Here is the underside of the VW Transporter that I am selling:
March 8, 2010
February 14, 2010
Buy our 1977 Volkswagen Transporter / Bus **FOR SALE**
Front view 1977 Volkswagen Transporter Type 2
We live in the East Texas / Tyler area and we are selling our 1977 Volkswagen Transporter / Bus.
It has 130,000 miles.
It starts and runs but once it has warmed up and has been running for a while it ‘misses’ or ‘hesitates’ when accelerating. I am not a mechanic so don’t know what it will take to fix this.
It has rust running all along the bottom of the exterior panels. This rust is probably from snow/salt from driving it in the north during the winter.
The interior looks real clean. It is missing two interior panels.
The following are known issues that need some work:
Horn either blows a fuse when used or doesn’t work at all.
Parking brake doesn’t engage.
Seals around windows need replacing.
Shifting into third gear is rough. We have been told it is a ‘pressure plate problem’.
Needs new paint job.
Front Passenger Side View '77 Volkswagen Transporter / Hippie Van
Rear Driver Side view of 1977 Volkswagen Tranporter with camper
Serious Inquiries Only
Contact me at web-forward@rickandandrea.com or call us 903-316-3452
Comments (1)February 2, 2010
STRANGE CHARACTER ?ӱ WHEN YOU TRY TO PING SOME IP ADDRESS
When you open a command prompt and try pinging a IP address or a name like www.google.com you get a strange character on the screen. The strange characters resemble the letter o and the letter y with two dots above it.
To fix this problem you need to run the following command at the command prompt.
c:\NETSH WINSOCK RESET
Then reboot your computer and you should be good to go.
I offer free advice and fixes via my blog usually for my personal reference. By using any of the advise in this blog you understand that you are using it at your own risk.
Comments (1)January 19, 2010
For My Wife!!!
Comments (0)__, / | _| ,_ _ _, | | /|/| / | / | |/ / | \_/\_/ | |_/ \/|_/ |/ |_/ \/|_/ o /|\ \_|) _ _ (| | _ | | |/ | / \_ | |_ |/ | | / \_ | | | | \_/\/ (\__/ \_/ \/ |_/ \/|/ \_/ \/|_/ o o (|
January 15, 2010
How to set a password on a wireless router.
Every day someone will ask “how do i set a password on my wireless router”.
I will give you detailed instructions on how to do just that.
I will be using the Linksys wrt54g for my example. If you have a different model wireless router you can still follow the instructions.
There are a couple of steps involved.
First we will find the IP address of the router. Which will be the “default gateway” of your computer.
Then we will connect to the configuration screens in your router.
Then change the password.
1. Click on Start->Run(if using vista/seven type the command from step 2 in the “search” field and press enter)
2. Type “cmd” w/o the quotes.
3. At the MS-DOS prompt type ‘ipconfig’
4. Make note of the “Gateway Address” IP address.
5. Open a web browser(IE or Firefox) remove the address that is in the address bar and type in the numbers that you made note of in step 4. Press enter
6. You should be prompted for a username and password. The default for most linksys devices. Is admin/admin. If that doesn’t work lookup the model number and cross reference it with this list: http://www.phenoelit-us.org/dpl/dpl.html
Now there are a couple of ‘passwords’ that you can set. When people ask to set a password for a wireless access point they are usually referring to the ‘network key’. This ‘network key’ will secure your wireless network so unauthorized people cannot connect to your Internet. There is also a ‘administration password’ which is the password you typed in step 6 to access the configuration screens. I advise changing both. Be sure you write these downs and don’t lose them. I usually write them down and tape them to the wireless router (make sure you don’t cover up ventilation slots).
Note: The below direction are for a wrt54g. Your screens may differ but the idea/concept will be the same.
7. To set the network key: Click “Wireless” -> “Wireless Security”
8. Choose WPA/Personal then enter your desired wireless key. I do not advise using WEP it is easily hacked in about 2 minutes.
