BOOKS:

PAPAL SIN AND LORD ACTON:

"The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks"

- Lord Acton

I thought that the above quote from Lord Acton was the most appropriate for our times, even more so than his famous "power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Acton is very much like the Bible; often quoted but rarely read. In recent times conservatives have tried to claim him as their own, but the more intelligent denizens of the conservative world recognize that he was actually a classical liberal. Thus they hope to claim him for their so-called commitment to liberty which is more honoured in the breech than in reality. I know, I know. There are conservatives who actually have an ideological commitment to liberty, but in order to try and carry their views into politics they have been content to ally themselves with the most illiberal segments of society. In our times the example of liberals/socialists/anarchists allying themselves with Leninist thuggery are few and almost insignificant outside of the USA. What is not insignificant is the tendency for classical liberals/libertarians to ally themselves with social conservatives of varying degrees of thuggery. As Acton says;

"At all times sincere friend of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities, that have prevailed by associating themselves with auxiliaries whose objects differed from their own; and this association which is always dangerous, has sometimes been disastrous, by giving to opponents just grounds of opposition."

-Lord Acton

I have already posted on Garry Wills' book 'Papal Sin' in which Wills, as a dissident Catholic, lays out the system of deceit that underlies the modern Papacy. The book is broad-ranging, going back all the way to Augustine versus Jerome, but one point particularly grabbed my attention. After his farcical attack on the modern world in his 'Syllabus of Errors' (1864) Pope Pius IX was not satisfied with the totalitarian control he had attempted to impose on the Catholic Church. His next step was a Church Council, Vatican I, that he plotted to have his "infallibility" recognized at.

To say the least Pius' manoeuvres were conspiratorial in this case, and he managed to have his declaration accepted even despite the fact that a majority either rejected it totally or felt that such a declaration was ill advised at the time. Here is where the Anglo-Catholic Lord Acton comes into the book, and it must be said that he had a more active historical role than that of a quote mine. Moving from country to country Acton solidified the opposition to Pius. In the end he failed, but the struggle was heroic. If there were only one reason to recommend 'Papal Sin' this glimpse into Acton's life would be it. The man was far more than the common quote from him. As Acton said of his opponents;

"There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it."

I recommend the Wikipedia article on Acton highly as an enlightening glimpse into somebody who was far more than what he is remembered for.

CANADIAN POLITICS:
STRAIGHT FROM THE OTHER END OF THE HORSE-HARPER QUOTES:
To the tune of 'Those Were The Days'...things the Conservative leader would like forgotten. For the original sources of these quotes see this link.
Stephen Harper in his own words


Over the years, Stephen Harper has said a number of things that a great many Canadians would be shocked, and even appalled, to learn that they were said by someone who is now our Prime Minister. The following is just a sampling of those quotes:


"Canada is not a bilingual country. In fact it less bilingual today than it has ever been. ... As a religion, bilingualism is the god that failed."
Calgary Sun newspaper column, 2001


"You have to remember that west of Winnipeg the ridings the Liberals hold are dominated by people who are either recent Asian immigrants or recent migrants from eastern Canada; people who live in ghettos and are not integrated into Western Canadian society."
Report Magazine, 2001


"It's past time the feds scrapped the Canada Health Act."
"Firewall Letter", 2001


"That's why the federal government should scrap its ridiculous pay equity law."
Speaking as head of the National Citizens Coalition, 1998


"Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society. It is in fact totalitarianism. I find this is very scary stuff."
Interview with Terry O’Neill of BC Report


newsmagazine, 1999 "This government's only explanation for not standing behind our allies is that they couldn't get the approval of the Security Council at the United Nations - a body [on] which Canada doesn't even have a seat." CTV's Question Period, March 30, 2003


"I was asked to speak about Canadian politics. It may not be true, but it's legendary that if you're like all Americans, you know almost nothing except for your own country. Which makes you probably knowledgeable about one more country than most Canadians."
Speech to a Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, June 1997


"[Y]our country [the USA], and particularly your conservative movement, is a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world."
Speech to a Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, June 1997


"Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it"
Speech to a Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, June 1997


"In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance."
Speech to a Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, June 1997


"Canada appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its economy and social services to mask its second-rate status ..."
Op-ed article in the National Post, December 12, 2000


"Now 'pay equity' has everything to do with pay and nothing to do with equity. It’s based on the vague notion of 'equal pay for work of equal value,' which is not the same as equal pay for the same job."
National Citizens Coalition Overview, Fall 1998


"For taxpayers, however, it’s [pay equity] a rip-off. And it has nothing to do with gender. Both men and women taxpayers will pay additional money to both men and women in the civil service. That’s why the federal government should scrap its ridiculous pay equity law."
National Citizens Coalition Overview, Fall 1998


"Whether Canada ends up as one national government, or two national governments, or several national governments or some other kind of arrangement is, quite frankly, secondary in my opinion."
Speech made when he was a Reform Party MP, 1994

