Favorite Quotes
 

I've always wanted to see a thread like this. Anyone want to put down their favorite quote? It can be funny, wise, insightful, satirical, etc etc...

One of my recent favorites is:
"When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will."
--Abraham Lincoln.

But the best part of that quote is that it's misquoted. It was originally attributed to him in the movie Pollyanna, and subsequentally was put on a bunch of merchandise that was sold at DisneyLand. When the Director saw this he immediatly contacted Disney and informed them that the quote was not Abraham Lincoln, but he had written it himself, and had used Abraham Lincolns name to make it sound more dignified...

"Put all your eggs in the one basket and.... WATCH THAT BASKET!"

--Mark Twain

"If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read "President Can't Swim" "

--Lyndon B. Johnson

Some of the Founding Fathers have indeed said incredibly smart things:

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

Benjamin Franklin

Something to keep in mind to cope with the ongoing fear-mongering...

---
edit:
hayne, thanks for correcting the quote.
I had google vote on the correct version but got it wrong...

That's actually a slight misquote. The phrasing actually used by Franklin was:

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

See: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

"eat me"

--lewis carroll.

On the same theme as the above Benjamin Franklin quote:

"... the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

Hermann Goering
18 April 1946

seem to be mostly American politicians! :D

http://www.philbrodieband.com/jokes_dumb_quotes.htm

My favorite is

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

"hey ritchy!...BEEP! BEEP!"


--pennywise.

"M mmfgh mmm ghghhm fmfuhfm mmgh hmmf."

- Kenny

"You have to be first, best, or different"

I forgot who said that, or even if it's verbatim...but it's meaning stuck with me

I use the Uncle Sam widget for my quotes like......
"Whoever said anything is possible, never tried to nail Jell-O to a tree"
-or-
"Always remeber you are unique...like everyone else"
-or-
"Wisdon is what's left after we've run out of personal opinions."

We'll never forget, we'll never forgive

(translated Russian war slogan.)

This is a paraphrase. But I think the point is clear.

"I don't know how world war three will be faught, but I assure you world war four will be faught with sticks and stones."

-Einstien

best movie ever!......... totally forgot about it.... off to the vid shop now!

yeah, was trying to think of something awful to write, and just thought....
...that really is as sinister as it gets.

x

"Motivation" - If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon.

-- despair.com

"Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window."
--Steve Wozniak

maybe that should have been Never trust a computer that runs Windows ?

-comic book store guy, the simpsons

lol


okay my best quote......... not by anyone famous.......

my design manager was quoted as saying 'retro is so last season'

I tried to explain to him that technically its not!... but he wasn't having it. :D

"There's this girl that's been on my mind
All the time, Sussudio oh oh"


--phil collins

Samuel Adams:

The said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.

Massachusetts U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788

"I want to know God's thoughts...the rest are details"
-Albert Enstien

"Lois, when I'm done with our kids, they'll be so smart, they'll be able to program their VCRs without spilling piping hot gravy all over myself"

-Peter Griffin, Family Guy.

"The glass if half full"
-The Optimist

"The glass is half empty"
-The Pessimist

"The glass is twice as big as it needs to be"
-The Engineer

hehe yeah

The Optimist thinks everything will be ok

The Pessimist thinks everything is going to get worse

The Realist knows everything is going to get worse

I tend to be the realist
Sometimes surprised but never disappointed

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."

- General John Sedgwick, battle of Spotsylvania, 1864

"Ninty percent of this game is mental, the other half is physical"

--Yogi Berra

"where's my quill?........bloody hell! i bought 5 yesterday.....where do they all go?"


--william shakespeare

My friends and I have a couple lines of alternate lyrics for that:

I don't know her real name
But I like her just the same... su su pseudonym

She don't have no real feet,
But I think she's kind of neat... su su pseudopod!

"okay brain, I hate you and you hate me, but get me through this then I'll go back to killing you with beer."

-Homer J. Simpson

off topic i know and forgive me, but.....
everytime i see the quote on american constitutional rights and bearing arms etc.

i kind of shudder a bit

and forgive me for not being american and all that but i just wonder what kind of statement that is meant to make.

i'm all for freedom of speech etc and understand and appreciate that that is the flag most people hold when the quote that sentence.

but i just cant fathom how people can find that relevant in this day and age.
those words are from a different time, a time where people were still pioneers trying to take over a country and claim it as their own etc.
time passes the country is pretty "owned" now, yet these words are held as gospel, and defend the actions of murderers in 'polight controlled society'.
a society that can allow free and easy access to all sorts of weaponary, that could potentially slaughter a whole school of kids, have someone carjacked and killed for the price of a small dope score etc.
and that quote is always the response to the people trying to make every effort to try and curb this wild behaviour.

if someone gets shot (not even killed) in the uk, it makes the national news!
because there are what we feel totally sensible and obvious laws in place, that prevent gun ownership.

sorry to kill the mood and all that but, it just troubles me, and here's my quote just to keep the record straight...


