Quote of the Day: 30 November 2022 #QotD

“To say that any particular reform is no panacea is to say what must be true of anything human. To object to reforms on such grounds is to say that there can be no reform.” -Thomas Sowell

[A further pontification on the perfect being the enemy of the good.]

Quote of the Day: 29 November 2022 #QotD

“To be popular one must be a mediocrity.” -Lord Henry Wotton, The Picture of Dorian Gray
[It is hard to relate to people who aren't also experts in your area of expertise or excellence. You must be mediocre in some way to achieve popularity. That doesn't mean that all you do is mediocre. Merely that you have found a way to connect with the masses who are, by definition, approximately average.]

Quote of the Day: 28 November 2022 #QotD

“I really can’t go along with this modern playing down of evil as something that doesn’t really exist. There is evil. And evil is powerful. Sometimes more powerful than good. It’s there. It has to be recognised—and fought. Otherwise—we go down to darkness.” -Mr. Venables, The Pale Horse
[There are too many instances of atrocities in human history to dismiss evil as nonexistent, regardless of whether or not you hold a belief in God or a god.]

Quote of the Day: 27 November 2022 #QotD

“Indeed, He is ‘the way’ for the plan of salvation to be accomplished so that we can repent and, through faith in Him, return to our Heavenly Father.” -M. Russell Ballard

Quote of the Day: 26 November 2022 #QotD

“[Y]ou can dress up turkey as resplendently as you like, but it will never be beef.” -Andrew Rea
[I hope y'all are enjoying your leftovers. Ours are fine. And we elected to have pie today rather than on Thanksgiving proper, so that we could have more pie variety, and the companionship of friends.]

Quote of the Day: 25 November 2022 #QotD

“Life is full of surprises, but never when you need one.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes

[Or, if you do get one then, it's unlikely to be a surprise you want.]

Quote of the Day: 24 November 2022 #QotD #Thanksgiving

“What is the one thing that people who can fully lean into joy have in common?

“Gratitude.” -Brené Brown

[Happy Thanksgiving!]

Quote of the Day: 23 November 2022 QotD

“[W]hat the wise man cannot change he must channel.” -Havelock Vetinari, Unseen Academicals
[Good to keep in mind. Not only that you could do it yourself, but that others may be doing it with regard to other things going on around you.]

Quote of the Day: 22 November 2022 #QotD

“Health and economics both require the nonnegotiable called freedom. May we never again experiment with the near abolition of freedom in the cause of mitigating disease.” -Jeffrey A. Tucker
[I doubt there won't be an attempt though. They've tasted the power, and they hunger for more.]

Quote of the Day: 21 November 2022 #QotD

“Government is so tedious that sometimes you wonder if the government isn’t being boring on purpose. Maybe they’re trying to put us to sleep so we won’t notice what they’re doing.” -P. J. O’Rourke
[Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn't matter much if that's the reason, because that is the effect.]

Quote of the Day: 20 November 2022 #QotD

“Some would have us believe that truth is relative—that each person should determine for himself or herself what is true. Such a belief is but wishful thinking for those who mistakenly think they will not also be accountable to God.” -Russell M. Nelson

Quote of the Day: 19 November 2022 #QotD

“Once we delimit what can be satirized, we are no longer living in a free society.” -Gad Saad
[Free society is a good thing. Certainly preferable to the alternative.]

Quote of the Day: 18 November 2022 #QotD

“Rome boasted the name of the Eternal City. It was but eight hundred years from the sack of the city by one tribe of barbarians to the sack of the city by another tribe of barbarians. Between lay something akin to a democratic commonwealth. Then games, and bribes for the populace, with dictators and Cæsars, while later the Prætorian Guard sold the royal purple to the highest bidder. After which came Alaric, the Goth, and night. Since when democracy lay dormant for some fifteen centuries.” -Calvin Coolidge

[Republics come and go. I'd prefer not to live in a time when we haven't got one, though.]

Quote of the Day: 17 November 2022 #QotD

“The home-school environment prepares children for the ‘real world’ better than identification with age-segregated peer groups. After all, the typical workplace contains a number of different ages and abilities, not a single peer group.” -Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
[People with no experience of homeschooling or know no homeschooling families tend to be overly concerned with socialization of homeschoolers. Even people who I consider to have been poorly homeschooled have had fine socialization. In fact, there is only one family that I knew that poorly socialized their children, and that seemed to be out of fear for how the world would poison their children's lives.]

