Thursday, March 05, 2009

Some Quotes

I must be getting lazy because I got this as an E-mail from my Aunt. I can't that say I disagree with too many of them. (Oops. My bad! My brother sent it to me.)

1. In my many years, I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.

-- John Adams

2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.

-- Mark Twain

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.

-- Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.

-- Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

-- George Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.

-- G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

-- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.

-- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.

-- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.

-- Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

-- Ronald Reagan (1986)

12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.

-- Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!

-- P.J. O'Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.

-- Voltaire (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!

-- Pericles (430 B.C.)

16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.

-- Mark Twain (1866)

17. Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.

-- Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.

-- Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery...

-- Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.

-- Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.

-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class...save Congress.

-- Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.

-- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.

-- Thomas Jefferson

13 Comments:

Blogger Chuck said...

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.

-- Winston Churchill


They are all good, this one is great

9:23 AM  
Blogger Bloviating Zeppelin said...

Each and every one of those comments carries truth and saliency, every bit as valid today as yesterday.

BZ

10:58 AM  
Blogger dmarks said...

So many good ones there.

4:06 PM  
Blogger Z said...

Smart aunt there, shoprat!! good ones!

6:01 PM  
Blogger The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

Wonderful quotes!

12:51 AM  
Blogger Gayle said...

They're from Shoprat's brother, Z. :)

Yep, they're great, and they're all as accurate today as they were when they were first spoken.

It's okay to get a bit lazy, Shoprat. We all need to take it easy once in awhile.

12:15 PM  
Blogger Always On Watch said...

I'm familiar with most of these quotations, each one of which is excellent.

But my all-time favorite on the list is Number 3: Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.

-- Mark Twain


Number 3 applies especially to our present Congress!

2:06 PM  
Blogger Z said...

Shoprat (and everyone)...get over to my place and watch the video my cousin sent me and you can add this phrase to Shoprat's excellent list:

25. Some politicians are too dumb NOT to call just plain dumb, no matter how utterly rude that is.
Z (not to classify myself with the brilliant authors on your list, of course! HAA!)

and then go read Chuck's great find about Ari Fleischer.

(smile)

6:01 PM  
Blogger The Vegas Art Guy said...

Gerald Ford had one that went something like this:

The Government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it away from you.

5:45 PM  
Blogger The Vegas Art Guy said...

Who I guess was quoting Jefferson...

lol

5:45 PM  
Blogger dmarks said...

I always like "In capitalism, man oppresses his fellow man. In communism, it is the other way around"

By the way, Shoprat, not sure if you mentioned this before. Do you recognize the "to boldly go" thing at the top of my blog?

7:47 PM  
Blogger Dionne said...

Some excellent quotes!! I may have to snag a few.

12:41 AM  
Blogger benning said...

Can't argue with a single one!

Whoo-Hoo!

9:32 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home