A Major Benefit of This Grassroots Effort

A Major Benefit of This Grassroots Effort

Almost two years ago I met a family at the 2009 AFP Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington, DC.  They were newly engaged conservatives in the battle to defeat Obamacare.  I made a point to introduce myself to the woman after her speech because she mentioned they resided in the hometown both my parents grew up in, in SC, a place I still visit 2 – 4 times a year.  She spoke eloquently, but said that type of situation was foreign to her.  She said she was a brand new “activist.”  Because of similar interests, and the hometown connection – we have remained in contact via Facebook these past two years.

This week their entire family (of 7) was in Washington DC protesting FDA regulations.  On their way home, they stopped to have dinner with Suzy, David and I in Fredericksburg tonight.  We are planning to get together again in the future when we will be in South Carolina.

Three Saturday’s ago I had the privilege of sharing a meal at Stone Mountain outside of Atlanta with individuals from at least 10 States, who were in Atlanta for the weekend to strategize ways to reclaim our republic for the conservative principles we hold so dear.

In February, at another strategy session in Phoenix I shared several meals with some of those same folks and many others.  One of the couples in Phoenix (their families) had fled Eastern Europe in the 1940’s and then lived through the riots and revolutionary times in France in the 1960’s.  Those folks cautioned about the mentality that was so pervasive in France at that time and shared why they fled Europe to come to America.  They continued to share how, based on their experience they now see how that mentality has infected American Culture and are engaged in the conservative grassroots movement in the US because there is nowhere else to escape to.

While ABSOTULETLY NONE OF US wants to be in this battle to save our republic - we would rather be building our businesses, raising families and pursuing our own happiness; one of the greatest benefits of being a part of this huge grassroots effort is to be building relationships that cross state lines – and literally span our great nation from sea to shining sea.  It truly is an honor and privilege to get to know so many folks from across our republic that possesses a commitment and passion to do good for our country. 

I could write more about this passionate volunteer army of patriots that are sacrificing time, money, and other resources, but I don’t want to write a book. I simply want to reflect on the relationships that are being built.  Many of us, when we sit alone at our desks or computers studying the issues, we become overwhelmed and discouraged – but it is the relationships that are being formed that should help inspire us to press on.  Alone, the task may seem impossible – but as someone said – we outnumber them.  “We surround them.” 

We have some tough roads ahead, but these relationships give me encouragement, and I hope and pray they give you encouragement too.  We will prevail.  And when all is said and done, we will have gotten through the hard times together, and will have built some amazing relationships and friendships along the way – friendships that will last a life time.

Having been on numerous conference calls and in strategy sessions at the local, state and national level clearly we will have disagreements and struggles in coming to consensus on certain items – but in the end after we have prevailed.  We will look back on these trials and be grateful for the skills, talents, leaders and relationships that Providence established through these trials.

I close reflecting on the relationship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.  Both were on the committee of five to author the Declaration of Independence.  They worked very closely together on that project – then spent time together in Europe representing our new experiment, then both served in The Executive Branch during Adam’s presidency (Jefferson as Vice-President), then, as the political party process started they became bitter rivals for a very long time.  Before their death, 50 years to the day after the signing of The Declaration of Independence, they had reconciled and were Facebook Friends – well, they wrote hand written letters to each other on a pretty regular basis about everything under the sun.  

It is my prayer, that 50 years from now, we will look back on this turbulent time: we will have restored the concept of Federalism, Limited Representative Government, personal responsibility, ended the welfare state, promoted individual charity, individual rights, property rights, the rule of law, restored a strong American work ethic, and most important the importance of virtue and all that entails.  We will also being corresponding with large number of friends, in whatever mode of communication exists at that time, from all across the republic, who never would have even known each other had we not lived in such a time as this.

We The People Are To Blame

There is a huge uproar these days about the direction our republic is headed.  There is a lot of discussion about spending, debt and entitlements.  There are a lot of suggestions out there about what could and should be done.  During these discussions, many display anger and frustration toward our elected officials, but ultimately, all the problems we currently face can be placed right back in our laps.  What is happening today is a direct result of our lack of engagement – or perhaps our engagement, exacerbating the problem.

