Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

The only kind of freedom that the mob can imagine is freedom to annoy and oppress its betters, and that read more

The only kind of freedom that the mob can imagine is freedom to annoy and oppress its betters, and that is precisely the kind that we mainly have.

It is not actual suffering but a taste of better things which excites people to revolt.

It is not actual suffering but a taste of better things which excites people to revolt.

A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn't like the tune.

A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn't like the tune.

It is the invariable habit of bureaucracies, at all times and everywhere, to assume...that every citizen is a criminal. Their read more

It is the invariable habit of bureaucracies, at all times and everywhere, to assume...that every citizen is a criminal. Their one apparent purpose, pursued with a relentless and furious diligence, is to convert the assumption into a fact. They hunt endlessly for proofs, and, when proofs are lacking, for mere suspicions. The moment they become aware of a definite citizen, John Doe, seeking what is his right under the law, they begin searching feverishly for an excuse for withholding it from him.

...it may fairly be doubted if any political tyranny ever imposed on its people such a fear, such a longing read more

...it may fairly be doubted if any political tyranny ever imposed on its people such a fear, such a longing for freedom, such a paralysis of the spirit, as disease. I doubt if the average Englishman felt himself as much oppressed by Charles I as by the plague; or if any colonial American was as much in dread of taxation without representation as of smallpox. And it may reasonably be contended that Walter Reed and William Crawford Gorgas brought to man freedom in a more happy sense and in a larger measure than any military or political leader.

This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of read more

This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.

Television is democracy at its ugliest.

Television is democracy at its ugliest.

As President Nixon says, presidents can do almost anything, and President Nixon has done many things that nobody would have read more

As President Nixon says, presidents can do almost anything, and President Nixon has done many things that nobody would have thought of doing.