Wednesday, December 7, 2011

reset to 1910

We come here to-day to commemorate one of the epoch-making events of the long struggle for the rights of man-the long struggle for the uplift of humanity. Our country-this great Republic-means nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy, the triumph of popular government, and, in the long run, of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him. That is why the history of America is now the central feature of the history of the world; for the world has set its face hopefully toward our democracy; and, O my fellow citizens, each one of you carries on your shoulders not only the burden of doing well for the sake of your country, but the burden of doing well and of seeing that this nation does well for the sake of mankind.

There have been two great crises in our country’s history: first, when it was formed, and then, again, when it was perpetuated; and, in the second of these great crises-in the time of stress and strain which culminated in the Civil War, on the outcome of which depended the justification of what had been done earlier, you men of the Grand Army, you men who fought through the Civil War, not only did you justify your generation, but you justified the wisdom of Washington and Washington’s colleagues. If this Republic had been founded by them only to be split asunder into fragments when the strain came, then the judgment of the world would have been that Washington’s work was not worth doing. It was you who crowned Washington’s work, as you carried to achievement the high purpose of Abraham Lincoln.

Now, with this second period of our history the name of John Brown will forever be associated; and Kansas was the theatre upon which the first act of the second of our great national life dramas was played. It was the result of the struggle in Kansas which determined that our country should be in deed as well as in name devoted to both union and freedom; that the great experiment of democratic government on a national scale should succeed and not fail. In name we had the Declaration of Independence in 1776; but we gave the lie by our acts to the words of the Declaration of Independence until 1865; and words count for nothing except in so far as they represent acts. This is true everywhere; but, O my friends, it should be truest of all in political life. A broken promise is bad enough in private life. It is worse in the field of politics. No man is worth his salt in public life who makes on the stump a pledge which he does not keep after election; and, if he makes such a pledge and does not keep it, hunt him out of public life. I care for the great deeds of the past chiefly as spurs to drive us onward in the present. I speak of the men of the past partly that they may be honored by our praise of them, but more that they may serve as examples for the future.

It was a heroic struggle; and, as is inevitable with all such struggles, it had also a dark and terrible side. Very much was done of good, and much also of evil; and, as was inevitable in such a period of revolution, often the same man did both good and evil. For our great good fortune as a nation, we, the people of the United States as a whole, can now afford to forget the evil, or, at least, to remember it without bitterness, and to fix our eyes with pride only on the good that was accomplished. Even in ordinary times there are very few of us who do not see the problems of life as through a glass, darkly; and when the glass is clouded by the murk of furious popular passion, the vision of the best and the bravest is dimmed. Looking back, we are all of us now able to do justice to the valor and the disinterestedness and the love of the right, as to each it was given to see the right, shown both by the men of the North and the men of the South in that contest which was finally decided by the attitude of the West. We can admire the heroic valor, the sincerity, the self-devotion shown alike by the men who wore the blue and the men who wore the gray; and our sadness that such men should have to fight one another is tempered by the glad knowledge that ever hereafter their descendants shall be fighting side by side, struggling in peace as well as in war for the uplift of their common country, all alike resolute to raise to the highest pitch of honor and usefulness the nation to which they all belong. As for the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, they deserve honor and recognition such as is paid to no other citizens of the Republic; for to them the republic owes it all; for to them it owes its very existence. It is because of what you and your comrades did in the dark years that we of to-day walk, each of us, head erect, and proud that we belong, not to one of a dozen little squabbling contemptible commonwealths, but to the mightiest nation upon which the sun shines.

I do not speak of this struggle of the past merely from the historic standpoint. Our interest is primarily in the application to-day of the lessons taught by the contest a half a century ago. It is of little use for us to pay lip-loyalty to the mighty men of the past unless we sincerely endeavor to apply to the problems of the present precisely the qualities which in other crises enabled the men of that day to meet those crises. It is half melancholy and half amusing to see the way in which well-meaning people gather to do honor to the men who, in company with John Brown, and under the lead of Abraham Lincoln, faced and solved the great problems of the nineteenth century, while, at the same time, these same good people nervously shrink from, or frantically denounce, those who are trying to meet the problems of the twentieth century in the spirit which was accountable for the successful solution of the problems of Lincoln’s time.

Of that generation of men to whom we owe so much, the man to whom we owe most is, of course, Lincoln. Part of our debt to him is because he forecast our present struggle and saw the way out. He said:

"I hold that while man exists it is his duty to improve not only his own condition, but to assist in ameliorating mankind."

And again:

"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."

If that remark was original with me, I should be even more strongly denounced as a Communist agitator than I shall be anyhow. It is Lincoln’s. I am only quoting it; and that is one side; that is the side the capitalist should hear. Now, let the working man hear his side.

"Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. . . . Nor should this lead to a war upon the owners of property. Property is the fruit of labor; . . . property is desirable; is a positive good in the world."

And then comes a thoroughly Lincoln-like sentence:

"Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."

It seems to me that, in these words, Lincoln took substantially the attitude that we ought to take; he showed the proper sense of proportion in his relative estimates of capital and labor, of human rights and property rights. Above all, in this speech, as in many others, he taught a lesson in wise kindliness and charity; an indispensable lesson to us of today. But this wise kindliness and charity never weakened his arm or numbed his heart. We cannot afford weakly to blind ourselves to the actual conflict which faces us today. The issue is joined, and we must fight or fail.

In every wise struggle for human betterment one of the main objects, and often the only object, has been to achieve in large measure equality of opportunity. In the struggle for this great end, nations rise from barbarism to civilization, and through it people press forward from one stage of enlightenment to the next. One of the chief factors in progress is the destruction of special privilege. The essence of any struggle for healthy liberty has always been, and must always be, to take from some one man or class of men the right to enjoy power, or wealth, or position, or immunity, which has not been earned by service to his or their fellows. That is what you fought for in the Civil War, and that is what we strive for now.

At many stages in the advance of humanity, this conflict between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess is the central condition of progress. In our day it appears as the struggle of freemen to gain and hold the right of self-government as against the special interests, who twist the methods of free government into machinery for defeating the popular will. At every stage, and under all circumstances, the essence of the struggle is to equalize opportunity, destroy privilege, and give to the life and citizenship of every individual the highest possible value both to himself and to the commonwealth. That is nothing new. All I ask in civil life is what you fought for in the Civil War. I ask that civil life be carried on according to the spirit in which the army was carried on. You never get perfect justice, but the effort in handling the army was to bring to the front the men who could do the job. Nobody grudged promotion to Grant, or Sherman, or Thomas, or Sheridan, because they earned it. The only complaint was when a man got promotion which he did not earn.

