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Cicero Calls Out Cheney


WHEN, 1 O Cheney, do you mean to cease abusing our patience?

How long is that madness of yours still to mock us? When is there to be an

end of that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does now?

 

Do you not feel that your plans are detected? Do you not see that

your conspiracy is already arrested and rendered powerless by the

knowledge which every one here possesses of it? What is there

that you did last year, along with the seven years  before, what design

was there which was adopted by you, with which you think that any

one of us is unacquainted?

Shame on your administration and on its principles! The senate is

aware of these things; the House is beginning to  see them; and yet

your voice still thrives.


Lies!  It is time for you to appear before the senate with out your claim of

Executive Privilege.. And we, gallant men and women that we are, wonder

then your someone challenges your frenzied attacks.


You ought, O Cheney, long ago to have been led to trial by

command of the of the Executive Branch of Government--even

though you denied which Branch you actually belonged to.

That destruction of the Republic, which you have been long

plotting against us ought to have already fallen on your own head.


What?  You have spent so many years in office, more than

slightly undermining the constitution? And shall we, the common

citizens, tolerate Cheney, openly desirous to destroy the whole

world with fire and slaughter?. There was--there was once such

virtue in this republic that brave men would repress mischievous

citizens with severer chastisement than the most bitter enemy.

For we have need of a resolution of the senate, a formidable

and authoritative decree against you, O Cheney; the wisdom of

the republic is not at fault, nor the dignity of this senatorial body.

We, we alone--I say it openly,--we, the citizens, are wanting in

our duty.

But we, for these one hundred twenty days, have been allowing

the edge of the senate's authority to grow blunt, as it were. For

we are in possession of evidence of your wrong doing, wrong

doing already admitted by you and our New Administration

has the power to issue decrees against you and issue an

indictment, but that indictment is

kept  locked up in its parchment--buried, I may say, in the

sheath; and following indictment and ultimate conviction you

ought, O Cheney, to be put to death this instant. You live,

--and you live, not to lay aside, but to persist in your audacity.

  I wish, O conscript fathers, to be merciful; we wish not to

appear overly eager in our search for justice amid such danger

to the state; but we should now accuse ourselves of remissness

and culpable inactivity.

 

We see you now in the media, planning every day some internal

injury to the republic. If, O Cheney, the powers that be should

now order you to be arrested, to be tried before a jury of your

peers, I should, I suppose, have to fear lest all good men should

say that the government had acted tardily, rather than that any one

should affirm that it acted cruelly. But yet this, which ought to

have been done long since, As long as one person exists who

can dare to defend you, you shall live; but you shall live as you

do now, surrounded by my many and trusty guards, so that you

shall not be able to stir one finger against the republic; many

eyes and ears shall still observe and watch you, as they have

hitherto done, tho you shall not perceive them.

  For what is there, O Cheney, that you can still expect, if night

is not able to veil your past nefarious meetings in darkness, and

if private houses can not conceal the voice of your conspiracy

within their walls--if everything is seen and displayed? Change

your mind: trust me: forget the lies and defenses you are

meditating. You are hemmed in on all sides; all your past sins

are clearer than the day to us; let me remind you of them.

 

Your lies over eight long years, and before that even have been

monumental: 


