Monday, May 30, 2011

Check Out The Winners Of Our Top Ten Summer Must-Haves

Kiehl's Skin Care:  If you have never approached the Kiehl's counter, do you yourself a favor a stop by one of their many stores or counters at your local Macy's, Norstrom, etc.  Kiehl's has been creating products since 1851 and recently celebrated its 160th anniversary.  The line is a bit pricy, but worth every dollar.  Hollywood stars from Kelly Ripa to Kim Kardashian rave about their products.  If you cannot afford anything else, treat your lips and purchase their world famous "SPF 15 Lip Balm" ($7.50); its the product that made them famous.  As most chap sticks contain products that actually dehydrate your lips, you need more and more product.  Kiehl's sets itself apart and is the most amazing lip moisturizer on the market.  The Lip Balm is also offered in a tinted version perfect for summer lips.  Not to be outdone, their "Creme de Corps" ($29.50) body lotion is fabulous.  They are currently also offering "Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey" ($35) in a body butter version that smells delicious.  In addition, their "Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15" ($24.50) is the perfect daily moisturizer.  It is light, non-oily, and contains sunscreen.  This list does not even begin to scratch the surface of the variety of products made by Keihl's.  They make amazing toners, lotions, blemish spot treatments, shampoos, scalp care, make-up removers, and they even have a line for men and babies! 
For more information visit www.kiehls.com or follow them on twitter @KiehlsNYC


Kiehl's Marvelous Mineral Mascara: Most mascaras contain preservation chemicals that are dangerous for humans.  Kiehl's, on the other hand, utilizes Jojoba Oil and Acacia Senegal in order to achieve natural length and volume.  Comes in black and brown/black.  Ophthalmologist tested, hypoallergenic, and paraben-free.




Mari Windsor Pilates:  For those of us who have been out of shape, we know how easy it can be to feel that we will never have our old body back.  But, trust us, Mari Windsor's Pilates tapes will change the way your body looks and make it work in ways it has never done before.  The best part is that the results are amazing!  Her Pilates system has been used by celebrities for years.  The best tapes are those focused on hips & thighs and the abs.  They are about 18 minutes long each and will change the way you look.  Shape your body long and lean.
For more information go to www.winsorslim.com


Nailtiques Nail Protein:  Many people feel that their nails are too weak, or constantly chip and therefore they can never grow out their real nails.  Because of this, many people turn to acrylic or artificial nails in order to maintain their hands.  No longer waste your time, money, and stop ruining your nails.  Nailtiques makes amazing nail products that not only protect and help grow your nails, but create a manicured appearance as well.  The product dries in 30 seconds, really it does.  For weak, brittle nails start with Nailtiques Number 2 or 2 plus.  They even make a ridge-filler product for those who have recently removed acrylic nails.
For more information go to: http://nailtiques.com


Skinnygirl Margaritas & Cocktails: Hallelujah for Bethenny Frankel, creator of Skinnygirl Cocktails!  The natural foods chef, Real Housewives of New York City alumni, and cocktail guru finally gives us a reason to say cheers!  Her line of Skinnygirl cocktails began with the Skinnygirl Margarita.  While most margarita mixes contain nothing but sugar and about 600 calories, Skinnygirl Margaritas only contain 100 calories per drink.  Skinnygirl Margaritas are made with agave nectar, lime juice, and un-dyed clear tequila.  All natural, and no sugar hangover the next morning! 
For more information go to: www.bethenny.com and follow them on twitter @bethenny & @skinnygirlmarg  


 

Chanel "Allure" Perfume:  If there is one item where you actually get what you pay for, it is perfume.  Don't bother with the 'eau de toilette' version of your favorite smell.  It will never measure up to the real deal that is perfume.  Chanel hit it out of the park with its fragrance "Allure."  It is a yummy, sexy scent that lasts for days.  It actually smells better as the day goes on and it interacts with your pH.  Chanel has also released "Chance" which is in the same family as "Allure" if you like to change it up.
For more information go to www.chanel.com or follow them on twitter @ChanelAuthentic


