Plaid Pundit: WattsUpWithThat

Favorite Quotations

n his 1981 encyclical "On Human Work," John Paul II wrote, quote, "Human work is a key -- probably the essential key -- to the whole social question. Work is a fundamental dimension of man's existence on Earth. Work is a good thing for man, a good thing for his humanity because through work he achieves fulfillment as a human being." - Pope John Paul II As the great economist Ludwig von Mises wrote, "What makes friendly relations between human beings possible is the higher productivity of the division of labor. . . . A preeminent common interest, the preservation and further intensification of social cooperation, becomes paramount and obliterates all essential collisions." This facile attribution of climate change to human agency is an act of hubris. Good stewardship of the environment is an ethical imperative for every nation. But breast-beating hysteria merely betrays impious tunnel vision. Thousands of factors, minute and grand, are at work in cyclic climate change, whose long-term outcomes we cannot possibly predict. Nature should inspire us with awe, not pity. - Camille Paglia on global warming alarmism “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.” --- Philospher Confucius (551 BC-479 BC) In the arena of human life the honours and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (4th c. BC) Greek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC) Perfection of moral virtue does not wholly take away the passions, but regulates them. -Saint Thomas Aquinas Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them. Aristotle It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle Greek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC) Nature does nothing uselessly. Aristotle, Politics Greek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC) I have no expectations of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average. - FDR 1933 “A little less complaint and whining, and a little more dogged work and manly striving, would do us more credit than a thousand civil rights bills.” --- Writer W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) “Capitalism knows only one color: that color is green; all else is necessarily subservient to it, hence, race, gender and ethnicity cannot be considered within it.” --- Thomas Sowell A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. — Chinese Proverb Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive. — William F. Buckley, Jr. “Back in the thirties we were told we must collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich.” - William F. Buckley, Jr. “I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is being paid for it and one is the feeling that I haven't just been sitting on my ass all afternoon.” -William F. Buckley, Jr. “I profoundly believe it takes a lot of practice to become a moral slob.” -William F. Buckley, Jr. “I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.” -William F. Buckley, Jr. “Truth is a demure lady, much too ladylike to knock you on your head and drag you to her cave. She is there, but people must want her, and seek her out.” -William F. Buckley, Jr. “Does baloney fear the grinder?” -William F. Buckley, Jr.