{"id":151921,"date":"2020-11-03T12:29:49","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T19:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=151921"},"modified":"2020-11-04T14:37:13","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T21:37:13","slug":"quotations-on-an-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2020\/11\/03\/quotations-on-an-election-day.html","title":{"rendered":"Quotations on an Election Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

I collect quotations at my Wish I’d Said That (WIST)<\/a> site. Aaand, every couple of years, on election day, I pull out some thoughts from the past that I find pertinent to our present.<\/p>\n

This one’s a bit longer than usual, but it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.<\/p>\n

Links provided are to the WIST site, which often has original sourcing and additional notes on each quotation.<\/p>\n

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves \u2014 and the only way they could do this is by not voting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) US President (1933-1945)
\nRadio address (5 Oct 1944)<\/p>\n

It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> John Philpot Curran (1750-1817) Irish lawyer and politician
\nSpeech before Privy Council, Dublin (10 Jul 1790)<\/p>\n

Whatever the laws may provide, however lofty may be their sentiments, a man without a vote is a man without protection.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
\n(Attributed)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a>\u00a0Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) US President (1861-65)
\nAnnual Message to Congress (1 Dec 1862)<\/p>\n

This is a column for everyone who ever said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m just not interested in politics,\u201d or, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I can do about it,\u201d or, \u201cHey, they\u2019re all crooks anyway.\u201d \u2026 I\u2019ve got one word for all of you: Katrina<\/strong>. \u2026 This, friends, is why we need to pay attention to government policies, not political personalities, and to know whereon we vote. It is about our lives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
\nThe Progressive<\/em> (Oct 2005)<\/p>\n

Build movements. Vote with your values, but vote strategically. Voting isn\u2019t a Valentine. It\u2019s a chess move.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Rebecca Solnit (b. 1961) American writer, historian, activist
\nFacebook (17 Oct 2016)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) British playwright and critic
\n(Attributed)<\/p>\n

If a man has a genuine, sincere, hearty wish to get rid of his liberty, if he is really bent upon becoming a slave, nothing can stop him. And the temptation is to some natures a very great one. Liberty is often a heavy burden on a man. It involves that necessity for perpetual choice which is the kind of labor men have always dreaded. In common life we shirk it by forming habits, which take the place of self-determination. In politics party-organization saves us the pains of much thinking before deciding how to cast our vote.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
\nElsie Venner,\u00a0<\/em>ch. 18\u00a0(1859)<\/p>\n

If there is distrust out there \u2014 and there is \u2014 perhaps it is because there is so much partisan jockeying for advantage at the expense of public policy. At times it feels as if American politics consists largely of candidates without ideas, hiring consultants without convictions, to stage campaigns without content. Increasingly the result is elections without voters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006) US President, (1974-77) [b. Leslie Lynch King, Jr.]
\nSpeech, Profiles in Courage Award Acceptance, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (2001)<\/p>\n

There are worse things than losing an election; the worst thing is to lose one\u2019s convictions and not tell the people the truth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
\n(Attributed)<\/p>\n

We\u2019d all like t\u2019vote fer th\u2019best man, but he\u2019s never a candidate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Kin Hubbard (1868-1930) American caricaturist and humorist [Frank McKinney Hubbard]
\nAbe Martin\u2019s Primer<\/em> (1914)<\/p>\n

When you have to make a choice and don\u2019t make it, that is in itself a choice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher
\n(Attributed)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Since the beginning of our American history, we have been engaged in change \u2014 in a perpetual peaceful revolution \u2014 a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions \u2014 without the concentration camp or the quick-lime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a>\u00a0Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) US President (1933-1945)
\nAnnual Message to Congress (6 Jan 1941)<\/p>\n

The people \u2014 the people<\/span> \u2014 are the rightful masters of both Congresses, and courts \u2014 not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
\nSpeech, Cooper Union, New York City (27 Feb 1860)<\/p>\n

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) US President (1825-29)
\n(Attributed)<\/p>\n

