James Madison Quote

"The internal effects of a mutable policy are [...] calamitous.
It poisons the blessings of liberty itself. It will be of little avail
to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice,
if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read,
or so incoherent that they cannot be understood;
if they be repealed before they are promulgated,
or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows
what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow."

by:	James Madison (1751-1836), Father of the Constitution for the USA, 4th US President
Source:	"Federalist" # 62, in The Federalist (Indianapolis: Modern Library and National Foundation for Education in American Citizenship, n.d.), p. 406
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Categories:	Constitution, Deception, Justice, Law, Oppression, Usurpation
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200+ years and still a bullseye. Voluminous says it all, especially for the tax code. Talk about incoherent!  -- Joe, Rochester, MI
Supreme Court members should be required to read, and swear to understand, this before every court session. Perhaps they would be less tempted to constantly fantasize about the meaning of the clear English language in which the Constitution is written.  -- S. Engel, Fredericksburg
Only men of great understanding and vision could be responsible for drafting the governing Constitution of a Nation of, by and for the people. We would do well with such men/women in government today.  -- KS. , Queensbury,NY.
Such voluminous rule making is the cause of chaos and rule of man (as averse to rule of law) rule breaking; which in turns inspires more voluminous rule making that causes more ... (a very vicious cycle) Returning to such an envisioned Representative Republic would help to eliminate compelled compliance, license, victimless crimes, theft of the noble laborer's fruits, forced charity - ID - insurance, etc.  -- Mike, Norwalk
We have arrived! Never to return.  -- A.Jurgensen, Stuart, FL
It is almost as if he was writing about the tax code and the IRS. No greater infringement on liberty and privacy exists in hthis country. Both must abolished if we are ever to be free again. FairTax.org  -- helorat, Milton
-- Robert, Sarasota
S. Engel suggests that "Supreme Court members should required to read...[and] understand" this quote; the legislators are the ones who should understand this, they make the laws.  -- victor, Southern Utah
Heck, Congress doesn't even read the bills they pass. NAFTA is 20,000+ pages long and is one of the most sweeping pieces of legislation ever enacted by Congress. (Check out the link on the right to visit the 'Read the Bills Act Coalition' -- good stuff and non-partisan.) There are so many rules now, everyone of us is in violation of something.  -- E Archer, NYC
-- Anonymous

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