Bravo TV:  Between all of the 'Real Housewives' franchises, Andy Cohen's late night show 'Watch What Happens Live!," and a plethora of other reality based TV shows new-comer channel Bravo Television leaves nothing to be desired.  No matter what time of day you turn on Bravo there is a juicy episode of TV for you to bite into.  Whether you love watching Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan deal with Jill Zarin and the other New York bitches, love watching Tabatha Coffey whip salons into shape, or just love to sit back watch Top Chef and tables fly in New Jersey, Bravo never disappoints.  You need no other channel this summer other than Bravo.  You will be entertained.
For more information go to www.bravotv.com or follow them on twitter @bravotv

 
The Blaze Online And Michael Savage On The Radio:  In a world full of b.s. and misinformation on the web, thank God for a site like www.theblaze.com which has proven to be a media source ahead of all others.  For honest information and news this site is a great source for those who surf the web for their news.  Follow them on twitter @theblaze.  On the radio, don't miss an airing of Michael Savage's live radio show broadcast from San Francisco.  He is a voice of reason in a city of chaos.  Go to www.michaelsavage.com for information on where to find his show, his articles, and his books, or follow him on twitter @ASavageNation



Elliston Sparkling Wine:  At $14 per bottle, Elliston Vineyards California Champagne cannot be beat.  In a taste test, Elliston California Champagne beat out Dom Perignon for taste and flavor.  Made from grapes out of the mountains of Santa Cruz, California it is one of the best bottles out there.  The beautiful winery tucked in the hills of Sunol, California is a wedding venue favorite and features a 120 year-old mansion among nature and the grape vines. Elliston bottle ages its wines longer than most California wineries, which accounts for its wonderful taste and aromas.  This is truly a deal you cannot afford to pass up.  You will not be disappointed by this hidden secret of champagnes.
For more information go to www.elliston.com or follow them on twitter @ellistonvnyd

Greek Yogurt:  Sour cream cannot be replaced...until now.  Trust us sour cream lovers, plain Greek yogurt is a wonderful replacement.  Try Greek yogurt on a baked potato, in soup, on a quesadilla or wherever else you love to have your sour cream.  Greek yogurt is very low in fat, yet high in protein.  It is the most amazing substitute out there as you will not be able to tell the difference, guaranteed.  Even better, try it as a substitute for mayonnaise.  Use Greek yogurt with tuna, pickles, and celery and make a tuna salad that it to die for!  Start decreasing fat and calories without sacrificing flavor.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Federal Government Has Taken Far Too Much Power From The States


  *READER'S NOTE: The Federalist Papers were written and published in local newspapers during the same time that the debate over our federal constitution was occurring.  Three Founding Fathers, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, are the main authors behind the anonymous letters.  The Federalist Papers laid out for the people of the United States what the new Constitution of the United States stood for and why they should adopt it.

  The vision the Founding Fathers had for this country was one in which the Federal Government had limited powers and stayed out of the daily lives of free men.  Hence, our Constitution is one of limited powers.  It lays out the few powers reserved for the federal government and per the 10th Amendment the rest of the power is for the States and the People.  "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (U.S. Constitution, 10th Amendment).  Nothing could be more clear than the fact that the federal government has no power beyond what the Constitution gives it.

  In fact, the power of the federal government was exactly what was fought over between the federalists and the anti-federalists during the debate over the Constitution of the United States.  The anti-federalists were concerned that a federal government with too much power was a danger to freedom and liberty.  The federalists, on the other hand, agreed but also knew that in order for the country to be successful the federal government had to have some power.  The agreements to the limits on federal government are what got the anti-federalists on board, and lead to the adoption of the Constitution.

