“There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.” – Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776.
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First Principles: There Is No Art Which One Government Sooner Learns of Another Than That of Draining Money From the Pockets of the People
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Adam Smith, Art, Drain, First Principles, Government, Learn, Money, Pockets, The People, The Wealth of Nations
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Thought For the Day: You Cannot Begin To Preserve Any Species of Animal Unless You Preserve the Habitat In Which It Dwells
“You cannot begin to preserve any species of animal unless you preserve the habitat in which it dwells. Disturb or destroy that habitat and you will exterminate the species as surely as if you had shot it. So conservation means that you have to preserve forest and grassland, river and lake, even the sea itself. This is not only vital for the preservation of animal life generally, but for the future existence of man himself — a point that seems to escape many people.” – Gerald Durrell, naturalist and author (7 Jan 1925-1995)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Animal, Conservation, Disturb Or Destroy, Dwell, Exterminate, Forests, Future Existence, Gerald Durrell, Grassland, Habitat, Lake, Mankind, Preserve, River, Sea, Shot, Species, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: A Good Moral Character Is the First Essential In A Man…It Is Therefore Highly Important That You Should Endeavor Not Only To Be Learned But Virtuous
“[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous.” – George Washington
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Tagged Age, Character, Conduct, Endeavor, First Essential, First Principles, George Washington, Good Moral Character, Habits, Important, Indelible, Learned, Life, Mankind, Stamp, Virtuous
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Dedicated To A Half Remembered Lorax, Part II
Dedicated To A Half Remembered Lorax, Part III
by Michael Doyle
However much some point out their clarity
A dreamer remains undeterred by reality
Even when it seems everyone is living culpable
It never stops quixotic dreams of the impossible
Floating as it is into the devastation
Overflowing into the falls of the slipstream
It's nothing short of the cause pleaded
That nature and trees are truly needed
Throwing rotten tomatoes at the world's stage
Selling points spread across every page
Taking shots going for the golden win
Multiplied in the duplicity of harmonized zen
Putting out the vibes of worthy thought
Pushing forward with every dream sought
Keeping the eyes on targeted perfect days
Future shocked into tomorrow's different ways
The problems with souls on fire
Are the electrical impulses of that force multiplier
Be careful of the fall of the crested lean
If you get the essence of what it is that I mean
One turn after another leads to the greed
Simple in faith like a well intentioned mustard seed
Thinking ever bigger to pad the bottom-line
Digging to big to fail as if corporately devine
Until the very last hope is breeched
And the lessons learned are burned as reached
Too much success isn't success as it ends in sorrow
It's the way of pride too fall into tomorrow
Suddenly, you're down to your very last breath
And all that is left is society's choking death
Even the rainbow fades itself colorlessly away
This is the truth then a child's last gasp plays
(c) January 6, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Bottom-Line, Clarity, Culpable, Days, Death, Dedicate, Devastation, Devine, Dreamer, Dreams, Essence, Falls, Fire, Force Multiplier, Future Shock, Greed, Impossible, Last Breath, Last Hope, Lean, Lessons, Lorax, Mean, Mustard Seed, Nature and Trees, Need, Page, Perfect, Plays, Plead, Poetry and Poems, Pride, Rainbow, Reality, Shot, Sorrow, Soul, Stage, Success, Tomorrow, Truth, Vibes, Win, World, Worthy Thought, Zen
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First Principles: To Restore…Harmony…To Render Us Again One People Acting As One Nation Should Be the Object of Every Man Really A Patriot
“To restore … harmony … to render us again one people acting as one nation should be the object of every man really a patriot.” —Thomas Jefferson (1801)
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Tagged Every Man, First Principles, Harmony, Object, One Nation, One People, Patriot, Render, Restore, Thomas Jefferson
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Thought For the Day: The Lust For Comfort Murders the Passions of the Soul
