Thought for the day, by Thomas Jefferson

[BrklynLiberal]

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe." - Thomas Jefferson

[waiting for hope]

1. Great quote...

Here's my favorite:

"Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person's life, freedom of religion affects every individual.State churches that use government power to support themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of the church tends to make the clergy unresponsive to the people and leads to corruption within religion. Erecting the "wall of separation between church and state," therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society.'

Thomas Jefferson, speech, 1808
3rd president of US (1743 - 1826)

They sure knew their stuff!

[BrklynLiberal]

2. If only we were still listening to men like Jefferson!!!

How ironic that those that wish to undermine the very same Consitution that men like Jefferson wrote, are so quick to claim their rights under it.

[waiting for hope]

3. And claim that this country was

founded under Christianity....they also can't stand the ACLU, but if it were serve their purpose, they would avail themselves of their services in a heartbeat.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. ..and I believe there have been times they have.

Didn't the ACLU actually try to protect Tush Limberger's right to privacy about his drugs?

[waiting for hope]

5. Oh yeah - I'm sure Rush was

itching all over that one:

"While this case involves the right of Rush Limbaugh to maintain the privacy of his medical records, the precedent set in this case will impact the security of medical records and the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship of every person in Florida," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida.

The ACLU's request to submit a "friend-of-the-court" brief on behalf of Limbaugh was filed today with the Fourth District Court of Appeal. The ACLU said in its motion that the state infringed on Florida's constitutional right to privacy when it failed to follow well-established protocol, mandated by law, when confiscating Limbaugh's medical files. The organization stated that its interest in the case was "to vindicate every Floridian's fundamental right to privacy by ensuring that the state be required to comply" with the law."

http://www.aclu.org/privacy/medical/14969prs20040112.html

It's hypocrisy - pure and simple. They would only allow themselves freedoms if and only if they applied to them and their cause.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

6. A Jefferson quote I used in another thread earlier today

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

[Selatius]

7. Too bad our press is no longer free.

It is now dominated by monopolists of the business and banking worlds. I wonder what he would think today if he saw the state of control private corporations have amassed over the flow of information.

[neoblues]

8. That or we have to teach people to read.

Oddly, we really do have a problem with illiteracy and, at least, functional illiteracy in America (we should be ashamed and/or outraged).

Alas, wherever they get their information, we're sadly lacking in teaching people how to analyze it with critical thinking skills...

As well, we could perhaps teach people where to read (it seems certain places on the internet now may be the most accurate sources).

Then again, if people would simply actually "read" for their news instead of watching TV, we'd be ahead of the game.

Still...

Of course, you are entirely right. The best, most direct and effective answer would simply be to restore funding and freedom (by law as well as public policy) to the News Media. Perhaps that would allow them to restore their own integrity, but whether by their action or via our own public demand, it must needs be restored.

Corporations are problematic in many different aspects of our lives now and into the future, here and worldwide, and well beyond just their misguided, profit-oriented abuse of the public broadcast/cable media space (and their defunding and manipulation of the critical function provided by the News organizations). Still, correcting the public information function of the News component of the Mega-Corporate Media companies would go a long ways towards fixing our current ills and preventing similar catastrophes in the future.

[Gregorian]

9. I find this a most troubling quote.

I continue to fall back on what I consider to be the root cause of all of our problems. The people. Sure, it looks like Congress and the corporations.

We are in charge, ultimately.

What I find so bothersome about this thought is that it is not something that is changed easily nor quickly.

You see, the media never fooled me. Even after saying that, I have to sit here and think what I meant. I'm not sure. Am I saying there are a lot of fools in this country? Am I saying that fools to wise men is not a quick journey? Or something else?

Our biggest problem is global warming. Consumption in big numbers. And I fear that this is one time when waiting for the crisis is not an alternative.

Europeans knew George Bush was a disaster. They went through it. But can we learn fast enough to make effective changes before the future disasters occur?

We hold all of the power. We always have and we always will.

[me b zola]

10. This is the essence of what Gore was saying last night on Charlie Rose

When the governed do not excersise their responsibilities to inform themselves and participate in government, democracy is in peril. Gore stated very clearly last night that our democracy is indeed in very serious peril.