Positively Mistaken

Mark Twain once said, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."

I've been reminded of that quote many times in my life ... most recently in the aftermath of our recent elections. People complain that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and she should be President. They say we are a Democracy, and we need to do away with the Electoral College so that the people's votes will count. It's a powerful argument, but flawed at its very core. These United States are a Republic, not a Democracy. We've always been a Republic, and always will be a Republic. I'm amazed at the number of people who don't know - or carelessly forget - this basic fact about These United States.

As a reminder, I offer the following:

1) I pledge alliegence to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands ...

2) At the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked, "Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?"
And he replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

If we ever become a Democracy, it means the end of the Nation as we know it; but until then, can we at least agree the Government we currently have is a Republic - not a Democracy?

Tool in the Box

"That's not good. My wife just left me a voice mail. It must be something she didn't want to say to me in person."

"Does that happen often?"

"No. Usually it's a reminder about something I was supposed to do."

"Forgetful husband syndrome?"

"Yeah."

"Well don't wear it out. We need that to keep our marriages intact."

Pedantry - Part 2

Hey, can you break me off a piece of that? I'm so glad it's not labeled for individual sale.

On Greatness

"And there is no greatness where simplicity, goodness, and truth are absent."

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy