That was five stars for 'fair warning'. LOL

There's that 'divine intervention' thing again - good luck - pray a lot, that'll have an effect! As for Cartoon historians - evidently, Paul Warburg is really the role model for the Little Orphan Annie caricature called "Daddy Warbucks". - http://www.whale.to/b/griffin3.html || Has anyone noticed the extreme relaxation of banking regulations since the Reagan years? Has anyone noticed the incremental growth of 'charges' for previously required 'services' such as cancelled check returns to the owner of the account? Has anyone noticed the 'new' abilities of banks to engage in the marketing of 'instruments' and 'equities' the marketing of which was banned for banks, for good reason, after the 1929 market crash? The 'rationalizations' provided for these changes are just that - rationalizations for public consumption. The effect is what E. Archer has referred to: the 'invisible' enslavement of the non-banking, non-investment classes. Logan, have you considered an alternative to your two bifurcations of the same seed? Have you considered the possibility of an 'invisible' plutocracy? One where the political bent or organization of the lower 'fighting factions' is irrelevant (like it was in WWII and is today)? I mean, what's the difference how they live or die as long as they, in aggregate, produce under the auspices of One World Government with the 'policing powers' to prevent inconvenient disruptions and to 'manage' the plantation? The country in which this 'production' occurs is irrelevant under 'global' banking operations. Granted, that's an Orwellian view which is what makes it unbelievable. The question remains: is it viable?

I too, agree with Logan. There's not much more to add. If we don't, in practice, have the republic originally envisioned, it may be due to the fact that 'interest group'/corporate wealth and power has corrupted our legislators and the executive branch to a degree not anticipated by the framers. It's these two branches and their 'interest group'/corporate 'supporters' which are now on the warpath to 'reign in' the power of the judiciary. Smart move! Let's just eliminate the last impediment to perfect corruption.

Logan - Congratulations!!! (no, not on the 2 hours - lol) My best wishes to you and your family.

E. Archer has put his finger on one of the salient aspects of this quote; the word 'permanent'. || entitle: tr.v. 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something -- entitlement n. - AHD || So here's a 'for instance': Article 5 "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." - http://www.uusc.org/info/udhr2.html In other words, everyone has the right not to be subjected to maltreatment. || In case there's some confusion brought about by recent application of the word 'entitlement', 'entitlements' are not limited to 'financial' benefits alone. Our Constitution spells out our 'entitlements' both in its body and in its amendments. Those are, in fact, 'government entitlements' (government by the people and for the people). We do indeed support tyranny when it serves 'our' (er, that would be 'business and national interests') purposes. This fact, among other hypocrisies, could, ... just could, be ONE of the factors contributing to our cynicism. Logan; you reason well but, psst, it's 'treaties' - lol (couldn't resist - sorry).

Five stars for observational acumen. I take this extract ("The last stage but one ...") to refer to civilizations such as the Roman Empire and the like. I may be wrong on that count but, if that's the reference, then I'll assume it to be an observation as to the looming downfall of the nation we cherish, our failure to see such a downfall coming, and our failure to act accordingly.

Brian D. Pickett; It's nice of you (quite literally - look up the word 'nice' and 'nescience' [Latin 'nescius'] from which 'nice' derives) to alert us to your brand NEW 'interpretation' of the word 'altruism' and the 'sickness' which has led us to the error of our ways. We will take note and be mindful of our everlasting indebtedness to you each time we encounter the word 'altruism' henceforth. Oh, how the sunlight has made you radiant, enlightened one! Your nearly baked radiance, I have unearthed the dictionary definition of the word in question: altruism - n. Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness. - AHD || Oh, radiant sunstroke, until we unite as a nation to burn each and every dictionary which is currently loose in this great country of ours, let us vow to resist, with all our might, all sinister urges to guide our use of the English language by way of these evil, disease-inducing tomes which have misled us into the improper, 'diseased' characterizations of things like the instincts of a stranger to save a drowning child, so that we may hereafter refer to such instincts by their proper characterization; "the total surrender of one's rights, of one's will, ...". And yet, great raisin (with my most sincere apologies to Lorraine Hansberry), ... I am puzzled just a bit by your comparison "between Altruism and the Individual" for one is a quality, while the other is a physical entity capable of having qualities such as the evil 'altruism'. I readily confess. I have been corrupted by evil, diseased dictionaries. Heaven help me! BTW, the correct spelling of 'Finestien' is on the Howard Metzenbaum quote page.