You got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected

by presidents.
Dick Cheney

If we have reason to believe someone is preparing an attack

against the U.S., has developed that capability, harbours those

aspirations, then I think the U.S. is justified in dealing with that,

if necessary, by military force.
Dick Cheney

There comes a time when deceit and defiance must be seen

for what they are. At that point, a gathering danger must be

directly confronted. At that point, we must show that beyond

our resolutions is actual resolve.
Dick Cheney


Direct threats require decisive action.
Dick Cheney

Except for the occasional heart attack, I never felt better.
Dick Cheney
 
Had the decision belonged to Senator Kerry, Saddam hussein

would still be in power today in Iraq. In fact, Saddam Hussein

would almost certainly still be in control of Kuwait.
Dick Cheney

I can think of a lot of words to describe Senator Kerry's position

on Iraq; "consistent" is not one of them.
Dick Cheney

I think the record speaks for itself. These are two individuals

who have been for the war when the headlines were good and

against it when their poll ratings were bad.
Dick Cheney

I'm absolutely convinced that the threat we face now, the idea

of a terrorist in the middle of one of our cities with a nuclear

weapon, is very real and that we have to use extraordinary

measures to deal with it.
Dick Cheney
 
If we have reason to believe someone is preparing an attack

against the U.S., has developed that capability, harbours those

aspirations, then I think the U.S. is justified in dealing with that,

if necessary, by military force.
Dick Cheney

In his years in Washington, Senator Kerry has been one vote

of a hundred in the United States Senate - and fortunately on

matters of national security he was very often in the minority.
Dick Cheney

 
Senator Kerry says he sees two Americas. It makes the

whole thing mutual - America sees two John Kerrys.
Dick Cheney

 
The Iraqi forces are conducting the Mother of all Retreats.
Dick Cheney

The plan was criticized by some retired military officers

embedded in TV studios. But with every advance by our

coalition forces, the wisdom of that plan becomes more apparent.
Dick Cheney

The Senator from Massachusetts has given us ample grounds to

doubt the judgment and the attitude he brings to bear on vital

issues of national security.
Dick Cheney

There comes a time when deceit and defiance must be seen for

what they are. At that point, a gathering danger must be directly

confronted. At that point, we must show that beyond our

resolutions is actual resolve.
Dick Cheney

We have to make America the best place in the world to do

business.
Dick Cheney

 

We must be prepared to face our responsibilities and be willing

to use force if necessary.
Dick Cheney

We urge all democratic nations and the United Nations to

answer the Iraqi Governing Council's call for support for the

people of Iraq in making the transition to democracy.
Dick Cheney

We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.
Dick Cheney

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/dick_cheney_2.html

 

These are just a score of the hundreds of lies told by you during

your term.


O ye immortal gods, where on earth are we? In what country

are we living? What constitution is ours? 


As, then, this is the case, O Cheney, do not continue as you have

begun. Leave the country at least; the gates are open; depart. And

lead forth with you all your friends, or at least as many as you

can; purge the country of your presence; you will deliver us

from a great fear, when there is a wall between you and us.

Among us you can dwell no longer--I will not bear it, I will

not permit it, I will not tolerate it. Great thanks are due to the

immortal gods, and to this very Jupiter Stator, in whose temple

we are, the most ancient protector of this country, that we have

already so often escaped so foul, so horrible, and so deadly an

enemy to the republic. But the safety of the commonwealth must

not be too often allowed to be risked on one man. As long as you,

O Cheney, plotted against our Republic, and continue doing so,

you are a threat to our Republic and our Democracy. But now

you are openly attacking the entire republic.


  You are summoning to destruction and devastation the temples

of the immortal gods, the houses of this country, the lives of all

the citizens. Do you ask me, Are you to go into banishment? I do

not order it; but, if you consult me, I advise it.

  For what is there, O Cheney, that can now afford you any

pleasure in this country? For there is no one in it, except that

band of profligate conspirators of yours, who does not fear

you,--no one who does not hate you. What brand of domestic

baseness is not stamped upon your life? What disgraceful

circumstance is wanting to your infamy in your private affairs?

From what licentiousness have your eyes, from what atrocity

have your hands, from what iniquity has your whole body ever

abstained? Is there one youth, when you have once entangled

him in the temptations of your corruption, to whom you have

not held out a sword for audacious crime, or a torch for licentious wickedness?


  With these omens, O Cheney, be gone to your impious and

nefarious war, to the great safety of the republic, to your own misfortune and injury, and to the destruction of those who have

joined themselves to you in every wickedness and atrocity.

Then do you, O Jupiter, who were consecrated by Lincoln

with the same auspices as this country, whom we rightly call the

stay of this country, repel this man and his companions

from your altars and from the other temples,--from the houses

and walls of the country,--from the lives and fortunes of all the

citizens; and overwhelm all the enemies of good men, the foes

of the republic, the robbers of America, men bound together by a

treaty and infamous alliance of crimes, dead and alive, with

eternal punishments.

  30

 

 

(Note 1. Delivered in the Roman senate in 63 B.C.

Translated by Charles Duke Yonge. [back] With

poetic changes)

 



 


 

 





60 Comments

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You did it again, dd.
Please don't ever stop.

