“We are all doubtless bound to contribute a certain portion of our income to the support of charitable and other useful public institutions. But it is a part of our duty also to apply our contributions in the most effectual way we can to secure this object. The question then is whether this will not be better done by each of us appropriating our whole contribution to the institutions within our reach, under our own eye, and over which we can exercise some useful control? Or would it be better that each should divide the sum he can spare among all the institutions of his State or the United States? Reason and the interest of these institutions themselves, certainly decide in favor of the former practice.”

Government charities or, social programs, are created by taking advantage of an individuals sense of compassion for others. This may sound good in theory, but the reality is governments will always at some point, because taxpayers don't know where their money is going, use it for its own purposes once good government (Constitutional Republic) is infiltrated by men with their own agenda and the money, rather than help the needy, is used to amass power not granted to it to the detriment of the individuals that truly, to begin with, only wanted to do right by those who suffer. Our Constitution was created to stop the infiltrator with an agenda not from getting into government as our founders were well aware of wolves in sheeps clothing that would fool the people and get elected. It was to stop their unconstitutional agendas from ever having an effect on Americans with checks and balances with the most important check now lost to us, the nullification of unconstitutional law by the jury, thus exposing by the nullification, the agenda of the legislature in office. Now, the citizens had an understanding passed on by the nullifications who should or should not be in office because they are or aren't living up to their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic and could vote accordingly to rid our administration of any individual pushing an agenda detrimental to the freedom of all individual Americans. WITHOUT VIOLENCE or, in a civilized way.

This directly addresses the Obamanation that would increase taxes on charitable giving with a supporting reason being that the Federal Government is attending to the various needs.

Anon, My brother-in-law is a successful lawyer in Ohio. I mentioned "jury nullification" to him and he had never heard of it and I doubt that you will ever hear a judge mention it while charging a jury. This is a shame as jury nullification is a citizens last bulwark against bad laws.

and who controls the profits and the money we pour into world wide corporations when we buy their products. They are less within our reach than any elected government is. It is these huge corporations than are can do anything they wish without popular oversight.

Its their money Waffler ! You are incredibly stupid. In fact, why don't you give all of us (this site's population) control over your income and your assets, so we can spend it as WE see fit. Until you volunteer to do that you are a liar and a hypocrite!

We are talking about charity Waffler, not corporations. Who the hell do you think you are implying that anyone would have the right to tell anyone else what to do with their business. If you do not like corporations do not buy anything from any of them. Why are you not whining about letting the government control private contributions? After all the individual couldn't possibly be competent enough to decide what to do with his own contributions. You apparently think that taxing the hell out of everyone in order to prevent private contributions is a good thing because it moves the responsibility to the ever so more competent U.S. government. The thought of growing government and shrinking personal responsibility surely gives you orgasms.

We are currently under the most vicious attack from within that we have ever had. We stand to loose more right now than we have from any war or attack on our soil in history. We are loosing our soul as a nation. Führer Obama and his brown shirts in congress are very quickly moving to the position of absolute power. There is little opposition in congress. The Republicans are scared of reprisals from the left and the damned press. Anyone that objects will have such an onslaught of attacks out of the press that most of the ignorant boobs across this country will just assume that something has to be wrong with the accused in spite of no proof. Polls will show that the objector has no chance of re-election and everyone that should be defending his position will run for cover. This has become the modus operandi of the press and the left for a very long time. It seems that they have become so bold as to not even try to hide the tactic anymore. Any success that Obama has will be a disaster for this country and its constitution. The only hope we have is that he fails. I do believe he is the most ignorant, inexperienced, and unqualified person to ever hold the position but his backers are so powerful and have control over his teleprompter. I fear the day that we will no longer be able to vent on this or any other site. We will only be able to prostrate ourselves to the George Soros sock puppet.

