Constitutionally Amused
-What were they thinking?-
Freedom to choose does not free us from the results of our choices.
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Pasturesque |
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
Adam Smith
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| Rockin' the Sunshine |
If we only wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, and that is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are.
Charles de Montesquieu
Rose-n' Shine
I take it that it is best for all to leave each man free to acquire property as fast as he can. Some will get wealthy. I don't believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good.
Abraham Lincoln, Speech in New Haven, Connecticut - March 6, 1860
http://www.vindicatingthefounders.com/library/new-haven-speech.html
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| The Blues |
"Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world.
That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and
hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise.
Let not him who is house-less pull down the house of another;
but let him labor diligently and build one for himself,
thus by example assuring that his own
shall be safe from violence when built."
The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Reply to New York Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association" (March 21, 1864), pp. 259-260.
Roses are Red, My Love
If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. ~Lucille Ball
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| "Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it" George Santayana |
Beautiful photos again! I miss you!
ReplyDeleteYour blog this week makes me wonder what they've done this time? Or what inspired you to write this? I'm not following the news these days so I'm blissfully unaware.
ReplyDeleteYes, wonderful pictures as usual. Having been the subject of lighting experiments while I was there I have a new appreciation for the effort that goes into your artistry!
Love LW in SE WA
Thoughtful, beautiful, inspiring. You rock!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Clint Schultz was my first and repeated experience with the Lucille Ball comment. The first quote and the last have been popping in and out of my head for a few weeks, but not on blog day until now, and thus captured, were at last able to be attached to an idea. The news tends to have some very disturbing points, but it's not looking like that will improve dramatically for quite some time. How's that for a realistic (i.e. pessimistic; negative) approach, LW. :) For these quotes I branched out from reading The 5,000 Year Leap, A Miracle That Changed the World, which revisits the history of the constitution, to BrainyQuote.com, for easy access to more of the thoughts of Adam Smith and Charles de Montesquieu, two people whose thoughts had significant influence on the studies of the founders of our country. John Adams alone went to great effort to advocate the separation of powers, combining the three best ideas from ancient societies into one and then to communicate his ideas to his peers, although he felt unrecognized for his work and quietly slipped into the background after his years of service without honor or monuments like other men. James Madison took up the task of explaining how the three branches were to be a system of checks and balances for each other. Observing their up-to-date understanding of human nature was refreshing, so to study their purpose and efforts increased my respect for the workmanship and the brilliance of the document, however, men being men, and women, too, I suppose, some loopholes have been exploited, which undermined the purpose and effectively weakened the system greatly, and these effects are becoming very evident. My studies of Abraham Lincoln have been ongoing, so I feel comfortable exploring his contributions. While we have easy access to a lot of superficial information about the man, I am amazed at the volume of information available about the work of our 16th president. The comment was recently made that of 26 Billion people that have lived upon the earth, there have been only about 3,000 great leaders. I feel like I have known some great leaders personally. Additionally, since I had just finished reading Pete Carroll's book, I have been thinking about a written philosophy and what it might be. His book, Win Forever, is about how he developed his coaching philosophy and the difference it made to have clarity of purpose. I have managed to read my planned four books for the first two months of the year, including these two that I have just finished, so there are twenty to go, which seems rather daunting at this point in time. I am finding it quite a challenge as I think of my third (March) accounting of my New Year's Resolutions! Definitely time for some adjustments, some refocusing, I think. Happy Birthday to Lance today!
ReplyDeleteHad a friend and author, Shanna Hatfield for lunch today. Inspiring as usual. So are you. Took a lunch to L for his bday. He said he would be at work but he took the day off. I was running late for my lunch appointment and it was a long drive out to his work. Disappointing to not catch him. Went by his house and dropped off his hot sandwich which was not hot anymore by the time he got it. Then he came for supper and a present. Nice to see him. Hard to believe he is an adult.
ReplyDeleteHave been avoiding the news like the plague. I'm doing better for not paying attention to it.
ReplyDeleteIt's scary out there alright. I am feeling immensely grateful that there are some speaking up because the atmosphere has been decidedly chilly. The opposition is loud and the voices of reason are few, but thankfully articulate and getting louder. Despite the worries, it is absolutely awesome to hear the messages that are resonating clearly, hoping, and praying and fighting against all odds. I don't know if this ship can be turned around. It is so immense and it's headed for a major iceberg, but there are a few trying and I am feeling more and more that I need to not bury my head in fear. If we don't take action, if we can't find the courage to face the adversaries of common sense we deserve our lot. Hugs to a mother who made the effort to find her (adult) boy on his birthday.
ReplyDeletePraying for our leaders is one thing I can do and would like to remember to do more OFTEN. So thank you for the reminder. It could be said that I bury my head in the sand about the news. A few years ago we read a book that declared we must cut negativity from our lives if we desire prosperity. So I cancelled the newspaper and didn't replace it by visiting news sites. So I must be attracting positive energy by now. One thing is for sure, I feel more positive and happy and do not worry about things I cannot change. Praying believing is needed. God knows what is needed and it may be that the hard experiences are needed. Your quotes are good. This one especially rings true: "Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it"
ReplyDeleteGeorge Santayana
Yes, been there done that. Facing up to some of the news is not for the faint of heart, I tell ya! I canceled the newspaper, but needed some connection with the outside world, so watching the news online was part of that, keeping me from just being buried in bookwork day in and day out! Ha! It can be draining, for sure. I've got two boys who keep tabs on things around the nation, and wanted to be able to converse intelligently with them, and love having grown up kids, so that's a help, to offset some of the constant worry and negativity, sharing the load makes it much more bearable. They seem gifted to me in both remembering and understanding things political. Having found a network or two that shares my general point of view at least gives me some hope and I rejoice at occasional signs of life from other sources, too.
ReplyDeleteYes, thankful for those who understand and speak up. The men in my life also keep me as up to date as I need to be. The 21 year old had to explain sequestering to me the other day. He was quite amused that I didn't know what it was all about. I wish I didn't know. Sounds like a bunch of political mumbo jumbo that looks different than it is.
DeleteYou are so right. When all else fails, confuse and divide seems to be the strategy, typical of control freaks. The president has decided he wishes the cuts to be as painful as possible, which actually was in a leaked email answer to someone's request for information about making the cuts. The intention is to make sure they are the most noticeable spots so that they cause as much pain as possible and even though it was his idea in the first place he's blaming it on the other party. The cuts are actually about two percent of the budget. That is the amount of discount we get on our plumbing products if we pay our bills by the 10th of the month. Most of the time the difference is just a few dollars and doesn't make any real difference in our budget, but we like to save money, and that is one place we have consistently tried to stay in a 32 year saving pattern. In the beginning, everything was "Bush's fault", now it's all the republican party's fault and he stays on message, consistently loud and clear. It's very annoying and very concerning to see how much manipulation is going on, with no regard for sticking to the facts. He has to be called out on just about every point. He's young enough to be very energetic so changes are happening at a pretty good clip without much respect for any guidelines and plenty of disregard for the constitution. The only thing reigning him in right now is that a few good men are holding the line. We need more of them if we can get them, but it only takes a few to change the tide. It is difficult to get people to listen to the truth when they prefer to hear lies.
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