24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Success of America is Due to Hamilton's Jaundiced View of...
The practical success and durability of the Constitution owe much to Hamilton's jaundiced view of human nature. The American Constitution is designed to be operated by crooks, just as the British constitution is designed to be operated by gentlemen. Because Hamilton believed that men are by nature crooks rather than gentlemen, he was able to help design a constitution that could deal effectively with President Nixon. If ever a World Government should come into existence, it had better be a go...Folksonomies: politics governance
Folksonomies: politics governance
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notes09 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
The Center of the Earth
Of all regions of the earth none invites speculation more than that which lies beneath our feet, and in none is speculation more dangerous; yet, apart from speculation, it is little that we can say regarding the constitution of the interior of the earth. We know, with sufficient accuracy for most purposes, its size and shape: we know that its mean density is about 5½ times that of water, that the density must increase towards the centre, and that the temperature must be high, but beyond these... 1 notes
notesInvites speculation and is the realm of mathematics, not observation.
08 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Stability of the Earth
Thus the system of the world only oscillates around a mean state from which it never departs except by a very small quantity. By virtue of its constitution and the law of gravity, it enjoys a stability that can be destroyed only by foreign causes, and we are certain that their action is undetectable from the time of the most ancient observations until our own day. This stability in the system of the world, which assures its duration, is one of the most notable among all phenomena, in that it ... 1 notes
notesIts sphere is regular, its orbit stable, it is a perfect place for sheltering nature in the Universe.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Man is Noble...
Man may be excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not through his own exertions, to the very summit of the organic scale; and the fact of his having thus risen, instead of having been aboriginally placed there, may give him hopes for a still higher destiny in the distant future. But we are not here concerned with hopes or fears, only with the truth as far as our reason allows us to discover it. I have given the evidence to the best of my ability; and we must acknowledge, as it... 1 notes
notes...but still "bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin." A quote from Charles Darwin.
18 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
A Novel Way to Teach the Constitution
Daniel Kunitz is a friend of mine from
college. He's spent his life as an innovative junior and senior high
school social sciences teacher. Want the students to understand
the Constitution of the United States? You could have them read
it, Article by Article, and then discuss it in class but, sadly, this
will put most of them to sleep. Or you could try the Kunitz
method: you forbid the students to read the Constitution. Instead,
you assign them, two for each state, to attend a Constitutional
... 1 notes
notesHave the children play delegates to the convention and have them produce their own Constitution.
17 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Christianity, Satanism and the Law
Within the personal religious belief system of a law enforcement officer, Christianity may be good and satanism evil. Under the Constitution, however, both are neutral. This is an important, but difficult, concept for many law enforcement officers to accept. They are paid to uphold the penal code, not the Ten Commandments . . . The fact is that far more crime and child abuse has been committed by zealots in the name of God, Jesus and Mohammed than has ever been committed in the name of Satan.... 1 notes
notesDespite the personal convictions of a law enforcement officer, religious affiliation is inadmissible according to the Constitution.