9. To change the administration password: Click “Administration” and change the password.
If you ever forget these password there is a small “reset” button which you can press with a ball point pen. Press and hold that down for about a minute and you will back at the factory default settings. Therefore all password will be cleared/reset.
Good luck,
–SpaCeTraNce
December 30, 2009
How to manually restore the Windows XP registry. File c:\windows\system32\config\system missing or corrupt
The Scenario: Due to various reasons you may want to manually restore the registry from one of the restore points. I have used this because of viruses or because I just couldn’t get a computer to boot and suspect that the problem is in the registry. Sometimes this will fix the “File c:\windows\system32\config\system missing or corrupt” error but not always. IF the problem is related to a virus then you can almost guarantee that the virus has also infected the restore points. So this fix will NOT get rid of any viruses but it will sometimes bring the computer back to a usable state so that you can manually remove the virus.
The Warning: This is a very advanced fix. I am not responsible if you break your computer. This is for MY reference therefore if you use it you are on your own.
The Fix: Boot your computer into either the recovery console OR another boot disk. I use ActiveBoot, it is an excellent utility disk. It has saved my butt many of times. Once you are at a command prompt you need to do a couple of things.
First you need to backup the current registry files by renaming them. I like to rename them to filename.bak. Then you need to copy the files from a restore point to the location where the registry lies.
Technical information:
Files are located in C:\windows\system32\config
The Files are(they have no extension): system , security , sam , software and default.
The Fix(continued):
1. Naviagate to a Restore point.
a. C:
b. cd “system volume information”
c. dir /a:hs
Make note of the listed directory that begins with “_restore{”
d. cd _restore{number found from step c}
e. dir
Make note of a resore point that you want to recover from. I like to choose one from about a week ago.
f. cd RP
g. cd snapshot
At this point you are in a the directory for which you will copy the registry files from.
2. Backup old registry:
a. ren c:\windows\system32\config\system system.bak
b. ren c:\windows\system32\config\software software.bak
c. ren c:\windows\system32\config\security security.bak
d. ren c:\windows\system32\config\sam sam.bak
e. ren c:\windows\system32\config\default default.bak
All old registry files have been backed up to to files with the .bak extension.
3. Copy restore point registry files to correct place.
a. copy _registry_machine_sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
b. copy _registry_machine_security c:\windows\system32\config\security
c. copy _registry_machine_software c:\windows\system32\config\software
d. copy _registry_machine_system c:\windows\system32\config\system
e. copy _registry_user_.default c:\windows\system32\config\default
Now reboot the computer and it will start using the old registry. You may see a brief screen that says something like, “Performing recovery”. Then the computer will be back up.
Obviously any programs that you have installed after the date of the backup that we used will no longer be installed. The files will be there but the program will not be installed.
Comments (0)Can’t activate windows after repair install, no activation window, no login.
The Scenario: You do a ‘repair install’ for whatever reason. After the repair install you login to your account and before your desktop comes up you are greeted with a screen that says, “This copy of Windows must be activated with Microsoft before you can log on. Do you want to activate Windows now?” Fair enough, untill you click the “Yes” button…. then all that comes up is your desktop background from before. No activation screen… no icons.. you can’t even open task manager using the ctrl+alt+del keystroke.
I have encontered this many of times in my career. I have done some digging through the popular forums and untill today I haven’t found a fix. Today I came across a fix on MajorGeeks.com and it worked. This fix resets the 30 day grace period. This in turns allows windows to come up and allows you to activate the computer using the normal method.
