1 Passages 1 - 5 (Taxes)1. “It’s income tax time again, Americans: time to gather up those receipts, get out those tax forms, sharpen up that pencil, and stab yourself in the aorta.” - Dave Barry2. “We 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 [image above]3. “The tax which will be paid for the purpose of education is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance” - Thomas Jefferson4. “Elections should be held on April 16th - the day after we pay our income taxes. That is one of the few things that might discourage politicians from being big spenders.” - Thomas Sowell5. “The tendency of taxation is to create a class of persons who do not labor, to take from those who do labor the produce of that labor, and to give it to those who do not labor.” - William Cobbett2 Passages 6 - 10 (Politics and Politicians)6. “A lot has been said about politics; some of it complimentary, but most of it accurate” - Eric Idle7. “A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker.” - H.L. Mencken8. “‘Politics’ is made up of two words, ‘poli,’ which is Greek for ‘many,’ and ‘tics,’ which are blood-sucking insects.” - Gore Vidal [image above]9. “When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President — I’m beginning to believe it.” - Clarence Darrow 10. “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House—with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” - John F Kennedy, 35th US President, At dinner for 49 Nobel laureates 29 Apr 623 Passages 11 - 15 (Government)11. “In Germany, under the law everything is prohibited except that which is permitted. In France, under the law everything is permitted except that which is prohibited. In the Soviet Union, everything is prohibited, including that which is permitted. And in Italy, under the law everything is permitted, especially that which is prohibited.” - Newton Minow12. “Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.” - H.L. Mencken13. “It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.” - Voltaire [image above]14. “Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism it’s just the opposite.” - John Kenneth Galbraith15. “Democracy’s the worst form of government except for all the others.” - Winston Churchill4 Passages 16 - 20 (Government Programs and Policies)16. “Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread.” - Thomas Jefferson17. “So what is government?… Very simply, it is an agency of coercion. Of course, there are other agencies of coercion — such as the Mafia. So to be more precise, government is the agency of coercion that has flags in front of its offices.” - Harry Browne18. “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face–for ever.” - From George Orwell’s Novel, “Nineteen Eighty-Four” [image above]19. “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” - Cornelius Tacitus20. “A wise prince will seek means by which his subjects will always and in every possible condition of things have need of his government, and then they will always be faithful to him.” - Niccolo Machiavelli, “The Prince”http://listverse.com/politics/top-20-pithy-political-passages/
xSFx:15. “Democracy’s the worst form of government except for all the others.” - Winston Churchill
I prefer this quote of his:
«The biggest argument against democracy is a five minute discussion with the average voter.»
Equality before the law and material equality are not only different but are in conflict with each other; and we can achieve either one or the other, but not both at the same time. -- F. A. Hayek in The Constitution of Liberty
I like 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 the most.
My number one dislike is panglosian. "everything is as it should be"
and basicly from there on it's elitism and control and the other people haters (misanthropes).
I agree that no man should walk in the shadow of another, even a great one.
Individualism Rocks
Very good!
xSFx:“Democracy’s the worst form of government except for all the others.” - Winston Churchill
The trouble with Winston Churchill is that his witty quotes are so disarming. The in-crowd wants to be associated with such a jester and fears being on the receiving end of his sarcasm. This statement implies no further debate and ,in the Panglossian sense that someone else mentions on this post, implies that we are already in the "Best of All Possible Worlds".