in medias res

Archive for December, 2007

31 December

“Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war.

- John Adams

30 December

“The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.”

 - George Washington

29 December

“The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

- James Madison

28 December

“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”

- James Madison

27 December

“The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”

- Benjamin Franklin

26 December

“America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy.”

- John Quincy Adams

25 December

Merry Christmas to all

“I am sure that never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.”

- George Washington

24 December

“In Republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.”

- James Madison

As Andrew Sullivan is saying, it may be the best Ron Paul article yet. I never took Tucker Carlson to be funny, but this one elicited at least a few chuckles from me.

“The Constitution gives no authority for a central bank.” The crowd went wild, or as wild as a group of sober Republicans can on a Monday night.

and,

…only Paul has introduced a bill to legalize unpasteurized milk. Give yourself five minutes and see if you can think of a more countercultural idea than that.

The most insightful look at Dr. Paul’s speeches, I think, is this:

One thing you can say for certain: The crowds at Ron Paul rallies aren’t coming to be entertained. Stylistically, a Paul speech is about as colorful as a tax return. He is the only politician I’ve ever seen who doesn’t draw energy from the audience; his tone is as flat at the conclusion as it was at the beginning. There are no jokes. There’s no warm-up, no shout-out to local luminaries in the room, no inspiring vignettes about ordinary Americans doing their best in the face of this or that bad thing. In fact, there are virtually none of the usual political clichés in a Paul speech. Children may be our future, but Ron Paul isn’t admitting it in public.

And yet, there’s a fervent following unlike any I’ve ever seen or read about in history. Certainly don’t write him off, yet. Obviously he’s got something to say that people want to hear and causes the politically apathetic to get excited and involved. Don’t forget folks, America loves a good underdog story.

The article’s worth a read, and you’ll get to see how Ron Paul ended up being endorsed by the owner of the most famous whorehouse in the United States– all thanks to Tucker. Hat tip, The Daily Dish.

23 December

“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”

-George Washington