Do Not Follow

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise.  Seek what they sought.

-- Matsuo Bashō (1644 - 1694), major Japanese poet, primarily known for his achievements in haiku, and his poetic diaries, from "Words by a Brushwood Gate" 

Mumpsimus

‘Mumpsimus’, 16th century: one who insists that they are right (or wronged) when all evidence points to the contrary.

-- Susie Dent, who posts a "Word of the Day" on Twitter, posting as @susie_dent (30 May 2024)

Laws

[A] government of laws, and not of men.

-- John Adams (1735 - 1826), American lawyer, author, statesman, diplomat, and second president of the United States, Novanglus Essays (1774-1775), Essay #7

That Was Quick

We should all be thankful for the careful attention that this jury paid to the evidence and the law, and their time and commitment over these past several weeks.

Twelve everyday New Yorkers, and of course our alternates, heard testimony from 22 witnesses, including former and current employees of the defendant, media executives, book publishers, custodians of records and others.  They reviewed call logs, text messages and emails.  They heard recordings.  They saw checks and invoices, bank statements and calendar appointments.

Their deliberations led them to a unanimous conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt.

While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history, we arrived at this trial -- and ultimately today at this verdict -- in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors: by following the facts and the law, and doing so without fear or favor.

-- Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, at a news conference following former president Trump's conviction on 34 felony charges, 30 May 2024

Post-Summation Instructions

Members of the jury, I will now instruct you on the law. I will first review the general principles of law that apply to this case and all criminal cases. 

You have heard me explain some of those principles at the beginning of the trial. I am sure you can appreciate the benefits of repeating those instructions at this stage of the proceedings. 

Next, I will define the crimes charged in this case, explain the law that applies to those definitions, and spell out the elements of each charged crime. 

Finally, I will outline the process of jury deliberations. 

These instructions will take at least an hour, and you will not receive copies of them. You may however, request that I read them back to you in whole or in part as many times as you wish, and I will be happy to do so.

-- Judge Juan Merchan, Final Jury Instructions and Charges in the case of People v. Donald J Trump, presented to the jury 29 May 2024

Trees

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

-- Joyce Kilmer (1886 - 1918), American journalist and poet, "Trees" (1913)

Memorial Day

The bugle echoes shrill and sweet,
But not of war it sings to-day.
The road is rhythmic with the feet
⁠Of men-at-arms who come to pray.

The roses blossom white and red
⁠On tombs where weary soldiers lie;
Flags wave above the honored dead
⁠And martial music cleaves the sky.

Above their wreath-strewn graves we kneel,
⁠They kept the faith and fought the fight.
Through flying lead and crimson steel
⁠They plunged for Freedom and the Righteousness.

May we, their grateful children, learn
⁠Their strength, who lie beneath this sod,
Who went through fire and death to earn
⁠At last the accolade of God.

In shining rank on rank arrayed
They march, the legions of the Lord;
He is their Captain unafraid,
The Prince of Peace -- Who brought a sword.

-- Joyce Kilmer (1886 - 1918), American journalist and poet, "Memorial Day""; this poem was later published in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920)

Not Useless

My life was not useless; I gave important truths to the world, and it was only for want of understanding that they were disregarded.  I have been ahead of my time.

-- Robert Owen (1771 - 1858), Welsh socialist and social reformer, considered to be the father of the cooperative movement, deathbed statement (November 1858), in response to a church minister who asked if he regretted wasting his life on fruitless projects; as quoted in Harold Hill : A People's History (2004)

Every Minute

Every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.

-- Junius, "Office Cat", The Daily Freeman [Kingston, NY] (30 December 1936) p. 6

The Recipe

The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.

-- Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915), American writer, publisher, and political philosopher, Philistine: A Periodical of Protest (1902)

Explain It

Hell, if I could explain it to the average person, it wouldn't have been worth the Nobel prize.

-- Richard Feynman (1918 - 1988), American physicist, statement (c. 1965), quoted in "An irreverent best-seller by Nobel laureate Richard Feynman gives nerds a good name", People Magazine (22 July 1985)

Equal Value

Today I am filing applications for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court in the Situation in the State of Palestine.

Let us today be clear on one core issue: if we do not demonstrate our willingness to apply the law equally, if it is seen as being applied selectively, we will be creating the conditions for its collapse.  In doing so, we will be loosening the remaining bonds that hold us together, the stabilising connections between all communities and individuals, the safety net to which all victims look in times of suffering.  This is the true risk we face in this moment.

