Thomas Jefferson for President

[tfcrew]

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the
brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement:
"This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to
gather at one time in the White House with the exception of
when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
Especially read the last quote from 1802.
 

When we get piled
upon one another in large cities, as in Europe,
we shall become as corrupt as  Europe  .
Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist
when you take away from those
who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every
generation to pay its own debts as it goes.
A principle which if acted on would save
one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for
Americans if they can prevent the government
from wasting the labors of the people under the
pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson 

My reading of history convinces me
that most bad government results from too much
government.
Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred
the use of arms.
Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the
people to retain the right to keep and bear arms
is, as a last resort, to protect themselves
against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be
refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with
his taxes the propagation of ideas which he
disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson

Thomas  Jefferson said in 1802:
'I believe that
banking institutions are more dangerous to
our liberties than standing armies.
If the American people ever allow
private banks to control the issue of their
currency, first by inflation, then by
deflation, the banks and corporations that will
grow up around the banks will deprive the people
of all property - until their children
wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers
conquered.'

[erudite]

I have often said that Thomas Jefferson is spinning in his grave at what America has become. He has been doing it a long long time.

[XMan]

He also believed in an agrarian economy. 
Since less than 2% of people live on farms, and farming is nearly entirely controlled by the Monsanto's and Dow's of the world (i.e. agribusiness), we have long ago departed from that idea.

[Steamer]

To add my personal favorite:
"I hold that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing"
Thomas Jefferson

[acctBill]

The website snopes.com says the quotation did not originate with Thomas Jefferson. 

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/jefferson/banks.asp

[SFandEE]

60 Minutes had an interesting segment on American business like TransOcean (gulf oil spill) that have mock business headquarters in tax haven countries and that the position is that taxes on corporate gains is to be avoided due to their financial obligations to stock holders.  So they have found a way to benefit from a stable society, non-socialized work force (like Europe, health care, paid vacation, paid leave for pregnancy).

Did Thomas Jefferson write about that?  Tax dodging?  If they don't like the taxes, shouldn't they move their company, not find a way to game the system?

[Gator]

A question:  If Jefferson were alive today, would he have as large a following of Americans as Glen Beck.  Yes, a perverted question, but a statement about Political Entertainer vs. Political Intellectual given today's television and America's attention span.   

Another question:   Could Jefferson be elected?

[XMan]

A question:  If Jefferson were alive today, would he have as large a following of Americans as Glen Beck.  Yes, a perverted question, but a statement about Political Entertainer vs. Political Intellectual given today's television and America's attention span.   

Another question:   Could Jefferson be elected?

I don't think Jefferson would come close to having maybe 10% of the following that Beck has.
 
Beck is entirely entertainment.  If people wanted substance and actual news instead of someone with Hitler Tourettes and opinions rarely and loosely based on fact, they would watch something else (assuming it could be found). 

I don't agree with everything Ron Paul says or stands for (for example), but he is a seemingly intelligent man with some different ideas than the mainstream.  He has a very small following.  But look at Michelle Bachman.  She needs to go back to 11th grade and learn some American History just for starters.  Yet, look at the following she has.  It's an embarrassment to the nation.

Most of the leaders of the Revolutionary and post Revolutionary times were men of wealth and therefore power, but they did have serious (frequently competing) and often lofty ideals regarding nation building and the future.  Now we have blame-ocrats everywhere you turn, with no ideas about how to address the problems we face, and the only "solution" is to print more money and cut taxes (not a great combination --- buy some gold and silver, move some money into a foreign account somewhere like Australia or Canada so you can retrieve it after Bernake destroys what's left of the value of the dollar). 

There are no leaders here anymore. 

We are a few small steps away from Idioacracy. 

[Faux Pas]

A question:  If Jefferson were alive today, would he have as large a following of Americans as Glen Beck.  Yes, a perverted question, but a statement about Political Entertainer vs. Political Intellectual given today's television and America's attention span.   