  The Founders thought it incomprehensible that the federal government would ever feel it had the right to step into the local arena.  Regarding the federal government and the laws it might make, Hamilton stated "It may be said that it would tend to render the government of the Union too powerful, and to enable it to absorb those residuary authorities, which it might be judged proper to leave with the States for local purposes...I confess I am at a loss to discover what temptation the persons intrusted with the administration of the general government (the federal government) could ever feel to divest the States of the authorities of that description...The administration of private justice between the citizens of the same State, the supervision of agriculture and of other concerns of a similar nature, all those things, in short, which are proper to be provided for by local legislation, can never be desirable cares of a general jurisdiction (federal government).  It is therefore improbable that there should exist a disposition in the federal councils to usurp the powers with which they are connected; because the attempt to exercise those powers would be as troublesome as it would be nugatory; and the possession of them, for that reason, would contribute nothing to the dignity, to the importance, or to the splendor of the national government." (The Federalist Papers #17).

 The Founders felt that the federal government could never overstep its bounds because it was well known that doing so would destroy liberty, and also due to the fact that the People would stand up and stop it.  The Founders believed in the power of the American spirit.  "But let it be admitted, for argument's sake, that mere wantonness and lust of domination would be sufficient to beget that disposition (the desire for power would cause federal government to overstep its bounds); still it may be safely affirmed, that the sense of the constituent body of national representatives, or in other words, the people of the several States, would control the indulgence of so extravagant an appetite." (The Federalist Papers #17).  Wake up America, it's up to us!


 "It will always be far more easy for the State governments to encroach on upon the national authorities, than for the national government to encroach upon the State authorities.  The proof of this proposition turns upon the greater degree of influence which the State governments, if they administer their affairs with uprightness and prudence, will generally possess over the people."  (The Federalist Papers #17). Does this sound like the America of today?  Of course not.  We must rediscover our founding principles and put our country back together.  "There is one transcendent advantage belonging to the province of the State governments - the ordinary administration of criminal and civil justice...regulating all those personal interests and familiar concerns to which the sensibility of individuals is more immediately awake (the issues that touch and concern the people's daily lives)...The operations of the national government, on the other hand, falling less immediately under the observation of the mass of the citizens...Relating to more general interests, they will be less apt to come home to the feelings of the people."  (The Federalist Papers #17).  Again, does this sound like what America has become?


  Each State was meant to be unique, experimenting with laws, and the People would decide what was best.  Therefore, local issues were off the table for the federal government.  "Was, then, the American Revolution effected, was the American Confederacy formed, was the precious blood of thousands spilt, and the hard-earned substance of millions lavished, not that the people of America should enjoy peace, liberty, and safety, but that the government of the individual States, that particular municipal establishments, might enjoy a certain extent of power, and be arrayed with certain dignities and attributes of sovereignty?"  (The Federalist Papers #45).  The federal government has usurped many of the powers that are meant to be in the hands of the States.  "The States will retain, under the proposed Constitution, a very extensive portion of active sovereignty, the inference ought not to be wholly disregarded...The State governments may be regarded as constituent and essential parts of the federal government: whilst the latter is nowise essential to the operation or organization of the former...The number of individuals employed under the Constitution of the United States will be much smaller than the number employed under the particular States...The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined.  Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.  The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce...The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people; and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.  The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments in times of peace and security."  (The Federalist Papers #45).  Could it be more clear?

   What is most alarming is that the American people have slowly been stripped of their local powers without much notice.  So much so that it took something as outrageous as Obamacare, which forces every American to purchase healthcare, to open our eyes.  The federal government has no constitutional authority to force Americans to buy anything, let alone a government controlled healthcare policy.  In actuality, the federal government has no constitutional authority to do most of what it does modernly.  That is the scary part.  Only the major oversteps seem to be noticed, what about the rest of it?  We quickly need to get legislators into Congress who understand America's founding principles and mean business when it comes to scaling back the size and reach of the federal government.  Known your history!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Birdie In My Ear: How The Left Is Attempting To Use The Law To Creat...

Birdie In My Ear: How The Left Is Attempting To Use The Law To Creat...: "A handful of law schools are implementing a new course entitled 'Law and Behavioralism.' This class focuses on anti-American beliefs, most ..."

Want To Know What's Great About America? Let's Start With George Washington.