We have been electing leaders to go to Washington for decades to “bring home the bacon,” when that was never the intent of our founders.  When I think of our founders risking their lives and pledging their sacred honor for our freedom, when I think of the bloody feet of the soldiers in the snow at The Battle of Trenton, to enable our elected leaders today to “go get bacon,” I know they would be disgusted with us. 

Our good intentions are killing us.

In the last century, we allowed our Government to begin a “war on poverty,” (an unwinnable war) which is not defined anywhere in our constitution.  This war has failed miserably and has become rampant with fraud.  I saw first-hand some of those who are defrauding our government while I was in the banking field.  Quite honestly, this war has permitted extended families and churches to shirk their God given responsibilities in this area, “because the government takes care of that.”  It is time the Federal Government had an exit strategy from this war, and placed the responsibility for this where it should really be.

We allowed our government to begin insuring seniors in the last years of their lives, a plan that was never part of the vision for America, and is not defined anywhere in our constitution.  This one area now controls the largest portion of the liabilities that are bankrupting our nation.  In the last few decades our Federal Government has led millions of people to not plan for themselves, but to be dependent on the Federal Government for their existence.  Sadly, I met a lot of these elderly people while I was in the banking field.  In addition, this system has quite honestly permitted extended families and churches to shirk their God given responsibilities in these areas, “because the government takes care of that.”  Our founders did not risk their lives to create a dependency – they wanted to provide freedom for their posterity. 

We allowed our government to take over providing medical care for seniors, another colossal failure. 

This take-over has stifled the free market and created huge opportunities for fraud.  Furthermore, (you probably are catching a theme), this system has permitted extended families and churches to shirk their God given responsibilities in these areas.

We have allowed The Federal Government to federalize education.  Every year we add new federal regulations and increase federal expenditures in this area and we see overall performance continue to decline.  Fortunately we have seen homeschooling and private and charter school’s explode, not only in numbers but also in performance.  Certainly there are some good public schools out there, but on the whole, our investment in Federalized education has not seen a good ROI.  Where we see the best performance taking place is at the lowest level, not the Federal Government, often that level is the homeschool.  This is despite the ever growing size of the Department of Education.

Finally, we have allowed the government to become the fastest growing segment of job growth in our republic.  Despite the lack of success in the areas listed above, as well as so many others – Federal and State Governments continue to hire at record levels.  Having spent 20 years in private industry, this is completely mind boggling to me. 

Up front, let me say, I know countless “Type A,” extremely hard working folks within the federal system, but I do want to refer back to my title, “We The People Are To Blame.”  I have met countless people pursuing jobs within the government, often not because of the great work that they plan on achieving there but simply for security.  Higher salaries, benefits and retirement plans, as well as the fact it is virtually impossible to be fired are the reasons I routinely hear for people seeking jobs at the Federal Level.  Countless people have told me, it is far too risky to go start a business or work in private industry.  During my banking career, I could not tell you the number of people that told me they would wait to purchase the home they had just been pre-qualified for “until after they began working for the government.”  Because they knew their personal risk factor was vastly reduced at that point.    

So it goes back to my second paragraph where I mentioned our routinely, for decades, electing people who could “bring home the bacon.”  Now that the bacon (or the credit line) has virtually run out, should that continue to be our priority?  I say that for our elected officials, but also individually.  We need to stop thinking about “what’s in it for me” and decide if this republic worth saving?  We are rapidly approaching the tipping point, where 51 % of our citizens depend on the government for their sustenance.  That is a huge dilemma.  If we believe the republic is worth saving the question must no longer be “what’s in it for me?”

What is needed now is the hand of God and a couple of generations of Americans who are willing to give back to their country, and perhaps risk everything like our founders.  If we place our resolve, like our founders did, as they closed the Declaration of Independence: “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,” I believe we can.

Some personal thoughts on what I feel is needed later this week, but a clue to my thoughts were included here.

Blessings to you and yours!

Thoughts on Fathers Day 2011

Thoughts about Fathers’ Day 2011

Today I spent a little time thinking about fathers, fatherhood and of course as always, I spent a little time reflecting on the direction our republic is headed in.  A couple thoughts came to my mind. 

First of all, I am extremely grateful for my father, for several reasons.

