"A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing that is more important than his personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertion of better men than himself." – John Stuart Mill
“Competition is the life of trade…In a controlled situation, people take what they can get. In a competitive situation, people get what they want.” – William C. Durant, founder of General Motors
“The wheels have come off. Structured finance, which has been the key to this credit bubble, has broken down. We believe that confidence in structures, ratings, collateral, issuers, counterparties, et cetera, has all been lost. Therefore we are in a very precarious position. Credit has driven the economy and has driven markets. Credit has to grow year-over-year in this credit bubble environment in order for the economy to grow. With structured finance having broken down, in our opinion, there is no way that credit will grow year-over-year any longer.” – David Tice of the Prudent Bear Fund, as quoted by …
"Dying is easy; you have to work at living. Life is an athletic event. You have to really be in shape for it." – Jack La Lanne (quoted when he was 93 years old).
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." – Albert Einstein
“Gold is for optimists. I’m diversifying into canned goods.” – Richard Daughty (aka “The Mogambo Guru”)
“There are going to be situations where people are going to go without assistance. That’s just the facts of life.” – Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates
"Bushido is all very well in its way, but it is no match for a .30-06." – The Late Col. Jeff Cooper
“The hardest part about gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche. As long as that niche is occupied, evidence and proof and logical demonstration get nowhere. But once the niche is emptied of the wrong idea that has been filling it — once you can honestly say, “I don’t know”, then it becomes possible to get at the truth.” – Robert A. Heinlein, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)
"The [Colt Model] 1911 pistol remains the service pistol of choice in the eyes of those who understand the problem. Back when we audited the FBI academy in 1947, I was told that I ought not to use my pistol in their training program because it was not fair. Maybe the first thing one should demand of his sidearm is that it be unfair." – The Late Col. Jeff Cooper, Guns & Ammo magazine, January 2002
“The conclusions seem inescapable that in certain circles a tendency has arisen to fear people who fear government. Government, as the Father of Our Country put it so well, is ‘a dangerous servant and a fearful master’. People who understand history, especially the history of government, do well to fear it. For a people to express openly their fear of those of us who are afraid of tyranny is alarming. Fear of the state is in no sense subversive. It is, to the contrary, the healthiest political philosophy for a free people.” – The Late Col. Jeff Cooper, Cooper’s Commentaries, …
“Individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving to the citizen as much freedom of action and of being as comports with order and the rights of others, the institutions render him truly a free man. He is left to pursue his means of happiness in his own manner.” – James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) The American Democrat, 1838
"Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas." – Field Marshall Erwin Rommel
“Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou pass through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” – Isaiah 43:1-2
“It has never been clear to me why increased magazine capacity in a defensive pistol is particularly choice. The bigger the magazine the bigger the gun, and the bigger the gun the harder it is to get hold of for people with small hands. And what, pray, does one need all those rounds for? How many lethal antagonists do you think you are going to be able to handle? Once when Bruce Nelson was asked by a suspect if the thirteen-round magazine in the P35 [Browning Hi-Power] was not a big advantage, Bruce’s answer was, “Well, yes, if you plan …