""guns dont kill people...people do"....but i think the gun helps"

--eddie izzard

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

--US Constitution.

Just so the amendment is clearly stated. And I'd also like to point out that this forum is not intended to be political, if one of the mods jumps in and starts to be political...I've always taken that as a sign that the rest of us can, but be careful.

Winston Churchill quote:
 

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get
its pants on."

Winston Churchill

From our very own forum's "pink"'s son....

"And what have we got in here ? - Ahh, things.." (Louis (2), inspecting kitchen cupboards.)

I just love that one.... Particularly since it comes from a two year old!:)

And it still doesn't prevent killings, or statistically, even reduce them. A few months ago the UK was considering banning large kitchen knives since those were the weapon of choice in many crimes. When will you have to get a license to carry a stick or own a rock?

Politics aside, speaking to pure statistics from credible government sources (US Dept. of Justice), there are about 2.5 million uses of guns in self-defense every year in the US, while there are under 4000 murders and accidental deaths using a gun. Police are found to commit wrongful shootings at a rate of 4%, while the average gun-owning citizen is found to commit a wrongful shooting in 2% of cases. Doctors kill about 80,000 people each year due to errors or malpractice, so doctors are 20 times deadlier than firearms, statistically, no politics.

Keep in mind that in 33 states it is lawful to carry a concealed firearm, and people just aren't shooting each other. They aren't, simple fact. In my state, it is legal to carry openly or concealed, in the car, at home.

I have used my personally-owned firearm to stop a woman-beating by a former husband, to stop a burglary of my car, and a knife threat against a store clerk.

"When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."

“Music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it, and thereby always remain music.”

-Wolfgang Amadues Mozart

"There is no one alive that is Youer than You."

-Dr. Seuss

sigh........
look at you go! to be honest i cant even be bothered in reading into your pitifully predictable, statistical response.
its not really the point, i think my point was asking why you felt it nessisary to make such a statement in a place like this in the first place, there is no call for it.

no matter where you point your statistics, the fact remains that, its a debate and a problem, you cant argue that the amount of gun deaths are fewer than those caused by medical malpractice! thats so juvenile!
how about the fact that, thats still probobly more than most other civilised societies?

and.... your "only the outlaws will have guns"
yeah! exactly, the outlaws and the police! the way it should be!

i like also how you didnt credit that quote as its just one of those throw away bits of crap, that arguments like that have to hand, i wonder where people like you would be without buzz phrases, statistics and quotes etc?

utterly lost, thats where.

people want to own weapons through fear, what other reason could there be?
have you no concept of what its like living in a country without that fear?
its pretty bloody relaxing.

anyway details aside, i think what i object against most are political beleifs being crowbarred into a light disscussion like this, i have plenty that dont belong here, and i wouldnt volunteer them either.

political quotes and statements are used by people to say "here look this is what i think, either you should too or you should challenge me on it"

i think that kind of talk belongs maybe on another forum, as its certainly not what i've came to enjoy about this place, i understand that you are a big weight on osx hints also, i'd have thought you'd appreciatte this. (see "the purpose of this forum" note)

i like a good debate the same as anyone, and also pretty fond of the old controversial statement. just elsewhere really.

"In a country as big as the United States, you can find fifty examples of anything."

--j.f.chaimberlain

Starting an offtopic subject, then asking to stop the predictably ensuing replies, not really sure what to think here...

Anyway, the gun-thing is a big subject of controversy in the US and a complete mystery to much of the rest of the civilised world, so a lot of multicultural understanding is required to talk about it without yelling.

Calling argumentations pitiful does not exactly further the climate of the debate, a plain and simple, argumented rebuttal would do a lot better.

That's not always simple on a subject one might feel very strongly about, but the only way to have a meaningful discussion is to personally respect the other, even if you strongly disagree with his opinion.

forget guns...why do they have drive-through liquor stores?

OR, why the hell to they make cars that go 180 miles per hour? I like driving fast and have even driven my car until the electronic restrictor cuts off the gas. But was that necessary?

