Sunday is primarily a Blogging night. The best night of the week (beginning or end) because I have decided, some months ago, that I will bring the best thoughts of other, better men (and women) for the consideration of you and me.
Specifically, I use a "Random Quotes" generator to summarize my current mood and thinking, for no better purpose than to direct our thoughts to subjects which we might otherwise not consider. Because the quotes are presented randomly, I usually require myself to "Use The Force". I say 'usually, because last Sunday I tried a new approach: I published only the thoughts and words of a single author, in this case it was Mark Twain.
Sometimes I try to guide my articles using the quotes, but I fear that this has been haphazard at best. "Breaking News" has an energy all its own. I am often and easily distracted.
Tonight, I though I would spend some of our time talking about the quotes I found, and why I chose them.
One thing you should know is that the software only allows 500 characters in the area which I have chosen to publish them ... that would be the blue area with white letters at the top of the page. If you haven't yet noticed that it changes every week, now you will know to pay attention to it.
Here's how it looks this week:
If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?
- Vince Lombardi
I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.
-- Franklin P. Adams
I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale and never tried it again.
-- Gov. Bill Clinton
Why did I choose as I did, and why did I edit as I did?If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?
-- Vince Lombardi
I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.
-- Franklin P. Adams
When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale and never tried it again.
-- Gov. Bill Clinton
The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.
-- Thomas Jefferson
The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
-- Mark Twain
The vice-presidency ain't worth a pitcher of warm spit.
-- Vice President John Nance Garner
Interesting questions, and I'm glad you asked them.
Winning: Vince Lombardi
This blog is dedicated primarily to Practical Shooting, and I have demonstrated time and again that I am not deterred by my inability to 'win' any match, stage, division or class. Lombardi was a professional and he is paid to win. I am an amateur, not particularly skilled, and my payment is the joy of competition and the joy of shooting.
I compete because they keep score, which allows me to evaluate my shooting skills against others. When I discover that they are better than me, it's only an interesting factoid; it isn't a disappointment. I'm here for the fun and for the good people that I meet here. I'm occasionally thrilled if I win something by any measure of the game, but it doesn't spoil my day if I lose by every measure of the game.
Information: Franklin P. Adams
I don't know who Franklin P. Adams is, and I don't care. He lived from 1881 to 1960 and had a kinky way of looking at things. The thing that interests me is that in his long life, most of it lived WAY before the advent of the Internet, he researched life the same way I do. He starts an information search on one subject, and discovers that he is easily distracted by fascinating incidental subjects.
I do the same thing. I start out reading an article in the newspaper (for example) and soon discover that I'm reading other articles in the same source. I have frequently written on subjects discovered in this manner, and my original source is only infrequently recognized by a 
You experience may be similar. Or not. I don't care, frankly, although I encourage you to explore the available resources 'on-line' and I appreciate the wealth of information available here.
Smoking Marijuana: Bill Clinton
I have a TON of things to say on this subject, and I've never found an appropriate venue to say them until Bill popped up on my Event Horizon. If you're a Fan of Bill, I apologize for off-putting you by revealing my prejudices. Here are my thoughts on Bill.
I like Ike. Campaign slogan, sure, but it summarizes my adolescent appreciation of President Dwight David Eisenhower. He spent his entire tenure playing golf badly. (Not as badly as Gerald Ford; as nearly as I can tell, Ike never hit a spectator with a golf ball. Ford did ... twice. Look it up.) But Ike did initiate the Interstate Freeway System to provide emergency landing strips for American Bombers and fighter planes in case of a national emergency. As it turns out, we haven't needed them for that purpose, but in the meantime we enjoy some of the best highway systems in the world.
Bill's accomplishments include ...feeling our pain. He made a career out of feeling our pain, but he never contributed much toward the otherwise-laudable goal of easing our pain. He raised taxes, he initiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, and what a joy that has been), and he spotted the occasional blue Dress.
During his initial run for the presidency, as "Governor Bill Clinton" (Arkansas), Bill found himself in a debate with his presidential opponents. As I recall it, the interlocutor asked the question "have you ever used drugs?". The response from William Jefferson Clinton was:
"When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale and never tried it again."