My father, through the course of my four decades of life has demonstrated many things to me.  He demonstrated a tremendous work ethic, which has helped shape my life and the way I approach what I do with my time.  Because of his example, some of the energy I spend is dedicated to earning a living for me and my family, but also because of his example I invest time in causes that are greater than our existence.  People sometimes ask me why I invest time in so many things outside of my immediate benefit.  I can honestly point back to my fathers’ example, who while he possessed a PHD and could have focused his entire career on simply earning a living – several times while I was growing up, I witnessed him take lesser paying jobs to participate in an issue that he believed in.

My father also demonstrated the importance of family, in the hard times as well as the good times.  He was blessed with my mother, who also was committed to this effort.  I am not going to list all the difficult times, but there were times, like the death of my brother, that I know applied a lot of stress on our family, and through it all – we remained intact.  This is a testimony to both of my parents.  I have also witnessed my father contribute to extended family in ways that were not required, but he did – because that is the kind of man he is.

Closing my thoughts on my father, I know that in large respect I am the way I am because of his example and the role model he has been for my life.  I also recognize that in large part, he lives his life the way he does due to the impact his father had on his life – especially the example of work-ethic and importance of family, including extended family.  During the great depression, my dad’s dad, my grandfather welcomed the entire extended family (three sisters, their husbands, etc.) return to “the home-place” to live.  They survived together during the hard times – a very large extended family – living off the land, each one contributing.

When I think about our republic today, and the many crisis’s we face, and reflect on Fathers’ Day, I am greatly saddened, because many kids today are growing up without fathers, and without the type of examples I outlined above.  I had a hard time getting current statistics, so these numbers are likely to actually be worse.  Here are a few statistics (If you get tired of the statistics, please skip to the bottom, to see my closing thoughts):

·         According to 72.2 % of the U.S. population, fatherlessness is the most significant family or social problem facing America. Source: National Center for Fathering, Fathering in America Poll, January, 1999.

·         An estimated 24.35 million children (33.5 percent) live absent their biological father.  Source: Krieder, Rose M. and Jason Fields. Living Arrangements of Children 2001. Current Population Reports, p. 70-104. Table 1. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005

·         Of students in grades 1 through 12, 39 percent (17.7 million) live in homes absent their biological fathers. Source: Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers' and Mothers' Involvement in their Children's Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. Table 1. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, DC: U.S. Dept of Education, National Center of Education Statistics, 2001.

·         Sixty-three percent of black children, 35% of Hispanic children, and 28% of white children are living in homes absent their biological father. Source: Krieder, Rose M. and Jason Fields. Living Arrangements of Children 2001. Current Population Reports, p. 70-104. Table 1. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005.

·         The 1997 Gallup Youth Survey found the following among U.S. teens:
33 % live away from their father
43% of urban teens live away from their father Source: Youthviews, Gallup Youth Survey 4 (June, 1997).

·         50% of mothers see no value in the fathers continued contact with his children.

·         63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. [U. S. D.H.H.S. Bureau of the Census]

·         90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.

• 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. [Center for Disease Control]
• 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes. [Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 14 p. 403-26]
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. [National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools]
• 70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from fatherless homes [U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept., 1988]
• 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home. [Fulton County Georgia Jail Populations and Texas Dept. of Corrections, 1992]
• Nearly 2 of every 5 children in America do not live with their fathers.  [US News and World Report, February 27, 1995, p.39]

Children from fatherless homes are:

• 4.6 times more likely to commit suicide,
• 6.6 times to become teenaged mothers (if they are girls, of course),
• 24.3 times more likely to run away,
• 15.3 times more likely to have behavioral disorders,
• 6.3 times more likely to be in a state-operated institutions,
• 10.8 times more likely to commit rape,
• 6.6 times more likely to drop out of school,
• 15.3 times more likely to end up in prison while a teenager.

As we celebrate fathers’ day, an institution that I think should be celebrated, I could not help but reflect that as a nation, we continually look to higher levels of government to fix our problems.  Government cannot fix this problem – fatherlessness.  Indeed, there are government programs in place that actually exacerbate this problem. 

In my opinion, we will not be able to turn our republic around, if we don’t reverse this terrible trend.  I know it is complicated, and the thoughts toward solutions are too lengthy to write in a simple blog.  Perhaps the most important thing we can do this fathers’ day, is to commit to praying for an end of this scourge of fatherlessness that has plagued our land.  It surely is having a deadly impact on our republic and way of life, and this subject is worthy of our prayers, and effort.