No other man was seriously considered when talk about this nation's first president came to the forefront.  Washington took office in 1789, by which time his phenomenal reputation had spread through the entire country.  It is amazing to think that in times before computers, phones, television, even radio one man could make such an impact with his bravery, humility, and faith in all parts of the young United States.

  Washington's bravery was also well known throughout the U.S. military to which he dedicated so much of his life.  Even as a young soldier fighting in 1755 he was a leader.  He and Daniel Boone rallied survivors after a battle despite having two horses shot out from underneath him.  In 1781 at Yorktown, he showed his bravery and dedication when he refused to call out commands from the sidelines. During an artillery attack, to the dismay of his aides, he stood atop a parapet for a full fifteen minutes in order to properly survey the battlefield for his men.  In 1783, while with many unpaid disgruntled troops of the victorious Continental Army, Commander Washington once again lived up to the republican spirit. He came upon a meeting of officers who were plotting to march on Congress and seize a tract of land for themselves.  They were hoping for Washington to be their leader.  He rejected the offer reminding them that they were about to destroy everything they had just fought for.  Washington never forgot what responsibilities came with freedom.

  Washington, though thoughtful, tactful, loyal, and wise, was not soft when it came to defending the citizens of the United States.  When John Andre' was found to be a British spy whose mission, if successful, would have turned the tides of the Revolutionary War, Washington was strong as steel.  Some men, such as Hamilton, pleaded for Andre's life due to his good character and Andre' himself asked to be shot like an officer and not hung like a spy.  Washington dismissed both requests, reminded the men that Andre' was a spy who if successful would have turned the tides of the War, and as a spy was hung the next day.  Washington also knew that national interests create diplomatic alliances, not loyalty.  "Men are very apt to run into extremes...hatred to England may carry some into an excess of confidence in France. It is a maxim founded on the universal experience of mankind, that no nation is to be trusted farther than it is bound by its interests; and no prudent statesman or politician will venture to depart from it." 

  The greatness of the United States was something that Washington was well aware of.  "The Citizens of America," he wrote in his Circular Letter of 1783, "are acknowledged to be possessed of absolute freedom and Independency; They are, from this period, to be considered as Actors on a most conspicuous Theatre, which seems to be peculiarly designated by Providence for the display of human greatness and felicity...The foundation of our Empire was not laid in the gloomy age of Ignorance and Suspicion, but at an Epoch when the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined, than at any former period...At this auspicious period, the United States came into existence as a Nation, and if their Citizens should not be completely free and happy, the fault will be entirely their own." Notice that the importance is on being a citizen of a state, not the country.  State's rights my friends!

 If left to grow as originally created, Washington knew that this new found freedom is what would create true happiness.  "If we are permitted to improve without interruption," [mainly not getting involved in Europe's wars] "the great advantages which nature and circumstances have placed within our reach, many years will not revolve before we may be ranked not only among the most respectable, but among the happiest people on earth."  He backed this up as Commander in Chief with the Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) which asserted America's neutrality in the ongoing conflicts in Europe.  Washington knew that the fledgling United States needed some time to grow, without the perils that involvement in foreign battles brings. "Twenty years peace with such an increase in population and resources as we have a right to expect, added to our remote situation from the jarring powers [Europe], will in all probability enable us in a just cause to bid defiance to any power on earth."  Shortly before Benjamin Franklin's death, he bequeathed to Washington his crab-tree walking stick stating that "if it were a sceptre, he has merited it and would become it.' But a king Washington would never become, not if he had anything to say about it.  He found for freedom, not for control.

 Washington's Farewell Address resonates today more than ever.  In his address, Washington made sure to note the importance of national unity.  He denounced extreme partisanship, especially when lead by political parties and sectional interest groups.  He had learned from history and seems to know what was to come.  He also warned against involvement in the tangled affairs of other countries and stressed the importance of diplomatic independence.  If we do not learn from history, we are bound to repeat it.

