“A right cannot die: trodden down it may be, but never trodden out.” – Sir Edward Coke, Commentary on Littleton
Category: Politics & Law
“Hope is the dream of a waking man.” – Sir Edward Coke, Institutes of the laws of England
“There is no greater injustice than when under colour of justice injury is done.” – Sir Edward Coke, Institutes of the laws of England
“There is no knowledge (seemeth it at the first of never so little moment) but it will stand the diligent student in stead at one time or other.” – Sir Edward Coke, Commentary on Littleton
“Pedantry is a useless display of learning, or perhaps a display of useless learning—at any rate, the term involves the double idea of display or affectation and uselessness.” – John Marshall Gest, The Lawyer in Literature
“Now, if a man wants to have his estate properly settled, it is absolutely necessary for him to die. It is not enough for him to disappear, no matter for how long, if he neglects this simple preliminary. When he comes back unexpectedly, and makes himself generally disagreeable, his return to the scene of his former activities will disarrange the most careful administration, and even if his supposed death was mourned, his reappearance will be even more sincerely lamented.” – John Marshall Gest, The Lawyer in Literature
“That every man must work out his own damnation, is not merely a profound theological dogma and a practical rule of life, but also a fundamental canon of literary art.” – John Marshall Gest, The Lawyer in Literature
“Search for downed plane conducted 16 through 20 Nov 50: Patrol attempted to get to area of crash on 16 & 17 Nov without success due to impassable terrain i.e. cliffs, dense timber, no trails etc. . . . On 18 Nov 1st Lt. Perry W. Wales, Co C, 31st Inf, patrol leader, and 9 men started out on different route with rations for two days. They went by vehicle to point A, dismounted and proceeded on by foot. . . . At point C they saw 8 men, 6 women and some children. One civilian had a leg wound. Civilians stated that they had heard of a plane crash to the west. . . . When the patrol reached point E two men had a slight case of frost bitten feet. The patrol leader . . . sent the two men with bad feet plus two others back . . . . When the 4 men arrived at point C they stopped in a house to eat their rations. As they were eating one man, who was on watch at the door, saw an armed civilian approaching. The guard reached for his rifle and the civilian jumped into a ditch. A few shots were traded with no casualties. After this incident . . . . all four started back for point F. While passing point X the 4 men were involved in a short firefight with two guerrillas. They felt they had wounded one due to stains in the snow. The guerrillas then fled. . . . the four men caught up with the patrol. The patrol leader selected a high, inaccessible knoll as a bivouac for the night. . . . The night was uneventful. From point D to G there were no trails whatever. The patrol had to rely entirely on the compass. At no point could the patrol get into position to compare the lay of the land with the map due to the dense timber and undergrowth. At 201130 Nov the patrol reached the scene of the crash. . . . The pilot’s body had been placed in a cellar and covered with brush by the local civilians. The pilot’s body was completely nude and the patrol leader stated that he believed that his clothes had been blown off during the explosion when the plane crashed. . . . The area, covered with 6 inches of snow, was thoroughly searched for documents, dog tags, wallet or a watch. Nothing could be found. The civilians were thoroughly questioned and they stated they had taken nothing from the plane or the pilot’s body. . . . The patrol then had the civilians construct a litter. Five civilians carried the body about one mile where the patrol commandeered an ox and sled. The body was then transported on the sled to point I where the patrol met the 3rd Bn Commander and party. From this point the body was transported via jeep . . . . The patrol then marched on to I Co positions . . . and spent the night with the company. . . . Upon reaching a ration supply all men ate at least a double meal or more before they were satisfied. . . . It was estimated the men had walked over 50 miles through the roughest terrain in Korea. At times it was necessary for the patrol to slide down steep snow covered slopes or to crawl under or climb over acres of fallen timber. As a climax, while crossing the ice on a frozen river the patrol saw a Korean woman with a baby on her back break through the ice. The water was rather shallow and only covered her just above the waist, but she was unable to crawl out herself. The patrol leader and his assistant shed their packs, worked their way out and saved the woman and her child.” – 1st Lt. Perry W. Wales, “Special Patrol Report, 24 Nov 50, 31st RCT War Diary”
