward or cost, or they act emotionally without consideration of 'law' or consequences. The codified 'law' then is really just used for making claims against another -- to be determined in a court of law with jury if the complaint is serious enough.

But, Mike, the word 'law' has been used for 'statutes' and 'rules' by the founders and colonists. Remember, the King's rule IS law -- that is a tough mental habit to break, that no man can make 'law,' he can only make 'rules'. Legal jurisdictions are still referred to as 'common law,' 'commercial law,' 'equity law,' & 'admiralty/maritime law.' I do not expect Harvard Law School being changed to 'Harvard Statute School.' As long as we use these terms -- and they are used in the Constitution, obviously, which is considered the "Law of the Land" -- they will remain proliferated. The corruption of words can happen with ANY words, so I think this will be a very difficult change to make across the board in people's minds.

Declaring independence from Pope and King, was HUGE! The next revolution will have its equivalent, again throwing off the yokes of what have become our current masters... ;-)

The quote is right on. Mike, the way you have defined liberty -- that sure is a lot of power in a person's hands, in everyone's hands. Are you sure we can handle it?

There sure seem to be a lot of other people who seem to think 'no' for us but 'yes' for themselves, in fact, they'll just handle it all for everyone. If people cannot be trusted with their own power, how can those same people be entrusted with others' power? The predator class will connive to convince the class of 'prey' that they are subservient and 'belong' to the predators. Pick your form of despotism -- works the same way. Personal power, liberty and the responsibility for it all -- all interdependent and supportive of each other. Self-direction is a conscious act, and life absolutely requires enough self-awareness to provide for oneself, avoid danger, and live in balance with the world. Of course, life is a grand mystery, so be prepared for the unexpected! ;-)

The song you sing will determine the audience that forms.

I guess that's something a blind person like Stovall comes to realize. Great revelation.

Absolutely. The hard way is to be always honorable. The easy way is to always appear honorable. Unfortunately, people usually buy the act rather than the reality. An honest person with a few mistakes in their past is not as attractive as a polished actor with teams of folks propping up the image and act -- it is a production. Are we going to keep paying for the show? When will we face reality? What's the price of our own delusion?

So, true. The liars start believing their own lies. The Clinton's are perfect examples today.

This is the primary reason 'fools' are not qualified electors -- somehow we forgot about that. I have no doubt that the government actively promotes and teaches foolishness. Keeping the powerless powerless is a full time job. That way they surrender their will to whomever promises to save them.

One of the reasons to raise a child to be honest -- I would tell my children, "you don't want to get too good at lying, otherwise your word will mean nothing, and if your word is nothing, how can you be something?" ;-)

Read The Jefferson Bible -- he took what he believed to be the 'gold' having removed references to virgin birth, trinity, and other 'corruptions'. The founding fathers that were Deists of course had Christian upbringing, so their flavor of Deism is Christian with the stories of the Bible treated as allegories that help the aspirant understand the Nature of the world and our place in it.

INTEGRITY. With it, we prosper, without it, we fall.