A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to.
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Granville Hicks
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Missing Eleven Days?
In 1752, throughout the British Empire, September 2 was followed, the next day, by September 14, as the government adopted the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days.
On September 14, 1944, Maastricht becomes the first Dutch city to be liberated by allied forces.
“The right to vote is a sacred civil right that empowers naturalized citizens to participate in our democracy,” LaVita Tuff, policy director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, informed the media.
Yet, that same news release declared, “Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta and the Asian American Advocacy Fund collectively condemn the statements made by Georgia’s Secretary of State this morning emphasizing that ‘only American citizens should vote in our elections in Georgia.’”
These groups specifically attach voting rights to “naturalized citizens,” that is, immigrants who go through the process to become American citizens . . . like millions before them. But then AAAJ-A and AAAF denounce Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for asking the Georgia General Assembly, last month, to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to clarify that only U.S. citizens can vote in all state and local elections.
“[D]on’t disenfranchise the people of Georgia on this important issue,” Raffensperger urged. “Let’s put it on a ballot.”
No argument is offered by either AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) group opposing the substance of Sec. Raffensperger’s proposed amendment. Not a single word.
Instead, they contend that “preventing noncitizens from voting is unnecessary and misleading,” before mentioning a non-citizen voting “measure previously considered in Clarkston, Georgia” and the possibility of changes “that could expand the right to vote to include noncitizens in local elections.” Hmmm . . . thus providing a very real and recent justification for Georgia voters to weigh-in.
The news release smears Republican Raffensperger for supposedly “using immigrants as a scapegoat to create additional barriers to the ballot.”
But the measure is clearly designed to protect existing barriers, not prohibit any currently eligible citizen from voting.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Fox Mulder
Fear. It’s the oldest tool of power. If you’re distracted by fear of those around you it keeps you from seeing the actions of those above.
Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), in “Blood,” The X-Files, Season Two, Episode Three (September 30, 1994), story by Darin Morgan, teleplay by Glen Morgan and James Wong.
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John Calvin & Desmond Tutu
John Calvin [pictured above] returned to Geneva on September 13, 1541, after three years of exile. His subsequent work in church reform and theology became known as Calvinism, and profoundly influenced the course of European and (eventually) American civilization, including several concepts of servitude and liberty.
On the same date in 1989, Desmond Tutu led South Africa’s largest march aganst Apartheid.
Two big stories: two judges in different cases — one went one way, the other got it right. Paul discusses:
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Thomas Massie
Mask mandates beget Vax mandates
Rep. Thomas Massie, Twitter (@RepThomasMassie), August 28, 2020.
If you comply with one, expect the other.
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Switzerland federalized
On September 12, 1848, Switzerland became a unified federal state with a constitution limiting central government powers and providing decentralized state (canton) power patterned on the U.S. Constitution.
In 1880 on this date, H.L. Mencken was born. One of his earliest books was a debate with a socialist, The Men versus The Man (1910); his greatest lasting contribution was probably The American Language (1919) and its supplements (1945, 1948). His work has been collected in numerous anthologies, such as Alistair Cooke’s Vintage Mencken (1955) and the author’s own Mencken Chrestomathy.
Ah, California, you keep us entertained. And not just Hollywood. This week, Paul Jacob concentrates on one disastrous policy and the judge who defended said policy against the clearly stated wishes of the Californians themselves. Also on the docket? A different judge actually helps Californians out:
Satisfaction linked with dishonor or with harm to others is a prison for the seeker.
Zoroaster (Zarathustra) Vahishto-Ishti Gatha; Yasna 53, 6.