“At Singpung-ni civilians reported 2 battalions of NKPA passed through there about one month ago. One half of them were wounded and all that could not walk they shot. They had 100 trucks and one American car. Trucks were loaded with rice, clothing, typewriters, papers and canned food carried from Seoul. . . . 200 Russian soldiers with their families lived there until after the fall of Seoul when they withdrew. Civilians were friendly to the patrol. . . . civilians were holding 25 NK prisoners in a large concrete building. . . . Civilians reported at Bokae-ri, vicinity Tong Sang-Myun mixed groups of NKPA, CCF and NK agents raided this village morning 13 November 1950. They were 20 to 30 in the group and they killed all male personnel (about 40) claiming they were deserters or rightists. They took food and clothing in their raid.” – Captain Byron W. Bonham, Jr., “31st RCT War Diary, 14 Nov 50”
“Chinese Communist and North Korean forces left Yongdong-ni two nights ago by railroad N to lake ferry. . . . Chinese Communist forces took all civ workers with them when they left town. The civ did not want to fight. One hundred workers were shot two (2) days ago because they refused to fight. Ten more were shot later.” – “RCT 31 Unit Report, 12 Nov 50”
“The people on this area are in dire need of clothing, this however, seems to be predominant in all of North Korea. There also appears to be a short supply of salt. The food situation is satisfactory. The diet consists primarily of barley and potatoes of which there is a sufficient quantity to last until next April or May. . . . The Regiment was informed that when the North Korean forces occupied this area they issued orders that the physicians, four Chinese doctors, would discontinue their practices except where NK troops were concerned. . . . The civilian attitude is basically unchanged. They appreciate the fact that they are not being mistreated and that the UN forces do not require a tax in the form of food stuffs.” – Major Carl G. Witte, S-2 and Civil Affairs Officer, 31st Regimental Combat Team, November 17, 1950, “Civil Affairs Weekly Activities Report”
“Poets should always study law, as [Sir Walter] Scott did, but if more of them did so, there would be less poetry written.” – John Marshall Gest, The Lawyer in Literature
“The clergy live by our sins, the medical faculty by our diseases, and the law gentry by our misfortunes.” – Sir Walter Scott, Antiquary
“Law’s like laudanum, it’s much more easy to use it as a quack does, than to learn to apply it like a physician.” – Sir Walter Scott, Guy Mannering
“In [Sir Walter] Scott’s first criminal case, he defended a poacher, and whispered to his client, as he heard the verdict, — not guilty —‘You’re a lucky scoundrel.’ ‘I am just of your mind,’ was the reply, ‘and I’ll send you a hare in the morn.’ ” – John Marshall Gest, The Lawyer in Literature
“Fascists are a lot like lead in your drinking water. There is no acceptable safe level.” – Justin King, “Let’s talk about Ukraine’s personnel problem”
“Women play an important role in Judges, to an extent not seen in the Bible since the early chapters of Exodus. While they barely appear in Joshua, in Judges they are present in every major narrative save that of Ehud. And the way they are painted seems to act as a moral barometer for the state of Israelite society as it was conceived of by the writers. Some female characters show strength and independence (Achsah, Deborah, Jael, and Abimelech’s killer), but others appear as the victims of violence within and beyond the patriarchal system (Jephthah’s daughter, the concubine of Gibeah, and the Benjaminite women at the end of the book—all of whom are unnamed), and even as the enemy or corrupt figures (Delilah and the Levite’s mother). These narratives do not merely reflect a patriarchal society. More often than not, they serve to set the male characters in relief, demonstrating the shortcomings of the leaders in Judges. Achsah is not shy about asserting her rights; Deborah has the self-assurance that Barak does not; Jael succeeds in the absence of her husband; Jephthah’s nameless daughter survives in cultural memory despite her early end; Delilah outsmarts the superhumanly strong Samson; and the numberless female victims in the last three chapters of the book serve to indict first a single Levite, then the tribe of Benjamin, and finally the entire people, for their crimes of abandonment, murder, rape, and abduction. If Samson and his ilk symbolize a badly faltering Israel, the female characters in the book function to sharply etch the consequences of the people’s actions.” – Everett Fox, The Early Prophets
“Ridicule is stronger than argument, caricature more powerful than a bald recital of sober facts.” – John Marshall Gest, The Lawyer in Literature
“When Daniel Quilp was found drowned, and the coroner’s jury found it a case of suicide, he was buried with a stake through his heart, in the centre of four lonely roads. This was a very old custom in England, but there seems to be no legal authority for it. Perhaps the place was so selected that, by the continual passage of the living, the burial-place might be trodden down and forgotten. It has been suggested that the stake was driven through the heart to keep the ghost from walking.” – John Marshall Gest, The Lawyer in Literature
