Blawgletter®

Quote of the Day: Henry V

King Henry V walloped the French in 1415 at Agincourt.

Blawgletter had the distinct honor this morning of talking with a group of state trial judges about ways to expedite and streamline civil litgation.  Our presentation included a visual (above) depicting the array of English and French forces in the Battle of Agincourt.  But time ran out before we could recite the last part of the bard's recreation of how Henry V rallied his weary warriors on the eve of the decisive engagement. 

We reproduce it here:

This story shall the good man teach his son
And Crispin Crispian's shall ne'er go by
From this day to the ending of the world
But we in it shall be remembered.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile.
This day shall gentle his condition.
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon St. Crispin's day.

Our feed asks what light on yon window breaks.

Quote of the Day: Monica Goodling

Monica, Monica, Monica!

Tell us about your political philosophy.  There are different groups of conservatives, by way of example:  Social Conservative, Fiscal Conservative, Law & Order Republican.

[W]hat is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?

Aside from the president, give us an example of someone currently or recently in public service who you admire.

An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General at 18 (July 28, 2008) (quoting questions that Ms. Goodling asked of candidates for non-political positions in the Department of Justice).

Subscribe to our apolitical feed.

Quote of the Day: Groucho Marx (Second)

Groucho Marx (1890-1977) as Rufus T. Firefly.

Yesterday, Blawgletter quoted at full length a combative letter from Groucho Marx to Warner Brothers.  The dispute centered on the studio's belief that an impending Marx Brothers movie, A Night in Casablanca (1946), would impinge on the intellectual property that Warner Brothers embodied four years earlier in Casablanca (1942).

Mr. Marx's letter, we learned, produced a sequel.  It responded to a letter in which the Warner organization asked for a thumbnail of the plot.  The reply went like this:

Dear Warners:

There isn't much I can tell you about the story.  In it I play a Doctor of Divinity who ministers to the natives and, as a sideline, hawks can openers and pea jackets to the savages along the Gold Coast of Africa.

When I first meet Chico, he is working in a saloon, selling sponges to the barflies who are unable to carry their liquor.  Harpo is an Arabian caddie who lives in a small Grecian urn on the outskirts of the city.

As the picture opens, Porridge, a mealy-mouthed native girl, is sharpening some arrows for the hunt.  Paul Hangover, our hero, is constantly lighting two cigarettes simultaneously.  He apparently is unaware of the cigarette shortage.

There are many scenes of splendor and fierce antagonisms, and Color, an Abyssinian messenger boy, runs Riot.  Riot, in case you have never been there, is a small night club on the edge of town.

There's a lot more I could tell you, but I don't want to spoil it for you.  All this has been okayed by the Hays Office, Good Housekeeping and the survivors of the Haymarket Riots; and if the times are ripe, this picture can be the opening in a new worldwide disaster.

Cordially,

Groucho Marx

To be continued.

Quote of the Day: Henry Paulson

Pocket-size bazooka?

If you've got a squirt gun in your pocket, you may have to take it out.  If you've got a bazooka, and people know you've got it...you're not likely to take it out.

Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, July 15, 2008 (testifying before the Senate Banking Committee about government support of mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae).

Quote of the Day: George F. Will

The columnist and Homer Simpson at last agree on something.

No beer, no civilization.

George F. Will, "Survival of the Sudsiest", The Washington Post, July 10, 2008.

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."  B. Franklin.

Quote of the Day: Barry Diller

Barry Diller (1942-).

After losing the battle to acquire Paramount in the early 1990s, the media mogul said: 

They won. We lost. Next.

Quote of the Day: Thomas L. Strickland

 
UHG today announced it settled securities claims relating to a stock back-dating scandal for $895 million.

The settlement provides UnitedHealth Group with certainty and closure on this lawsuit, avoids potentially costly and protracted litigation and allows us to continue to focus on providing Americans with high-quality, affordable health care solutions

UnitedHealth Group press release, July 2, 2008 (quoting Chief Legal Officer Thomas L. Strickland).

Quote of the Day: Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin (1939-) snorted a lot as Ernestine.

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you're still a rat.

Our feed also liked her Edith Ann.

Quote of the Day: George Carlin

George Carlin (1937-2008) merged with the infinite yesterday.

I think it is the duty of the comedian to find where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.

He sure did that.

Obituaries here and here.  Seven Words video here.

Good morning, sunshine!

Quote of the Day: John Yoo

Former Office of Legal Counsel lawyer John Yoo (1967-) has written a lot about wartime incarceration.

The only real hope of returning the Supreme Court to its normal wartime role rests in the November elections.

John Yoo, "The Supreme Court Goes to War", The Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2008.

Our feed avoids torturing language.