Quote of the Day
 

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

More Grist From the Mill
 

"He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that." (On Liberty, ch. 2.)

Remember the Biolabs?
 

"The fatal tendency of mankind to leave off thinking about a thing when it is no longer doubtful is the cause of half their errors." (On Liberty, ch. 2.)

Quote of the Day
 

"It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy that country after June of 2003. We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it."

Newt Gingrich

This Mill Guy May Be on to Something . . .
 

"I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it."

-- Letter to MP Sir John Pakington (March, 1866)

This Mill Guy May Be on to Something . . .
 

I think my dad wrote a book about Mill.

This Mill Guy May Be on to Something . . .
 

I've written volumes about both you and Shape Shifter!

This Mill Guy May Be on to Something . . .
 

Slashfic doesn't count.

Quote of the Day
 

It is interesting that you would offer this today. Is this your response to seeing that Bush and Co. pushed the "Trailers of Mass Destruction" claim when the admin's intelligence demonstrated that this was anything but proof of WMD?

There are many things for which I am willing to go to war.* But bringing about the current situation in the Middle East is not one of them.

*I note that Mill uses the words "willing to fight." When did you enlist?

Phonetapping
 

I think all calls to Mexico should be tapped and traced so that we can root out illegal immigrants.

Thoughts?

Quote of the Day
 

I think Mill wrote those words as commentary to the American Civil War. Maybe Spanky is quoting Mill as his way of acknowledging Iraq's descent into civil war, and also perhaps to express his admiration for the Iraqis who believe enough in their cause to resist an occupying force.

Phonetapping
 

You mean the sweeps conducted after the next national set of protests won't do the trick?

Phonetapping
 

They use phone cards and dial from the houses that they clean - so it wouldn't really work.

Phonetapping
 

this is an excellent point.

"In San Mateo, Juan Alvarez exorted "Illegals have rights too!!!" Alvarez, who illegally entered the country with his wife 15 years ago, now has 4 children in public schools"

Why the hell aren't they beating down the door to Senor Alvarez's hacienda and locking him and his wife in irons?

Phonetapping
 

Which "Juan Alvarez"?