It remains an akward and troubling quote to me. I do believe in the ultimate triumph of truth as a promise of Christianity. "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." as I recall. History has given us an unending battle of good vs evil that goes on to this day. The USA has led that fight in many ways with some success. The idea that the wrong will simply go away has a long history of not happening. It hasn't gone away with our help either. The USA became target #1 on 9/11. I'm left in a quandry on this one. I link to the promise of salvation via my faith in God. That the "End Days" will resolve the battle of good vs evil is my general understanding of the Biblical message. I'm not wrapped up in how close we are or may be to it. I don't agree with some I know personally who label Obama as the anti-christ. I'm also never sure whether they are kidding or not. "It will come as a thief in the night." is all the caution I need on that aspect. Thanks for your thoughts!

And they also gave us Scotch Whiskey! What a great heritage. A touch of Laphroaig is called for.

The clearest statement of this seminal truth I have ever seen.

Victimhood has made a fortune for Jesse Jackson, Sr. and a host of others who mouth/preach that line. As a Capitalist, I have to give them grudging respect for that accomplishment. As a Christian, I will leave their ultimate rewards in the Lord's hands. I recently read a troubling statistic. The question was asked as to what was the most dangerous place for an Afro-American. The answer was, "In the womb." It seems that 60% of Afro-American pregnancies are aborted. Something is terribly wrong here!

He nails Obama and what that man does not believe or understand. The genius of America is the right and ability for anyone, regardless of race, religion, or any other label you might mention, to rise to the top, like cream on the old milk bottle, based on personal initiative and the willingness to do hard work. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both understood this because they each did it! Our federal gov't right now is a mess. Dan is correct on the point that Congress stole the money that was paid in to fund Social Security and they used it to buy votes. Anywhere else in our society they would go to jail for fraud, theft, and a host of other charges. Sadly, Congress has become a law unto itself. Unless we turn this around and get back on the path that has led to one triumph after another for the USA, some author-type out there will be writing "The Decline and Fall of the American Empire." Not a happy thought.

The author has put forth a discusion point or two on a profound issue. I had the opportunity to serve on a governing board for a municipal utility for 24 years. There was no financial compensation beyond the occasional drink at a bar of sad decor from a special pleader. As we pursued our task(s) of providing dependable water service to a community of 60,000 people, we had to jump through the hoops of legal requirements from all comers. The federal government, in conspiracy with the state, had their own agenda and it was not pro public water supply. Imagine acquiring 700+ acres with the aim of developing a reservoir on the site that would double your "safe yield" and then being told that you won't be allowed to do it! I'll stop there.

Mike, The long ago lecture spoke to the "rights" of government to protect itself via any means. This did not speak to truth or legality, it spoke to the inherent right of the entity to protect and defend itself against all comers. Your reference to "might makes right" is exactly that. It's the law of the jungle. In identifying that "right" we do not condone it in any way. We simply admit to its existence. If we choose to fight it and destroy it, we invoke one of our "inalienable rights." Unless care is used in definitions, the clear path is lost. I agree this. A good conversation.

This last quote clarifies the set and I believe we are together on it now. What would a college forum debate on these quotes be like? Great fun at the very least!

Mike, We meet again on this guy. "...justice will deal with him,..." begs the question, "Who provides and controls Justice other than the state?" As the quote dates to 1913, I'm not sure 'neocon' is appropriate.

The first time I have seen this explained since one, lone, history professor did so in a long ago lecture I never forgot. There is no confusion, sorry Mike. This goes back to Pilate asking, "What is truth?" You ignore this information at your peril.

The quote is both right on and scary. Look at the bright side. As has been mentioned, the wealthy have the skills and the means to safeguard much of their wealth and do so, as ever. That's part of how and why they became wealthy. When and if the gov't does manage to redistribute some of the wealth to the best of its limited ability to do anything well, the process of accumulation by the more able will continue. The animal spirit that drives us all and the bell shaped curve of distribution will win out in the end as it always does. The Bible reminds us that the poor will always be with us after all.

I believe the quote to be a good one, but the use of the word 'dream' early on gets part of the message lost. Offering a hand or lending a hand is one of the noble things an individual may do. Accepting that hand does not demean the individual either. Having the gov't extend that hand to people trained to seek out that hand is where the problem begins. It quickly becomes vote buying and the nanny state is born. The old debtors' prison was an attempt at dealing with the problem of those in need. The Bible reminds us that the poor will always be with us, even as it reminds us that the duty to others is personal not state oriented. We too easily forget that.

It isn't true on a country-wide basis yet, but where we have big cities and in states where the farms have gone away, TJ was right on. Here in CT, the 'big' cities rule the legislature along with the unions. And the unions are mostly made up of gov't workers. BHO is the crowning achievement of buying the votes of people who won't work with printing press money. "...and none dare call it treason."

He reminded us and the world what the USA was all about. Sadly, this wisdom is lacking in DC where it should be upheld. We need someone to take us back to the essential truths and jumpstart our great nation.

