Worthy Of Thought

In everything well known something worthy of thought still lurks.

-- Martin Heidegger (1889 - 1976), German philosopher, Nietzsche (1961) p. xxxix

The Object Of Loyalty

It is a very great mistake to imagine that the object of loyalty is the authority and interest of one individual man, however dignified by the applause or enriched by the success of popular actions.  This has led millions into such a degree of dependence and submission, that they have at length found themselves to homage the instruments of their ruin at the very time they were at work to effect it.  The true object of loyalty is a good legal constitution, which, as it condemns every instance of oppression and lawless power, derives a certain remedy to the sufferer by allowing him to remonstrate his grievances, and pointing out methods of relief when the gentle arts of persuasion have lost their efficacy.  Whoever, therefore, insinuates notions of government contrary to the constitution, or in any degree winks at any measures to suppress or even to weaken it, is not a loyal man.

-- Samuel Adams (1722 - 1803), American revolutionary and organizer of the Boston Tea Party, governor of Massachusetts from 1793 to 1797, "Loyalty and Sedition," essay published in The Advertiser (1748)

RIP Margaret Hamilton

From my own perspective, the software experience itself (designing it, developing it, evolving it, watching it perform and learning from it for future systems) was at least as exciting as the events surrounding the mission.  There was no second chance.  We knew that.  We took our work seriously, many of us beginning this journey while still in our 20s.  Coming up with solutions and new ideas was an adventure.  Dedication and commitment were a given.  Mutual respect was across the board.  Because software was a mystery, a black box, upper management gave us total freedom and trust.  We had to find a way, and we did.  Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers; no time to be beginners.

-- Margaret Hamilton (17 August 1936 - 29 September 2026), American computer scientist, responsible for the Apollo On-Board Flight Software as director of the Software Engineering Division of MIT's Instrumentation Laboratory, quoted by MIT News (7 October 2026)

Knowledge Is More

Knowledge is more than equivalent to force.  The master of mechanicks laughs at strength.

-- Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784), British author, linguist, and lexicographer, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759) Ch. XIII

Diligence And Skill

Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.

-- Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784), British author, linguist, and lexicographer, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759) Ch. XII

How We Spend

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.  What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.  A schedule defends from chaos and whim.  It is a net for catching days.  It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.  A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order-willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living.  Each day is the same, so you remember the series afterward as a blurred and powerful pattern.

-- Annie Dillard (30 April 1945 - 15 September 2026), American author, 1974 Pulitzer Prize winner, The Writing Life (1989)

Courage Is Contagious

The charges against President Trump were the result of the evidence. Grand juries in two separate districts reached this conclusion based on his actions, as alleged in the indictments they returned. Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power. The evidence showed that President Trump attempted to induce state officials to ignore true vote counts; to manufacture fraudulent slates of presidential electors in seven states that he had lost; to force his own Vice President to act in contravention of his oath and to instead advance President Trump’s personal interests; and, on January 6, 2021, to direct an angry mob to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification of the presidential election and then exploit the rioters’ violence to further delay it. Over 140 heroic law enforcement officers were assaulted that day, a fact we should never forget.

As I appear before you today, it is my belief that the rule of law faces challenges unlike any we have experienced in our lifetime. Individuals are threatened with criminal investigation because they are perceived to have opposed the President. Predetermined outcomes increasingly seem to take precedence over the Justice Department’s long-standing core values, traditions, and norms. History teaches that the rule of law is rarely destroyed all at once. It is often weakened by attacks on the institutions and public servants sworn to uphold it. Since January 2025, we have witnessed precisely such an effort, including the vilification of the career prosecutors, FBI agents, and support staff who served on my team, simply because of their unwavering commitment to the fair and impartial administration of justice without regard for any personal costs.

I remain confident, however, that the rule of law will endure because so many continue to uphold it faithfully each day. Throughout our legal system, public servants have remained faithful to their oaths despite extraordinary pressure to do otherwise. Their example demonstrates that while fear may be contagious, courage is as well.

-- Opening Statement of Jack Smith, Former Special Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary (29 September 2026)