"Government" is a dirty word

[Warph]

Well, here we are.... same ol' crap.  The stock market fell 419 points today.  Unemployment is up... again.  No jobs to be found.  Housing market gets worse each month.  Food prices going through the roof and the big boys are talking about another recession on the horizon... and worse of all, it is too damn hot to play golf!   So where are the powers-that-be in all of this: Obuma and Congress are on VACATION!  How convenient.  Well... I hope they read this post before they limp back to work, they may want to consider some interesting quotations on government.  Here's a few of my favorites that reveal a general wariness of government... a key principle upon which our republic was founded:

"A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take everything you have."
-- Barry Goldwater

"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country -- against his government."
- Edward Abbey

"The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse."
-- Edmund Burke

Well Eddie my boy, you got that right.  Remember when we handed our government a blank check worth billions to bail out our financial institutions?  How did that work out?  Before we let Barack Hussein Obuma "make government cool again," we may want to consider this:

"The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it's so rare."
-- Daniel Patrick Moynihan

"Government is inherently incompetent, and no matter what task it is assigned, it will do it in the most expensive and inefficient way possible."
-- Charley Reese

"Government is an association of men who do violence to the rest of us."
-- Leo Tolstoy

Sorry, Leo, but folks often forget how nasty government can be.  Right now, people are clamoring for our government to do something, anything, to fix our economic woes... forgetting, of course, that our government is a key contributor to those woes.  Here is where government is really effective:

"The government is good at one thing: It knows how to break your legs, then hand you a crutch and say, 'See, if it weren't for the government you wouldn't be able to walk.'"
-- Harry Browne

"Government's view of the economy can be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."
-- Ronald Reagan

"Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer."
-- Ludwig von Mises

We citizens must be more skeptical about well-meaning clowns we call politicians.  We must look past their flowery words to understand what they really may be up to:

"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule."
-- H.L. Mencken

"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation."
-- Thomas Reed

"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."
-- George Bernard Shaw

Excellent quote, George.  You described the 2008 elections more accurately than 99 percent of America's journalists and you've been dead since 1950.  Look, it's long been time that America gets back to the basics.  American citizens must stand up and demand a return to the principles of SMALL government:

"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."
-- Patrick Henry

"Our best protection against bigger government in Washington is better government in the states."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Unfortunately, Dwight, we abandoned that concept some time ago.  Unless Americans wake up and remember the origin of our greatness.... it's the people, not the government... we are poised for the government to expand more, and take more and control us more.

Humorists understand the ramifications better than anyone:

"The primary function of the government is -- and here I am quoting directly from the U.S. Constitution -- 'to spew out paper.'"
-- Dave Barry

"The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets."
-- Will Rogers

"Did you ever notice that when you put the words 'the' and 'IRS' together, it spells 'THEIRS?'"
-- Unknown

[Diane Amberg]

Without getting into comparative vacations and which President took how much and where, when should any President take a vacation if there really is such a thing?
In modern times the presidency follows the person where ever they go. They don't have to be in DC to be the President.  If it didn't matter for either Jimmy Carter, the Bush presidents or Ronald Reagan, why now?  Camp David is an escape from the city, but not from the responsibilities.  Every recent President has had vacation critics from the other party. To me it's trivial in comparison to the huge issues facing this country. If congress and our leaders can't and won't accomplish anything while they are in Washington, what does it matter if and when they take a break? We might be better off with them out of town.

[W. Gray]

I can recall when President Eisenhower changed the name of Shangri la to Camp David, after his grandson. I thought it was a stupid choice at the time but it seems to have worked well.

[Diane Amberg]

Yes, 1953 or so I think.I remember it too.I remember my parents wondering at first if the name change was for his father or his grandson.