The single most dangerous thing you can do in politics is shut off information from people who don\u2019t agree with you. Surround yourself with sycophants, listen only to the yea-sayers \u2026 then stick a fork in it, you\u2019re done.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
\n\u201cElection Denial\u201d (3 Apr. 2001)<\/p>\n

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British statesman and author
\nSpeech, House of Commons (11 Nov 1947)<\/p>\n

Pessimism about man serves to maintain the status quo. It is a luxury for the affluent, a sop to the guilt of the politically inactive, a comfort to those who continue to enjoy the amenities of privilege.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Leon Eisenberg (1922-2009) American psychiatrist and medical educator
\n\u201cThe Human Nature of Human Nature,\u201d Science (14 Apr 1972)<\/p>\n

Bad officials are elected by good people who do not vote.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> George Jean Nathan (1892-1958) American editor and critic
\n(Attributed)<\/p>\n

But I go on this great republican principle, that the people will have virtue and intelligence to select men of virtue and wisdom. Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wicked situation. No theoretical checks, no form of government, can render us secure. To suppose that any for of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea. If there be sufficient virtue and intelligence in the community, it will be exercised in the selection of these men; so that we do not depend on their virtue, or put confidence in our rulers, but in the people who are to choose them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> James Madison (1751-1836) American statesman, political theorist, US President (1809-17)
\nSpeech at the Virginia Convention (20 Jun 1788)<\/p>\n

The idea that you can merchandise candidates for high office like breakfast cereal \u2014 that you can gather votes like box tops \u2014 is, I think, the ultimate indignity to the democratic process.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
\nComment, after his presidential nomination acceptance speech, Chicago (18 Aug 1956)<\/p>\n

But freedom isn\u2019t free. It shouldn\u2019t be a bragging point that, \u201cOh, I don\u2019t get involved in politics,\u201d as if that makes someone cleaner. No, that makes you derelict of duty in a republic. Liars and panderers in government would have a much harder time of it if so many people didn\u2019t insist on their right to remain ignorant and blindly agreeable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> William “Bill” Maher (b. 1956) American comedian, political commentator, critic, television host.
\nWhen You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden<\/em> (2002)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We are not a cynical people. The will to believe lingers on. We like to think that heroes can emerge from obscurity, as they sometimes do; that elections do matter, even though the process is at least part hokum; that through politics we can change our society and maybe even find a cause to believe in.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Ronald Steel (b. 1931) American writer, historian, and professor
\n\u201cThe Vanishing Campaign Biography,\u201d New York Times<\/em> (5 Aug 1984)<\/p>\n

CALVIN: When I grow up, I\u2019m not going to read the newspaper and I\u2019m not going to follow complex issues and I\u2019m not going to vote. That way I can complain when the government doesn\u2019t represent me. Then, when everything goes down the tubes, I can say the system doesn\u2019t work and justify my further lack of participation.
\nHOBBES: An ingeniously self-fulfilling plan.
\nCALVIN: It\u2019s a lot more fun to blame things than to fix them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
\nCalvin & Hobbes<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
\nSpeech, Signing of the Voting Rights Act (6 Aug 1965)<\/p>\n

Monarchy is like a sleek craft, it sails along well until some bumbling captain runs it into the rocks. Democracy, on the other hand, is like a raft. It never goes down but, dammit, your feet are always wet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Fisher Ames (1758-1808) American politician, orator
\n(Attributed)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Every honest and God-fearing man is a mighty factor in the future of the Republic. Educated men, business men, professional men, should be the last to shirk the responsibilities attaching to citizenship in a free government. They should be practical and helpful \u2014 mingling with the people \u2014 not selfish and exclusive. It is not necessary that every man should enter into politics, or adopt it as a profession, or seek political preferment, but it is the duty of every man to give personal attention to his political duties. They are as sacred and binding as any we have to perform.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> William McKinley (1843-1901) US President (1897-1901)
\nSpeech, Woodstock, Connecticut (4 July 1891)<\/p>\n

As I would not be a slave<\/span>, so I would not be a master<\/span>. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
\n\u201cOn Slavery and Democracy\u201d (fragment) (1858?)<\/p>\n

