Just a couple of 'Jersey Strong' working stiffs sitting around every Saturday morning celebrating the end of another hard fought week of work and life. The text msg goes out every Friday evening with instructions to meet at the deli the next morning. A little cursing, a lot of laughing, delicious food, stimulating conversation...all with great friends. This is how I start my weekend every Saturday morning.
The bird has been purchased, thawed, dressed, stuffed, basted, cooked, carved, and consumed and discarded. Whew! It just doesn't get any better than the Thanksgiving weekend. Everything about it is wonderful. Four days of turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes. gravy, pumpkin pie, apple pie, blueberry pie, surrounded by great family and friends. Sprinkle in some world-class Vermont beer, engaging conversation, and nail-biting college football...hit rewind, then hit repeat...for 4 straight days. Have I left anything out? Probably. But it's all good. I love it all. What am I thankful for? Where do I start? The list could go on forever but what I am most thankful for is having gone through an entire Thanksgiving dinner without any political discussions. The two don't mix. They never did and they never will. I don't want this weekend to end and as long as there are leftovers in the fridge, it's still Thanksgiving as far as I am concerned.
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We had a nice crowd at the Breakfast Club this weekend. This was one of the few times during the year that Bobby closed his deli for the weekend. We ended up going to a bagel store across town which was very good. I purposely did not order a Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese sandwich out of respect for Bobby. Nobody makes a better Jersey breakfast sandwich. For a temporary fill in, we can go cross-town to the bagel place, but there is only one Corner Cafe & Grill. That is our home field.
It was nice to see Patrick, Zach, Katie & Brennan show up. I always have stimulating conversations with them. Somehow we ended up talking about the Malcolm Gladwell podcast called Revisionist History. The episode I listened to is Episode 07 titled Hallelujah, named after the famous Leonard Cohen song. This podcast is about two unsuspecting songs that when first released, were met with nothing more than a yawn. The first song, The Deportees Club, was written by Elvis Costello and was, by all accounts, forgettable. Years later, it was recorded with a different tempo and tone. Today it is considered one of his best works. The second song, Hallelujah, was written by Leonard Cohen. Cohen took many years to complete this song and it took even longer for anyone to notice what a great song it is. After a series of events and recordings by a few musicians, in particular, a little-known musician named Jeff Buckley, the song started to gain favor in the music world and has gone on to be covered by over 100 artists and has been used in countless TV shows and movies. Here are two songs that seemed to be destined for the discount bin in the discount record store and ended up being heartfelt classics. Could the Breakfast Club be destined for the same? The Leonard Cohen song, Hallelujah, hit me like a bolt of lighting. I had actually heard this song before but certainly not this version, which is considered the de facto standard. If you care to, take a listen...Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
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Rutgers Football -
Rutgers 13 Maryland 31
The season record stands at 2 - 10 with a record of 0 - 8 in the Big Ten.
College football was not kind to Rutgers this year. The Big Ten punched us in the gut, hit us over the head, and threw us down a flight of stairs. Maybe one day Rutgers Football can climb out of the discount bin of college football the same way Elvis Costello's Deportee and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah climbed out of the discount bin of music wasteland and ascended to greatness.
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Tonight I will grab the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers from the fridge and enjoy every last morsel. I will miss you Thanksgiving, I will miss you.
A big discussion took place today regarding a lecture directed towards Vice President-elect Mike Pence following a performance of the Broadway musical Hamilton that he attended. During the curtain call, Brandon Victor Dixon, who played Aaron Burr, read a prepared speech calling Mike Pence out by name and expressed concern with his willingness to uphold and defend all of the inalienable rights that the diverse cast of Hamilton and America have. Dixon urged all audience members to capture and share the moment on their phones so it could be spread far and wide. Later that evening, the Twitter war began:
Trump tweeted "@realDonaldTrump The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mile Pence. Apologize!"
Dixon tweeted "@realDonaldTrump conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen."
