In the wake of the horrific event at The Navy Yard in Southeast Washington D.C., this past Monday, prepare yourself for the clarion calls from liberals for yet more restrictive laws against guns - laws that will be obeyed by the already defenseless law-abiding citizens, some of whom will be the future victims of these idiotic laws.
Niccolo Machiavelli, writing 600 years ago, penned words of relevance that are ignored by legislators at every opportunity in order not be labeled as something other than "compassionate" for the victims of gun violence. We can pray that some day soon they (and the leadership in the Pentagon) will do the right thing and, at the very least, afford members of our military (whose job is using weapons to defend our liberty) to openly carry weapons at their place of work, and not depend on (less qualified) civilian police to come to their aid and assistance well after the fact. Both quotes below are from The Prince.
Here are the quotes:
“To govern more securely some Princes have disarmed their subjects...but by disarming, you at once give offence, since you show your subjects that you distrust them, either by doubting their courage, or as doubting their fidelity, each of which imputations begets hatred against you.”
Today's quote is from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Magnus opus, The Gulag Archipelago, and must be read as perhaps the most relevant collection of words to our present time, given what happened before, during, and especially after the tragedy in Benghazi (what difference does it make?).
Here's the quote:
“It is unthinkable in the twentieth century to fail to distinguish between what constitutes an abominable atrocity that must be prosecuted and what constitutes that "past" which "ought not to be stirred up.”
John F. Kennedy gave the strongest speech of his young presidency in 1962 during The Cuban Missile Crisis. You can read the whole speech Here.
After the disastrous "Bay of Pigs" affair, Kennedy's credibility was in need of repair, but there was no feeling on the part of the American public that his speech, or the plans he outlined that night, were in any way political or self-serving. The speech was full of memorable lines, some very powerful.
Here's the quote:
"We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth; but neither will we shrink from that risk at any time it must be faced...
"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union."
Ronald Reagan gave one of the most memorable of his speeches at The Berlin Wall in 1987. You can read the whole speech HERE.
One short admonition in that speech (written by Peter Robinson), was taken out and put back in by White House staff more than once, until finally President Reagan insisted that it stay in.
Here's the quote:
"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
George W. Bush spoke to the crowd gathered at the site of the fallen World Trade Center Buildings, three days after that horrific event of 9/11. Here's the video of his short impromptu speech that rallied that crowd and the rest of the nation, a nation of which he was proud to be the president.
Barack Obama spoke to the nation, on September 10, 2013, to outline his plan to address the situation in Syria. You can read the whole speech HERE. There were many memorable quotes from that speech.
Here are a few:
"So even though I possess the authority to order military strikes, I believed it was right, in the absence of a direct or imminent threat to our security, to take this debate to Congress...
"My answer is simple: I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria. I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan. I will not pursue a prolonged air campaign like Libya or Kosovo...
"However, over the last few days, we’ve seen some encouraging signs. In part because of the credible threat of U.S. military action, as well as constructive talks that I had with President Putin, the Russian government has indicated a willingness to join with the international community in pushing Assad to give up his chemical weapons...
"I have, therefore, asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path."
Today's possibly relevant quote is from The Holy Bible: Isaiah 17:1.
Here's the quote:
"An Oracle Against Damascus
'See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid. The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and the royal power from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites,' declares the Lord Almighty."
Today's quote is from a pamphlet distributed by Planned Parenthood as far back as 1952 when they were pushing contraception and warning against the serious consequences of abortion. The pamphlet was entitled: "Plan Your Children for Health and Happiness." They've come a long way, and their position on abortion has obviously been mitigated to say the least. The words used by Planned Parenthood in their pamphlet are very clear, and were brought to our attention by Charles Rice, who taught at the Notre Dame Law School for over 30 years.
Professor Rice provides the exact wording of the pamphlet (p 72), words that the current leadership of Planned Parenthood, and the perfidious politicians who support them, should find relevant.
Here's the quote:
"An abortion kills the life of a baby after it has begun. It is dangerous to your life and health. It may make you sterile so that when you want a child, you cannot have it. Birth control merely postpones the beginning of life."
Today's quote is from a biography of the man closest to Ronald Reagan from his days as Governor of California to his two terms in the White House. That man is William P. Clark, and the title of the book is The Judge; William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand. You can order a copy for only $3.00 by clicking on the link.
After the death of President Reagan, the Left was obsessed with making us believe that were he still alive and of sound mind he would support funding for embryonic stem-cell research. Clark knew better, and to set the matter straight he penned a column for the New York Times entitled: "For Reagan, All Life Was Sacred."
This is from the New York Times piece:
Ronald Reagan's record reveals that no issue was of greater importance to him than the dignity and sanctity of all human life. ''My administration is dedicated to the preservation of America as a free land,'' he said in 1983. ''And there is no cause more important for preserving that freedom than affirming the transcendent right to life of all human beings, the right without which no other rights have any meaning.'' One of the things he regretted most at the completion of his presidency in 1989, he told me, was that politics and circumstances had prevented him from making more progress in restoring protection for unborn human life.
In the biography of Clark, there is an account of a speech given by Clark at the Center for Security Policy's "Keeper of the Flame" dinner in honor of Ronald Reagan, in 1995. In that speech Clark refers to President Reagan's strong opposition to Roe v. Wade, using Reagan's words as spoken to Clark.
Hers's the quote:
"Human life legislation ending this tragedy (Roe v. Wade) will someday pass Congress, and you and I must never rest until it does."
