Grassroots in Nebraska

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You are here: Home / Archives for founding fathers

America’s Distrust: The Only Darkness is (Constitutional) Ignorance

Originally published September 18, 2014, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated July 21, 2015. 3 Comments

America’s Distrust: The Only Darkness is (Constitutional) Ignorance

The sun has set again on another September 17th. Seemingly just another day in September gone by, one would think. Two hundred twenty-seven years ago on that date, thirty-eight men1The Constitution bears thirty-nine signatures; George Read signed the name of fellow Delaware delegate, John Dickinson, at Dickinson’s request. , representing twelve of the thirteen states, […]

Filed Under: Constitution, Featured, Founding Fathers, History Tagged With: alexis de tocqueville, american history, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, constitutional convention, econtalk, founding fathers, independence hall, jonathan turley, public opinion polling, state sovereignty

NE Ballots: Deciding How to Vote on Those Four Proposed Amendments

Originally published October 24, 2012, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated July 21, 2015. 1 Comment

NE Ballots: Deciding How to Vote on Those Four Proposed Amendments

If YOU landed here for the first time, looking for a sample ballot or additional information and opinions regarding items that will appear on your ballot, know that you are decidedly not alone. Traffic statistics for our site are proving, once again, voters want to see sample ballots as early as possible, and they want […]

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Budget, Constitution, Elections, Featured, Founding Principles, Nebraska, Senators, State Legislation, Unicameral Tagged With: 2012 election, amending a constitution, basis for voting on ballot questions, constitution according to its original meaning, constitutional amendments, constitutional originalism, criteria for accepting or rejecting question on a ballot, first principles, founding fathers, fundamental principles, general election, grassroots in michigan, Grassroots in Nebraska, how to get more information before voting, inalienable rights, independnet decision making about votes, informed voters, james madison quotes, joan fabiano, legislative language, life liberty and property, limited government, natural rights, ne 2012, ne voters, ne voting, nebraska, nebraska 2012, nebraska ballot measures, nebraska ballots, nebraska voters, november 6, number of items on ballots, political principles, proposed amendments, proposed ballot measures, rational criteria, restraining government power, sample ballots, special interests, state constitutional amendments, state constitutions, tea party voter guide, teaparty voter guide, thirteen colonies, unintended consequences of laws, united states constitution, voter guide, voters, voters guides, voters who inform themselves, voting, voting philosophy, voting principles

George Washington: First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of His Countrymen

Originally published February 20, 2012, By Shellinda. Updated July 21, 2015. Leave a Comment

George Washington: First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of His Countrymen

Editor’s Note: Americans have only relatively recently begun to refer to the third Monday in February as “Presidents’ Day”, including us. It turns out that the holiday has always been and is still officially designated Washington’s Birthday. Click HERE to read more on the subject. George Washington was actually born on February 22, 1732. While […]

Filed Under: Founding Fathers, History Tagged With: america's national anthems, american history, civilization iv music, commander in chief of the continental army, commander-in-chief, confederate congress, continental army, early american history, founding fathers, george washington, george washington biography, george washington birthday, george washington music, hail columbia, henry cabot lodge, history of presidents day, history of the united states, Presidents' Day, Revolutionary War, thomas mifflin, u.s. history, washington, washington resigns his commission, washington's birthday, washington's farewell address

Don’t Know Much About History — The Forgotten Presidents

Originally published February 19, 2012, By Linda. Updated May 1, 2018. 2 Comments

Don’t Know Much About History — The Forgotten Presidents

In celebration of Presidents’ Day, here’s a quiz of sorts: If the colonies declared their independence from Britain in 1776, but George Washington did not become President until 1789, who governed the colonies in the interim? Many readers may know that the Articles of Confederation preceded our American Constitution, but the Articles weren’t even ratified […]

Filed Under: Education, Founding Fathers, History Tagged With: 14th state, american history, american revolution, Articles of Confederation, Confederation Congress, Constitution, continental army, Continental Congress, Don't know much about history, Dumb and Dumber: The Desperate Need for Covenantal and Christian Education, Father of his Country, federal government, first president of the united states, forgotten Presidents, founding fathers, george grant, George Washington's Birthday, government, henry laurens, history facts, history of presidents day, history of the united states, history quiz, ignorance of history, Lincoln's Birthday, little known history, peyton randolph, president, President George Washington, president in the tower of london, President of Congress, Presidents, Presidents' Day, presidents' day quiz, republic of vermont, revolution, Revolutionary War, Sam Cooke, thomas mifflin, u.s. history, Wonderful World

What It’s All About: The Constitution – Celebrate & Reflect Today & Always

Originally published September 17, 2011, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated September 20, 2011. Leave a Comment

What It’s All About: The Constitution – Celebrate & Reflect Today & Always

For the past couple of weeks here at GiN,

Filed Under: Constitution, Featured, Founding Fathers, Founding Principles, History, It's On The House Tagged With: american history, antonin scalia, classical education, constitution day, constitution of the united states of america, constitutional convention, federal convention on the constitution, founding, founding fathers, founding of america, george washington, government reflection of the people, Grassroots in Nebraska, hail columbia, hillsdale college, hillsdale constitution series, independence hall, james madison, nebraska constitution, original national anthem america, originalism, originalism and the constitution, philadelphia constitutional convention, primary source documents, progressives, progressivism, signing of the constitution, study of constitution, study of history, truth painting, u.s. history, we the people

