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December 14

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Quotes of the day from previous years:


2004
Loving kindness is greater than laws; and the charities of life are more than all ceremonies. ~ The Talmud
2005
My creed is that public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration, that constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought, that smears are not only to be expected but fought, that honor is to be earned but not bought. ~ Margaret Chase Smith (born 14 December 1897)
2006
My deepest impulses are optimistic; an attitude that seems to me as spiritually necessary and proper as it is intellectually suspect. ~ Ellen Willis (born 14 December 1941)
2007
I had determined to go as far as declaring in abstruse and puzzling utterances the future causes of the "common advent", even those truly cogent ones that I have foreseen. Yet lest whatever human changes may be to come should scandalise delicate ears, the whole thing is written in nebulous form, rather than as a clear prophecy of any kind. ~ Nostradamus‎ (born 14 December 1503)
2008
The Art of Peace is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On occasion the Voice of Peace resounds like thunder, jolting human beings out of their stupor. ~ Morihei Ueshiba (born 14 December 1883)
2009
Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character. ~ Margaret Chase Smith
2010
The project of organizing a democratic political movement entails the hope that one's ideas and beliefs are not merely idiosyncratic but speak to vital human needs, interests and desires, and therefore will be persuasive to many and ultimately most people. But this is a very different matter from deciding to put forward only those ideas presumed (accurately or not) to be compatible with what most people already believe. ~ Ellen Willis
2011
There’s a day to ride thumb on a thunderhead
There’s a day to make fantasy real
There’s a day to deny and a day to decry
and a day for the man the wind at his heels.
~ Mike Scott ~
2012
Instructors can impart only a fraction of the teaching. It is through your own devoted practice that the mysteries of the Art of Peace are brought to life.
~ Morihei Ueshiba ~
2013
Some say the Gods are just a myth
but guess Who I've been dancing with...
The Great God Pan is alive!
~ Mike Scott ~
2014
At sea on a ship in a thunderstorm
on the very night the Christ was born
a sailor heard from overhead
a mighty voice cry "Pan is Dead!"
So follow Christ as best you can
Pan is dead — Long live Pan!
~ Mike Scott ~
2015
In the Art of Peace we never attack. An attack is proof that one is out of control. Never run away from any kind of challenge, but do not try to suppress or control an opponent unnaturally. Let attackers come any way they like and then blend with them. Never chase after opponents. Redirect each attack and get firmly behind it.
~ Morihei Ueshiba ~
2016
In its original literal sense, "moral relativism" is simply moral complexity. That is, anyone who agrees that stealing a loaf of bread to feed one's children is not the moral equivalent of, say, shoplifting a dress for the fun of it, is a relativist of sorts. But in recent years, conservatives bent on reinstating an essentially religious vocabulary of absolute good and evil as the only legitimate framework for discussing social values have redefined "relative" as "arbitrary." That conflation has been reinforced by social theorists and advocates of identity politics who argue that there is no universal morality, only the value systems of particular cultures and power structures.
~ Ellen Willis ~
2017
I say, life and figure are distinct attributes of one substance, and as one and the same body may be transmuted into all kinds of figures; and as the perfecter figure comprehends that which is more imperfect; so one and the same body may be transmuted from one degree of life to another more perfect, which always comprehends in it the inferior.… the case is the same in diverse degrees of life, which have indeed a beginning, but no end; so that the creature is always capable of a farther and perfecter degree of life, ad infinitum, and yet can never attain to be equal with God; for he is still infinitely more perfect than a creature, in its highest elevation or perfection, even as a globe is the most perfect of all other figures, unto which none can approach.
~ Anne Conway ~
2018
As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it is an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.
This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter, and we’ll tell them that we love them, and we’ll remind each other how deeply we love one another. But there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all of us right now. In the hard days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as Americans, and I will do everything in my power as president to help, because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need, to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their memories, but also in ours.
May God bless the memory of the victims and, in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.
~ Barack Obama ~
2019
Yoga is like music. The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul creates the symphony of life.
~ BKS Iyengar ~
2020
A good man knows when to sacrifice himself, Brother Michael liked to say. A bad man survives but loses his soul.
~ John le Carré ~

