"We attacked a foreign people and treated them like rebels. As you know, it's all right to treat barbarians barbarically. It's the desire to be barbaric that makes governments call their enemies barbarians."
Bertold Brecht from the Good Reads. com website. No attribution of the source material was given. The two following quotes from the same site prove why this annoys me so much.
"Art is not a mirror. Art is a hammer."
Brecht
"Art is not a mirror held up to life, but a hammer with which to shape it."
Brecht again. Both from Good Reads. com
I think you can see my point. Both quotes are similar, but the latter has more muscle. Did he say them both, or did someone paraphrase the first one? I sure as hell don't know, but now I really want to read him.
The next quote came from one site, but two other sites also quoted it. All three were slightly different, which is understandable in translated work. I'd still like to know where it came from. Perhaps my loyal readers, if I have any, can help out.
"The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He hears nothing, sees nothing, takes no part in political life. He doesn't seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines, all depend on political decisions. He even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. He doesn't know, the imbecile, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations."
Bertold Brecht: From the MoveOn.org website. I encourage you to read the other versions of this quote. I would love to know if it is from a play, book, letter or something.
I promise you that most of the posted quotations are from my reading. I also promise to never use the word 'quote' so many times in one post.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Quote Of The Post
"....But I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the four horsemen of calumny- fear, ignorance, bigotry and smear."
Sen. Margaret Chase Smith Declaration of Conscience 6/1/50, quoted in: "National Suicide" History Matters
historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6459/
Sen. Margaret Chase Smith Declaration of Conscience 6/1/50, quoted in: "National Suicide" History Matters
historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6459/
Monday, May 7, 2012
A Rose By Any Other Name...
A Political Q&A
Q:The biggest problem facing the Republicans in November?
A:Their candidates.
Q:Their second biggest?
A:They don't even know who they're running against.
Q:Can you explain?
A:Yes.
Mitt Romney and other conservatives seem to think that they are being opposed by the Democrat Party. They even seem to think that the president belongs to this party.
As far as I am able to determine- there's no such thing as the Democrat Party. I don't know where they got it from, but it doesn't exist.
Can it be a simple case of failing to understand that Democrats belong to the Democratic Party? It's easy to imagine that some top Republicans lack the intellect to make the distinction (I'm talking to you Sarah) But Mitt has two degrees from Harvard. He should know better.
It can't be intentional, can it?
It can't be because the word itself bothers them, can it?
Democratic.
Who could be afraid of that?
Q:The biggest problem facing the Republicans in November?
A:Their candidates.
Q:Their second biggest?
A:They don't even know who they're running against.
Q:Can you explain?
A:Yes.
Mitt Romney and other conservatives seem to think that they are being opposed by the Democrat Party. They even seem to think that the president belongs to this party.
As far as I am able to determine- there's no such thing as the Democrat Party. I don't know where they got it from, but it doesn't exist.
Can it be a simple case of failing to understand that Democrats belong to the Democratic Party? It's easy to imagine that some top Republicans lack the intellect to make the distinction (I'm talking to you Sarah) But Mitt has two degrees from Harvard. He should know better.
It can't be intentional, can it?
It can't be because the word itself bothers them, can it?
Democratic.
Who could be afraid of that?
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Quote Of The Post
"The Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy, and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritative parties of 20th century Europe."
Mike Lofgren, former Republican congressional staffer, quoted in Washington Post, online edition 4/27/12
Mike Lofgren, former Republican congressional staffer, quoted in Washington Post, online edition 4/27/12
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Newt, We Heartily Knew Ya
Today, Newt Gingrich officially bowed out of the presidential race.
To think that this man is no longer in the running sends chills up my spine. Now I'm going to have to work that much harder to fill up this space- ol' Newt practically wrote these things for me.
So, though tomorrow may be the dawn of a new era, satirically speaking, today I got plenty.
How could Republicans reject a candidate who famously said that right-wing social engineering is as bad as left-wing social engineering; and-even more famously- not only retracted the entire statement, but said that anyone who quoted him would be a "liar-liar-pants on fire."
Wow. Imagine a president like that. He could sign a treaty one day, and repudiate it the next, daring you to call him out on it. He could re-write history simply by- re-writing history. That's balls. That's the kind of leader the Republicans are gonna need if they want to drag us back to the middle ages. How else are they going to cope with 150 years of social progress, but by denying it ever occurred? I don't know what they were thinking, and I don't know about the rest of you, but as far as this blogger is concerned, he'll be missed.
To think that this man is no longer in the running sends chills up my spine. Now I'm going to have to work that much harder to fill up this space- ol' Newt practically wrote these things for me.
So, though tomorrow may be the dawn of a new era, satirically speaking, today I got plenty.
How could Republicans reject a candidate who famously said that right-wing social engineering is as bad as left-wing social engineering; and-even more famously- not only retracted the entire statement, but said that anyone who quoted him would be a "liar-liar-pants on fire."
Wow. Imagine a president like that. He could sign a treaty one day, and repudiate it the next, daring you to call him out on it. He could re-write history simply by- re-writing history. That's balls. That's the kind of leader the Republicans are gonna need if they want to drag us back to the middle ages. How else are they going to cope with 150 years of social progress, but by denying it ever occurred? I don't know what they were thinking, and I don't know about the rest of you, but as far as this blogger is concerned, he'll be missed.
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