Thought

George Saunders

Humor is what happens when we’re told the truth quicker and more directly than we’re used to.
George Saunders, The Braindead Megaphone (2007).

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

The Initiative Initiative
SharingThis morning I’ll stand in Washington State’s capitol in Olympia …
The Lion of Oregon
SharingWhen I think of Oregon, I often think of Don McIntire. Last …
ACORN Falls Far From the Tree
SharingFar left groups like the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center cry …
Real Change at the Ballot Box
SharingIt’s time to face the fact: We don’t have much …
You’re Sued!
Firing politicians is what democracy’s all about. But politicians don’t like …

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 »

Competition in Michigan
SharingMichigan’s career politicians are pushing to more than double maximum …
The Article V Path
SharingCan Americans term-limit Congress? Twenty-three states had passed term limits on …
The Next Election
“If Tuesday’s vote sparks unrest,” a weekend Washington Post feature informed, …
The One-Man Petition Drive
SharingHurray for John Smelser! After five months of unfailing footwork, in …
What Was I Thinking?
SharingTomorrow, I turn 50. Time flies when you’re having fun. For the …

Smash the Duopoly
SharingWhen Donald Trump called our country’s electoral process a “rigged …
The Irony Law of Socialism
SharingUnder capitalism, said the old socialists, “the rich get richer …
The Incumbency vs. Progressives
Sharing“The Democratic Party leadership is choosing machine politics,” charged Alexandra …
Socialism’s Idealistic Youth
SharingWhen the protection of individual rights is replaced with vague and …
MSNBC Goes Caracas?
SharingExpressing the surprise in some quarters that Venezuelan despot “Maduro …

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).