This is the difference between a statist and a sovereigntist. The statist believes that the state should provide for all the needs of the people who are kept in a permanent state of dependency and servitude to the state. Sovereigntists assert their natural born rights and thus their inherent responsibility to take care of the themselves -- they decide to whom to lend aid and provide support. Shall we reduce the status of free people to wards of the state because someone skinned their knee or couldn't pay their credit card bills? Enslavement comes from avoiding responsibility, but it's not because Americans are inherently lazy, it is because we are bombarded day and night by the state with messages that the world is coming to an end and that we need to do what they say in order to survive. It takes generations to get this indoctrination to take hold, BUT I do believe that LIBERATION is an inherent life force within all of us and that many, many of us will ever resist these chains. The question is: how messy is it going to get?!

Waffler, you always stop at the corporations as the source of our problems and ignore who owns them just as they own our nation, our people and the nations and people of the world through their perpetual debt system. International banking. It's becoming clear who your master is and who you bow down to.

jim k, I consider your brother in law, assuming he's a good man, a product of the corrupt educational arm of the system, but, there are many judicial officers that are well aware of what jury nullification is and to inform a jury of this is giving up the power they have worked so long at to usurp. In every branch of government, thereare those in the know and those that aren't. All the rest of the posters (accept Waffler), excellent comments.

Gee whiz! I only posed a question following Jeffersons line as to how we control institutions to whom we give money. Are corporations to be free of the peoples oversight. Government is to be controlled but corporations have free reign to run anything the way they wish. Glad I fired you guys up even if your responses seem to come from feelings and emotions rather than intellect or knowledge. It only stands to reason that we should have oversight over government and we do via elections, oversight over cororporations is required also.

Waffler, who allowed for the creation of corporations outside the bounds of limited constitutional power granted? It's because of the corporation small business free enterprise has been destroyed and even those small businesses that still exist are riddled with commercial laws and regulations that, guess who, created. Government and corporations are partners in crime along with the global financiers who are set to pull the carpet out from under our economy. First though, they will restore confidence in it to make Obama look good and to deceive the foolish into investing the rest of their money that they didn't lose in this last economic debacle, putting it in the position to be stolen again with the next PLANNED economic debacle to literally bring the nation to its knees. Bring government back under control then corporations can be dealt with as the unconstitutional creations they are. You always stop at the out of control corporations as the root of evil in our country because to go further would be traitorous to your masters who obviously make sure you get well paid for supporting the beastly world system our no longer sovereign nation is being swallowed by. Right now, at this time in history, America is being chewed up for better digestion. If anyone really believes the worst is over and happy days are coming back they believe exactly as they're EXPECTED to believe. Usurp, usurp, usurp is the same game that has been going on since the day our Constitution was adopted. It actually started in Babylon when a viable plan was devised and put into action and passed down through the generations to its coming fruition world wide. Go ahead and call it "feelings and emotions" I base my opinions on but, where there's smoke there's fire and ignoring the smoke will burn one's a## a lot faster than others who pay attention to the smoke. Smoke, and mirrors. The forte of a master magician, i.e., a master deceiver.

When I was a little boy my Grandma would give me fifty cents every Sunday on the way to church to do with as I pleased. She didn't tell me to put it in the collection plate. She didn't tell me to save it. She also taught me not to expect it and to wait patiently for it. It was hers to give and it was mine after she gave it to me. I would put a quarter in the collection plate and save a quarter in my piggy bank when I got home. That was purely my choice and it taught me charity and planning for the future on my own. What lesson would I have learned if Grandma would have shown me fifty cents every Sunday morning, kept it, and then put it in the collection plate for me? I would never have learned the lesson or grown as a human being. I would have been a perpetual child. You don't have to reason very hard to understand why we have so many dependent, childish, irresponsible adults around today do you?

Jim and Anon, I am often called as a juror; typically once a year. I take jury nullification very seriously and consider it part of my duty as a juror. I will occasionally take some Supreme Court decisions regarding role of jury nullification with me and leave it on top of the pile of magazines in the jurors' room. They disappear rather quickly of course. I know what justice is, and so does most everyone else. If a law is unjust the juror is the last hope. Considering some of the bills being introduced in the current Congress, I have a feeling we may need to use jury nullification much more frequently in the near future (if juries are even allowed anymore, that is).

What great depth of wisdom and integrity did Thomas Jefferson truly have. Jefferson's depth of wisdom is truly completely beyond the lack of essential understanding and shallow depth of Waffler.