The Press Is NOT The Enemy

To demonize the press, to characterize it as not just mistaken but malign, is to lay the groundwork for repression.
…
The enemy in any democracy is not dissent, from either within or without.  Dissent, in fact, is essential.  The enemy is dishonesty, ignorance, indifference, intolerance.  The ability to hold journalists accountable has never been greater, and we take legitimate criticism as a challenge to do better.  Attempts to suppress, dismiss and control, on the other hand, we understand as exactly what Thomas Jefferson warned against.
—    Nancy Gibbs
Editor of Time Magazine
From her editorial:  “Jefferson’s Warning to the White House“, dtd:  13 February 2017
[Thomas Jefferson’s comment was that given the choice of government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, he’d choose newspapers over government.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	One Link In The Chain
2021	Life Measures
	First Thing Every Morning
2020	Like #45 And Many Of His Supporters
(Leap Year 29th)	With Some Epic Scenery Along The Way
2019	Creative Prayer Time
	ADF: Day 9:5
2018	#DumbDonald: Start With Hearing What You Don’t Want Said
2017	The Press Is NOT The Enemy
2016	It Ain’t Easy
(Leap Year 29th)	Or Try To, Anyway…
(Leap Year 29th)	Circles Within Circles
2015	A Series Of Funerals
2014	And Your Point Is?
2013	Infinitely Care
2012	In My Room
(Leap Year 29th)	Stingray – TV Series Review  (This is my most popular post since starting my blog – hands down!  It still draws hits almost every week.  The hits seem to come mostly from Central Europe.  I guess the show must be in syndication there.  //  2020 update:  While this is still my all-time, most popular post, it is no longer being viewed every week – or even every month.  I guess the show is no longer in syndication.)
(Leap Year 29th)	A Single Thread
2011	Lyrical Mixture
	Teaching = Translating

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May I Have Some More, Please?

As a general rule, nobody has money who ought to have it.
—    Benjamin Disraeli
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On This Day In:
2022	Like Smiles, Flowers And Rainbows
2021	On Your Marks, Get Set…
	Absolutely Nothing
	Roses And Chores
2020	Which Is Which
2019	Were You Saying Something?
2018	Ethics Lesson
2017	May I Have Some More, Please?
2016	A Little Lost
2015	This High Place
2014	Elected Madness
2013	Well Written
2012	Related Parts
2011	The King Is Oscar
	Better Reputation?

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Pretending

In the Soviet Union every worker is a government worker, and they have a saying:  “As long as the bosses pretend to pay us, we will pretend to work.“
—   Tom Clancy
From his novel:  “The Hunt For Red October“
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On This Day In:
2022	Don’t Pretend
2021	I Like Curves More, Too
	I Don’t Know What I’d Do
2020	Pay It Forward
2019	From My Sullied Prison
2018	In My Room (2)
2017	Pretending
2016	And Songs Too…
2015	On The Road To Failure
2014	Each Moment
2013	Conversation
2012	4 Down, 11 Done (At Last)
	I’m Not Afraid
2011	Who’s Risk Is It, Anyway?

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Pebbles In Your Shoe?

A man who cannot tolerate small ills can never accomplish great things.
—    Chinese Proverb
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On This Day In:
2022	Until Something Better Comes Along
2021	Facing The Headwinds
	Still Thankful, Still Don’t Read Well
2020	Write For Yourself
2019	I’m Actively Irresponsible
2018	I Will Love You… Forever
2017	Pebbles In Your Shoe?
2016	Resolute Will
2015	Absorbed And Civilized
2014	Relax And Lead
2013	Location, Location, Location
2012	Are You Really Good?
2011	Relatively Objective, Anyway

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Keep On Keeping On

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.
—    Samuel Johnson
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On This Day In:
2022	Full Of It
2021	I’m Still Learning To Play
	What Are You Looking For?
2020	All You Can
2019	No Wall And Not One Dollar
	‘Cause It Makes Me Scratch
2018	Mirror, Mirror
2017	Keep On Keeping On
2016	Reflections
2015	Is It Time Yet?
2014	Ask Any Follower
2013	Cornered Or Surrounded?
2012	Escape
2011	Achievement
	Not Unreasonable Enough