The Fix:
1. Turn On your PC
2. Press F8 repeatedly and go to Safe Mode
3. Logon as per normal
(note: Administrator password is usually blank, but hopefully you know your password)
4. Allow the Desktop to fully load (answering “Yes” to continue into Safe Mode)
(note: This is just a long way of saying go to Safe Mode)
5. Click on Start – Run
6. Type in exactly: rundll32.exe syssetup,SetupOobeBnk (and click OK)
(note: one space, after “rundll32.exe ” also the Oo are two letter o’s in “oobe”; capitals and comma are important)
7. Wait a couple of seconds (although you will Not see any change)
8. Restart your PC normally (Start – Shutdown – Restart – Ok)
9. You are now able to go to Normal Mode again (For another 30 days !!!)
10. Install IE8, do not pass go do not install ie7, install ie8. that should solve not being able to run windows update and not being able to activate somehow it’s tied to the broken ie. Let me know if this works. Now do whatever you like, you’re back to Normal.
Source: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=190979
Comments (1)December 11, 2009
Add/Remove Programs has Huge Empty Space
Occasionally a user will open Add/Remove programs on Windows XP and in the list will be a HUGE empty space that is pages and pages long. This happens when a entry in the list is corrupt. To Fix it download and install CCleaner. Open CCleaner and click on the “Tools” button on the left side.
You will then be brought to a screen with the Add/Remove Programs list. Go back to the Add/Remove Programs applet in your control panel and make note of the last item before the blank space.
Now switch back to CCleaner and highlight the item that is after the entry you just made note of. Click the “Delete Entry” button.
Now when you go back to your Add/Remove Programs applet in your Control Panel all should be well.
Comments (0)December 10, 2009
How to test your own fax machine.
If you are living in the United States of America you can test your fax machine using the National Fire Protection Association’s Fax on Demand service.
Go to: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=487&itemID=17976&URL=About%20NFPA/Contact%20Us/Fax%20on%20demand&cookie_test=1 and follow the directions.
I found this to be a very handy feature. Plus you will receive some valuable information regarding fire protection. 
November 12, 2009
Scheduled Tasks – Applying/Running tasks without a password
For Pro: Go to Start/Administrative Tools/’Local Security Policy/Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options
Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only. This is enabled by default, disable it.
For Home: (Keith Miller) Go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa
Value name: limitblankpassworduse, Type: REG_DWORD, Data: 0 (disabled) 1 (enabled)
For Home: Run Scheduled Task without a Password (Line 67)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
How to Enable Automatic Logon in Windows
HOW TO: Modify Scheduled Tasks in Windows XP
Task Scheduler Does Not Run Tasks When “Run As” User Account Has No Password
October 30, 2009
Using robocopy to copy all files and folders.
Once again this is just for my reference so I don’t have to dig through the /? help file each time I want to copy all files due to windows not reloading.
robocopy
Explaination:
/e copies all folders and their files.
/r:1 retries one time if a copy failed
/w:1 waits one second to perform retry
Note:
You will need to use quotations if there are spaces in the directory names. You do NOT need to add a trailing backslash if you do the command will fail.
EG:
robocopy “c:\documents and settings\your name” f:\backup\yourname /e /r:1 /w:1
October 20, 2009
Does China Own America??
I’m not the one to be paranoid or of the conspiracy theorist type. So lets look at the facts:
According the the latest number I could find from July 2009 China Own 800.5 billion dollars of national debt. More then any other foreign investor. Surprisingly the top investor was Japan until September 2008.
The Empire State Building was lit up the colors of the Chinese flag on the 60th anniversary of communism in China!
The White House allegedly agreed to allow the Chinese to raise their flag on the grounds(Ellipse) near the White House.
What is your opinion?
Comments (0)October 14, 2009
How to Recover XP’s Administrator Account.
The Scenario:
You are setting up a XP Home Edition computer. After you import/recover your precious documents, you create a second account for you wife or kids. Suddenly when you restart the computer you lose the original “Administrator” account along with all of you files?!
The Cause:
XP has a built in account named “Administrator” but once you create another account of the “Admin” type Windows will hide the original “Administrator” account.
The Solution:
You can always import/recover your data into the new account but this is hardly a fix.
