Quote of the Day: 6 November 2024 #QotD

“[M]en are so simple, and governed so absolutely by their present needs, that he who wishes to deceive will never fail in finding willing dupes.” -Niccolo Machiavelli
[If you would avoid being deceived yourself, seek first to understand where you are easily led.]

Quote of the Day: 5 November 2024 #QotD

“We really need to cultivate better candidates at all levels-- there are far too many elections where the best choice is ‘none of the above’.” -Carol Roth
[It's election day. Nothing to get excited about. I'm actually pondering whether to hold my nose and vote for the lesser of two evil, or can I justify retaining my dignity and not throwing a vote after a bad candidate just because the other one is worse.]

Quote of the Day: 4 November 2024 #QotD

“Gratitude is best and most effective when it does not evaporate itself in empty phrases.” -A Wise Man (attributed), Foundation and Empire
[I know that I feel gratitude the most when it is expressed sincerely and in a novel manner. Otherwise, it is either trite, or flippant. At least, that is how I perceive it.]

Quote of the Day: 3 November 2024 #QotD

“There is no ‘my way’ if we are to follow Christ’s example. Trying to find a different course to heaven is like the futility of working on the Tower of Babel rather than looking to Christ and His salvation.” -D. Todd Christofferson

Quote of the Day: 2 November 2024 #QotD

“Price and wage fixing is always harmful. There is no right way of doing it. There is no right way of doing a wrong thing. There is no fair way of doing something that oughtn’t be done at all.” -Henry Hazlitt and Brian Wesbury
[I agree with the whole statement, and especially the third and fourth sentences.]

Quote of the Day: 1 November 2024 #QotD

“What if we decided to make an effort to let ourselves be happy?” -Waxillium Ladrian, The Lost Metal
[There will be difficulties coming for many of us in this regard. I expect that we'll have to exert quite the effort to do so.]

Quote of the Day: 31 October 2024 #QotD

“Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head.” -H. P. Lovecraft
[Happy Halloween!]

Quote of the Day: 30 October 2024 #QotD

“Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
[Hear, Hear! And here's to friends, and best friends in particular.]

Quote of the Day: 29 October 2024 #QotD

“[E]ven despotic rulers may seek to evade their own policies, when it is impolitic to repeal those policies, and counterproductive to follow them.” -Thomas Sowell
[Especially if they view things as a hierarchy, rather than by principle. They are privileged to violate the rules imposed upon those unwashed masses they rule over.]

Quote of the Day: 28 October 2024 #QotD

“Ah, you fool. Dying isn’t sacrifice. Haven’t you figured that out yet? All those years of trying to get yourself killed in battle? That ain’t sacrifice, boy. That’s self-loathing. It’s gleeful suicide. It’s vanity.” -The Tailor, Traitor’s Blade
[This feels true, but I'll have to ponder upon it some more. I don't know that there isn't the possibility of it being both. Which, by my way of viewing things would make it less valuable as a sacrifice.]

Quote of the Day: 27 October 2024 #QotD

“Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice. It is a continuous commitment and way of life that should guide us at all times and in all places. His teachings and His example define the path for every disciple of Jesus Christ.” -Dallin H. Oaks

Quote of the Day: 26 October 2024 #QotD

“I can’t stand it to think my life is going so fast and I’m not really living it.” -Robert Cohn, The Sun Also Rises
[So, what are you doing to really live your life? If the answer is 'nothing', then what can you do to make a change today? Even if it is only a small thing.]

Quote of the Day: 25 October 2024 #QotD

“But exactly the whole difficulty in our public problems is that some men are aiming at cures which other men would regard as worse maladies; are offering ultimate conditions as states of health which others would uncompromisingly call states of disease.” -G. K. Chesterton
[A succinct and cogent summary of the state of the world. It applies today, and I suspect that it is a truth through all of time.]

Quote of the Day: 24 October 2024 #QotD

“Things are not always as bad as they seem. Sometimes, the darkness only makes it easier to see the light.” -Michael Carpenter, Skin Game
[I am grateful for the reminder that there is still light even in the darkness.]

Quote of the Day: 23 October 2024 #QotD

“These stupid [folks] can't grasp the idea that somebody who doesn't like, nor worship, Trump will gladly vote for him over democrats, because the democrats are simply worse at everything.” -Larry Correia
[Of course, they aren't capable of considering things from someone else's perspective and understanding that those people don't agree with them about what is a better policy.]

Quote of the Day: 22 October 2024 #QotD

“Don’t worry. You’re just as sane as I am.” -Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
[A dubious proposition at any time, and no time more than now.]

