What would Lincoln do?

Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.

- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

I am bound to be true - Abraham Lincoln

You are young, and I am older; You are hopeful, I am not— Enjoy life, ere it grow colder— Pluck the roses ere they rot. - Abraham Lincoln

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. - Abraham Lincoln

I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what's said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference. - Abraham Lincoln

Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem. - Abraham Lincoln

I freely acknowledge myself the servant of the people, according to the bond of service - the United States Constitution; and that, as such, I am responsible to them. - Abraham Lincoln

If all men were just, there still would be some, though not so much, need of government. - Abraham Lincoln

The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere. - Abraham Lincoln

To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men. - Abraham Lincoln

Cost of Iraq War

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Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived. - Abraham Lincoln

Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object. - Abraham Lincoln

Peace is a thing which a person must be willing to fight for. - Abraham Lincoln

I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government; and to redress wrongs already long enough endured. - Abraham Lincoln

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth. - Abraham Lincoln

While the people retain their virtue, and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government, in the short space of four years. - Abraham Lincoln

I will not support any candidate that promotes or condones torture. Period. This is America. We are not Nazis.

I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it. - Abraham Lincoln

The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. - Abraham Lincoln

Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Abraham Lincoln

There is more involved in this contest than is realized by every one. There is involved in this struggle the question whether your children and my children shall enjoy the privileges we have enjoyed. - Abraham Lincoln

My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. - Abraham Lincoln

Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed. - Abraham Lincoln

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln

Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure. - Abraham Lincoln

I laugh because I must not cry. That is all. That is all. - Abraham Lincoln

I have borne a laborious, and, in some respects to myself, a painful part in the contest. Through all, I have neither assailed, nor wrestled with any part of the constitution. - Abraham Lincoln

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We must not promise what we ought not, lest we be called on to perform what we cannot. - Abraham Lincoln

Exercise your citizen oversight and speak out!

It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong. - Abraham Lincoln

Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. - Abraham Lincoln

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts. - Abraham Lincoln

When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That is my religion. - Abraham Lincoln

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. - Abraham Lincoln

If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. - Abraham Lincoln

100 Awesome Blogs for History Junkies

The Abraham Lincoln Blog

The Civil War (Harper's Weekly archive)

Oxford University Press Blog

Robert Reich's Blog

The Baseline Scenario

Daily Kos

ePluribus Media

Progressive Historians

TomPaine.common Sense

Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. - Abraham Lincoln

AM in the Morning

Common Ground Collective

Beenie Drowned in her House

Bayou Farewell

Katrina Animal Rescue

I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being. - Abraham Lincoln

I had been told I was on the road to hell, but I had no idea it was just a mile down the road with a dome on it. - Abraham Lincoln

These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people. - Abraham Lincoln

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. - Abraham Lincoln

There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite. - Abraham Lincoln

Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed. - Abraham Lincoln

He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help. - Abraham Lincoln

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. - Abraham Lincoln

I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground. - Abraham Lincoln (Reply to friends who chided him for delaying them by stopping to return a fledgling to its nest.)

The Railsplitter

You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. - Abraham Lincoln

Worse than traitors in arms are the men who pretend loyalty to the flag, feast and fatten on the misfortunes of the Nation, while patriotic blood is crimsoning the plains. . . and their countrymen moldering the dust. - Abraham Lincoln

Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world. - Abraham Lincoln

Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties. - Abraham Lincoln

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. - Abraham Lincoln

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent. - Abraham Lincoln

Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. - Abraham Lincoln

Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. - Abraham Lincoln

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong. - Abraham Lincoln

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. - Abraham Lincoln

A house divided against itself cannot stand. - Abraham Lincoln

I have never had a feeling, politically, that did not spring from the Declaration of Independence, that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence. I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it. - Abraham Lincoln

The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just. - Abraham Lincoln

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. - Abraham Lincoln

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. - Abraham Lincoln

I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. - Abraham Lincoln

To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men - Abraham Lincoln

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn) Condemns Police Attacks on Journalists

Dispatch from the Angry Middle:

Finally... someone from Congress weighs in. You'd think this would interest them - at least marginally - since they supposedly represent us huddled masses in this withering democracy.

