Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.


- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
  Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Here we go again

Edward Luce and Andrew Ward, for The Financial Times:

"John McCain's right-hand man hit a raw nerve on Monday when he said another terrorist attack on US soil would prove a 'big advantage' to the Republican nominee's general election chances."

Ah yes... the 'be afraid' party. Whatever happened to 'land of the free, home of the brave?' I'm sure its much harder to herd brave people into an economic prison.

Don't underestimate us. Our fear threshold has risen significantly in the last 8 years.

Also... don't make the mistake of thinking that we haven't noticed - even during the ravaging hurricanes and the Midwestern floods, skyrocketing oil and food prices, failing infrastructure, failing economy, failing dollar - that the man who actually took credit for the attacks in 2001, Osama Bin Laden, is still at large.

Why is that? (George Carlin would ask us to think about that for a moment.)

This time we'd like to elect someone who will actually try to catch Bin Laden; not just use his name as a scary distraction from our ongoing national nightmare.

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Monday, June 23, 2008

Encore!



Please don't go. We need your laughter and your insight more than ever. Part of your great genius was your uncanny ability to poke holes in our widely accepted - yet unnoticed hypocrisies.

Thank you for making us think. Thanks for making us laugh - even and especially at ourselves. Thanks for pushing back.

"Why do they lock gas station restrooms? Are they afraid someone might try to break in and clean one?" -- George Carlin

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

For my dad and my dog Hailey

Thank you both for teaching me about graceful exits. Let the dance go on.



End of the Line

(The Traveling Wilburys)

Well it's all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it's all right, if you live the life you please
Well it's all right, doing the best you can
Well it's all right, as long as you lend a hand

You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring (End of the Line)
Waiting for someone to tell you everything (End of the Line)
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring (End of the Line)
Maybe a diamond ring

Well it's all right, even if they say you're wrong
Well it's all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it's all right, As long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it's all right, everyday is Judgment Day

Maybe somewhere down the road aways (End of the Line)
You'll think of me, wonder where I am these days (End of the Line)
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (End of the Line)
Purple haze

Well it's all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it's all right, if you got someone to love
Well it's all right, everything'll work out fine
Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line

Don't have to be ashamed of the car I drive (End of the Line)
I'm glad to be here, happy to be alive (End of the Line)
It don't matter if you're by my side (End of the Line)
I'm satisfied

Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray
Well it's all right, you still got something to say
Well it's all right, remember to live and let live
Well it's all right, the best you can do is forgive

Well it's all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it's all right, if you live the life you please
Well it's all right, even if the sun don't shine
Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line

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Sunday, June 15, 2008

Song for today

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Friday, June 13, 2008

Iowa

I'm so sorry... for your seemingly endless suffering. Every single storm that has hammered, us, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky... they all hit you first.

You're not invisible. I see you.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Must-see TV

History will smile on this man.

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

In Memorium (for all things left unsaid)





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Sunday, June 08, 2008

Remember this date

This just in from CNN: The AAA's national gas price average has reached $4 a gallon for the first time in history.

You're doing a heckova job, Bushie.

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Southern Indiana now a massive lake

I have never seen anything like this. I'm speechless.

This is Martinsville, to the North of us:


(Photo by Monty Howell, Herald-Times)



I don't know exactly where the below footage was filmed, but this is what we see on either side of the road whenever we drive to town:



Quote of the day (from the Herald Times, Bloomington):

"There are parts of (Ind.) 37 that have been absolutely washed away," Durnil said.

Because of the flooding and road concerns, Durnil said he didn't believe Ind. 37 would reopen today.

"We really, really need the rain to stop," he said.

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Saturday, June 07, 2008

The price

Well, the 8-year disastrous reign still hasn't passed into history, yet history may have at least one word of advice to future generations: never (again) elect two oil men to the White House.

A soaring jobless rate, an unprecedented jump in oil prices and a sliding dollar sent tremors through financial markets yesterday and cast fresh doubt on how soon the U.S. economy would be able to break out of a pattern of feeble growth and financial instability. (By Steven Mufson and Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

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Friday, June 06, 2008

Dear media blockheads...

It's not 1968. It's 2008. The only thing the two years have in common is an '8'.

You don't need to go Hillary on us and remind us that it is June, that Bobby Kennedy died 40 years ago this month, because some of us actually do remember it. We remember the heartbreak.

If you want to compare this year with a period in history, you might want to look at the onset of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Sure there wasn't a war - yet - but our 'home front' is definitely shaping up into a stock market crashing, weather devastating mess. And yes, we even have a rich idiot in the White House who is absolutely clueless about the plight of 90% of the people out here (we had that at the onset of the Great Depression too.)

Now, cross your fingers that there is an FDR out there in our not-so-distant future, or we're in big trouble...

And stop comparing Obama to RFK. Ghouls. Did Hillary put you up to this?

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Fun with floods

Wednesday in Bloomington Indiana...





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Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Tornado watches 441 - 444

Please make it stop. Thank you.

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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Riggle: on the road in Indiana

I finally found this! Rob Riggle, on the road with Obama in Indiana (includes the scream in Bloomington's Assembly Hall:)

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