Quote of the Day: 21 October 2024 #QotD

“To vote is to wield authority; it is the supreme authority from which all other authority derives—such as mine to make your lives miserable once a day. Force, if you will!—the franchise is force, naked and raw, the Power of the Rods and the Ax.” -Maj. Reid, Starship Troopers
[This is something to keep in mind as you consider your vote.]

Quote of the Day: 20 October 2024 #QotD

“Jesus Christ wants nothing more than for us to repent and come unto Him so that He can justify and sanctify us.” -Dale G. Renlund

Quote of the Day: 19 October 2024 #QotD

“The nice thing about enemies is that you know where they stand. This is not always true of friends[.]” -Sergey Voloshin, Without Remorse
[There's got to be something good about having enemies. I guess it comes down to knowing what they think of you, and that it means you've stood up for something, even if you don't know what it was that pushed them over the edge.]

Quote of the Day: 18 October 2024 #QotD

“[I]t was neither possible nor necessary to educate people who never questioned anything.” -Joseph Heller
[I don't know that I agree that it is not necessary, but I do know that it is not possible. They need to be removed from the any influence on the levers of power somehow. How, though, I do not know.]

Quote of the Day: 17 October 2024 #QotD

“Well, well! it might be worse, and then again it might be a good deal better.” -Gandalf, The Hobbit
[What a middle of the road take. A statement like this would be denounced as insufficiently supportive or condemnatory depending on the perspective of the hearer today.]

Quote of the Day: 16 October 2024 #QotD

“That’s the effect of mass media—it keeps anything from happening. Mass media swamps diversity.” -Ian Malcolm, The Lost World
[In this case, he meant diversity of thought. Other forms of diversity are rather meaningless.]

Quote of the Day: 15 October 2024 #QotD

“If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, they usually admit it—often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect.” -Hercule Poirot, Murder on the Orient Express

[Except politicians. You know they're lying, but confronting them will not produce any kind of reaction. They are impervious to shame.]

Quote of the Day: 14 October 2024

“He has won a little battle and a man who can win little battles is well set up to win big ones.” Havelock Vetinari, Snuff
[Particularly if he realizes he has done so. Little victories build to bigger ones.]

Quote of the Day: 13 October 2024 #QotD

“[H]ope is a living gift, a gift that grows as we increase our faith in Jesus Christ.” -Neil L. Andersen

Quote of the Day: 12 October 2024 #QotD

“It is always at least worth while to find out who it is that is wrong.” -C. S. Lewis
[Especially if it turns out that everyone is. Then, it behooves you to figure out what the truth is.]

Quote of the Day: 11 October 2024 #QotD

“[F]ear is as dangerous an enemy as resentment.” -Niccolo Machiavelli
[This is applicable to your own fear, as well as to fear of you.]

Quote of the Day: 10 October 2024

“[S]ociety is much more easily soothed than one’s own conscience[.]” -Han Pritcher (thought), Foundation and Empire
[Perhaps. I am unsure of this, having been an introvert for as long as I can recall.]

Quote of the Day: 9 October 2024 #QotD

“Valid prosecutorial discretion takes many forms, but when we allow for the chronic violation of law, we erode the foundation of our cities and civilization—and respect for the rule of law evaporates.” -Cully Stimson
[This way lies madness. We are witnessing the degradation of civilization right before our eyes.]

Quote of the Day: 8 October 2024 #QotD

“Failed ideas lead to successful ones, Contemplation. They’re the only thing that does.” -Nomad, The Sunlit Man
[Failure is normal and should be expected. You can't get aways from it. You're going to fail, so you ought to learn to work with it.]

Quote of the Day: 7 October 2024 #QotD

“The history of totalitarian dictatorships that arose in the twentieth century, and were responsible for the deaths of millions of their own people in peacetime, should be an urgent warning against putting too much power in the hands of any human beings.” -Thomas Sowell
[I truly want a government with so little power I don't have to think about it that much. It's rather annoying how willing everyone seems to grant additional powers whenever they want to accomplish a particular policy outcome.]

Quote of the Day: 6 October 2024 #QotD

“Each of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. But while that spiritual genealogy provides a foundation, it does not of itself create a meaningful relationship with God. A relationship can be built only when we choose to trust in Him.” -Paul B. Pieper

Quote of the Day: 5 October 2024 #QotD

“Remember, most people don't want your opinion, they want to hear their opinion coming out of your mouth.” -Robb Allen
[That's because most people don't want to think. They want to be affirmed and view any difference of opinion as either opposition or betrayal. It gets rather tiring after not very long.]

