Political GDG - The More Things Change - Political GDG

[Marvin S]

Who said this & when?

The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced,
The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered & controlled,
& the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest ***** become bankrupt.
People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.

[Buzz]

Wasn't it Ross Perot?

OK, never mind. This one is too easy.

[JDogger]

Cicero, a long time ago. What's yer point?

JD

[Matt McKenzie]

I suspect his point is in the subject line. Seems self-explanatory to me.

[YardleyLabs]

Actually, this quote is probably a fake. The earliest reference to it that I've been able to find is the Congressional Record in 1968. No source is cited and none is likely since, contextually the statement make no sense at all given Roman history. Rome had no program of foreign aid and no such thing as public assistance. Once again someone seems to be reprinting nonsense to lend an aura of historic legitimacy to a current political posture -- plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr - Editor of Le Figaro).

[Marvin S]

Cicero, 55 BC

Actually, this quote is probably a fake.

I'm sure you were there or can provide us with some website that ascertains that this quote is not true.

Cicero, a long time ago. What's yer point?

JD

I suspect his point is in the subject line. Seems self-explanatory to me.

I'm no history buff, but have enough general knowledge to know Rome was the 1st Empire, with tentacles that reached wherever they chose to go. I believe their reign was something like 200 years & today we see a dysfunctional country barely above third world status, with many have's & have not's.

The next was the British Empire - "The sun never sets on the Union Jack" - look at where they are today, as Leno says "A nation of bad teeth" & also a nation with a multitude of have not's.

& now we have our own country, started on this perilous road by FDR, & steadily tweaked along the way. Now we are going to have a stimulus bill that will only be financed off the backs of those who are solid citizens, who are presently taking a hit on interest rates to make this program palatable. JD, If you can't recognize this I'm not going to be able to explain it to you.

[YardleyLabs]

Cicero, 55 BC



I'm sure you were there or can provide us with some website that ascertains that this quote is not true.
.....

Try these:
http://quotationsbook.com/quote/45485/
http://books.google.com/books?id=NCO...um=5&ct=result

and of course, there's your favorite source at:

http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?p=759154

My own impression is that neo-cons feel guilty unless an idea can somehow be traced back at least a millennium fearing that they might be accused of having a new, and therefore suspect, thought. Why else spend so much time inventing history.

[JDogger]

Attributed to MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO, Congressional Record, April 25, 1968, vol. 114, p. 10635.

This passage was reprinted in U.S. News & World Report, July 29, 1968, p. 15. Still later, a contributor reported this to The Review of the News, June 30, 1971, p. 19, and he also attributed this to Cicero. No evidence has been found to confirm that Cicero said these words, and it is almost certainly spurious.

Here's the link if you want it;
http://www.bartleby.com/73/795.html

and even if the quote were true, I don't believe a parallel can be drawn between Rome and the United States on the basis of that quote.

As to your opinions of Italy, Britain and economic stimulus, I disagree

JD

[Franco]

I'm no history buff, but have enough general knowledge to know Rome was the 1st Empire, with tentacles that reached wherever they chose to go. I believe their reign was something like 200 years

Actually, I think it was more like 800 years. The city itself was founded on the 7 hills around 700 BC. They didn't become an empire until the Puenic(sp) Wars around 400 BC. The official fall of Rome was in 411 AD when the Visagoths sacked the city.

The people of Rome(western empire) had no idea that they were in decline until it all ended ushering in the Dark Ages. The eastern empire went on for another hundred years before it was taken over by the Turks.

[Buzz]

We keep hearing that we're having a credit crisis. Maybe the credit crisis was caused by the wage crisis. Was FDR responsible for this?