I have a few thoughts on that subject. Please, act surprised.
First, my impression of a man who says "I didn't inhale" are the same as the impression of a man who says "I didn't swallow". Read into that what you will.
Second, I sometimes step outside of my office building to take a smoke break. I light up on the steps, right next to the posted sign which states: "No smoking allowed within ten feet of the building entrance". (This is intended, I believe, to prevent smokers from blocking the entrance and also to prevent visitors from dying as the consequence of inhaling 'second-hand smoke'.)
One day I thought about the wisdom of this practice, and mentally postulated the following exchange:
Visitor: "Hey, you're smoking by the door! You can't do that, it's against the law!"
Me: " It's okay, I didn't inhale."
Visitor: "But you're blowing smoke all around, and it's forbidden."
Me: "Wait a minute. Bill Clinton said he smoked Marijuana, but he didn't inhale. He was elected President of the United States based on this concept. How can you judge me differently?"
Visitor: "Bill Clinton was a Democrat!"
I rest my case.
(Note that I deleted a few words of the direct quote; this was done only to fit the quotes within the 500-character limit.)
Vice Presidents: John Nance Garner
"The vice-presidency ain't worth a pitcher of warm spit."
I find this quote particularly significant in light of the recent nomination of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate.
The Republicans love her: She's a Republican governor with integrity, she's outspoken, and she pisses of the Democrats. What's not to like? Besides, she has only two years of experience in this Executive position, which constitutes a slap in the face of the Democratic Presidential Candidate, B. Hussein Obama (who has ZERO Executive Experience and whose limited Senatorial experience has produced ... nothing worth bragging about.)
Because of her candidacy, the Dems are currently forced to attack her 'lack of experience', which only high-lights their own Presidential candidate's own lack of experience.
Perhaps more important, Theodore Roosevelt entered the Vice Presidential race with less than 2 years of experience as the Governor of New York. And there were at least two other presidents (including Calvin Coolidge) who came into the office of President with little more executive experience than Sarah Palin.
John Nance Garner was FDR's first Vice Presidential pick, and he had little respect ("... not worth a bucket of [warm] spit") for the office. It makes us wonder whether the office is that important, sometimes, considering that the office is largely ceremonial and the office holders ... and observers ... are often so unimpressed by their duties (see here and here and here).
Reading: Twain and Jefferson
Finally, we come to the concept of "Reading" as an important factor of intelligent participation in society.
This was, in my mind, the most vital concept of today's quotes, but I had to delete the whole thing to meet the 500 word limit mentioned above. It is perhaps the reason why I wrote this article, and I promise to be as brief as possible.
The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.
-- Thomas Jefferson
and ...
The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
-- Mark Twain
The last quote was included last week. The first is (or would have been) included this week.
The point of both sources is that it is important to read. Jefferson used the concept to denigrate the use of newspapers as a primary source, which may be interpreted as a criticism of the New York Times and other Main-Stream Media.
Twain took a broader approach, postulating that ANY reading of ANY kind would broaden one's intellectual horizons, encourage us to consider new thoughts which we cannot spontaneously envision based on our own experiences, and consider concepts which are foreign to us ... but which may be valid nonetheless.
I believe that they are both correct, and that the priorities which they individually encourage are not two sides of the same coin, but entirely different in detail ... if similar in the broad concept.
Twain encourages us to read ... above all else, read as much as you can so that you can learn what other people think. It may cause us to consider abstracts which had never occurred to us before.
Jefferson encourages it seek other sources of thought than the popular media, which may be tainted by the preconceptions of the authors because there are often "hidden agendas" in the popular media.
Fortunately, the solution to these tendencies to cleave to insularity of though is readily available through the variety of conceptualization provided by the Internet. Read the thoughts of people who do NO agree with you. Avoid the comforting familiarity of those whose opinions mirror your own; you will not be critical, and uncritical reading is the balm of petty minds.
The rest of the analysis is left as an exercise for the reader.
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