The longest serving Justice on the Supreme Court died today. He had been appointed by President Ronald Reagan. By all accounts he was not only wise and scholarly, he was friendly and had a good sense of humor. He caused the Court to consider carefully what they were deciding, and to look closely at the issues and the deciding factors. Not always apparent in Judges minds.
I suppose he liked this story about why you actually need a lawyer at times: “A businessman who had consulted his attorney for some legal advice ran into a friend to whom he recounted his experience.
That’s Dearth, not Death!
A few posts back, I quoted a statement by Thomas Carlyle. Perhaps you’ll remember that he was a Scottish philosopher, writer, essayist, historian, and teacher. Here’s another quote from Carlyle that I think you’ll like:
I can recall an occasion when I was called as an expert witness in a Federal case. I was sworn in and asked several questions, first to establish my credibility as an expert, then to elaborate on some conditions prevalent in the court case.
While George Washington was laboring away trying to convince the soldiers under his command to be vigilant and courageous, he was joined in camp by a patriotic writer named Thomas Paine. Paine had written a booklet, “Common Sense”, that gave men more insight into the blessings of freedom and liberty.
OK. After the shenanigans in Iowa, and the politician sounding more like politicians than like real Americans, I am more convinced than ever that we need a businessman at the head of the country, rather than more politicians.
The current grumbling about the votes or caucuses in Iowa is evidence that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps some shenanigans were pulled. But then, most of them are politicians—so what do you expect?
The Founding Fathers must have believed a democracy was the way to go, if what they gave us with the United States of America is really a democracy. No on both counts.