You witnessed a Republican when you read this blog post.

Unfortunately true. Witness Republicans these days.

Thanks for your contributions.

We don’t need complete biographies – though the internet is such a big place, and so full of information, that it’s easy enough to link to one when including even a descriptive paragraph is out of place. There’s no harm in linking to a basic summary like a Wikipedia entry [apologies to NASA, but their bio isn't comprehensive].

But quotes – even the inspirational kind – have context:

“… everything I did, I did for my country.”

This sounds alright. Serving one’s country is noble, and this isn’t too far from the famed, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do from your country.”

One quip was issued by John Kennedy; the other by Pol Pot. Quotes don’t exist in vacuums.

That still doesn’t change my point: do you honestly expect to see a complete biography of everyone whenever their quotes are used? This, in a newsletter with “brief” in its title?

I must say that I’m impressed with this post. Most people tend to restrict masturbation to an action; you’ve turned it into a form of self-congratulatory literature.

Thank you for taking the time to comment. It’s an honor to have an expert troll respond so quickly to a blog post.

I wouldn’t have chosen the quote in the first place.

I do appreciate your point re: “reactionary,” though. I am blessed to have been equipped with the knowledge to react, and I do hope that others experience the liberal arts as I have – including those who work for ASCD.

Good example. Germany/Austria turns into po-tay-to/po-tah-to frequently, it seems. Not only is it laziness, it’s a genuine disinterest in intellectual curiosity.