GiN Response to Presidential Popular Vote Advocate

Originally published January 23, 2011, By Shellinda. Updated September 20, 2014. 6 Comments

GiN Response to Presidential Popular Vote Advocate

Update on October 19, 2012: This article has been generating a lot of interest in the past few weeks, obviously due to Election 2012. Interest in the Electoral College and the concept of the National Popular Vote are particularly understandable this year, considering that many of the most credible polling experts, including Scott Rasmussen of […]

Filed Under: Constitution, Founding Principles, Republic vs Democracy Tagged With: amending the constitution, article ii us constitution, bush v gore, close electoral college votes, Constitution, constitutional amendments, democracy vs republic, direct elections, Elections, electoral college, federal elections, founders and presidential elections, founding fathers, history of elections us, james taranto, ken haar, manner of choosing electors, national popular vote, nebraska ken haar, partisan politics, party politics, presidential elections, presidential electors, republic, senator ken haar, state governments, state legislatures, state sovereignty, supreme court rulings, tyranny of majority, us constitution, us supreme court, voting for president, wall street journal articles

Charity…Entitlements…Do Names Matter?

Originally published August 12, 2010, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated May 2, 2012. Leave a Comment

Charity…Entitlements…Do Names Matter?

This is a sequel to early article “Charity By Any Other Name Does Not Smell As Sweet” What’s in a name? As famously dramatized by Shakespeare… JULIET: ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor […]

Filed Under: Charity vs Welfare, Civil Society, Featured Tagged With: benjamin franklin on charity, benjamin franklin on poverty, benjamin franklin quotes about charity, best ways to help the poor, changing political terms, changing the language, charity welfare relief public assistance entitlements, entitlement programs, entitlements, Facts are Stubborn Things, Featured, founding fathers, free enterprise, gin, government handouts, Grassroots in Nebraska, Issues & Policies, limited government, nebraska, overcoming objections to public policies, Principles & Philosophy, public assistance, relief programs, removing stigmas, shelli dawdy, stubborn facts, welfare, welfare state, words matter

Majorities Don’t Always Know Best

Originally published July 24, 2010, By Linda. Updated October 13, 2012. 4 Comments

Majorities Don’t Always Know Best

Did you ever seek to persuade your mother to let you do something by telling her that “everyone else is doing it”? Mothers all over the world are prepared for that one! “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would that make it all right for you to leap off it as well?” Clearly, an […]

Filed Under: Featured, Republic vs Democracy Tagged With: 1906, a republic if you can keep it, american history, ben franklin, benjamin franklin, Constitution, democracy, diary, electoral college, federalist papers, federalists, founders, founding fathers, History, james, james mchenry, madison, mchenry diary, noah webster, political philosophy, primary source, republic, republic vs democracy, tyranny of the majority, us history, walter williams

A Republic If You Can Keep It

Originally published July 15, 2010, By Linda. Updated September 21, 2014. 2 Comments

A Republic If You Can Keep It

The story goes that Benjamin Franklin was approached by a woman as he left the Constitutional Convention 1 Recorded by Constitution signer James McHenry in his diary which was reprinted in 1906. Reference.. She asked: “What have you given us?” Franklin is said to have replied: “A republic, if you can keep it.” This exchange […]

Filed Under: Constitution, Education, History, Quotes Tagged With: a republic if you can keep it, alexander hamilton, american democracy, american history, benjamin franklin, Constitution, constitutional convention, constitutional government, constitutional republic, democracy vs republic, did benjamin franklin say a republic if you can keep it?, direct democracy, edmund randolph, failing schools, federalism, federalist papers, fisher ames, founding fathers, founding of america, george washington, government education, government run schools, historical quotes, historical revisionism, history revisionism, i cannot tell a lie, ignorance of history, james madison, james mchenry, john adams, justice marshall, lincoln journal star, ljs, myths about american history, notes on the convention, original sources, primary sources, public schools, Quotes, quotes of the founders, republic, republican form of government, rewriting history, studying history, the federalists, thomas jefferson, tyranny of the majority, united states history, us history

GiN Series Refuting the Flawed July 4th Article on the Founders

Originally published July 13, 2010, By Shelli Dawdy. Updated July 13, 2010. Leave a Comment

GiN Series Refuting the Flawed July 4th Article on the Founders

We’ve recently posted a series inspired by a Lincoln Journal Star on July 4 entitled “Whose side are the Founding Fathers on?” Part One: “The Founding? Move Along Folks, Nothing to See There. Onward Progress!” Part one points out that the author of the LJS article attempts to appear unbiased, yet he adopts a very […]

Filed Under: Constitution, Education, History Tagged With: american education, american history, benjamin franklin, Constitution, constitution is antislavery document, elitism, elitists, facts about american history, founding, founding brothers, founding fathers, george washington, gin, government run schools, Grassroots in Nebraska, ignorance is bliss, james madison, john adams, Joseph Ellis, lincoln journal star, mainstream media bias, media bias, onward progress, progressives, progressivism, revisionist history, rewriting history, slavery and the constitution, tearing down the founders, thomas jefferson, trashing the founders, university professors

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Nebraska 2018 Primary Election Sample Ballots

Nebraska 2018 Primary Election Sample Ballots

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