It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.<\/p>\n

[\u042f \u0441\u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430\u044e, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0441\u043e\u0432\u0435\u0440\u0448\u0435\u043d\u043d\u043e \u043d\u0435\u0432\u0430\u0436\u043d\u043e, \u043a\u0442\u043e \u0438 \u043a\u0430\u043a \u0431\u0443\u0434\u0435\u0442 \u0432 \u043f\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0438\u0438 \u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c; \u043d\u043e \u0432\u043e\u0442 \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0447\u0440\u0435\u0437\u0432\u044b\u0447\u0430\u0439\u043d\u043e \u0432\u0430\u0436\u043d\u043e, \u044d\u0442\u043e \u2013 \u043a\u0442\u043e \u0438 \u043a\u0430\u043a \u0431\u0443\u0434\u0435\u0442 \u0441\u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441\u0430.]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Josef Stalin (1879-1953) Georgian revolutionary and Soviet dictator
\nComment (1923)<\/p>\n

The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Robert M. Hutchins (1899-1977) American educator and educational philosopher
\nGreat Books: The Foundation of a Liberal Education<\/em> (1954)<\/p>\n

Democracy does not give the people the most skillful government, but it produces what the ablest governments are frequently unable to create: namely, an all-pervading and restless activity, a superabundant force, and an energy which is inseparable from it and which may, however unfavorable circumstances may be, produce wonders.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
\nDemocracy in America<\/em>, 1.14 (1835) [tr. Reeve and Bowen (1862)]<\/p>\n

All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> James A. Garfield (1831-1881) US President (1881), lawyer, lay preacher, educator
\nLetter to B. A. Hinsdale (21 Apr 1880)<\/p>\n

Look at the tyranny of party \u2014 at what is called party allegiance, party loyalty \u2014 a snare invented by designing men for selfish purposes \u2014 and which turns voters into chattels, slaves, rabbits, and all the while their masters, and they themselves are shouting rubbish about liberty, independence, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, honestly unconscious of the fantastic contradiction; and forgetting or ignoring that their fathers and the churches shouted the same blasphemies a generation earlier when they were closing their doors against the hunted slave, beating his handful of humane defenders with Bible texts and billies, and pocketing the insults and licking the shoes of his Southern Master.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
\n\u201cThe Character of Man\u201d (23 Jan 1906), in The Autobiography of Mark Twain,<\/em> Vol. 1 (2010)<\/p>\n

The deadliest enemies of nations are not their foreign foes; they always dwell within their borders. And from these internal enemies civilization is always in need of being saved. The nation blest above all nations is she in whom the civic genius of the people does the saving day by day, by acts without external picturesqueness; by speaking, writing, voting reasonably; by smiting corruption swiftly; by good temper between parties; by the people knowing true men when they see them, and preferring them as leaders to rabid partisans or empty quacks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher
\n\u201cRobert Gould Shaw: Oration upon the Unveiling of the Shaw Monument\u201d (31 May 1897)<\/p>\n

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich by promising to protect each from the other.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Oscar Ameringer (1870-1943) German-American political activist, Socialist organizer, author, politician
\nThe American Guardian<\/em><\/p>\n

Another point of disagreement is not factual but involves the ethical\/moral principle [\u2026] sometimes referred to as the \u201cpolitics of moral witness.\u201d Generally associated with the religious left, secular leftists implicitly invoke it when they reject LEV on the grounds that \u201ca lesser of two evils is still evil.\u201d Leaving aside the obvious rejoinder that this is exactly the point of lesser evil voting \u2014 i.e. to do less evil, what needs to be challenged is the assumption that voting should be seen a form of individual self-expression rather than as an act to be judged on its likely consequences. [\u2026] The basic moral principle at stake is simple: not only must we take responsibility for our actions, but the consequences of our actions for others are a far more important consideration than feeling good about ourselves.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Noam Chomsky (b. 1928) American linguist and activist
\n\u201cAn Eight Point Brief for LEV (Lesser Evil Voting)\u201d (15 Jun 2016) [with John Halle]<\/p>\n

