Category: Quote of the Day

“The second item in the liberal creed, after self-righteousness, is unaccountability. Liberals have invented whole college majors–psychology, sociology, women’s studies–to prove that nothing is anybody’s fault. No one is fond of taking responsibility for his actions, but consider how much you’d have to hate free will to come up with a political platform that advocates killing unborn babies but not convicted murderers. A callous pragmatist might favor abortion and capital punishment. A devout Christian would sanction neither. But it takes years of therapy to arrive at the liberal view.” –  P.J. O’Rourke, Give War a Chance

“Man, biologically considered, and whatever else he may be into the bargain, is simply the most formidable of all the beasts of prey, and, indeed, the only one that preys systematically on its own species.” – William James (1842-1910), in the Atlantic Monthly, December 1904, p. 84

“As it will be the right of all, so it will be the duty of some, definitely to prepare for a separation, amicably if they can, violently if they must.” – Josiah Quincy (1772-1864) — Abridgement of Debates of Congress vol. 4, p. 327, 14 January 1811

“The grass will grow in the streets of a hundred cities, a thousand towns.” –  President Herbert Hoover, from a speech given on 31 October 1932. (as quoted in ‘State Papers of Herbert Hoover’ (1934) vol. 2, p. 418, commenting on proposals ‘to reduce the protective tariff to a competitive tariff for revenue’.)

“They that die by famine die by inches.” – Matthew Henry, from ‘An Exposition of the Old and New Testament’ (1710) comments on Psalm 59

“Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is …

“And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will …

“All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance.” – Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter 71

“Once its biggest self-celebration, May Day now signals Mayday for global communism. Just a half century ago, it seemed irrepressible, now communism is just reprehensible, with the relevance of a renaissance festival. Ironically, it is the Left who most want to forget… before the lesson behind communism’s demise can be more broadly applied. In the 1960s, the whole world seemed to be going communist. It held half of Europe, much of Africa, almost all of Asia, and seemingly the entire world’s intelligentsia. Only “benighted” pockets held out. Fifty years later, the situation has reversed – now communism is closeted away. …

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.” – Terry Pratchett

“To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection.” – Henri Poincaré

“I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition, and less upon the dark side, and to consider what I enjoyed, rather than what I wanted :  and this gave me sometimes such secret comforts, that I cannot express them ; and which I take notice of here, to put those discontented people in mind of it, who cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them, because they see and covet something that he has not given them. All our discontents about what we want appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what …

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, …

“There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents.” – Thomas Jefferson

“Here’s the dirty little secret: Fiat currency is designed to lose value. Its very purpose is to confiscate your wealth and transfer it to the government. Each time the government prints a new dollar and spends it, the government gets the full purchasing power of that dollar.” – Michael Maloney