One of the most stressed aspects of the way our government works is the "checks and balances" system put in place by the architects of our constitution. These devices are usually taken to reference the way the three co-equal branches operate with respect to each other. Let us not, however, forget the most important check. Our constitution begins with "We the people..." We are the most important check on the government. Let us never fail in our duties.

"When the intellectual history of this era is written, it will scarcely be believable." -- Noam Chomsky

"It's not my business to do intelligent work." -- Donald Rumsfeld

"Don't let anybody make you think that God chose America as His divine messianic force to be -- a sort of policeman of the whole world. God has a way of standing before the nations with judgment, and it seems that I can hear God saying to America: 'You are too arrogant! If you don't change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power.'" -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Asked soon after Carl's Death:
"Didn't [Sagan] want to believe?"
Ann Druyan (Carl Sagan's wife) responded, "He didn't want to believe. He wanted to know."

"I think it only makes sense to seek out and identify structures of authority, hierarchy, and domination in every aspect of life, and to challenge them. Unless a justification for them can be given, they are illegitimate, and should be dismantled, to increase the scope of human freedom." -- Noam Chomsky

"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." -- Tacitus, 56-120 A.D.

"If I were Kim Jong Il, I would read the message of Iraq to be, if you don't have nuclear weapons, you get invaded, and if you do have nuclear weapons, you don't get invaded. Because we didn't invade the Soviet Union and China. So I think we're sending the wrong messages and doing nothing to really prevent a very, very dangerous situation." -- Madeleine Albright

Now, I've met some wonderful people in my life who call themselves Christians, but I've also met some very bigoted, hateful people who also use their religion in the persecution of others. Consider this quote in the context of the latter and not the former.

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." -- Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi

"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." -- George Herbert Walker Bush

"The conservative movement is successful despite the "crackpots and nuts" on the religious right. I know them all. I've said Jerry Falwell should be kicked in the ass, and I meant it. He has a big one. You can't miss it." -- Barry Goldwater