July, 2006 archive
Today’s Quotations, from the Quotemaster 0
On liberty:
The country shall be independent, and we will be satisfied
with nothing short of it.
– Samuel Adams, 1722 – 1803It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it
shall be my dying sentiment, independence now and
independence forever.
– Daniel Webster, eulogy for John Adams and Thomas
Jefferson, 2 August 1826It’s easy to be independent when you’ve got money. But to be
independent when you haven’t got a thing, that’s the Lord’s test.
– Mahalia JacksonDiversity: the art of thinking independently together.
– Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, 1880 – 1954Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence.
– Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1881 – 1906
New Jersey Is Closed, Part Two 0
Monica Yant Kinney, who covers New Jersey for the local rag, turned a felicitous combination of phrases about Governor Corzine’s stand in today’s column:
This one’s coming down to strength of convictions, and Corzine is convinced he’s right.
(snip)
The business world he knows and loves wouldn’t tolerate the nonsense that led to the government shutdown.
The political world he’s inhabiting these days revels in it.
The Boat Runs 0
We’ll test it out tomorrow.
The Press, Press Freedom, and Our Freedom 0
Excerpt from a story in Editor and Publisher. Follow the link to read the whole thing:
WILLIAM SAFIRE: Look, I don’t speak for the Times. I’ve been in the Times for 30 years disagreeing with Times editorial policy right down the line. On this one, I think they did the right thing. Here we are on Independence Day weekend, 230 years ago, celebrating what was the resistance to a king who said “We’re going to hang you for treason.†And here we have a Long Island congressman, happens to be named King, who’s saying “treason†and “put these reporters in jail.â€
I think there’s a big fundamental thing going on here now, and across the board, of “get the press, get the media.†And, look, I used to write speeches for Spiro Agnew, I’m hip to this stuff, and, and I can say that it gives you a blip, it gives you a chance to get on the offensive against the, the darned media. But in the long view of history, it’s a big mistake.
New Jersey Is Closed 0
Which leads to two questions:
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Will anyone notice? and (the question from my friend whose daughter lives in New York City)
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Does that mean there won’t be any tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike?
All joking aside, I tip my hat to Corzine. He’s beholden to no one, has no further political ambition, and is calling the bluff of the legislature, which, like Congress, is afraid to step up to the plate and–er–legislate for the good of the state and of its citizens.
New Jersey has been pursuing the same spend-and-spend policies as the current Federal Administration, but it does not have the luxury of being able to keep printing money as long as the supplies of paper hold out.
Mr. Corzine may go down in flames after this, but I honor him for expecting the state government to, well golly gosh gee, Batman, govern.
Worth Thinking about 0
Consider what activates people these days:
The King was “depriving us in many cases of the benefits of Trial by Jury.”
The King was “imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.”
The King has “plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.”
Now those were big-league issues. For the complete list, consult the Declaration of Independence.
Last week, in contrast, the congressional descendants of the Founding Fathers were up to their lapel pins in the grave challenge posed by … flag-burning. Sen. John D. Rockefeller 4th (D., W.Va.), a cosponsor of a constitutional amendment to ban such desecration, called it “the first step to truly protect our flag.” Without it, apparently, the terrorists win.
Our nation has become obsessed with arcane and marginal frights. Whereas the Founders worried about getting stopped by a Redcoat patrol and hung, their successors fret that some Sixties holdout will light up Old Glory.
No, the whole column is not about flag-burning–that’s just one example. The entire column is about how important stuff (like the Bill of Rights, for example) is getting lost in a mass of noise about, you will pardon my expression, stupid shit inconsequential, but headline-grabbing, side issues.
While the current Federal Administration disregards the Constitution of the United States of America in its every act.