This is the most disturbing quote I've ever seen from this site. I know nothing of the author, just for the record. As a view, it is subject to debate. Mostly, I reject it. I know, "54 40 or fight!" and all the "Manifest Destiny" stuff and can easily say, "Don't knock it! It worked!" That may be a sad commentary on me, but so be it. The USA is an experiment. Never forget that. Jefferson set down the charter before the world in a tone that is lost on people today. Lincoln, at Gettysburg, went right to the core with the line "...testing whether any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure." On balance the USA has been a positive force for good on the planet! The experiment goes on. It is God Almighty Who will have the last word. As to Porter, good luck with that.

WOW! How times have changed. One can easily understand the honesty and clarity of this admission. Granted, it was five years after the events and we had won the war, allbeit at huge cost. I've been reading Rumsfeld's book and it is both long and well written. He faced a situation not unlike Pearl Harbor. I find him to be candid. I'm nearing the end of the book in the section where he disects the problems of dealing with captured terrorists and how they should be dealt with. The Geneva Conventions do not cover them, yet he and all of us have been taken to task for how we have tried to solve this new problem. The treatment of 9/11 and President Bush's handling of the situation, along with his administration has been a mixture of contempt and ignorant second guessing by the media. Our wonderful current president vowed to close Gitmo and do many things differently and better, Surprise! He has had to back track and allow things to continue as President Bush first set them up. What fools we mortals be.

Does anyone remember "The Report From Iron Mountain?" It came out in the late 60's - early 70's and spoke to this theme. It had the right look and format. I read it and was impressed. Recently, I learned that it was phony and a hoax. I have no way of knowing whether Kennan read it, created it, etc. It's like the sub-liminal Coke ads and the Loch Ness Monster. You just never know for sure anymore.

This has to be the nagging dream/vision of each soul on this earth. A quiet conspiracy for an ideal that man has heretofore been unable to accomplish. A conspiracy without responsibility is ever a clever wish and captivating, but it is also an attempt to take on the role of God. Only the fool would aspire to the role of god, for there is and can only be one God. It is not a role. In the beginning was the Word...

Same old, same old! Has Paul Laxalt done anything about it? Not that I've heard. At least the Romans got bread and circuses. Gladatorial combat filled the stands until the barbarians took over. Well, the barbarians arrived on 9/11 and our inept gov't has made little progress against them in a decade.

Not much room for confusion as I see it.

A great quote from an exceptional talent. "Brave New World" had to suggest that he was thinking of the USA. Whether he was advocating or warning, I believe it was the latter. As we look around today, we know he has the newspaper editors and a mad mix of other media. Teachers and education may be falling into line without being aware. A real effort was being made to improve the reading skills, but standardized testing is producing 'teaching for the test.' I love the stats from my local school 'system.' They proudly proclaim that 55% are reading at or above grade level. 45% not meeting even the grade level approach is failure. I'm glad I'm as old as I am. I am not overly optimistic for our future. I can only pray that I am wrong.

As ever, Coolidge is correct. A bit verbose for his image. The confusion that reigns regarding taxes, inflation, the FED, etc. is the sad part. During the Great Depression someone coined the phrase that America was the only country that drove to the poor house in a Model T. Today, we couldn't afford the gas. Is that progress?

And no one the wiser.

Sounds like a Libertarian to me, and that's a good thing! It is strange that we have no dates for this man or his thought. It doesn't change anything, it's just strange. This is part and parcel of the objections to the "nanny state." I tend to believe that the persecution of these "crimes" distracts the masses from the bigger bad things that our Congress inflicts on us every day. The Emperor has clothes on, you better believe it!

I might buy into this BS if this terrorist type behavior was focused only on the USA. The terrorism is their method at the moment and it surfaces all over the globe. We don't know for sure what they want, but the flow of information says their aim is ultimately world conquest and the destruction of democracy, capitalism, Christianity, and representative government, followed by a world-wide Muslim government. The terrorism has been going on in India, Indonesia, Russia, the USA, and many countries in Europe. If anything, the USA has shown great restraint since the embassy hostage taking during the Carter administration. International Law gives special status to embassies and the people working there. Violating the terms of international law and taking the people at the embassy hostage was a flagrant act. The UN did nothing. The World Court did nothing. NATO did nothing. The "great" Jimmy 'scared of a bunny rabbit' Carter launched a half-hearted strike to get the hostages out and it failed. Were I the President of the USA on 9/11, there would have been mushroom shaped clouds over every capitol city of a Muslim state just for openers. Serious message to follow. Please don't feed me this nonsense of people retaliating. You are talking about state sponsored, religiously veiled, terrorism. Nothing more. Nothing less. 72 virgins as a reward for killing people via suicide bombings, etc. is simply beyond the standards of civilized people and a mockery of religion. I wonder if I could express any personal opinion on the terrorism in any Muslim country and remain alive and free. You head the Future of Freedom foundation. You advocate the destruction of freedom. Make up your mind.