When Young

They will have time enough, in those endless aeons, to attempt all things, and to gather all knowledge.  They will not be like gods, because no gods imagined by our minds have ever possessed the powers they will command.  But for all that, they may envy us, basking in the bright afterglow of Creation;  for we knew the universe when it was young.
—    Arthur C. Clarke
From his book:  “Profiles of the Future“
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On This Day In:
2021	Seeking Emergence
	Walking Alone
2020	51 Days Until The Moron (#45) Is Out Of Office
	Tearing The Roof Off It
2019	#Impeach45: Once A Buffoon, Now A Bad Joke
2018	Good Sense
2017	E Pluribus Unum
2016	Lacking
2015	Chip, Chip, Chip
2014	nom de plume
2013	The Real Reason
	From The Book
2012	When Young
2011	14 Ways To A Better Judgement

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Three Characters

Every man has three characters — that which he exhibits, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has.
—    Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
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On This Day In:
2021	Become Daily
	Just Pickin’
2020	So, You Think You Know The Answer?
	The One You Come Running To
2019	His Promises, OUR Hopes
2018	Where I Write
2017	At Last, An Honest Philosopher…
2016	Fake It ‘Til You Make It
2015	Hell Toupée
2014	Corrected And Amended
2013	Too Few
2012	Three Characters
2011	Universal Payment
2010	Privatizing the TSA? (An old – and long – post, but still relevant!!)

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Singing About Love

Two weeks later, a new semester began at Lincoln High.
In the band rehearsal room, the members of C Band were waiting for their leader — were waiting for their destinies as musicians to unfold.
Helmholtz stepped onto the podium, and rattled his baton against his music stand.  “The Voices of Spring,” he said.  “Everybody hear that?  The Voices of Spring?”
There were rustling sounds as the musicians put the music on their stands.  In the pregnant silence that followed their readiness, Helmholtz glanced at Jim Donnini, who sat on the last seat of the worst trumpet section of the worst band in school.
His trumpet, John Philip Sousa’s trumpet, George M. Helmholtz’s trumpet, had been repaired.
“Think of it this way,” said Helmholtz.  “Our aim is to make the world more beautiful than it was when we came into it.  It can be done.  You can do it.”
A small cry of despair came from Jim Donnini.  It was meant to be private, but it pierced every ear with its poignancy.
“How?” said Jim.
“Love yourself,” said Helmholtz, “and make your instrument sing about it.  A-one, a-two, a-three.”  Down came his baton.
—   Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
From his book:  “Welcome to the Monkey House“
From the short story:  “The Kid Nobody Could Handle“
[Loving yourself is where it always begins.  We are each given our own instrument.  What is your instrument?   —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	Eye On The Prize
	Everything That’s Precious
2020	And Most Adults Don’t Either
	And It Burns, Burns, Burns
	Just Dessert
2019	Happy Thanksgiving (2019)
2018	And Smiles…
2017	Or Savor A Little Longer…
2016	Sometimes I Just Want To Smell The Flowers
2015	One Truth – Done Well
2014	Now In Imagination, On The Other Hand…
2013	No Plan, No Map
2012	Singing About Love
2011	The Awesome Power Of Truth

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De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum

There is an old story about a gathering for a funeral.  The mourners have come out of a sense of obligation rather than through any fondness for the departed.  The minister sensing a feeling in the air asks, “Would anyone like to say a few words about our brother Fred?”
There is an embarrassed silence as people look at their feet or stare fixedly into the middle distance so as not to catch the minister’s eye.
Feeling awkward about the situation and feeling that someone should say something, the minister asks again, “Would anyone care to say a few words about Fred?”
Again, there is silence, no-one prepared to venture even a word.  As the silence drags out the sense of awkwardness continues, people furtively glancing around to see if anyone will speak.  Eventually, a man, a contemporary of Fred, feels compelled to speak up:  “His brother was worse”.
[The Latin phrase translates roughly as:  “Say nothing but good of the dead.”   In “normal” usage, this would mean the recently deceased.  I don’t know anyone who has recently passed away.  I stumbled across the Latin phrase and researching it’s origin on the internet turned up several pages with similar stories.  The faith of the “minister” and the name of the deceased varied, but the story was the essentially the same…   In any case, the story made me smile.   —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	So Will Persistence
	I Won’t Shed A Tear
2020	Minute Fractions Of Happiness
	There’s Angels Everywhere
2019	Far Too Often
2018	A Divided / United Nation
2017	What We Want
2016	To The Extent
2015	Ambition
2014	More Branches To Climb
	Just In Time — Happy Thanksgiving (2014)
2013	For And Against
2012	De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum
2011	Similar And Different
2010	Reminiscing
	Differences

