Blaise Pascal, PenseĆ© 347: “Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed. The entire universe need not arm itself to crush him. A vapor, a drop of water suffices to kill him. But, if the universe were to crush him, man would still be more noble than that which killed him, because he knows that he dies and the advantage which the universe has over him; the universe knows nothing of this. All our dignity consists, then, in thought. By it we must elevate ourselves, and not by space and time which we cannot fill. Let us endeavor, then, to think well; this is the principle of morality.”

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Democratic National Convention Speeches, Night 2

For my money, the angriest speech of the night came from 31 year old George Town law student Sandra Fluke, who has been an activist on abortion since her undergraduate days at Cornell. Her speech roused the audience, and by that measure, was one of the most effective of the night. Clinton started out great but went for 50 minutes. It could have been a great speech at 30 minutes.  (I wonder if Barack Obama enjoyed waiting in the wings?)  Elizabeth Warren concentrated on the miserable state of society, and so seemed to be urging people to vote against the incumbent--that was a little weird.

(NARAL President Nancy Keenan)

(Cecile Richard, President of Planned Parenthood)

(Sandra Fluke)

(Elizabeth Warren)

(Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles)

(Bill Clinton(

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