I am a democrat because I believe in the Fall of Man. I think most people are democrats for the opposite reason. A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that everyone deserved a share in government. The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they\u2019re not true. And whenever their weakness is exposed, the people who prefer tyranny make capital out of the exposure. I find that they\u2019re not true without looking further than myself. I don\u2019t deserve a share in governing a hen-roost, much less a nation. Nor do most people \u2014 all the people who believe advertisements, and think in catchwords and spread rumours. The real reason for democracy is just the reverse. Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) English writer and scholar [Clive Staples Lewis]
\n\u201cEquality,\u201d The Spectator<\/em> (27 Aug 1943)<\/p>\n

Let us not be afraid to help each other \u2014 let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and Senators and Congressmen and Government officials but the voters of this country.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) US President (1933-1945)
\nSpeech, Marietta, Ohio (8 Jul 1938)<\/p>\n

Many of the issues of civil rights are very complex and most difficult. But about this there can and should be no argument. Every American citizen must have the right to vote. \u2026 Yet the harsh fact is that in many places in this country men and women are kept from voting simply because they are Negroes. \u2026 No law that we now have on the books \u2026 can insure the right to vote when local officials are determined to deny it. \u2026 There is no Constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is wrong\u2014deadly wrong\u2014to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of States\u2019 rights or National rights. There is only the struggle for human rights.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
\nSpeech, Congress (15 Mar 1965)<\/p>\n

It is the besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which masses of men exhibit their tyranny.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) American novelist
\n\u201cOn the Disadvantages of Democracy,\u201d The American Democrat\u00a0<\/em>(1838)<\/p>\n

The test of a democracy is not the magnificence of buildings or the speed of automobiles or the efficiency of air transportation, but rather the care given to the welfare of all the people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Helen Keller (1880-1968) American author and lecturer
\n\u201cTry Democracy,\u201d The Home Magazine<\/em>, Vol. 11, # 4 (Apr 1935)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It is high time that we stopped thinking politically as Republicans and Democrats about elections and started thinking patriotically as Americans about national security based on individual freedom. It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques \u2014 techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American Way of Life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Margaret Chase Smith (1897-1965) American politician (US Senator, Maine)
\n\u201cDeclaration of Conscience,\u201d Congressional Record,<\/em> vol. 96, 81st Congress, 2d. sess. (1 Jun 1950)<\/p>\n

Political strategies and tactics are not jealous lovers. You don\u2019t have to be monogamous. Direct Action will not feel betrayed if you also vote from time to time \u2014 you can be poly in your tactics. And I am. Of course I vote! If you\u2019re a woman, or a person of color, or a person who doesn\u2019t own property, or even a white male who doesn\u2019t belong to the nobility, centuries of struggle and many deaths have bought you the right to vote. I vote to keep faith with peasant rebels and suffragist hunger strikers and civil rights workers braving the lynch mobs of the South, if for no other reason. But there is another reason \u2014 because who we vote for has an enormous impact on real peoples\u2019 lives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Starhawk (b. 1951) American writer, activist, feminist theologian [b. Miriam Simos]
\n\u201cPre-Election Day Thoughts,\u201d blog post (7 Nov 2016)<\/p>\n

Let us not be mistaken: the best government in the world, the best parliament and the best president, cannot achieve much on their own. And it would be wrong to expect a general remedy from them alone. Freedom and democracy include participation and therefore responsibility from us all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> V\u00e1clav Havel (1936-2011) Czech playwright, essayist, dissident, politician
\n\u201cNew Year\u2019s Address to the Nation\u201d (1 Jan 1990)<\/p>\n

There has been a certain cynical genius to what some of these folks have done in Washington. What they\u2019ve realized is, if we don\u2019t get anything done, then people are going to get cynical about government and its possibilities of doing good for everybody. And since they don\u2019t believe in government, that\u2019s a pretty good thing. And the more cynical people get, the less they vote. And if turnout is low and people don\u2019t vote, that pretty much benefits those who benefit from the status quo.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Barack Obama (b. 1961) American politician, US President (2009-2017)
\nSpeech, Purchase, New York (29 Aug 2014)<\/p>\n