“What can the individual soldier do to be a good representative of the United Nations? Conduct himself in a military manner at all times. Do not eat or destroy native food. Be friendly with the young children. Be courteous with the old. Be firm and just. Do not be the coward type who mistreats people who cannot defend themselves. Do not ridicule or interfere with local customs, religions, or ceremonies. Do not molest the Korean girls. Do not barter or trade with the local merchants until permission is granted. Do not deface or disturb graves or shrines. Do not enter Korean homes other than those designated.” – “Northern Korea and RCT 31,” By Order of Colonel MacLean, October 24, 1950
“The American soldier has seldom been a good ambassador. If the nation he is in does not come up to his standards, he usually takes the attitude that the people of that nation are lazy, dumb, backward or that they desire everything that we have in the United States. In many instances this is not true.” – “Northern Korea and RCT 31,” By Order of Colonel MacLean, October 24, 1950
“Civilians in the villages reported that the enemy, after forcing them to give them food and burning their homes, fled to the east. One enemy soldier was seen taking off his uniform and burying it, replacing it with white clothing. An attempt was made to capture the man, he started running which caused him to be killed.” – Captain John E. Hasper, 31st Infantry RCT Unit Report, September 30, 1950
“The Family is an institution that’s allowed to be bigger and more important than the people it’s meant to protect. It’s meant to be everything, to everyone, all at once: a sanctuary, a home, a source of moral authority, a replacement for social infrastructure when the state fails. The harsher and more alienating the outside world gets, the more important The Family becomes as an idea—whether or not you’re part of one. Family is meant to be a refuge from structural violence and a reason to survive it. So what do we do with the fact that family isn’t always the safest place for everyone? What happens when the home that was supposed to be a refuge turns into a trap?” – Laurie Penny, “ ‘Encanto’ is a Beautiful, Brilliant, Broken Mess.”
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” – George Orwell, 1984
“At the very core of the Fourth Amendment stands the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion. A warrantless search is the quintessential intrusion and is presumptively unreasonable. The government can rebut that presumption by showing that the police, despite lacking a warrant, were permitted to undertake the search by someone with authority. Such consent need not come from the target of the search. It may come from a third party who possesses common authority over the premises or effects sought to be inspected. Common authority does not refer to some kind of technical property interest. It arises simply from mutual use of the property by persons generally having joint access or control for most purposes, so that it is reasonable to recognize that any of the co-inhabitants has the right to permit the inspection in his own right and that the others have assumed the risk that one of their number might permit the common area to be searched. Even a person who does not actually use the property can authorize a search if it is reasonable for the police to believe she uses it. Such apparent authority is sufficient to sustain a search because the Fourth Amendment requires only that officers’ factual determinations in such situations always be reasonable, not that they always be correct.” – United States of America v. Davon Peyton (internal quotes and cites omitted)
“The adjustment to anthropophagous collectivism is found as often among left-wing political groups as among right-wing groups. Indeed, both overlap: repression and crowd mindedness overtake the followers of both trends. The psychologies tend to meet despite the surface distinctions in political attitudes.” – Theodor W. Adorno, “On Popular Music”
“There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.” – P.J. O’Rourke (quoted by Clarence Page, “After O’Rourke, who can save conservative comedy now?”)
“It is a fundamental rule of statutory interpretation to determine and give effect to the intent of the legislature, and the best indicator of that intent is the statutory language, which is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning.” – Justice Pierce, In re Marriage of Stephen A. Calk
“All manner of valuable things lack a price tag not because they have no value, but because it is illegal to sell them.” – United States Attorney Damian Williams, “Sentencing Memorandum of the United States of America,” United States of America v. Stephen M. Calk, December 22, 2021
“The rain is what comes down from above; but when ordinances are numerous as the drops of rain, this is not the way to administer government.” – The She King, or, The Book of Poetry (trans. James Legge)