Commonplacing

"It should not be necessary to argue that the model of a natural and self-adjusting economy, working..."

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:20:33 -0400

“It should not be necessary to argue that the model of a natural and self-adjusting economy, working providentially for the best good of all, is as much a superstition as the notions which upheld the paternalist model.”

- E. P. Thompson, “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century,” Past & Present 50 (Feb. 1971): 76–136, quote on 91.

"If a man doesn’t get his due in one world, he can always get it in another. It’s a great..."

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:01:29 -0400

“If a man doesn’t get his due in one world, he can always get it in another. It’s a great pleasure to see and do new things.”

- Voltaire, Candide, trans. and ed. by Daniel Gordon (Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999), ch. 14, p. 68.

"It’s not because Mousavi lost, but because they believe they were tricked. Sure they’re upset about..."

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:33:32 -0400

“It’s not because Mousavi lost, but because they believe they were tricked. Sure they’re upset about the fact that Mousavi didn’t win, but that’s not the issue. That’s not why they’re protesting. They’re protesting because the government thought it could make fools of them. All this was a play, it was a movie. It wasn’t real. It was a charade. People are hopeless and depressed because they were played with, not because Mousavi lost.”

- From Tehran, 24 June 2009 [10 am Eastern US], Iran Updates, Tehran Bureau

"In essence, the core of the struggle is between two competing views of what this country’s Islamic..."

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:15:47 -0400

“In essence, the core of the struggle is between two competing views of what this country’s Islamic revolution sought to achieve.”

- Robert F. Worth, “A Struggle for the Legacy of the Iranian Revolution,” The New York Times, June 20, 2009

"It is not just Mr Ahmadinejad’s margin of victory that has cast doubt on the result, however,..."

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:36:49 -0400

“It is not just Mr Ahmadinejad’s margin of victory that has cast doubt on the result, however, but the speed with which 39.1 million votes were counted – and the fact that the incumbent enjoyed a consistent two-to-one lead even in his opponents’ political strongholds.”

- Times Online, 16 June 2009

Talk about clumsy ballot manipulation.

"Listening to Cheney and Rice, it seems that they want to be excused for the measures they authorized..."

Sun, 31 May 2009 18:01:22 -0400

“Listening to Cheney and Rice, it seems that they want to be excused for the measures they authorized after the attacks on the grounds that 9/11 was traumatic.”

- Richard A. Clarke, “The Trauma of 9/11 Is No Excuse,” The Washington Post, May 31, 2009.

"How much potential harm justifies suppressing facts, whether from My Lai or Iraq, that might help..."

Sat, 16 May 2009 23:53:35 -0400

“How much potential harm justifies suppressing facts, whether from My Lai or Iraq, that might help the public judge the way a war is waged in its name?”

- Adam Liptak, “Images, the Law and War,” The New York Times, 16 May 2009.

"Our defense budget is almost half the world’s, even leaving out nuclear weapons, the wars,..."

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:28:20 -0400

“Our defense budget is almost half the world’s, even leaving out nuclear weapons, the wars, veterans, and homeland security.”

- Benjamin H. Friedman, “The US should cut military spending in half,” Christian Science Monitor, April 27, 2009.

"When we ask if something is torture, the answer is another question: What kind of people should we..."

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:17:19 -0400

“When we ask if something is torture, the answer is another question: What kind of people should we be?”

- Kathleen Parker, “Is It Torture?” Washington Post, April 26, p. A15.

"Most of the banks realize that some of what they’ve done before —the processes being..."

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:58:52 -0400

“Most of the banks realize that some of what they’ve done before —the processes being followed—don’t really look very good in the light of day.”

- Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), quoted in Lisa Lerer, “Credit Companies Brace for W.H. visit,” Politico [paper edition], 23 April 2009, p. 17.

That’s an understatement, to be sure, but it’s pretty strong language for a senator from Deleware, where so many credit card companies are located because of the state’s lax laws.

"The savagery of extremists cannot justify the abdication of principles or the adoption of means as..."

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:17:07 -0400

“The savagery of extremists cannot justify the abdication of principles or the adoption of means as brutal as those of the extremists.”

- “Shocking the Conscience,” Washington Post editorial, 21 April 2009, p. A22.

"I think it’s important to recognize, given historic suspicions, that the United States’..."

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:55:37 -0400

“I think it’s important to recognize, given historic suspicions, that the United States’ policy should not be interference in other countries, but that also means that we can’t blame the United States for every problem that arises in the hemisphere. That’s part of the bargain.”

- Barrack Obama in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad yesterday, as quoted in The Washington Post today.

"I think that the Republicans have an obligation to recognize this as an economic war and realize you..."

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:24:32 -0400

“I think that the Republicans have an obligation to recognize this as an economic war and realize you need one leader.”

- Warren Buffett to CNBC yesterday as quoted by David Rogers in Politico today.

"It is one thing to say that a certain type of fight is more or less likely; it is quite another to..."

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:51:00 -0500

“It is one thing to say that a certain type of fight is more or less likely; it is quite another to say it is certain to be one or the other. In war, the only thing certain is uncertainty… We had better damn well have the capability to fight the guerrilla and the nation-state, regardless of which of these is more or less likely.”

- Marine Major General Larry Taylor, quoted in Tom Ricks’s Inbox, The Washington Post, Feb. 1, 2009, p. B2.

"List-writing is for young men and women who aren’t afraid to dream big."

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:52:07 -0500

“List-writing is for young men and women who aren’t afraid to dream big.”

- Rachel Lee, “Making a List,” TEKKA.

"Lists demonstrate an ability to formulate plans in the hopes of achieving some desired state, to..."

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:49:09 -0500

“Lists demonstrate an ability to formulate plans in the hopes of achieving some desired state, to connect who we are at the present to the past and future.”

- Rachel Lee, “Making a List,” TEKKA.

"If men were left to their own devices, Mma Ramotswe believed, they would go about in rags."

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:33:07 -0500

“If men were left to their own devices, Mma Ramotswe believed, they would go about in rags.”

- Alexander McCall Smith, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency), 7.

"When life demands more of people than they demand of life—as is ordinarily the case—what results is..."

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:11:56 -0500

“When life demands more of people than they demand of life—as is ordinarily the case—what results is a resentment of life almost as deep-seated as the fear of death.”

- Tom Robbins, quoted in David Allen, Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for World and Life (Penguin 2003), 16.

"Insofar as there is a lesson in history, it’s that human beings are not very good with large sums of..."

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:17:52 -0500

“Insofar as there is a lesson in history, it’s that human beings are not very good with large sums of money, anything over $136.”

- James Grant quoted by Peter Applebome in “Contemplating the Boobs We Were,” The New York Times, 12/28/2008

"Studies have consistently found that we pay more attention to negative information (whatever the..."

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:47:22 -0500

“Studies have consistently found that we pay more attention to negative information (whatever the subject) than to positive information… . We also give it more credibility.”

- Eric Weiner, “The Year of Living Gloomily,” The Washington Post, 12/28/2008, p. B1.