As a side note, I do find it quite humorous that the character who played Aaron Burr, a sitting Vice President who removed his opponent Alexander Hamilton in a duel, is now calling out the current Vice President-elect Pence...who appears to be viewed as an opponent by Brandon Victor Dixon. Maybe Brandon Victor Dixon was still 'in character'. I also wonder how many of the cast members of Hamilton actually voted.
Honestly, is this really how a meaningful conversation takes place? For starters, this was a lecture , not a conversation. But, be that as it may, I didn't think it was a big deal. Well, I found my opinion to be much softer than others present at the Breakfast Club. The overwhelming opinion was the height of disrespect was shown to Vice President-elect Mike Pence. I certainly can see how someone might take the lecture as somewhat condescending and disrespectful but I also saw it as a gift of an opportunity to correct many long-standing views held by the left. According to the left/liberals and it's propaganda machine(mainstream media), the right/conservatives are anti black, woman, Muslim, immigrant, gay, poor and anybody else that is not white, male and of European decent. They also believe the only way to prosperity is through a massive centralized government.
The right, on the other hand, believes a massive centralized government is the enemyof freedom and prosperity, and that the conservative, free market system has lifted more people(of every variety) out of poverty than any economic system known to man and history proves this. This is indisputable!
I am a conservative and every day I work alongside and shoulder to shoulder with people who are black, white, female, Spanish, Muslim, Pakistani, Egyptian, Indian, immigrant(legal), gay and many people who were once poor. This is true of most people I know and it plays out all across America. We all get along, respect each other and work in a very productive and rewarding atmosphere. As a matter of fact, my work environment is more diverse than the cast of Hamilton. I don't go through life with all the hate that the left is constantly telling people I have. The ill-informed of America must be educated to understand what conservativism is.
So, I hope Vice President-elect Pence takes this opportunity to educate people. There is a cultural war going on in America and you don't always get to choose the environment where challenges come from. Conservatives should not be afraid of defending their position...even if the challenge is disrespectful. History is on their side.
Should I be more outraged by the disrespect showed to Vice President-elect Mike Pence?
Should conservatives do a better job with their message?
Somebody tell me!!!
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Under the guidance of Jim W., our resident food expert, the Breakfast Club is planning on a Christmas dinner at The Old Bay restaurant, NJ’s premier New Orleans-style restaurant featuring gourmet Fresh Creole and Cajun cuisine and an award-winning draft beer list with 22 taps. Jim has never made a bad choice when it comes to food and no doubt, this will be another excellent choice. It's not easy satisfying all BK members much less all of our wives but if anybody can pull it off, Jim can.
Lache Pas!
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#SecureThePorch - Accomplished 7:40 AM
After losing to that team just west of us, Rutgers has a record of 2 - 9/0 - 7 with 1 final game against Maryland remaining. It really is time to #FenceTheGarden.
The Breakfast Club tailgate record stands at 7 - 0.
We had close to a full house today with passions and opinions running as strong possible.
Mike B. - Thank you for the book. You are keeping all members of the Breakfast Club well read.
Well - Not really. But that is what many in the main-stream media proclaimed no less than a few months ago.
"The Death of the Republican Party"
-- David Brooks, New York Times July 2016
"The Republican Party is Dead"
-- Max Boot, Los Angelas Times Op-Ed piece May 2016
"GOP Convention: The Party is Dead, Long Love the King"
-- John Zogby, Forbes Magazine July 2016
How can I become an expert in the media, get many things of importance wrong and still keep my job? What a gig!
It is fitting is that we hold elections in the month of November. The month’s original name in Old English was Blōtmōnað, which literally means "blood-month" I.E. The month when animal sacrifices were made to stock up on meats for the coming winter months. There certainly was plenty of bloodshed during this election year. "You're a liar...you're dishonest... you're corrupt... you're all a bunch of deplorables... you're sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic" and on and on and on. Whew!!! Somebody help me I am out of breath. But, it's over. The election is history. It's done. It's in the past, nothing but a fading memory. The insults, the offensive comments, the lies, half truths, the patronizing, the false promises, the deception, it's all over...well, not exactly but at least it is for the moment. We have a winner and we have a loser and we still have our democracy intact.
