ZakKlemmer.vox.com

Jefferson's Last Letter

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:33:26 -0700

Transcript of letter: Thomas Jefferson to Roger Weightman - Thomas Jefferson (Library of Congress Exhibition)
            Back to exhibition
            Thomas Jefferson to Roger Weightman
            Monticello June 24. 26
            Respected Sir
            The kind invitation I receive from you on the part of the citizens
            of the city of Washington, to be present with them at their
            celebration of the 50th. anniversary of American independance; as
            one of the surviving signers of an instrument pregnant with our own,
            and the fate of the world, is most flattering to myself, and
            heightened by the honorable accompaniment proposed for the comfort
            of such a journey. it adds sensibly to the sufferings of sickness,
            to be deprived by it of a personal participation in the rejoicings
            of that day. but acquiescence is a duty, under circumstances not
            placed among those we are permitted to controul. I should, indeed,
            with peculiar delight, have met and exchanged there congratulations
            personally with the small band, the remnant of that host of
            worthies, who joined with us on that day, in the bold and doubtful
            election we were to make for our country, between submission or the
            sword; and to have enjoyed with them the consolatory fact, that our
            fellow citizens, after half a century of experience and prosperity,
            continue to approve the choice we made. may it be to the world, what
            I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but
            finally to all,) the Signal of arousing men to burst the chains,
            under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to
            bind themselves, and to assume the blessings & security of
            self-government. that form which we have substituted, restores the
            free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of
            opinion. all eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. the
            general spread of the light of science has already laid open to
            every view. the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not
            been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and
            spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of god. these
            are grounds of hope for others. for ourselves, let the annual return
            of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and
            an undiminished devotion to them.
            I will ask permission here to express the pleasure with which I
            should have met my ancient neighbors of the City of Washington and
            of it's vicinities, with whom I passed so many years of a pleasing
            social intercourse; an intercourse which so much relieved the
            anxieties of the public cares, and left impressions so deeply
            engraved in my affections, as never to be forgotten. with my regret
            that ill health forbids me the gratification of an acceptance, be
            pleased to receive for yourself, and those for whom you write, the
            assurance of my highest respect and friendly attachments.

Th. Jefferson

Library of Congress

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Happy Independence Day!

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:36:11 -0700

Disney-MGM Studios 4th of July Fireworks

“Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.” –Barry Morris Goldwater

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One More Reason to Short Sell GM

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:17:07 -0700

Hummercity

Thanks for posting the cartoon Tim!

