Angus MacDonald

The Republican National Convention will be held in St. Paul, September 2008, and the police are making plans to control tens of thousands of protesters who will be present, protesters mind you, not delegates. About 45,000 delegates and media members are expected, in addition to protesters.

The St. Paul Police Federation hopes to have an additional 3,500 officers to assist them. Minneapolis Police Federation President wrote:

We are very concerned that many of these people (protesters) will be hostile toward the police and be prepared to initiate a confrontation with the officers assigned to keep the peace.

The police will not rely on mace or tasers to control protesters and will resort to blunt force if necessary.

The Department of Homeland Security hopes to send to St. Paul $50 million dollars to help cover expenses. The Mall of America, an enormous complex of commerce and entertainment close to the airport, is a potential terrorist target.

What shall we conclude when we can't have a political convention without violence? If the protesters disrupt meetings so that force must be used, protesters are subject to fine and imprisonment. The number of protesters is so large, however, fines and imprisonment are impossible; society must operate in a context of violence.

Individuals are of two kinds: pushy bombers on the one hand, and ladies and gentlemen on the other. Pushy bombers are know-it-alls and nominate themselves for anything and everything. Not all pushy bombers are evil and some of them do great things, but they are generally impatient and possess self-esteem in abundance. Ladies and gentlemen, on the other hand are quiet and never nominate themselves for anything. If they climb the ladder of what is called success it is because they were invited into office. They listen quietly and come to a conclusion after proving evidence. They are reluctant warriors.

In British history there are two houses of parliament: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The upper house, it was assumed, was more intelligent and would not get lost in the coarseness of the common people. The senates and the legislatures of the United States, state and national, had a similar purpose. Senates are supposed to counter intemperance in the lower house. The goal has not been achieved in either country, but action is debated twice, and that restrains intemperance.

The progress of humankind is measured by the degree of individual responsibility possessed by citizens, and we have made progress. After the fall of the Roman Empire the Christian Church saved society when it was challenged by barbarians and brought us through the dark ages, but progress to simplicity is never complete, always hampered by the lust for power.

Candidates for office lack modesty. "I am qualified to be President of the United States," said Hillary, and she expects us to take her seriously. Hillary on one of her jaunts said:

I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the building.

She invented the story. A newspaper recently reported that a young girl told Hillary about a need in their community. "I'll take care of that when I am President of the United States," said our candidate.

We ask politicians to solve our problems, which is a confession of irresponsibility. We have to take care of ourselves. At the moment we have a financial problem because people have bought houses they could not afford and banks offered loans to such people. Politicians plan to help people keep the homes they cannot afford, help the investors who built homes that are not needed, and ensure banks do not go under. This is nonsense.

Why should we put money in banks that offer loans to those who do not have adequate assets? Why do banks pay next to nothing on savings accounts? Banks were sound investments when they made sensible loans.

We need capital for investment but where shall we invest our savings? Save, we are told. Where? How? Are we reduced to gambling, living in a world of euphoria, thinking dreams are facts? Current advertising of gold reflects the general distrust of our money.

Financial responsibility demands we live within our income and save. This must be our habit no matter how poor we are and can only be achieved when we live modestly, within our income, rather than within our dreams. This is how our parents lived, and we have to follow their example. If we do, we shall achieve our goals -- in time; not this year.

I am confident of our future if we hold simple, basic principles, but I worry about our native terrorists, protesters who scream and yell and try to force themselves on others. We shall prevail, but we shall have to live with a lack of good manners in the public domain. *

"Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength. Industry and determination can do anything that genius and advantage can do and many things that they cannot." --Theodore Roosevelt

Some of the quotes following each article have been gathered by The Federalist Patriot at: http://FederalistPatriot.US/services.asp.