Americans are a… Samuel Johnson

Americans are a race of convicts and ought to be thankful for anything we allow them short of hanging.

Samuel Johnson

English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)

October 31st, 2005 - Posted in Samuel Johnson | | 0 Comments

There are some… Michel de Montaigne

There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.

Michel de Montaigne

French essayist (1533 - 1592)

October 30th, 2005 - Posted in Michel de Montaigne | | 0 Comments

America is the… George Santayana

America is the greatest of opportunities and the worst of influences.

George Santayana

US (Spanish-born) philosopher (1863 - 1952)

October 29th, 2005 - Posted in George Santayana | | 0 Comments

Speculations and… Charles Lindberg Sr.

Speculations and loans in foreign fields are likely to bring us into war… The war-for-profit group has counterfeited patriotism.

Charles Lindberg Sr., 1915

October 28th, 2005 - Posted in Charles Lindberg Sr. | | 0 Comments

The 100% American… George Bernard Shaw

The 100% American is 99% an idiot.

George Bernard Shaw

Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950)

October 27th, 2005 - Posted in George Bernard Shaw | | 0 Comments

I regard golf as an… G.K. Chesterton

I regard golf as an expensive way of playing marbles.

G.K. Chesterton

October 26th, 2005 - Posted in G.K. Chesterton | | 0 Comments

I did not attend… Mark Twain

I did not attend his funeral, but I wrote a nice letter saying I approved it.

Mark Twain

US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 - 1910)

October 25th, 2005 - Posted in Mark Twain | | 0 Comments

A little sincerity… Oscar Wilde

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.

Oscar Wilde

Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

October 24th, 2005 - Posted in Oscar Wilde | | 0 Comments

The love of liberty… William Hazlitt

The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.

William Hazlitt

English essayist (1778 - 1830)

October 23rd, 2005 - Posted in William Hazlitt | | 0 Comments

A woman without a… Gloria Steinem

A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.

Gloria Steinem

US feminist (1934 - )

October 22nd, 2005 - Posted in Gloria Steinem | | 0 Comments

The major sin is… Samuel Beckett

The major sin is the sin of being born.

Samuel Beckett

Irish author, dramatist, & novelist in France (1906 - 1989)

October 21st, 2005 - Posted in Samuel Beckett | | 0 Comments

A fishing rod is a… Samuel Johnson

A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.

Samuel Johnson

English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)

October 20th, 2005 - Posted in Samuel Johnson | | 0 Comments

For the first year… Woody Allen

For the first year of marriage I had basically a bad attitude. I tended to place my wife underneath a pedestal

Woody Allen

US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 - )

October 19th, 2005 - Posted in Woody Allen | | 0 Comments

Of children as of… Evelyn Waugh

Of children as of procreation - the pleasure momentary, the posture ridiculous, the expense damnable.

Evelyn Waugh

English novelist & satirist (1903 - 1966)

October 18th, 2005 - Posted in Evelyn Waugh | | 0 Comments

First love is a… Honore de Balzac

First love is a kind of vaccination which saves a man from catching the complaint a second time.

Honore de Balzac

French realist novelist (1799 - 1850)

October 17th, 2005 - Posted in Honore de Balzac | | 0 Comments

I have never hated… Zsa Zsa Gabor

I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.

Zsa Zsa Gabor

US (Hungarian-born) actress (1919 - )

October 16th, 2005 - Posted in Zsa Zsa Gabor | | 0 Comments

The Puritan hated… Thomas Babington Macaulay

The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.

Thomas Babington Macaulay

English author & politician (1800 - 1859)

October 15th, 2005 - Posted in Thomas Babington Macaulay | | 0 Comments

Divorces are made… Oscar Wilde

Divorces are made in heaven.

Oscar Wilde

Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

October 14th, 2005 - Posted in Oscar Wilde | | 0 Comments

The vice-president… Fred Allen

The vice-president of an advertising agency is a bit of executive fungus that forms on a desk that has been exposed to conference.

Fred Allen

US radio comedian (1894 - 1956)

October 13th, 2005 - Posted in Fred Allen | | 0 Comments

Never go to bed… Phyllis Diller

Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight.

Phyllis Diller

October 12th, 2005 - Posted in Phyllis Diller | | 0 Comments

Son, in war times… Charles Lindberg Sr. to Charles Lindberg Jr. in 1917

Son, in war times it is not safe to think unless one travels with the mob.

Charles Lindberg Sr. to Charles Lindberg Jr. in 1917

October 11th, 2005 - Posted in Charles Lindberg Sr. to Charles Lindberg Jr. in 1917 | | 0 Comments

Was all this… Howard Zinn

Was all this bloodshed and deceit - from Columbus to Cortes, Pizarro the Puritans - a necessity for the human race to progress from savagery to civilization? Was Morison right in burying the story of genocide inside a more important story of human progress? Perhaps a persuasive argument can be made - as it was made by Stalin when he killed pesants for industrial progress in the Soviet Union, as it was made by Churchill explaining the bombings of Dresden and Hamburg, and Truman explaining Hiroshima. But how can the judgement be made if the benefits and losses cannot be balanced because the losses are either unmentioned or mentioned quickly?

Howard Zinn

October 10th, 2005 - Posted in Howard Zinn | | 0 Comments

The secret of… Mel Lazarus

The secret of dealing successfully with a child is not to be its parent.

Mel Lazarus

October 9th, 2005 - Posted in Mel Lazarus | | 0 Comments

No normal man ever… H. L. Mencken

No normal man ever fell in love after thirty when the kidneys begin to disintegrate.

H. L. Mencken

US editor (1880 - 1956)

October 8th, 2005 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments

Truth, in matters… Oscar Wilde

Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived.

Oscar Wilde

Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

October 7th, 2005 - Posted in Oscar Wilde | | 0 Comments

The capacity of… H. L. Mencken

The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animals.

H. L. Mencken

US editor (1880 - 1956)

October 6th, 2005 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments

Life is either… Edith Wharton

Life is either always a tight-rope or a featherbed. Give me a tight-rope.

Edith Wharton

US novelist (1862 - 1937)

October 5th, 2005 - Posted in Edith Wharton | | 0 Comments

Americans adore me… George Bernard Shaw

Americans adore me and will go on adoring me until I say something nice about them.

George Bernard Shaw

Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950)

October 4th, 2005 - Posted in George Bernard Shaw | | 0 Comments

Genius is of no… Charles Churchill

Genius is of no country.

Charles Churchill

October 3rd, 2005 - Posted in Charles Churchill | | 0 Comments

If you take a dog… Mark Twain

If you take a dog which is starving and feed him and make him prosperous, that dog will not bite you. This is the primary difference between a dog and a man.

Mark Twain

US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 - 1910)

October 2nd, 2005 - Posted in Mark Twain | | 0 Comments

More than any time… Woody Allen

More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to utter hopelessness and despair, the other to total extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to choose correctly.

Woody Allen

US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 - )

October 1st, 2005 - Posted in Woody Allen | | 0 Comments