E. P. Thompson Quotes

Baby smiled, mother wailed, Earthward while the sweetling sailed; Mother smiled, baby wailed, When to earth came Viola.

But lilies, stolen from grassy mold, No more curled state unfold, Translated to a vase of gold; In burning throne though they keep still Serenities unthawed and chill.

Every foreign policy of every major nation involves reason, common sense, carrots and sticks. You can't have all carrots and no sticks.

America needs a president who understands the nature of the world we live in.

We're hoping for the best, but we need to prepare for the worst.

We just ask the agency to make reasonable and honest decisions, and the public deserves no less.

There's nothing hard about acting except the long hours.

Being a POW certainly doesn't qualify anyone to be president.

Jay Carney told the reporters at his morning briefing that he hoped they would watch the new movie about Obama's first term 'many times.' They might. Look how well 'Titanic' did at the box office.

John McCain was a prisoner of war.

We also have to ask if we focusing on the most important priorities.

We [The United States] should be prepared to launch a pre-emption strike against Iran to eliminate their nuclear capability.

Waterboarding ok if national security were at stake.

Play hardball with Musharraf, but don't cut off US aid.

Life begins at conception, but allow early abortions.

The average 20-year-old serving us in Iraq knows more about their country's national security than the average 20-year political veteran serving in the Congress today.

I'd just say the flies get bigger in the summertime. I guess the flies are buzzing.

Roe v. Wade was bad law and bad medical science.

I know the pundits, they get big bucks for . . . pundating.

I don't attend [church] regularly.

You can't buy peace by just wishing it and avoiding the challenges that other nations present to you.

I'm not particularly interested in running for president.

Twelve million illegal immigrants later, we are now living in a nation that is beset by people who are suicidal maniacs and want to kill countless innocent men, women and children around the world.

The Air Force is pulling nine cargo aircraft from military operations to support President Obama's stepped-up visits to campaign events. Good, now he can carry his entire ego with him on the trail.

During a campaign speech in Ohio, President Obama said, 'I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth'. So to be fair, he wants to take your silverware and spread it around.

We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster.

For example, lead paint in old houses can be a greater threat to children's health than lead that may be under some industrial site where there are no children

Clearly, the Chinese know that we want a good relationship with them

So China will be having to make some choices as to whose side it wants to be on. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a major improvement in our relationship with them, if they choose correctly

Whatever inspires you fires you.

This is a really good circus. It has lions, tigers, dogs, monkeys and about any other animal act you can think of. There are a lot of great acts, and it's a two part, two hour show.

The atheist worldview of life is a materialistic culture that frees humanity from superstition.

Familiarity seems to breed contempt

I’m a word freak. I like words. I’ve always compared writing to music. That’s the way I feel about good paragraphs. When it really works, it’s like music.

[Richard M. Nixon was] a foul caricature of himself, a man with no soul, no inner convictions, with the integrity of a hyena and the style of a poison toad.

The Jews don't beleive in Jesus! Why should I?! WHOOOEEEE!!

The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it.

Though I was careful never to mention it, I began to see a new dimension in everything that happened.

All gamblers lose regularly, but they rarely discuss it in public. Losing is bad for the image, dude. Nobody buys Hot Tips from Losers. Remember that.

One of them is knowing the difference between Morality and Wisdom. Morality is temporary, Wisdom is permanent… Ho ho. Take that one to bed with you tonight.

You can't miss what you never had.

Relax - This won't hurt.

There's also a down side.

The thing that was important to me about Hemingway at the time was that Hemingway taught me that you could be a writer and get away with it.

Children are like TV sets. When they start acting weird, whack them across the head with a big rubber basketball shoe.

Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel.

I am an Addictive Personality, they say, a natural slave to passion - and many Doctors have warned me against it. I am a High-risk Patient.

I harbor a secret urge to whack a salesman in the face, crack his teeth and put red bumps around his eyes.

I think you either have to have a very strong decisive person at the top or else a really brilliant staff command.

Any combination of a 250-pound Mexican and LSD-25 is a potentially terminal menace for anything it can reach