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Federalist No. 3

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:26:11 -0700

FEDERALIST PAPER No. 3

The Same Subject Continued
(Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence)
For the Independent Journal.
John Jay
To the People of the State of New York:
It is not a new observation that the people of any country (if, like the
Americans, intelligent and wellinformed) seldom adopt and steadily persevere for
many years in an erroneous opinion respecting their interests. That
consideration naturally tends to create great respect for the high opinion which
the people of America have so long and uniformly entertained of the importance
of their continuing firmly united under one federal government, vested with
sufficient powers for all general and national purposes.
The more attentively I consider and investigate the reasons which appear to have
given birth to this opinion, the more I become convinced that they are cogent
and conclusive.
Among the many objects to which a wise and free people find it necessary to
direct their attention, that of providing for their SAFETY seems to be the
first. The SAFETY of the people doubtless has relation to a great variety of
circumstances and considerations, and consequently affords great latitude to
those who wish to define it precisely and comprehensively.
At present I mean only to consider it as it respects security for the
preservation of peace and tranquillity, as well as against dangers from FOREIGN
ARMS AND INFLUENCE, as from dangers of the LIKE KIND arising from domestic
causes. As the former of these comes first in order, it is proper it should be
the first discussed. Let us therefore proceed to examine whether the people are
not right in their opinion that a cordial Union, under an efficient national
government, affords them the best security that can be devised against
HOSTILITIES from abroad.
The number of wars which have happened or will happen in the world will always
be found to be in proportion to the number and weight of the causes, whether
REAL or PRETENDED, which PROVOKE or INVITE them. If this remark be just, it
becomes useful to inquire whether so many JUST causes of war are likely to be
given by UNITED AMERICA as by DISUNITED America; for if it should turn out that
United America will probably give the fewest, then it will follow that in this
respect the Union tends most to preserve the people in a state of peace with
other nations.
The JUST causes of war, for the most part, arise either from violation of
treaties or from direct violence. America has already formed treaties with no
less than six foreign nations, and all of them, except Prussia, are maritime,
and therefore able to annoy and injure us. She has also extensive commerce with
Portugal, Spain, and Britain, and, with respect to the two latter, has, in
addition, the circumstance of neighborhood to attend to.
It is of high importance to the peace of America that she observe the laws of
nations towards all these powers, and to me it appears evident that this will be
more perfectly and punctually done by one national government than it could be
either by thirteen separate States or by three or four distinct confederacies.
Because when once an efficient national government is established, the best men
in the country will not only consent to serve, but also will generally be
appointed to manage it; for, although town or country, or other contracted
influence, may place men in State assemblies, or senates, or courts of justice,
or executive departments, yet more general and extensive reputation for talents
and other qualifications will be necessary to recommend men to offices under the
national government,--especially as it will have the widest field for choice,
and never experience that want of proper persons which is not uncommon in some
of the States. Hence, it will result that the administration, the political
counsels, and the judicial decisions of the national government will be more
wise, systematical, and judicious than those of individual States, and
consequently more satisfactory with respect to other nations, as well as more
SAFE with respect to us.
Because, under the national government, treaties and articles of treaties, as
well as the laws of nations, will always be expounded in one sense and executed
in the same manner,--whereas, adjudications on the same points and questions, in
thirteen States, or in three or four confederacies, will not always accord or be
consistent; and that, as well from the variety of independent courts and judges
appointed by different and independent governments, as from the different local
laws and interests which may affect and influence them. The wisdom of the
convention, in committing such questions to the jurisdiction and judgment of
courts appointed by and responsible only to one national government, cannot be
too much commended.
Because the prospect of present loss or advantage may often tempt the governing
party in one or two States to swerve from good faith and justice; but those
temptations, not reaching the other States, and consequently having little or no
influence on the national government, the temptation will be fruitless, and good
faith and justice be preserved. The case of the treaty of peace with Britain
adds great weight to this reasoning.
Because, even if the governing party in a State should be disposed to resist
such temptations, yet as such temptations may, and commonly do, result from
circumstances peculiar to the State, and may affect a great number of the
inhabitants, the governing party may not always be able, if willing, to prevent
the injustice meditated, or to punish the aggressors. But the national
government, not being affected by those local circumstances, will neither be
induced to commit the wrong themselves, nor want power or inclination to prevent
or punish its commission by others.
So far, therefore, as either designed or accidental violations of treaties and
the laws of nations afford JUST causes of war, they are less to be apprehended
under one general government than under several lesser ones, and in that respect
the former most favors the SAFETY of the people.
As to those just causes of war which proceed from direct and unlawful violence,
it appears equally clear to me that one good national government affords vastly
more security against dangers of that sort than can be derived from any other
quarter.
Because such violences are more frequently caused by the passions and interests
of a part than of the whole; of one or two States than of the Union. Not a
single Indian war has yet been occasioned by aggressions of the present federal
government, feeble as it is; but there are several instances of Indian
hostilities having been provoked by the improper conduct of individual States,
who, either unable or unwilling to restrain or punish offenses, have given
occasion to the slaughter of many innocent inhabitants.
The neighborhood of Spanish and British territories, bordering on some States
and not on others, naturally confines the causes of quarrel more immediately to
the borderers. The bordering States, if any, will be those who, under the
impulse of sudden irritation, and a quick sense of apparent interest or injury,
will be most likely, by direct violence, to excite war with these nations; and
nothing can so effectually obviate that danger as a national government, whose
wisdom and prudence will not be diminished by the passions which actuate the
parties immediately interested.
But not only fewer just causes of war will be given by the national government,
but it will also be more in their power to accommodate and settle them amicably.
They will be more temperate and cool, and in that respect, as well as in others,
will be more in capacity to act advisedly than the offending State. The pride of
states, as well as of men, naturally disposes them to justify all their actions,
and opposes their acknowledging, correcting, or repairing their errors and
offenses. The national government, in such cases, will not be affected by this
pride, but will proceed with moderation and candor to consider and decide on the
means most proper to extricate them from the difficulties which threaten them.
Besides, it is well known that acknowledgments, explanations, and compensations
are often accepted as satisfactory from a strong united nation, which would be
rejected as unsatisfactory if offered by a State or confederacy of little
consideration or power.
In the year 1685, the state of Genoa having offended Louis XIV., endeavored to
appease him. He demanded that they should send their Doge, or chief magistrate,
accompanied by four of their senators, to FRANCE, to ask his pardon and receive
his terms. They were obliged to submit to it for the sake of peace. Would he on
any occasion either have demanded or have received the like humiliation from
Spain, or Britain, or any other POWERFUL nation?
PUBLIUS.

