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It’s in the Declaration of IndependenceAs we approach its 250th anniversary next year, let’s take a look at a few words from the Declaration of Independence, brought to our attention by columnist Charie Pierce in a recent column in Esquire magazine.
They refer to King George III of England in 1776 but might have some modern-day pertinence as well:
“He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States”
There’s a lot more in his column that might interest you. You can check the full column out by Clicking Here or by copying and pasting https://link.esquire.com/view/5766d505d7aaa87a3a8b45adoz61u.bnq/a4e656ce on the browser line of your device.
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Hmmm. Jefferson and his co-authors got it right! |
JL
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Free Speech
There’s an interesting article on ‘Free Speech’ by critic/historian Louis Menand in the New Yorker magazine issue dated October 6. Actually, it is a review of a book by the president of Princeton University on the subject. It describes the ‘war about words’ in which the country is presently involved and wonders where it might lead.
If you wish, you can read it by Clicking Here or copying and pasting https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/review-free-speech-books on the browser line of your device.
JL
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'Open Carry’ of Guns in Florida
Florida is now an ‘open carry’ state, and although there are some exceptions, grocery stores are not one of them. Some, like Publix, have publicized that they would follow the law, and others, while still recognizing Florida’s ‘open carry’ law, seem to be trying to discourage their customers from carrying firearms into their establishments.
Florida has many screwballs living here, more than its own fair share. They seem to be attracted to the Sunshine State. The man accused of starting the recent California wildfires has moved here from there. Massive shootings have occurred throughout the State (the Pulse Club in Orlando and the Parkland high school shootings are two tragic examples).
I think the best approach to this is to try to reduce your presence in locations that potential shooters are most likely to patronize. Some groceries and other large retail establishments might seem less appealing than others to these screwballs who will be walking down the aisles and in the checkout lines with a lethal weapon on their hips.
The other day I took my shopping list to Whole Foods instead of to Publix, and the people I saw shopping there, if it is any comfort, seemed more normal than elsewhere. I will be doing more of that kind of store-switching more often now.
Of course, one can just place their grocery order online to be delivered to their home and avoid possible exposure to a gun-carrying shopper. The trade-off is that then, you’ll miss any bargains that you’d only spot if you were there shopping in person.
JL
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BUT WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
It is time to stop complaining, moralizing, and counting upon the ‘rule of law’ to prevail in this country. Any of you who read newspapers, watch the news on television, or even keep up with what is going on in this country through your computer or smartphone know precisely what I am writing about. It is time to make up your mind and take a firm stand, and turn your words into whatever actions the laws permit.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? What are you waiting for?
JL
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A Good Word for the President
The President is to be commended for his efforts in bringing about steps toward a resolution of the troubles in Israel and neighboring areas, especially the return of the remaining hostages kidnapped by Hamas. But that does not give anyone license to ignore his other actions, especially domestically.
JL
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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri
Your comments on this ‘blog’ would be appreciated. My Email address is jacklippman18@gmail.com.
Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them.
There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com , or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.
Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com
More on the Sources of Information on Jackspotpourri: The sources of information used by Jackspotpourri include a delivered daily ‘paper’ newspaper (now becoming the South Florida Sun Sentinel) and what appears in my daily email. Be aware that when I open that email, I take these steps:
1. I quickly scan the sources of the dozen or two emails I still get each day at my old email address to see from where they are being sent. Most are from vendors which I may have used years ago. Without reading 99% of them, I usually immediately delete them.
2. I then go to the email arriving at jacklippman18@gmail.com. Gmail enables ‘Promotion’ emails to be so designated and separated out. I believe their criteria are whether or not they end up asking for donations or if they are no more than advertisements. I ignore most of these ‘Promotion’ emails without reading them, deleting them. A very few, perhaps one or two a day, get moved over to the two or three dozen other emails which I will actually open.
3. Then I read my email.
Besides email, my other source of information is the Google search engine (or other search engines) where I can look up any subject I want. Lately, these search results have been headed by a very generalized summary clearly labeled as being developed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). On occasion I might use such search results, but when I do, I will say that I am doing so. Generally, however, I try not to use such summaries in preparing Jackspotpourri. After such ‘AI’ search results, there follows the other results of my search. Unlike the anonymous AI-generated summaries, the sources of these results are clearly indicated, giving them a greater credibility than the AI summary.
I feel that It comes down to who YOU want to be in the driver’s seat in seeking information: yourself or something else (Artificial Intelligence), the structure of which somewhere along the way had to have been created by others, with whose identity I am neither familiar nor comfortable. At least when I read a column by Timothy Snyder, for example, I know from where it comes, and to some extent, what to expect.
Caution should be exercised in using Artificial Intelligence.
JL
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