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Geez Flower, you do not think that Cicero is a bit over the top? hahahaha

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There comes a time when deceit and defiance must be seen for what they are. At that point, a gathering danger must be directly confronted. At that point, we must show that beyond our resolutions is actual resolve

I wish to take this out of context.
I wish to be part of the gathering danger.
I wish for my resolve to be challenged.

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See Flower...We need a new voice that understands ORATION at its best!!!!

I want some outrage from our leaders.

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Hear, Hear, my good man! And Happy Birthday!

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Thank you Scotty Mac. We have others at this site
claiming lineage from Robert the Bruce. Make sure you check in with Quinn from time to time. ha

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I checked him out Dick. He's a good and right and proper upstanding gentleman. And a scholar.

All of which is irrelevant to my judgment. But that bird's wearing a Cardinals shirt. Good enough for me. Go Redbirds! ;-)

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Bravo to the Birthday Boy - another spellbinding post........you continue to amaze me.

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Oh thank you so much Maggie. I made LisB promise to never kick you out of the chatroom again. hahahaha

I am sorry. But I could not stop laughing last nite.
And I yelled at her to get you on the phone immediately.

You are such a good sport!!!

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Awww, she handled it with her usual sense of humor and style, Dickon. In fact, I don't know who was laughing harder over the phone -- her or me!

I like playing sheriff and wearing that little star -- I really do!! LOL....

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It was fun!!!hahhaah

I am still laughing!!

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Well come chat tonight and celebrate your birthday with us and we'll be sure to keep you laughing even more!

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Except for the occasional heart attack, I never felt better.
Can you say 'disingenuous'?
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The guy will not die Miguel. I mean, He is the Man of Steel.

dickyc will never ever ever admit anything. But maybe there IS something supernatural about him!!!

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Unnatural, anyway...

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Nothing natural about his evil voice, that is for sure.

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If this is what MT Cicero has to say to Dick Cheney, I hate to think what he's got lined up to whack those who believed him with. Probably something like this from On the Laws:

For of all the questions on which our philosophers argue, there is none which it is more important thoroughly to understand than this, that man is born for justice, and that law and equity are not a mere establishment of opinion, but an institution of nature.

In fact, reason, which alone gives us so many advantages over beasts, by means of which we conjecture, argue, refute, discourse, and accomplish and conclude our designs, is assuredly common to all men; for the faculty of acquiring knowledge is similar in all human minds, though the knowledge itself may be endlessly diversified. By the same senses we all perceive the same objects, and that which strikes the sensibilities of the few, cannot be indifferent to those of the many.

For as we cannot call the recipes of ignorant empirics, who give poisons instead of medicines, the prescriptions of a physician, we cannot call that the true law of the people, whatever be its name, if it enjoins what is injurious, let the people receive it as they will. For law is the just distinction between right and wrong, conformable to nature, the original and principal regulator of all things, by which the laws of men should be measured, whether they punish the guilty or protect the innocent.

So,if we know the universal distinction between right and wrong is subject to discovery by use of reason, and we know that this principle should punish the guilty or protect the innocent, why is Cheney not being held to account by us all?

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Cicero, Professor Amike, as you well know loved language. He could not shut up.

I just thought about him before bed last night, then woke up thinking about Cataline, the conspirator and then thought of Cheney.

Talk about conspirators.

And the language. I just love your quotes. Ha!!

I love having a professor reading my drivel and then taking some time to really talk back.

Thank you for this!!!

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The pleasure is all mine. It's great to have a safe place for bookishness.

Cicero sure does love language. Can I give you one more quote. I think it is worth a gaze because for Mr. C. language was more than just words. And the whole arsenal of language in the broadest sense--well, one can just see Cicero gushing over it:

With respect to man this same bountiful nature hath not merely allotted him a subtle and active spirit, but moreover favoured him with physical senses, like so many guardians and messengers. Thus has she improved our understanding in relation to many obscure principles, and laid the foundation of practical knowledge; and in all respects moulded our corporeal faculties to the service of our intellectual genius. For while she has debased the forms of other animals, who live to eat rather than eat to live, she has bestowed on man an erect stature, and an open countenance, and thus prompted him to the contemplation of heaven, the ancient home of his kindred immortals. So exquisitely, too, hath she fashioned the features of the human face, as to make them symbolic of the most recondite thoughts and sentiments. As for our two eloquent eyes (oculi nimis arguti), do they not speak forth every impulse and passion of our souls? And that which we call expression, in which we infinitely excel all the inferior animals, how marvelously it delineates all our speculations and feelings! Of this the Greeks well knew the meaning, though they had no word for it.

