In three sentences Federalist No. 71 conveys the primary reason to prefer a republic over a democracy: It is a just observation, that the people commonly INTEND the PUBLIC GOOD. This often applies to their very errors. But their good sense would despise the adulator who should pretend that they always REASON RIGHT about...
It’s tax day and I doubt anybody who reads this has not heard in advance about the many "Tea Party" events that have been planned around the country for today. Ive been hearing about them from various sources for months and I have been conflicted in my feelings related to such activities. From a...
In Federalist No. 69 Hamilton argues that the president is not as powerful a position as some have made it out to be while in Federalist No. 70 he argues that having any less power vested in the president would be a recipie for bad government. I have found it to be very interesting,...
Due to the number of people in recent years who have called for the abolition of the electoral college I was very interested in what Hamilton would say on the subject in Federalist No. 68. Imagine my surprise then when that paper opened with this: THE mode of appointment of the Chief Magistrate of...
In Federalist No. 67 Hamilton is clearly upset at those who oppose the proposed Constitution because of their outrageous misrepresentation of the content of the Constitution in relation to the office of President. As I read the example of misrepresentation that he recounted I recognized the same spirit of selective fact presentation that is...
Most people have probably heard of the two basic classes of vision problems, far-sightedness and near-sightedness. For those who are not clear on the differences, far-sightedness is characterized by the eye being able to focus on objects at a distance while objects up close are blurry. Conversely, near-sightedness is characterized by the eye being...
Public awaits First Dog news with bated breath declares the Houston Chronicle. I’m thinking that’s not accurate. At best its a gross exaggeration. The truth is that every day is a slow news day so there are reporters awaiting news of the First Dog with bated breath. Maybe they should be reminded that if...
Federalist No. 66 has me seeking opinions on a few questions. Specifically it got me asking which of the four elements of our federal government (the Executive, the Judicial, the Senate, and the House) is the most powerful? Which Should be the most powerful? The founders clearly had some idea about which they thought...
In discussing the powers of the senate related to the making of treaties John Jay outlines a truth that undercuts one of the major arguments against term limits. In Federalist No. 64 he states: providing for the frequent elections of senators in such a way as to obviate the inconvenience of periodically transferring those...
I really enjoyed Scott’s introduction to different currency types. It’s a great introduction to the differences between fiat currency, commodity currency, and representative currency. Coincidentally we have implemented a new representative currency in our household in an effort to teach our children about money and work. Personally I think that the commodity backing our...