Quote of the Day: 4 October 2024 #QotD

“The English language could be much more precise.” -Pig, Pearls Before Swine
[It certainly can be. It offers a very rich lexicon from which to make your selection of exactly the right word. On the other hand, it also allows for extensive ambiguity if confusion and doubt are your goal.]

Quote of the Day: 3 October 2024 #QotD

“[M]en invent new ideals because they dare not attempt old ideals. They look forward with enthusiasm, because they are afraid to look back.” -G. K. Chesterton
[This is the principal transgression of progressivism. When something has worked, we ought to proceed with it until we can demonstrate that it either no longer works or has been eclipsed by something else.]

Quote of the Day: 2 October 2024 #QotD

“There are moments in your life that, when you look back at them, you realize were perfect.” -Harry Dresden, Skin Game
[It's important to reflect on these things, and be grateful for them, so that you can better appreciate when they happen in the future.]

Quote of the Day: 1 October 2024 #QotD

“The only difference between the government and bandits is that the bandits are at least honest about it.” -Kanemori, Musings of a Hermit
[Purportedly you receive some kind of benefit from the government. That's less and less a tenable position as time goes by.]

Quote of the Day: 30 September 2024 #QotD

“Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!” -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
[For some reason this doesn't stop them from oppressing people in the first place. Tyrants gunna tyrant, I guess.]

Quote of the Day: 29 September 2024 #QotD

“The gospel is not a way to avoid challenges and problems but a solution to increase our faith and learn how to deal with them.” -Massimo De Feo

Quote of the Day: 28 September 2024 #QotD

“The less respect an older person deserves the more certain he is to demand it from anyone younger.” -Clifford “Kip” Russell, Have Space Suit – Will Travel
[I've run into this a few times myself. Hopefully I am not, and will not be, guilty of doing this to others myself.]

Quote of the Day: 27 September 2024 #QotD

“The past happened because a hundred little random things had to fall exactly into place in exactly the right way, in exactly the proper sequence, and while it was easy to accept the good results, one could only rage at the bad ones.” -Tom Clancy
[That is, at least, how it appears to us. Who knows what has actually transpired, and whether those events were truly random. In any event, we can only accept those things that have happened to us, and seek agency over those events that we can control.]

Quote of the Day: 26 September 2024 #QotD

“[A]nything worth dying for is certainly worth living for.” -The old man, Catch-22
[While there were many things I didn't care for from this book, and this character in particular, this sentiment is worthy of repetition.]

Quote of the Day: 25 September 2024 #QotD

“How cruel it is to be forced to play.” -Hobbes, Calvin and Hobbes
[Would that I were forced to play sometimes. It would be a convenient excuse.]

Quote of the Day: 24 September 2024 #QotD

“Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something.” -Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park
[Many of them also get caught up in telling you how you should live your life. But, you're the expert on what will make your life worth living. So, stand up for your preferences.]

Quote of the Day: 23 September 2024 #QotD

“There is much evil in the world.” -M. Bouc, Murder on the Orient Express
[This is something that remains true, regardless of how we would like to things to be. We need to act with this in mind to be able to account for how things are likely to proceed.]

Quote of the Day: 22 September 2024 #QotD

“Our Father wants a deeper relationship with all His sons and daughters, but it is our choice.” -J. Anette Dennis

Quote of the Day: 21 September 2024 #QotD

“There was no point in making it easy for people. Life wasn’t easy[.]” -Granny Weatherwax (attributed), Wintersmith
[Never mind that we all want it to be.]

Quote of the Day: 20 September 2024 #QotD

“Now I care far more how humanity lives than how long. Progress, for me, means increasing goodness and happiness of individual lives. For the species, as for each man, mere longevity seems to me a contemptible ideal.” -C. S. Lewis
[It seems a reasonable position to take to me. I'm certainly not hastening anyone's end. But I won't seek to prolong it if doing so will provide only misery or suffering.]

Quote of the Day: 19 September 2024 #QotD

“[I]t seems to me better to follow the real truth of things than an imaginary view of them.” -Niccolo Machiavelli
[Some people find it better to follow the imaginary view. I can understand how they may decide that it's simply easier to acquiesce rather than stand firm and insist on the truth. But there will be no good outcomes from following that approach.]

Quote of the Day: 18 September 2024 #QotD

“[T]he essential point in running a risk is that the returns justify it.” -Sennett Forell, Foundation and Empire
[At least if you want to survive over the long run. You could just get lucky though. Some people do.]