As for the precious little snowflakes who need therapy dogs to get through the crisis of democracy working, you all have time-out...permanently. This is what happens to little children who misbehave. You will be sitting alongside eight-year-olds who refused to share the M&M's.
I once heard someone say, "if you accept the outcome when your guy wins but not when the other guy wins than you really don't believe in democracy".
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Last fall, on the recommendation of my daughter Carly, I purchased tickets to see Hamilton. This was months before the Tony awards when Hamilton cleaned up and tickets were near impossible to get but at a reasonable price; unlike today where tickets are still near impossible to get but for a small fortune.
Hamilton, created by Lin-Manual Miranda, is a Broadway musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton; an orphan, immigrant, lawyer, soldier, statesman, and born in the West Indies. The original cast had all left the play following the Tony awards but the true star of the play is history itself. The play was nothing short of brilliant, giving me such a better understanding and appreciation of our Founding Fathers. I left the play wanting to know more about how America came to be. No other Broadway play has ever moved me to discover history more. People have mentioned, with consternation , the Rap/Hip-Hop elements of the play but, fear not, it all works perfectly. Lin-Manual Miranda has suggested, Rap is perfect for this story because Hamilton was always bursting with ideas and with Rap, you get more words per measure than any other musical form. This guy Miranda really knows what he is doing.
Go see Hamilton!!! You will thank me.
Some of Alexander Hamilton's accomplishments:
Served as the first Treasury Secretary of the United States Created the financial system of the United States.
Was the major author of the Federalist Papers that led to the ratification of the Constitution.
Founded the U.S. Coast Guard
Introduced a bill to establish West Point Military Academy
Created the Bank of America, the 1st bank in America
Created the New York Stock Exchange
Certainly, not a day goes by without Alexander Hamilton touching the lives of every American.
Hamilton is a must see!
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#SecureThePorch - Accomplished 7:45 AM
We had a smaller showing today. There is a rumor of a BK Club forming down in Bonita Springs, Florida. Just don't meet on Saturdays and we're all good.
Brother Rick, Happy Birthday!
Thanks Jim for your philanthropic work with the Wreaths Across America. You set the bar very high for the rest of us.
On Nov 8, 2016, the 56th Presidential Election of the United States of America is taking place. We Americans will be deciding who will be named the 45th President of this unique and special land. This country, the greatest country since the beginning of time, 'from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam', is left with choosing between these two dreadful candidates. I am deliberately refraining from using their names because neither of them deserves to be mentioned along with the names of Washington, Lincoln, Adams, Jefferson, Truman, Reagan, etc. To choose between these two candidates is like choosing between death by firing squad and death by poison. One candidate is under an active investigation by the FBI, has a strained relationship with the truth, and has left a trail of carnage down every path her professional career has taken her and the other candidate has the temperament of a child, speaks before thinking, is offensive beyond description, and has no filter what so ever. This election cycle reminds me of the car wreck alongside the road with all it's mangled metal and broken body parts that we can't seem to take our eyes off of. We stare in utter horror and disbelief that such a tragedy is lying before us. Please! Somebody call the salvage yard and have them haul the wreck away. Get this heap of garbage out of our site and let us just forget about it and go on with our lives.
I will cast my ballot on Tuesday to honor all those who have fought to preserve the democracy and freedom that we enjoy and I will go home and take a shower to wash away all the grime and the filth that I have been subjected to during this election process of 2016.
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The last time I authored the Breakfast Club blog was on Saturday, Oct 8. At that time, the air temperature was warm, the leaves on the trees were just starting to turn color and Rutgers Football lost to Michigan by a score of 78-0 for an 0-3 record in the Big Ten. Fast forward to today, Nov 5, most of the leaves are showing the fading colors of autumn and are rapidly falling to the ground, the air temperature is gradually dropping and Rutgers has gone down in defeat two more times for a record of 0-5 in Big Ten conference play. The certainty of the weather and the changing of the seasons in New Jersey are both absolute, undeniable, and predictable. There is a certain degree of comfort that comes with the anticipated changing seasons. As of late, Rutgers Football has demonstrated the same degree of predictability as the changing of the seasons. The outcome of their games has been both anticipated and inevitable. However, the predictability of the Rutgers Football team has provided anything but comfort. Rutgers is our home team. The Breakfast Club loves Rutgers. We need a victory, if for no other reason than to offset next week's presidential election. Give us something to feel good about. Hopefully, the Scarlet Knights can bring their conference losing streak to an end today, Saturday, November 5 when Rutgers hosts Big Ten foe Indiana in Piscataway. Go RU!