Practical equality of opportunity for all citizens, when we achieve it, will have two great results. First, every man will have a fair chance to make of himself all that in him lies; to reach the highest point to which his capacities, unassisted by special privilege of his own and unhampered by the special privilege of others, can carry him, and to get for himself and his family substantially what he has earned. Second, equality of opportunity means that the commonwealth will get from every citizen the highest service of which he is capable. No man who carries the burden of the special privileges of another can give to the commonwealth that service to which it is fairly entitled.

I stand for the square deal. But when I say that I am for the square deal, I mean not merely that I stand for fair play under the present rules of the game, but that I stand for having those rules changed so as to work for a more substantial equality of opportunity and of reward for equally good service. One word of warning, which, I think, is hardly necessary in Kansas. When I say I want a square deal for the poor man, I do not mean that I want a square deal for the man who remains poor because he has not got the energy to work for himself. If a man who has had a chance will not make good, then he has got to quit. And you men of the Grand Army, you want justice for the brave man who fought, and punishment for the coward who shirked his work. Is that not so?

Now, this means that our government, National and State, must be freed from the sinister influence or control of special interests. Exactly as the special interests of cotton and slavery threatened our political integrity before the Civil War, so now the great special business interests too often control and corrupt the men and methods of government for their own profit. We must drive the special interests out of politics. That is one of our tasks to-day. Every special interest is entitled to justice-full, fair, and complete-and, now, mind you, if there were any attempt by mob-violence to plunder and work harm to the special interest, whatever it may be, that I most dislike, and the wealthy man, whomsoever he may be, for whom I have the greatest contempt, I would fight for him, and you would if you were worth your salt. He should have justice. For every special interest is entitled to justice, but not one is entitled to a vote in Congress, to a voice on the bench, or to representation in any public office. The Constitution guarantees protection to property, and we must make that promise good. But it does not give the right of suffrage to any corporation.

The true friend of property, the true conservative, is he who insists that property shall be the servant and not the master of the commonwealth; who insists that the creature of man’s making shall be the servant and not the master of the man who made it. The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have called into being.

There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short nor an easy task, but it can be done.

We must have complete and effective publicity of corporate affairs, so that the people may know beyond peradventure whether the corporations obey the law and whether their management entitles them to the confidence of the public. It is necessary that laws should be passed to prohibit the use of corporate funds directly or indirectly for political purposes; it is still more necessary that such laws should be thoroughly enforced. Corporate expenditures for political purposes, and especially such expenditures by public-service corporations, have supplied one of the principal sources of corruption in our political affairs.

It has become entirely clear that we must have government supervision of the capitalization, not only of public-service corporations, including, particularly, railways, but of all corporations doing an interstate business. I do not wish to see the nation forced into the ownership of the railways if it can possibly be avoided, and the only alternative is thoroughgoing and effective legislation, which shall be based on a full knowledge of all the facts, including a physical valuation of property. This physical valuation is not needed, or, at least, is very rarely needed, for fixing rates; but it is needed as the basis of honest capitalization.

We have come to recognize that franchises should never be granted except for a limited time, and never without proper provision for compensation to the public. It is my personal belief that the same kind and degree of control and supervision which should be exercised over public-service corporations should be extended also to combinations which control necessaries of life, such as meat, oil, or coal, or which deal in them on an important scale. I have no doubt that the ordinary man who has control of them is much like ourselves. I have no doubt he would like to do well, but I want to have enough supervision to help him realize that desire to do well.

I believe that the officers, and, especially, the directors, of corporations should be held personally responsible when any corporation breaks the law.

Combinations in industry are the result of an imperative economic law which cannot be repealed by political legislation. The effort at prohibiting all combination has substantially failed. The way out lies, not in attempting to prevent such combinations, but in completely controlling them in the interest of the public welfare. For that purpose the Federal Bureau of Corporations is an agency of first importance. Its powers, and, therefore, its efficiency, as well as that of the Interstate Commerce Commission, should be largely increased. We have a right to expect from the Bureau of Corporations and from the Interstate Commerce Commission a very high grade of public service. We should be as sure of the proper conduct of the interstate railways and the proper management of interstate business as we are now sure of the conduct and management of the national banks, and we should have as effective supervision in one case as in the other. The Hepburn Act, and the amendment to the act in the shape in which it finally passed Congress at the last session, represent a long step in advance, and we must go yet further.

There is a wide-spread belief among our people that, under the methods of making tariffs which have hitherto obtained, the special interests are too influential. Probably this is true of both the big special interests and the little special interests. These methods have put a premium on selfishness, and, naturally, the selfish big interests have gotten more than their smaller, though equally selfish, brothers. The duty of Congress is to provide a method by which the interest of the whole people shall be all that receives consideration. To this end there must be an expert tariff commission, wholly removed from the possibility of political pressure or of improper business influence. Such a commission can find the real difference between cost of production, which is mainly the difference of labor cost here and abroad. As fast as its recommendations are made, I believe in revising one schedule at a time. A general revision of the tariff almost inevitably leads to logrolling and the subordination of the general public interest to local and special interests.

The absence of effective State, and, especially, national, restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power. The prime need to is to change the conditions which enable these men to accumulate power which it is not for the general welfare that they should hold or exercise. We grudge no man a fortune which represents his own power and sagacity, when exercised with entire regard to the welfare of his fellows. Again, comrades over there, take the lesson from your own experience. Not only did you not grudge, but you gloried in the promotion of the great generals who gained their promotion by leading their army to victory. So it is with us. We grudge no man a fortune in civil life if it is honorably obtained and well used. It is not even enough that it should have been gained without doing damage to the community. We should permit it to be gained only so long as the gaining represents benefit to the community. This, I know, implies a policy of a far more active governmental interference with social and economic conditions in this country than we have yet had, but I think we have got to face the fact that such an increase in governmental control is now necessary.

