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Quote of the Day: Wrong and Dumb
“Step one should be to question the requirements,” he says. “Make them less wrong and dumb, because all requirements are somewhat wrong and dumb. And then delete, delete, delete.” —Elon Musk
I’m in the middle of the biography of Elon Musk, written by Walter Isaacson (and I will write a book review soon). But this statement of Musk’s made me laugh out loud, because it is not only representative of his determination not to be limited by rules and requirements, but he has proved over and over again that the requirements are often absurd, time-consuming and wasteful.
Quote of the Day – Problems
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. – H. L. Menken
We have seen this illustrated daily over the last week in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Recovery involving the rescue of thousands of people in remote mountain areas is a complex problem. Yet government – on most levels, from federal to county – all offer the same clear and simple answer to the problem: let us run everything. Do not assist without prior permission and clearance from us. Most of all, respect my authoratah!
Quote of the Day – Reason
You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into. ― Ben Goldacre, Bad Science
Wonder why Harris isn’t ten percentage points behind Donald Trump? However egregious the Donald is, Harris is worse. The performance records of both – if one is amenable to reason – clearly show Trump superior to Harris. That is not necessarily an endorsement of Trump. Kamala Harris is simply so bad that no person aware of the performance and positions of both – and aware of the advantages of free markets and decentralization over command economies and centralized government – could reasonably conclude Harris would be the superior President.
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Quote of the Day – Stupidity
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall of deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed… For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than a malicious one. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The validity of this quote is being demonstrated by our current President and Vice-President. While both are superficially clever, both are profoundly stupid. Both are locked into their preconceptions, arrogant in their ignorance of anything outside their experience. Their experience, that of professional politicians, is necessarily limited. They understand bureaucracy, how to get their way legislatively, and how to game administrative systems. They know how to manipulate people and intellectual concepts.
Quote of the Day: Some People Don’t Deserve Your Respect
I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect–Edward Gibbon
When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet in his private heart no man much respects himself. –Mark Twain
These quotations were so powerful that I refused to pick one over the other. But both have to do with a greatly misunderstood and underappreciated value: respect.
Quote of the Day: ‘Good and Hard’
Quote of the Day: Rich Men and Poor Men
I never got a job from a poor man.
-Phil Gramm
You know what else you never got from a poor man (except as the intermediary of a salesman)? The ability to place long-distance phone calls, the personal automobile, commercial air travel, commercial jet air travel, mobile phones, electricity at home, television, and maybe — in the future — the ability to travel in space. All of those, except the last, started out as things unavailable, except to the unimaginably wealthy. Today we consider most of these everyday necessities — except for air travel, which is not everyday.
Quote of the Day – Results
This outfit has been getting a lot of publicity without having really accomplished a hell of a lot in bombing results.
– Curtis LeMay to his public relations officer before committing the XXI Bomber Command to a low-level nighttime fire raid against Tokyo.
NASA needs a Curtis LeMay. Especially after the Spaceliner kerfuffle.
Quote of the Day: The Soul that Celebrates, Sings
In Judaism joy is the supreme religious emotion. Here we are, in a world filled with beauty. Every breath we breathe is the spirit of G-d within us. Around us is the love that moves the sun and all the stars. We are here because someone wanted us to be. The soul that celebrates, sings. ––Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
At a time when we’ve seen the corruption of the word “joy” by the Democrat candidate for President, Judaism always invites its members to fully experience its qualities. It can’t be manufactured, or contrived; it doesn’t have to dominate one’s reality or everyday life.
Quote of the Day – Policing
To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.
To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfill their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour, and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
Quote of the Day: Restoring the Vitality of our Country
‘Make America Great Again’ recalls a nation brimming with vitality, with a can-do spirit, with hope and a belief in itself. It was an America that was beginning to confront its darker shadows, could acknowledge the injustice in its past and present, yet at the same time could celebrate its successes. It was a nation of broad prosperity, the world’s most vibrant middle class, and an idealistic belief (though not consistently applied) in freedom, justice, and democracy. It was a nation that led the world in innovation, productivity, and technology. And it was the healthiest country in the world. I have talked to many Trump supporters. I have talked with his inner circle. I have talked to the man himself. This is the America they want to restore. —Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
In a recent post, @gpentiele featured this quotation from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from X. I was so impressed with Kennedy’s comment that I thought it warranted a post to examine it more closely.
Quote of the Day – Speech
Speech is not violence. Words cannot injure or compel a person to hate or riot. Consequently, the state has very little business policing it, and the outcomes are usually dire when it tries. – Institute of Economic Affairs
“Speech is violence” is one of those phrases straight out of 1984‘s Newthink and Newspeak, along with “War is peace,” “Freedom is slavery,” and “Ignorance is strength.” When I was young, everyone knew speech was not violence. As children, we would say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” It was true. Words cannot do physical damage.
QotD: The Lion Grumbles and Mumbles
“The lion is the king of beasts. It often grumbles and mumbles to itself, proving it to be quite intelligent.” — Quotation from a book I was reading in a dream.
I am told that most of my dreams are unusual. Now, not all of them are. I woke from a dream the other day that was the typical anxiety dream. Nothing was going right in that dream. I woke up and told my wife to keep her dreams on her side of the bed, since that is much more typical of her dreams. Most of my dreams seem to be full cinematic productions. It is like I am either watching a full movie, right down to the credits and soundtrack, or I am directing a movie. Shortly after James Gandolfini died, I dreamed I was directing him as the romantic lead in a rom-com. I have no idea if he ever starred in a rom-com in life, but he was doing great at it in my dream. (And why shouldn’t a tough-looking, balding, middle-aged man be the male lead in a rom-com?) Something much more recently was on Saturday. I had a dream that I had been watching a movie, and at the end of the movie, they had a song about going to Mars. The dream/movie was not about that, but the ending song was. I woke up and sang the part of the song I remembered to my wife.
Quote of the Day – America
“People say America is like 50 countries in a trench coat… eh… It is more like 200 countries bouncing on a trampoline. – Jack Wylder
This is excerpted from an essay available on Larry Correia’s webpage. (Click on the link and read the whole thing. It is worth it.) In it, the author asserts the US is made up of a collage of intermixed but different cultures and identities. It is true and part of the genius of America. There are so many choices that everyone can find some place they fit in.
Quote of the Day: Socialism
