Davy Crockett, Volunteer!

Davy Crockett vs. Welfare

From The Life of Colonel David Crockett,
by Edward S. Ellis (Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1884)

Crockett was then the lion of Washington. I was a great admirer of his character, and, having several friends who were intimate with him, I found no difficulty in making his acquaintance. I was fascinated with him, and he seemed to take a fancy to me.

I was one day in the lobby of the House of Representatives when a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support – rather, as I thought, because it afforded the speakers a fine opportunity for display than from the necessity of convincing anybody, for it seemed to me that everybody favored it. The Speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose. Everybody expected, of course, that he was going to make one of his characteristic speeches in support of the bill. He commenced:

“Mr. Speaker – I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him. This government can owe no debts but for services rendered, and at a stipulated price. If it is a debt, how much is it? Has it been audited, and the amount due ascertained? If it is a debt, this is not the place to present it for payment, or to have its merits examined. If it is a debt, we owe more than we can ever hope to pay, for we owe the widow of every soldier who fought in the War of 1812 precisely the same amount. There is a woman in my neighborhood, the widow of as gallant a man as ever shouldered a musket. He fell in battle. She is as good in every respect as this lady, and is as poor. She is earning her daily bread by her daily labor; but if I were to introduce a bill to appropriate five or ten thousand dollars for her benefit, I should be laughed at, and my bill would not get five votes in this House. There are thousands of widows in the country just such as the one I have spoken of, but we never hear of any of these large debts to them. Sir, this is no debt. The government did not owe it to the deceased when he was alive; it could not contract it after he died. I do not wish to be rude, but I must be plain. Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as a charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much of our own money as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week’s pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks.”  Continue reading Davy Crockett, Volunteer!

The Forgotten Man

Against the background of a darkening sky, The Forgotten Manall of the past Presidents of the United States gather before the White House, as if to commemorate some great event. 

In the left hand corner of the painting sits a man. That man, with his head bowed appears distraught and hopeless as he contemplates his future.

Some of the past Presidents try to console him while looking in the direction of the modern Presidents as if to say, “What have you done?”

Many of these modern Presidents, seemingly oblivious to anything other than themselves, appear to be congratulating each other on their great accomplishments.

In front of the man, paper trash is blowing in the wind. Crumpled dollar bills, legislative documents, and, like a whisper—the U.S. Constitution beneath the foot of Barack Obama.

Jon McNaughton

painted this work, and explains his thought process in the following YouTube. As you can see, all of the modern Presidents are congratulating themselves, while our Founders are reacting in horror at what we have done. 

Here’s the ‘Tube:

Gouverneur Morris, American Patriot

Here is the amazing story of the author of the final draft of our Constitution. This article originally appeared in Illinois Review. Re-published by permission.

THE MIGHTY QUILL OF A WESTCHESTER PATRIOT

By John F. Di Leo –

Reflections on the anniversary of the birth of Gouverneur MorrisGouverneur Morris

Willis Haviland Carrier invented the first modern air conditioning machine in 1902 at the Buffalo Forge Company, and today, a century later, it’s difficult to imagine a home or office being built anywhere in America without either central A/C or at least a window or room unit to alleviate the summer heat.

There was no such technological solution in the Founding Era, when statesmen committed to the Glorious Cause spent months at a time in Philadelphia, trying to think straight in a muggy meeting room at what we now call Independence Hall.

In the summer of 1787, the oppressive weather must have felt like a very physical metaphor for the condition of the country.  The crushing pressure of humidity and heat mimicked the crushing pressure of national and state debts, as the impotent national government was exposed as naught but an empty shell.  We couldn’t repay our loans to Holland, France, Spain, or so many other lenders, both public and private.  Many patriots and investors were going bankrupt due to our government’s inability to pay our bills… and tens of thousands of soldiers were penniless, having served valiantly in a victorious revolution, with nothing to show for it but their poverty and their war injuries.   Continue reading Gouverneur Morris, American Patriot

Quote of the Day: The Crisis

December 23, 1776

THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but “to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER” and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.   Continue reading Quote of the Day: The Crisis

An American Christmas Legend

Rich TAkes! celebrates a true patriot

 

who gave unselfishly of himself every year since the weeks preceding WWII in support of our troops, especially in the month of December. His Christmas shows were legendary, happy, and heart-wrenching all at once. Thousands who saw his shows never saw their families or country again. In 1996, Congress named Hope the first and only honorary member of the US Armed Forces. It is fitting to honor Bob with this tribute during the Christmas season. We salute you, Bob Hope!