“Our Founders warned us that all republics have eventually fallen into tyranny -- the only difference being the relative timeline of each republic's descent. ... From the summer of 1787 when our Framers deliberated over their magnificent Constitution, we have recognized that the clear statement and equal application of the Law is among the most critical duties of any government. If we allow ourselves to lose this, we may as well be back in ancient Rome, subject to the whim of every petty tyrant in the taxing bureau or the zoning board. For it doesn't matter whether the regulator's foot is shod in a jack boot or a Roman sandal; if he can hold you down with that boot upon your neck, then we are no longer in the America that our Founding Fathers intended for us.”

The America that our Founding Fathers intended for us is long gone, relegated to a fairy tale of long, long ago. Said jack boot sets heavy of the once free. The occupying statist theocracy that is infesting this land is not a government of Law but rather, a malignant tyranny of men.

Unfortunataly, i understand Mike all too well. We are the last to keep the flame, and we are millions. Hope is still there Mike. God Bless

First, my hat is off to John F. Di Leo for this quote! I know the role of petty tyrant, how easy it is to become one, and how difficult it is to resist. I must add that in many cases the behavior is either requested or arises from a felt need. How many times have we heard, "There should be a law against that!" All too often, that call is answered. Sarbanes-Oxley (sp?), Dodd-Frank, the Federal Reserve, just to name a few among thousands. Now that we have them, and are bound by them, we know they were either wrong or over done. Until the individual, whether in a club, public board, commision, etc. has been called upon to "write a rule," can the individual begin to understand the complexity of doing so and the understanding that it might be better left alone. I've been there more than once. Done the deed with all the care I could muster. Heard the criticism. At times ignored it. At times revised the "rules." At times added a bunch more with misgivings. Always carried the scars and tried to learn from them. The Law of Un-intended Consequences is known to all who have labored in that vineyard. There is blame enough to go around on this. TJ had it right when he said, "That government is best which governs least." He had experience with the process. We have drifted away from the founding fathers' vision. I've always questioned the change on the method for electing US Senators as it neutered some/all of the rights given to the states. Texas' Gov. Perry's suggestions for changes to our Constitution should at the very least ignite a serious debate on the subject.

@ J. B. Wulff of Bristol CT, VERY thoughtful comment. It's too easy for each of us to think we wouldn't mess up like Obama. It's very very easy to mess up like Obama, and it's amazingly difficult to turn an economy around the way Reagan did (with help from Milton Friedman).

Thanks to Mike and J.B. for excellent comments. The term "petty tyrant" is very descriptive of the Pelosi , Reid , and Obama bunch.

All too true. Ah, but history has yet to be written of the American Renaissance now in its infancy. The battle lines have become all too clear: the People vs. the Banks.

I know that no branch of government spends money or pays anyone for anything and this constitutes slavery no matter how many "trillions" the state controlled press claims are spent. WHY should they spend money when all of us are risking our llives for mere strips of paper that have not promised payment since 1963? People who pretend that they are paid with paper must likewise pretend they have freedom. The illusion of freedom is intensified when the slaves believe falsely that they pay taxes with dollar bills that the IRS said "are not dollars" and revenue agents accept paper as payment, www.morpix.biz/x17 and www.morpix.biz/notreq

The dumbing down of our people has made this transformation from our founding principles possible, cultural Marxism is deconstructing Western civilization and our young college skulls full of mush (from their Marxist professors) aren't capable of defending it or even inclined to.
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

More than basketball, baseball, football, soccer, or thespian, we must practice the art and science of being an American citizen.

perhaps, but John Adams explains it is democracies which fail (isn't this why the Founders gave the USA a Republic?):
"I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.”" John Adams 2nd president of USA Source: Letter to Abigail Adams