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Between Two Worlds

In truth, our cause is your own;  it is the cause of liberty and of justice;  it is based upon your own principles, which we have learned from yourselves;  for we have gloried to count your [George] Washington and your [Thomas] Jefferson our great teachers;  we have read their communications to us with veneration; we have practised their precepts with success.  And the result is manifest.  The wildness of the forest has given place to comfortable dwellings and cultivated fields, stocked with the various domestic animals.  Mental culture, industrious habits, and domestic enjoyments, have succeeded the rudeness of the savage state.
We have learned your religion also.  We have read your Sacred books.  Hundreds of our people have embraced their doctrines, practised the virtues they teach, cherished the hopes they awaken, …we speak to the representatives of a Christian country;  the friends of justice;  the patrons of the oppressed.  And our hopes revive, and our prospects brighten, as we indulge the thought.  On your sentence, our fate is suspended;  prosperity or desolation depends on your word.  To you, therefore, we look!  Before your august assembly we present ourselves, in the attitude of deprecation, and of entreaty.  On your kindness, on your humanity, on your compassion, on your benevolence, we rest our hopes.
—     John Ross,
From:  “Letter from John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Indians, in Answer to Inquires from a Friend Regarding the Cherokee Affairs with the United States (Washington, D.C., 1836)“
[This quote is from a letter which Chief John Ross wrote to the U.S. Congress disputing a “treaty” which allowed the U.S. Army to forcibly displace the Cherokee nation from Georgia to Oklahoma.  This trek has come to be known as:  “The Trail of Tears“.  Although the above portion of the letter was taken from my journal, a more complete transcript can be found here and you can find lots more information about history at History Matters.
I believe I originally read the quote in the book, “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee“, where the quote was described as:  “Cherokee Memorial to the United States Congress, December 29, 1835“.
It is estimated that 4,000 of the 15,000 Cherokee died en route from Georgia to Oklahoma.   The Cherokee were only one of the five Indian nations forcibly relocated.     —     KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2021	Certainly Ending
	The Moment When
2020	#45: The Biggest Loser’s Self-Image
	Happy Thanksgiving 2020!!
2019	Defining Trumpism In Today’s Republican Party
2018	#45: It’s Tougher Being President
2017	Consequences
2016	Shouting At The Void
2015	Crab Feed
	Happy Thanksgiving (2015)
2014	Beyond Proof
2013	Poor Students Of History
2012	Between Two Worlds
2011	Common Humanity
2010	The Last Two Olympians

