"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." -- Tacitus (55-117 A.D.)
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any
government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well,
when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One
declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes
impossible for men to live without breaking laws."
-- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Ch. III, "White Blackmail"
The legitimate powers of government extend
to such acts only as are injurious to others. But
it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there
are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my
pocket nor breaks my leg. -- Thomas Jefferson
Download Adobe Acrobat Readerto view files from this site
Click Here
"There is no position which depends on clearer
principles than that every act of a delegated authority,
contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it
is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore,
contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this
would be to affirm that the deputy is greater than his
principal; that the servant is above his master; that the
representatives of the people are superior to the people
themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers may do
not only what their powers do not authorize, but what
they forbid."
Federalist Papers No. 78,
Alexander Hamilton