The Peregrin Falcon

As I do from time to time, I find other sites that are worthy of re-posting. This is one of them.

The Mount Vernon Statement

The Mount Vernon Statement

Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st Century
We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.

These principles define us as a country and inspire us as a people. They are responsible for a prosperous, just nation unlike any other in the world. They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.

Each one of these founding ideas is presently under sustained attack. In recent decades, America’s principles have been undermined and redefined in our culture, our universities and our politics. The selfevident truths of 1776 have been supplanted by the notion that no such truths exist. The federal government today ignores the limits of the Constitution, which is increasingly dismissed as obsolete and irrelevant.

Some insist that America must change, cast off the old and put on the new. But where would this lead — forward or backward, up or down? Isn’t this idea of change an empty promise or even a dangerous deception?

The change we urgently need, a change consistent with the American ideal, is not movement away from but toward our founding principles. At this important time, we need a restatement of Constitutional conservatism grounded in the priceless principle of ordered liberty articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The conservatism of the Declaration asserts self-evident truths based on the laws of nature and nature’s God. It defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It traces authority to the consent of the governed. It recognizes man’s self-interest but also his capacity for virtue.

The conservatism of the Constitution limits government’s powers but ensures that government performs its proper job effectively. It refines popular will through the filter of representation. It provides checks and balances through the several branches of government and a federal republic.

A Constitutional conservatism unites all conservatives through the natural fusion provided by American principles. It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America’s safety and leadership role in the world.

A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda.

» It applies the principle of limited government based on the
rule of law to every proposal.
» It honors the central place of individual liberty in American
politics and life.
» It encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and
economic reforms grounded in market solutions.
» It supports America’s national interest in advancing freedom
and opposing tyranny in the world and prudently considers what we can and should do to that
end.
» It informs conservatism’s firm defense of family, neighborhood,
community, and faith.

If we are to succeed in the critical political and policy battles ahead, we must be certain of our purpose.

We must begin by retaking and resolutely defending the high ground of America’s founding principles.

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I recently had a birthday and wanted to share some numbers that make me think.

Right now with the world population at approximately 6 billion you share the same
birthday with 16,438,356 other people. In America that is about 890,410 based on a population of 325 million.
However, if you Google the term “How many people share my birthday”, you will get 505,000,000 results or about 567
results for each person who actually shared your birthday in the U.S.

And just to make you feel that much older….

The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2010

1.The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
2.They have known only two presidents.
3.For most of their lives, major U.S. airlines have been bankrupt.
4.Manuel Noriega has always been in jail in the U.S.
5.They have grown up getting lost in “big boxes.”
6.There has always been only one Germany.
7.They have never heard anyone actually “ring it up” on a cash register.
8.They are wireless, yet always connected.
9.A stained blue dress is as famous to their generation as a third-rate burglary was to their parents’.
10.Thanks to pervasive headphones in the back seat, parents have always been able to speak freely in the front.
11.A coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake.
12.Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.
13.Faux fur has always been a necessary element of style.
14.The Moral Majority has never needed an organization.
15.They have never had to distinguish between the St. Louis Cardinals baseball and football teams.
16.DNA fingerprinting has always been admissible evidence in court.
17.They grew up pushing their own miniature shopping carts in the supermarket.
18.They grew up with and have outgrown faxing as a means of communication.
19.”Google” has always been a verb.
20.Text messaging is their email.
21.Milli Vanilli has never had anything to say.
22.Mr. Rogers, not Walter Cronkite, has always been the most trusted man in America.
23.Bar codes have always been on everything, from library cards and snail mail to retail items.
24.Madden has always been a game, not a Superbowl-winning coach.
25.Phantom of the Opera has always been on Broadway.
26.”Boogers” candy has always been a favorite for grossing out parents.
27.There has never been a “skyhook” in the NBA.
28.Carbon copies are oddities found in their grandparents’ attics.
29.Computerized player pianos have always been tinkling in the lobby.
30.Non-denominational mega-churches have always been the fastest growing religious organizations in the U.S.
31.They grew up in mini-vans.
32.Reality shows have always been on television.
33.They have no idea why we needed to ask “…can we all get along?”
34.They have always known that “In the criminal justice system the people have been represented by two separate yet equally important groups.”
35.Young women’s fashions have never been concerned with where the waist is.
36.They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.
37.Brides have always worn white for a first, second, or third wedding.
38.Being techno-savvy has always been inversely proportional to age.
39.”So” as in “Sooooo New York,” has always been a drawn-out adjective modifying a proper noun, which in turn modifies something else
40.Affluent troubled teens in Southern California have always been the subjects of television series.
41.They have always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.
42.Ken Burns has always been producing very long documentaries on PBS.
43.They are not aware that “flock of seagulls hair” has nothing to do with birds flying into it.
44.Retin-A has always made America look less wrinkled.
45.Green tea has always been marketed for health purposes.
46.Public school officials have always had the right to censor school newspapers.
47.Small white holiday lights have always been in style.
48.Most of them never had the chance to eat bad airline food.
49.They have always been searching for “Waldo.”
50.The really rich have regularly expressed exuberance with outlandish birthday parties.
51.Michael Moore has always been showing up uninvited.
52.They never played the game of state license plates in the car.
53.They have always preferred going out in groups as opposed to dating.
54.There have always been live organ donors.
55.They have always had access to their own credit cards.
56.They have never put their money in a “Savings & Loan.”
57.Sara Lee has always made underwear.
58.Bad behavior has always been getting captured on amateur videos.
59.Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.
60.They never saw Bernard Shaw on CNN.
61.Beach volleyball has always been a recognized sport.
62.Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti have always been luxury cars of choice.
63.Television stations have never concluded the broadcast day with the national anthem.
64.LoJack transmitters have always been finding lost cars.
65.Diane Sawyer has always been live in Prime Time.
66.Dolphin-free canned tuna has always been on sale.
67.Disposable contact lenses have always been available.
68.”Outing” has always been a threat.
69.Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss has always been the perfect graduation gift.
70.They have always “dissed” what they don’t like.
71.The U.S. has always been studying global warming to confirm its existence.
72.Richard M. Daley has always been the Mayor of Chicago.
73.They grew up with virtual pets to feed, water, and play games with, lest they die.
74.Ringo Starr has always been clean and sober.
75.Professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics.

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I have decided to add a few of my own.

1.There has never been Coke Classic and New Coke; it’s always been just Coke.
2.They (thankfully) have no idea what Zima is.
3.Star Trek The Next Generation is that old show Dad likes.
4.Cable TV has never had a separate receiver in their house or needed a corded channel changing box.
5.The fact that a personal computer can be on their lap at all times is nothing new or exiting.
6.They have never had to use microfiche as a current research tool.
7.Bosnia has always been a republic.
8.John Gotti has always been a convicted felon.
9.They were born when Microsoft released 3.1.
10.Depo-Provera has always been legal.
11.The Church of England has always had female priests.
12.The breakup of Prince Charles and Princess Diana has always been history.
13.Sam Kinison,Sam Walton,Isaac Asimov,Dick York,Benny Hill,Lawrence Welk,and Anthony Perkins have always been dead.
14.They have no idea where the beef is or why one would want to know.
15.Columbine happened when they were seven.
16.September 11th happened when they were nine.
17.Jim Carrey has always been a movie star.