Equality before the law is probably forever inattainable. It is a noble ideal, but it can never be realized, for what men value in this world is not rights but privileges. H.L. Mencken.

Politician, n. An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared. When he wriggles he mistakes the agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive. Ambrose Bierce.

Thesauri indulgentiarum rhetia sunt, quibus nunc piscantur divitias virorum.[The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.] Martin Luther.

Let’s be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. Michael Crichton.

Is it really likely that a National Planning Officer would have a better judgement of ‘the number of cars, the number of generators, and the quantities of frozen foods we are likely to require in, say, five years,’ than Ford or General Motors etc., and, even more important, would it even be desirable that various companies in an industry all act on the same guess? Friedrich Hayek.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. James Madison.

One of the arguments against Obamacare goes like this: “The whole thing is unconstitutional since Congress has no authority to compel individuals to purchase health care insurance.”

While this point of view may be intellectually interesting, it is one that I fear more than most.

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Mencken [...]

Generalissimo Francisco Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. While it’s tempting to make sport of the lunacy of awarding this prize to someone of so few tangible accomplishments, considering some of the committee’s other recent recipients, this seems a relatively sober decision.

If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds. This forms a complete barrier against any material oppression of the citizens by taxes of this class, and is itself a natural limitation of the power of imposing them. Alexander Hamilton.