Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.
Thomas Paine
All extremist doctrines invoke the principle (found, sadly, in the Gospels) that "he who is not with me is against me."
Tzvetan Todorov
Justice is the only worship. Love is the only priest. Ignorance is the only slavery. Happiness is the only good.
Robert G. Ingersoll
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It is in the prosecution of some single object, and in striving to reach its accomplishment by the combined application of his moral and physical energies, that the true happiness of man, in his full vigour and development, consists. Possession, it is true, crowns exertion with repose; but it is only in the illusions of fancy that it has power to charm our eyes. If we consider the position of man in the universe,—if we remember the constant tendency of his energies towards some definite activity, and recognize the influence of surrounding nature, which is ever provoking him to exertion, we shall be ready to acknowledge that repose and possession do not indeed exist but in imagination. - Wilhelm von Humboldt, The Sphere and Duties of Government (The Limits of State Action) (1854 ed.)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Thanking Wyden!! Have you?
Well, I never got through to Wyden either via the capital switchboard or direct: Busy or put on hold.
But, Wyden voted no!! Yay!
Just called him and thanked him. Will also send a nice email. Grin!
Of course "small government" Smith voted yes. Honestly, I need someone to tell my why they are Republican or why they vote Republican!??
Now I need to contact Wu and tell him to stay strong!
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2 comments:
Senator Ron Wyden and both Representatives Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer have been remarkable in this fiasco! Oregonians have good reason to be proud of these civil servants.
I was disappointed that Wu waffled, but not surprised. He's always tried to walk down the middle of the road. I have not lost all respect for him, but he is inconsistent in his representation of the individual taxpayer.
I wrote to both Wyden and DeFazio last weekend, encouraging them to stick with their position on this issue. And I wrote to them again today to thank them for their efforts.
Awesome! I think it is very important to contact them. Especially in this case when a lot of people were. Being one of a few voices on any issue is probably pretty pointless: I doubt being one of say 10 calls on any topic would convince any politician to vote against their own interest.
But being say the one to push the number of calls over 100 might give the politician political cover to say something silly such as: I have received over 100 calls, so today I voted for the average person's interests and against big money. I hope our voices helped them vote their conscience.
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