No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned. Every dollar received should represent a dollar’s worth of service rendered-not gambling in stocks, but service rendered. The really big fortune, the swollen fortune, by the mere fact of its size, acquires qualities which differentiate it in kind as well as in degree from what is possessed by men of relatively small means. Therefore, I believe in a graduated income tax on big fortunes, and in another tax which is far more easily collected and far more effective-a graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes, properly safeguarded against evasion, and increasing rapidly in amount with the size of the estate.

The people of the United States suffer from periodical financial panics to a degree substantially unknown to the other nations, which approach us in financial strength. There is no reason why we should suffer what they escape. It is of profound importance that our financial system should be promptly investigated, and so thoroughly and effectively revised as to make it certain that hereafter our currency will no longer fail at critical times to meet our needs.

It is hardly necessary to me to repeat that I believe in an efficient army and a navy large enough to secure for us abroad that respect which is the surest guaranty of peace. A word of special warning to my fellow citizens who are as progressive as I hope I am. I want them to keep up their interest in our international affairs; and I want them also continually to remember Uncle Sam’s interests abroad. Justice and fair dealings among nations rest upon principles identical with those which control justice and fair dealing among the individuals of which nations are composed, with the vital exception that each nation must do its own part in international police work. If you get into trouble here, you can call for the police; but if Uncle Sam gets into trouble, he has got to be his own policeman, and I want to see him strong enough to encourage the peaceful aspirations of other people’s in connection with us. I believe in national friendships and heartiest good-will to all nations; but national friendships, like those between men, must be founded on respect as well as on liking, on forbearance as well as upon trust. I should be heartily ashamed of any American who did not try to make the American government act as justly toward the other nations in international relations as he himself would act toward any individual in private relations. I should be heartily ashamed to see us wrong a weaker power, and I should hang my head forever if we tamely suffered wrong from a stronger power.

Of conservation I shall speak more at length elsewhere. Conservation means development as much as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us. I ask nothing of the nation except that it so behave as each farmer here behaves with reference to his own children. That farmer is a poor creature who skins the land and leaves it worthless to his children. The farmer is a good farmer who, having enabled the land to support himself and to provide for the education of his children, leaves it to them a little better than he found it himself. I believe the same thing of a nation.

Moreover, I believe that the natural resources must be used for the benefit of all our people, and not monopolized for the benefit of the few, and here again is another case in which I am accused of taking a revolutionary attitude. People forget now that one hundred years ago there were public men of good character who advocated the nation selling its public lands in great quantities, so that the nation could get the most money out of it, and giving it to the men who could cultivate it for their own uses. We took the proper democratic ground that the land should be granted in small sections to the men who were actually to till it and live on it. Now, with the water-power, with the forests, with the mines, we are brought face to face with the fact that there are many people who will go with us in conserving the resources only if they are to be allowed to exploit them for their benefit. That is one of the fundamental reasons why the special interests should be driven out of politics. Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us, and training them into a better race to inhabit the land and pass it on. Conservation is a great moral issue, for it involves the patriotic duty of insuring the safety and continuance of the nation. Let me add that the health and vitality of our people are at least as well worth conserving as their forests, waters, lands, and minerals, and in this great work the national government must bear a most important part.

I have spoken elsewhere also of the great task which lies before the farmers of the country to get for themselves and their wives and children not only the benefits of better farming, but also those of better business methods and better conditions of life on the farm. The burden of this great task will fall, as it should, mainly upon the great organizations of the farmers themselves. I am glad it will, for I believe they are all well able to handle it. In particular, there are strong reasons why the Departments of Agriculture of the various states, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the agricultural colleges and experiment stations should extend their work to cover all phases of farm life, instead of limiting themselves, as they have far too often limited themselves in the past, solely to the question of the production of crops. And now a special word to the farmer. I want to see him make the farm as fine a farm as it can be made; and let him remember to see that the improvement goes on indoors as well as out; let him remember that the farmer’s wife should have her share of thought and attention just as much as the farmer himself.

Nothing is more true than that excess of every kind is followed by reaction; a fact which should be pondered by reformer and reactionary alike. We are face to face with new conceptions of the relations of property to human welfare, chiefly because certain advocates of the rights of property as against the rights of men have been pushing their claims too far. The man who wrongly holds that every human right is secondary to his profit must now give way to the advocate of human welfare, who rightly maintains that every man holds his property subject to the general right of the community to regulate its use to whatever degree the public welfare may require it.

But I think we may go still further. The right to regulate the use of wealth in the public interest is universally admitted. Let us admit also the right to regulate the terms and conditions of labor, which is the chief element of wealth, directly in the interest of the common good. The fundamental thing to do for every man is to give him a chance to reach a place in which he will make the greatest possible contribution to the public welfare. Understand what I say there. Give him a chance, not push him up if he will not be pushed. Help any man who stumbles; if he lies down, it is a poor job to try to carry him; but if he is a worthy man, try your best to see that he gets a chance to show the worth that is in him. No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more than sufficient to cover the bare cost of living, and hours of labor short enough so after his day’s work is done he will have time and energy to bear his share in the management of the community, to help in carrying the general load. We keep countless men from being good citizens by the conditions of life by which we surround them. We need comprehensive workman’s compensation acts, both State and national laws to regulate child labor and work for women, and, especially, we need in our common schools not merely education in book-learning, but also practical training for daily life and work. We need to enforce better sanitary conditions for our workers and to extend the use of safety appliances for workers in industry and commerce, both within and between the States. Also, friends, in the interest of the working man himself, we need to set our faces like flint against mob-violence just as against corporate greed; against violence and injustice and lawlessness by wage-workers just as much as against lawless cunning and greed and selfish arrogance of employers. If I could ask but one thing of my fellow countrymen, my request would be that, whenever they go in for reform, they remember the two sides, and that they always exact justice from one side as much as from the other. I have small use for the public servant who can always see and denounce the corruption of the capitalist, but who cannot persuade himself, especially before election, to say a word about lawless mob-violence. And I have equally small use for the man, be he a judge on the bench or editor of a great paper, or wealthy and influential private citizen, who can see clearly enough and denounce the lawlessness of mob-violence, but whose eyes are closed so that he is blind when the question is one of corruption of business on a gigantic scale. Also, remember what I said about excess in reformer and reactionary alike. If the reactionary man, who thinks of nothing but the rights of property, could have his way, he would bring about a revolution; and one of my chief fears in connection with progress comes because I do not want to see our people, for lack of proper leadership, compelled to follow men whose intentions are excellent, but whose eyes are a little too wild to make it really safe to trust them. Here in Kansas there is one paper which habitually denounces me as the tool of Wall Street, and at the same time frantically repudiates the statement that I am a Socialist on the ground that that is an unwarranted slander of the Socialists.

