In his reply to my article, Dr. Miguel Faria, a very fine neurosurgeon and writer, states that it is unethical for physicians “to intrusively ask patients about the presence of guns in the home” and that by so doing, physicians become “snitches” against their own patients.
I agree that if the purpose of asking about guns is solely to report the possession of guns, and that if the physician asks “intrusively” and reports without the patient’s permission and in the absence of an...
David Oedel is incorrect in his assertion (“A right to armed revolt?”, 1/27) that Justice Scalia’s opinion in D.C. vs. Heller limits the right to keep and bear arms to weapons “in common use at the time” the Second Amendment was ratified. In fact, in his decision Justice Scalia characterizes such arguments as “bordering on the frivolous.”
In recognizing the power of government to limit the right to keep and bear arms, Justice Scalia cites the historical tradition of prohibiting...
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then.
— Thomas Jefferson
Depending on the level of culture and social progress, violence can take different forms in different societies.(1) For example, in the mid-twentieth century...
Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.
— Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles
of the Federal Constitution, 1787
In the wake of President Barack Obama's re-election on November 6, 2012, and the virtual demoralization of Republicans, it is important to recognize that the political mastery of the left does not last forever. Moreover, three new conservative, pro-Second Amendment senators and several freshmen representatives were elected. A solid Republican majority was preserved in the House of Representatives. So, the election did not mean complete defeat for the GOP.
The political battle...
The upholding of Obamacare by the Supreme Court in an unexpected 5-4 political decision is a travesty of American constitutionality. It is a sad day in the country when a knowledgeable chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court betrays the country and places himself and his legacy -- not to mention the chants for “change” and “progress,” and his obvious desire for a favorable, epochal association with the first African-American president -- ahead of the...
Recent Macon Telegraph articles and Letters to the Editor continue to discuss "separation of church and state," but frankly, many of them miss the mark. Our Founding Fathers, even Thomas Jefferson, meant something completely different in the "establishment of religion" clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution than what liberal pundits are leading us to believe.
First, the phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear in the U.S. Constitution or any...
Charles Richardson's informative column on Macon and Bibb County crime statistics points out that while aggravated assaults have declined in the city and county, residential burglaries are up 6% over last year. These burglaries are associated with drugs and violence. The reality is that police cannot be everywhere all the time to protect our homes. Roadblocks and visible police presence may deter crime briefly, but unless we turn society into a police state even those measures will not...
It is estimated that between 20 million to 40 million Russians were killed during Josef Stalin’s dictatorship (1924-1953). Stalin not only exterminated purported “enemies of the peoples,” but also liquidated almost the entire slate of communist Bolshevik leaders, who had been his and Vladimir Lenin’s friends.
The “Great Leader,” Stalin, 1879-1953, killed more communists of all nationalities, than all his fascist, Nazi, and Western democratic enemies combined. But for Stalin, “One...
It has come to my attention some letter writers in The Telegraph and posters at Macon.com, have taken umbrage with the use of the word “socialism” in describing the worsening state of affairs in our nation today — from exorbitant, crippling regulations and taxation to abuse of the “general welfare” clause of the Constitution.
In the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, our Founders cited the transcendental functions of government in...