Posted by now journalistic hero, Amy Goodman:

Amy Goodman: Democratic Congress member Keith Ellison of Minnesota has been back in the Twin Cities this week closely monitoring the treatment of protesters and journalists at the RNC. He joins me now here.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
Rep. Keith Ellison: Glad to be here, Amy.
Amy Goodman: And thanks for helping out last night. It's a very serious situation, of course. Hundreds of people remain in jail. This rule of thirty-six hours, can you explain how it works?
Rep. Keith Ellison: Well, first of all, the thirty-six hours doesn't count weekends. And so, if you get --
Amy Goodman: Or Labor Day, which was yesterday.
Rep. Keith Ellison: Or a holiday. So if you get arrested, say, on a Friday night, you could be getting out -- hopefully, if you can -- maybe Wednesday midday. So it really is something that can take quite a bit of your freedom away.
Amy Goodman: You're -- in addition to being a Congress member, you're a lawyer?
Rep. Keith Ellison: For about sixteen years, I practiced law right here in the courts of Minneapolis-St. Paul and all over Minnesota.
Amy Goodman: It was Minneapolis police, by the way, who arrested us, even though we're here in St. Paul. Why is that?
Rep. Keith Ellison: Well, because they brought in probably a number of jurisdictions to help their complement of officers who would try to do policing activity here for the RNC. So I wouldn't be surprised if they have other jurisdictions besides Minneapolis. Might have a number of suburban districts and maybe even some from further away than that.
Amy Goodman: And, of course, National Guard.
Rep. Keith Ellison: Yeah, no doubt about that. Secret Service.
Amy Goodman: And is there a fusion center here in the Twin Cities?
Rep. Keith Ellison: You mean, a coordinating center? Yeah, I'm quite certain there is. I can't give you details on that, because, quite frankly, I thought that it was going to be a relatively routine situation. But when you see some of the footage that I saw, it was anything but routine. It looked quite extraordinary, to tell you the truth.
And when you hear about journalists getting arrested, it's very disturbing. I mean, the news gatherers -- how can the people know, if they don't have news gatherers to gather the news and show them? But when those folks are being intimidated and even roughed up, it's pretty -- it actually is a threat to democracy and the First Amendment.
Amy Goodman: Right, we don't know if the Associated Press photographers have gotten out, if the Pepper spray videographers have gotten out. Even the New York Post guy, we don't know what happened to him at this moment. And, of course, there are many, many people who are on the streets who get rounded up just by virtue of being there. When they move in with such a fast pincer move from all corners and surround a block -- this was basically a parking lot -- there is nowhere to go.
Rep. Keith Ellison: Right. There's nowhere to go. And, of course, they know that, as well. It's not like they haven't mapped out the whole area and don't know exactly what forces are moving in which directions. They do know. And, of course, it's pretty clear that Nicole and Sharif were making their status as press widely known, and it was easy to hear it; you know, clearly on the tape, it was easy to hear. So that's pretty disturbing to me, and I'm actually pretty upset about it.
Amy Goodman: So you weighed in last night as they were in jail. You called the police commissioner.
Rep. Keith Ellison: I called and let them -- just provided the information. You know, this is who you have. This is the deal, stuff like that. So, you know, I just think it's important to make sure that when journalists are trying to do their work, that they are allowed to do it.
Amy Goodman: This is only the second day, and, in fact, the Republican convention was not in even full gear because of Hurricane Gustav yesterday, though the protests in the streets were. You've got a number more days. What is the plan for the city?
Rep. Keith Ellison: Well, you know, that's what I'm trying to find out right now. I mean, before, quite frankly, I was perfectly content to allow the police to do the work they were doing, and I'm just going to go do the work I do. But now, I do have a new -- an urgent curiosity to find out what the plan is. When are massive uses of force going to be deployed? What circumstances will trigger them? Have we looked -- have we recognized the fact that we can actually cause more trouble than what would otherwise happen, when we bring forth this massive use of force as we saw on the tape? And so, I'm concerned about it. I think overreaction is as bad as under-reaction, and what I saw on that tape was pretty disturbing.

I still find it intriguing that it was a Secret Service officer who ripped the press credentials off of Amy Goodman and her producers, while they were already in police custody.

The Secret Service get their orders from... the President, don't they? Either the President or the Vice.

It is interesting to note that the same attacks on journalists have been happening in Iraq for the entire duration of the war; well, at least since the journalists stopped 'embedding' with the Army. More journalists have been targeted and killed in the Iraq war than in any previous war.

I guess Bush doesn't like journalists. To his way of thinking, their job is to spread pro-Bush propaganda. If they happen to stray off of their 'talking points,' he cracks down hard.

For the most part, the corporate media stays on (Bush) message quite nicely. Only foreign or independent (a.k.a. actual investigative) journalists are routinely and often permanently silenced.

Truth is a dangerous thing... if you have something to hide.

Labels: Alternet, Amy Goodman, Congressman Keith Ellison, Democracy Now, First Amendment, Minnesota, police brutality

Friday, September 05, 2008

The Daily Show: Nailed it

Jon Stewart is a national treasure.

I too remember the 'former but now reformed maverick,' John McCain. So sad to see a once respectable man flipping and flopping through current issues, like a beached flounder.

