This one's for you. steve.

I have decided to set poor dillusional steve straight. There is a lot of robotic nonsense that has been spouted all over my blog from his foaming at the mouth. And I have decided that I have had enough. The spew is starting to reek. I have decided to do a little housekeeping today.

One thing I would like to clear up is steve's attitude that no one else knows anything but him. Well, steve, my boy, you are wrong. Period. Two of them I am going to clear up right now.

You said, "well i guess alice doesn't know history."

steve, there are a lot of things in this world that I don't know, but there is one thing that I do know and that is history. You see, I graduated magna cum laude from my university with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in History. I don't tend to flaunt it, but I do know it.

The second thing that I'd like to clear up is on what building block the American system was based on. You said, "british neo-liberalism gave our founding fathers the basic ideas on which our constitution is based."

Uh, no it didn't steve. This is the definition of - neoliberalism: A political movement beginning in the 1960s that blends traditional liberal concerns for social justice with an emphasis on economic growth. steve, our country not only was not formed in the 1960's, but we are not based on the British form of government.

I will try to explain to you, steve, in very simple terms where the foundation of the American form of government basically came from. steve, feel free to take your time and read this information slowly so you can soak it all up, and perhaps get it right for a change.

steve, the roots of the American government got its origin in the thinking of the ancient Greeks, the Enlightenment occurring in 1700's Europe, as well as colonial injustices under the British. The founding fathers, steve, looked at both the ancient Greeks and their idea of the democratic government, which the Greeks practiced as a direct democracy (government in which all citizens had say via participation in voting), and the founding fathers looked at the ancient Romans concept of the representative democracy (one in which the citizens elect representatives to act of their behalf in government).

The founding fathers decided on a representative democracy in which qualified citizens elect representatives to carry out their will in government. As you should know, steve, the ONLY example of directly elected officials in the original Constitution was election of representatives to the House of Representatives, as the President is in-directly elected by the electoral college and senators selected by state legislatures.

Now, steve, let me explain to you the thinking behind the founding fathers. Especially, in the case of Thomas Jefferson, it was heavily determined by the intellectual changes that were occurring in Europe in the 1700's. The European Enlightenment focused on reason, human thought, and experience as opposed to the divine reasoning of religious thought. This thinking in government is best seen in the works of Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu.

Basically, Locke declared that all men are born with the natural rights of "life, liberty and property," and no government could revoke these rights. Locke maintained that it was the citizens that should grant governments the power to rule, in order to protect their natural rights. He believed that when a government failed to protect rights and consent was revoked, the government could be changed or replaced with a revolution.

Rousseau developed the idea of the social contract, which was based on the previous ideas of Locke. It held that a social contract existed between government and the people. It further stated that when government broke the contract by failing to serve the will of the people, a revolution was justified.

Finally, there was Montesquieu, an enlightenment philosopher, who wrote of the benefits of dividing power in a government among more than one branch.

steve, the founding fathers borrowed many of these ideas when they crafted both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Natural Rights appear in the declaration as "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". The notion of replacing a government that fails to maintain consent is cited as justification for the American Revolution against the British. Finally, separation of powers was integrated into US government along the three branch system, and protected by the system of checks and balances.

Now steve, I have spent quite a bit of time clearing up some issues that you misrepresented. This part of my dissertation has come to an end. The instructions that I am going to write next are very important. I have allowed you onto my blog, only to have you shit all over like an untrained puppy. You have continually shown a disregard to civility and you have not even attempted any form of debate. You have shown your true colors. You, steve, are a wanker.

1) I am going to allow you one comment, and one comment only. So you had better think long and hard and make it a good one, steve. After your comment, you will no longer be welcomed to comment on my blog. Don't even think you can come over under another pseudonym, because I will know. I will delete you.

2) When you are through commenting, I want you to go and wipe the spiddle off from around your mouth and gargle with some mouthwash.

3) Done? Good, now I want you to get down on your knees, boy, and kiss my exquisite and ravishing white ass.

4) Now fuck off.

Got it?

Good.