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Tag: "lincoln"

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Barack Obama extols the virtues of Abraham Lincoln and that other guy

In today’s speech, Barack Obama extolled the virtues of Abraham Lincoln, mentioning Charles Darwin along the way. It’s a terrific speech articulating the balance between individual liberties and the common good. A key quote: What if we were “consumed with small things–petty things–when were were called upon to do great things.”

To hear an American President actually mentioning the work of Charles Darwin in a good light, listen in starting about the 6-minute mark.

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I saw a nipple.

I saw a nipple.

While walking to the Missouri State Court of Appeals today, I thought I saw a nipple.

Then I got closer . . . I DID! I DID see a nipple!There it was, prominently displayed in a building housing a prestigious courthouse, a court run by the government of the “Show Me” state of Missouri!!

Now, that’s odd … A prominent agency of my federal government (the FCC) is spending huge sums of money trying to punish a TV network for displaying a part of a nipple of Janet Jackson. My state government is simultaneously and shamelessly displaying that same forbidden body part.

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Meandering in Portland at night

Meandering in Portland at night

I’m still attending a consumer law conference in Portland Oregon. After today’s sessions, I took a walk in the dark. As I often do, I brought my small consumer grade camera with me(SD1100IS). Here are some of the things I noticed while walking through downtown Portland tonight.
Who would have thought that you might run [...]

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The story of John McCain and the Keating Five

This story is told in a simple, straight-forward manner by a bank regulator who wants Americans to know that John McCain has long track record for being morally obtuse and economically dangerous.   This particular story is about the Keating Five, but the damage McCain has done to the American economy continues to this day.   Truly, [...]

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The McCain-Keating story, in a nutshell

I’ve read several accounts of McCain’s cozy relationship with Charles Keating.   And here we are now, deja vu.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxBCAaulG-k&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/[/youtube]

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Conflict Pornography

Conflict Pornography

Conflict: competitive or opposing action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or action.
Pornography: (3): the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction.
What else could it be, other than conflict pornography, when a major media source unnecessarily frames a story in such a way as to concoct a “conflict” [...]

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The Church of Shut Up

The Church of Shut Up

Did you ever notice how evocative moments of silence are? I’m always emotionally moved when the PA announcer asks for a moment. The silence of tens of thousands of people is powerful, indeed.

American culture is usually out-of-control cacophonous. If we aren’t yapping with each other, there’s a TV or radio blaring. We are pummeled with noise everywhere we go, including waiting rooms, stores and airports. We even bring our yapping and music to “quiet” places, such as national parks. We just can’t help ourselves. It is getting much too hard to find quiet places anymore.

That’s why it’s such a joy to be reminded to shut up, even for a moment, even if once in a while. I also appreciated this simple attempt to remind the crowd to be quiet out of respect for Abraham Lincoln’s accomplishments.

Not that this sign worked very well. People still talked, almost as much as ever. Children ran around unrestrained by their parents. People shouted things like, “Hey Bill! Isn’t it about time to go get some hot dogs?”

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More of my favorite quotes

I collect my favorites from various sources, though I was reminded of many of these quotes by The Quotations Page (which offers quotes of the day).  There is a condensed book in every good quote:
Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)
With or without [...]