Quote of the Day: 16 November 2022 #QotD

“To be Elect is to insist that unequal outcomes mean unequal opportunity, which is false.” -John McWhorter
[This is an easy thing to verify. It doesn't take a ton of thought to reach this conclusion, but if you never actually engage your brain, you'll accept this premise without questioning it.]

Quote of the Day: 15 November 2022 #QotD

“You don’t reason with mobs for the same reason you don’t reason with hordes of fire ants: they’re too stupid to understand what you’re saying and eventually they’ll just swarm over you.” -Falcio val Mond, Saint’s Blood
[A good thing to keep in mind when in a situation that involves a mob. Even when it is only in potentia.]

Quote of the Day: 14 November 2022 #QotD

“Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.” -Lord Henry Wotton, The Picture of Dorian Gray
[Whether in the realm of love, politics, or something else, this seems to be true to me.]

Quote of the Day: 13 November 2022 #QotD

“Our Heavenly Father’s love for each of His children is real. He is there for each one.” -Hugo Montoya

Quote of the Day: 12 November 2022 #QotD

“Too often, American educators are like the Wizard of Oz, handing out substitutes for brains, bravery, or heart.” -Thomas Sowell
[After decades of pumping out such 'graduates' year on year we're4 now in a pretty poor place.]

Quote of the Day: 11 November 2022 #QotD

“It’s not denial. I’m just very selective about the reality I accept.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
[A lot of people have been employing that lately, and a few more a likely to adopt that approach soon.

Unrelatedly, have a blessed Veterans' Day.]

Quote of the Day: 10 November 2022 #QotD

“[T]hat’s the flaw of coulda shoulda woulda. We assume the path not taken would be utterly flawless and cause no issues whatsoever. But that’s not how humanity works.” -Sarah Hoyt
[It is so tempting to assume a single change in your past would have changed the entire trajectory of your life. The reality is that it almost certainly wouldn't. And that's hard to accept.]

Quote of the Day: 9 November 2022 #QotD

“Well, you might not be my first choice for Prince Charming, but there’s probably plenty worse.” -Glenda Sugarbean, Unseen Academicals
[Probably how a lot of folks were feeling about 'their' candidate yesterday.]

Quote of the Day: 8 November 2022 #QotD

“Happy Vote the Bums Out Day[.]” -@dril_nye
[And let us hope that they do.]

Quote of the Day: 7 November 2022 #QotD

“VOTE, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.” -Ambrose Bierce
[You have received many imploring messages to go vote. Now, think about whether you really should. Have you pondered the issues? Have you considered the candidates? If not, perhaps you shouldn't vote. There's more to your civic duty than to merely cast a ballot. It is but a drop in the bucket of what should be your civic engagement. Not the be all end all.]

Quote of the Day: 6 November 2022 #QotD

“[A]s we allow Him to direct us in all things, we receive testimony that ‘all things denote there is a God,’ because where we look for Him we will find Him—each and every day.” -Tracy Y. Browning

Quote of the Day: 5 November 2022 #QotD

“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.” -P. J. O’Rourke
[That's a good reason to change them frequently.]

Quote of the Day: 4 November 2022 #QotD

“Never censor yourself, and never apologize for speaking truth.” -Seth Dillon
[A good reminder for our days.]

Quote of the Day: 3 November 2022 #QotD

“I don’t want my six-year-old taught religion in school. That’s my job. It is my responsibility to teach my children what I believe, why I believe it, and why it makes a difference.” -Susan Wise Bauer
[Your child may not choose to adopt the same belief system you have. That's only natural. But the chances are even lower if you don't even teach it to them and instead rely on the state to address belief on your behalf.]

Quote of the Day: 2 November 2022 #QotD

“An honest signal of one’s commitment to truth, reason, and justice must be costly for it to carry any weight.” -Gad Saad
[I think this is true in the aggregate, but I'm not sure it is true of individual instances.]

Quote of the Day: 1 November 2022 #QotD

“If not us, then _who_? Who’s going to stand when everyone else kneels? Who’s going to argue for the law even when there’s no justice to be had? Who’s going to try even when the trying is too damned hard?” -Falcio val Mond, Saint’s Blood
[Basically what it comes down to these days. You either stand, or find yourself on your knees.]