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#SecureThePorch = #Commitment
Unfortunately, the best of plans don't always work out. I had commitment but it wasn't enough.
My early morning schedule:
5:50 - wake up
6:00 - 6:30 walk the dog
6:30 - 7:00 stretch
7:00 - 7:30 shower and dress
7:30 - leave house for deli
7:38 - arrive at Bobby's
Upon arriving at the deli at 7:38 AM, I notice there is only one car in the parking lot. Securing the porch should be a cinch. Except, the occupants of that lone car were sitting at a BK table on the porch. Panic started to set in until I realized they were about to finish eating and give up the table. Whew! This is not the way the plan is supposed to unfold. The porch was ours to have as the other members of the BK club arrived.
The old ball coach shared one of his many secrets with the rest of us today. He ordered an egg omelet with bacon and a buttered roll on the side. When asked, "why don't you let Bobby assemble the sandwich", he explained, "you get more bacon if you order it on the side". The old ball coach is a genius!!
A lot of conversation took place regarding this Tuesday's election. The political parties listed on the presidential line are Democratic, Republican, Socialist Workers, American Delta, Socialist and Liberation, Green, Workers World, Libertarian, and the Constitution Party. I scratch my head at the political parties that support systems that have failed miserably throughout history.
In addition to the obvious positions that are up for grabs, there are 2 public questions in New Jersey.
Question #1 is to permit casino gambling in two counties other than Atlantic City. This is easy for me to understand.
Question #2 is something regarding the dedication of additional revenues to state transportation system. Everyone at the BK club is educated and well read. However, no one was able to give a clear answer on what Question #2 is actually about. When faced with many dilemmas such as this, I turn to Patricia Widdoss for clarity and direction. We have a lot of smart people in the BK club but so far, I don't think anybody is close to Pat when it comes to intelligence.
Our BK Presidential poll taken today elected Donald Trump as our next President with a tally of:
Trump 8, Clinton 1
The demographics of the BK club are male, white, married, with children, Christian, college-educated, professional, and ages from 56 to 62.
We normally handle religious discussions pretty well but today we kind of got off the rails early on. Redemption, mercy, the Assumption, the Ascension, the book of Revelations, the Nicene Creed, and the current state of the Catholic Church were all covered. Tempers flared, nasty looks were exchanged but we are all good. I hope to continue the discussion tomorrow with a few cold beers. That is Progress!
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Happy Anniversary to my lovely wife Cindy.
Happy Birthday to my son Mark Bauer, Pat Widdoss, Brendan McDevitt, Sue Bernocchi
(Submitted by the Breakfast Club Treasury Secretary)
Last week I failed miserably at #SecureThe Porch. I wasn’t going to let it happen this week. After several sleepless nights I came up with my game plan. Have you heard of WWJD? I would follow WDED. What Does Eddie Do? I tried to think of and imitate his Saturday morning routine. I got up early. I made my wife breakfast and served her in bed. I vacuumed the house. I walked the dog, and I don’t even have a dog. I drove to the store and bought the morning paper. I backed into the parking spot at the Deli. Took me three tries but it was close enough. I was all pumped up. Then who drove up but the IT guy. The guy who gave himself the nickname BB, Belgium Balls. Together we stormed the porch. Took no prisoners, (because no one was back there). Mission Accomplished.