The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
\nDemocracy in America<\/em>, Vol. 1, ch. 13 (1835)<\/p>\n

Democracy postulates community of interest or loyal patriotism. When these are absent it cannot long exist.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English prelate [Dean Inge]
\n\u201cOur Present Discontents,\u201d Outspoken Essays: First Series<\/em> (1919)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This is the affirmation on which democracy rests \u2026 [W]e can all be responsible \u2026 We become what we do. So does the world we live in, if enough of us do it \u2014 whether \u201cit\u201d be good or detestable. This is the burden of freedom: that it is all our fault or our credit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Herbert Agar (1897-1980) American journalist and historian
\n\u201cThe Perils of Democracy\u201d (1966)<\/p>\n

To give the victory to the right, not bloody bullets<\/span>, but peaceful ballots<\/span> only, are necessary.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00b6<\/a> Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
\nSpeech fragment (c. 18 May 1858)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some thoughts about elections, voting, and democracy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1142,358,33,347],"tags":[1678,1741,1675],"class_list":["post-151921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections-2020","category-poor-citizenship","category-wist","category-voting-rights","tag-democracy","tag-election2020","tag-voting"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/James-itself-a-choice-wist_info-quote.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30206,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/09\/11\/progress-2.html","url_meta":{"origin":151921,"position":0},"title":"Progress","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 11-Sep-12 6:35am","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.\"-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), US President (1933-1945)Inaugural Address (20 Jan 1937) Embedded Link Roosevelt, Franklin Delano - Inaugural Address\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26557,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/02\/21\/quotations-damn-quotations-and-statistics.html","url_meta":{"origin":151921,"position":1},"title":"Quotations, Damn Quotations, and Statistics","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 21-Feb-12 3:00pm","format":false,"excerpt":"My annual checkpoint for my \"WIST\" (Wish I'd Said That) quotations site (http:\/\/wist.info). It's ... a hobby. #ddtb Embedded Link ~~Admin - Doing the Numbers: 2\/2012 | WIST Quotations Another good year of WIST since I last ran these (back last March). Let's look at the historical count:Another good, steady\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13328,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/01\/20\/quotations_for_inaugurati.html","url_meta":{"origin":151921,"position":2},"title":"Quotations for Inauguration Day","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 20-Jan-09 2:25pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Today's passel of presidential quotes from WIST. \u00a0 A government of laws, and not of men.\u00a0 \u00b6 John Adams (1735-1826) US President (1797-1801) \"Novanglus\" #7, Boston Gazette (6 Mar 1775)...","rel":"","context":"In "Elections 2008"","block_context":{"text":"Elections 2008","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/elections-2008"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":130932,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/06\/21\/the-best-foreign-policy.html","url_meta":{"origin":151921,"position":3},"title":"The Best Foreign Policy","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 21-Jun-16 8:00pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I sometimes +1 but rarely share the quotations I put onto my quotations site, but felt this one was particularly germane in an era (and presidential election year) where the most bellowing voices regarding foreign affairs are focused primarily on more and bigger bombs being dropped on more people.It's never\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":129922,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/02\/29\/one-of-my-favorite-quotations.html","url_meta":{"origin":151921,"position":4},"title":"One of my favorite quotations","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 29-Feb-16 9:53am","format":false,"excerpt":"When I tell people I collect quotation, the immediate question is, \"What's your favorite?\" And I always stand there and stammer and drool a bit while my mind tries to sift through the thousand I've curated.I need to keep this one in my back pocket, since it really is (a)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13393,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/01\/01\/quotes_by_the_numbers.html","url_meta":{"origin":151921,"position":5},"title":"Quotes by the numbers","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 1-Jan-09 11:20pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I went and ran the numbers on my quotations database, WIST, yesterday, the first time since February 2007.\u00a0 I'm currently at 6600 quotations, vs. the 5100 I was at back...","rel":"","context":"In "Quotations (WIST)"","block_context":{"text":"Quotations (WIST)","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/wist"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151927,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151921\/revisions\/151927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}