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April 15, 2009

It's A Go

Remember to switch your RSS feeds: http://www.maderblog.com/index.php/feed/

Posted by David Mader at 12:16 AM | (0) | Back to Main

April 14, 2009

Hold That...

Transition postponed while I figure out whether I've just lost five days of blog-design. Fingers crossed...

Posted by David Mader at 11:17 PM | (0) | Back to Main

Service Advisory

Maderblog switches to WordPress overnight tonight. This may affect your Maderblog experience in four ways:

1. RSS (Syndication): If you read Maderblog through an RSS syndicator (such as Google Reader), please update your RSS feed URL to the following: http://www.maderblog.com/index.php/feed/

2. Comments: They'll work.

3. Look & Feel: The new template is... different. You'll see. I'm still tinkering - heck, I've been tinkering with the current template since I adopted it in 2003.

4. Archives: While I've imported all posts, some have been corrupted in the transfer. I'll keep the current archive up, meaning that all current permalinks will continue to work. In time, I hope to integrate the old archives into the new site.

That's all. See you on the flipside.

Posted by David Mader at 10:31 PM | (0) | Back to Main

April 03, 2009

Speaking of Non-Sequiters

The Times: Michelle Obama meets Carla Bruni and wins on points:

Michelle Obama might have been trying to appeal to a certain English eccentricity when she paired an asymmetrical Junya Watanabe cardigan with a full-skirted dress by Jason Wu and added debutante-style pearls for a photocall earlier this week with Sarah Brown.

It was a relaxed look, fun and informal, yet stylish. But if she was aiming for the quirky English look, it was not an unqualified success. When canvassed, Vivienne Westwood, doyenne of daring British fashion, said: "I don't think either of them dresses very well. I'm completely and utterly focused on the danger we face from global warming."

Ummm... ok?

Posted by David Mader at 05:54 PM | (0) | Back to Main

About MaderBlog

David Mader works in Alexandria, Virginia. He holds a JD from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin and a BA in history and economics from McGill University in Montreal. E-mail: maderblog-at-gmail-dot-com.

"As always, Mader distinguishes himself by thinking these issues through, taking reasonable exception where he disagrees, and otherwise being unusually thoughtful." - Paul Wells

"A smart conservative, one I'm proud to blogroll." - Warren Kinsella

Language of Liberty Archives

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation... unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

- President John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961

The advance of freedom is the calling of our time; it is the calling of our country. From the Fourteen Points to the Four Freedoms, to the Speech at Westminster, America has put our power at the service of principle. We believe that liberty is the design of nature; we believe that liberty is the direction of history. We believe that human fulfillment and excellence come in the responsible exercise of liberty. And we believe that freedom -- the freedom we prize -- is not for us alone, it is the right and the capacity of all mankind.

- President George W. Bush, November 6, 2003

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.

- President Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984

The nation faces what is probably the most testing crisis of our time, the battle between the extremists and the rest. We are fighting, as we have always fought, for the weak as well as for the strong. We are fighting for great and good causes. We are fighting to defend them against the power and might of those who rise up to challenge them. This Government will not weaken. This nation will meet that challenge. Democracy will prevail.

- Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, October 12, 1984

The only distinction between freedom and slavery is this: In the former state, a man is governed by the laws to which he has given his consent, either in person, or by his representative: In the latter, he is governed by the will of another. In the one case his life and his property are his own, in the other, they depend upon the pleasure of a master.

- Alexander Hamilton, December 15, 1774

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.

- President Abraham Lincoln

The poorest he that is in England has a life to live as the greatest he; and therefore truly, sir, I think it's clear that every man that is to live under a government ought first by his own consent to put himself under that government.

- Col. Thomas Rainborough, October 29, 1647

We shall never turn from our purpose, however sombre the road, however grievous the cost, because we know that out of this time of trial and tribulation will be born a new freedom and glory for all mankind.

- Prime Minster Winston Churchill, July 14, 1941

Increasingly, the general public weakens in its resolve. Under the label of moderation, it is fashionable to plead for understanding; to do a Chamberlain and settle for a piece of crumpled paper in the mistaken belief that the word of dictators and terrorists can be trusted. Today, we should reflect on our responsibilities, and those of our governments, to stand up to the prejudice and tyranny that can still, today, lead to genocide. These events happened in my lifetime. They are not lost in the past; they could still happen again today.

- James, Lord Molyneaux, liberator of Belsen, January 27, 2004

All Iraqis are equal in their rights without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality, religion, or origin, and they are equal before the law. Discrimination against an Iraqi citizen on the basis of his gender, nationality, religion, or origin is prohibited. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the security of his person. No one may be deprived of his life or liberty, except in accordance with legal procedures. All are equal before the courts.

Iraqi Interim Constitution, Article 12, March 8, 2004

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, June 5/6, 1944

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

It is plain enough, not from this instance only, but from many everywhere, that freedom is an excellent thing; since even the Athenians, who, while they continued under the rule of tyrants, were not a whit more valiant than any of their neighbors, no sooner shook off the yoke than they became decidedly the first of all. These things show that, while undergoing oppression, they let themselves be beaten, since then they worked for a master; but so soon as they got their freedom, each man was eager to do the best he could for himself.

- Herodotus, Histories Book V ch. 78

I believe in the transformational power of liberty: The wisest use of American strength is to advance freedom. As the citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq seize the moment, their example will send a message of hope throughout a vital region. Palestinians will hear the message that democracy and reform are within their reach, and so is peace with our good friend Israel. Young women across the Middle East will hear the message that their day of equality and justice is coming. Young men will hear the message that national progress and dignity are found in liberty, not tyranny and terror. Reformers and political prisoners and exiles will hear the message that their dream of freedom cannot be denied forever. And as freedom advances heart by heart, and nation by nation America will be more secure and the world more peaceful.

- President George W. Bush, September 2, 2004

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for our own sovereignty is not for sale.

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it — now or ever.

Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.

- President Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

- Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963

Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's interpretation of the Constitution.

- Kelo v. New London, Thomas, J., dissenting

Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.

- Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 479 (1928) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)

Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of the government. The history of government is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of government, not the increase of it.

- President Woodrow Wilson, September 9, 1912

April 15, 2009

It's A Go

April 14, 2009

Hold That...

Service Advisory

April 03, 2009

Speaking of Non-Sequiters

Language of Liberty

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