Thanksgiving

Pride slays thanksgiving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.

Henry Ward Beecher


Wapo has this on Georgia's newly enacted law on residency restriction, summarizing legal, empirical and ethical issues.


In a new development in the terrorism cases, Al Marri is the only civilian currently being subjected to military authority who was not arresed on a battlefield [ref. MCA, Milligan, Reid, Duncan.] says former Attorney General of the United States, Janet Reno. Reno signed on to a brief by prominent former Justice Department officials that closes with these memorable words,

"We would do well to remember Benjamin Franklin's admonition that "[t]hose who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania, title page, (1759) (Arno Press reprint, 1972).

Related on the topic of security in my web travels this morning I was troubled to see this quote by Henry L. Stimson, former Secretary of War. I am still troubled at the way in which the Pacific war was closed, even though it may have saved many, many American lives (I have no problem with that aspect). The nuclear option has created a precedent from which the world is still seeking to recover:

On Tuesday, August 14th, when the news arrived of the final surrender of the Japanese we had a little thanksgiving meeting in the Casino after dinner. Henry L. Stimson