As I sat down with the IT guy in came the old ball coach. This week he was wearing a sweatshirt so it was difficult to see if he had his name on the back of his shirt. He claims no but sometimes old guys forget. Next came the soon to be one of the old guys. The December I’m turning 60 guy. Sometimes called Jesus because they share the same birthday. The rest of the members arrived shortly after, the Logistics guy, the Big Dawg and the CEO. And of course, our special guest arrived last. So he had the privilege to sit next to the Big Dawg.
Sports was briefly discussed. But with our college football expert still on his sabbatical it left us with only the local teams and since the Yankee season is over, Jets and Giants are not playing well and RU struggling there wasn’t much to discuss. Even Don Bosco lost. It might be time to call it a rebuilding year.
We talked some politics. Some members think the election might be over already. You can see the Logistics guy eyes just light up with joy, or something else, when we talk about the next four years.
We talked about the soon to be old guys birthday party in December. There is still a question if all the members are invited. It seems one member was left off the spreadsheet created to find an available date. Most of us thought it was a wonderful spreadsheet even before the IT guy enhanced it. We did find out the Big Dawgs phone seems to send out texts on its own. This does explain a lot about his texts. He even tried to blame the phone on the missing member from the spreadsheet.
We talked about the weekends windy weather. Since we were playing golf the next day a sarcastic remark was made about my tee shots finally going over 150 yards. The golf bully denied using the word “finally” and tried to spin it as a compliment. But the old ball coach claims he heard it and I believe him. Even if he is the same guy that I wrote earlier can’t remember. Now after playing golf I can truthfully say the golf bully was wrong. I still didn’t hit it over 150 yards.
At one time during our breakfast, Franklins Finest secured the last table on the porch. It was a tense moment as they looked for another table. The old ball coach thinks they were looking to start trouble. That their hands were hanging loosely at their sides. But who believes anything the old ball coach says anyway. Fortunately the towns prosecutor arrived and came to our table. Even though he talked about SMS coaching we all knew he was trying to negotiate a table. We held firm and he left empty handed.
And finally I must add another special visitor came and had breakfast with us, Patrick. It’s always great to see him. He must be thinking, is this what I have to look forward to. Whereas I say the future is in good hands with young men like Patrick.
(Submitted by the Breakfast Club Treasury Secretary) This past Saturday I was given a very large responsibility from the BLOG Master. Due to his absence, I was asked to #SecureThePorch and document the conversations of the BK members and guest. I must admit I kind of failed.
I reached the Deli at 8:10 AM. An impossible time for someone to #SecureThe Porch. I was surprised to see no other member had arrived yet. And a family of three were sitting at one of our tables. Because of my arthritic knees I didn’t think I had a chance to forcibly take the table from them. Maybe if there were two, but not three. And I sensed that the 10 and 12 year old girls were tougher than they looked.
After a few minutes our weekly guest arrived. This brought me some hope we could take the table. Unfortunately our guest is recovering from hip surgery and was not up for a fight. Next came our IT member who was an ex wrestler, ex volunteer firefighter, ex soccer coach. All manly positions. But being a god fearing person I found out he is a lover and not a fighter. Next came our CEO member. I think either because of the negative vibes I was sending or the concern of being out numbered, the three invaders got up and left.
But now since there was only four of us we didn’t even need the other table. But I still consider it a victory.
With only four people not much was discussed. But it was a lot quieter and everyone did get to contribute to the conversation. I don’t think I heard the F word once. We didn’t even need to do any fact checking. We were given a brief history of Guantanamo Bay. A summary of the Verizon IPhone 7 plan. A few book reviews from our IT Literary member. We talked about our weekly football picks and how our CEO member didn’t get any love when he picked 10 right. Unlike the BK Treasurer who received a lot of hate when he only picked five winners in week three. This is especially discouraging because everyone knows week three in the NFL is the toughest. Our IT member couldn’t understand why we haven’t won. He came close to guaranteeing a win next week when it is his turn. This coming from a guy who wanted to know what a spread is and how does he vote on the winning teams.
Our current member coach did stop by to pay a debt he owed. He had a baseball uniform with his name on the back. I don’t want to name him but what 63 year old guy wears a uniform with his name on the back! I wonder if the BLOG Master has his name on the back of his hiker’s shirt. Or fishing shirt?
