"Not Yours To Give"

In comments at the Rott in a post about the generosity of FedEx, commenter AyUaxe linked a little gem from The Life of Colonel David Crockett (yes, that Davy Crockett), US Representative from the state of Tennessee.

A small excerpt:

"The people have delegated to Congress, by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and a violation of the Constitution."

This quotation is credited to one Horatio Bunce, a resident of Col. Crockett's district, as an explanation of why he, an influential member of that district, could not support Col. Crockett's re-election.

Col. Crockett took these words to heart, and was a valued member of the House of Representatives. We would be a very fortunate people indeed if our current crop of Congressmonkeys could understand the sentiment expressed in Mr. Bunce's words.

Go ye now to juntosociety.com and read these words in their fullest. You will not be disappointed in them, although you may be a bit discomfited with our current representation.

And in that vein, I add fellow North Carolinian The Knight Shift to the old blogroll for his entry here, in which he demonstrates that 1) he gets it, and 2) you don't have to be a lefty to miss the mark.