Yeah, I understand the romantic view, but those are the misanthropes of comedy — il Dottore, perhaps, or the older Beethoven as depicted in the movie, slapping at the ankles of a pack of tormenting children with his cane.

The world moves faster these days. I’d say that if you haven’t freed yourself of the bad habit of blaming your parents and their generation for everything by the time you’re thirty, you most likely never will. As for your face, the plastic surgeon is as likely to be responsible these days für dein Antlitz as you are yourself — assuming that a) you aren’t poor, and b) you aren’t Dorian Gray.

And I know all of this is actually not funny – because these type of characters are not supposed to run countries – But it happened and I loved the Jefferson letters – and Hi! – William!

I wanted to add that I don’t necessarily disagree with Greenwald’s argument, vis a vis emergency executive powers, but the clumsy way he does at times frame it.

The President doesn’t have some broad, vague duty to “protect Americans.” The Constitution really couldn’t be clearer about the President’s primary responsibility: it’s to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Sometimes, the duty actually assigned by the Constitution is consistent with the duty to Keep Us Safe, but many times, Constitutional imperatives are, by design, in conflict with the goal of maximum security.

And this, possibly the silliest sentence he has ever written:

The claim that the President takes an oath to “defend the country” — as though he’s some sort of National Security Daddy-Monarch whose supreme, overriding duty is to Keep Us Safe — is one of the most basic, common and destructive myths in our discourse.

I really do think the Founders, almost to a man, would have laughed in his face. If the president doesn’t have some broad vague duty to protect Americans we are truly screwed. It is implicit. And my problem has always been the fanatics he attracts who actually do think Lincoln was a Dictator and Tyrant for preserving the Union.

Glenn is not insane, he may be a bit fanatical at times, but I think he would have no argument here with Jefferson. Glenn is definitely a Madisonian, however, and all that entails, including a healthy respect for Madison’s Calvinist roots and belief in the doctrine of human depravity and imperfectability. He doesn’t trust any man with that emergency power. They just don’t make men like that anymore, the Founders, I mean.

“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

Barry Goldwater

This is an interesting comment but I’m not sure I agree with it. I’m more inclined to agree with the attribution to Franklin but probably authored by Jackson, which people tend to parse incorrectly and misunderstand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Jackson_(colonial_agent)

Nicknamed Omniscient Jackson. What a great nick name.

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

My first cousin (*) Moritz Steinschneider, who specialized in both Hebrew and Arabic, is generally credited for coining antisemitisch in 1860.

Moritz used the word to describe philologist J. Ernest Renan, who was theorizing that speakers of Semitic languages were members of a Semitic race, and that Semitic people(s) (Jews AND Arabs) weren’t cosmopolitan enough.

Later, of course, the anti-Arab meaning was dropped from the word.

Not cosmopolitan enough! You can’t win.

– sysprog, rootless cosmopolitan
__________
(*) first cousin, four times removed

Anyway, there’s a kink or two that developed toward the end — not surprising, I suppose, considering how often my reach exceeds my grasp — but I figure it’ll be up before the weekend’s out.

In fact, you might say that my doing what I’m doing here is at least in part an attempt to contribute to that process — if you’re feeling charitable, that is.

On another note. I am now Thomas Jefferson’s unitary executive sock puppet. He was a neocon, don’t you know.

I’m never that certain about anything.

It’s your most endearing character trait. That and your willingness to think out loud, in front of God and everybody.