National efficiency has many factors. It is a necessary result of the principle of conservation widely applied. In the end, it will determine our failure or success as a nation. National efficiency has to do, not only with natural resources and with men, but it is equally concerned with institutions. The State must be made efficient for the work which concerns only the people of the State; and the nation for that which concerns all the people. There must remain no neutral ground to serve as a refuge for lawbreakers, and especially for lawbreakers of great wealth, who can hire the vulpine legal cunning which will teach them how to avoid both jurisdictions. It is a misfortune when the national legislature fails to do its duty in providing a national remedy, so that the only national activity is the purely negative activity of the judiciary in forbidding the State to exercise power in the premises.

I do not ask for the over centralization; but I do ask that we work in a spirit of broad and far-reaching nationalism where we work for what concerns our people as a whole. We are all Americans. Our common interests are as broad as the continent. I speak to you here in Kansas exactly as I would speak in New York or Georgia, for the most vital problems are those which affect us all alike. The National Government belongs to the whole American people, and where the whole American people are interested, that interest can be guarded effectively only by the National Government. The betterment which we seek must be accomplished, I believe, mainly through the National Government.

The American people are right in demanding that New Nationalism, without which we cannot hope to deal with new problems. The New Nationalism puts the national need before sectional or personal advantage. It is impatient of the utter confusion that results from local legislatures attempting to treat national issues as local issues. It is still more impatient of the impotence which springs from over division of governmental powers, the impotence which makes it possible for local selfishness or for legal cunning, hired by wealthy special interests, to bring national activities to a deadlock. This New Nationalism regards the executive power as the steward of the public welfare. It demands of the judiciary that it shall be interested primarily in human welfare rather than in property, just as it demands that the representative body shall represent all the people rather than any one class or section of the people.

I believe in shaping the ends of government to protect property as well as human welfare. Normally, and in the long run, the ends are the same; but whenever the alternative must be faced, I am for men and not for property, as you were in the Civil War. I am far from underestimating the importance of dividends; but I rank dividends below human character. Again, I do not have any sympathy with the reformer who says he does not care for dividends. Of course, economic welfare is necessary, for a man must pull his own weight and be able to support his family. I know well that the reformers must not bring upon the people economic ruin, or the reforms themselves will go down in the ruin. But we must be ready to face temporary disaster, whether or not brought on by those who will war against us to the knife. Those who oppose reform will do well to remember that ruin in its worst form is inevitable if our national life brings us nothing better than swollen fortunes for the few and the triumph in both politics and business of a sordid and selfish materialism.

If our political institutions were perfect, they would absolutely prevent the political domination of money in any part of our affairs. We need to make our political representatives more quickly and sensitively responsive to the people whose servants they are. More direct action by the people in their own affairs under proper safeguards is vitally necessary. The direct primary is a step in this direction, if it is associated with a corrupt-services act effective to prevent the advantage of the man willing recklessly and unscrupulously to spend money over his more honest competitor. It is particularly important that all moneys received or expended for campaign purposes should be publicly accounted for, not only after election, but before election as well. Political action must be made simpler, easier, and freer from confusion for every citizen. I believe that the prompt removal of unfaithful or incompetent public servants should be made easy and sure in whatever way experience shall show to be most expedient in any given class of cases.

One of the fundamental necessities in a representative government such as ours is to make certain that the men to whom the people delegate their power shall serve the people by whom they are elected, and not the special interests. I believe that every national officer, elected or appointed, should be forbidden to perform any service or receive any compensation, directly or indirectly, from interstate corporations; and a similar provision could not fail to be useful within the States.

The object of government is the welfare of the people. The material progress and prosperity of a nation are desirable chiefly so long as they lead to the moral and material welfare of all good citizens. Just in proportion as the average man and woman are honest, capable of sound judgment and high ideals, active in public affairs,-but, first of all, sound in their home, and the father and mother of healthy children whom they bring up well,-just so far, and no farther, we may count our civilization a success. We must have-I believe we have already-a genuine and permanent moral awakening, without which no wisdom of legislation or administration really means anything; and, on the other hand, we must try to secure the social and economic legislation without which any improvement due to purely moral agitation is necessarily evanescent. Let me again illustrate by a reference to the Grand Army. You could not have won simply as a disorderly and disorganized mob. You needed generals; you needed careful administration of the most advanced type; and a good commissary-the cracker line. You well remember that success was necessary in many different lines in order to bring about general success. You had to have the administration at Washington good, just as you had to have the administration in the field; and you had to have the work of the generals good. You could not have triumphed without the administration and leadership; but it would all have been worthless if the average soldier had not had the right stuff in him. He had to have the right stuff in him, or you could not get it out of him. In the last analysis, therefore, vitally necessary though it was to have the right kind of organization and the right kind of generalship, it was even more vitally necessary that the average soldier should have the fighting edge, the right character. So it is in our civil life. No matter how honest and decent we are in our private lives, if we do not have the right kind of law and the right kind of administration of the law, we cannot go forward as a nation. That is imperative; but it must be an addition to, and not a substitute for, the qualities that make us good citizens. In the last analysis, the most important elements in any man’s career must be the sum of those qualities which, in the aggregate, we speak of as character. If he has not got it, then no law that the wit of man can devise, no administration of the law by the boldest and strongest executive, will avail to help him. We must have the right kind of character-character that makes a man, first of all, a good man in the home, a good father, and a good husband-that makes a man a good neighbor. You must have that, and, then, in addition, you must have the kind of law and the kind of administration of the law which will give to those qualities in the private citizen the best possible chance for development. The prime problem of our nation is to get the right type of good citizenship, and, to get it, we must have progress, and our public men must be genuinely progressive.

T Roosevelt
1910
Osawatomie, Kansas

Friday, December 2, 2011

I Fucked Herman Cain: A Confession

I never thought I would have to admit it, but I too fucked Herman Cain. I am not proud of my actions, and the sex was rather pedestrian, but it did happen, so I have to come forward and tell the world my story. It was the night of the Superbowl. New England was playing Carolina. I was in Boise on business and so was he. We found ourselves sitting in the bar at the Ritz Carlton drinking shots of Wild Turkey and sipping Long Island Ice Teas. He kept remarking how hot he thought Tom Brady's ass was, and how he would love to cuddle with him after the game and maybe give him a foot rub. I remember it so clearly. He kept remarking over and over again how he was certain that Tom's feet must have hurt him so badly.




