From a recent Books Bygone essay:

The lesson of the Ideals section is this: “All through our history this right of self-government has been insisted upon. This is where our liberty lies: not in freedom from law, but in the freedom to make and therefore obey our own laws. That is the American ideal.”

[My emphases citing Citizenship Plays: A Dramatic Reader for Upper Grades. Eleanore Hubbard. Benj. H. Sanborn & Co., Chicago. 1929. Available free to read or download at openlibrary.org and for purchase at online booksellers. First published in the Webster Progress Times January 16, 2014.]

What Ted said today in the Wall Street Journal:

Rule of law doesn’t simply mean that society has laws; dictatorships are often characterized by an abundance of laws. Rather, rule of law means that we are a nation ruled by laws, not men. That no one—and especially not the president—is above the law. For that reason, the U.S. Constitution imposes on every president the express duty to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

And no. I did not watch the SOTU address. Instead, I tidied up the kitchen. I set the dishwasher to come on +6hrs. (that would be about 3am, when it’s forecast to be about 10 degrees F), did some hand dish-washing, put away the leftovers, let Rocky and Missy out being careful to not forget about short-haired Rocky out there in the cold, filled up the humidifiers,  set the faucets to “drip,” turned the thermostats down to 60 degrees F, and retired to the den where Mr. Big Food and the dogs had fallen asleep. (Rocky is all snuggled up under the covers. Vicious Pit bull.)

And then I caught up on the SOTU by reading Vodka Pundit’s live blog. (I do not want to hear any comments about the reliability of a guy who’s famous for “drunk blogging.” Seriously. It’s the SOTU address to Congress. Cheers!)

And along the way happened upon Ted’s comments. 

And now I’m thinking of U. Grant and a funny story about him, post-Presidency.