What Really Flatters

What really flatters a man is that you think him worth flattering.

-- George Bernard Shaw. Irish literary Critic, Playwright and Essayist. 1925 Nobel Laureate in Literature, 1856-1950

Biggest Problem

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

-- George Bernard Shaw. Irish literary critic, playwright and essayist. 1925 Nobel laureate in literature, 1856-1950

A Negative Judgement

A negative judgement gives you more satisfaction than praise, provided it smacks of jealousy.

-- Jean Baudrillard

Hallmark

I know all about America ... I've seen the Hallmark Channel.

-- Amal Nuradia, 27, a Somalian refugee; cited in Edmund Sanders, "All About America in 3 Days" (Los Angeles Times, September 12, 2006)

Easier

It is easier to make war than to make peace.

-- Georges Clemenceau, French politician, recently quoted by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld in his speech to the American Legion in Salt Lake City

Mugged

I'm a neoconservative who's been mugged by reality.

-- John Agresto, president of St. John's College in Santa Fe, N.M., who came to Iraq to build a whole new university system and left having accomplished almost nothing; cited in Sidney Blumenthal, "Emerald City Exposed" (Salon, 9/13)

El Diablo

The devil himself is right in the house. And the devil came here yesterday. Right here. It smells of sulfur still today, this table that I am now standing in front of.

-- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the UN, 9/19/06, a day after President Bush spoke there

Results

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.

-- Winston Churchill, attributed

Lids

It's a good idea to keep a lid on anything that has a lid.

-- Heather Appleman

Fine Line

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the fine line between sanity and madness gotten finer?

-- George Price

CIA Adage

The first time is happenstance, the second time is coincidence, but the third time is enemy action.

-- Old CIA Adage

Window Pane

Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth.

-- Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

Politics

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.

-- Ronald Reagan

Obama

For too long, the philosophy in Washington has been that you can spend without consequence or sacrifice. That we can fight a war in Iraq and a war on terror, protect our homeland, provide our citizens with Medicare and Social Security and maintain our domestic priorities, all while cutting taxes for the wealthy and funding every local project there is.

-- Senator Barack Obama, (D-IL) in the Chicago Tribune, November, 2005

Remembering The Past

Remembering the past gives power to the present.

-- Fae Myenne Ng, Chinese-American author (1957-)

No Obligation

Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect.

-- Margaret Mitchell

Less Than A Second

Everything you ever do on a daily basis should take less than a second.

-- Linus Torvalds, April, 2005

Agassi

The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments, and I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could never have reached without you.

-- Andre Agassi, to the fans after the last match of his professional tennis career. New York Times, September 4, 2006

Rob Peter

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul.

-- George Bernard Shaw, Irish-born dramatist, critic, novelist, and Nobel laureate (1856-1950)