Quote of the Day: 30 April 2017

"It is vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in sacrifice, and by this means obtained faith in God and favor with him so as to obtain eternal life, unless they in like manner offer unto him the same sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are accepted of him." -Joseph Smith, Jr. 

Quote of the Day: 29 April 2017

"You know who liked his dogs? Hitler. Do you like dogs? DO ya? H'mmm....? You Fascist." -Roberta X

[Ah, the incredibly weak argument by association.]

Quote of the Day: 28 April 2017

"The true antipoverty lesson for poor nations is that the most promising route out of poverty to greater wealth is personal liberty and its main ingredient, limited government." -Walter E. Williams

[Getting government out of the way of the citizenry frees those citizens up to perform work that will create wealth rather than dealing with government bureaucracy, which is a wealth destroying activity.]

Quote of the Day: 27 April 2017

"Your feelings about an unborn child don't determine it's humanity. Killing an unborn baby is still killing an unborn baby, no matter how you feel about the baby or what words you choose to euphemize the child." -Amanda Prestigiacomo

Quote of the Day: 26 April 2017

"[P]eople who haven't been there won't fully understand. They don't have a frame of reference to really grasp the implications of violence when you describe it, but that's not the important part. The telling and the listening are the important part.... You don't have to understand in order to care." -Rory Miller

[In my life I have been blessed such that I am one who has not been there. But I am willing to be there to listen for those who have.]

Quote of the Day: 25 April 2017

"Had I at least kept my student's love of freedom? But, you see, we had never had any such thing. Instead, we loved forming up, we loved marches." -Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Quote of the Day: 24 April 2017

"'Come on Mr. de Worde. We're on the same side here!'

'No. We're just on two different sides that happen to be side by side.'" -Terry Pratchett

[There's far too much truth here that is generally disregarded.]

Quote of the Day: 23 April 2017

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a migician with the same delight." -C. S. Lewis

Quote of the Day: 22 April 2017

"[S]elf-interest is served by different actions in the private sphere than in the public sphere." -Milton Friedman

[Thus implying that changing the people who constitute government will do little to change the results we get from government.]

Quote of the Day: 21 April 2017

"The people cannot look to legislation generally for success. Industry, thrift, character, are not conferred by act or resolve. Government cannot relieve from toil. It can provide no substitute for the rewards of service. It can, of course, care for the defective and recognize distinguished merit. The normal must care for themselves. Self-government means self-support." -Calvin Coolidge

[I may not agree with Coolidge on everything, but in this I am quite certain that he spoke the truth.]

Quote of the Day: 20 April 2017

"Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint." -Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 15

[I often ponder why government was created, and what useful purpose it serves. This may be uncommon in the world, but I know many people with the same preoccupation.]

Quote of the Day: 19 April 2017

"It would be absurd to take a person's willingness to increase defense spending as evidence that the person is himself brave, or to take a person's willingness to spend government money on athletic programs as evidence that the person is himself physically fit. In the same way as it is possible for a couch potato to favor government funding of athletic teams, it is possible for a person who lacks compassion to favor various government aid programs; and conversely, it is possible for a compassionate person to oppose these programs." -William B. Irvine

[It still amazes me that people cannot comprehend this. They insist that the only way to be compassionate in policy is to advocate for the expansion of government programs to administer what would otherwise be compassionate acts.]

Quote of the Day: 18 April 2017

"Every ham has a story." -Tom Gallagher

[It is International Amateur Radio day. Amateur radio legitimately crosses national boundaries, which is why I make an exception to recognize this international day, when I ignore most.]

Quote of the Day: 17 April 2017

"HUMANS ARE THE MOST UNOBSERVANT CREATURES IN THE UNIVERSE." -Death, Thief of Time

[I am unsure of how low on the scale of ability to observe humans are, but they are, generally, quite low on the scale as far as how often they employ the ability.]

Quote of the Day: 16 April 2017

"[T]oday we celebrate the gift of victory over every fall we have ever experienced, every sorrow we have ever known, every discouragement we have ever had, every fear we have ever faced—to say nothing of our resurrection from death and forgiveness for our sins. That victory is available to us because of events that transpired on a weekend precisely like this nearly two millennia ago in Jerusalem." -Jeffrey Holland

[I am thoroughly, and eternally grateful for my Savior and the grace He offers me that can allow me to be cleansed from my sin.]

