Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for December 26, 2008

Incoming!

Jesus died for the same reason a dozen other first century Jewish messiahs died …… the Romans had a “zero tolerance” policy on troublemakers.

Wow - did the Romans have a Department of Homeland Security too?

Jack75287-

Actually, only two in a long line of people.

Nathan Hale is reported to have said just before being hanged for espionage: “I only regret that I have but one life to give my country.”

Around the same time, Patrick Henry was saying: “give me liberty, or give me death!”

Other names come to mind: Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. were both assassinated for acting on their beliefs, and both have had a lasting and profound effect on all of our lives.

My Christmas wish? That none of these brave sacrifices are forgotten or taken for granted by any of us who have benefited from the actions of those who were willing to lay down their lives for us.

An aside for Roger.

Has anyone attempted to see what “Department of Homeland Security” translates as in German?

If we substitute “police” for security, it becomes “Geheim Stadt Polizei” (uncompounded word–actual German is “Geheimstadtpolizei”), of which the abbreviated version is the rather infamous “Gestapo”.

prasrinivara:

Just for the record, and not to spoil your point, Gestapo = Geheime Staatspolizei = secret (not “home”) state (as in Sec’y of State, not Stadt=city) police. DHS would be something like “Ministerium fuer Bundessicherheit” = Ministry of Federal Security or “Ministerium fuer Vaterlandssicherheit” = Ministry of Fatherland Security. The term “Fatherland” is not so much in favor these days.

Geheimnitz Polizei!!!! It means”police of the house” or “house police” - IE, a house is a personal place of family secrets, and is shortened to Gestapo.