I will not enlarge on the wonderful faculties and qualities of the rest of the body, the modulation of the voice, and the power of oratory, which is perhaps the greatest instrument of our influence over human society.

I had better quit before I get accused of indirect speciesism. If you can stand more of him in Victorian translation, you can bop over to http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1879

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This is precious, no kidding Professor but I like this line:

"For while she has debased the forms of other animals, who live to eat rather than eat to live, she has bestowed on man an erect stature, and an open countenance, and thus prompted him to the contemplation of heaven, the ancient home of his kindred immortals"

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Great one, Dick! Cicero's one of my favourite philosophers. Wrote all those great books within the span of a year and a half, the bastard. Unbelievable...

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But the crucial question on Cicero is did he have a dog? If not, he was only half the philosopher he could have been.

THE END.

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ah seashell, the real question is
did Cicero have a BLOG?
His other philosopher half is DD.

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I meant to say philosofur
regarding your canine proposition.

Frogs believe in the universal declarations
of seashell justice and peaceful dogdays.

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The folks in this Cafe are way too bright! ;)

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Strato, I've been meaning to send you a p-mail to tell you that you are one fine frog.

And of course we support social justice for those that don't have tails to wag, and their excellent frogophers who loudly share their philosophies to all within a 10 mile range!

I hereby award you dd's Daily award thingy from all of me to you. HA!

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Seash, sheesh! Thanks for the thingy!
I know you’re not
calling me an activist gopher
at this distance
but in the nonce
I remember once
frogs had tales (~wags phantom thingy~)

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hahahahah

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Good comeback Strato. Cicero could not keep his mouth shut. Caesar got a kick out of him when he was panning him.

Caesar was above such things but enjoyed artistry.
Cicero would certainly have become an addict of this medium, that is for sure.

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He came from a landed family even though he called himself Novus Homo, the New Man. His dad had been a merchant of some kind with no noble blood, BUT LOTS OF MONEY.

At any rate Cicero would have had dogs and horses and certainly cats on his estate to take care of the rats.

THE END

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yeah Obey, AND HE DID IT IN LATIN. Of course it was his native language. hahhaha

I did not know he had one 18 month stretch. Thanks for that. I just remember attempting to translate his rants against Cataline. hhhaha

This was a great speech!!! No kidding. I was struck with his references to the Roman Senate and 'The Constitution' and then I was off and running.

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Maybe he just wrote in secret. Saved it all up. And then "seemed" to do it in a year and a half!

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Yeah, IN LATIN, the bastard... HAHAHA! Seriously, he decided he'd write some philosophy after the death of his daughter in 45, and finished the last big one, De Fato, some time in 44. It's setting can be dated to somewhere between the 17-23 of May of that year (when he had Hirtius visiting), so I'm figuring he had a rough draft by the 28th. Fate, my man!
;0)

As for Seashell's question, I've got a major new theory that he stole it all from his dog and mentor Tully the Terrier. Currently awaiting publication at Classical Canine Quarterly...

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Obey, you come up with some of the nicest tidbits besides grand statements of anyone I know. Thank you!!

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Well, in that case I will promptly subzcribe to teh Quarterly so we can check out this doggie dude's bone fidos, if you know wot I mean!

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Well DD, that is f_ing eerie, and absolutely brilliant.

A number of things came to mind reading your post such as: "History repeats itself" and "There is nothing new in the mind of man (sic)."

Is there some mobius strip we are on where we wander seamlessly across the ages, tromping repeatedly on the same path, largely unknowing that we have been there before? I have often felt this in a different sense. For example, the U.S. intervention strategy of backing radical insurgents for one reason or another who then turn into big future problems - commonly referred to in intelligence circles as "blowback." However, if one repeats the same action to the same end over and over, it hardly counts as a "mistake." But I digress.

The other thought that came to mind was "What a remarkable transliteration." I know that technically it is not, but with relatively minor changes you stayed true to Cicero yet it applied perfectly to Cheney. Kind of a character transliteration.