Quote of the Day: 15 April 2017

"As children we want what we want and we want it now, and we don't care where it comes from or even if somebody has to be robbed for us to get it. But as discerning adults who put a higher premium on mutual respect and building a culture that rests on creativity and persuasion over coercion, we should have different standards." -Lawrence W. Reed

[We should have different standards as adults, but we have largely been encouraged to postpone adulthood as long as possible, or to extend adolescence to as late an age as we are able. This delays the application of those different standards, and in some cases eliminates them entirely.]

Quote of the Day: 14 April 2017

“I want to read the entire dictionary, but I am afraid that someone is going to spoil the ending!” -Jen Selinsky

[It is Dictionary Day. I find dictionaries extremely useful and entirely inadequate. The dichotomy is intrinsic to the nature of the push/pull relationship between descriptive and proscriptive linguistics.]

Quote of the Day: 13 April 2017

"Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it." -Thomas Jefferson

[It is Thomas Jefferson Day. So I'll include a quote of his here.]

Quote of the Day: 12 April 2017

"It is your job to earn dignity. Dignity is earned, not conferred by the grace of govenment." -Ben Shapiro

[Another case of people expecting government to give them something government has no business handing out in the first place.]

Quote of the Day: 11 April 2017

"[T]he tragedy is that because government is doing so many things it ought not to be doing, it performs the functions it ought to be performing badly. The basic functions of government are to defend the nation against foreign enemies, to prevent coercion of some individuals by others within the country, to provide a means of deciding on our rules, and to adjudicate disputes." -Milton Friedman

[I wish people would understand this. There are a limited number of things that a government should be doing (and in the case of the U.S. is authorized by the constitution to do) and anything else it does are activities that are best performed by groups of people acting outside of governmental authority.]

Quote of the Day: 10 April 2017

"That's [the pup]. He's the cutest." -A family friend

[I've always thought he was cute, but it's nice to have outside confirmation since I would be considered a biased source.]

Quote of the Day: 9 April 2017

"David, the second king of Israel, desired and planned to build a house unto the Lord[.] ... But the Lord spake by the mouth of Nathan the prophet, declining the proposed offering, and making plain the fact that to be acceptable unto Him it was not enough that the gift be appropriate, but that the giver must also be worthy." -James Talmage

Quote of the Day: 8 April 2017

"Such it is with things that we make a decision to change; something that may benefit us, something that may simply benefit someone we love. It may not happen in a day, or even a month. But it will happen." -L.B. Johnson

[I love the way this expresses the determination and hope that enters a life when one has truly decided to change for the better.]

Quote of the Day: 7 April 2017

"Generally, when you hear someone say 'We need to do X', they mean 'You need to do it & I will vote to force you to[.]'" -Robb Allen

[This is so accurate that I have nothing to add in the way of commentary.]

Quote of the Day: 6 April 2017

"We must forever realize that material rewards are limited and in a sense they are only incidental, but the development of character is unlimited and is the only essential. The measure of success is not the quantity of merchandise, but the quality of manhood which is produced." -Calvin Coolidge

[Material rewards are nice, but it is much more important to develop good character, which will persist with us through lean and fat times.]

Quote of the Day: 5 April 2017

"Every honest man is sure to go to prison. Right now my papa is serving time, and when I grow up they'll put me in too." -Vanya Levitsky

[Said about life under Soviet rule, but there are those who would take this approach today.]

Quote of the Day: 4 April 2017

"You are hard-wired to initially perceive a threat or danger signal from a human as a precursor to social violence, not predatory violence." -Rory Miller

[It takes effort to remain cognizant of the possibility for violence used against us. When we become complacent we fall back to what comes naturally rather than what we been taught.]

Quote of the Day: 3 April 2017

"Tyranny has perhaps oftener grown out of the assumptions of power, called for, on pressing exigencies, by a defective constitution, than out of the full exercise of the largest constitiutional authorities." -James Madison, The Federalist No. 20

[We must resist the urge to react to atrocities by allowing the abridgment of freedom.]

Quote of the Day: 2 April 2017

"We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.” -The Family: A Proclamation to the World

[It is foolish to pretend that the traditional family structure exists only as a result of repression and the assertion of power over weaker members of society. There are good reasons for its existence, and perpetuation.]

Quote of the Day: 1 April 2017

"'Vy are ve stoppink?' said Otto.

'That's Sergeant Detritus on the gate,' said William.

'Ah. A troll. Very stupid,' opined Otto.

'But hard to fool. I'm afraid I shall have to try the truth.'

'Vy vill that vork?'

'He's a policeman. The truth usually confuses them. They don't often hear it.'" -Terry Pratchett

[I usually don't repeat quotes from the same person in a single week, but I had to in this case.]