Quotes.........

[HARDCORE]

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It is simply too painful to acknowledge -- even to ourselves -- that we've been so credulous. (So the old bamboozles tend to persist as the new bamboozles rise.)"
-- Carl Sagan (1934-1996), Astro-physicist
Source: "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection," Parade, February 1, 1987

[revwardoc]

An economist is a man who knows a hundred ways of making love but doesn't know any women. - Art Buchwald

[DeadlyDaring]

Time is the only thing that doesn't stand still, I reckon it's 'cause it's had too many caffeine hits in it's time. DD

[HARDCORE]

"The most formidable weapons against errors of every kind is reason. I have never used any other, and I trust I never shall." -- Thomas Paine (1737-1809)



"Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived." -- Thomas Paine (1737-1809)



"Truth never envelops itself in mystery, and the mystery in which it is at any time enveloped is the work of its antagonist, and never of itself." -- Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

[HARDCORE]

"The authoritarian sets up some book, or man, or tradition to establish the truth. The freethinker sets up reason and private judgment to discover the truth... It takes the highest courage to utter unpopular truths."
-- Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) British author, economist, philosopher




"We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what they help distribute to the public; by which means a falsehood once received from a famed writer becomes traditional to posterity."
-- John Dryden (1631-1700) English Poet



"In our country are evangelists and zealots of many different political, economic and religious persuasions whose fanatical conviction is that all thought is divinely classified
into two kinds -- that which is their own and that which is false and dangerous."
-- Justice Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), U. S. Supreme Court Justice

[HARDCORE]

"The rising power of the United States in world affairs ... requires, not a more compliant press, but a relentless barrage of facts and criticism ... Our job in this age, as I see it,
is not to serve as cheerleaders for our side ... but to help the largest possible number of people to see the realities."
-- James Reston (1909-1995) Scottish-born ("Scotty") New York Times journalist, editor, bureau chief, two Pultizer Prizes, Presidential Medal of Freedom



"If all mankind minus one were of one opinion and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that person that he, if he had the power, would be in silencing mankind… If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error."
-- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist



"In any free society, the conflict between social conformity and individual liberty is permanent, unresolvable, and necessary."
-- Kathleen Norris (1880-1966) American novelist

[DeadlyDaring]

" There is no such thing as a "self-made" man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success."
--- George Adams

" Because we all share a wish for happiness and an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anyone we meet, in whatever circumstances, is a brother or sister. We do not need to become religious; nor do we need to believe in an ideology. I believe that at every level of society the key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion."
--- Dalai Lama

" Last, but by no means least, courage - moral courage, the courage of one's convictions, the courage to see things through. The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It's the age-old struggle - the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your conscience on the other."
--- Douglas MacArthur

[HARDCORE]

"Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there, and to be guided by truth as one sees it. But no one has a right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth."
-- Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)


"Illusions are like mistresses. We can have many of them without tying ourselves down to responsibility. But truth insists on marriage. Once a person embraces truth, he is in its ruthless, but gentle, grasp." -- Rebazar Tarzs Tibetan lama



"History teaches us that men and nations only behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives." -- Abba Eban [Aubrey Solomon Meir] (1915-2002) Israeli diplomat and politician
Source: Speech in London, 16 December 1970

[DeadlyDaring]

A clown is like aspirin, only it works twice as fast.

[HARDCORE]

"Search for the truth is the noblest occupation of man; its publication is a duty."
-- Anne Louise Germaine de Stael (1766-1817) French author



"While birds can fly, only humans can argue.
Argument is the affirmation of our being.
It is the principal instrument of human intercourse.
Without argument the species would perish.
As a subtle suggestion, it is the means by which we aid another.
As a warning, it steers us from danger.
As exposition, it teaches.
As an expression of creativity, it is the gift of ourselves.
As a protest, it struggles for justice.
As a reasoned dialogue, it resolves disputes.
As an assertion of self, it engenders respect.
As an entreaty of love, it expresses our devotion.
As a plea, it generates mercy.
As charismatic oration it moves multitudes and changes history.
We must argue -- to help, to warn, to lead, to love, to create,
to learn, to enjoy justice, to be."
-- Gerry Spence ---- Lawyer and author
Source: from his book, How To Argue And Win Every Time



"We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth... For my part, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst; and to provide for it."
-- Patrick Henry (1736-1799) US Founding Father
Source: "The War Inevitable" speech to the Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775