If I were president, I'd make all cars limited to 85 mph. I bet that'd save more lifes that raising the price on bullets (Chris Rock), or stopping the sale of fully-automatic weapons. Of course you could still have public tracks, the Salt Flats, local track days, etc.

And those stupid little shoe laces that squiggle up like a pig tail...those should be illegal too.

Think of all the stress related heart attacks brought on by employers forcing their workers to use PCs. Make them illegal too! :D

I made no statements. Staying on topic for this thread, I posted one of my favorite quotes from a man I admire, who helped found this country that I love. I moved here from Cuba, so I know what it's like to live in a "safe" society without guns. Safe only if you don't upset the government.

I posted clear, unbiased numbers in response to your later question because I didn't want to turn it into a political discussion. You are free to take those numbers and make of them what you will. If you want to believe that 2.5 million defensive gun uses are not enough to outweigh 4,000 accidental or malicious uses, then that's your choice. I won't bother to argue that with you.

Since I have saved a person's life through the use of my own handgun, I may have a different perspective than you.

Carrying a defensive weapon is prompted by fear, of course. It's not an ever-present fear, just an awareness that criminals do exist. A fear that exists in most European countries too, except maybe Switzerland where everyone owns automatic weapons. The stories of rampant crime from the UK make me want to never visit there again (and it may affect the rest of the EU, but their news happens to be in a language I can read).

Benjamin Franklin:
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

Look folks, I started this thread so we could look at quotes. I have no opinion on guns, I'm not even reading your posts. Could you please not hijack my thread!

fair points,

i maybe reacted too a provacative statement, which was my initial post on the subject, i was asking what the point of saying something like that here was. i maybe shouldn't express objections to the usage of statements i find offensive, and that are political 'hot potatoes' in a forum that isnt supposed to allow them.

maybe i have lost a family member to someone shooting a legally owned firearm, in an incident which led to their banning in this country.

here's one...

adolf hitler, as history has often speculated, was a very bad man.
also a great speaker, with some highly philosophical background.
what if i were to quote somthing he had said here?

would that be accepted?

would excusing the fact that i carry 'some' admiration for the man, excuse it further?

i think not, in my last post, i tried to some up the reasons for differnce of opinion. and maybe leave it at that, but i still feel perfectly just having objected to such a quote in the first place, i'll just not say why next time.

"Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing."

--oscar wilde

You know, one of my favorite quotes, and no it isn't in reference to anyone or anything recently transpired, is:

"Never argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."
-- Anonymous

So, next time anyone wants to pick a fight with me, you'd better watch out!

Why not? I mean, if you honestly like the quote, then posting it in a "your favorite quote" thread would certainly be appropriate. I disagree with many people who have said at least a few memorable things. Even despots, tyrants, and murderers can have moments of brilliance.

Most interesting Hitler quote:
It is better to make a mistake than to do nothing.
--Adolf Hitler

A lot can be made of this, and it surely opens the door to a lot of discussion.

It is interesting to note that Hitler's Germany had very strict gun control, and one of their most embarassing moments was caused by a handful of well-armed citizens of the Warsaw ghetto. When the Nazis enacted their own laws in 1938, they added restrictions aimed at Jews, such as not allowing Jews to work in any business involving guns. They also prohibited those under eighteen from buying guns, added yet another permit for handguns, and banned silencers and small hollow-point ammunition. Of course, Nazi officials were exempted from all gun permits. Later that year, after "Kristallnacht," Hitler forbade Jews to possess pretty much any weapons.

As if in definition of his own reign:

There is nothing great in the world that does not owe it's origin to the creative ability of an individual man.
--Adolf Hitler

Gandhi walked barefoot everywhere, to the point that his feet became quite thick and hard. He also was quite a spiritual person. Even when he wasn't on a hunger strike, he did not eat much and became quite thin and frail. Furthermore, due to his diet, he ended up with very bad breath. Thus, he was known as a "Super-calloused, fragile mystic plagued with halitosis"

-Anonymous (I couldn't find the orig. author)

"640K ought to be enough for anyone." - Bill Gates

:D

That must be one of the "satirical" quotes, since there's no evidence Bill Gates actually said that...

We'd have an easier time proving this quote about the iPod:

"The screens are much too small to watch video, anyway. So we think these products are wrong. We think that video may be the wrong direction to go."
- Steve Jobs

;)

Ok, then my new favorite quote comes from no evidence since it's just as ironic:

"We at Microsoft disagreed. We knew that even 16-bit computers, which had 640K of available address space, would be adequate for only four or five years."
[Edit: I should point out that they are quoting Bill Gates, great technological wizard that he is.]

