Three Classes of Men

There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain. - Plato

The End of the Republic

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. Sell not liberty to purchase power."

-- Benjamin Franklin

The Cancer of Democracy

Bread and Circuses is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader--the barbarians enter Rome.

— Lazarus Long, in Robert Heinlein's To Sail Beyond the Sunset

(Note: To anyone who wants to nitpick - yes, I know that's from the cover of a paperback edition of Time Enough For Love, but it IS a depiction of Lazarus Long, so just stow it before you whine, all right?)

Ancient Words For These Times

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly.

But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

 For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.

 He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.

 ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
Roman Statesman, philosopher and orator (42 B.C)

It's The Dog-gone Truth!

A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down.
- Robert Benchley

---

Boys ARE quite a bit like dogs, come to think of it.

---

Here's another topical quote:

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
- P. J. O'Rourke

Ain't that the truth; this govt. is spending money like a drunken sailor...or a kid with his/her folk's credit card.

Happy Valentine's Day!

There is no remedy for love but to love some more.
- Henry David Thoreau

Lovesick?

There is no remedy for love but to love some more.

 - Henry David Thoreau

Cocaine - Eric Clapton

Live At The Royal Albert Hall

Cocaine is God's way of saying that you're making too much money.
 - Robin Williams

Happy Easter!

To my friends and family and all the faithful readers of this blog, I wish you a joyous Easter.

Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there.
- Clarence W. Hall

April Fool's Day Quotes & Trivia

From the archives:

April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four. - Mark Twain

Isn't it appropriate that the month of the tax begins with April Fool's Day and ends with cries of "May Day!"? - Author Unknown

Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever. - Charles Lamb

---

Many trace the origins of April Fools' Day back to 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII adopted the Gregorian Calendar, effectively moving New Year's Day from the end of March to 1 January.

Though the change was widely publicized, some people didn't get the memo, while others simply didn't want to transition to the new calendar, so they continued to ring in the New Year at the end of March. Those who didn't make the change were mocked for their folly and called "April Fools".

From: 6 Facts You Need To Know About The Holiday's History And Origins

Super Bowl Quotes

Some strange - or funny - Super Bowl quotes.

Herb Adderly, Green Bay Packers cornerback (Super Bowl II):
"(When asked if he would rather play the game in Los Angeles or Miami)
"I'll play anywhere for $15,000."

Joe Namath, New York Jets quarterback (Super Bowl III):
"We're going to win on Sunday. I guarantee it."

A reporter to Doug Williams, Washington Redskins quarterback (Super Bowl XXII):
"How long have you been a black quarterback?"

Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboys quarterback (Super Bowl VI):
"If it's the ultimate game, how come they're playing it again next year?"

Ernie Holmes, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle, on Super Bowl X in Miami:
"I'll be glad to leave here. I feel like eating palm trees. I don't like this place. It's for people with arthritis. They come here to play golf and to die."

Julie Brown to Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys running back (Super Bowl XXVIII):
"What are you going to wear in the game Sunday?"

Bill Peterson, football coach:
"Men, I want you just thinking of one word all season. One word and one word only: Super Bowl."

Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, Dallas Cowboys linebacker (Super Bowl XIII):
"Terry Bradshaw couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the 'C' and the 'A.'"

Matt Millen, Oakland Raiders linebacker (after learning the Washington Redskins' OG Russ Grimm said he'd 'run over his own mother to win the Super Bowl') (Super Bowl XVIII):
"I'd run over Russ Grimm's mother to win the Super Bowl, too."

Shirley You Believe in Santa!

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.   - Shirley Temple Black

On Second Thought....

From the Quote of the Day module in the right-hand column:

I often regret that I have spoken; never that I have been silent.
 - Publilius Syrus

When I first read this, I thought it would make a great post for my Facebook wall, but just after I posted it, I thought about it some more and deleted it. Why?

Well, there ARE times I wish I had said something but didn't.  I should have stood up for guys back in school who were getting bullied by older kids, should have said something when I have been insulted or received poor service from clerks and waitresses,  should have said something when someone was spreading lies or malicious gossip...but I didn't, and in most of those cases I regret that more than the times I said something I shouldn't have.

Sad Survey Stats

This was the survey question today on StartSampling; I voted for "No, not at all" but it was sad to see the "Yes, absolutely" percentage and even sadder to see the "Not familiar with the issue" numbers.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

 - Ben Franklin

Dueling Philosophers

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

-George Santayana

---

It is the soothing thing about history that it does repeat itself.

-Gertrude Stein

saccharine

saccharine sac·cha·rine[sak-er-in, -uh-reen, -uh-rahyn] adjective

1. of the nature of or resembling that of sugar: a powdery substance with a saccharine taste.
2. containing or yielding sugar.
3. very sweet to the taste; sugary: a saccharine dessert.
4. cloyingly agreeable or ingratiating: a saccharine personality.
5. exaggeratedly sweet or sentimental: a saccharine smile; a saccharine song of undying love.

---

"Revenge is sweet, saccharine sweet." That's stuck in my head ever since I read it in one of my sister's Trixie Belden books when I was a kid. 

They Love Me, They Love Me Not

If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.
- Ronald Reagan

(image courtesy of The Caricature Zone)

---

Sorry, RR. That's impossible.

To be fair, I bet he said this before internet forums and msg. boards were even dreamed of.

Sad But True

Whoever is happy will make others happy too.     - Anne Frank

Seeing Clearly

It is not what you look at that matters. It is what you see.     - Henry David Thoreau

Generally Speaking

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.
 - George S. Patton 

Image courtesy of