QOTD: "The best lack all conviction..."

This is from The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats, 1919, written in the wake of World War I. This comes to mind after months of overexposure to Donald Trump.

The Inalienable Right to Disagree

This is from a new book by Sarah Vowell, "Lafayette in the Somewhat United States" that I happen to be reading:

(P. 25) “The thing that drew me to Lafayette as a subject—that he was that rare object of agreement in the ironically named United States—kept me coming back to why that made him unique. Namely, that we the people have never agreed on much of anything. Other than a bipartisan consensus on barbecue and Meryl Streep, plus that time in 1942 when everyone from Bing Crosby to Oregonian schoolchildren heeded FDR’s call to scrounge up rubber for the war effort, disunity is the through line in the national plot—not necessarily as a failing, but as a free people’s privilege. And thanks to Lafayette and his cohorts in Washington’s army, plus the king of France and his navy, not to mention the founding dreamers who clearly did not think through what happens every time one citizen’s pursuit of happiness infuriates his neighbors, getting on each other’s nerves is our right.”

How Washington Works...

Having spent most of last week in Washington, D.C., I think this quote from Senator Elizabeth Warren sums up how Washington works: 

“If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re probably on the menu..." 

Truth vs. myth

"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -----------  John F. Kennedy

Michael Head from MDCH sees the good side of a tanking economy

"The opportunity to advance change and delete poor practices and service options is enhanced with the specter of large budget reductions..."

Michael Head, Deputy Director of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Administration for the Michigan Department of Community Health, 12/16/09

Michael Head, a Deputy Director at the Michigan Department of Community Health, in his response to Michigan's economic crisis, seems delighted to have an excuse to eliminate programs he doesn't like. Unfortunately, the programs and services he targets specifically - day programs, sheltered workshops, and group homes - serve people with the most severe and complex developmental disabilities. I guess we shouldn't be too concerned, though. He plans to have them all earning incomes in integrated community settings, competing for jobs in a state that expects to have an unemployment rate of 15% this year.

If we are in for some tough times, can we at least have someone who is not completely out of his mind in charge?

Quote of the Day

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."

Antoine de Saint Exupery