A 16-bit computer can address 65536 bytes, or 64K. To get up to 640K required a complicated scheme for swapping banks of memory.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I like it:

While Steve Job's is explaining the highlights of the Lisa:

"You just don't get it, do you? None of that matters!"

Bill Gates, from Pirates of Silicon Valley

Ms. Beehive.

I thank you in advance for refraining from future clumsy attempts to hijack this thread. You must be from the other side of the pond, where people are permitted to say more and more, about less and less.

Shaaaadup, yerself !!


"Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread." -- Thomas Jefferson

Rick

And cut the insults too. It was a legitimate argument, both misbehave and CAlverez's points shouldn't be taken lightly, they should just be taken somewhere else.

And now a, maybe fitting, quote:

"Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
--Benjamin Franklin.

That one seems to be much older than B.Franklin - see: http://www.bartleby.com/81/7232.html

"At first I assumed the moderators were asleep or had quit en masse. Now I see that this is a big experiment to see if people can discuss something sensitive without lobbing hand grenades. Thanks for letting it continue."
-- Me, 2006, on MacOSXhints.com

hat's off to you carlos, that is a very fine response, and there isnt too much i can say to that, except... small point! (sorry! as it is a well rounded and quickly sourced comparison!)
but america isnt nazi germany, and mr. hitler was actually 'up to somthing' with the jews.

other than that, i step down. i feel we've both said enough on the subject.

i didnt intend to hijack the thread, and feel rotten about that, if thats what you are all thinking. just some light ignorance that irked me, that i feel woud have been ignored otherwise.

"A thinker sees his own actions as experiments and questions--as attempts to find out something. Success and failure are for him answers above all."

--nietzche

.

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."
--Steve Jobs

.

Take the off-topic discussions elsewhere.

.
100% agree with Craig, and besides some statements posted above are just not correct.

That's not correct. In Switzerland, not "everyone" owns automatic weapons. The rate of households with firearms is actually comparable to that of Canada (27.2%). There is strict screening of army officers and ammunition is stored in sealed boxes and inspected regularly. Despite these controls, Switzerland has rates of gun suicide "second only" to the US among the countries surveyed and a gun murder rate comparable to Canada's. Opponents of gun control often use Switzerland as evidence that access to guns is not linked to crime or violence. Like you, they argue that since virtually all adult males are members of the army and have military weapons, there is nearly universal access to deadly weapons yet few gun-related problems. This is simply not true. The brother of a dear friend of mine, 19 years old, had a fight with his girlfriend, went to his room, put the end of his automatic rifle in his mouth and shot himself dead. So young and such a waste... :(

.

Take the off-topic discussions elsewhere.

Craig R. Arko

:D

I can't resist:

"Is Our Children Learning?" - G.W.B

:D

There go my 15 seconds of fame all to hell.

Me.

Sao:

Too much bad info to address.
The Swiss own Sig 550s. That's a serious battle rifle. Not a hunting bolt gun. They own artillery.

Learn more here:

http://www.guncite.com/swissgun-kopel.html

http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/20...ates_on_in.php

http://www.newsbatch.com/gc-intgunsa.html

Suicide rates and gun ownership. Japan has 33% higher
http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcgvintl.html

Only that distributed by the govt is inspected. Other ammuntion purchases are done and encouraged. Riflery is the national sport there. Instead of going bowling, the Swiss enter rifle competitions. Can't do that on a 200-round govt issue.

Their gun suicide rate is 25% less than the US, and their non-gun suicide rate is 76% higher. Care to draw any conclusions from that mish mash of data?

It is actually 25% less than Canada's. Go figger.

Swiss are active in the military for decades. And they can buy firearms outside of that jurisdiction as well. If a Swiss wants a gun, he can get a gun.

Anecdotal. Unconvincing.

I'm bored with you.

Rick

So . . . how about we get back to sharing favorite quotes now. Those of you taking issue with what somone posts can PM each other and work it out.

Moderators-

I know it might be asking to much, but can you remove all of the off-topic piecs and put them in a new, preferablly locked, thread?

Quote:
"Get a grip folks"
--Most people in this situation.

Here's another one I like:
"This is Preservation Month. I appreciate preservation. It's what you do when you run for president. You gotta preserve." - Guess who. :D

I'd be in favor of removing those posts (including my own).