Of course, Jon is always standing by with a fishing net.

Every segment tonight 'nailed it,' so I'm just going to post em all. If you experience sound problems with any (or all) of these videos, click here to view them in a separate window/tab.

Nothing like the smell of fresh coffee and tear gas in the morning

Jon goes after that 'Change' Platform. Heh heh.

And now... about that 'maverick' thing.

Moment of Zen

Labels: 2008 election, John McCain, Jon Stewart, Minnesota, RNC, The Daily Show

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Outrageous crackdown on American journalists - on American soil - continues

Dispatch from the Angry Middle:

Would that our Congress hadn't shredded our Constitution on the whim of a rogue president.

I can't help recalling my letter from Senator Lugar, promising that 'Protecting American citizens from harm is the federal government's most important responsibility.' Really. What about upholding the Constitution? Does that still fit into the master plan?

I'd love to ask Senator Lugar now... if he still really believes FISA was all about 'keeping Americans safe.' More like keeping them under control, don't you think?

Are we to become like the former Soviet Union? China?

UPDATE from Democracy Now!

Journalists Facing Charges for Reporting on the Republican National Convention

Charges against Amy Goodman still hold; Nicole Salazar and Sharif Abdel Kouddous could still be charged with FELONY RIOT
Please take immediate action to have the charges dropped

CONTACT THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE - DEMAND THAT ALL CHARGES OR POTENTIAL CHARGES BE IMMEDIATELY DROPPED:

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
janet.hafner@co.ramsey.mn.us and
susan.gaertner@co.ramsey.mn.us
(cc: dropthecharges at democracynow.org)
651-266-3079

________________________

Susan Gaertner for Governor
info@susangaertner.com
(cc: dropthecharges at democracynow.org)
(612) 978-8625
(612)804-6156

________________________

St. Paul Mayor Christopher B. Coleman
chris.coleman@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Bob.Hume@ci.stpaul.mn.us
sara.grewing@ci.stpaul.mn.us
(cc: dropthecharges at democracynow.org)

Make your voice heard in the Ramsey County Attorney and St. Paul Mayor’s offices. Demand that they drop all pending and current charges against journalists arrested while reporting on protests outside the Republican National Conventions.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s office is in the process of deciding whether or not to press felony P.C. (probable cause) riot charges against Democracy Now! Producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Please contact Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner by all means possible to demand that her office not press charges against Kouddous and Salazar.

The St. Paul City Attorney’s office has already charged Amy Goodman with misdemeanor obstruction of a legal process and interference with a peace officer. Contact St. Paul Mayor Christopher Coleman by all means possible to demand that the charges against Goodman be dropped immediately.

Goodman was arrested while questioning police about the unlawful detention of Kouddous and Salazar who were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention.

During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested, law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists. Several dozen demonstrators were also arrested during this action, as was a photographer for the Associated Press.

IMPORTANT

Be sure to cc: dropthecharges@democracynow.org on all emails so that our team can deliver print outs of your messages to the St. Paul City Attorney, the Mayor and Ramsey County Attorney offices.

Labels: Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, Minnesota

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Again... what country is this?

Protester in St. Paul tries to hand the police a flower. Protester is sprayed in the face with something that appeared to really hurt.

A flower. She was obviously a terrorist. Obviously a threat to national security. I can see why the dude in the body armor felt threatened.

These marching robots in black look like something out of Star Wars (Darth Vader's guys.) They also remind me of old films depicting Nazi storm troopers. Creepy. I suppose they'll be shooting infants next. That usually follows.

I guess if your face is completely hidden from view, and you're a really tough dude dressed in black armor (in the proud tradition of Klansman hiding their faces under sheets,) you feel empowered to assault a woman holding out a flower.

Very manly. Very American, patriotic and... are we sure an alien army isn't invading us? I'm confused. You say this was Minnesota? Really? I always associated Minnesota with Garrison Keillor. Remind me not to visit any time soon.

If you have any trouble with this video - sound or otherwise - please click here.

Don't you imagine our troops in Iraq wish they could get such nice body armor? They're actually being shot at, and every day. Ah, alas for national priorities. Our government is much more threatened by Americans carrying flowers.

Labels: Minnesota, police brutality, protest, RNC, St. Paul

The canary in the mine: pre-emptively held at gunpoint

Our tax dollars are paying for this?

"I was personally present and saw officers with riot gear and assault rifles, pump action shotguns," said Bruce Nestor, the president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, who is representing several of the protesters. "The neighbor of one of the houses had a gun pointed in her face when she walked out on her back porch to see what was going on. There were children in all of these houses, and children were held at gunpoint."

Read more

Labels: Minnesota, police brutality, protest, RNC