Then it happened. The Pats won and we went upstairs. It was pretty basic man sex. Make no mistake, despite his macho exterior, the dude is all bottom. Gladly, it didn't last too long and we laid in bed smoking Camel Wides and watching QVC. In the morning I left and never saw him again.

Nothing really eventful happened other than him telling me a story about how he had once had a foursome with three guys that each had nine inch penises. I didn't think much of it at the time.

Since everyone else is coming forward, I thought it was only right that I too shared my story. I am sorry to sell you out Herm, but you left me little choice. Once I found out everyone else was getting a check I felt disrespected.


Friday, September 16, 2011

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Saturday, August 6, 2011

u.s. credit rating downgraded!!!

michele bachman smokes entire pack of post-coital cigarettes.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

is anybody keeping score?

once again the fearful little tea party members - not one of which, by the way, actually knows how to party - had it all wrong. america has kept it's aaa rating. and so we wonder, why do we enable these fear-horders? the gun-toters of the world will always project their inner fears onto us and it is up to us to help them. by leveraging our super-hero-like powers of intelligence, sanity, and fashion, we can steer this country clear of the right-wing roadblocks that seem to confound even john boehner. they'll destroy this country's healthcare, education, and infrastructure if we let them, and they'll risk their own hides to do it.

unfortunately, while the tea party has its irrational fears (foreigners, economic equality, falling sky) our liberal leadership fears something far more ethereal: voter approval.

what good are our ideals if they don't get us elected?

what good are our elected if they don't execute their ideals?

on another note: show me a conservative that has good taste in music and i'll show you a liberal that drives an american car.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

sustainabililty

finally, some comforting words about our economy:

"...the posturing about whether and how Congress should increase the debt ceiling by Aug. 2 has been a hollow exercise. Failure to increase the borrowing limit would harm American prestige and the global financial system. But that's nothing compared with the real threats to the U.S.'s long-term economic health, which will begin to strike with full force toward the end of this decade: Sharply rising per-capita health-care spending, coupled with the graying of the populace; a generation of workers turning into an outsize generation of beneficiaries. Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Michael J. Boskin, who was President George H.W. Bush's chief economic adviser, says: 'The word 'unsustainable' doesn't convey the problem enough, in my opinion.'" - Peter Coy

awesome. see you on the bread line.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Can't Spell Cunt Without Harry Reid

Dear GOP- We will give you everything you want and ask for nothing we want in return. Please meet us half way.

Harry Reid, C.U.N.T.

Monday, July 18, 2011

make believe

during playtime, children are apt to conceive a simple, imaginary structure and invent a complex series of rules and conditions to enforce or justify their creation. we encourage this creative behavior only until dinner time when they are expected to come in the house and wash their hands.

and now... a dancing dog.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Kay Griggs: Another Goy that Hates Jews

GOP Bumper Sticker Slogans

Oligarchy forever! Feed the rich! I'll save your Jesus if you save my cash! Xenophobia rocks! Others????

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Estrogen Gone Wild! Casey Anthony Edition.

For starters, kids that can't read signs should not hold them in a protest. It is intellectually dishonest.
The Casey Anthony Heads, AKA, the Nancy Grace Mafia, need to go back to their normal routines of SSRI's, Weight Watchers ice cream, and Julian Rios dildo sodomy parties. They make me miss the good old days of Tea Party Patriots protesting government programs they use and love.
One of them just went on CNN HLN (or the Casey T.V.) and demanded a retrial! So for her, and the legions of crust amongst them, I offer Amendments 4-8 of the U.S. Constitution:


The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
All 5 of these deal with rights of people accused of crimes. The Founders were clear that the worst thing a judicial system could do would be to incarcerate an innocent person. What the protesting turds fail to swallow is that the process that liberated Casey protects them from wrongful conviction as well. Then again, it is difficult to reason with an angry, insecure mob that is so sad the cute chick will be free before the fall.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

the face of stupidity

because white people have no rights...

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

hey kids, don't be afraid of plutonium.

look, there's even a japanese cartoon about plutonium. how bad could it be???

Monday, June 27, 2011

Saturday, June 25, 2011

well, he still can't jump

this kid's talent is exactly in proportion with my lack of talent...

Friday, June 24, 2011

the lulz boat

if you're not privy to the new shit...

so, there's like totally this whole network of hackers out there that have been disrupting shit on a pretty huge level. aside from their hit on the cia, it's been purposely under-reported. they hack the shit out of high profile systems and publicly post what they find - most recently:

We are releasing hundreds of private intelligence bulletins, training manuals,
personal email correspondence, names, phone numbers, addresses and passwords
belonging to Arizona law enforcement. We are targeting AZDPS specifically
because we are against SB1070 and the racial profiling anti-immigrant police
state that is Arizona.

the state of arizona has confirmed the authenticity of these documents... "we are aware of some computer issues".

if you're interested, you can follow the lulz boat on twitter: @LulzSec
the actual releases can be viewed here.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

living in america

not too far from where i'm holed up here in north cackalacky, an unemployed, debt-ridden 59 year old gentleman by the name of Richard James Verone held up a bank for $1.00... and prison healthcare. his only other option was to run for congress.

this orwellian nightmare is getting weirder.

appropriately, the wife-like-substance and i watched repo men last night. not the greatest movie ever made but it manages to make some pretty interesting observations about our healthcare system, debt-based economy, mortgage industry, and the general social-awareness of the people we call our fellow citizens.

originality: C+ (hints of 1984, minority report, blade runner, and muppets take manhattan)
acting: B+ (a full grade higher due to forest whitaker's performance)
directing: C (it's like blade runner if it were made in the 90s)
gore: B- (vampire porn... lot's of blood)
relevance: A (unfortunately)

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

mommas don't let your babies grow up to be products of the florida education system


you do have to wonder what he just sat on when he makes this face.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

it's official... TWITTER > CONGRESS

our country's citizenry now cares more about how you tweet than how you legislate.

granted, anthony weiner is a schmuck. he happens to be a schmuck that i like, but he is a schmuck nonetheless. i imagine that, at this point in time, this is a point he would quickly concede.

but why are his tweets at all relevant? why was he confronted about this completely legal behavior? and why were we surprised when he had to lie about a personal issue that he never should have been questioned about? this country's protestant ethic is hypocritical and childish (duh).

well, he'll be resigning shortly and we wont have weiner to kick around anymore. we'll also have one less powerful liberal voice in an already conservative congress because liberals thought it was a better idea politically to hang 'em high than stand behind 'em. we deserve this congress. we deserve david vitter.