My Thoughts on new TSA Requirement

Political Correctness is going to murder this nation. 

We need to treat terrorism for what it is - we need to look for the terrorist, not the item.  Instead of looking for "junk" in peoples "junk" we need to profile – psychological profiling as well as national heritage profiling.  For the TSA to “feel up” and take pornographic photographs of every individual that gets on a plane when the vast majority of those threatening to slaughter us fit a specific profile is simply an effort to make everyone seem equal.  We are not equal – those that want to murder us fit a certain profile the vast majority of the time.

Those who want to destroy America and everything it stands for believe The United States is the Great Satan.  They have been engaged in a philosophical education that if the FBI was doing it’s job, would know about them before they even go to www.cheaptickets.com to purchase their travel itinerary.

The U.S. is running a huge deficit in our nation and we are wasting time and resources in order to make certain people feel good, and the result is EVERYONE feels like crap.  This is a diversion from what the real threat is.  My prayer is some day we will grow up and treat this issue the way our former ally, Israel does.

One final thought – I’d like to see the main stream press report on the individuals who stand the most to profit financially from the sale of these scanners.  My understanding is George Soro’s just sold 16,000 shares of the company that produces this equipment.  Perhaps he did that because people are on to him – thankfully due to Glenn Beck.  May God protect Glenn Beck! 

Seems to me psychological profiling and dogs would be a lot less expensive.

My Thoughts on Today's Tax Day - April 15, 2010

I am reflecting upon some wisdom I received from my neice Emily, who will be 19 this summer: "Be THANKFUL that you earn enough to pay taxes, for that means you made a good salary." Thank you Emily for that wisdom. I do appreciate it. I am going to add to it………..

It is a privilege to be able to support our great nation for the endeavors for which it was created. It is a privilege to be able to support the community I live in.

I especially want to help support the common defense. I want to support the endeavors which will promote commerce among our citizens and the other nations of the globe. I want to support the efforts which must be kept in place which make our nation have separation of powers, which in turn will yeild limited government. I want to support the endeavors which promote justice and the rule of law.

I even want to support the salaries of the men and women serving in our legislatures and executive branches – ESPECIALLY IN THE STATE HOUSES LIKE VIRGINIA, where they work PART-TIME for $ 19,000 a year generally while holding down significant primary jobs and/or businesses. These men and women are patriots, and honestly – I would like to see their salaries raised. I have seen my state legislator when the State House is in session, and know that he gets up at 4 AM, to do his primary work prior to session, then works until 10 PM each night. I have seen the rings of exhaustion underneath his eyes. I know he uses his personal vacation time to serve our state. I am thankful he is in The Virginia State House representing me, and sacrificing for me. And for that, I wish his compensation could be greater.

Virginia and it’s part time legislature one of the exceptions. Many in Government, not all, but many – their salaries and benefit packages are out of touch with reality, especially when compared to private industry and many small business owners. In my County, the salary of our Superintendent of Schools exceeds that of our State Governor. That is not right. I DO NOT SUPPORT THAT WITH MY TAXES. That but one example.

Another is, our County School Board awarded a carpet cleaning bid to a cleaning company FROM KENTUCKY, that was higher by over $ 1,000,000 than two bids from LOCAL companies – one from a within our county that has been in existence for over 25 years and has a stellar record. These owners have employees that live, shop and spend their money right here in our community These owners have multiple real estate properties in our County, where their real estate taxes support our county. Their bid was $ 1,000,000 less than the one from out of state, yet our School Board awarded a contract to a company that comes from Kentucky. I DO NOT SUPPORT THAT WITH MY TAXES. That is but one example.

Folks – we must dig down to this level in each of our communities. I can not elaborate more in this short space, but as citizens WE MUST. We must question every expenditure, just like we do when we decide to purchase high speed internet at home or get leather seats vs. cloth seats in a new car. This is our money – it is our kids future, and our grand-kids.

I have some friends who I know are afraid to get engaged. You may be afraid of being called a “tea-bagger.”

That is such a disguisting term, I can’t believe our media even allows it to be said over and over and over and over and over. Well, I think of Margaret Thatcher. “If all they can do is throw insults, then I can feel pretty good about the quality of my argument.” (paraphrased).

Another thought on the privilege of paying taxes.

