Quotes

Life is a finite series of notable quotables.

Quotations are almost all misattributed. Yes, often the correct person said it... but they weren't the first to think it, or maybe even say it, they're just the person who gets credit... and we quote them because it affirms what believe.

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~ Aristotle Sabouni

There's a whole lot of people who can't discuss ideas or evidence, so they attack the source. This unattributed quote sums it up. But I prefer my slightly edited variant of it. (That doesn't mean I think sources, especially sketchy ones, shouldn't be looked at for what their biases are. But bad sources can have good fact, and a good source with a bad fact, is still wrong -- so ideas and evidence matter more than sources, every single time).

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." ~ Unknown
"Great minds question ideas; average minds question events; small minds question sources." ~ Me

People often make mention of my prolific writing and emails (which lean towards comprehensive over brevity). But they do get shorter if I have the time to edit, and distill it down, which bring me to this quote:

I Had More Time, I Would Have Written a Shorter Letter ~ Blaise Pascal

While there's a lot of quotes about ego and self awareness that I like, this one rings true:

"Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm — but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves." ~ T.S. Eliot

By Topic[edit | edit source]

Gun Quotes - Here are my favorite gun quotes. You can’t eliminate a tool, or knowledge of it. All that you can do is decide whether there should be a balance of power, or none. Some believe in that balance, others believe that the state is never wrong, especially if you ignore the History of all the times they’ve been wrong in the past.
Gun Quotes : Famous People - Some Gun Quotes from Famous People. Not to appeal to authority/celebrity, but to show how perceptions change.
Gun Quotes : Founding Fathers - Some Gun Quotes from Founding Fathers.
Gun Quotes : Individual Right - A recent invention is, "before the NRA got to it, the 2nd Amendment wasn’t an individual right". That somehow this a collective right of the people (not of individuals), thus "the people" can regulate it away. However, history, the authors words and six relevant Supreme Court decisions all disagree. The idea of "collective rights" post-dates the Constitution.
Gun Quotes : Legal - Some Gun Quotes from Legal.
Gun Quotes : Liberty - Some Gun Quotes from Liberty.
Gun Quotes : Militia Dependent - Another common wrong-headed argument is that "you’d have to be in the militia to qualify for the 2nd’s protections". To believe that is to fail English and disagree with virtually all English scholars that have commented on it. The first part of the 2A is a "nominative absolute", which means it's explanatory not a qualifier.
Gun Quotes : Militia Meaning - Words change meaning over time. But when trying to interpret law / original intent, you go with the anachronistic (original) meaning. At the founding of the country (and authoring of the Constitution), the militia was, "The whole body of civilians, that are NOT part of the regular army”. (Aka, all men, unless you were in the army or mentally unfit).
Gun Quotes : Opponents - Your allies (and opponents) define you and your cause. So with that, let's look at who the opponents of 2A are, and what they believe, or for historical people, remember what they "accomplished".
Gun Quotes : Well Regulated - Well regulated means, "something being in proper working order”, aka well calibrated or functioning as expected. But even if we pretend that it means “government regulated”, it would still be irrelevant because it is part of a nominative/descriptive clause, thus it wouldn't change their right to bear arms, "shall not be infringed".
Kavlan Scandelous truth - Some Quotes from Kavlan Scandelous truth.
Liberty's Teeth - Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth ~ George Washington
Climate - Contradictions, failed prediction, obfuscation, the pseudo-science that is used to control the weak minded (non-skeptical).
Cooling, Deadlines, Earth Day, Pollution, Sea Ice, Warming
Fascism - Fascists on what they believed: if it sounds like left wing progressive activists, it is because that's what it is.
Guns - Guns are chlorine for the gene pool: the only question is whether you want to be the antiseptic or the germ.
Founding Fathers, Gun Control
Iraq War - Revisionist leftists want to pretend they had nothing to do with the Iraq War. History (and these quotes) begs to differ.
Other - This is a catch all for quotes that aren't caught by other categories.
Political Quotes - Politics, left or right and what they believe.
Progressives - Progressives are usually simplistically supporting an evil philosophy. Most aren't self-aware enough to recognize it.
Reagan knowing things that aren't so - Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn’t so! ~ Ronald Reagan, Some Quotes from Reagan knowing things that aren't so.
Truth or Lie - Some Quotes from Truth or Lie.