“Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school.”
Retro Quote – Charles Darwin
“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”
Charles Darwin, “The Descent of Man”
Word of the Week – March 20, 2021
Pleonasm
Noun
Greek, 16th century
The use of more words than are necessary to convey meaning, either as a fault of style or for emphasis.
Example: My tendency towards pleonasm always arises when I talk about my writing projects.
Filed under News
Worst Quotes of the Week – March 20, 2021
“It was Barack Obama himself who knew about the dangers of ballot harvesting in the state of Texas because under his administration, he sent his U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, as well as the FBI, to south Texas to arrest and to prosecute people who were involved in ballot harvesting that were using cocaine to buy votes through the ballot harvesting process in the state of Texas.”
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), claiming efforts by the Democratic National Party to secure elections would result in people using cocaine to buy votes
Abbott went on to say, “And when you look at some of the things that they are talking about with regard to H.R. 1, they are trying to institutionalize voter fraud in the United States of America. They want to make mail-in ballots permanent. Everyone knows – including Democrats in Texas – have said that one of the easiest ways to cheat in elections is through these mail-in ballots.”
“Even though those thousands of people that were marching to the Capitol were trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they wanted me to vote, I knew those were people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, and so I wasn’t concerned… Now, had the tables been turned – Joe, this could get me in trouble – had the tables been turned, and President Trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, on the January 6 Capital Hill riots
“There’s old sayings in Texas about, you know, find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. You know, we take justice very seriously and we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys. That’s what we believe.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), mentioning lynching as a form of justice during congressional hearings about anti-Asian-American violence
Best Quotes of the Week – March 20, 2021
“The investigation is ongoing. We don’t yet know, we’re not yet clear about the motive. But I do want to say to our Asian-American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people. But knowing the increasing level of hate crime against our Asian-American — our brothers and sisters — we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate.”
Vice-President Kamala Harris, regarding a series of shootings in the Atlanta, Georgia area that seemed to target people of Asian extraction
“Your president and your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want, but you don’t have to do it by putting a bull’s-eyes on the back of Asian Americans across this country, on our grandparents, on our kids. This hearing was to address the hurt and pain of our community to find solutions and we will not let you take our voice away from us.”
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), responding to comments by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), during hearings about attacks on Asian-Americans (See “Worst Quotes of the Week – March 20, 2021” below.)
“Every other living former president – or most of them, not all of them – has participated in public campaigns. They did not need an engraved invitation to do so. So, [Donald Trump] may decide he should do that. If so, great. But there are a lot of different ways to engage, to reach out to ensure that people of a range of political support and backing know the vaccine is safe and effective.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, responding to a reporter’s question if President Joe Biden would appreciate former President Donald Trump join COVID-19 vaccine campaigns, along with other former Chief Executives
Psaki also stated, “Well, if former President Trump woke up tomorrow and wanted to be more vocal about the safety and efficacy of the campaign, of the vaccine, certainly we’d support that.”
Filed under News
A Centerfold Turns 40
I happened to see this classic music video the other day: “Centerfold” by the J. Geils Band. Both the song and the video came out in 1981; meaning they’re both FORTY YEARS OLD! Yes, folks, those of us who recall when this song was brand new are officially – mature. Yeah – mature. To make you feel even more vintage, this video was among the first that appeared on MTV, which debuted in 1981. That’s the same year I began my senior year in high school. Um…good God!
Well…whatever! It’s still a great song!
Filed under Classics
Retro Quote – Mark Victor Hansen
“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”
Filed under History
Word of the Week – March 13, 2021
Ethos
Noun
Latin, 19th century
The characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations.
Example: I sense the ethos fomenting in America right now is as progressive and as it is hopeful.
Filed under News
