THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"As long as man was small in numbers and limited in technology, he could realistically regard the earth as an infinite reservoir, an infinite source of inputs and an infinite cesspool for outputs. Today we can no longer make this assumption. Earth has become a space ship, not only in our imagination but also in the hard realities of the social, biological, and physical system in which man is enmeshed. In what we might call the 'old days,' when man was small in numbers and earth was large, he could pollute it with impunity, though even then he frequently destroyed his immediate environment and had to move on to a new spot, which he then proceeded to destroy. Now man can no longer do this; he must live in the whole system, in which he must recycle his wastes and really face up to the problem of the increase in material entropy which his activities create. In a space ship there are no sewers."

~~Kenneth E. Boulding

FRIDAY'S LITTLE DOSE OF CUTE

Adam playing dress up at the sitter's.



Photo courtesy of Boogers, Kisses, and Spilled Milk

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God, and value it next to a good conscience. For health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of: a blessing that money cannot buy."
~~Isaac Walton

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

SC GOVERNOR OFFERS UNEMPLOYED SC RESIDENTS PRAYERS INSTEAD OF STIMULUS FUNDS

From Think Progress, via Cynical-C:
"Following the lead of a number of his fellow Republican governors, Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) has given some indication that he will not accept some of the money slated for South Carolina in the $787 billion economic recovery bill President Obama signed into law last week. 'At times it sounds like the Soviet grain quotas of Stalin’s time,' Sanford said yesterday on Fox News.
"On C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this morning, Sanford received a call from a Charleston resident who said he lost his job because he has been taking care of mother and sister, both of whom have serious illnesses. The caller told Sanford he is 'wrong' to decline the money. 'A lot of people in South Carolina are hurting. And if this money can come and help us out we need it.' In response, Sanford could offer him only his prayers."

Zztopdog note: Was Gov. Sanford (R-SC) one of the people who attended President Obama's Governors' Dinner last evening?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
~~Mark Twain

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"A human being must have occupation if he or she is not to become a nuisance to the world."
~~Dorothy L. Sayers

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"The only acting you ever see at the Oscars is when people act like they're not mad they lost. Nicole Kidman was smiling so wide (the year Halle Berry beat her to best actress), she should have won an Emmy at the Oscars for her great performance. I was like, 'If you'd done that in the movie, you'd have won an Oscar, girl!' "
~~Chris Rock

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"I think my favorite sport in the Olympics is the one in which you make your way through the snow, you stop, you shoot a gun, and then you continue on. In most of the world, it is known as the biathlon, except in New York City, where it is known as winter."
~~Michael Ventre

FRIDAY'S LITTLE DOSE OF CUTE

From CuteOverload.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"I still think people do have racial hang-ups, but I think one of the reasons I can joke about it is people are shedding those racial hatreds."
~~Dave Chappelle

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

From Boogers, Kisses, and Spilled Milk

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled."
~~Barack Obama, speech, Juy. 12, 2006

THOUGHT FOR A MONDAY

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.”
~~Bertrand Russell

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"I personally hold Blair more responsible for this war than I do George Bush. The reason is, Blair knows better, Blair is not an idiot. What is he doing hanging around this guy?"
~~Michael Moore

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

"I'm a supporter of gay rights. And not a closet supporter either. From the time I was a kid, I have never been able to understand attacks upon the gay community. There are so many qualities that make up a human being...; by the time I get through with all the things that I really admire about people, what they do with their private parts is probably so low on the list that it is irrelevant."

~~Paul Newman

FRIDAY'S LITTLE DOSE OF CUTE

"THE WORLD WILL LITTLE NOTE NOR LONG REMEMBER WHAT WE SAY HERE..."

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address:
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YA ON THE WAY OUT

From Badtux, the Snarky Penguin:
"I got an EMAIL from World Nut Daily that was titled, "Coulter says goodbye to America". I opened it hoping to find that Mann Coulter had taken her screeching lies and hate to some other nation more suited for what she wants America to be like, such as Mexico. Alas, opening it found that she insists that we're going back to the Bad Old Days of the Clintonistas. Really? Does that mean we get full employment, economic growth, and balanced budgets? I'll take that!
Methinks that if Mann Coulter don't like America, that she just leave. Her low-tax paradise, Mexico, awaits her. Oh wait, only tighty righties are supposed to be able to say that. Alrighty, then!"

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"There is a privacy about [winter] which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.
~~Ruth Stout

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"We should not feel embarrassed by our difficulties, only by our failure to grow anything beautiful from them."
~~Alain de Botton

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

President Barack Obama, at a news conference on Monday night, reported in The New York Times:
“ 'I’m happy to get good ideas from across the political spectrum, from Democrats and Republicans,' ” he said at the Monday night news conference. 'What I won’t do is return to the failed theories of the last eight years that got us into this fix in the first place, because those theories have been tested and they have failed. And that’s part of what the election in November was all about.' ”

THOUGHT FOR A MONDAY

“If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.”
~~Albert Einstein

AMERICAN RHETORIC

I want to let you know about a cool site, American Rhetoric, that I just read about in my local newspaper. The site includes a special movie speeches link, that offers hundreds of audio files of current and classic speeches from The Godfather, Fight Club, Citizen Kane, To Kill a Mockingbird, Good Will Hunting, The Wizard of Oz. The movie section also offers videos, scripts, trailers.

But the site isn't all Hollywood. There are numerous links to The Top 100 Speeches, that provide a look into history, from FDR's inaugural address to President Obama's Election Night acceptance speech. There are also speeches from the current news; and even lessons on the world of rhetoric and figures of speech.

Lots of fun exploring for those who enjoy the spoken word.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith."
~~Franklin D. Roosevelt

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The following appeared as a letter to the editor of Newsweek:
"I find it appalling that so few Americans sigh up to be organ donors ('Not Just Urban Legend,' Jan. 19, 2009). What we need is an opt-out rather than an opt-in system - you're a potential organ donor unless you note on your driver's license that you don't want to be. Consider this: if there is an afterlife, imagine explaining to whatever supreme being you worship that you let someone else die so that your kidneys could be buried with you."
~~Susan Wilke-Mounts

Zztopdog's note: The following was added as a comment to this post. I heartily agree with the information, and am posting it for those who may be interested.

"About 50% of the organs transplanted in America go to people who haven't agreed to donate their own organs when they die. As long as we let non-donors jump to the front of the waiting list if they need a transplant, we'll always have an organ shortage.
"There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage -- give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die. Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren't willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.
"Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition."

FRIDAY'S LITTLE DOSE OF CUTE

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."

~~St. Francis of Assisi

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Find what you love to do. Find your passion. Know what makes you want to get up in the morning, that's all you need."
~~Condoleeza Rice

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"We can either watch life from the sidelines, or actively participate...Either we let self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy prevent us from realizing our potential, or embrace the fact that when we turn our attention away from ourselves, our potential is limitless."
~~Christopher Reeve

THOUGHT FOR A MONDAY

“A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting.”
~~Russell H. Ewing

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Old dogs, like old shoes, are comfortable. They might be a bit out of shape and a little worn around the edges, but they fit well."
~~Bonnie Wilcox, in "Old Dogs, Old Friends"

Zztopdog note: Save a life; adopt a shelter dog.