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Federalist No. 2

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:11:29 -0700

The Federalist #2
Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence
Independent Journal
Wednesday, October 31, 1787
[John Jay]
To the People of the State of New York:
WHEN the people of America reflect that they are now called upon to decide a
question, which, in its consequences, must prove one of the most important that
ever engaged their attention, the propriety of their taking a very
comprehensive, as well as a very serious, view of it, will be evident.
Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it
is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people
must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite
powers. It is well worthy of consideration therefore, whether it would conduce
more to the interest of the people of America that they should, to all general
purposes, be one nation, under one federal government, or that they should
divide themselves into separate confederacies, and give to the head of each the
same kind of powers which they are advised to place in one national government.
It has until lately been a received and uncontradicted opinion that the
prosperity of the people of America depended on their continuing firmly united,
and the wishes, prayers, and efforts of our best and wisest citizens have been
constantly directed to that object. But politicians now appear, who insist that
this opinion is erroneous, and that instead of looking for safety and happiness
in union, we ought to seek it in a division of the States into distinct
confederacies or sovereignties. However extraordinary this new doctrine may
appear, it nevertheless has its advocates; and certain characters who were much
opposed to it formerly, are at present of the number. Whatever may be the
arguments or inducements which have wrought this change in the sentiments and
declarations of these gentlemen, it certainly would not be wise in the people at
large to adopt these new political tenets without being fully convinced that
they are founded in truth and sound policy.
It has often given me pleasure to observe that independent America was not
composed of detached and distant territories, but that one connected, fertile,
widespreading country was the portion of our western sons of liberty. Providence
has in a particular manner blessed it with a variety of soils and productions,
and watered it with innumerable streams, for the delight and accommodation of
its inhabitants. A succession of navigable waters forms a kind of chain round
its borders, as if to bind it together; while the most noble rivers in the
world, running at convenient distances, present them with highways for the easy
communication of friendly aids, and the mutual transportation and exchange of
their various commodities.
With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice that Providence has been
pleased to give this one connected country to one united people -- a people
descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the
same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in
their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts,
fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established
general liberty and independence.
This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it
appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and
convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the strongest ties,
should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien
sovereignties.
Similar sentiments have hitherto prevailed among all orders and denominations of
men among us. To all general purposes we have uniformly been one people each
individual citizen everywhere enjoying the same national rights, privileges, and
protection. As a nation we have made peace and war; as a nation we have
vanquished our common enemies; as a nation we have formed alliances, and made
treaties, and entered into various compacts and conventions with foreign states.
A strong sense of the value and blessings of union induced the people, at a very
early period, to institute a federal government to preserve and perpetuate it.
They formed it almost as soon as they had a political existence; nay, at a time
when their habitations were in flames, when many of their citizens were
bleeding, and when the progress of hostility and desolation left little room for
those calm and mature inquiries and reflections which must ever precede the
formation of a wise and well-balanced government for a free people. It is not to
be wondered at, that a government instituted in times so inauspicious, should on
experiment be found greatly deficient and inadequate to the purpose it was
intended to answer.
This intelligent people perceived and regretted these defects. Still continuing
no less attached to union than enamored of liberty, they observed the danger
which immediately threatened the former and more remotely the latter; and being
pursuaded that ample security for both could only be found in a national