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Now Pausing Makes Sense

I walk our family dog “Shiva” most every day.  She loves sniffing fences, grass, trees and posts of various types (including fire hydrants).  Most times she takes a “little” longer than I would like her to and I give her a slight tug on the leash or say her name to get her to move along to the next smell.  I think from now on I may give her a count of 10 instead of a count of seven.  After all, I should allow time for the comments as well as for the blog post.
Dog Blogging
[The above image is from the comic strip “9 Chickweed Lane“, which I read most every day at the following site:  http://www.gocomics.com/9chickweedlane
The actual post date was 19 February 2017.  I’m not sure how to create a link to the specific posting.
I do NOT own the rights to the image, I have not asked permission to repeat it, and am I NOT hoping to make any profit from showing it.  It is merely being used because it made me laugh out loud.
If you find the comic amusing, please visit the creator’s (Brooke McEldowney) post at gocomics.com and give it a “like”.   Oh, and click on the image to see a larger version / more readable     —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Suggestions (The Order Of Precedence Is Optional)…
2021	But That’s Certainly Irrational
	Just Goin’ To My Room
2020	The Butterflies Are In Trouble
2019	The Deep Center
2018	Oh, Heaven (Too)
2017	Now Pausing Makes Sense
2016	Just Spicy
	Only One Part
2015	Positive Acts Of Creation
2014	One Thing Is Clear
2013	Corrections
	See Greatness
2012	Gemutlichkeit
2011	Back On The Asphalt

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No Welcome Mat Here

Those who welcome death have only tried it from the ears up.
—    Wilson Mizner
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On This Day In:
2022	Desert Springs
2021	And Usually The Former
	The Real Heir…
2020	The Doggie Dab
	A Fork In The Road
2019	#LyingDonald’s Problem With The News And Truth
2018	Oh, Hell
2017	No Welcome Mat Here
2016	Making It Up
	A Missed Beat
2015	We Are All Explorers
2014	Still Trying To Cope
2013	Dear Diary (A good chuckle!)
2012	Conveniently Sequential
2011	King’s Speech Number Four
	Rational Probability

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In Defense Of A Free Press

The tumults in America I expected would have produced in Europe an unfavorable opinion of our political state.  But it has not.  On the contrary, the small effect of those tumults seems to have given more confidence in the firmness of our governments.  The interposition of the people themselves on the side of government has had a great effect on the opinion here.  I am persuaded myself that the good sense of the people will always be found to be the best army.  They may be led astray for a moment, but will soon correct themselves.  The people are the only censors of their governors:  and even their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their institution.  To punish these errors too severely would be to suppress the only safeguard of the public liberty.  The way to prevent these irregular interpositions of the people is to give them full information of their affairs thro’ the channel of the public papers, and to contrive that those papers should penetrate the whole mass of the people.  The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right;  and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.  But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.  I am convinced that those societies (as the Indians) which live without government enjoy in their general mass an infinitely greater degree of happiness than those who live under European governments.  Among the former, public opinion is in the place of law, and restrains morals as powerfully as laws ever did any where.  Among the latter, under pretence of governing they have divided their nations into two classes, wolves and sheep.  I do not exaggerate.  This is a true picture of Europe.  Cherish therefore the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention.  Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them.  If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, judges and governors shall all become wolves.  It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions;  and experience declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, and to the general prey of the rich on the poor.
—    Thomas Jefferson
Letter to Edward Carrington
16 Jan. 1787
[All emphasis, italics, bolding and underlining were added by me and do not appear in the original.   —   kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Beautiful Curves
2021	Life Is…
	Thank You Guardians (OTG)*
2020	Why #DonTheCon Hates, Belittles And Fires Honest Government Employees
2019	What Do You Want?
2018	Wakanda Forever
	I’d Be Happy With Another Score (Or So)
2017	In Defense Of A Free Press
2016	Lost Opportunity
2015	Are You Listening Ladies?
2014	Practice, Practice, Practice
2013	A Fist Full Of Confusion
2012	Teaching Faith
2011	The Heart Of Terror
	The Proportion Of Gravity And Probability

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Maybe In A Future World

In the modern world, wars must be outlawed, because none of the global problems we are facing can be resolved by war —  not poverty, the environment, migration, population growth or shortages of resources.
—    Mikhail Gorbachev
From his opinion piece titled:  “It all looks as if the world is preparing for war“
Appearing in:  “Time Magazine“;  dtd:  13 February 2017
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On This Day In:
2022	Overbooked
2021	One Month In: Learning To Play Guitar
	Cause The Melody Keeps Haunting Me
2020	Working On My 2019 Tax Returns
2019	Three Beliefs
2018	He Found Them On-Line
2017	Maybe In A Future World
2016	Largely A Mystery
2015	Tools And Weapons
2014	Likes And Dislikes
2013	Pillars Of Learning
2012	Another JCoM Review
	Move It
2011	Expected Value