I actually appreciate Pickett for the 'bad example' value of his 'contribution'. I tend to regard that sort of outlook as being due to 'not getting out enough' (translation: 'being cloistered'). I mean, if you have limited experience, it's likely you'll have limited perspective - usually second, third, or Nth-hand perspective.

Anonymous: Amendment X (that would be 'ten' just in case) - Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791 - "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." || SUPERSEDE: tr.v. su·per·sed·ed, su·per·sed·ing, su·per·sedes. 1. To take the place of; REPLACE. 2. To cause to be SET ASIDE, especially to displace as inferior or antiquated. - AHD || This means obversely, that the powers DELEGATED (not 'not delegated') to the United States (the 'Union' or 'federation') SUPERSEDE those of the individual States - period. Do you have an alternate, 'perverse' interpretation in mind perhaps?

Five stars for the quote's assessment. 'Members' in the UN have indeed agreed to the principle of being censured by the whole body of the UN itself. I mean, that's the point of the UN isn't it? It's supposed that the 'United' Nations is a corollary to the 'United' States insofar as the 'United' States have formed a 'federation' whose 'laws' supersede those of the 'member states'. 'States', 'Nations', there's a fine line if any between the two.

D. Trice; Humans made war BEFORE there even was a NOTION such as 'sovereignty'. What? NOW the 'cause' of war is 'sovereignty'? Is that like NOW the reason we're in Iraq is to 'bring freedom' to the Iraquis? Help me out here. I'm a bit slow on the uptake you know.

I wonder where the UN is when travesties like those around Darfur are permitted to continue without an effective intervention. Darfur is only the latest of an ignominious string of situations in which the UN, as it has stood to date, and is most likely to stand in perpetuity, has proven itself feckless. We need to come to grips with the fact that human nature is human nature and that it is fundamental, instinctual, and animal in the nature of its urges. While we are human there will be no solution to issues of this sort, save perhaps, an acceptance and alertness to what the facts are, accompanied by commensurate action - each individual or group in his, her, or its own capacity. There will always be avarice, cowardice, greed, generosity, altruism, charity, and all of the other human qualities which have always attended the human condition - else Shakespeare and most other classics would become moot and passé. I don't pretend familiarity with the inner workings of the UN but I CAN see some of the results of its functioning. All too often these results appear ineffectual and late or nonexistent. Sometimes the results seem to be a result of corruption. This is not a permanently 'solvable' state of affairs given human nature as would be the case if humans were mechanical devices - and even they need periodic 'maintenance'. It's a state of affairs which warrants alertness. Our 'liberty' has NOT 'been won'. Our liberty requires daily winning. It's like brushing your teeth - you don't just say "Well, THAT'S done once and for all."

Helberg, "tongue-in-cheek"? Deyathink? LOL - Seriously though, I was, in fact, making a sarcastic reference to the leanings of SOME people towards blurring the lines between 'de jure' (law) and religious 'law' which is "working really well in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, isn't it?" As an aside, I'm not sure that arbitrarily dividing up a population into 'sides', a la sports teams, really makes sense unless there's an expectation afoot that the 'members' of the 'sides' will adhere, point for point, to the 'party line' in military lockstep. I'm not suggesting that's your view. I'm suggesting that the language used counts.

