Can I Hear an Amen

This is an email I got from my dad today. Makes me wish we could resurrect, clone, and elect Jefferson President, speaker of the house, majority leader of the senate, Governor of every state and this years American Idol. Sorry all you Hamilton and Adams fans, though I respect the great contributions which both men made in the founding of our country I am content with the fact that we followed the (at least for a time) the fundamental priciples of governing as established by Thomas Jefferson.

In light of what is currently going on in this country, it's interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
· "When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe."
· "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
· "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."
· "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."
· "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
· "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
· "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."
· "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time-to-time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
· "To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas, which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
· "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."

Jason Bentley is currently a broadcast journalism major at BYU and a news junkie.