government more wisely framed, they as with one voice, convened the late
convention at Philadelphia, to take that important subject under consideration.
This convention, composed of men who possessed the confidence of the people, and
many of whom had become highly distinguished by their patriotism, virtue and
wisdom, in times which tried the minds and hearts of men, undertook the arduous
task. In the mild season of peace, with minds unoccupied by other subjects, they
passed many months in cool, uninterrupted, and daily consultation; and finally,
without having been awed by power, or influenced by any passions except love for
their country, they presented and recommended to the people the plan produced by
their joint and very unanimous councils.
Admit, for so is the fact, that this plan is only recommended, not imposed, yet
let it be remembered that it is neither recommended to blind approbation, nor to
blind reprobation; but to that sedate and candid consideration which the
magnitude and importance of the subject demand, and which it certainly ought to
receive. But this (as was remarked in the foregoing number of this paper) is
more to be wished than expected, that it may be so considered and examined.
Experience on a former occasion teaches us not to be too sanguine in such hopes.
It is not yet forgotten that well-grounded apprehensions of imminent danger
induced the people of America to form the memorable Congress of 1774. That body
recommended certain measures to their constituents, and the event proved their
wisdom; yet it is fresh in our memories how soon the press began to teem with
pamphlets and weekly papers against those very measures. Not only many of the
officers of government, who obeyed the dictates of personal interest, but
others, from a mistaken estimate of consequences, or the undue influence of
former attachments, or whose ambition aimed at objects which did not correspond
with the public good, were indefatigable in their efforts to pursuade the people
to reject the advice of that patriotic Congress. Many, indeed, were deceived and
deluded, but the great majority of the people reasoned and decided judiciously;
and happy they are in reflecting that they did so.
They considered that the Congress was composed of many wise and experienced men.
That, being convened from different parts of the country, they brought with them
and communicated to each other a variety of useful information. That, in the
course of the time they passed together in inquiring into and discussing the
true interests of their country, they must have acquired very accurate knowledge
on that head. That they were individually interested in the public liberty and
prosperity, and therefore that it was not less their inclination than their duty
to recommend only such measures as, after the most mature deliberation, they
really thought prudent and advisable.
These and similar considerations then induced the people to rely greatly on the
judgment and integrity of the Congress; and they took their advice,
notwithstanding the various arts and endeavors used to deter them from it. But
if the people at large had reason to confide in the men of that Congress, few of
whom had been fully tried or generally known, still greater reason have they now
to respect the judgment and advice of the convention, for it is well known that
some of the most distinguished members of that Congress, who have been since
tried and justly approved for patriotism and abilities, and who have grown old
in acquiring political information, were also members of this convention, and
carried into it their accumulated knowledge and experience.
It is worthy of remark that not only the first, but every succeeding Congress,
as well as the late convention, have invariably joined with the people in
thinking that the prosperity of America depended on its Union. To preserve and
perpetuate it was the great object of the people in forming that convention, and
it is also the great object of the plan which the convention has advised them to
adopt. With what propriety, therefore, or for what good purposes, are attempts
at this particular period made by some men to depreciate the importance of the
Union? Or why is it suggested that three or four confederacies would be better
than one? I am persuaded in my own mind that the people have always thought
right on this subject, and that their universal and uniform attachment to the
cause of the Union rests on great and weighty reasons, which I shall endeavor to
develop and explain in some ensuing papers. They who promote the idea of
substituting a number of distinct confederacies in the room of the plan of the
convention, seem clearly to foresee that the rejection of it would put the
continuance of the Union in the utmost jeopardy. That certainly would be the
case, and I sincerely wish that it may be as clearly foreseen by every good
citizen, that whenever the dissolution of the Union arrives, America will have
reason to exclaim, in the words of the poet: "FAREWELL! A LONG FAREWELL TO ALL
MY GREATNESS."
PUBLIUS