Below is a solution that will enable the account named “Adminstrator” to show up on the login screen.
WARNING: Whenever you are making changes to your registry you should backup the registry first. In the event that you harm your computer I am not responsible. You have been warned!!!
1. Click Start -> Run
2. Type: Regedit
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCALMACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
On the right side of your screen you will see a list of about seven entries.
If you do see one named “Administrator” then continue to step 7.
If you do not see one named “Administrator” then:
4. Right click on an empty space on the right side of the sceen.
5. Choose: New -> DWORD Value
6. Type: Administrator
7. Double-Click on the new Administrator key that you just created.
8. Change the Value Data from 0 to 1.
9. Reboot your computer and you should be good to go.
If you have a computer question that you would like me to answer email me.
October 1, 2009
Website F.A.Q.
How do i get a website?
There are three steps you have to accomplish to “get a website”. These days these three steps have very blurred lines of distinction. The first thing you will need to do is to decide on a domain name (www.YourNameHere.com) and register that name. Registering your domain name usually cost on average $6.00 USD per year for a .com address. With the completion of this step you now own your own domain name!
Now that you have a domain name you need to purchase some “hosting”. Because you most likely do not have the type of dedicated connection nor do you have the technical expertise to run your own server you will need to buy some space on a server. This server will host your site so that everyone will be able to access it. Hosting comes in many different platforms and packages. Many companies will sell you a hosting package when you register your domain name with them. (Like I said the lines that divide these steps are getting harder to define) If this is your first experience with websites and hosting we STRONGLY recommend that you purchase your hosting with the same company that you purchase your domain name from. This way you do not have to deal with setting up your DNS servers as it will be done automatically for you. The price you will pay for your hosting will vary by how “large” of a space you need and how much traffic you expect to have. The price will range from $3.00 USD to $30.00+ USD per month.
The final step is the creation and uploading of your website. The creation of your site is where most of your budget for your project will be spent. Traditionally you would hire a graphics firm to come up with a look, logo and other images and a programmer would create a site using the images. The range of cost in this area can range dramatically depending on what you need. Dynamic sites are websites in which the owner can log into and administer. These type of sites cost much more than what most small business, churches and individuals need. The reason they cost more is because a developer that programs a site with dynamic functions will charge a firm much more than a programmer who is programming a static site (a static site is the “opposite” of a dynamic site) and rightfully so. A programmer who developing a dynamic site will most likely be using ASP.NET, PHP, ColdFusion or something similar. These types of programming languages take years of study and experience to become efficient at, which is why they will get paid more.
How much does a website cost?
The cost of a website can vary greatly depending you your needs. We cater our services to the small business, churches and individules and can usually design and implement a site for under 1,000 USD. When other design firms will charger thousands of dollars we are able to keep costs down using a number of different strategies.
How can you provide web design solutions as a fraction of the costs of the other guys?
Certain sectors of the I.T. industry is beginning to be viewed the same way that mechanics or used car dealers are viewed by consumers. Simply put: “You better trust them before you use them”. This mindset is unfortunate but sometimes grounded in some truth. We can provide design services at a fraction of the cost because of three reasons.
1. We do not generally ‘outsource’ our work to other firms.
2. We allow users to pick templates which keeps the hours you are billed down to a minimum.
3. We do not overcharge you like many design firms do. I’m not saying all firms do this, but many do.
What is search engine optimization?
According to wikipedia: “Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (”organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine.”
In other words SEO is the process of manipulating the content of a website so that it is easily read by search engines and so that search engines will “know” what type of content your site contains. The purpose of SEO is to get your site the highest possible ranking when relevant keywords are searched.
How do i get traffic to my website?
While most people will focus their marketing campaign on SEO there are many more ways to promote your site and get traffic to your site. A successful marketing campaign will cover multiple areas; hard copy advertising (newspaper, magazines and phone books), “paid advertising on search engines and other pages, building high quality web pages to engage and persuade, addressing technical issues that may keep search engines from crawling and indexing those sites, setting up analytics programs to enable site owners to measure their successes, and improving a site’s conversion rate.”