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Living Free And Abolition

This week, I watched two movies – one old (on DVD) and one new (at the theater).  The old one was Die Hard #4: (officially) “Live Free Or Die Hard” (2007).  The new one was “Lincoln” (2012).
DH4 is the latest Bruce Willis super-cop fights terrorist bad-guys movie.  Basically, it follows the tried and true genre which DH1 (1988) created:  lots of action, people in danger, lots of gunfire, lots of explosions (even fake explosions) and, of course, the indestructible “John McClane” (Willis).  Now, some will dispute my assertion that DH1 “created” the genre – leaning towards “Lethal Weapon” (1987) as the start of the genre.  I’d say you have a valid argument, but to me, LW is more of buddy cop movie, than the lone cop against the whole terrorist gang.  Now the interesting thing is that DH4 is not strictly a lone cop movie any more (okay, DH3 wasn’t either).  McClane gains an unwilling partner, but it’s still basically Willis against the whole gang.
DH4 is much better than DH2 and DH3, mostly because it has moments of humor which make it a much more entertaining movie.  It’s not simply a string of explosions and shoot-em-ups (but it is mostly that, so you get your monies worth of bang).  Anyway, I admit to watching this movie and DH1 every couple of years and they are both terrific.  Actually, all four are very good films and well worth watching repeatedly if you enjoy this genre (and I do).  So, highly recommended!
The second film, “Lincoln“, I went to see with my oldest daughter, Rebecca.  She lives away from home, now, so I don’t get to spend as much time with Rebecca as I would like and usually when we are together, we’re talking politics.  I think we were both looking forward to seeing this movie because of our mutual interest in history and politics.  The movie is about the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in Congress just before the end of the American Civil War.  Now in all honesty, despite Abraham Lincoln being one of my favorite Presidents, I knew almost nothing about the passage of this Amendment.  This is the Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States.
The movie is a fairly typical Steven Spielberg direction / production – in other words – excellent!  The music, the pacing, the color, the imagery, the attention to period detail are all superb.  It seems highly probable to me that “Lincoln“, Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) will all be getting Oscar nominations and probably win.  I haven’t seen many great roles this year (or that many movies), but Day-Lewis is a lock (in my book) for the Best Actor nomination and award.
I found the vitriol in the House of Representatives to be amusing and interesting and certainly shed new insight into politics in our own life and times.  I also enjoyed the moments of humor, like when an exasperated cabinet member shouts, “Please, not another one of your stories!“
If there are any criticisms of the movie, it’s that the movie ends predictably with the Amendments passage and with Lincoln’s assassination.  I guess there’s not much to be done about that though, as the movie is based on actual history and the Amendment did pass and the President was killed.  I guess Lincoln could have become a vampire slayer or something…  Nah!  Nobody would believe that.  (Or pay to go see it.)
In conclusion, this is one of the most enjoyable / educational movies I’ve seen in some time.  I walked away with even more respect for Abraham Lincoln.  Highly recommended!!
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On This Day In:
2021	Happy Thanksgiving (2021)!
	When You Get Where You’re Going
2020	Still In School
	The First Deuce
	Escape From Planet Junkyard
2019	Will John Bolton Testify?
2018	Just Maybe
2017	Police In My Review Mirror
2016	Full And Rich
2015	Go Deeper
2014	Intentional Mapping
2013	The Sweet Path
2012	Living Free And Abolition
	Morning Wood
2011	I Resemble That Remark

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Morning Wood

When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?‘
—    Sydney J. Harris
[I usually try to avoid being crude, but sometimes I can’t help myself…    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	Happy Thanksgiving (2021)!
	When You Get Where You’re Going
2020	Still In School
	The First Deuce
	Escape From Planet Junkyard
2019	Will John Bolton Testify?
2018	Just Maybe
2017	Police In My Review Mirror
2016	Full And Rich
2015	Go Deeper
2014	Intentional Mapping
2013	The Sweet Path
2012	Living Free And Abolition
	Morning Wood
2011	I Resemble That Remark

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Heroes Restored

I cherish a day when our children once again, will restore as heroes the sort of men and women who – unafraid and undaunted – pursue the truth, strive to cure disease, subdue and make fruitful our natural environment, and produce the inventive engines of production, science and technology.
—    Senator Barry Goldwater
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On This Day In:
2021	Why We Protect The First Amendment
	When A Voice Can Make You Cry
	The March Continues…
2020	#45: And State Prison Waits When You Leave Office
	I Keep Getting Up
	Difficult To Relax
2019	Looking For A Republican With A Profile In Courage
2018	Hammers, Bells And Songs
2017	My Friends
2016	In Need Of Some Work
2015	Elections Have Consequences
2014	An Ear Of Happy Accidents
2013	Powerful Substitute
2012	Heroes Restored
2011	As You Should

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Never, Never, Never

If the results are inconclusive, I will be left with nothing but faith.  And my faith is this – that the universe is boundless and without limit and that never, never, never will mankind lack for a frontier to face and conquer.
—    Isaac Asimov
From his book:  “From Earth To Heaven“
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On This Day In:
2021	Momentary Offering
	Happy Noise
2020	No Crumbs
	Too Many Detectives On This Case
	A New Day Is Coming
2019	Or In This Case – What’s Wrong
2018	Just Passing Through
2017	True Torture
	Happy Thanksgiving – 2017 !!
2016	Overtaken
2015	Alone Praying
2014	A Full Man
2013	Off Defending The Universe
	Taking Precautions
2012	Never, Never, Never
2011	Testing 1, 2, 3

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Isn’t This Just Pleasant?

