Category: Quote of the Day

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." – Mark Twain

“Naturally the advance planning that we did on this thing belongs on the credit side of the ledger. So also does the venture into night flying, although in the final analysis the only real effect it had on this operation was to hold us in the area for one more night. Had we found the U-505 at night, there would have been no possibility of capture—that boarding idea was improbable enough in broad daylight, it was impossible at night. This whole operation is an example of the fact that a military commander controls events only up to a certain point. …

"Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized: In the first it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident." – Arthur Schopenhauer (German Philosopher, 1788-1860)

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where [is] the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein]. Also I set watchmen over you, [saying], Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what [is] among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, [even] the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor …

“If you could borrow $4 trillion at 6% interest, your interest payments alone would be $240 billion per year, $548 million per day, $761,000 per second.” – Martin Weiss (author of The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide)

“The president has got to stop promising renewed growth. While this would affect the perceived “standard-of-living” as measured in things like shopping mall sales and vehicle miles driven, it would not necessarily mean diminished “quality-of-life.” It would mean different ways-of-life for a lot of people — for instance, young adults who had expected lifetime employment as corporate executives but who, instead, find themselves ten years from now working at farming. We have an awful lot to get real about.” – James H. Kunstler (author of The Long Emergency)

“Oh, I have lost some of the fights I’ve been in, some sudden little dustups for which I wasn’t well-prepared and a couple of larger ones in which I was mostly just involved as a bit player. If you really want to win you can always be certain to pick in advance a much weaker opponent and crush him, but that’s bullying. Or you can take on someone who outclasses you and really deserves a good beating, and wait for a chance when he’s not in his best shape, though you may have a long wait. But I’ve never lost …

"Grown men do not need leaders." – Edward Abbey

"The necessity of procuring good intelligence is apparent and need not be further urged." – General George Washington, then commanding the Continental Army, 26 July 1777

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” – Lewis Grizzard

“Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. They shall hold the bow and the lance: they [are] cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, [every one] put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.” – Jeremiah 50: 41-42 (KJV)

“Three groups spend other people’s money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision.” – Dick Armey

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of …

“Without a rifle you are nothing, worthless; you are waiting for death, any minute, any second.” – Aron Bielski, as quoted in the book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec

“Windage and elevation, Mrs. Langdon. Windage and elevation…” – John Wayne as Col. John Henry Thomas, The Undefeated. Screenplay by James Lee Barrett. (The Other Ryan, over at TSLRF reminded me of this movie, which I had almost forgotten.)