Marcus Aurelius, Stoic Philosopher: “Live a Good Life.”
At left we see why it’s hard to think of a figure in history more worthy of our admiration than Marcus Aurelius.
The things we regret in life are not misfortunes, but our own failures to live up to the standards we have set for ourselves in terms of honesty, compassion, courage, temperance, and the like.
I remember quite clearly the religious indoctrination I received as a young boy, which included the threat of eternal damnation if I did not believe in God. I also remember what I told my mom at the time, that it’s just silly to think that a loving God would punish me for using the mind He gave me, and concluding that He did not exist, based on the evidence I gathered throughout my life.
The students, faculty and alumni of Yale Law School seem to be unanimous in their objection to 
An old friend writes: Robespierre in the waning days of the French Revolution had a convention in Paris of his supporters; this , after his 44,000 citizen councils had each beheaded from one to five people. At the convention he then called for everybody in the room to be beheaded. It was then three brave souls spoke up and the soldiers in the room led him away. That adage history repeats itself is so shopworn but so true.
At left we have a reminder, as if we needed one, that Westerners, Americans in particular, are fixated on our rights, while ignoring our obligations to those around us.
There is a suggestion that principled conservatives may split off from the new Trump-oriented Republican party.
A short (< 1 min.) excerpt of a speech given by Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy is embedded in 
When my daughter was young, I used to help her with things like grammar and poetry interpretation. I recall explaining Frost’s “Fire and Ice”: He seems to be saying that the world could end either in fire, perhaps nuclear war, or by ice, our vast indifference to the well-being of one another. They are both extremely powerful forces, and either one will get the job done. 
We have no choice but to prosecute Trump once he’s out of office. If we don’t, we’ll be issuing an open invitation for the next would-be dictator, and the next one couldn’t possibly be this incompetent. We really don’t have a choice here.
Question: 2019 was the first year the U.S. consumed more renewable energy than coal since what year?
GOP Senator Ben Sasse: “When we talk in private, I haven’t heard a single Congressional Republican allege that the election results were fraudulent — not one,” Sasse wrote. “Instead, I hear them talk about their worries about how they will ‘look’ to President Trump’s most ardent supporters.”
