Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely -- Lord Acton

Lord Acton's famous saying is often misquoted  as "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Either quote applies to the power of the United States, says Judge Andrew P. Napolitano in his 2010 book "Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History" (Thomas Nelson, 368 pages, notes, index) which I found while dropping off a bunch of my review copies at our local library. I can think of no better good deed than to help a public library in times of need -- and they're always in times of need!  

What convinced me to check out the good Judge's book was the book's foreward by Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, who's my congressman (Texas 14) and the guy I voted for in 1988 for President when he ran on the Libertarian Party ticket. I've voted for him twice in his re-election bid, in 2008 and 2010.  I met Paul at a function in Calhoun County, Texas, where I live,  and he autographed my copy of his book "End the Fed". (for my review: http://archives.huntingtonnews.net/columns/090916-kinchen-columnsbookreview.html).  

Like Paul, Napolitano hates the Fed and devotes "Lie #8 "The Federal Reserve Shall Be Controlled by Congress" to a discussion -- and dissection -- of the Fed. For one thing, it's a private organization of banks and bankers and there's nothing "Federal" about it. It also has no "Reserve" and is backed by neither gold nor silver. I call it the "Creature from Jekyll Island," the offshore Georgia island where a band of bankers and political leaders met in secret in 1910 to come up with the idea for a backdoor central bank.