DOG QUOTES:
Molly really has to hold her hairball reflex on this item. It's quotes on that blight on the Earth called dogs. But for those with less refined tastes than cat-lovers here it goes:
A little joke first:
If you want somebody who will bring you the paper without first tearing it apart to remove the sports section then buy a dog.
If you want somebody to make a fool of himself simply over the joy of seeing you then buy a dog.
If you want somebody who will eat whatever you put in front of him and never says it is quite as good as his mother made it...then buy a dog.
If you want somebody who is always willing to go out at any hour, for as long and wherever you want, then buy a dog.
If you want somebody who will never touch the remote, doesn't care about football, and can sit next to you as you watch romantic movies then buy a dog.
If you want somebody who is content to get up onto your bed just to warm your feet and whom you can push off if he snores then buy a dog.
If you want somebody who never criticizes what you do, doesn't care if you are pretty or ugly, fat or thin, young or old, who acts as if every word you say is especially worthy of listening to, and loves you unconditionally, perpetually...then buy a dog.
But, on the other hand, if you want somebody who will never come when you call, ignores you totally when you come home, leaves hair all over the place, walks all over you, runs around all night and only comes home to sleep and eat, and acts as if your entire existence is solely to ensure his happiness, then...buy a cat.
What did you think it was going to be ????

Anyways, on to the quotes:
1)"The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue"
-Anonymous
2)"Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful"
-Ann Landers
3)"If there are no dogs in heaven, then I want to go where they went"
-Will Rogers
4)"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face"
-Ben Williams
5)"A dog is the only thing on Earth that loves you more than he loves himself"
-Josh Billings
6)"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person"
-Andy Rooney
7)"We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made."
-M. Acklam
8)"Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people. We are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate."
-Sigmund Freud
9)"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult."
-Rita Rudner
10)"A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance and to turn around three times before lying down"
-Robert Benchley
11)"Anyone who doesn't know what soap tastes like has never washed a dog"
-Franklin P. Jones
12)"If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very,very few persons"
-James Thurber
13)"If your dog is fat you are not getting enough exercise"
-Unknown
14)"My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money"
-Joe Weinstein
15)"Ever consider what our dogs must think of us ? I mean here we come back home from a grocery store with the most amazing haul, chicken pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth."
-Anne Tyler
16)"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea"
-Robert A. Heinlein
17)"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
-Mark Twain
18)"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,'Wow, you're right ! I never would have thought of that !"
-Dave Barry
19)"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole"
-Roger Caras
20)"If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them."
-Phil Pastoret
21)"My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am"
-Unknown

Enough of this distasteful subject for now. Back to the cat world.
Molly

Molly goes tiptoeing through the tulips once more, or
Quotes on cooperation:
Every once in awhile the humans, lazy apes that they are, don't clean the litter boxes to Molly's satisfaction. Who do they think they are ? If God hadn't intended them to open cat food cans and clean litter boxes he wouldn't have given them opposable thumbs.
So here we go again, out to the Quote Garden, so that Molly can do what a cats gotta do. Here are a few of the flowers she dragged back this time. Anarchists generally believe that humans have a natural heritable propensity for cooperation, and that authority isn't needed because of this talent. So...on cooperation:
A. "A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together."
- Author Unknown
B."In union there is strength."
-Aesop (yep, it's true. That's where it came from)
C."No member of a crew is every praised for the rugged individualism of his rowing."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
D."Some of us are not as smart as all of us."
-Ken Blanchard
E."Cooperation is the thoroughgoing conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there."
-Virginia Burden
F."Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success."
-Author Unknown

Survival of the Fittest Quotes:
More Well Evolved Flowers From 'The Quote Garden':
In light of the previous item on this blog here are a few items that have won the struggle for existence:
A. "Evolution is individual- devolution is collective."
-Martin H. Fischer
B. "We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities, still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin."
-Charles Darwin in 'The Descent of Man'
C. "That in man which cannot be domesticated is not his evil but his goodness."
-Antonio Porchia in 'Voces, 1943'
D. "Modern man is the missing link between apes and human beings."
-Author Unknown
E. "A simple and irrefutable argument to knock creationism on its ass: 1)Humans are a mistake-subproof:opposable thumbs and enlarged brain capacity are the combined number one factor in the increasingly speedy destruction of our planet. 2)God doesn't make mistakes. 3)Therefore God couldn't have created people."
-Cassus Garrulitas

And here are a couple from Frans de Waal himself:
a)De Waal's Law: People such as primatologists and zookeepers who work on a daily basis with apes, always have a high opinion of apes' intelligence and abilities. Those who attempt to minimize apes' language abilities and cognitive skills are always people with little or no first-hand experience with apes.
b)The possibility that empathy resides in parts of the brain so ancient that we share them with rats should give pause to anyone comparing politicians with those poor, underestimated creatures.

Love the last one,
Molly

More Flowers From 'The Quote Garden':
a)" Many laws as certainly make bad men as bad men make many laws."
-Walter Savage Lander
Imaginary Conversations
b)"Justice is open to everyone in the same way as the Ritz Hotel"
-Justice Sturgess
c)"People who love sausage and people who believe in justice should never watch either of them being made"
-Chancellor Otto Von Bismark
d)"When you go to court you are putting your fate in the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty"
-Noam Crosby

To be continued until I get bored.
Molly