Now, more than ever, we must collectively demonstrate that international humanitarian law, the foundational baseline for human conduct during conflict, applies to all individuals and applies equally across the situations addressed by my Office and the Court.  This is how we will prove, tangibly, that the lives of all human beings have equal value.

-- Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine, 20 May 2024

DOW 40,000

The stock market rally saw the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs during the past week, with many stocks breaking out or flashing other buy signals.  Stocks paused late in the week, but the Dow Jones closed Friday above 40,000 for the first time.

-- Ed Carson, Stock Market Today, "Down Jones Closes Above 40,000 With Stock Market At Highs" (17 May 2024)

The Whole Circle

Grief and disappointment give rise to anger, anger to envy, envy to malice, and malice to grief again, till the whole circle be completed.

-- David Hume (1711 - 1776), Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40) Book 2: Of the Passions, Part 1, Section 4

Poetry Heals

Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.

-- Baron Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772 - 1801), author, philosopher and poet of early German Romanticism most commonly known by the pseudonym Novalis, as quoted in Quote, Unquote‎ (1989) by Jonathan Williams, p. 136

The Greatest Blessing

Upon the whole, a contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.

-- Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719), English politician and writer, The Spectator No. 574 (30 July 1714)

Positioned Correctly

He was appalled at the ease with which the truth so easily turned into something that was almost a lie, just by being positioned correctly.

-- Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE (1948 - 2015), English humorist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, Discworld, The Truth (2000) pg 117

I Seek The Truth

If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one ever was truly harmed.  Harmed is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance.

-- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 - 180), Roman emperor from 161 to 180, and Stoic philosopher, Meditations (c. AD 121-180) Book VI, 21

A Line

Art is a line around your thoughts. 

-- Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918), Austrian symbolist painter, as quoted by Dani Cavallaro in "Gustav Klimt - A Critical Reappraisal" (2018) (h/t Roberto Sabas)

Landmines

Our memories are full of landmines.  Do not time travel.  If you do time travel, be careful where you stop.

-- Don Appleman (2024), regarding the things one should not contemplate when trying to fall asleep at night

Facts Nonetheless

These facts are relative facts, but facts nonetheless.

-- Nick Zangwill (1957 -), British philosopher, Fashion Philosophy For Everyone (2011), edited by Jessica Wolfendale and Jeanette Kennett, Chapter 2 "Fashion, Illusion, And Alienation" pg 31 (h/t Roberto Sabas)

Souvenir Memories

This Sunday I watched the St Louis Cardinals lose a baseball game to the Chicago White Sox 5-1 in St Louis.  I was accompanied by my good friend Mark Trott and by my youngest daughter, Alyssa, who sprang for the tickets as a gift for my 65th birthday that day.  The weather was pretty great.

We had bleacher seats in fair territory, 10 rows back in deep right center field.  My daughter brought her glove, and there were a few chances at souvenirs as a couple of balls in play came our way.  About halfway through the game Cardinals center fielder Dylan Carlson threw a ball into the stands that my daughter came away with, and I now have that ball as a souvenir.

Good times.

Deception

All warfare is based on deception.  Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

-- Sun Tzu (c. 6th century BC), Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher, The Art of War, Chapter 1, Detail Assessment and Planning

Contagion

Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.

-- Thornton Niven Wilder (1897 - 1975), Pulitzer prize winning American author and playwright, The Matchmaker (1954), later adapted into the musical Hello, Dolly

By Yourself

Teachers open the door.  You enter by yourself.

-- Chinese proverb

Without Attending

He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him.  This falsehood of tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions.

-- Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826), author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), the third president of the United States (1801–1809), and political philosopher, letter to his nephew Peter Carr from Paris, France (19 August 1785)

Golden Anniversary?

Back in the day I was a Boy Scout camp counselor and lifeguard.  More recently, I worked as a lifeguard for the Champaign County YMCA from 2009 into 2023.  This summer I'll be working at the Bement Village Pool, and I spent the weekend getting my lifeguard certification up to date.  It was 8 hours of training on Saturday, and 7 hours testing out on Sunday, including 4 hours in the water, for lifeguard rescue, cpr & aed, and first aid.  

I wrote this nice Trvth bit tonight when I mistakenly recollected that I (in a class with Dan LaBerge) first got certified (by Red Cross) as a lifeguard back in 1974.  I thought it was my Golden Anniversary, but then I found a pic of my original certificate, and I see that it was 1975.  In any case, the new certificate is good for 2 years, so it'll be past 50 years next time, if there is a next time.  Stay safe in the water this summer.

