Happy Independence Day, And A Message From Thomas Jefferson

They say that Thomas Jefferson was good at a party, and yet always the smartest guy in the room. Certainly he wrote a heck of a lot of very smart things, not the least of which was our own Declaration of Independence. Good job Tom!

Later, he also wrote something pertinent to the great threat to liberty in our time:

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations
which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
--- Thomas Jefferson, Letter To George Logan Nov 12, 1816

You can read the whole letter in
Interestingly, this quote is included in a larger fake quote used by some doctrinaire Libertarians, leading to its debunking on Monticello.com. Unfortunately the debunking of the fake quote is clumsily worded to give the appearance of debunking the actual quote above, so it's worth noting:

• The quote above is genuine, as a careful reading of Monticello.com's article plainly states, and 
• It's best to check the sources of debunkers; even they can write clumsily or even (*gasp*!) make a mistake!

I doubt Jefferson anticipated the internet but I'm sure he'd appreciate its encouragement of civic action, especially in defense of our nation against monied corporation who bid defiance to the laws.