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The Only Thing I Can Give…

A Dog’s Last Will & Testament
Before humans die, they write their last will and testament, give their home and all they have to those leave behind.  If, with my paws, I could do the same, this is what I’d ask…
To a poor and lonely stray I’d give my happy home;  my bowl and cozy bed, soft pillow and all my toys;  the lap, which I loved so much;  the hand that stroked my fur;  and the sweet voice that spoke my name.
I’d will to the sad, scared shelter dog the place I had in my human’s loving heart, of which there seemed no bounds.
So, when I die, please do not say, “I will never have a pet again, for the loss and pain is more than I can stand.”
Instead, go find an unloved dog, one whose life has held no joy or hope, and give my place to him.
This is the only thing I can give…
The love I left behind.
—    Anonymous
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On This Day In:
2022	I Learn Something New
2021	I’m Retired, I Always Have Time For It!
	Just Mice Elf
	That Was A Shot In The Arm
2020	Decide, Support, Vote
2019	Aware Some
2018	Know Any Christians?
2017	The Only Thing I Can Give…
2016	Wiser But Less Cocksure
2015	Not Today
	Wicked
2014	…Am Too
2013	Credible?
2012	Both
2011	Risking Hidden Linkage

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Necessary Gaps

Every President must endure a gap between what he would like and what is possible.
—   President John F. Kennedy
From the Foreword to “Decision-Making in the White House“, written by Theodore C. Sorensen
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On This Day In:
2022	First, To Understand
2021	So How Should We Persuade The Dangerous?
	Can A Loser Ever Win?
2020	Maybe More Than A Very Few
2019	Missing Failure
2018	Praise God
2017	Necessary Gaps
2016	Nor My Dogs
2015	Say What?
	I’m A Dog, Too!
	Beginnings
2014	Astonishing Choices
2013	Three Hard Tasks
2012	The Only Remains
2011	Personal Capability
	What Price Failure?
	Both Of W’s Elections
	Tea (Baggers) Anyone?

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All Nations & Religions

The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent & respectable Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations & Religions;  whom we shall wellcome to a participation of all our rights & previleges, if by decency & propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.
—    George Washington
Letter to Joshua Holmes, 2 December 1783
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On This Day In:
2022	True Measures
2021	Moments With You
	I Remember I Told My Sorrow
2020	A Post-Valentine Thought
2019	A Little Magic
	‘Cause It Makes Me Feel Happy
	The Mark Against Your Name
2018	Nice To Meet You
2017	All Nations & Religions
2016	Given The Choice
	Why Is He Wearing Red?
2015	Within The System
2014	None But…
2013	Obviously Longer
2012	A Childhood Poem
	Who Are You Callin’ Leather-Faced?
2011	In No Particular Order
	The Need For Proof

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Multiplication And Division

Joy multiplies when it is shared among friends, but grief diminishes with every division.  That is life.
—    R.A. Salvatore
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On This Day In:
2022	A Little Perspective
2021	Put ‘Er There
	Are You Goin’ On Again?
2020	And In The Back
2019	Sunlight Stream
2018	Wars Without Taxes
2017	Multiplication And Division
2016	I Went To The Woods…
2015	I’ve Got To Run
2014	Which Is It?
2013	Making You Stronger
2012	Sick Of Being Sick
	Greater Than Power
2011	Clear, Specific And Measurable
2010	The Runner’s High
	Into The Dark…

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We All Lose

Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence.  And when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.
—    Meryl Streep
Accepting an achievement award at the Golden Globe Awards
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On This Day In:
2022	A Reminder Of Pride And Responsibility
2021	And Last Minute Blog Posts
	This Boy Just Ain’t Right
2020	Pat, Pat, Pant, Pant
2019	You (Too) Are Related
	A Blind Squirrel Finds An Idiot
2018	My Hope
2017	We All Lose
2016	Wants
2015	Let Us Join
2014	Feeling Kept?
	Chillin’
2013	The Lucky Few
2012	A Post-Valentine’s Day Message
2011	Risk, Lyrics, Starting Over, And My Trip To The ER
	Lucky Choice

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Happy Valentine’s Day – 2017!!

[Happy Valentine’s Day, Hil!!  You are always on my mind…
All my love, Always, Your Kev XXX 00 X]
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On This Day In:
2022	Happy Valentine’s Day – 2022!!
2021	Happy Valentine’s Day – 2021!!
	Our Love’s No Mystery
	Backyard Narcissus
2020	Happy Valentine’s Day – 2020!!
2019	Happy Valentine’s Day – 2019!!
2018	Happy Valentine’s Day – 2018!!
2017	Happy Valentine’s Day – 2017!!
2016	Happy Valentine’s Day – 2016!!
2015	To My Special Lady
2014	Awakening
2013	Drowsy In Comfort
2012	Happy Valentine’s Day
2011	Own Your Bible

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