Remarkable, Dave. And timely. I'm having some debates w/ conservatives who are talking down Trump b/c he as a corporate CEO he can't seem to get anything done anymore. Well, much of Trump's genius and mgmnt skills are in the dark now, but that does not mean he does have a sophisticated team operatin today, in the dark, w/ a plan that will restore America to its greatness by canceling much of it bureaucratic waste.
Now Paine was much younger, and small potatoes compared to the inner circle of the Founders... still, he knew "how things were supposed to work", including "Natural Law", perhaps even intuitively, making his insights 175 yrs ago very new and fresh, today.
I've often had the same thoughts about Oliver Cromwell who "cancelled Parliament" for about 5 years, thus allowing it to be restored w/o waiting the two or three centuries the rest of Europe has had to wait, all just to protect the system of rank they'd invented 1000 years earlier; first estate, Church, 2nd-Royals, and the Third Estate, the dirty-to-the-elbow common people, making up about 90%. All that has changed is that the First Estate is the Bureaucracy.
Tom Paine knew all these things w/o benefit of clergy or formal education, or even tenure in government work. Duh! In like manner, Trump became wealthy w/o having to kiss one single government patoot.
So there is much to learn from his ability to observe, and think and put that thinking into action.
Remarkable, Dave. And timely. I'm having some debates w/ conservatives who are talking down Trump b/c he as a corporate CEO he can't seem to get anything done anymore. Well, much of Trump's genius and mgmnt skills are in the dark now, but that does not mean he does have a sophisticated team operatin today, in the dark, w/ a plan that will restore America to its greatness by canceling much of it bureaucratic waste.
Now Paine was much younger, and small potatoes compared to the inner circle of the Founders... still, he knew "how things were supposed to work", including "Natural Law", perhaps even intuitively, making his insights 175 yrs ago very new and fresh, today.
I've often had the same thoughts about Oliver Cromwell who "cancelled Parliament" for about 5 years, thus allowing it to be restored w/o waiting the two or three centuries the rest of Europe has had to wait, all just to protect the system of rank they'd invented 1000 years earlier; first estate, Church, 2nd-Royals, and the Third Estate, the dirty-to-the-elbow common people, making up about 90%. All that has changed is that the First Estate is the Bureaucracy.
Tom Paine knew all these things w/o benefit of clergy or formal education, or even tenure in government work. Duh! In like manner, Trump became wealthy w/o having to kiss one single government patoot.
So there is much to learn from his ability to observe, and think and put that thinking into action.
You may have struck the Mother Lode.