#bertie

Liberal Democrats in government will not follow the last Labour government by sounding the retreat on the protection of civil liberties in the United Kingdom. It continues to be essential that our civil liberties are safeguarded, and that the state is not given the powers to snoop on its citizens at will. ↗

— Nick Clegg

#civil #civil liberties #continues #democrats #essential

What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins. ↗

— Elbridge Gerry

#army #attempt #bane #destroy #establishment

The Roman Catholics must know as well as we do that "Popery" when encouraged by government has always been dangerous to the liberties of the people. ↗

— Lord George Gordon

#been #catholics #dangerous #encouraged #government

One of the functions of government is to act as a safeguard not just of property but of our liberties. ↗

— William Weld

#functions #government #just #liberties #our

Perhaps they'd been conditioned by all the quarantines and blackouts, all the invisible boundaries CSIRA erected on a moment's notice. The rules changed from one second to the next, the rug could get pulled out just because the wind blew some exotic weed outside its acceptable home range. You couldn't fight something like that, you couldn't fight the wind. All you could do was adapt. People were evolving into herd animals. Or maybe just accepting that that's what they'd always been. ↗

— Peter Watts

#humans #seligman #the-state #change

I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage. But when you start playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that's not what America's about. Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don't contract them. ↗

— Barack Obama

#am #america #another #around #believe

I chose America as my home because I value freedom and democracy, civil liberties and an open society. ↗

— George Soros

#america #because #chose #civil #civil liberties

As for the Pope, I am too old to be frightened by his shadow, and am quite sure his shadow or Substance will do less harm to the liberties of my country than will a party, who seek to acquire political power by exciting religious bigotry in the minds of their duped followers. ↗

— Ezra Cornell

#am #country #duped #exciting #followers

When we fled from the oppressions of kings and parliaments in Europe, to found this great Republic in America, we brought with us the laws and the liberties, which formed a part of our heritage as Britons. ↗

— Caleb Cushing

#britons #brought #europe #fled #formed

When the public's right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press are at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered. ↗

— Christopher Dodd

#endangered #free #free press #free speech #hold