Rick

How bout this to just close the thread all toegether?

http://www.luclin.org/files/jamond/Retarded.jpg

quality stuff!



no, dont close the thread! but do try and at least have a quote in any post on it!
at least mr. alvarez and i managed to attatch a suitable quote to each bite we had at eachother...

some people arent bothering, its been an interesting thread, and everything has been relevant, if any posts should be removed, it should only be the ones sans quote.

"One of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them: It is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. Anyone who is capable of getting themselves into a position of power should on no account be allowed to do the job. Another problem with governing people is people."

--douglas adams

.

"We used to think that a hundred million monkeys at a hundred million keyboards eventually could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true."

"The Mothership"

.

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
Albert Einstein

For some reason I was reminded of that quote in a dream last night.

.

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate...Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

"Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction...The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

.

Worth contemplating...
 

.
"The only people who see the whole picture
are the ones who step outside the frame."

– Salman Rushdie

.
"Bank failures are caused by depositors who don't deposit enough money to cover losses due to mismanagement."

"The future will be better tomorrow."

"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."

"I deserve respect for the things I did not do."

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

"We expect them [Salvadoran officials] to work toward the elimination of human rights."

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child."

"For NASA, space is still a high priority."

"If we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure."

"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."

"Votes are like trees, if you are trying to build a forest. If you have more trees than you have forests, then at that point the pollsters will probably say you will win."

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Vice President, and that one word is 'to be prepared.'"

"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have tremendous impact on history."

"It's wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago."

"This isn't a man who is leaving with his head between his legs."

"Unfortunately, the people of Louisiana are not racists."

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy -- but that could change."

"This President is going to lead us out of this recovery."

"In my opinion, America is the greatest planet
on the face of the Earth."

– James Danforth Quayle, 44th Vice President of the US of A

No
Joke

This man
could be our
next President

- Time Magazine cover April 23, 1990

Why do I feel like he is? :eek:

"Mmmm, unexplained bacon..."

-- Homer J. Simpson

"Making it up? Why should i want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."

--Marving the Robot, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams.

No joke? I think it’s hilarious!
But then again, Richard Milhous once referred to Spiros Anagnostopoulos (better known as Spiro Agnew) as his "best insurance not only against impeachment but also assassination".

...unfortunately, as we all know, Milhous’ "insurance" expired when Spiro was forced to resigned and later was convicted for tax evasion.


Whatever his other lackings, Spiros Anagnostopoulos was an eloquent speaker in his own right, no small thanks to his brilliant speechwriter William Safire. Here is a modest sampling:


"A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals."

"An intellectual is a man who doesn't know how to park a bike."

"Ultraliberalism today translates into a whimpering isolationism in foreign policy, a mulish obstructionism in domestic policy, and a pusillanimous pussyfooting on the critical issue of law and order."

"In the United States today, we have more than our share of nattering nabobs of negativism."

"Yippies, Hippies, Yahoos, Black Panthers, lions and tigers alike - I would swap the whole damn zoo for the kind of young Americans I saw in Vietnam."

"The American people should be made aware of the trend toward monopolization of the great public information vehicles and the concentration of more and more power over public opinion in fewer and fewer hands." (Yep, double-checked it, Mr Murdoch. Spiro did say that.)

"Some newspapers are fit only to line the bottom of bird cages."

"I have often been accused of putting my foot in my mouth, but I will never put my hand in your pockets."

"I apologize for lying to you. I promise I won't deceive you except in matters of this sort."

– Spiros Anagnostopoulos, 39th Vice President of the US of A
(with the good help of speechwriter William Safire)


PS. Um, are we allowed to quote presidents, too?

Who knew he was a prophet?

Yeah, and almost a Shakespeare! I must confess I was positively astonished when I checked out some of Spiro’s quotes. I mean, those are some of the most coherent things that I have heard high-profile politicians say in a long time. :cool:

In my opinion one of the most articulate politicians of the 20th century was Winston Churchill, the master of short expressions:

“There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result.”

“A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.”

“We are stripped bare by the curse of plenty.”

“The power of man has grown in every sphere, except over himself.”

“The empires of the future are empires of the mind.”

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

“This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read.”

“I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.”

Winston was also master of the perfect retort:

"Mr. Churchill, you're drunk!"
“Yes, I am; and you are ugly. But tomorrow, I shall be sober”.

"Mr. Churchill, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea!"
"And if you were my wife, I would drink it!"

“Mr. Attlee is a very modest man. Indeed, he has a lot to be modest about.”

