TRVTH

Promises

2008-11-19T12:45:00.002-06:00

Civilization rests on a set of promises; if the promises are broken too often, the civilization dies, no matter how rich it may be, or how mechanically clever. Hope and faith depend on the promises; if hope and faith go, everything goes.

-- Herbert Agar, American author

Keys To The Kingdom

2008-11-18T12:29:00.002-06:00

He who is able to fix the public utilities holds the keys to the kingdom in terms of winning the support of the Iraqi people and ultimately ending this conflict.

-- Army Sgt. Alex J. Plitsas, on conditions in the Sadr City section of Baghdad, New York Times, 22 April 2008

Stand Up

2008-11-17T12:43:00.002-06:00

This vote shows that the Iraqis have figured out how to stand up for themselves, to Iran and to the U.S.

-- Michael O'Hanlon, specialist in Iraq at the Brookings Institution, on the Iraqi cabinet's approval of a security agreement calling for a full withdrawal of American forces by the end of 2011, New York Times, 17 November 2008

Well-Laid Plan

2008-11-14T13:02:00.001-06:00

A well-laid business plan is no guarantee against the disappearance of the industry on which it is based.

-- Tim Cavanaugh, American libertarian writer and editor, Reason Online, May 2003

Grieving

2008-11-13T13:34:00.002-06:00

People are grieving. There was a death. Their money died.

-- Barbara Goldsmith, semiretired psychotherapist in Delray Beach, Florida, New York Times, 13 November 2008

Cure Every Ill

2008-11-12T12:15:00.002-06:00

Congress seems to want to cure every ill known to man except unconstitutional government and high taxes.

-- Charley Reese (1937-), American syndicated columnist

Greed

2008-11-11T12:42:00.002-06:00

Politicians never accuse you of "greed" for wanting other people's money -- only for wanting to keep your own money.

-- Joseph Sobran (1946-). American journalist and writer

Graffito

2008-11-10T12:47:00.003-06:00

Seen November 5 On a Handmade Sign in West Philly

Rosa had to sit so Martin could walk,
Martin had to walk so Barack could run,
Barack had to run so our children can fly.

-- Scott Paul, in The Washington Note blog

RIP Studs Terkel

2008-11-07T12:20:00.002-06:00

My epitaph, I hope, will be, "Curiosity did not kill this cat."

-- Louis "Studs" Terkel (16 May 1912 - 31 October 2008), American author, historian, radio personality, and actor, 1999 National Public Radio interview

RIP Michael Crichton

2008-11-06T12:38:00.002-06:00

We are all assumed, these days, to reside at one extreme of the opinion spectrum, or another. We are pro-abortion or anti-abortion. We are free traders or protectionist. We are pro-private sector or pro-big government. We are feminists or chauvinists. But in the real world, few of us hold these extreme views. There is instead a spectrum of opinion.

-- Dr. John Michael Crichton (23 October 1942 - 4 November 2008), American author, film & TV producer, "Mediasaurus: The decline of conventional media" - Speech at the National Press Club, Washington D.C. (7 April 1993)

Obama Victorious

2008-11-05T12:47:00.005-06:00

This victory alone is not the change we seek; it is only the chance for us to make that change.

-- President-elect Barack Obama, in his victory speech, 4 November 2008

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

-- Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain, concession speech, 4 November 2008

No matter how they cast their ballot, all Americans can be proud of the history that was made yesterday,

-- Out-going president George W. Bush, regarding Obama's victory, 5 November 2008

--

In Piatt County, IL where I live, McCain won with 4988 votes (55%) to Obama's 3856 votes (43%).

In Champaign County, IL where I work, Obama won with 48,351 votes (58%) to McCain's 33,748 votes (40%).

Of the 8 times that I have voted in a presidential election, this marks just the second time that the candidate I voted for has won. No wonder I'm a cynic about national politics.

Rock The Vote

2008-11-04T10:38:00.002-06:00

Rock the vote, people!

Don't Have To Think

2008-11-03T12:12:00.003-06:00

The whole reason we have elected officials is so we don't have to think all the time.

-- Homer Simpson

People Might Remember

2008-10-30T12:29:00.002-05:00

It is dangerous for a national candidate to say things that people might remember.

