In the name of giving others freedom we will lose our own.

We may extend our dominion over the whole continent, our navies may ride triumphant on every sea, our name may be the terror of Kings, our decrees the destinies of nations, but be assured it will be at the price of our free institutions. I know not how it may be with others, but for my own part, I would not pay this price for all the power and all the glory that ever clustered around all the banners and all the eagles emblazoned in the pantheon of history.

— Rep. William Waters Boyce

He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.

— George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara [1907

Hard to brainwash Albert

He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

— Albert Einstein

They all want more government to protect us from ourselves.

Broadly speaking, Democrats want to protect you from the physical threats posed by habits such as smoking, overeating, and crossing the street while listening to an iPod. Republicans are more interested in protecting you from the moral threats posed by temptations such as drugs, gambling, and pornography. Between them, they've got you covered, body and soul.

— Jacob Sullum

A truism of human nature I'm sorry to say.

I have never found in a long experience of politics that criticism is ever inhibited by ignorance.

— Harold Macmillan, The Observer [February 22, 1981]