Also worth noting:

“My wife and I tried to breakfast together, but we had to stop or our marriage would have been wrecked.”

“The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”

"Americans will always do the right thing... after they've exhausted all the alternatives."

Calvin Coolidge, our thirtieth president, was a rare politician who didn't talk much. My grandfather used to tell us of this quote that I found in wikipedia, so I believe it happened:

It is said that a White House dinner guest once made a bet with her friends that she could get the president to say at least three words during the course of the meal. Upon telling Coolidge of her wager, he replied simply with the words "You lose."

I feel remiss quoting an ex-president without quoting our current president:

"I was a prisoner too, but for bad reasons."—To Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, on being told that all but one of the Argentine delegates to a summit meeting were imprisoned during the military dictatorship, Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 13, 2004

I'm told that foreign policy is one of his strengths.

"The great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."

- attributed to Esther Dyson

That would indeed be missing out:
He has created a new genre all by himself -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushisms

At least he is frank and honest when he talks about himself ;) :

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., 5 August 2004

Would that be: The Accidental Comedian?
http://www.slate.com/id/76886/

I have a whole 2004 calendar of daily Bushisms.
Out of all of them, this must be my favourite.

Re: A genre in its own right
 

.
That Wikipedia article was interesting; in fact fair and balanced.

"The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the — the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice."

Worthy of George Orwell:

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace."

On the other hand, some of his observations are just as pointed as Winston Churchill’s:

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."

At the bottom of the Wikipedia page is a poem, in essence an anthology of Bushisms:


Make the Pie Higher

I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
and potential mental losses.
Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being and the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope, where our wings take dream.
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher! Make the pie higher!


Yep, it is a genre in its own right. :)

.
To be fair, astonishing admissions have also been made by politicians in the past. How about this one:

"I believe in the division of labor. You send us to Congress; we pass laws under which you make money...and out of your profits, you further contribute to our campaign funds to send us back again to pass more laws to enable you to make more money."
-- Senator Boies Penrose, Republican - Pennsylvania, 1896

My new favorite quote:

"I knew that Cheney wasn't a straight shooter."

- My wife. :D

Your wife isn't the only one: http://www.google.com/search?q=Chene...ght+shooter%22

That’s not quite fair! He has already admitted the real reason:

Cheney says shooting of fellow hunter
was based on faulty intelligence.

Wouldn't that have been Bush's excuse if he'd shot someone? :D

Ahem . . .

This thread will not become a bash-Bushathon (and you can quote me on that one). :D

Oh, but I've got one more, and it's a good one! I'm going to have to verify it first though.

Ok ok. :D Perhaps it is time to show that the inventor of Bushisms (for which almost every American comedian is grateful and deeply indebted) is in good company. Time for some Scandinavian quotes:

"On behalf of the People of Norway I have the great pleasure to say - Welcome to this Mess."
- Oddvar Nordli, Norwegian Prime Minister, opening a Petroleum Fair (messe=fair)

"Excuse me, but in Sweden, we always rape after dinner."
- Swedish exchange student after burping in polite company (rap=burp)

Ok, I've verified it, but it turns out this is a quote of Bush senior. I'm actually a bit surprised, and have to say I've lost some respect for the man. I don't see how we can have freedom of religion without freedom from religion.

"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."-- George Bush August 27, 1987.

"A good quote allows you to put forth an idea without being personally responsible for it."

-JDC

Who would the central committee of the board like to see bashed then, just to make sure we know the official party line and can dutifully comply, being the good comrades that we are ? ;)

Freiheit ist immer Freiheit der Andersdenkenden.
Rosa Luxemburg
(Liberty is always the liberty of those who think different.)

Please omit the offensive chatter. The "official party line" is that these forums must remain civil. That is the reason for a general rule (see griffman's sticky thread at the top of this forum section) against religious or political discussions - such discussions often lead to incivility.

A thread about quotes necessarily will lead to opinions being expressed (often political opinions) by virtue of the choice of quotations. But extra commentary (especially that intended as inflammatory) should be avoided. Keep it to the quotes - that is the subject of this thread.

Here's my quote (with a connection to the quote of the previous post - an interesting twist to this "game" that I encourage contributors to follow):

"I reject your reality and subsitute my own" -Adam Savage

.
I shall make no comment on this quote, other that to say that I was surprised -- and that it does offer an interesting perspective on who adapts to new technology, and who does not:

"The United States lags dangerously behind al Qaeda ...in getting out information in the digital media age and must update its old-fashioned methods."
-- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, USofA