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Book Review: Norman Mailer's "The Naked and The Dead"

To be honest, not a whole lot of naked.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Rated Arg for Pirates. Fuck you.

last night's sp episode... sofa king good. instant classic on a comedic-level. but shit, if a cartoon could depress ya.

i hope matt and trey reconcile their clear disgust with the show. but if they're truly unhappy producing one of the greatest shows of all time then they should just finish the season and walk away. nobody should be beholden to a job - even if it does cater to the entertainment and education of the masses.

but t&m, if you have decided to end the show this season... do it without kyle and cartman being new best friends. because, seriously, that would be shitty.

fucking christ that episode weighed a ton.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

nauseated

i was bummed out about weiner and his weiner for about 47 seconds. then i realized that he's still one of the best congressmen we have. if fuckbags like david vitter can keep their jobs then weiner and his weiner need to hang in their and serve his/their constituency.

but i've been bummed out about a lot lately. the wife-like-substance and i just watched three movies in three nights: capitalism a love story, too big to fail, and maxed out. so bummed. do this only if you miss those hormonal days of youth when you still felt things. except instead of writing mean notes to some girl in your 3 period math class, you'll want to enroll in french lessons and buy a beret. (on a different topic - only prince could get away with writing raspberry beret. seriously. great song but wtf was that? i appreciate the fact that he can write a song about any old arbitrary subject but it leads me to wonder if he actually wrote the chili's baby back ribs theme song too.)

if you similarly find yourself in the pit of despair - watch the following to lift you from the doldrums of 21st century americ-aint:

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

continental breakfast...

what a shitty week to be a republican, eh? this has been one nasty downhill slalom for the gop ever since paul ryan was given the top crotch-sniffer's seat at obama's budget speech.

then trump and the birthers took a fat one in the keister. (we still don't believe!!!!) well that's okay. most of you believe there's a bearded jew in the sky watching everything you do. we don't care what you believe.

and now obama got osama. bam! the trifecta. (but... we still don't believe) we still don't care what you believe. if we did, then we'd have no choice but to round all you little birdies up into cyclone fenced pens and forget about you. you're lucky we don't care.

three weeks ago they thought they were at the Mandalay Bay buffet... now they realize it's just the continental breakfast at the La Quinta.

man, the La Quinta sucks.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

I didn't believe him, but now we have proof...


I didn't believe Donald Trump when he said he'd suck the president's cock if he was actually born in Hawaii... but sure enough, here he is warming up. What an eager little beaver he is!!!

Friday, April 8, 2011

songs are really just very interesting things to be doing with the air...



"this has been very encouraging..."

it's easy to have mixed feelings about this. on the one hand, it's never a bad thing to be recognized by your peers. an honor is an honor. half of the audience has covered the man's work and made millions of dollars doing so... a point which segues nicely into: well, what took you so fucking long - and - why not just give him a coffin? at least that would have been useful at some point. in a world that celebrates britney spears and john boehner, maybe it would have been a greater honor not to bestow public gratitude upon a man who has spent a lifetime creating some of the finest work that has so rarely been heard outside of the edgiest independent film's final credits. the great tom waits speaks in code. so, just in case you couldn't translate for yourself, "this has been very encouraging..." = "go fuck yourselves with a toilet brush." but tom is entirely too gracious of a man to come right out and say it.

heh... tom waits gets a post and japan doesn't. see? it's a fucked up world, kids.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Holiday in Cambodia



a couple pals just returned from southeast asia... still choking on jet fumes, they mixed their videos to the dulcet tones of Jello Biafra and co. the result is a rage-inducing jealously that i'll have to live with for the rest of my life.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

How to do something good AND tell republicans to fuck off... #NPR

Use congresses stunning show of stupidity as an opportunity to donate to your local NPR: http://www.npr.org/stations/donate/

It would be nice to think of all the free publicity that the GOP is stirring up for NPR in the form of donations... if it were in fact "free" publicity...

But, since it is the taxpayers that pay these buffoons to attack NPR, it's actually public funding... and since this bill will never pass the senate... it's nothing more than publicity.

THANK YOU REPUBLICANS FOR HELPING NPR!!!


...fucking morons

Houses republicans vote to defund educational programming... Republicans Against Thought: SHOCKING! #NPR

Watch Rep. Anthony Weiner mock GOP's bill to defund NPR.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

is antisemitism the new "leaked sex tape" among celebrities?



yes, john... you and hitler would have got on just fabulously...

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Smell like a monster.

With the middle class gone, the wealthy go after the rich (Or Fuck the NFL)


The N.F.L. may lock out their players next month. According to today's Wall Street Journal, the league showed 9billion in revenues last year. There is no metric that indicates that they are going to show profits that are smaller than that next year.


The problem appears to be that they have run out of viable streams for new revenue. Financial expansion over the last decade was fueled by satellite contracts, expanded online merchandising, and taking tax payer money to build stadiums so they can exponentially raise the price of tickets. These means have all flat-lined. The owners don't think they can raise ticket prices any more than they already have and furthermore, they don't see any new streams of revenue on the horizon. Therefore, not being content with maintaining a profit of 9billion a year, they want to squeeze their workforce.

When Baseball and Hockey had labor disputes over the last several decades, they were leagues trapped in unsustainable and failing business models in which ownership, facing insane salary increases, was on a path to destruction. The NFL, with its salary cap has worked all of that out. Again, the owners made 9billion dollars last year, but that is not enough, and that is the problem.

The players have the weakest union of any the major sports. Is this a classic case of union busting?

Poor and middle class laborers in this United States have dealt with such mercantile practices for over a century. This situation is the first I know of whereby the super rich are about to eat the rich. What a perfect example of the systemic upward flow of capital (AKA Rick Scottonomics). If this lockout goes through, I urge everyone to forever boycott the NFL. Instead, watch college football, were you can see exploited young minorities making rich dudes tons of money while they get paid peanuts under the table.


