Douglas Murphy:  

that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly." Thomas H. Huxley 1825-1895, Biologist If successful people have one common trait, it's an utter lack of cynicism. The world owes them nothing. They go out and find what they need without asking for permission; they're driven, talented, and work through negatives by focusing on the positives. -- Mike Zimmerman cynicism, a skeptical, scornful or pessimistic attitude; an emotion of jaded negativity, or a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of other people. Henry Louis Mencken’s description of an election: “Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods.” Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress. -- Nicholas Murray Butler "I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time." Charles Dickens 1812-1870, Novelist "The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car, a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little." Ben Sweetland Author of I Will “War is a mere continuation of policy by other means.” Carl von Clausewitz famously observed . The converse is that policy (or politics) is the continuation of war by non-military means. Politics and war aim at the same ends – liberty, wealth, empire (power, dominion, control, etc.). Unsurprisingly, “by any means necessary” is a warlike sentiment far from unknown in the political arena.by Marlo Lewis "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." - George Washington "Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." - Napoleon Bonaparte I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. -- Confucius (Chinese Philosopher) 551-479 B.C. Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. -Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and writer (121-180) Gods are fragile things; they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense. -Chapman Cohen, author and lecturer (1868-1954) The essential feature of any religion is that its pronouncements are to be accepted on the basis of faith as opposed to hard evidence. Questioning those pronouncements makes one a sinner. Walter Williams 1/13/10 I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992) It will not do to investigate the subject of religion too closely, as it is apt to lead to infidelity. -Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (1809-1865) Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits. -Dan Barker, former preacher, musician (b. 1949) Men rarely (if ever) managed to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (1907-1988) We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further. -Richard Dawkins, biologist and author (b. 1941) I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. -Stephen Roberts, database architect (b. 1967) Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? -Epicurus (341 - 270) The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie - deliberate, contrived and dishonest - but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. - John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963) A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955) It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. -Thomas Paine, philosopher and writer (1737-1809) And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970) "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." -- Philip K. Dick The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.-Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, and his you will become. -- James Lane Allen (1849-1925) American Author Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him. -- Epictetus (55-135 AD) Greek Philosopher Virtue means doing the right thing, in relation to the right person, at the right time, to the right extent, in the right manner, and for the right purpose. Thus, to give money away is quite a simple task, but for the act to be virtuous, the donor must give to the right person, for the right purpose, in the right amount, in the right manner, and at the right time. -- Aristotle "The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better." Barbara Pletcher Author I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955) Instead of always harping on a man's faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his real self that can dare and do and win out. -- Eleanor Porter (1868-1920) American Novelist To profess to be doing God's will is a form of megalomania. -Joseph Prescott, aphorist (1913-2001) "It is bizarre to find the progressive left making common cause with radical Islam. One half of that alliance is pro-gay, pro-feminist secularists and the other half is homophobic, misogynist theocrats. What they have in common overrides their differences, namely, "Both the secular Big Government progressives and the political Islamists recoil from the concept of the citizen, of the free individual entrusted to operate within his own societal space, assume his responsibilities, and exploit his potential." Mark Steyn, a Canadian writer, political commentator and cultural critic."". More about Douglas:"I'm an autodidact frugal enthusiastic contrarian optimist... A.K.A. The Irish Loafer".