Educated

For on these matters we should not trust the multitude who say that none ought to be educated but the free, but rather to philosophers, who say that the educated alone are free.

-- Epictetus (c. 55 - c. 135 AD), born a slave, Greek Stoic philosopher.  The name given by his parents, if one was given, is not known.  The word epiktetos in Greek simply means "acquired", Discourses, Book II, ch. 1, § 22

Voyager 1

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense.

The most distant spacecraft from Earth stopped sending back understandable data last November.  Flight controllers traced the blank communication to a bad computer chip and rearranged the spacecraft's coding to work around the trouble.

It takes 22 1/2 hours to send a signal to Voyager 1, more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away in interstellar space.  The signal travel time is double that for a round trip.

Launched in 1977 to study Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager 1 has been exploring interstellar space since 2012.  Its twin, Voyager 2, is 12.6 billion miles (20 billion kilometers) away and still working fine.

-- Marcia Dunn for Associated Press, "NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet" (23 April 2024)

Soluble

Ideology can be dissolved by reality; alcohol can be dissolved by will-power; the love of money can be dissolved by integrity.

-- Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Non-Compete Clause Rule

Pursuant to sections 5 and 6(g) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ("FTC Act"), the Federal Trade Commission ("Commission") is issuing the Non-Compete Clause Rule ("the final rule").  The final rule provides that it is an unfair method of competition -- and therefore a violation of section 5 -- for persons to, among other things, enter into non-compete clauses ("non-competes") with workers on or after the final rule's effective date.  With respect to existing non-competes -- i.e., non-competes entered into before the effective date -- the final rule adopts a different approach for senior executives than for other workers.  For senior executives, existing non-competes can remain in force, while existing non-competes with other workers are not enforceable after the effective date.

-- Summary of a new rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission banning the creation or enforcement of non-compete agreements, 23 April 2024

Small And Blue And Beautiful

To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold -- brothers who know now they are truly brothers.

-- Archibald MacLeish (1892 - 1982), American poet, writer, and Librarian of Congress, as quoted in Richard Nixon's First Inaugural Address (20 January 1969)

Quiet Life

The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.

-- Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), German-born theoretical physicist, Out of My Later Years : The Scientist, Philosopher, and Man Portrayed Through His Own Words (1950) Chapter 16

Ought To Be

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be.

-- William Hazlitt (1778 - 1830), English writer remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, Lectures on the English Comic Writers (1819), "On Wit and Humour"

Father Of The Man

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
  So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
  Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
  Bound each to each by natural piety.

-- William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850), major English poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, launched the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 publication of Lyrical Ballads, My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold, (1802)

Looking Young

Whenever a man's friends begin to compliment him about looking young, he may be sure that they think he is growing old.

-- Washington Irving (1783 - 1859), American short story writer, essayist, and biographer, Bracebridge Hall. Bachelors (1822)

The Next 5000

Today while taking attendance after teaching Taekwondo I noted that on March 28th I reached 5000 total student-hours of teaching (5 kids in a class counts as 5 student hours).  That took a little under 9 years to accumulate, with a 6-month gap in there while I recuperated from ACL reconstruction surgery.

I'm already looking forward to the next 5000.

Getting Wrinkles

When you're 50 you start thinking about things you haven't thought about before.  I used to think getting old was about vanity -- but actually it's about losing people you love.  Getting wrinkles is trivial.

-- Joyce Carol Oates (16 June 1938-), American author and creative writing professor, interview in The Guardian (London, 18 August 1989)

[I used this 15 years ago, when I was 50.  It feels right to use it again this year.]

Unforeseen Consequences

In the mind of a human being, a hundred years is a long time, but to the earth a hundred years is nothing, a million years, nothing.  We've been guests here for the blink of an eye and if we're gone tomorrow, the earth, she ain't gonna miss us.  My point is that the planet is not in jeopardy, we are in jeopardy.  Human beings have no greater right to safety and liberty than any other creature on this planet.  We not only lack dominion over nature, we're subordinate to it.  Yet humans destroy things so effectively I sometimes wonder, is that our function?  Maybe every few eons an animal comes along that's exceptionally murderous so that evolution can proceed to its next phase. ...

Unforeseen consequences occur.  And every time, every single time, we all act surprised, because deep down I don't think that any of us actually believe that these dangers are real.  

-- Jeff Goldblum, as Dr Ian Malcolm, in Jurassic World Dominion (2022), written by Emily Carmichael and Colin Trevorrow

I Discovered Something

This summer I have discovered something totally useless.

