0 comment Monday, June 9, 2014 | admin
My faithful readers (you of the superhuman attention spans) know how much I admire Albert Jay Nock. Here is a piece which appears at First Principles
The Durable Mr. Nock
[Warning; it's a lengthy piece,but it is a worthwhile piece for those who can handle it.]
Here is a sample or two:
Albert Jay Nock died too soon, but not before he had nailed to the mast several of the paradoxes which make living in our age so intriguing. He tookgreat delight, for example, in pointing out that American colleges and universities are generally hostile to education and learning. In conversation one day with several college presidents, Nock laid down a number of stringent guidelines for running a college. One of the presidents, somewhat shocked, said, "Why Mr. Nock, if my college were to follow your advice we�d lose most of the faculty and all but about five of the students." Nock pondered this for a moment, and then replied, "That would be just the right size for a college."
The life-long concern of this man was with the quality of life lived in our civilization; he found the quality poor. Institutions of higher learning, so called, were by no means his only target. Nock was a staunch defender of capitalism, but he was unsparing in his criticism of capitalists for distrusting the free market: and for trotting down to Washington begging for handouts.
[...]
A small number of men and women whose convictions are so sound and so clearly thought out that they will go through hell and high water for them are more than a match for the multitude whose ideas are too vague to generate convictions. A little leaven raises the entire lump of dough; a tiny flame starts a mighty conflagration; a small rudder turns a huge ship. And a handful of people possessed of ideas and a dream can change a nation�especially when that nation is searching for new answers and a new direction.''
The Durable Mr. Nock
[Warning; it's a lengthy piece,but it is a worthwhile piece for those who can handle it.]
Here is a sample or two:
Albert Jay Nock died too soon, but not before he had nailed to the mast several of the paradoxes which make living in our age so intriguing. He tookgreat delight, for example, in pointing out that American colleges and universities are generally hostile to education and learning. In conversation one day with several college presidents, Nock laid down a number of stringent guidelines for running a college. One of the presidents, somewhat shocked, said, "Why Mr. Nock, if my college were to follow your advice we�d lose most of the faculty and all but about five of the students." Nock pondered this for a moment, and then replied, "That would be just the right size for a college."
The life-long concern of this man was with the quality of life lived in our civilization; he found the quality poor. Institutions of higher learning, so called, were by no means his only target. Nock was a staunch defender of capitalism, but he was unsparing in his criticism of capitalists for distrusting the free market: and for trotting down to Washington begging for handouts.
[...]
A small number of men and women whose convictions are so sound and so clearly thought out that they will go through hell and high water for them are more than a match for the multitude whose ideas are too vague to generate convictions. A little leaven raises the entire lump of dough; a tiny flame starts a mighty conflagration; a small rudder turns a huge ship. And a handful of people possessed of ideas and a dream can change a nation�especially when that nation is searching for new answers and a new direction.''
0 comment Sunday, May 4, 2014 | admin
Bush signs bill to build 700-mile fence on U.S.- Mexico border
From the USA Today article:
We have a responsibility to secure our borders," Bush added. "We take this responsibility seriously.
"We're modernizing the southern border of the United States so we can assure the American people we are doing our job of securing the border.
The legislation will give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they're tough on illegal immigration. Its main sponsor was Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
Yet the centerpiece of Bush's immigration policy, a guest worker program, remains stalled in Congress.''
[...]The president used his remarks before the signing ceremony to again push for his guest worker plan. "There is a rational middle ground" between mass deportation of illegal immigrants and amnesty, he said.
Yeah, and 'rational middle ground' between mass deportation and amnesty is another way of describing Hegelian maneuvers to push us toward legalizing millions of invaders. I have a suspicion the 'middle ground' will have suddenly been located far to the left
Well, surprise, surprise. Who could not have predicted this? I fully expected some remarks along these lines today. There is no way the President and his Mexican cronies are going to give up on the amnesty deal. No matter if they dress it up and call it 'comprehensive immigration reform', it's still amnesty. Even if they perfume it and call it a 'guest-worker program' or a 'path to earned legalization' it's still an amnesty. And it still stinks.
Cornyn said he voted for the fence because he wanted to help demonstrate that Congress was serious about border security.
"The choice we were presented was: Are we going to vote to enhance border security, or against it?" Cornyn said. "I think that's how the vote was viewed."'
Cornyn has been one of the most persistent pushers of some kind of amnesty for some time, as has Hutchinson. So now by backing this bill, they can make a bogus claim to be getting tough on illegal immigration, and go right back to forcing amnesty down the throat of America. And don't doubt that they will do exactly that.
All of these politicians are practiced at talking out of both sides of their mouths. When they go to pander and grovel before the Mexican-American groups, you can bet they change their message accordingly.
I think only the most obtuse of the party faithful (and unfortunately, they are legion) will be taken in by this fence charade. But it may suffice to get a few more votes on election day, and that's what it's all about.
From the USA Today article:
We have a responsibility to secure our borders," Bush added. "We take this responsibility seriously.
"We're modernizing the southern border of the United States so we can assure the American people we are doing our job of securing the border.
The legislation will give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they're tough on illegal immigration. Its main sponsor was Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
Yet the centerpiece of Bush's immigration policy, a guest worker program, remains stalled in Congress.''
[...]The president used his remarks before the signing ceremony to again push for his guest worker plan. "There is a rational middle ground" between mass deportation of illegal immigrants and amnesty, he said.
Yeah, and 'rational middle ground' between mass deportation and amnesty is another way of describing Hegelian maneuvers to push us toward legalizing millions of invaders. I have a suspicion the 'middle ground' will have suddenly been located far to the left
Well, surprise, surprise. Who could not have predicted this? I fully expected some remarks along these lines today. There is no way the President and his Mexican cronies are going to give up on the amnesty deal. No matter if they dress it up and call it 'comprehensive immigration reform', it's still amnesty. Even if they perfume it and call it a 'guest-worker program' or a 'path to earned legalization' it's still an amnesty. And it still stinks.
Cornyn said he voted for the fence because he wanted to help demonstrate that Congress was serious about border security.
"The choice we were presented was: Are we going to vote to enhance border security, or against it?" Cornyn said. "I think that's how the vote was viewed."'
Cornyn has been one of the most persistent pushers of some kind of amnesty for some time, as has Hutchinson. So now by backing this bill, they can make a bogus claim to be getting tough on illegal immigration, and go right back to forcing amnesty down the throat of America. And don't doubt that they will do exactly that.
All of these politicians are practiced at talking out of both sides of their mouths. When they go to pander and grovel before the Mexican-American groups, you can bet they change their message accordingly.
I think only the most obtuse of the party faithful (and unfortunately, they are legion) will be taken in by this fence charade. But it may suffice to get a few more votes on election day, and that's what it's all about.