  There is no greater representative of the American Spirit than George Washington.  He was a dedicated heroic soldier of the Continental Army through eight long years of fighting from  1775-1783, the presiding officer at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and the first President of this great country.  As he voluntarily resigned in 1796, even as the country begged him to stay, after serving two terms as president he set a tone for what a true democratic republic would look like; it would not include a monarch.  What he did for this country, the precedent that he created, set the tone for creating America the great country that we know today.  He showed the world that the leaders of the United States would step down from power willfully and peacefully.  He showed the world that freedom creates something greater than anything given by a monarch or dictator.



GEORGE WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS 
Published in The Independent Chronicle September 26, 1796

To the People of the United States.

FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS:
1 The period for a new election of a citizen, to administer the executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be employed designating the person, who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprize you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.
2 I beg you at the same time to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness, but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both.
3 The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suffrages have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped, that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives, which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement, from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence impelled me to abandon the idea.
4 I rejoice, that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty, or propriety; and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that, in the present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove my determination to retire.
5 The impressions, with which I first undertook the arduous trust, were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the outset, of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied, that, if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.
6 In looking forward to the moment, which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude, which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; than, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation, which is yet a stranger to it.
7 Here, perhaps I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.
8 Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.
9 The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.
10 For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of american, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.
11 But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those, which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the Union of the whole.
12 The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds, in the productions of the latter, great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated; and, while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications by land and water, will more and more find, a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort, and, what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connexion with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious.
13 While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in Union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from Union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighbouring countries not tied together by the same governments, which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty. In this sense it is, that your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other.
14 These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the union as a primary object of Patriotic desire. Is there a doubt, whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope, that a proper organization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to Union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who in any quarter may endeavour to weaken its bands.
15 In contemplating the causes, which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by Geographical discriminations, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavour to excite a belief, that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart-burnings, which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those, who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head; they have seen, in the negotiation by the Executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event, throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the General Government and in the Atlantic States unfriendly to their interests in regard to the mississippi; they have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing they could desire, in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the union by which they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren, and connect them with aliens?
16 To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a Government for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions, which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a Constitution of Government better calculated than your former for an intimate Union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This Government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true Liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish Government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established Government.
17 All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests.
18 However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion.
19 Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the constitution, alterations, which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments, as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard, by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that, for the efficient management of our common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.
20 I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.
21 This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
22 The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.
23 Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.
24 It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.
25 There is an opinion, that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the Government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of Liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in Governments of a Monarchical cast, Patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in Governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And, there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.
26 It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution, in those intrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each the Guardian of the Public Weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way, which the constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for, though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield.
27 Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
28 It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who, that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric ?
29 Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.
30 As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is, to use it as sparingly as possible; avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts, which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen, which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should cooperate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there must be Revenue; that to have Revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties), ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time dictate.
31 Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and Morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt, that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages, which might be lost by a steady adherence to it ? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its Virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices ?
32 In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential, than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The Nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the Government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The Government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times, it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of Nations has been the victim.
33 So likewise, a passionate attachment of one Nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite Nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite Nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.
34 As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent Patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practise the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the Public Councils! Such an attachment of a small or weak, towards a great and powerful nation, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.
35 Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove, that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.
36 The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connexion as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.
37 Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.
38 Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period is not far off, when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality, we may at any time resolve upon, to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel.
39 Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?
40 It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.
41 Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.
42 Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing, with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them, conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view, that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that, by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.
43 In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.
44 How far in the discharge of my official duties, I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them.
45 In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my Proclamation of the 22d of April 1793, is the index to my Plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your Representatives in both Houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.
46 After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance, and firmness.
47 The considerations, which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that, according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the Belligerent Powers, has been virtually admitted by all.
48 The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations.
49 The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me, a predominant motive has been to endeavour to gain time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress without interruption to that degree of strength and consistency, which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.
50 Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope, that my Country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.
51 Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man, who views it in the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations; I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government, the ever favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.
George Washington 
United States- September 17, 1796

To see a copy of George Washington's original letter check out http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/farewell/transcript.html
 Information gathered from Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, 2000