How do I make my own site Website?
If you want to do it yourself there are many options. The first is to learn HTML, CSS and do it yourself. This is the most time consuming but often most rewarding way to go. You are looking at about a 3-6 month period of time where you need to spend time studing the technical aspect of programming a webpage, learning the basics about graphic design and finally desiging and implemintiing your own site. Learning basic HTML and CSS isn’t very hard but ending up with a professional product at the end can be difficult. There are also many sites and programs out there that will enable you to create a website without touching any of the code. I have seen some sites built with these applications that are decent but in the end you will not be able to do everything that you can do if you were manipulating the code yourself. The last option is to hire someone to develop and implement a site for your.
Source: http://www.yourtypeofsite.com/
Comments (0)September 29, 2009
Who was Madeline Murray O’Hair??
The things you get in e-mails never cease to amaze me.
I checked my e-mail today, as usual, and received one that was titled, “DR. DOBSON’S PLEA FOR ACTION.” Upon reading it I was moved by the information which was presented. In short, Madalyn Murray O’Hair was petitioning the FCC to remove all content that has the word “God” in it. This would include church services and a show entitled, “Touched by an Angel”. The e-mail asked the reader to sign the petition and forward it to others.
Being in the I.T. industry for ten years, I am skeptical of all e-mails, especially ones that ask to be forwarded. So what am I to do? ‘Snope‘ it of course!
While doing my research I was shocked that I didn’t know who Madeline Murray O’Hair was. She was the forerunner in the anti-god movement that started in the sixties. in 1963, through her efforts the Supreme Court banned all organized prayer in schools. As a Christian I knew this happened but was not aware of who Madalyn Murray O’Hair whas or her participation in the ruling.
Was Madalyn Murray O’Hair still at work with anti-god actions? Not at all, matter of fact, in 1995, Madalyn Murray O’Hair went to be with her maker, whom she didn’t believe existed.
The FCC petition that was referred to in the e-mail was defeated in August of 1975! So the e-mail was a complete hoax that was preying(no pun intended) on peoples good intentions. It just goes to show that we should never believe an e-mail that has a petition on it (what makes a signature on a petition valid is the signature and a valid postal address therefore e-mail petitions are really of little value to the powers that be) or asks to be forwarded.
Madalyn Murray O’Hair was the focus of a mystery for over five years. In 1995, she along with her son and granddaughter came up missing from her home one morning. They were taken in a conspiracy that involved the extortion of money from her fortune made from her anti-god efforts (go figure!). There is even talks that she had stashed millions of dollars in foreign accounts.
Nearly three decades — and more than 10 million letters, e-mails and phone calls later — the agency that deregulated the telecommunications industry and helped usher in the communications revolution seems to have met defeat in its fight against this one rumor. Since 1974 — when the rumor first surfaced — the commission has spent untold dollars and employee time responding to citizens worried that the late Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the leader of a well-known atheist movement, is trying to halt all religious references on the radio and TV.
Just to be clear: There is no O’Hair broadcast petition. In fact, O’Hair — the founder of American Atheists Inc., best known for championing a ban on prayer in schools — has been dead since 1995.
Nothing else at the FCC rivals this rumor, in both its longevity and its bizarre ability to withstand the commission’s repeated attempts to convey the truth. Every year, around Christmas and Easter, something breathes new life into it. Last month, the FCC received 108 O’Hair-related correspondences. In October, it received 249, in September, 124, and in August, 91.
It’s nothing short of exasperating for K. Dane Snowden, who heads the FCC’s consumer bureau and wishes he could finally dispel the rumor.
“It is one of the most fascinating urban myths that continues to grow. The FCC has no authority to ban religious programming. It literally is a myth,” he said.
