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Table of Contents
Quote well
That the quote "Heinrich! I dread you.’ comes from Goethe, should at least be familiar to my generation. But where exactly it is to be found will be less known to most. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe put these words into Margarethe's mouth:
I am yours, father! Save me!
Margarethe, Faust a tragedy (1808)
you angel! you holy multitudes,
Lie down to protect me!
Heinrich! I dread you.
And so it is a form of politeness when dealing with quotations to give the recipient of his own words a clue as to where the quotation used in them came from.
In the case of less common quotations, it makes sense to be a little more precise with the reference to the source. Among other things, one offers the recipient of his words a small added value and thus also contributes to "popular education".
Such a quote would be B. one of Mark Twain, which is only recently being shared again through social media. Rightly so Mark Twain It's nice to include it, but it's better if you're a bit more precise:
"There isn't a Parallel of Latitude but thinks it would have been the Equator if it had its rights."
Mark Twain, Following the Equator (2017 [1897]: 405)
It is even better if you check the origin of such quotes yourself in advance and do not rely on Wikipedia or secondary literature. Years ago I had a quote from myself Robert Schuman used again and again and, because it was also found in books, never questioned, only to find out later that the author was actually a completely different person.
ideas
To my complete surprise, the voice of Heilbronn is causing a sensation today with ideas for our city center. We can read pages and pages about how to ensure “urban renewal” in Heilbronn.
Yet this would be very easy. In the coming local and mayoral elections, we will vote for more people who are also interested in our city and don't just want to make their lives as comfortable as possible. Preferably citizens who are not dependent on diets, attendance fees, expense allowances, supervisory board positions and other benefits.
But that would probably be asking too much at once. Until then, you could try a clean city center or at least keep the existing infrastructure in good order — but that would require a functioning administration.
Bundestag
The largest parliament in the world — excluding the Chinese People's Congress — is now set to shrink a little, but it still remains the second-largest in the world, after the European Parliament with its 96 German MPs.
As has often been written here, a reduction to 80 constituencies would not only be desirable, but would also immediately end all discussions about alleged electoral (in)fairness, because then one could continue to deal with compensation and overhang mandates and would still remain under 150 MPs — a desirable size that could make the Bundestag fully functional again.
Yesterday's majority decision will only lead to further court judgments and, if necessary, a reversal, but in any case will lead to an increase in the Bundestag at the first opportunity, if it is ever reduced to the 630 MPs that are now planned.
By the way, this means that the Bundestag will remain above the 598 MPs, which the Bundestag had already agreed on in 1996.
Addendum
Oliver Durst drew my attention to the fact that there are 79 chambers of industry and commerce in Germany; this is not a purely random number. The constituencies I propose would each have 1 million citizens. And with both, one could certainly very quickly agree on the approximately 80 constituencies.
"The people are the city."
William Shakespeare, Coriolanus (1608)