-- Peter Ware Higgs FRS FRSE (29 May 1929 - 8 April 2024), British theoretical physicist and emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh, writing to a colleague about his proposal for a particle at the origin of mass (1964), as quoted in The Hunt for the Higgs Boson, Science Scotland, issue no. 3

Dreams Come True

Words cannot express my love for my teammates, coaches, fans and our university - Thanks for making my dreams come true.  Wearing Iowa across my chest the last four years has been an honor.  This place will always be home

-- NCAA basketball player and all-time scoring leader (men's or women's) Caitlin Clark, posting as @CaitlinClark22 on Twitter, shortly after her team took second place in this year's March Madness (7 April 2024)

Eclipse Day 2024

Today I joined millions of others to pause in the middle of the day to observe the solar eclipse.  Totality could be found just 75 miles from my home, but with my 2017 experience of both totality and the insane traffic that accompanied it, I opted to enjoy today's eclipse standing in the driveway of my house.

We had about 98% totality here.  At the start of the event the temperature was in the low 70s, and the sun provided plenty of warmth.  The light in the sky changed noticeably with a little over 30 minutes to go, and continued to diminish with an eerie dimming that didn't quite match the clear sky and sun.  The loss of the sun's warmth was even more dramatic.

My daughter and I watched the eclipse through our eclipse glasses, and cast images of the sun onto various surfaces using a small hole through a 3x5 card.  The experience stirred memories of watching a partial solar eclipse during my elementary school years.  At that time, as I recall, we didn't have eclipse glasses and instead used several layers of 35mm film negatives that had been overexposed and were therefore completely dark.

Love My Teacher

As for myself, I always willingly acknowledge my own self as the principal cause of every good and of every evil which may befall me; therefore I have always found myself capable of being my own pupil, and ready to love my teacher.

-- Giacomo Casanova (1725 - 1798), Italian adventurer and author, Memoirs (trans. Machen 1894), book 1, Preface

NATO’s 75th Anniversary

In 2024, NATO celebrates 75 years of collective defence.

Since its creation on 4 April 1949, the transatlantic Alliance has grown from 12 founding members to 32 member countries, all working together to keep our people safe.  A community of Allies bound together by common values of democracy, individual liberty, human rights and the rule of law, NATO celebrates its anniversary on 4 April at NATO Headquarters in Brussels and at the upcoming summit on 9-11 July in Washington, D.C., where its founding treaty was signed. 

-- Statement on the website of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) on the occasion of NATO's 75th anniversary, 4 April 2024

Pragmatic Maxim

It appears, then, that the rule for attaining the third grade of clearness of apprehension is as follows: Consider what effects, that might conceivably have practical bearings, we conceive the object of our conception to have.  Then, our conception of these effects is the whole of our conception of the object.

-- Charles Sanders Peirce (1839 - 1914), American scientist, logician, and philosopher, original statement of the Pragmatic Maxim, p. 293 of "How to Make Our Ideas Clear", Popular Science Monthly, v. 12 (1878), pp. 286-302

Professional Sanction

While attorneys have a duty to advocate zealously for their clients, they must do so within the bounds of ethical and legal constraints.  Eastman's actions transgressed those ethical limits by advocating, participating in and pursuing a strategy to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election that lacked evidentiary or legal support.  Vigorous advocacy does not absolve Eastman of his professional responsibilities around honesty and upholding the rule of law.  While his actions are mitigated by his many years of discipline-free practice, cooperation, and prior good character, his wrongdoing is substantially aggravated by his multiple offenses, lack of candor and indifference.  Given the serious and extensive nature of Eastman's unethical actions, the most severe available professional sanction is warranted to protect the public and preserve the public confidence in the legal system.

Eastman has exhibited an unwillingness to acknowledge any ethical lapses regarding his actions, demonstrating an apparent inability to accept responsibility.  This lack of remorse and accountability presents a significant risk that Eastman may engage in further unethical conduct, compounding the threat to the public.

Guided by the standards, case law, and the purposes of attorney discipline, the court recommends that Eastman be disbarred.

John Charles Eastman is ordered transferred to involuntary inactive status pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 6007, subdivision (c)(4).

-- Yvette D. Roland, Judge of the State Bar Court of California, ruling on 11 counts of misconduct arising from Eastman's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election (27 March 2024)

The Place

Home is the place where, when you have to go there,

    They have to take you in.

-- Robert Frost (1874 - 1963), American poet; winner of four Pulitzer Prizes, "The Death of the Hired Man" (1914)