Fire and Knowledge

Perhaps your Congressmen should dig down into your own pouches and pay for whatever is needed; that would be one way to keep government down in size to its indispensable functions whatever they may be. If indeed there are any. I would be satisfied to have the Golden Rule be the only law; I see no need for any other, nor for any method of enforcing it.

But if you really believe your neighbors must have laws for their own good, why shouldn’t you pay for it? Comrades, I beg you—do not resort to compulsory taxation. There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.

—Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966), p. 303.

You have no talent for dishonesty, so your refuge must be ignorance and stubbornness.

—Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966), p. 257.

The world’s poor do not resent the rich anywhere as much as the left-wing parties in the developed world imagine. What they resent is not having any pathway to get rich and join the flat world and cross that line into the middle class.

—Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat (2005), p. 384.

I will accept any rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.

—Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966), p. 85.

If you haven’t heard, the weekly Presidential radio address will now be video recorded and put on youtube each week. Such a small thing, but smart. I mean, who listens to the President on the radio? I would have no idea when or where it was on. But youtube — that makes sense.

This is a great way for the President to bypass the media (and their inevitable lame commentary) and communicate directly to the people each week. My guess is this will only increase Obama’s image.

Here’s the first one:

Communism was a great system for making people equally poor.

—Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat (2005), p. 49.

I know many of my readers are disappointed this morning because Barack Obama won the election. But take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. Really.

I’m excited about the change ahead. I do not agree with Obama on everything, but I think he will be an excellent President. In fact, he may end up being the best president in 50 years. He certainly has the potential — but we will see if his actions live up to his words.

I am glad most of you voted against Obama because of real issues, not because of superficial and false reasons (like you think he’s a Muslim or associates with terrorists or is a socialist or other silly campaign rhetoric). Anyone who has read Obama’s books or really listened to him speak know those are false. You had fundamental ideological differences, and I respect that.

I know many of you are “one issue voters” and would vote against the best guy in the world if he supported abortion. I understand that.

But the campaign is over now. We must move past our differences and work together.

It’s time to see the positives instead of only the negatives. Obama has a compelling vision for America that is much needed. He has a great energy policy. He is going to bring this drawn-out Iraq war to a close. Education will be better funded. Most of us will get a tax break. The country’s infrastructure will be strengthened. Foreign relations will improve, because the world wanted Obama to win too. Hey, he may even be able to balance the budget, unlike all those recent “fiscal conservatives.”

We all want a better America. We want freedom to pursue happiness, a strong and healthy economy, security from terrorism, an end to poverty, our children to be better educated, to decrease our reliance on foreign oil, health care to be affordable, a government free from corruption, foreign relations to improve, an end to war, security for the disabled and elderly, freedom of or from religion, and equality for all people no matter how different they are from us.

We may disagree how to reach these goals, but this is the American dream that we all love and would die for.

We can support most of Obama’s initiatives, and as our new President, I hope most of us will.

This is excellent:

We can’t afford to divide this country…. Let me tell you something… There are no “real” parts of the country and “fake parts of the country.” There are no “pro-America” parts of the country and “anti-America” parts of the country. We all love this country, no matter where we live, or where we come from….

There are patriots who supported the war, and patriots who opposed it. There are patriots who believe in Democratic policies, and those who believe in Republican policies.

[Those who fought in Iraq] have not served a Blue America or a Red America, they served the United States of America. Nobody should forget that.

That’s excellent. I find this far more appealing than calling certain parts of the country “the most pro-America, most pro-God” like McCain did a few days ago.