Thought

Dorothy Parker

There’s a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words.
Dorothy Parker, interview, The Paris Review (Summer 1956)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Pension Declension
SharingThe ugliest truth about California’s newest, gimmick-ridden budget, is that …
The Legislature That Couldn’t Tax Straight
Sharing“If you lost count of how many new and higher …
Corruption, Arkansas-Style
SharingOn Friday, the Arkansas Supreme Court struck Issue 3, a citizen-initiated …
Greater Idaho Goes Forward?
SharingAn Oregon case, People Not Politicians v. Secretary of State Clarno, …
The Year You Made Us More Free
SharingMore important than which party controls the U.S. Senate, or …

Measures for Measures
November 23, 2024
This year was an interesting one for initiatives.Read More »
Denial Is a River in Argentina?
November 22, 2024
Paul Jacob on one country’s retreat from self-imposed poverty.Read More »
Watch Out!
November 21, 2024
Paul Jacob on strange edits in the Lone Star State.Read More »
The Hill as Hallucinogen
November 19, 2024
Paul Jacob on a false news story, gone but not …Read More »
Elon & Vivek to Cut Government?
November 18, 2024
Paul Jacob on who could help whom do what is …Read More »

Bad for Monopolists
SharingThe political class hates term limits. It’s official. A new Cato …
Nineteen Seconds and Counting
We witnessed the epitome of uber-experienced Washington, last week, when …
The Limits of Corruption
SharingAnother corrupt, term-limits-hating, careerist politician bites the dust. “Federal prosecutors say …
“Dorky” Doesn’t Define It
Sharing“Term limits,” said Daniel McCarthy, editor of The Modern Age, …
Electing a Better Way
SharingFor the seventh time in the last 22 years, the Metro …

Less Hate
SharingJust how awful are Americans? Racist and sexist “hate crimes” …
Are Democrats Socialists?
SharingDoes it matter that the chair of the Democratic National …
Settling the Science
SharingA paper in the august science journal Nature,* on the …
What Kind of Ice Cream Cone?
SharingWhen I wrote about the Donald’s change of troop positions abroad …
What’s Up With Hate?
SharingReported hate crimes are up. Last year, you may remember, major …

On November 23, 1644, British poet John Milton published Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship.

Revolutions of ages do not oft recover the loss of a rejected truth, for the want of which whole nations fare the worse.
John Milton, Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England (1644).

The name “Areopagitica” references a speech by Isocrates, the “Areopagitikós” that itself referenced a hill in Athens, Greece, the Areopagus, which had been the site of an important tribunal that the Greek orator had hoped to restore. It may also refer to the defense that St. Paul made before the Areopagus against charges of promulgating alien gods and outré teachings (see Acts 17:18 – 34).

Overkill … for Your Health
News stories about death- and illness-by-vaping keep hitting us. But …
More Common Sense from Tom Paine
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it …
Flint Water Crisis
Government failure checklist… Reference: The Government Poisoned Flint’s Water— So Stop Blaming …
Bernie’s Principled Recommendation
Bernie Sanders, man of principle, translated: Sure Gary has taken a stand …
Awful Aspirations
A funny thing happened on the way to voting on …