-- Eugene McCarthy (1916 - 2005) American politician, poet, and 22-year member of the US Congress (D-MN)

Politician Vs. Statesman

2008-10-29T12:53:00.002-05:00

A politician is a man who thinks of the next election; while the statesman thinks of the next generation.

-- James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888), preacher and author

Guide Your Luck

2008-10-28T12:23:00.002-05:00

It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck, even while waiting for it.

-- Baltasar Gracian (1601 - 1658), Spanish Baroque prose writer

Informed Voters

2008-10-27T13:16:00.001-05:00

I don't think anything will change until Americans revolt and get it into their heads that they need to be informed voters instead of just listening to the paid political ads.

-- Deborah Pryce, a United States representative from Ohio who is retiring, New York Times, 30 October 2007

Talk Sense

2008-10-24T12:22:00.002-05:00

Let's talk sense to the American people. Let's tell them the truth, that there are no gains without pains, that we are now on the eve of great decisions, not easy decisions, like resistance when you're attacked, but a long, patient, costly struggle which alone can assure triumph over the great enemies of man -- war, poverty, and tyranny -- and the assaults upon human dignity which are the most grievous consequences of each.

-- Adlai Stevenson, acceptance speech, Democratic National Convention, Chicago, IL, 26 July 1952

Victory, Not Truth

2008-10-23T12:16:00.002-05:00

Like a lawyer, the human brain wants victory, not truth; and, like a lawyer, it is sometimes more admirable for skill than virtue.

-- Robert Wright, author and journalist (b. 1957)

Distorted

2008-10-22T12:50:00.002-05:00

... The problem with the U.S. economy, more than lack of regulation, has been government's failure to control systemic risks that government itself helped to create. We are not witnessing a crisis of the free market but a crisis of distorted markets.

-- Washington Post editorial, 20 October 2008

Lahde Duh

2008-10-21T12:26:00.002-05:00

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reined in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it.

With that I say goodbye and good luck.

All the best,
Andrew Lahde

-- Andrew Lahde of Lahde Capital Management, farewell letter (abridged) on his retirement (age ~38) after his fund earned 866% return in 2007 betting on the collapse of the subprime mortgage industry, Financial Times, 17 October 2008

Orthodoxy

2008-10-20T12:44:00.002-05:00

As gifted as he is, he is essentially going to execute the Republican agenda, the orthodoxy of the Republican agenda, with a new face and a maverick approach to it, and he'd be quite good at it. But I think we need a generational change.

-- Colin L. Powell, discussing Senator John McCain, and endorsing Senator Barack Obama, New York Times, 20 October 2008

In Defense Of Cheating

2008-10-17T12:33:00.002-05:00

[O]ur current educational methods ... test by requiring students to prove that they can regurgitate the information presented in class without assistance from others .... But in real life, asking others for help is not only permitted, it is encouraged. Why not rethink the entire purpose of our examination system? We should be encouraging students to learn how to use all possible resources to come up with effective answers to important problems. Students should be encouraged to ask others for help, and they should also be taught to give full credit to those others. So, the purpose of this contribution to Ubiquity is to offer an alternative approach: to examine the origins of cheating, and by solving the root cause, to simultaneously reduce or eliminate cheating while enhancing learning.

-- Donald A. Norman, Professor of Computer Science, Northwestern University, Ubiquity, Volume 6, Issue 11, 29 September 2008

http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v6i11_norman.html

Duly Rise

2008-10-16T13:53:00.002-05:00

So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly rise and make them miserable.

-- Aldous Huxley, novelist (1894-1963)

Cinderella At The Ball

2008-10-15T12:28:00.002-05:00

The line separating investment and speculation, which is never bright and clear, becomes blurred still further when most market participants have recently enjoyed triumphs. Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money. After a heady experience of that kind, normally sensible people drift into behavior akin to that of Cinderella at the ball. They know that overstaying the festivities -- that is, continuing to speculate in companies that have gigantic valuations relative to the cash they are likely to generate in the future -- will eventually bring on pumpkins and mice. But they nevertheless hate to miss a single minute of what is one helluva party. Therefore, the giddy participants all plan to leave just seconds before midnight. There's a problem, though: They are dancing in a room in which the clocks have no hands.

-- Warren Edward Buffett (30 August 1930-), American investor, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire Hathaway 2000 Chairman's Letter