Woodchip of Wisdom

Don't join the book burners. Do not think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Woodchip of Wisdom

The old man
In the mirror
Startles Me
But the young man
In the photograph
Is stranger
Still.

George Oppen
(1908-1984)

WOODCHIP OF WISDOM

"This is an administration of bullies!"

Representative John Sarbanes,
Plame hearings

WOODCHIP OF WISDOM (from Molly Ivins)

Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.”

-Molly Ivins

A WOODCHIP OF WISDOM (from MOLLY IVINS)

"The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion."

Another (borrowed) WOODCHIP of WISDOM

"It is an uncomfortable doctrine which the true ethics whisper into my ear. You are happy, they say; therefore you are called upon to give much."

- Albert Schweitzer

ANOTHER WOODCHIP OF WISDOM (borrowed)

"If you elect a really dumb president, you're going to get a really dumb country."
---Kurt Vonnegut

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ANOTHER WOODCHIP OF WISDOM (borrowed)

PEACE

Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people. Jawaharlal Nehru

(A comment: Clearly, the ill-intentioned, poorly-conducted Iraq War shows the converse of Nehru's wisdom. Surely lasting war will come to warlike people.)

ANOTHER WOODCHIP OF WISDOM

'No matter where I stand on this golf course, I am potentially in your way...."
-Steven Woods to his father. Dec. 23, 2006. The Villages, Florida.

ANOTHER WOODCHIP OF WISDOM

"The punishment can be remitted; the crime is everlasting."
-Ovid, Roman Poet

I thought that this quotation from a distant era was applicable to the story that follows about the "worst polluter."
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WOODCHIP OF WISDOM (borrowed)

The fiercest agonies have shortest reign;
And after dreams of horror, comes again -
The welcome morning with its rays of peace.

-:William Cullen Bryant

ANOTHER WOODCHIP OF WISDOM

From our friend, Bill from WNNCO

Bigotry is like acne. you no sooner squeeze one pimple than it pops up somewhere else.


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WOODCHIP OF WISDOM (borrowed)

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction."*

----Blaise Pascal

* In quoting this, I have the following Wisconsin story in mind. (No one at the Arboretum is scornful of religious faith, but we are terribly afraid of the way some people practice it.)
Read on.

Another (borrowed) WOODCHIP of WISDOM

THE DUTY TO CONSERVE

The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value. Theodore Roosevelt

WOODCHIP OF WISDOM

Concerning Bush's proclamation of Character Counts Week (see Scot's Posting for October 20, below): This is like having Dick Cheney proclaim Hunter Safety Week. Or Madonna proclaim National Modesty Month.

Another (borrowed) WOODCHIP of WISDOM

Oh, for a lodge in some vast wilderness,
Some boundless contiguity of shade,
Where rumour of oppression and deceit,
Of unsuccessful or successful war,
Might never reach me more!

Author: William Cowper

another little woodchip of wisdom

Our friend William, a whiz-bang chemist and mathematician as well as a Bush-ian entrepreneur -- the guy who says, "just call me WNNCO"-- contributes this wisdom: "Most of the laws apply only to the Middle Class. The wealthy can ignore them and fight any penalties. The poor have nothing to seize for their penalties. It's only the Middle Class that's collectable."

Bill doesn't mind if anyone disagrees with him, and he will welcome your comments.

Woodchip of Wisdom:

This is a quality of life alert: “george bush” is an invasive species, akin to kudzu. It will infiltrate any environment and is destructive of them all. It pollutes the watershed with its noxious drippings. Its roots choke out better species. It is a master of camouflage that disguises its nefarious creepings behind an appearance of congeniality. It belches lily-white fumes that poison the civic atmosphere. It throws off exploding pods that shock and awe, and slowly kill, adjacent plants. It wraps its viney tendrils around unwilling hosts and squeezes them of their substance. The umbra of darkness it casts over other plants denies sustenance to the struggling. If you see this vile weed, don’t let it into your yard or garden.

GREETINGS FROM “OLD CHIP”. Welcome to our blog.