On this day:
1971
The Harrisburg Seven: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
2010
The 2010 Haiti earthquake occurs killing an estimated 316,000 and destroying the majority of the capital, Port-au-Prince
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As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness. Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society — things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out. Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.
–from Letters of E.B. White
The Harrisburg Seven: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
2010
The 2010 Haiti earthquake occurs killing an estimated 316,000 and destroying the majority of the capital, Port-au-Prince
***
As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness. Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society — things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out. Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.
–from Letters of E.B. White
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“The first thing you have to know is yourself. A man who knows himself can step outside himself and watch his own reactions like an observer.”--Adam Smith
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What is Portland's police chief crying about?
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Philosophy-Free Zone
Philosophy-Free Zone
The 'Horseshoe Theory' in politics tries to explain the curious seemingly similar appearance of the behavior of extremes on the political spectrum. Rather than a straight line, political positions are really an arc, where the far-right and far-left bend towards each other like a horseshoe. Both are intense, populist, with similar policies aimed at dissimilar goals. They are divergent ideologues with a common, utilitarian stem.
More like a Thanksgiving wishbone.
Look at Trump. He's talking about Greenland as if he has no understanding of American history at all.
He wants to declare an outright ban on institutional buying of single-family residential real estate by those investors who own more than 100 properties, as if there were no limits to presidential power and private property was passé.
He wants Government control of executive compensation at defense and aerospace companies, along with, under loosely defined circumstances, a ban on such companies’ returning capital (whether by share buybacks or dividends). He has acquired government interest in select American companies.
This sounds like Elizabeth Warren, not like any Republican you can name.
It is. We are in a time of the utilitarian, the disruption of means for ends, of confused authority. Dangerous and hard to unwind, especially in times when reflectiveness is disregarded.
It is. We are in a time of the utilitarian, the disruption of means for ends, of confused authority. Dangerous and hard to unwind, especially in times when reflectiveness is disregarded.
And, of course, the idea of the wishbone tug-of-war is to break it and end with the biggest piece.
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