Rest In Peace, President Bush

[RCMerchant]

You're getting very theological, ER.
 I don't think most folks think about politics too much. They think of politics as TV.
It's like the ultimate reality show.
I won't mind if they make it legal to run people over for points, though! 

[lester1/2jr]

Alex-I'm not much of a Roman history buff but as i understood it, they ceased being a republic when they "crossed the Rubicon" . is that not right?

It wasn't so much a comment on the qualities of the two styles of government, I just was under the impression they were different things.

[Alex]

When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, (in my opinion) it was the start of the death of the Republic, and I would personally date its end with his victory in the subsequent civil war but Caeser was never actually able to declare himself an emperor (and historians still argue over he would have or not, my money is on if he thought he could have gotten away with it, he would have. My old history teacher was convinced the Caesar thought he was acting in the best interests of the Republic and felt he had to act to save it). Indy, though knows a lot more about Rome than me.

[Svengoolie 3]

When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, (in my opinion) it was the start of the death of the Republic, and I would personally date its end with his victory in the subsequent civil war but Caeser was never actually able to declare himself an emperor (and historians still argue over he would have or not, my money is on if he thought he could have gotten away with it, he would have. My old history teacher was convinced the Caesar thought he was acting in the best interests of the Republic and felt he had to act to save it). Indy, though knows a lot more about Rome than me.

I've always wondered if it might have been possible that Caesar deliberately provoked the senate into assassinating him as an alternative to suicide or gradually succumbing to his worsening epilepsy...

[indianasmith]

I don't think so; he was too eager to ride off into the East and defeat the Parthians to avenge his old friend Crassus.
I imagine after returning from that campaign he would've resigned the dictatorship.

[Svengoolie 3]

I suppose we'll nefer know,  I just wondered if he preferred another death to succumbing to his epilepsy.

[lester1/2jr]

Obviously Caligula was the coolest guy ever, don't need a history degree to know that

[Svengoolie 3]

Obviously Caligula was the coolest guy ever, don't need a history degree to know that

Um, yeah.....

[indianasmith]

Back to OT, I thought that Pres. Bush's funeral service was very beautiful, and W's tribute to his father induced me to tears.

[ER]

I'm glad the funeral's over. A little Bush is fine but too much Bush and you'd swear we're back in the last century. But I guess how much Bush is too much Bush is fuzzy and leads to a split.

[El Misfit]

Honest question: was it right to shut down the government for this funeral?

[RCMerchant]

Honest question: was it right to shut down the government for this funeral?

Does it matter? It's not like they have been doing anything good lately anyway...

[indianasmith]

The entire government did not shut down. Congress delayed its weekly session, and that is the norm for such occasions.

[RCMerchant]

The mail didn't run on Wednesday...which may be a good thing, being as it's junk flyers and bills.

[ER]

Lawsy, I give up.  In Galway that'd been a slow pitch.