Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.
Anger is never without a reason but seldom a good one.
Benjamin Franklin
"What vast additions to the conveniences and comforts of living might mankind have acquired, if the money spent in wars had been employed in works of public utility; what an extension of agriculture even to the tops of our mountains; what rivers rendered navigable, or joined by canals; what bridges, acqueducts, new roads, and other public works, edifices, and improvements . . . might not have been obtained by spending those millions in doing good, which in the last war have been spent in doing mischief." --- Benjamin Franklin
No more tears now; I will think about revenge.
"We're all given some
sort of skill in life. Mine
just happens to be beating up on people."
-- Sugar Ray Leonard
"We do not have enough things to kill off the weak and the stupid these
days. But to stay alive as an armed citizen a man has to be either quick
with his wits or with his hands, preferably both. It's a good thing."
-- "Beyond This Horizon" by Robert A. Heinlein, 1942
"We Americans, we're a simple people... but piss us off, and we'll bomb
your cities."
-- Robin Williams, "Good Morning Vietnam"
"Use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension
of the Blues Brothers has been approved."
-- The Blues Brothers
"To disarm the people - that was the best and most effective way
to enslave them ...."
-- George Mason ( Framer of the Declaration of Rights,
Virginia, 1776, which became the basis for the U.S.
Bill of Rights ) 3 Elliot, Debate at 380.
Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had
years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet,
make some of the worst movies in the history of the world.
-- Dave Barry
When you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend.
Any excuse to wear a sword is a good excuse.
I have an understanding with my local police - I have them outgunned, but they have me outnumbered.
If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the weaponry to make the difference.
I fight for what I believe in. I am a mercenary, and I believe in money.
If I want your opinion, I'll read it in your entrails.
I'm not worried about the bullet out there with my name on it - just the thousands out there marked "occupant".
Assassins Inc. We aim to please.
"Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the
American people's liberty teeth and the keystone under independence...The
rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable...The very atmosphere of
firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve
a place of honor with all that is good."
-- George Washington
[ Appears to be apocryphal, see this link for more details ]
"This year* will go down in history! For the first time, a civilized nation
has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more
efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!"
---Falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler, "Abschied vom Hessenland!"
["Farewell to Hessia!"], ['Berlin Daily' (Loose English Translation)], April
15th, 1935, Page 3 Article 2, Einleitung Von Eberhard Beckmann [Introduction
by Eberhard Beckmann].
This quotation, often seen without any date or citation at all, suffers from several credibility problems, the most significant of which is that the date given (*in alternate versions, the words "This year..." are replaced by "1935..." has no correlation with any legislative effort by the Nazis for gun registration, nor would there have been a need for the Nazis to pass such a law, since gun registration laws passed by the Weimar government were already in effect. The Nazi Weapons Law (or Waffengesetz) which further restricted the possession of militarily useful weapons and forbade trade in weapons without a government-issued license was passed on March 18, 1938. The citation usually given for this quote is a jumbled mess, and has only three major clues from which to work. The first is the date, which does not correspond (even approximately) to a date on which Hitler made a public speech, and a check of the texts of Hitler's speeches does not reveal a quotation resembling this (which is easily understandable when you realize that "Hitler" is commenting on a non-existent law). The second clue is the newspaper reference, which if translated into German resembles the title of a newspaper called Berliner Tageblatt, and a check of the issue for that date reveals that the page and column references given are to the arts and culture page! No Hitler speech appears in the pages of Berliner Tageblatt on that date, or dates close to it, because there was no such speech to report.
Finally, the citation includes a proper name "Eberhard Beckmann," which is sometimes cited as "by Einleitung Von Eberhard Beckmann," which is an important clue itself, because it reveals that the citation was fabricated by someone who had so little knowledge of the German language that they were unaware that "Einleitung" isn't the fellow's first name! The only "Eberhard Beckmann" which has been uncovered thus far did indeed write introductions, but he was a journalist for a German broadcasting company after WWII, and he wrote several introductions to photography books, one of which was photos of the German state of Hesse (or Hessia), which may be the source of the curious phrase "Abschied vom Hessenland!" which appears in the citation. This quotation, however effective it may be as propaganda, is a fraud.
"...I am opposed to all attempts to license or restrict the arming of
individuals...I consider such laws a violation of civil liberty,
subversive of democratic political institutions, and self-defeating
in their purpose."
-- Robert A. Heinlein, in a 1949 letter concerning "Red Planet"
"He who joyfully marches to music 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 fully suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away
with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable
love-of-country stance, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and
ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an
action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing
but an act of murder."
-- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)