Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“If we accept the fact that the state should have the right to grant us permission to engage in peaceable, voluntary transactions with one another, we agree to allow the state to revoke its hallowed permission.”
Trevor Bothwell

“Whether the government-monopolized production of money is constitutionally mandated or not, the assumption that only the State should control the commodity of money – a universal means of trade and commerce – needs to be questioned. And so far, I have not heard a reasonable explanation of why Americans must be forced to be dependent on only the government’s provision of security without competition.”
Scott Lazarowitz

“If there are zeitgeist moments for products, movie stars, and even politicians, then such moments can exist for weaponry as well. The robotic drone is the Lady Gaga of this Pentagon moment.
In the 1990s, we were said to be in an era of "globalization" which was widely hailed as good news. Now, the U.S. and its detached populace are pioneering a new era of killing that respects no boundaries, relies on the self-definitions of whoever owns the nearest drone, and establishes planetary free-fire zones. It's a nasty combination, this globalization of death.”
Tom Engelhardt

“Giving up your own conscience and letting the State dictate your principles may be easy, but it will not lead you where you need to be. The destination will shift with each new crisis the State invents.”
Kent McManigal

“Torture does not work. Its use permanently damages all those who are tortured, and those who administer the violence. Its "lawful" use profoundly undermines the broader society and democratic institutions in ways that are irreparable. But its persistent, ineradicable failure is entirely irrelevant for those who seek to consolidate and expand state power. Moreover, its inherent failure underscores their aim: it does not work, everyone knows it does not work, but the state does it because it can.In this view, power is all, and power is its own justification. It is a simple truth, and a terrible one.”
Arthur Silber

“….Coercion, being an anti-individual phenomenon, leads to four deaths in succession, as I see it now. Coercion first kills volition, then relationships, then wealth, and finally, when it goes on long enough, the individual himself.”
B.R. Merrick

“….“if you’re someone who believes, or are at least willing to acquiesce to the claim, that the U.S. President has the power to target your fellow citizens for assassination without a whiff of due process, what unchecked presidential powers wouldn’t you support or acquiesce to?”
Glenn Greenwald

“The struggle confronting mankind comes down to the question of whether human beings are to be the masters of their own lives, or whether they are to remain as resources to be exploited for institutional ends.”
Butler Shaffer

“If you are even somewhat browner than the average Norwegian, a trip to or through the Grand Canyon state might be a bit perilous — unless you like being forced to prove your American-ness to armed know-nothings alongside desert roads.”
J.D. Tuccille

“Socialist maxims may score high marks for eloquence and pathos; but they score very low marks for economic wisdom. Capitalism produces. Socialism distributes. Without capitalism, socialism cannot function. In other words; socialism needs capitalism.”
Joel Bowman

“It has never been more apparent to those who have awakened from the slumber imposed upon them by popular culture that the establishment music industry now pumps out the most dumbed-down, monotonous, garbage which actually serves to induce depression and despair in those who are enlightened and aware, while providing hypnotizing bread and circuses for those still transfixed by the babylon system.”
Paul Joseph Watson

“The government has twisted the American Dream into being about owning a home and getting a ‘good’ education, even if you can’t afford either and don’t know what to do with either if the government hands you the money to get both.”
Robert Wenzel

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From the Darkness:

“To win in Afghanistan, and make such things possible, our 'rules of engagement' must change. American casualties have increased because of self-imposed restraints when encountering Taliban who hide behind civilians. You can’t win a war by hesitating when the enemy is at a disadvantage. To paraphrase a familiar admonition: Grab them by their throats and their hearts and minds will follow.”
Cal Thomas

“….People from the gun lobby like to promote the idea that you have an absolute or god-given right to possess a gun. That’s clearly not true; your right can be restricted.”
Jackie Hilly, the Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence

"We don’t have to have a law."
Unidentified London police officer, responding to a harassed photographer’s question about what law require him to produce ID.

“We just got to be smart about using all the elements of American power, not just one element of American power.
So what I’m trying to say is, don’t put all the burden on the military. Make sure that we’ve got a civilian expeditionary force."
B. Obama, looking to recruit more stooges for his nation building.

"A police officer doesn't need a court order to defend himself if someone pulls out a gun. The U.S. government has that same right of self-defense internationally."

Michael E. Leiter, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, defending the US campaign of targeted killings.

“The infrastructure needs of this state are vast and on the existing tax base cannot be funded. We say the sector of the economy most able to share a greater part of the burden for funding our infrastructure needs for the future is in fact our most profitable mining companies.”
Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister, proposing a “super profits tax” on his country’s mining sector.

"If American money is going to be building a nation, I'd like it to be mine.”
Representative Louise Slaughter, after the US House approved a bill that includes nearly $4 billion in economic aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan. [I wish you would use YOUR money, too and keep MINE out of it.]

“I’ve got to say, I got a few chills, listening to him there, very powerful. It was also pretty heavy on detail.”
MSNBC, Alex Witt, commenting on Obama’s policy speech on immigration.

“This [unemployment insurance] is one of the biggest stimulus’ in the economy. This money is spent quickly. It injects demand into the economy and is job creating. It creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name.”
Nancy Pelosi

“They [the people] are making politics an unpleasant chore, practiced mainly by the vicious and angry, and are feeding dangerous resentments in a volatile time.”
Michael Gerson

"In this important endeavor cooperation is not optional. This is a tough mission. There is nothing easy about it. But working together we can achieve progress, and we can achieve our mutual objectives."
Gen. David Petraeus, exhorting the Afghan people to cooperate and do what they’re told.