For thirty years I have liked Colin Powell for his level headedness. I was disappointed in his United Nations speech about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But, he has seemed pretty level headed and effective at getting things done. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. This battle plan quote is one…
The dangers of not thinking clearly are much greater now than ever before. It’s not that there’s something new in our way of thinking – it’s that credulous and confused thinking can be much more lethal in ways it was never before. Carl Sagan Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved January 6, 2020, from BrainyQuote.com Web site:…
Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. President James-Garfield, 100th anniversary of Declaration of Independence Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give…
I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. Thomas Paine (1776) Even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf. Thomas Paine (1776) The mobs of…
Illusory Truth Effect : how the frequency of statements influences how accurate we think they are. Puppet Candidates : how candidates claim they create things reserved for Congress. (Bush v Gore) The Enemy’s POV and Ideological Identity : ideology > facts. Even worse, we have arrived where ideology is our identity. Bullshit Curation : “the…
Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. —  Van Gogh …clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness… —  Carl Sagan
My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all. If there is an afterlife, then he has that complete understanding now. One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work.…
A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth – some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say. —  Michael Kinsley I often wonder what I’d do if there weren’t any books in the world. —  James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.…
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. — Anaïs Nin (via thepowerwithin) Staying true to yourself is not about staying the same. It’s not about making a goal to be the exact individual whom you were since day one. Staying true means expressing what you think, feel, and value; regardless of when in…