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Blah blah blah, I'm so post-racially hip.

If you ever find yourself cool enough to believe that you are "post-racial" - whatever the fuck that is - then just travel to the nearest area whereupon YOU are the minority.

Once there, scream aloud:

WE ARE ALL EQUALS MY WHITE TRASH CRACKER, GREASY DAGO, AUNT JAMIMA NIGGER, WETBACK CHOLO, CHRIST-KILLING KIKE, CHARLIE CHINK, ABDUL AL BIN TOWELHEADED, FLIP, FROG, SPIC, GOOK-EYED BRETHREN!!!!

and report back here.

Or just admit that you are equally as offended by whatever horrible hate-filled vitriol is spewed at your ethnicity and stop being racist for the juicy hipness of it all.

Or just kill yourself... I don't really care.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Sunday, February 13, 2011

مصر

كل ما لدي هو لوحة المفاتيح العربية. وهذا بدءا من الحصول على الناس القبيح يحاولون معرفة من أين وأنها تناسب في ما تريده الحكومة. أخبرت قبل قليل إلى الذهاب إلى إسرائيل ، وأن الرئيس كان لي عاهرة. ولن أخوض في الفلاح ، على الأقل ليس اليوم. حظا سعيدا لنا. شخص ما قال لي فقط أن المسنين تنفق الكثير من الوقت نتحدث عن الشباب.

Congratulations Egypt!!!! Yemen who?

Saturday, February 12, 2011

18 Days that Shook the World

IM IN EGYPT

MADNESS NO TIME TO PUNCTUATE LAST NET CAFE IN #CARIO BUT THINGS ARE BEAUTIFUL HERE AND OPTIMISM IS IN THE PEOPLES BLOOD LIKE AN AMERICA WHERE #GLENN BECK COULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TIMES UP FOR

Monday, February 7, 2011

itunes is a piece of shit

why must every mp3 i own be listed twice? WHY???!!!!

fuck steve jobs with a plastic spork.

حصل لي كارهين شعر الصدر.

انهم لا يستطيعون الحصول جميعا! أنا في مصر. متعب، جائع، كدمات وضرب. وسوف تحمل، ولكن من دون ابتسامة على وجهي. يجب أن تكون في القاهرة غدا.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Sarah Palin is a Cunt, and so was Reagan

Reuters ran a story today that bona fide cunt Sarah Palin blames Obama for the U.S. being on a road to ruin. (Great Ramones record).

I am not here to deny that the U.S. may, to some degree, be on such a path. Yet this was true long ago, and she is evidence of it. She is to our national decline what the Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building was to our assent. The very possibility of her speaks to the fear and justified parinoia of all people that have scored better than 74 on an I.Q. test.

But enough about her and that guy that was president when she was trying to figure out how to use a VCR so she could record Gimme a Break on those Saturday nights when she was getting gang raped by the Calvinist Society at whichever school she was getting kicked out of at the time. These are important times. I am leaving for a flight to Tel Aviv inmediatamente. From there I will board a bus to Egypt. I will report from somewhere in the country in the next day or so.

Till then...

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Sarah Palin is not a politician. She is faux celebrity... like Paris Hilton but with a gun.

The subject of this post says it all. There could be no more truth to this statement. There is gravity, universal suffering, and this fact. And we know this because 56% of the respondents to a recent poll indicated as much.

But, let's face it. This doesn't come anywhere near describing the multi-faceted Palin. She wears many hats. And among those hats is whatever a moose-murdering anti-christ would put on her head. Take that hat, put it on Paris Hilton, hand the beast a shotgun, and you have Sarah Palin.

Nothing here is intended in a figurative sense. This is all literal... and we know this because a whopping 78% of the respondents to a recent poll said so.

Yet there are aspects of Sarah Palin that we've so far failed to represent... and among said aspects is "redundancy". And so, as a tribute to Sarah Palin's ability to say the same two or three things - and little else - for three years straight, we state the painfully obvious: Sarah Palin is Forrest Gump with a gun.

So, take Paris Hilton, put some sort of satanic hunting hear on her head, hand her a shotgun and dial that IQ way down to that of Tom Hanks's representation of a witless country fool... and there you have it. 92% of the respondents to a recent poll said so. It is fact. Like gravity.

Friday, January 28, 2011

sorry egypt... it was just an idea...

So, last night i got an idea. Egyptians being without twitter is a real drag. so i set up a new blog: egyptunite.blogspot.com and a new twitter account: @egyptunite and set up forwarding so emails to eqyptunite.tweet@blogger.com would be posted to the blog and forwarded to twitter. seemed like a nifty idea at the time... one person used it to write this:

إقتراح بسد طريق للمطار و مانع هروب الحرامية
الناس إلي راحت تستقبل البرادعي ماتسيبشي امطرت وناس تانية يروحو ليهم

I have no idea what it says... probably something about dumb Americans thinking twitter can help egyptians find freedom.

whatev. it was just an idea.


POINTLESS UPDATE!!!!

I used some translation website to find out what those squiggly things mean:

"Suggestion barricaded a road to the airport and'd like people to escape the thieves began to receive ElBaradei Matsibshi it rains and people Erouho else about the matter"

i think the dude said it best:



ANOTHER POINTLESS UPDATE!!!!

Twitter killed the account. It still exists, but it is suspended. I've authored an appeal... not holding my breath.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wyatt Cenac coming into his own? "Turkey Creek" piece an instant classic.

Even by their own standards, The Daily Show has been been spot-on lately. Wyatt Cenac did a nice job on this one.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Sarah Palin Battle Hymn...



I guess this speaks for itself??? I'm waiting for the auto-tuned internet remix... Hide your husbands cuz Sarah Palin's raping everybody out here.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Roger Ailes is a walrus-raping, hermaphrodite crotch-sniffer

roger ailes sucks cock
I LOVE that Ailes orders his brownshirts to stand down after the Giffords shooting... just months after he calls NPR a bunch of nazis. what a cocksucker.


I JUST TELLS IT LIKE IT IS PEOPLE!!!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Finally... Whiskey in a Can!

That's right, 12 oz. of whiskey in a can.

A representative of the Panama-based distributor suggested that the beverage is intended to be split between three people, for three drinks.

So why does it come in one 12 oz. can? Because alcohol poisoning is fun.

Whiskey in a can... a "Very Rare Blend" indeed.