2021

The stars are alive and nights like these
were born to be sanctified by you and me.
~ Mike Scott ~
2022
If your opponent strikes with fire, counter with water, becoming completely fluid and free-flowing. Water, by its nature, never collides with or breaks against anything. On the contrary, it swallows up any attack harmlessly.
~ Morihei Ueshiba ~
2023
I was grounded
While you filled the skies
I was dumbfounded by truth
You cut through lies
I saw the lone empty valley
You saw Brigadoon
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon.
~ Mike Scott ~
2024
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Suggestions

[edit]

Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company. ~ George Washington (Date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:14, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
  • 0 Kalki 19:51, 13 December 2007 (UTC) 3 Kalki 18:14, 13 December 2006 (UTC) This isn't actually a quote of Washington himself but one of lessons he copied out of a book as a school boy.
  • 0 because for one I do not agree with it and second, because it wasn't said by him originally. Zarbon 16:23, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

I think that it is high time that we remembered that the Constitution, as amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation. ~ Margaret Chase Smith (date of birth)

  • 3 Kalki 22:54, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:14, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:23, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Ningauble 14:07, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Individuals bearing witness cannot do the work of social movements, but they can break a corrosive and demoralizing silence. ~ Ellen Willis (born December 14, 1941)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:14, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 18:14, 13 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 16:23, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Ningauble 14:07, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

It's as crucial to defend secular culture as to preserve secular law. And in fact the two projects are inseparable: When religion defines morality, the wall between church and state comes to be seen as immoral. ~ Ellen Willis

  • 4 InvisibleSun 07:14, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 18:14, 13 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 16:23, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 14:07, 12 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:23, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 14:07, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Tis well. ~ George Washington

  • 3 Kalki 19:51, 13 December 2007 (UTC) Last words. (died 14 December 1799) with a strong lean toward 4.
  • 0 Zarbon 16:23, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Slowly and sadly we laid him down,
From the field of his fame fresh and gory;
We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone,
But we left him alone with his glory. ~ Charles Wolfe

  • 3 Zarbon 06:40, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 22:21, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here. ~ Nostradamus

  • 2 Zarbon 06:40, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 22:21, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

When twenty years of the Moon's reign have passed
another will take up his reign for seven thousand years.
When the exhausted Sun takes up his cycle
then my prophecy and threats will be accomplished. ~ Nostradamus

  • 2 Zarbon 06:40, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 22:21, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Regarding technique, from ancient times it has been said that movements must fly like lightning and attacks must strike like thunder. ~ Morihei Ueshiba

  • 3 Zarbon 06:40, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 22:21, 10 December 2008 (UTC) I like this, but prefer the verse version of a similar statement which I am adding directly below this for easier comparison.

Move like a beam of light;
Fly like lightning,
Strike like thunder,
Whirl in circles around
A stable center.
~ Morihei Ueshiba ~

  • 3 Kalki 22:21, 10 December 2008 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
  • 2 Zarbon 05:18, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

I spoke about wings
you just flew
I wondered I guessed and I tried
you just knew
I sighed
but you swooned
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon
~ Mike Scott

Flags, rags, ferryboats, scimitars and scarves
every precious dream and vision underneath the stars
You climbed on the ladder
with the wind in your sails
you came like a comet
blazing your trail
too high, too far, too soon
You saw the whole of the moon!
~ Mike Scott

He stopped every clock in New York state
and every heart that heard him
and time itself was beaten and confused
and fell lamb-like under the spell of his
fabulous flashing fingers…
~ Mike Scott

I have heard
the big music
and I'll never be the same
something so pure
just called my name.
~ Mike Scott

I have drowned
in the big sea
now I find I'm still alive
And I'm coming up forever
shadows all behind me
ecstacy to come…
~ Mike Scott

Come with me on a journey beneath the skin
We will look together for the Pan within.
~ Mike Scott

Once you were tethered
now you are free
That was the river
this is the sea.
~ Mike Scott

You're trying to make sense
of something that you just don't see
You're trying to make sense now
and you know you once held the key
But that was the river
this is the sea.
~ Mike Scott

I pictured a rainbow
you held it in your hands
I had flashes
but you saw the plan
I wandered out in the world for years
you just stayed in your room
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon.
~ Mike Scott

He's like a man you'd meet any place
until you recognize that ancient Face
The Great God Pan is alive!
~ Mike Scott


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