Another question:   Could Jefferson be elected?

No he couldn't. Jefferson would be a stern Constitutionalist. Even though he was considered liberal in his day it is unlikely he would understand or stomach the Federal Reserve, Foreign aid, income tax and the entitlements to those that haven't earned them. The closest political party to his own ideals would be the Libertarians and I suspect they would be too left wing fringe for him. I suspect Jefferson would kill or attempt to kill someone on the floor of the House and be labeled a lunatic

[Muzh]

He also believed in an agrarian economy. 
Since less than 2% of people live on farms, and farming is nearly entirely controlled by the Monsanto's and Dow's of the world (i.e. agribusiness), we have long ago departed from that idea.

You mean Archer Daniels Midland & Conagra?

I don't think Jefferson would come close to having maybe 10% of the following that Beck has.
 
Beck is entirely entertainment.  If people wanted substance and actual news instead of someone with Hitler Tourettes and opinions rarely and loosely based on fact, they would watch something else (assuming it could be found). 

There are no leaders here anymore. 

We are a few small steps away from Idioacracy. 

Hear Hear

[tfcrew]

We are a few small steps away from Idioacracy. 

Nope...we're already there.
Folks, this is a must see video.

Once Again, a Government ‘Improvement’ Makes Things Exponentially Worse
Posted by David Kramer on January 14, 2011 06:08 PM

Here’s an excellent summation by a Congressman from Texas of all the wonderful things we have to look forward to once we are forced by the Federal government to use only the new environmentally-“friendly” CFL light bulbs by 2014.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/75548.html

[SFandEE]

Light bulbs are a symptom, but by far one of the least of our worries.  It's a sniffle in a cancer ridden patient that just had a stroke and in the beginning stages of massive organ failure.

[erudite]

Don't forget that Thomas Jefferson was also a man with money troubles, a slave holder with illegitimate children (maybe) and a man of considerable romantic dabbling.  In today's world he would be drawn and quartered on those issues alone despite all the other outstanding human characteristics and talents he employed for his beloved country. 

[XMan]

You mean Archer Daniels Midland & Conagra?

Actually no, but they certainly are a part of it. 

When I think agribusiness, I think of companies that work to patent life (GMO seeds), sell farmers seeds that only grow with their pesticides and herbicides, etc.  It's interesting how they have convinced farmers that unless they follow their business model they cannot succeed.  With the exception of hybrid corn (which shows the unusual side affect of "hybrid vigor," or significantly increased production), hybrids and GMO's are not a mystical panacea.  There are many superior open pollinated seeds for everything from beans to tomatoes to squash.  Open pollinated seeds, ones that farmers could actually save year to year, and even keep the best of the seeds and improve crops through natural selection, have fallen out of favor even when they perform better under many circumstances and have the genetic variation to withstand certain types of diseases, pests, etc., better than thousands of acres of genetically identical crop.  Not to mention the fact that "toughness" for shipping, uniform ripening, etc., are selected over flavor or nutritional value. 

But what is the best way to make money if you are a large ag business? 
Sell the seeds (new seeds every year), the pesticides, the herbicides, all designed to work as a turnkey solution. 
 
I could write a book here, and it would bore 99.986% of every reader. 
So rather than drone on, I'll stop here.

[XMan]

Don't forget that Thomas Jefferson was also a man with money troubles, a slave holder with illegitimate children (maybe) and a man of considerable romantic dabbling.  In today's world he would be drawn and quartered on those issues alone despite all the other outstanding human characteristics and talents he employed for his beloved country. 

The slave holding is difficult for anyone to reconcile, and it is not an insignificant issue.

But the rest, well, it would hardly be noticed by Republican or Democrat or average citizen.  In fact, it would seem that those of any significant moral character are nowhere to be found in politics, regardless of their rantings on left or right about family values, justice, equality, etc., etc.

