Imagine an irresponsible teenager with an unlimited line of credit. The parents, teachers, pastors, and authorities in his life are ultimately powerless to change his habits. Now imagine that teenager armed to the teeth and also immune even from the rule of law. This is what we have with a government backed by a central bank.
– from End the Fed book by Ron Paul
Category: Quotes
The essential act of war is …
The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. Even when weapons of war are not actually destroyed, their manufacture is still a convenient way of expending labour power without producing anything that can be consumed.
– from 1984 book by George Orwell
All other things being equal, simplicity …
All other things being equal, simplicity beats complexity every time. A portfolio of passive low-cost indexes should make up the core of your holdings. If you want to do something more complicated, you need a compelling reason.
– from How Not to Invest book by Barry Ritholtz
It doesn’t matter if you’re fighting …
It doesn’t matter if you’re fighting a war with swords, with bombers, or with sticks and stones – weapons are no good unless you know when and where to aim them.
– from The Rose Code book by Kate Quinn
When money becomes more important than …
When money becomes more important than happiness, your life passes you by, because you can’t lower your guard and enjoy yourself. Money is a tricky thing: it can bring you freedom and happiness, but it can also bring pain and anxiety.
– from Breathe book by Rickson Gracie
Facebook’s leadership includes a web of …
Facebook’s leadership includes a web of people all entangled as bridesmaids, best friends, neighbors, and exes. Their fealty is seemingly to each other, their tribe, ahead of any ideology or anything else. Their pasts, presents, and futures are all deeply intertwined in a way that mine are not. They hire each other for jobs with big salaries, responsible for each other’s promotions and bonuses. A tiny enmeshed group of people increasingly responsible for shaping the attention of billions.
– from Careless People book by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Love comes like lightning, and disappears …
Love comes like lightning, and disappears the same way. If you’re lucky, it strikes you right. If not, you’ll spend your life yearning for a man you can’t have. I advise you to forget about love, princess. Pleasure is simpler, and duty more important. Learn to be satisfied with them.
– from The Palace of Illusions book by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Real shrewdness means not letting any …
Real shrewdness means not letting any shrewdness show. It’s not like in the movies. The truly astute don’t sit in the shadows all day striking a pose. They don’t show off that they’re using their brains. They look all carefree and innocent. Some of them are tacky and mawkish, others careless and unserious. What’s critical is not to let others think you’re a person of interest. Let them look down on you or dismiss you and they won’t feel you’re an obstacle. You’re just a broom in the corner. The pinnacle of this is to make them not notice you at all, as if you don’t exist until the moment right before they die at your hands.
– from The Dark Forest book by Cixin Liu
The subject of woman, you see …
The subject of woman, you see, will always be completely new, however much you study it.
– from Anna Karenina book by Leo Tolstoy
Live long enough, you realize some …
Live long enough, you realize some folks can be handed a problem and some tools, and they’ll sort it out. And I never think twice about hiring that sort of fellow.
– from Legends & Lattes book by Travis Baldree