messes of men
"you cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
you cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
you cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
you cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
you cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
you cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
you cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
you cannot establish security on borrowed money.
you cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."
--William J. H. Boetcker, often misattributed to Abraham Lincoln
"the two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first." - Thomas Jefferson
"when the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." -Thomas Jefferson
"government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... the course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases." - Gerald Ford, often misattributed to Thomas Jefferson
a wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. this is the sum of good government. -Thomas Jefferson
where is Thomas Jefferson when we need him?