Regardless, you have brought the ancient condemnation to the current moment with flawless brilliance. This also prompted me to go look up Cicero, and I found this interesting tidbit which others may find instructive and diverting (Hey seashell, look at the last line):

Cicero's cognomen, personal surname, comes from the Latin for chickpea, cicer. Plutarch explains that the name was originally given to one of Cicero's ancestors who had a cleft in the tip of his nose resembling a chickpea. However it is more likely that Cicero's ancestors prospered through the cultivation and sale of chickpeas. [10] Romans often chose down-to-earth personal surnames: the famous family names of Fabius, Lentulus, and Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils, and peas. Plutarch writes that Cicero was urged to change this deprecatory name when he entered politics, but refused, saying that he would make Cicero more glorious than Scaurus ("Swollen-ankled") and Catulus ("Puppy").[11]

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This is delightful Rowan. Do not fail to read Professor Amike's Cicero segment on a more general note.

"The other thought that came to mind was "What a remarkable transliteration." I know that technically it is not, but with relatively minor changes you stayed true to Cicero yet it applied perfectly to Cheney. Kind of a character transliteration."

With words like: "Constitution", "Senate", Media..

What a rush. I certainly trimmed it, which took time. And, of course, found that great site on Cheney quotes. And I got rid of the executions. That is, Cicero was more interested in executing Cataline, right away!!!hahahaha

But he was giving Cataline the option of exile.

Your discussion of the etymology of family names is terrific. Just precious. And that my little blog spurred you on to reread some Cicero, is great. Plutarch is fun.

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Indeed, the call to justice is timeless, but all too often falls on ears intentionally deaf.

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What?

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Can't resist this, Rowen. But if they cultivated chickpeas, maybe he ate a lot of them. And does that mean he was full of "hot air"?

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I hear that we all are (full of hot air) beans or not. I heard that each human emits a quart of methane via "flatulence" each day. Four of us make a gallon and with modified engines and carpooling, we could take ourselves to work and back on our very own internal gas engines. ;)

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Chick what? hot what?

WHAT?!!

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Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, ...

The chickpea (Cicer arietinum) (also garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, Kabuli chana, kadale kaalu, sanaga pappu, shimbra, Kadala) is an edible legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Chickpeas are high in protein and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables. 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.[

Also, given the name, I assume as a favorite of our dear friends the chickens,

And yes, in a typically human bit of misdirection, THEY pointed at our friends the bovines, as a primary source of methane, while it is humans who actually are a major contributor of unseemly smell (and global warming gases).

Right you are to be outraged at the lie perpetrated on the venerable farm companions. Humans! What is any sane beast (or fowl) to do?

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MWMWMWMW (flipper splash in disgust)

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"shimbra, Kadala"

-well, shim-bra-ha-ha
kadala-la-la-la

bean me up Cicero...

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I rolled on the floor laughing till my tail started wearing out, strato.

Where do you find this stuff? "shimbra, Kadala" is freaking Hindi for chickpeas.

How did chickpeas get into dd's Cicero blog? There is madness in the cafe.

What fun. :-)

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and freakin "chickpeas"
is English for Cicero!

The cognoman was an omen.

(They were Rowan's beans.
Bwak whatted them,
but Thera plotted them)

:-)

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ROTFLOL! :)

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ack!

I feel an attack of the vapors coming on...

=D

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Ack.

I missed the last part yesterday, Rowan. I was RIGHT about Mr. Hot Air Cicero only being half a philosopher.

Thank you for the blinding light!!!!

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Always my honor to eluminate!

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You're taking us back to school, dd! And on your birthday at that! Philosophy! Professors! Puns!

We have it all. You attract such a diverse following, dd! From four-footed friends to feathered friends to professorial friends and even shrinks! :)

Kudos on another great blog. On your birthday, no less!

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These people are great, are they not TheraP.

OH WHAT FUN!!!!

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If resolve were a song
It would hummus.

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;-> hummmmussss

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That is just too good! :)

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Hand meet glove. Glove- hand.
Great connection, DD. Where is our Cicero?

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Don, I do not know. I have asked myself that question recently. fuck the soundbites.

Give us an orator who can at least keep flogging the bastards for an hour or two with no commercial breaks. ha

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"Give us an orator who can at least keep flogging the bastards for an hour or two with no commercial breaks. ha"

Hah! Doesn't even have to be the greatest orator, just someone who's good with a whip!

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And a good long set of quotes from the conspirators. HA!!!

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