Penn Jillette on the difference between welfare and charity

It's amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the government give money to poor people is compassion.  Helping poor and suffering people yourself is compassion.  Voting for government to use guns to give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral self-righteous bullying laziness.  People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and sheltered.  If we're compassionate, we'll help them, but you get no moral credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right.  There is great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint.

~ Penn Jillette

Bertrand Russell on confirmation bias

What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious.  If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it.  If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence.  The origin of myths is explained in this way.

~ Bertrand Russell, Roads to Freedom

Judge Napolitano on the nature of government

Unless you work for it, sell to it, or receive financial assistance from it, the government is not your friend.  For average Americans today, the state is predator not protector.

~ Judge Andrew Napolitano, Constitutional Chaos

Warren Buffett on the value of bear markets

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.

~ Warren Buffett

Peter Navarro: "Manufacturing is strong as a rock" (2019)

Manufacturing is strong as a rock.

~ Peter Navarro, White House trade adviser, as appeared on CNBC, September 30, 2019

(One day later, the ISM U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 47.8% in September, the lowest since June 2009.)

Tom Woods on what it means to be a libertarian

Here's what libertarians think: you shouldn't commit acts of aggression against peaceful people.

That's it.

It has nothing to do with a hatred of rules, or even "wanting to be left alone," or individualism, or selfishness, or anything else. Some libertarians may indeed hate rules or be selfish, but these qualities do not follow from the central libertarian principle.

Which, again, is simply: no violence against the peaceful.

Now when you put it that way, libertarianism sounds at least intriguing, even attractive.  Which is why our critics never do put it this way.

Can society operate, and even flourish, without aggressive violence?

If we imbibe what we're told from grade school onward -- that we'd all be helpless boobs without the wise stewards who to our good fortune have agreed to rule over us -- then of course we already know the answer: why, of course not!  We need violence, and we need political leaders handing down orders, in order to enjoy civilized life.

Really?

I'm not so sure.

I think the opposite is true.

~ Tom Woods, September 30, 2019

John Stuart Mill on knowing both sides of an argument

He who knows only his side of the case, knows little of that.

~ John Stuart Mill



(Cited by Sheldon Richman.)