Palin wont shut up... electorate puts fingers in ears and whistles.

har.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

GOP names Decepticon, Reince Priebus, as new RNC chair

has anybody seen this guy's birth certificate? "Reince" don't sound Amerkin to me. I bet he's some sort of Lithuanian hermaphrodite Jew or some other kinda terrist. I'm scared... Where's my gun?

Thursday, January 13, 2011

(VIDEO) Obama speaks at Tucson memorial service

The President speaks just after the 43 minute mark.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

FUCK SARAH PALIN

"blood libel"... how dare she.

maybe if she thought books were as important as guns she'd understand the bullshit that comes out of her own mouth.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

UC Students Respond to Gov. Brown's Proposed Cuts to Higher Education

UC Students Respond to Gov. Brown's Proposed Cuts to Higher Education

PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release:
January 10th, 2011
Contacts:
Claudia Magaña, UCSA President, 3rd year student at UC Santa Cruz, (626) 392-5919
Christine Byon, UCSA Organizing and Communications Director, (510) 834-8272


Oakland, CA - Claudia Magaña, President of the University of California Student Association and third-year student at UC Santa Cruz, released the following statement this afternoon in response to Governor Brown’s plan to make drastic cuts to higher education funding and potential mid-year fee increases.

“The University of California Student Association (UCSA) opposes Governor Brown’s proposed higher education budget for the 2011-2012 year. If adopted in its current form, this budget would serve another devastating blow to quality, affordability and access in the University of California system. The Governor’s proposed budget includes a $500 million cut to the UC system, which would wipe out 1/6th of the state’s total support for UC. As a result, this will be the first time in history where the overall contribution from student fees is higher than the state’s contribution, further privatizing public higher education and destroying the vision of an affordable education in the California Master Plan. We are disappointed that the Governor did not consider alternative revenue sources to protect higher education funding and other critical services. Polls have  repeatedly shown that Californians do not want to see any more cuts to higher education and are willing to help contribute more to ensure no further fee increases.

"UCSA strongly opposes the consideration of any mid-year student fee increases. Although the legislature increased UC funding by $370 million last year, the Regents still hit students with an 8% fee increase in November, on top of the 32% fee increase last year. With high levels of students’ contribution and previous state funding at the Regents’ disposal, we do not believe further fee increases are justified. With student fees tripling over the past decade, students have been hit on both ends – paying much more while still experiencing cuts to classes, services and full majors. It is difficult to see why students should be forced to pay more for declining quality and access.

"Students’ futures cannot afford to be tossed around in a game of political football between the Regents and the state. In the end, students will suffer the most from these decisions, already paying over $11,000 for tuition, drowning in debt, or even having to pull out of the UC altogether. Fee increases must be recognized for what they are: Taxes on students and their families.

"We appreciate that the Governor has committed to work with stakeholders, including representatives of students and employees, to ensure that any reductions in UC funding have a minimal impact on fees and enrollment. Students will expect the Governor to keep his word by bringing students to the forefront of any budget decisions affecting UC.

"As UC students, we believe strongly in the vision of a UC system that is high quality, affordable and accessible. We are deeply concerned that such devastating cuts and spiraling fee increases are fundamentally jeopardizing these principles. ”

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Jared Lee Loughner's social-media postings

This is from the CNN article (found here):

December 30, 2010:
Literate Letter: Dear Reader, Brainwash.
.....Dear Reader,..... I'm searching. Today! With every concern, my shot is now ready for aim. The hunt, a mighty thought of mine


December 15, 2010:
If I define terrorist then a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism, especially as a political weapon.
I define terrorist.
Thus a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism, especially as a political weapon.
If you call me a terrorist then the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem.
You call me a terrorist.
Thus the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem.


December 15, 2010:
The majority of citizens in the United States of America have never read the United States of America's Constitution.
You don't have to accept the federalist laws.
Nonetheless, read the United States of America's Constitution to apprehend all of the current treasonous laws.
You're literate, listener?


December 15, 2010:
In conclusion, reading the second United States constitution I can't trust the current government because of the ratifications: the government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controlling grammar.
No! I won't pay debt with a currency that's not backed by gold and silver!
No! I wont trust in God!


November 30, 2010:
Fraud If I'm not receiving the purchase from a payment then I'm a victim of fraud. I'm not receiving the purchase from a payment. Therefore, I'm a victim of fraud. All purchases for an educational course in The United States as of now are unconstitutional in the United States of America because of Section 10 in the United States of America's Constitution. A student paying for a Pima Community College course is a purchase for an educational course in the United States as of now. Therefore, a student paying for a Pima Community College course is unconstitutional in the United States of America because of Section 10 in the United States of America's Constitution.


Date posted unknown:
Hello, and welcome my classified leak of information that's of the United States Military to the student body and you. Firstly, I want you to understand this from the start. Did you know grammar is double blind, listener? Secondly, if you want to understand the start of revelatory thoughts then listen to this video. I'll look at you (expletive) Anarchists who have a problem with them illegal illiterate pigs. :-D If you're a citizen in the United States as of now, then your constitution is the United States. You're a citizen in the United States as of now. Thus, your constitution is the United States. Laugh. I'll let you in on their little cruel joke that's genocidal. They're argument is appeal to force on their jurisdiction with lack of proof of evidence. Each subject is in question for the location!

If there's no flag in the constitution then the flag in the film is unknown.
There's no flag in the constitution.
Therefore, the flag in the film is unknown.
Burn every new and old flag that you see.
Burn your flag!
I bet you can imagine this in your mind with a faster speed.
Watch this protest in reverse!
Ask the local police; "What's your illegal activity on duty?".
If you protest the government then there's a new government from protesting.
There's not a new government from protesting.
Thus, you aren't protesting the government.
There's something important in this video: There's no communication to anyone in this location.
You shouldn't be afraid of the stars.
There's a new bird on my right shoulder. The beak is two feet and lime green. The rarest bird on earth, there's no feathers, but small grey scales all over the body. It's with one large red eye with a light blue iris. The bird feet are the same as a woodpecker. This new bird and there's only one, the gender is not female or male. The wings of this bird are beautiful; 3 feet wide with the shape of a bald eagle that you could die for. If you can see this bird then you will understand. You think this bird is able to chat about a government?
I want you to imagine a comet or meteoroid coming through the atmosphere.