“Is that one of those new hundreds? You know, where they changed the picture of Ben Franklin? Look at him, yeah. He looks like the love child of-of, uh, Fred Mertz and Rosie O’Donnell! Yeah, that’s him, yeah. Get rid of it as soon as you can, lady. Look at it up in the light. You see that metal strip? That’s a tracking device!” – Mel Gibson as Jerry Fletcher, in Conspiracy Theory. (Screenplay by Brian Helgeland.)
“When a people lose the courage to resist encroachment on their rights, then they can’t be saved by an outside force. Our belief is that people always have the kind of government they want and that individuals must bear the risks of freedom, even to the extent of giving their lives.” – A.E. Van Vogt, The Weapons Shops of Isher
“I’m only paranoid because they want me dead.” – Mel Gibson as Jerry Fletcher, in Conspiracy Theory. (Screenplay by Brian Helgeland.)
“And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:31 (KJV)
“And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.” Hosea 2;23 (KJV)
“You really don’t understand. We don’t worry about individuals. What counts is that many millions of people have the knowledge that they can go to a weapon shop if they want to protect themselves and their families. And, even more important, the forces that would normally try to enslave them are restrained by the conviction that it is dangerous to press people too far. And so a great balance has been struck between those who govern and those who are governed.” – A.E. Van Vogt, The Weapons Shops of Isher
“For every serious attempt to achieve integration of house to site you will find a thousand houses peppering the landscape and clearly demonstrating the builder’s total disregard for even the most basic considerations of sun, wind, and view.” – Ken Kern, The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)
“In any ethical situation, the thing you want least to do is probably the right action.” – Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
“God’s words weren’t intended just for one people. They were meant for the whole world because they represent the key to universal survival.” – Rabbi Benjamin Blech
“Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.” – Jerry Pournelle, Chaos Manor View …
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” – John 14:15 (KJV)
“O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.” – Jeremiah 16:19-21 (KJV)
“Of course most people underestimate the warrior characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman peoples anyway. It takes a heap of piety to keep a Viking from wanting to go sack a city.” – Jerry Pournelle, in a reply to a reader’s e-mail in Chaos Manor Mail #141, February 19-25, 2001
“A man and his tools make a man and his trade.” Vita Sackville-West, A Saxon Song, in The Independent Vol. 110 (1923); also in Collected Poems (1934)
“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” – Zig Ziglar as quoted in Trigger Events – How To Find Your Next Customer (2007) by Alen Majer