I want my leaders to inspire individuals to reach for the point where they pay taxes. Rather than talking about all the things government can do for you and all the goodies it can give you, I wish they would inspire us to do for ourselves. Improve ourselves, to the point where we can reach the higher tax brackets – OR EVEN the bracket where we START paying taxes and contributing financially to this great society we have. We have a great society. It was not made great by class warefare and division.

There is something to be said about the pride that comes from contributing toward a common goal. Our founding, and the principles upon which we were founded are worthy of our contribution.

Why are our leaders constantly promoting class warefare, which divides and tears down instead of promoting individual greatness which builds up? This does not create an environment of participation. It in fact does the opposite.

These are my thoughts as I prepare to go protest WASTEFUL government spending today. I am proud to be a tax payer. I will continue to strive for those higher income levels, where the amount I contribute also increases.

I am a firm believer in the cause of our great experiment in individual liberty. However, our focus must return to individual liberty and individual responsibility. This is what I want my tax dollars to support.

The Mount Vernon Statement - Conservative Beliefs, Values and Principles

Originally Written Saturday April 24, 2010:

THE STATEMENT / DOCUMENT ITSELF COMES AFTER THE LINE. PRIOR TO THAT ARE MY COMMENTS!

Clearly we are at a pivitol moment in history, as can be demonstrated by the 100’s of thousands if not over a million people who turned out for “Tea Party” events last Thursday on Tax Day 2010 in towns and cities all across this great nation. In addition, approximately 1.5 Million marched on Washington on September 12, 2009 and grass-roots organizations are growing by leaps and bounds all over the country as a direct result of the rapid expansion of government.

We all know this expansion is NOT new, only the pace of it’s expansion. We also know that we are to blame. Our appathy allowed it to happen.

The single largest concern is how do we unite so many various groups, which clearly contain individuals from both major parties, independents as well as individuals who have NEVER even participated in the political process until the last 12 – 18 months. Numerous discussions are taking place regarding platfom, vision statements, third parties, etc., etc., etc.

I want to share with you a document which was recently produced, and initially signed by 80 leaders of conservative groups on February 17, 2010. Even though it was signed in 2010, it should be noted that this document was actually drafted PRIOR to the election of Barack Obama.

Here is how the initial signers describe the document:

“In light of the challenges facing the country and the need for clarity in the age of Obama, The Mount Vernon Statement, modeled on the Sharon Statement issued on Sept. 11, 1960, is a defining statement of conservative beliefs, values and principles penned by a broad coalition of conservative leaders representing a wide spectrum of the movement including fiscal, social, cultural and national security conservatives.”

Cleary our current executive branch, many in the legislative branch and the mainstream media want nothing more than for this movement to dissipate and become meaningless. I believe The Mount Vernon Statement could be a key element in uniting the many grass root groups which currently are very cumbersome and lack defined purpose and unity.

Following the document is a list of some of the initial signers and the organizations they represent. Then following that is a link to The Mount Vernon Statement web-site where you can sign the Statement yourself. Currently there are 42,500 signers. Let’s spread the word and see it grow. Please share with your friends and any local conservative groups you are involved in.

Blessings,
Scott Cooper
Fredericksburg, VA

___________________________________________________________________

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.

February 17, 2010

Edwin Meese, former U.S. Attorney General under President Reagan
Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America
Edwin Feulner, Jr., president of the Heritage Foundation
Lee Edwards, Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought at the Heritage Foundation, was present at the Sharon Statement signing.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council
Becky Norton Dunlop, president of the Council for National Policy
Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center
Alfred Regnery, publisher of the American Spectator
David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union
David McIntosh, co-founder of the Federalist Society
T. Kenneth Cribb, former domestic policy adviser to President Reagan
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform
William Wilson, President, Americans for Limited Government
Elaine Donnelly, Center for Military Readiness
Richard Viguerie, Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com
Kenneth Blackwell, Coalition for a Conservative Majority
Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Kathryn J. Lopez, National Review

We the undersigned join in our support of the guiding principles of The Mount Vernon Statement.

http://www.themountvernonstatement.com/

Thoughts on 9/11 and a Clash of Worldviews - A Start to a discussion.