“The lust for comfort murders the passions of the soul.” – Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (6 Jan 1883-1931)
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Tagged Comfort, Kahlil Gibran, Lust, Murder, Passion, Soul, Thought For the Day
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Dedicated To A Half Remembered Lorax
Dedicated To A Half Remembered Lorax
by Michael Doyle
Hats off to Betty White
Who although not always right
Did voice for the Sneedville trees
And against polluting factories
There's something for the glitz that's not forgot
The importance of trees over parking lots
Beauty there is to be borne from the soiled ground
It's the most amazing miracle to ever be found
For outside the furthest edges of the dirty town
Are where the last best of answers will be found
It's where the best of magic will come true
If you want it bad enough for me and for you
Knowing full well and remembered quite capability
It's best to live and breath with responsibility
Out beyond the fringes of clever advertising that tries
To convince the gullible to continue to buy, buy, buy
It takes a special someone to pick these locks
And sneak past the thinking that comes pre-boxed
Careful how it's done to escape into the out there
Nature and freedom are closer than they ever appear
Is it so very hard to care about the felling of trees
Take a good listen if then you'll quietly please
Life it seems is about a whole lot more than greed
Through the love of truth, the human soul can be freed
In music we'll certainly, surely find our best way
Riffing along in the soul of every note that we play
Mankind will always think his changes are for the good
That is until our mistakes are unmasked and understood
Pushed along feely one boulder at the bearable time
Wisdom is patiently accrued in simple rhyme after rhyme
Guardians of the forests can't be seen through the trees
But must be heard however it is that you might please
(c) January 5, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Accrued, Advertise, Appear, Beauty, Best of Answers, Best Way, Betty White, Borne, Boulder, Buy, Capability, Careful, Changes, Dedicate, Edges, Escape, Factories, Felling of Trees, Forests, Forgot, Found, Freed, Freedom, Fringes, Glitz, Good, Greed, Ground, Guardian, Gullible, Heard, Human Soul, Listen, Live and Breath, Locks, Lorax, Love of Truth, Magic, Mankind, Miracle, Mistakes, Music, Nature, Note, Parking Lots, Play, Please, Poetry and Poems, Pollution, Pre-Boxed, Quiet, Remember, Responsibility, Rhyme, Riff, Right, Seems, Sneedville, Soil, Souls, Special Someone, Time, Town, Trees, True, Understood, Wisdom
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First Principles: Above All, Love Each Other Deeply, Because Love Covers Over A Multitude of Sins
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8 (New International Version)
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Tagged 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV), Above All, Cover, Deep, Each Other, First Principles, Love, Multitude, Sin
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Thought For the Day: Human Need Is Really A Great Spiritual Vacuum Which God Seeks To Fill
“Human need is really a great spiritual vacuum which God seeks to fill…With one hand in the hand of a fellow man in need and the other in the hand of Christ, He could get across the vacuum…Then the passage, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me,’ came to have real meaning.”– George Washington Carver (d. January 5, 1943)
Under Lock and Key
Under Lock and Key
by Michael Doyle
Under lock and key
Is where I keep me
Hidden away so no one can see
There in arcs of memory
Shadowboxing with myself
Through all the volumes on the shelf
There really isn't much mystery
When we're talking self history
Recollections that are half wrong
Can never be truly right
But these are the imprints that belong
Turning the cast of darkness into light
Swinging the ropes of the family tree
They say it's a matter of biology
The fear present is a constant feeling
As I lay here silently bleeding
Wondering how you could do such a thing
Praying for the light tomorrow brings
There is a slowness filling my heart
A sense of dread from this moment's start
(c) January 4, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Arcs, Biology, Bleed, Bring, Constant Feeling, Darkness, Dread, Family Tree, Fear, Half Wrong, Heart, Hidden Away, Imprint, Light, Lock and Key, Me, Memory, Moment, Mystery, Poetry and Poems, Pray, Recollection, Right, Self History, Sense, Shadowboxing, Shelf, Silent, Slowness, Swing, Tomorrow, Volumes, Wonder
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