Hopefully next week things get back to normal. Those of you who missed might want to stay away from Bobby for a while.
He was very disappointed with the showing. He wanted to know what happened to the weekly text. I might have incorrectly gave him the impression that the text went out and it said to meet at Kettleman's.
See you Saturday. At the Deli not Kettleman's. (Submitted by the Breakfast Club Treasury Secretary)
For the most part, I don't have to worry about the back porch of the Corner Cafe and Grill being occupied at 7:30 AM on a Saturday morning. On occasion, a table or two are taken by members of the local police force but there seems to be an unspoken agreement between the BK club and Franklin's Finest. We always leave two tables for the policeman unless we know they are done or not showing up and they do the same for us.
This Saturday, I was met with a situation I wasn't prepared for. Sitting at our usual table was someone dressed as a clown. Not knowing if it was a joke or not, I proceeded to push an empty table along side the clown's table so the whole BK club could sit together. After settling into a chair next to the clown, I opened up my paper and began sipping my coffee. Not a word was spoken but I could feel a certain calmness fall over the both of us. We were happy sharing a quiet and peaceful moment together. After ten minutes or so and before anyone else had showed up, the clown got up from his chair and walked towards the door. Just before leaving the room, he turned back towards me and gave a tip of the hat, as if to say "it was nice spending some time with you".
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#ClownLivesMatter
Coulrophobia (kool-ruh-foh-bee-uh) 1. an abnormal fear of clowns. What is going on with these clown sightings? All across America, there are reports of clowns engaging in criminal activities. There have been reports over social media of violent threats in Philadelphia, a report of an attack on a woman by a knife wielding clown in Cincinnati, a report of a clown trying to lure children into a wooded area in South Carolina, and on and on. Schools are sending out emails to parents letting them know the security measures that are in place should a clown attack occur. Even the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest has made a reference to clown sightings during his press briefing. Have we all collectively gone mad? Is it possible all or most of these reports are a hoax? Please note, the majority of recent accusations against clowns are unsubstantiated and completely without merit.
The clowns of my youth were far from perfect. Yes, a few of them drank too much but that was part of their charm. They were sad, lovable creatures. The floppy shoes, the makeup, the wigs; these were all tools of the craft of making people laugh. You wouldn't call their humor sharp or witty. It's more clumsy, lacking in grace, and calamitous. It's not the highest form of art and it does seem a bit outdated but it certainly is a bit premature for retirement.
How did clowns transform from sad and pathetic comics to slashers, molesters, and perverts? Has the roster of America villains run so dry we have to turn to clowns? Do we really want the year 2016 entered into the pantheon of great American hoaxes alongside the Salem witch trials of 1692? As a side note, I do believe this presidential election cycle will go down as one of the great American hoaxes. We have enough villains today. It's time to extend an olive branch to clowns.
If you see a clown, reach out to him. He is probably hurting right now. Offer your hand in friendship, a smile, something to show you care. Sure clowns look funny, dress like a hobo and smell like a day-old sardine sandwich. But guess what? Clowns are human beings, they deserve our respect, and clown lives matter.
Lots of talk today about the recent discoveries of off- the-record comments made by The Donald and Hillary. Is this suppose to be a 'gotcha' moment? How clueless can the media be? This doesn't even register with the hard core base of these two candidates and the independents still don't have a clear choice.
It was great seeing Rob, Al D's brother in-law. You have to drop by more often. You provide some badly needed balance to Al. He always gets us bogged down with silly facts. Very Frustrating!
We also had a guest appearance by my wife Cindy, our granddaughter Brooklyn, and my son Mark. Brooklyn can make a mush out of any conservative like myself.
Mike H. Thanks for you input.
James B. - Happy Birthday! I owe you a Vermont craft beer. With a little luck, a shipment of Heady Topper, Sip of Sunshine et al. will be arriving soon.
Count down to Hamilton: 4 days. I am taking my kids on Wed, Oct 12. Cannot wait!!!
"Give all the power to the many, they will oppose the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppose the many"
-- Alexander Hamilton