From a sheer intellect standpoint (languages, science, agriculture, invention, etc.), he would be difficult to match. 

Nope...we're already there.
Folks, this is a must see video.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/75548.html

Regarding the CFL's, I am one of the strongest proponents of environmental issues. 
But unfortunately CFL's are just a bad idea.  Just like corn ethanol is a bad idea (other things are FAR more efficient for making ethanol). 

The focus should be on building workable models for LED's, and manufacturing them here. 

Strangely, I find myself in agreement (largely) with the video. 
Where he is wrong is about the development of energy resources. 
It's interesting in particular that he mentioned coal, since he just blasted the CFL's for mercury, and coal is the single largest source of mercury pollution (distributed through the air and contaminating water and soil). 

The latest Chinese import contamination, by the way, was lead in candy (a recall a couple of days ago)!! 
My recommendation, check every damned label of everything you buy. 

I go way the hell out of my way to do so.  Here's a good example. 
I needed a toothbrush, packing tape, and a college ruled spiral notebook.
I went to Target.
The name brands (Crest or Colgate) toothbrush, made in China or India.
The Target brand (1/2 the cost, by the way), made in USA. 
The tape -- China again, but I found some made in USA, and bought that.  10 cents more. 
The notebook -- friggin China again, found some made in USA, same cost. 

I needed toothpaste recently.  Yes, just plain old toothpaste.  Every single one I picked up, made in flippin Mexico. 
Aim and Pepsodent were the ONLY ones made in USA.  That's what I bought. 

I wish everyone did this, and this making even the simplest things overseas, or over the border, would stop. 

I STRONGLY recommend you check where your food comes from just for your own personal safety. 
Chilean grapes are one of the most contaminated produce items you can buy. 
I would buy nothing from China, if it is in any way avoidable.  And you may be surprised, so look at  your food labels if you'd like to keep lead, cadmium, and other garbage out of your body.

Back to power....
Everyone always talks about the "higher cost" of of things like wind and solar.

They don't seem to recognize the cost of coal and oil. 

Were we manufacturing solar and wind (manufactured here, serviced and maintained here), we would have a new source of jobs and would have significant impact on the trade imbalance.   

How much has nuclear cost Japan? 
No one knows yet.  But....
Already Japanese car manufacturers have lost more money in the time since that accident than they cleared in profit in all of 2010. 
The accident keeps getting worse, with radioactivity in the ocean 1.6km from the plant at 1,250 times above normal, and now plutonium in the soil (the most toxic substance on the planet, 1/1000th of a milligram is enough to kill you). No one can predict the cost of medical issues that may impact tens of thousands for who knows how long.

But somehow, some way, wind and solar are too costly. 

Hmmm.

Let me think about that. 

Toxic waste dangerous for thousands of years, but produces power for a tiny tiny fraction of that. 
Dangerous accidents that can contaminate, and make uninhabitable, gigantic tracts of land, or contaminate ocean water that circles the globe. 
Global climate change that no one can predict with certainty the severity of the impact (regarding fossil fuels). 
Regular, run of the mill, air pollution that causes illness and death (and costs $$$) every year. 
Oil spills that contaminate oceans, destroy fisheries, beaches, etc. 
And no matter what you do, you eventually run out of it (coal, nuclear, oil), and have no energy source, other than muscles and animals power.

OK.  Coal, oil, nuclear --- not so sure this is "less costly." 

[SFandEE]

The competence gap demonstrated by the "gullible wonder boy" has really driven home to me that a leader of America must be demonstrated capable, not a person of privilege who has been tapped out to be a figurehead for a powerful group.  If you a leader is incapable it is hardly wise to expect him to be capable.

Thomas Jefferson is an example of a man of common morals for his time with exceptional talents and intellect for any time.  Capable with vision and principle.  That would have been nice to start the new century.  

Is it possible that other voters in the US are less political and more analytical about competence?  I sure hope so.  The US needs someone of great ability to lead in the years to come.