Some things never change

"It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers! In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late. Accordingly , I'm readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I will in turn, do my best for the Cause by writing editorials - after the fact."

Robert E. Lee - 1863

"It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers! In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late. Accordingly , I'm readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I will in turn, do my best for the Cause by writing editorials - after the fact."

Robert E. Lee - 1863

That is a awesome quote. I'm gonna have to file that away for future use.

“Stop the presses: Senator Barbara Boxer of California has a good idea. Ms. Boxer, who heads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, suggested last week that a first step in reducing greenhouse gases would be to require that federal buildings use more efficient light bulbs, and ask federal bureaucrats to turn off their computers at night. ‘Don’t you think it’s time the federal government were a model of energy efficiency?’ she asks. We warmly agree, not least since the United States Government is the largest single consumer of energy in the United States. It’s also one of the most inefficient energy users. According to a 1999 report by the Alliance to Save Energy, the ‘federal government, consumes about 32% more energy per square foot than the nation’s building stock at large.’ This inefficiency costs taxpayers an estimated $1 billion a year. In Al Gore’s phrase, Uncle Sam’s leaving one giant ‘carbon footprint.’ Of course, it follows from all this that the best way to make the federal government more energy efficient would be to undertake a government-wide policy of... lights out, permanently. Save the environment; kill a federal program. Start, needless to say, with the Department of Energy, operating at an annual cost of $22 billion. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that from 1980 to 1996 Energy frittered away more than $10 billion on programs that were ‘terminated before completion.’ On behalf of combating climate change, America could live without DOE’s Energy Hog Webgame for kids, which cost taxpayers $325,000. The Senate Government Reform Committee has identified more than $200 billion of budget savings, enough to easily balance the budget, by eliminating redundant and wasteful federal activities. They’d have to open that nuclear-waste dump at Yucca Mountain to bury all the turned-off lightbulbs and computers. At this rate, Barbara Boxer might eclipse Al Gore as the Democrat who saved the planet. The key to success is one wonderful word—‘efficient’.” —The Wall Street Journal

CULTURE
“Life is beautiful. One’s value is not contingent upon external features, such as one’s bank account, one’s successes or one’s lineage. A human being’s value is intrinsic, not earned. Without this basic moral understanding, few of our laws would make much sense. Laws against murder, for instance, would fail to make sense if we did not deem human life to be intrinsically valuable and worthy of protection. Rather than choose an arbitrary starting point for valuing human life, we should go to the point when life begins. For this, science gives us clear understanding of when a new human life begins. Science tells us that life begins at the moment of conception, when the combination of 23 chromosomes from each pronucleus results in the 46 chromosomes present in the zygote embryo. From the moment of conception onward, a new human being is present until that life is ended in a laboratory, by an abortionist, or at some point after birth. Sadly, our current life-related policy in the United States ignores science, choosing capricious points at which to protect innocent human life. Our current policy is inconsistent, defying both logic and decency.” —Senator Sam Brownback

LIBERTY
“The most fundamental difference between President Bush and his critics has not been in who has made mistakes, because both have. The biggest difference has been that the President has taken a long-run view of the worldwide war on terror, while his critics are seeking a quick fix. Critics claim that there is no connection between the war on terror and the war in Iraq. They don’t seem to notice that the terrorists themselves obviously see a clear connection, which they express in both words and deeds. Terrorists are pouring into Iraq, even at the cost of their lives, in order to prevent a free, democratic government from being established in the Middle East. They see victory or defeat in Iraq as having major and long-lasting repercussions throughout the region and even throughout the world.” —Thomas Sowell

Umm, that would be me who didn't read the 'no politics' section.

Sorry. Send Blogger after me to spank me.