Originally Written September 11, 2010

My initial Comments:

While we spend time today remembering and praying for the families of those who lost loved ones on 9/11, I think we should also recognize that this runs deeper than one event.  It really should serve as a wake up call to the clash of worldviews that we face.  It is not a new clash – Thomas Jefferson faced it when he was forced to create the U.S. Navy to combat The Barbary Pirates (terrorists from the 16th – early 19th century) in the early 1800’s.

In response to the Barbary Pirates seizing American trading vessels of the coast of North Africa, unless the Unites States were to pay tribute or subsidies (bribes) for safe passage in trading routes:
_____________________________

From Wikipedia:

In March 1785, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman (or Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). Upon inquiring "concerning the ground of the pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury", the ambassador replied:

It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every muslim who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise. He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once. <span>[2]</span> <span>[3]</span>

Jefferson reported the conversation to Secretary of Foreign Affairs John Jay, who submitted the Ambassador's comments and offer to Congress. Jefferson argued that paying tribute would encourage more attacks. Although John Adams agreed with Jefferson, he believed that circumstances forced the U.S. to pay tribute until an adequate navy could be built. The U.S. had just fought an exhausting war, which put the nation deep in debt. Federalist and anti-federalist forces argued over the needs of the country and the burden of taxation. Jefferson's own Democratic-Republicans and anti-navalists believed that the future of the country lay in westward expansion, with Atlantic trade threatening to siphon money and energy away from the new nation on useless wars in the Old World.<span>[4]</span> The U.S. paid Algiers the ransom, and continued to pay up to $1 million per year over the next 15 years for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. Payments in ransom and tribute to the privateering states amounted to 20 percent of United States government annual revenues in 1800.[citation needed]

Jefferson continued to argue for cessation of the tribute, with rising support from George Washington and others. With the recommissioning of the American navy in 1794 and the resulting increased firepower on the seas, it became increasingly possible for America to refuse paying tribute, although by now the long-standing habit was hard to overturn.

Declaration of war and naval blockade

On Jefferson's inauguration as president in 1801, Yusuf Karamanli, the Pasha (or Bashaw) of Tripoli, demanded $225,000 from the new administration. (In 1800, Federal revenues totaled a little over $10 million.) Putting his long-held beliefs into practice, Jefferson refused the demand. Consequently, in May 1801, the Pasha declared war on the United States, not through any formal written documents but by cutting down the flagstaff in front of the U.S. Consulate. Algiers and Tunis did not follow their ally in Tripoli.

In response, Jefferson sent a group of frigates to defend American interests in the Mediterranean, and informed Congress. Although Congress never voted on a formal declaration of war, they did authorize the President to instruct the commanders of armed vessels of the United States to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli "and also to cause to be done all such other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war will justify."

The schooner USS Enterprise defeated the 14-gun Tripolitan corsair Tripoli after a fierce but one-sided battle on August 1, 1801.
In 1802, in response to Jefferson's request for authority to deal with the pirates, Congress passed "An act for the Protection of Commerce and seamen of the United States against the Tripolitan cruisers", authorizing the President to "... employ such of the armed vessels of the United States as may be judged requsite ... for protecting effectually the commerce and seamen thereof on the Atlantic ocean, the Medeterranean and adjoining seas."<span>[5]</span>


The American navy went unchallenged on the sea, but still the question remained undecided. Jefferson pressed the issue the following year, with an increase in military force and deployment of many of the navy's best ships to the region throughout 1802. USS Argus, USS Chesapeake, USS Constellation, USS Constitution, USS Enterprise, USS Intrepid, USS Philadelphia and USS Syren all saw service during the war under the overall command of Commodore Edward Preble. Throughout 1803, Preble set up and maintained a blockade of the Barbary ports and executed a campaign of raids and attacks against the cities' fleets.

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My ending Comments:


The clash of worldview is still in place today.  The only difference is our leaders today do not hold the same view that Jefferson and Adams did after they visited with Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman.  In addition, these battles are no longer being waged on Foreign soil, they are being waged on our soil, in our courts and using our freedoms and constitution to implement Sharia Law into our Justice and Financial systems.

It was more black and white when the invasion, tributes, subsidies and bribes were simply due to trading routes and merchant ships  Once it enters our courts, government institutions and utilizes our own freedoms against us, it is a much more difficult battle to fight than Jefferson had on his hands.

Remember – Washingtons administration agreed to pay the tributes to the Barbary Pirates – it was Jefferson who put an end to it.  That gives me hope.