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Federalist No. 1

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:17:24 -0700

Federalist Papers: FEDERALIST No. 1Founding Fathers Home Page
> Federalist Papers > FEDERALIST No. 1

      FEDERALIST. No. 1
      General Introduction
      For the Independent Journal.
      Alexander Hamilton
      To the People of the State of New York:
      AFTER an unequivocal experience of the inefficiency of the subsisting
      federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new
      Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its own
      importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the
      existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is
      composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in
      the world. It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been
      reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to
      decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable
      or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or
      whether they are forever destined to depend for their political
      constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark,
      the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the
      era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part
      we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general
      misfortune of mankind.
      This idea will add the inducements of philanthropy to those of patriotism,
      to heighten the solicitude which all considerate and good men must feel
      for the event. Happy will it be if our choice should be directed by a
      judicious estimate of our true interests, unperplexed and unbiased by
      considerations not connected with the public good. But this is a thing
      more ardently to be wished than seriously to be expected. The plan offered
      to our deliberations affects too many particular interests, innovates upon
      too many local institutions, not to involve in its discussion a variety of
      objects foreign to its merits, and of views, passions and prejudices
      little favorable to the discovery of truth.
      Among the most formidable of the obstacles which the new Constitution will
      have to encounter may readily be distinguished the obvious interest of a
      certain class of men in every State to resist all changes which may hazard
      a diminution of the power, emolument, and consequence of the offices they
      hold under the State establishments; and the perverted ambition of another
      class of men, who will either hope to aggrandize themselves by the
      confusions of their country, or will flatter themselves with fairer
      prospects of elevation from the subdivision of the empire into several
      partial confederacies than from its union under one government.
      It is not, however, my design to dwell upon observations of this nature. I
      am well aware that it would be disingenuous to resolve indiscriminately
      the opposition of any set of men (merely because their situations might
      subject them to suspicion) into interested or ambitious views. Candor will
      oblige us to admit that even such men may be actuated by upright
      intentions; and it cannot be doubted that much of the opposition which has
      made its appearance, or may hereafter make its appearance, will spring
      from sources, blameless at least, if not respectable--the honest errors of
      minds led astray by preconceived jealousies and fears. So numerous indeed
      and so powerful are the causes which serve to give a false bias to the
      judgment, that we, upon many occasions, see wise and good men on the wrong
      as well as on the right side of questions of the first magnitude to
      society. This circumstance, if duly attended to, would furnish a lesson of
      moderation to those who are ever so much persuaded of their being in the
      right in any controversy. And a further reason for caution, in this
      respect, might be drawn from the reflection that we are not always sure
      that those who advocate the truth are influenced by purer principles than
      their antagonists. Ambition, avarice, personal animosity, party
      opposition, and many other motives not more laudable than these, are apt
      to operate as well upon those who support as those who oppose the right
      side of a question. Were there not even these inducements to moderation,
      nothing could be more ill-judged than that intolerant spirit which has, at
      all times, characterized political parties. For in politics, as in
      religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and
      sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution.
      And yet, however just these sentiments will be allowed to be, we have
      already sufficient indications that it will happen in this as in all
      former cases of great national discussion. A torrent of angry and
      malignant passions will be let loose. To judge from the conduct of the
      opposite parties, we shall be led to conclude that they will mutually hope
      to evince the justness of their opinions, and to increase the number of
      their converts by the loudness of their declamations and the bitterness of
      their invectives. An enlightened zeal for the energy and efficiency of
      government will be stigmatized as the offspring of a temper fond of
      despotic power and hostile to the principles of liberty. An
      over-scrupulous jealousy of danger to the rights of the people, which is
      more commonly the fault of the head than of the heart, will be represented
      as mere pretense and artifice, the stale bait for popularity at the
      expense of the public good. It will be forgotten, on the one hand, that
      jealousy is the usual concomitant of love, and that the noble enthusiasm
      of liberty is apt to be infected with a spirit of narrow and illiberal
      distrust. On the other hand, it will be equally forgotten that the vigor
      of government is essential to the security of liberty; that, in the
      contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their interest can
      never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind
      the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the
      forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of
      government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much
      more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and
      that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the
      greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to
      the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.
      In the course of the preceding observations, I have had an eye, my
      fellow-citizens, to putting you upon your guard against all attempts, from
      whatever quarter, to influence your decision in a matter of the utmost
      moment to your welfare, by any impressions other than those which may
      result from the evidence of truth. You will, no doubt, at the same time,
      have collected from the general scope of them, that they proceed from a
      source not unfriendly to the new Constitution. Yes, my countrymen, I own
      to you that, after having given it an attentive consideration, I am
      clearly of opinion it is your interest to adopt it. I am convinced that
      this is the safest course for your liberty, your dignity, and your
      happiness. I affect not reserves which I do not feel. I will not amuse you
      with an appearance of deliberation when I have decided. I frankly
      acknowledge to you my convictions, and I will freely lay before you the
      reasons on which they are founded. The consciousness of good intentions
      disdains ambiguity. I shall not, however, multiply professions on this
      head. My motives must remain in the depository of my own breast. My
      arguments will be open to all, and may be judged of by all. They shall at
      least be offered in a spirit which will not disgrace the cause of truth.
      I propose, in a series of papers, to discuss the following interesting
      particulars:
        THE UTILITY OF THE UNION TO YOUR POLITICAL PROSPERITY

THE INSUFFICIENCY OF THE PRESENT CONFEDERATION TO PRESERVE THAT UNION

THE NECESSITY OF A GOVERNMENT AT LEAST EQUALLY ENERGETIC WITH THE ONE
PROPOSED, TO THE ATTAINMENT OF THIS OBJECT

THE CONFORMITY OF THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTION TO THE TRUE PRINCIPLES OF
REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT

ITS ANALOGY TO YOUR OWN STATE CONSTITUTION

        and lastly, THE ADDITIONAL SECURITY WHICH ITS ADOPTION WILL AFFORD TO
        THE PRESERVATION OF THAT SPECIES OF GOVERNMENT, TO LIBERTY, AND TO
        PROPERTY.

