Wednesday, November 7. 2007
Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance. Saint Augustine
Monday, November 5. 2007
I think people ought to be free at state and local levels to make decisions that even Fred Thompson disagrees with. That’s what freedom is all about. And I think the diversity we have among the states, the system of federalism we have where power is divided between the state and the federal government serves us very, very well. Fred Thompson, as quoted in Federalist Fred, at Volokh. I am down with that view, Fred.
I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. Wimpy, to Popeye
Saturday, November 3. 2007
The fact that something is measurable does not render it meaningful, and not everything that is meaningful is measurable. From a piece by The Barrister of Maggie's Farm
Wednesday, October 31. 2007
I hate the use of the word 'public' as a synonym for 'government'. The government is the government and the public is what is not the government. As quoted from Leon Louw at Samizdata
Thursday, October 25. 2007
"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." President Abraham Lincoln
Monday, October 22. 2007
AOL is so yesterday. Our blogmeister Chris, who says that AOL does not recognize any of the technical conventions of the 2007 internet. (I still use it, with great annoyance, due to long-established habit.)
Wednesday, October 17. 2007
The Republicans, with the exception of Ronald Reagan, failed to lead when they controlled the power. They failed at politics. They proved they are an opposition party, not a leadership party. A Maggie's Farm reader and a disheartened Conservative, in comments here
It's not that some people need more sleep than others - it's that some people sleep faster than others. Peter DeVries
Tuesday, October 16. 2007
Love, while always forgiving of imperfections and mistakes, can never cease to will their removal.
Monday, October 8. 2007
Here. Why can't we get this quality of reporting from the MSM? The QQQ: ...my feeling that those in Iraq are the moral upper-crust of our society is not cheap moralizing or patronizing, but the simple truth—as hard as that is for some to accept.
Friday, October 5. 2007
History will have nothing but contempt and derision for pampered academic prigs whose commitment to leveling the distinction between perversity and ordinary life so greatly exceeds their loyalty to country and their gratitude to the armed forces which defend them. Never Yet Melted, re Yale Law's finally opening to military recruiters
Tuesday, October 2. 2007
The more you tax people, the less money they have to take care of themselves and their families, so the more they are inclined to turn to the government (ie their neighbors' money) for help, so politicians raise taxes to buy their votes, rendering them that much less able to care for themselves and their families. The News Junkie
Sunday, September 30. 2007
To be 16 again... A quote today from the 16 year-old pup this morning: "Tell Mom when she gets home from church that I'm meeting friends at Grand Central. We're going to SoHo to hit some galleries and have lunch. I'll be back on the 6:30 train. Can I borrow the credit card? Thanks, Dad - Love ya. Wait, do you have any spare cash?" When I was 16, NYC had the same gravitational pull on me that it does on her. It still does, I guess. When Aristotle said "Man is a political animal," he meant an animal of the "polis." I like 'em all: polis, suburban, and rural, but have always aspired to "rus in urba" (or is it "urb"?) as a half-baked and unsatisfying, but necessary, compromise. As long as we can hop a train, or hop in the car, we can have it all. Farm, city, and friendly suburban neighborhood. What a great country! So pleased with her vitality and investment in life that I forgot to ask whether she meant the 6:30 departure or the 6:30 arrival.
Friday, September 28. 2007
Weakness and renunciation do not lead to peace. They lead to war. Nicolas Sarkozy to the UN General Assembly
A liberal is a man who is too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel. Robert Frost (h/t, No Pasaran)
Wednesday, September 26. 2007
If an infinite number of rednecks riding in an infinite number of pickup trucks fire an infinite number of shotgun rounds at an infinite number of highway signs, they will eventually produce all the world's great literary works in Braille. Anon., via Synthstuff
Tuesday, September 25. 2007
“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Nelson Mandela
Monday, September 24. 2007
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have a hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult. E.B. White, as quoted in yesterdays post "No Blood for What?"
Sunday, September 23. 2007
That is why the rich young man was so loath to follow Jesus, for the cost of his following was the death of his will. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and His call are necessarily our death and our life. .
Saturday, September 22. 2007
I would not invite Yasser Arafat to anything, anywhere, anytime, anyplace. Rudy Giuliani in 1995, when he kicked Arafat out of a Lincoln Center concert for the UN's 50th Anniversary.
Friday, September 21. 2007
Materialists and madmen never have doubts. G.K. Chesterton
Tuesday, September 18. 2007
In a few centuries, will historians view the last 100 years as merely one long protracted struggle between freedom and collectivism in its many and varied forms? Ed Driscoll, in a post entitled The Birth of the Modern
Monday, September 17. 2007
Ideology, politics and journalism, which luxuriate in failure, are impotent in the face of hope and joy. P.J. O'Rourke (stolen at gunpoint from LGF)
In response to my little post on societal codes and that version of the Code of the West, Gwynnie sent me the Cowboy Ettiket below. (A reader also sent me the Larimer County, Colorado, Code for Newcomers: it is tough, and certainly does not encourage anyone soft or risk-averse to move there.)
Don’t squat with your spurs on. Don’t interfere with something that ain’t botherin’ you none. Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. The easiest way to eat crow is while it’s still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’. If it don’t seem like it’s worth the effort, it probably ain’t. It don’t take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep. The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with watches you shave his face in the mirror every morning. Never ask a barber if you need a haircut. If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around. Don’t worry about bitin’ off more’n you can chew; your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger’n you think. Always drink upstream from the herd. Generally, you ain’t learnin’ nothing when your mouth’s a-jawin’. Tellin’ a man to git lost and makin’ him do it are two entirely different propositions. If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there with ya. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment. When you give a personal lesson in meanness to a critter or to a person, don’t be surprised if they learn their lesson. When you’re throwin’ your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back. Always take a good look at what you’re about to eat. It’s not so important to know what it is, but it’s sure crucial to know what it was. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back into your pocket. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
OK, those are a bit jocular, but codes like the Larimer County one are dead serious. The more I think about social/societal codes, the more important I realize that they are. Sociologists probably think about this a lot. Codes of behavior - not skin color, not wealth, not national origin - are what distinguish "tribes", and tribes are communities of trust in which the behavior of others is predictable, comprehensible, and based on shared assumptions, morals, and sets of values. Old postcard: Long's Peak from Bear Lake, Estes Park, Larimer Co, Colorado
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