Ken, with respect to (Bush's "lies" seem to be turning into "truths" these days) - I'd like to see you point to one - please. Yeah, ONE will do nicely. - Plato - "The worst of all deceptions is self-deception." (but deceit towards a whole nation, forget the rest of the world, isn't a shabby second-best in anybody's book)

Clarification: I'm NOT against corporations. I'm against corporate control of government. A corporation is, after all, not an individual 'person'. It's an 'entity' under the law (like a person) designed to shield the individual officers and 'owners' of that corporation from personal culpability (loss) under the law. Recall ENRON.

E. Archer has his finger on the pulse. It seems likely that there's some truth in "... fixed, determined and approved policy of the GOVERNMENT of the United States." I mean, do the voters run the show? Hey-all-No. Voters are incapacitated - even when they do their pro forma voting schtick. I vote - AND - I'm not entirely convinced that most people pay enough attention to issues to know what they're voting for. Look at how long it took a majority of the population of this country to BEGIN to get a grip on the true nature of 'Bush Country'. Corporate money runs the show and you can't stop it.

'Brave New World' (Order) indeed! Were we to have "The disbanding of all national armed forces and the prohibition of their re-establishment in any form whatsoever other than those required to preserve internal order and for contribution to a United Nations Peace Force", we would finally have what the 'corporocracy' would need to realize the dream of having global control of the masses in such a way as to effectively enslave the majority of the planet's population without possibility of redress and without calling it 'slavery'. Notice the phrase "to preserve internal order". I mean, the best way to enslave a workforce is to have that workforce 'police' itself under threat of individual condemnations towards those who would 'step out of line'. We can see the results of generations of that sort of mindset in the Chinese culture. I'm relieved to see that this threat is not lost on those who've commented here. What I'm afraid of is that it's too late to change course already. I'm afraid we're the buffalo herd headed for the precipice. Now - back to gun control - LOL. Thanks Editor.

It's perhaps the most common of all deceptions as well.

I don't buy it but it's HIS allegiance to HIS belief. - BELIEVE: v. --tr. 1. To accept as true or real. 2. To credit with veracity. 3. To expect or suppose; think. --intr. 1. To have firm faith, especially religious faith. 2. To have faith, confidence, or trust. || FAITH: n. 1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, an idea, or a thing. 2. Belief that does NOT rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at trust. 3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance.

A wonderful insight into the human frailties promoting our dedicated conservation of cherished illusions. I, for one, still like the illusion of Santa Claus and the manger scenes.

BTW, the point of 'moral' implications is as a guide to self-governance, NOT the 'moral' governance of others. THAT'S the purview of laws.

This man was born with the potential to be infinitely stupid and is living up to his potential. If I were to follow this logic, - AND - if there were a religion in which cannibalism of stupid people was a sacrament, THEN, we might be able to approve of cannibalism of stupid people because well, we could judge that sort of thing and then follow through on the dictates of our conscience, couldn't we? I mean, it would be approved of, wouldn't it? I realize he's referring to judgments in this quote. I also realize that people's judgments are too often used to justify unconscionable actions (and even forcing others to submit to those judgments and actions), which is what Alan Keyes is specifically advocating in this statement. EAT STUPID PEOPLE! (But beware, Alan Keyes is showing signs of having, perhaps, ingested BSE-infected meat products.)

Helberg; where do I start? - LOL - Ok, uh, ... firstly, 'Howard', no matter how feminine the name sounds to people in the 'Heartland', is NOT a 'she' - unless there's something YOU know that the rest of us don't. Aww, c'mon, you can share. - ROFL - Secondly, just EXACTLY where do I "... then compare the current administration to a theocracy from the middle east ..." (in this post, that is - could happen though, ABSENT our Constitution)? BTW, it's 'Feinstein' NOT 'Finestien' - I just thought 'Pickett' had enough on his plate. Sigh, that's 'luck fer ya'.

Anon, Raleigh, How right you are.

Since all the bases appear to have been nicely covered I'm ALMOST speechless (fooled ya) so, failing silence, I'd just say: After the Roman god Bacchus gave King Midas the golden touch it was too late. The MORAL being: Be careful what you wish for - it might come true and turn out to be NOT EXACTLY what you had in 'mind'.