Source: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/enf/forms/rm-2493.html, http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/fcc.asp, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O%27Hair
Comments (1)XP vs. 7 – Comparing the Commercials
With the release of the new Windows 7 commercial I took a trip down memory lane. Most Windows users love XP and have kicked and screamed at trying to switch over to Microsoft’s XP predecessor, Vista. On September 11th, on T.V. screens across the nation and possibly the world, Microsoft started it’s newest advertising campaign by reintroducing Kylie. Microsoft displayed, for the whole world to see, her newest slide show and her take on Windows 7.
Quite honestly the commercial is cute but probably didn’t do much attention grabbing for most users. It seems to play more on fixing Vista apparent release issues then giving us any serious things to chew on. I’m amazed that they let Kylie’s slide that says, “With Windows 7 the OS is great again.” It seems like they are admitting to the past operating systems(OS) were not so great?!?!
Now compared to the first commercial that was broadcast for Microsoft’s XP operating system, the Windows 7 commercial has a completly different marketing target. The Windows XP commercial seems to target both the business users and the home users. Most of the characters are dressed in their nine-to-five suits but there is also the element of Windows Movie Maker and Windows Media Player functionality to appeal to the recreational computer user.
My conclusion: The Windows 7 commercial is cute but seems to admit to past failures and doesn’t seem to target any serious users or showcase any real function. The Windows XP commercial gives the impression of speed and functionality. Microsoft is going to really have to give Windows users something new that they will want. People don’t like change. People love XP even though it is really old it is still loved. It is still loved because of its small footprint, ease of use and stability. Windows 7 is the next step after Vista… people don’t like change but it is comming and resistance will be futile at some point.
Comments (1)September 26, 2009
What is deficit spending economics? Will the stimilus plans work?
“After years of historic deficits, this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: pay-as-you-go, no new deficit spending. Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt.” -Nancy Pelosi, 2007
Wow what a contrast in ideology from 2007 to today!!!
What is the deficit?
That’s the amount that the government spends each year in excess of what its tax, tariff, and fee revenues bring in. The government then must borrow to make up the difference. It’s the accumulation of deficits year after year that makes up the total national debt. Source: http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/ve/library/debt.pdf
What is deficit spending economics?
When a business borrows money to expand we call it deficit spending. When a developer borrows money to build we call it deficit spending. When a person, a business or a government agency borrows money to invest in what it is doing we call that deficit spending. Just as the developer and the business has a plan to invest make profit and pay back the money plus interest therefore the government has to have a plan to prosper and repay the money (in theory).
From what I understand deficit spending economics has its roots in what is called Keynesian economics and Roosavelt’s New Deal. The hope is that with every dollar that the government spends it will produce two, three or four dollars in the private sector.
Harvard economist Robert Barro did a study where he looked at federal spending and the gross domestic product during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. What he found, was surprising, the multiplier effect was 0.8% which meant that for every dollar the government spent 80 cents were added to the GDP. Which means the multipler effect is in the negative, the government was losing money on it’s ‘investment’. Mr. Barro also states, “There are reasons to believe that the war-based multiplier of 0.8 substantially overstates the multiplier that applies to peacetime government purchases.” meaning the multiplier would be even less during peacetimes. So we could being seeing a 50 cent return on every dollar that is spent to ’stimulate’ the economy. Take into account the fact that the government also has to pay interest on all the money that is being borrowed and you end up with a scary scenario. Source: Rober J. Barro, “Government Spending Is No Free Lunch: Now the Democrats Are Peddling Voodoo Economics,” Wall Street Journal January 22, 2009, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258618204604599.html
In conclusion:
The feds are taking a huge gamble with all this spending. I hope for the sake of our children that they are right (no pun intended). I hope my gut instinct and the views of most of the working, tax paying Americans is wrong.
Comments (2)September 25, 2009
Converting a FAT32 drive to a NTFS drive.
There are many reasons to convert a drive to the NTFS files system. I will spare you the reasons and just give you the steps.
