Even though no one has posted any queries, I know that you, my loyal followers, have been wondering at my long absence from this space. My readers are nothing if not discreet. (Except, perhaps, imaginary.)
Suffice it to say, my friends, there is a long and and wonderfully interesting story in this, as in all aspects of my life. Unfortunately, time does not now permit me to tell it. Rest assured that I will fill in all the juicy details in the coming days.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Quote Of The Post
"It is no limitation upon property rights or freedom of contract to require that when men receive from government the privilege of doing business under corporate form... they shall do so upon absolutely truthful representations.... Great corporations exist only because they are created and safeguarded by our institutions; and it is therefore our right and duty to see that they work in harmony with these institutions."
Theodore Roosevelt from his first Message to Congress, December 3, 1901. Quoted in Theodore Rex Edmund Morris p73
Teddy fired the first gun in the fight against corporate power in government and the economy. He put teeth into the Sherman Anti Trust Act of 1890, and developed the principles upon which the battles would be fought.
The 'institutions' to which he referred are the government, as well as the society and civilization at large. These are also the roads and bridges and schools and hospitals that President Obama rightly reminds businessmen they didn't build.
Theodore Roosevelt from his first Message to Congress, December 3, 1901. Quoted in Theodore Rex Edmund Morris p73
Teddy fired the first gun in the fight against corporate power in government and the economy. He put teeth into the Sherman Anti Trust Act of 1890, and developed the principles upon which the battles would be fought.
The 'institutions' to which he referred are the government, as well as the society and civilization at large. These are also the roads and bridges and schools and hospitals that President Obama rightly reminds businessmen they didn't build.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Mutually Assured Economics
Democrats seem to think that because Mitt Romney can't stand up to the extremists and fools among his supporters, he won't be able to stand up to other nations when he becomes president. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Romney can't stand up to the wing-nuts because he needs them- not because he is weak.
As for foreign nations like China, Mitt has a cunning plan. If those inscrutable orientals act up on him, Mitt Romney will withdraw all his foreign investments and outsourced jobs, destroying their economies the same way he'll be destroying ours.
As for foreign nations like China, Mitt has a cunning plan. If those inscrutable orientals act up on him, Mitt Romney will withdraw all his foreign investments and outsourced jobs, destroying their economies the same way he'll be destroying ours.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Quote(s) Of The Post
"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.
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.
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
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