The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s leisure.
—     Sydney J. Harris
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On This Day In:
2021	Still Trying To Understand
	V Memories From Saudi Arabia
2020	Sometimes Just Being There Is Enough
	And I Owe It All To You
2019	Or Live For It
2018	Happy Thanksgiving (2018)
2017	Grateful Humility
2016	Obstacles
	Election + 2 Weeks
2015	Done What You Could
2014	Impossible To Other Men
2013	Just In Case
2012	Isn’t This Just Pleasant?
2011	No Void In Sight

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Lectio Auget Existentiae Meae

Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.
—    Aldous Huxley
[And for those of you not quite up to speed on Latin:  “Reading increases my existence“.     —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	Still Building
	Golden
2020	Books And Blogs
	You Don’t Know What I Got
2019	#45 Is The Inverse
2018	A Message To The White House Press Corps
2017	Eeny Meeny Miny Moe
	Binge, Binge, Binge
2016	Feeling Warm Yet?
	Four Documentaries
2015	Just Like All The Others
2014	In My Own Vanity
2013	Filled With Words
2012	Lectio Auget Existentiae Meae
2011	Lied Lately?
2010	Born To Work At Faux News
	Lost Again (Uh, Make That Still)
	Qui Genus Humanum Ingenio Superavit
	They’re Back… (Part 1)

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A Division Of Men

Men may be divided almost any way we please, but I have found the most useful distinction to be made between those who devote their lives to conjugating the verb “to be”, and those who spend their lives conjugating the verb “to have”.
—    Sydney J. Harris
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On This Day In:
2021	Small Curves
	One For Me
2020	Like Belief In Truth And Facts
	Hey #45, Are You Tired Of LOSING Law Suits Too?
2019	Many Forms
2018	Serenity Prayer
2017	But The Clock Says It’s Already Two Minutes 30 Seconds to Midnight
2016	Towards No Regret
2015	109 And Beyond
2014	Are You Waiting?
2013	Traditional Human Sacrifice
2012	A Division Of Men
2011	Miles, Legends and Superwoman
	Got Tragedy?
2010	My Company For A Prince!!
	On The Shoulders Of Titans

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Passing…

It’s never too late to become the person you might have been.
—    George Eliot
[“Time is passing.  Are you?”  …was a framed note on the wall in the Principal’s Office at my high school.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	Too Bad Politics And Greed Get In The Way
	Little Prayers
2020	Precarious Fools
	A Shining City Upon A Hill
2019	How #45’s Father Raised Him For Incompetence
2018	Describing #45 – “The Loser” – As A Successful Businessman
	Raking – #PresidentIdiot Proposes Full Employment For California
2017	Federal Deficit, National Debt And Tax Cuts For The 1%
2016	Picky, Picky, Picky
2015	Another Limitation On Religion
2014	Enduring
2013	Tell Me More…
2012	Passing…
2011	Fake It ‘Til You Make It

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In Flux

This reporter’s beliefs are in a state of flux.  It would be easier to enumerate the items I do not believe in, than the other way around.  And yet, in talking to people, in listening to them, I have come to realize that I don’t have a monopoly on the world’s problems;  others have their share, often far, far bigger than mine.  This has helped me to see my own problems in truer perspective.  And in learning how others have faced their problems, this has given me fresh ideas about how to tackle mine.
—    Edward R. Murrow
From:  “The Introduction to ‘This I Believe’“
[And, in reading your comments and your (my “followers”) own blogs…
For those of you who care to read the entire “Intro”, the link is above.  I’ve also added Murrow’s speech to the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) convention in Chicago to my Poems page.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	Misunderestimated
	The Sincerest Form Of Flattery
	Four Fifths Of Music
2020	Doctor’s Orders
	Make That Seven Orders…
2019	Innocent
2018	Ripost
2017	Just Asking…
2016	And 4
	How Tall Do You Stand?
2015	More Prejudice
2014	Say What?
2013	Daring Errors
2012	Are You Comfortable?
	I Just Have To
	In Flux
2011	True New
2010	A Job Well Started Is A Job Half Done
	I See With My One Good Eye

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I Just Have To

If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem.  It’s raining?  That doesn’t matter.  I am tired?  That’s besides the point.  It’s simply that I just have to.
—    Emil Zatopek
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On This Day In:
2021	Misunderestimated
	The Sincerest Form Of Flattery
	Four Fifths Of Music
2020	Doctor’s Orders
	Make That Seven Orders…
2019	Innocent
2018	Ripost
2017	Just Asking…
2016	And 4
	How Tall Do You Stand?
2015	More Prejudice
2014	Say What?
2013	Daring Errors
2012	Are You Comfortable?
	I Just Have To
	In Flux
2011	True New
2010	A Job Well Started Is A Job Half Done
	I See With My One Good Eye

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