OT Atom bombs and 7 irons

Yes, but add those widely despised journalists. Bad as they are, they
are the best protection we have, day in and day out, from abuse of our
rights by those in government.

I neglected to add "and by private corporations," which are sometimes
as great a threat to our safety as anyone in government.

vince
PS: If you want to tell me how wrong I am, wait till Saturday or
your message will be gone from my server before I get back from a
trip.

vincent p. norris wrote:

Thomas Jefferson said, "If I had to live in a country with a
government but no newspapers, or a country with with newspapers but
no government, I would not hesitate to choose the latter."

(And newspapers were much worse then than they are today.)

Jefferson financed the worst of them, going so far (while Jefferson was
Secretary of State) as to employ one of the worst of the worst of them
(Philip Freneau) as a phony translator at the State Department, while he
actually writing libelous hit pieces for the National Gazette, attacking
Washington and Hamilton, the one Jefferson's own President and the other
a fellow cabinet member.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

vincent p. norris wrote:

Thomas Jefferson said, "If I had to live in a country with a
government but no newspapers, or a country with with newspapers but
no government, I would not hesitate to choose the latter."

(And newspapers were much worse then than they are today.)

Jefferson financed the worst of them, going so far (while Jefferson was
Secretary of State) as to employ one of the worst of the worst of them
(Philip Freneau) as a phony translator at the State Department, while he
actually writing libelous hit pieces for the National Gazette, attacking
Washington and Hamilton, the one Jefferson's own President and the other
a fellow cabinet member.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Wolfgang wrote:

"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...

...(And newspapers were much worse then than they are today.)


Hm........

How many newspapers were there in the U.S in ....oh, say, 1803? How many
people owned how many of them? How many corporations?

"From 1704 to 1820 approximately 1,634 newspapers came to life and died.
Of that number only 67 percent of them lived beyond three years."

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refcolonial.html

There were plenty of newspapers, mostly weeklies.

The problem in, say, the notoriously nasty election of 1800 wasn't that
the journalists were inherently vicious compared to the present day. The
problem was that the implicit rules of political and journalistic fair
play hadn't developed. Political parties were a new thing. The tradition
of a loyal opposition wasn't yet established. Newspapers (or at least
the worst of them) we overtly partisan and not careful with the truth.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Wolfgang wrote:

"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...

...(And newspapers were much worse then than they are today.)


Hm........

How many newspapers were there in the U.S in ....oh, say, 1803? How many
people owned how many of them? How many corporations?

"From 1704 to 1820 approximately 1,634 newspapers came to life and died.
Of that number only 67 percent of them lived beyond three years."

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refcolonial.html

There were plenty of newspapers, mostly weeklies.

The problem in, say, the notoriously nasty election of 1800 wasn't that
the journalists were inherently vicious compared to the present day. The
problem was that the implicit rules of political and journalistic fair
play hadn't developed. Political parties were a new thing. The tradition
of a loyal opposition wasn't yet established. Newspapers (or at least
the worst of them) we overtly partisan and not careful with the truth.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

In article 20041214155105.06022.00001424@mb-
m21.aol.com, irate says...
Protest, Fortenberry, protest. That is what every member of the Armed Forces
has fought for -- your right to protest, burn the flag, print and distribute
your own newspaper, talk **** about anything you want, worship any god you
want, assemble *peacably*, which means ya gotta ****can the 7 iron.


So, are you saying that nobody at all has the right to
defend themselves against assault by gangs of thugs, or
is it just protesters against the military? As far as
I know, a person has the right to carry a golf club
wherever they want in America, and they are even allowed
to wear tacky plaid pants and a tam-o-shanter while they
do it.

Kevin,
who would have chosen 3 feet of 2x2, as it is much more
economical than a 7-iron.
--
reply to:
kevin dot vang at minotstatu dot edu

"rw" wrote in message
ink.net...
Wolfgang wrote:

"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...

...(And newspapers were much worse then than they are today.)


Hm........

How many newspapers were there in the U.S in ....oh, say, 1803? How many
people owned how many of them? How many corporations?

"From 1704 to 1820 approximately 1,634 newspapers came to life and died.
Of that number only 67 percent of them lived beyond three years."

Well......gosh.....that's fascinating.

How many newspapers were there in the U.S in ....oh, say, 1803? How many
people owned how many of them? How many corporations?

Wolfgang
well, what the hell, if you repeat it often enough, sometimes they actually
see it.

"rw" wrote in message
ink.net...
Wolfgang wrote:

"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...

...(And newspapers were much worse then than they are today.)


Hm........

How many newspapers were there in the U.S in ....oh, say, 1803? How many
people owned how many of them? How many corporations?

"From 1704 to 1820 approximately 1,634 newspapers came to life and died.
Of that number only 67 percent of them lived beyond three years."

Well......gosh.....that's fascinating.

How many newspapers were there in the U.S in ....oh, say, 1803? How many
people owned how many of them? How many corporations?

Wolfgang
well, what the hell, if you repeat it often enough, sometimes they actually
see it.

"Kevin Vang" wrote in message
...
...As far as
I know, a person has the right to carry a golf club
wherever they want in America

Used to be so. The airlines, in conjunction with federal authorities, have
in recent years determined (God bless their perceptive little hearts and
heads) that a golf club could......conceivably......be used to whack a
potential hijacker in the skull. Liability issues and all that, don'tcha
know.

, and they are even allowed
to wear tacky plaid pants and a tam-o-shanter while they
do it.

Land of the free!

Kevin,
who would have chosen 3 feet of 2x2, as it is much more
economical than a 7-iron.

Worse than useless. Confined spaces.....blah, blah. Much better off
unarmed. Ask Ste.

Wolfgang

"Kevin Vang" wrote in message
...
...As far as
I know, a person has the right to carry a golf club
wherever they want in America

Used to be so. The airlines, in conjunction with federal authorities, have
in recent years determined (God bless their perceptive little hearts and
heads) that a golf club could......conceivably......be used to whack a
potential hijacker in the skull. Liability issues and all that, don'tcha
know.

, and they are even allowed
to wear tacky plaid pants and a tam-o-shanter while they
do it.

Land of the free!

Kevin,
who would have chosen 3 feet of 2x2, as it is much more
economical than a 7-iron.

Worse than useless. Confined spaces.....blah, blah. Much better off
unarmed. Ask Ste.

Wolfgang