      In the progress of this discussion I shall endeavor to give a satisfactory
      answer to all the objections which shall have made their appearance, that
      may seem to have any claim to your attention.
      It may perhaps be thought superfluous to offer arguments to prove the
      utility of the UNION, a point, no doubt, deeply engraved on the hearts of
      the great body of the people in every State, and one, which it may be
      imagined, has no adversaries. But the fact is, that we already hear it
      whispered in the private circles of those who oppose the new Constitution,
      that the thirteen States are of too great extent for any general system,
      and that we must of necessity resort to separate confederacies of distinct
      portions of the whole.1 This doctrine will, in all probability, be
      gradually propagated, till it has votaries enough to countenance an open
      avowal of it. For nothing can be more evident, to those who are able to
      take an enlarged view of the subject, than the alternative of an adoption
      of the new Constitution or a dismemberment of the Union. It will therefore
      be of use to begin by examining the advantages of that Union, the certain
      evils, and the probable dangers, to which every State will be exposed from
      its dissolution. This shall accordingly constitute the subject of my next
      address.
      PUBLIUS.

1. The same idea, tracing the arguments to their consequences, is held out
in several of the late publications against the new Constitution.

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Meeting My Goals at Toastmasters

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:30:09 -0700

Leadership Roles:
2006-2007 Sergeant-At-Arms
2007-2008 Vice-President of Education
2008-2009 President

Toastmaster Awards Earned:
2006-2007 Competent Communicator
2007-2008 Advanced Communicator Bronze

Toastmaster Goals:
Competent Leader
Advanced Communicator Silver

Our local club, Conquistador Toastmasters Club #5858 in Tucson met its goals for 2007-2008 earning the Distinguished Presidents Award. I met my personal goal of earning the Advanced Communicator Bronze, which is the second speech award in Toastmasters. Since joining two years ago I have completed 20 speeches and competed in my club's Humorous Speech Contest last September. I was just elected President for the coming year starting July 1, 2008. Here is a link to Conquistador Toastmasters website:

Conquistadors Toastmasters

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For My Father On His 100th Birthday

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:02:25 -0700

For John Zakutansky born June 15, 1908

Ode

By Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy

(1844-1881)

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamer of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties,
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample an empire down.

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself with our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.

A breath of our inspiration,
Is the life of each generation.
A wondrous thing of our dreaming,
Unearthly, impossible seeming-
The soldier, the king, and the peasant
Are working together in one,
Till our dream shall become their present,
And their work in the world be done.

They had no vision amazing
Of the goodly house they are raising.
They had no divine foreshowing
Of the land to which they are going:
But on one man's soul it hath broke,
A light that doth not depart
And his look, or a word he hath spoken,
Wrought flame in another man's heart.

And therefore today is thrilling,
With a past day's late fulfilling.
And the multitudes are enlisted
In the faith that their fathers resisted,
And, scorning the dream of tomorrow,
Are bringing to pass, as they may,
In the world, for it's joy or it's sorrow,
The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,
Ceaseless and sorrowless we!
The glory about us clinging
Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing;
O men! It must ever be
That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,
A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning
And the suns that are not yet high,
And out of the infinite morning
Intrepid you hear us cry-
How, spite of your human scorning,
Once more God's future draws nigh,
And already goes forth the warning
That ye of the past must die.

Great hail! we cry to the corners
From the dazzling unknown shore;
Bring us hither your sun and your summers,
And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamt not before;
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more.

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Tim Russert, RIP

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:56:42 -0700

#25159166

Outside of his politics, Tim Russert really was a great guy. From a Toastmaster's perspective where evaluations are on the presentation rather then the viewpoint Russert was a master that we all can learn from. Regrettably I didn't get a Dad like Tim Russert. I would like to see someone like Dr. Thomas Sowell replace him on Meet the Press, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

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Let Them Eat Ethanol

nobody@vox.com(Zak Klemmer) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:42:37 -0700

Let-them-eat-ethanol

I thought that this was funny. I don't know if the same corn that humans eat is used for ethanol production. In general I am against subsidies and ethanol production requires tons of water. I think that there are better alternatives such as natural gas.

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