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Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a
nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a
"Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed
considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense
initiatives more successful? Can such an application of
science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable,
necessary or impossible?
Read Debates, a new
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(14049 previous messages)
fredmoore
- 02:41am Sep 27, 2003 EST (#
14050 of 14055)
From: The Cambridge History of English and American
Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). VOLUME XVII. Later
National Literature, Part II. comes this extract on Lincoln's
humour. In ways that are clear in the following text it seems
to me this is a forum dedicated to the spirit of Lincoln and
therefore above reproach. Few people in the world today would
regard Lincoln, or anything about his life, to be in any way
questionable.
XXII. Lincoln.
§ 8. Comic Writings.
Curiously enough it is to this period that his only comic
writings belong. Too much has been said about Lincoln’s
humour. Almost none of it has survived. Apparently it was
neither better nor worse than the typical American humour of
the period. Humorously, Lincoln illustrated as an
individual that riotous rebound which so often distinguishes
the nature predominantly melancholy; and as a type, he
illustrates the American contentment with the externals of
humour, with bad grammar, buffoonery, and ironic
impudence. His sure taste as a serious writer deserts him
at times as a reader. He shared the illusions of his day about
Artemus Ward. When he tried to write humorously he did
somewhat the same sort of thing—he was of the school of
Artemus. 14 A speech which he made in Congress, a landmark in
his development, shows the quality of his humour, and shows
also that he was altogether a man of his period, not superior
in many small ways to the standards of his period. The
Congress of the United States has never been distinguished for
a scrupulous use of its time; today, however, even the worst
of Congressess would hardly pervert its function, neglect
business, and transform itself into an electioneering forum,
with the brazenness of the Congresses of the middle of the
last century. In the summer of 1848, with Zachary Taylor
before the country as the Whig nominee for president,
Lincoln went the way of all flesh political, squandering
the time of the House in a jocose electioneering speech,
nominally on a point before the House, really having no
connection with it—in fact, a romping burlesque of the
Democratic candidate, Cass. As such things went at that
day, it was capital. It was better than most such speeches
because, granting the commonplace thing he had set out to do,
Lincoln’s better sense of language gave even to his romp a
quality the others did not have.
******
Further, it goes to show:
You can complain about all of the people some of the time
but you can't complain about all of the people all of the
time.
cantabb
- 02:55am Sep 27, 2003 EST (#
14051 of 14055)
fredmoore - 02:41am Sep 27, 2003 EST (# 14050 of
14050)
Further, it goes to show:........
Really ? Which version did you get DownUnder ?
lchic
- 03:48am Sep 27, 2003 EST (#
14052 of 14055) ~~~~ It got understood and exposed
~~~~
Fred's more 'UpOver' than downunder!
lchic
- 06:47am Sep 27, 2003 EST (#
14053 of 14055) ~~~~ It got understood and exposed
~~~~
Entente Cordiale
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00032F01-7913-1C71-9EB7809EC588F2D7
focus on France and UK
Shows how nations are inextricably linked by the forces of
innovation.
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