05/19/2013
CNN: “Our democracy is endangered. Not by the Russians, North Korea, the Iran regime, or even terrorists. To quote Pogo: ‘We have met the enemy and he is us.’ Inside the beltway, the fingers point and the media tuts and struts in glee, and we, the American public, respond by becoming more rigid and divided ourselves. No more ‘truth springing from argument amongst friends,’ as David Hume said. A recent nonpartisan Pew Research Poll finds our knee-jerk partisanship has increased dramatically. This road we're on will lead us step-by-step to an extreme: either an autocratic government that functions, or a dysfunctional anarchy. The petty squabbles, bilge in the name of party or principle, will dissolve our self-government.”
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/18/opinion/brazile-democracy-in-danger/index.html?hpt=hp_t4
05/19/2013
Washington Post: “The hundred pages of Benghazi e-mails released this week tell us almost nothing about how four Americans came to die so tragically in that Libyan city. But they are a case study in why nothing works in Washington. Rather than reading these messages for their substance on Benghazi (on which officials were still basically clueless three days after the attack), try perusing them as an illustration of how the bureaucracy responds to crisis — especially when officials know they will be under the media spotlight.”
Washington Times: “Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli formally accepted the Republican nomination to be Virginia’s next governor Saturday before a crowd of more than 8,000 gathered at the Richmond Coliseum, pledging to focus on the economy, education, and reining in government if elected this fall. ‘Working together, we can move Virginia forward by remaining true to our core principles,’ he said at the party’s nominating convention. ‘And so I humbly stand before you this morning to gratefully accept your Republican nomination in the race to be the 72nd Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.’”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/18/cuccinelli-accepts-gubernatorial-nomination-richmo/
ON THIS DAY IN US HISTORY
On May 19, 1951, Jeffry Ross Hyman is born. As “Joey Ramone,” he becomes lead vocalist and song writer for the Ramones. The band is a major influence on the punk rock movement in the US and UK. All band members adopt pseudonyms ending with surname "Ramone," though none of them are related.
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