My earnest hope is that senators take that time to reflect on the importance of this process to our democracy -- not what's expedient, not what's happening at the moment, what does this mean for our institutions, for our common life -- the stakes, the consequences, the seriousness of the job we all swore an oath to do.
The ambiguity, Gates said, has to do with "intentions," and he went on, "If the stakes and the consequences are small, you're going to want ninety-per-cent assurance.
Given the stakes and the consequences, the machinations of Satan make more sense than unhappiness with a debate coach.
In general, I'm not thrilled with the idea that "experts" determine all matters of national security simply because the average person is ignorant of the details, the stakes, and the consequences of the pertinent policies.
"We are professionals who understand what is at stake and what the consequences could be," Ojo adds, "but our responsibility is to focus on what we need to do to win our remaining games; thinking too much about the what ifs detracts from the task in hand.
"The person coming in has an even more heightened sense of the stakes, and of the consequences".
The stakes are vertiginous, the consequences will reverberate for decades and the argument goes to the heart of what kind of country we want the United Kingdom to be and whether there will still be a United Kingdom should the decision be for Out.
But the Raineses say there was a larger principle at stake: "We thought about the consequences for our children, but it just seemed right," John Raines said.
The stakes are too high, the consequences too serious".
But the stakes are high, and the consequences of the coal industry are horrible to behold.