NOTE: Once you convert to NTFS you cannot convert back to FAT32/16 without reformatting the drive. Windows 95, 98 and ME cannot read a NTFS drive.
1. Click Start -> Run -> Type “cmd” -> Press Enter
2. At the command prompt type: convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs
In the example above make sure you replace “drive_letter” with the letter of the drive that you will be converting. Example: if you are converting an external hard drive that you need to backup to you may type convert f /fs:ntfs. If you were converting your system drive you would type(in most cases) convert c /fs:ntfs.
A more detailed explanation of the convert command can be found here.
Comments (0)Have you hugged James Madison lately?
Source: http://www.ktbb.com/youtellme/2009/09/24/have-you-hugged-james-madison-lately/
Exactly 220 years ago today, the first Congress of the United States approved twelve articles of amendment to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of those proposed articles were eventually ratified by the states and became a part of the Constitution.
Today, we know those ten articles as the Bill of Rights.
Prior to the birth of the United States, nearly every citizen on earth was to one degree or another under the rule of a czar or a king or a potentate of some sort. The monarch limited the citizens to a much greater degree than the citizens limited the monarch.
To over simplify it worked like this. Live on land that I own, grow what I tell you to grow, give to me what I tell you to give and in return I, the king, will do my best to keep the emperor from the other side of the mountain from coming in and burning your village.
Whether they wanted to or not, the citizens of the kingdom had traded liberty for security.
The founders wished to stand that ages-old model on its head. In the American colonies, the people were willing to largely take their chances with respect to security if the government would just leave them alone.
And the colonies thus became states and the states convened to write a constitution that created a federal government with specific – and very limited powers.
And yet, almost immediately, those limits seemed to many, insufficient. Many of the citizens of the new country were concerned that the federal government could and would overstep.
And thus James Madison proposed in the very first meeting of the Congress of the United States twelve articles of amendment. Madison’s proposed amendments were nothing more than a continuation of the heated battle during the Constitutional Convention concerning the appropriate level of power held by the federal government.
If the government under the Articles of Confederation that preceded the Constitution was too weak, the fight was on during the Constitutional Convention to make sure that the resulting government under the Constitution was not too strong.
Distrust of government ran high in 1789 and the Bill of Rights reflects that discomfort.
Thus the Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from establishing a national religion. The Bill of Rights prohibits denial of the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The Bill of Rights prohibits the denial of life, liberty or property without a due process of law, prohibits the federal government from forcing citizens to provide quarters to troops, prohibits the federal government from assuming powers not specifically granted by the Constitution.
What the people of the new American republic understood that we are gradually forgetting is that the king was very good at denying liberty but only marginally capable of providing security. Despite the king’s implicit promise, security for the peasants was a very tenuous proposition.
It is no different today. We don’t have a king but we have a burgeoning federal government with an increasingly imperial attitude and a very spotty record of making good on its promises. Those that believe that the government can provide security in an uncertain world do so in the face of a mountain of evidence to the contrary.
Despite having confiscated trillions in taxes over the past seven decades, Social Security is bankrupt. The same goes for Medicare. If you’re younger than about 59 years old, you have every reason to worry about collecting from these two programs.
Despite knowledge that it was coming days in advance, government proved ineffective at protecting the citizens of New Orleans from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.
A mountain of regulation and an army of bureaucrats did not protect the economy from the mortgage meltdown.
Bernie Madoff stole billions of dollars from innocent men and women right under the noses of federal employees who were supposed to be watching him.
Beyond a certain rather minimal level, the government cannot provide you with security. To the extent that you desire security and can obtain it, you must do so for yourself.
Which is why the founders argued so vehemently over our Constitution. Our liberty is our security.
Today, as politicians seek to secure our favor and their continued employment by offering cradle to grave security, we would do well to remember the wisdom of our founders and vigorously embrace their circumspect view of government.
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