Quote of the Day for 2016-06-28

"Authoritarianism and secrecy breed incompetence; the two feed on each other. It's a vicious cycle. Governments with authoritarian tendencies point to what is in fact their own incompetence as the rationale for giving them yet more power."

— Josh Marshall (1969-    ) "I Was Finally Able," Talking Points Memo (January 17, 2006)

Interior of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, after housing refugees of Hurricane Katrina "in lawless squalor" (September 2, 2005) Photograph by James Nielsen

Quote of the Day for 2016-06-11

"He who inflicts a vile and unjust harm by using the power and the force with which he is invested, does not conquer; the true victory is to have on one's side Right naked and entire."

— Luís de Camões (1524-1580) Os Lusíadas, canto 10, stanza 58 (1572)

An unknown protester facing down a column of tanks on Chang'an Avenue near the Beijing Hotel, during the Tiananmen Square Protests (June 5, 1989) Photograph by Jeff Widener

Quote of the Day for 2016-05-18

"BEAUTY, n. The power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband."

— Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) The Devil's Dictionary, "B" section (1906)

Portrait of Madame X by John Singer Sargent (1884)

Quote of the Day for 2016-02-09

"Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation."

— Abigail Adams (1744-1818) Letter to John Adams, March 31, 1776

The Women's Strike for Equality march down Fifth Ave. in New York City (August 26, 1970) Photo by Bob Adelman

Quote of the Day for 2016-01-31

"Knowledge itself is power."

— Francis Bacon (1561-1626) "On Heresies," Sacred Meditations

Server room at the Google Data Center in Mayes County, Oklahoma (2012)

Quote of the Day for 2015-12-31

"Americans are uneasy with their possessions, guilty about power, all of which is difficult for Europeans to perceive because they are themselves so truly materialistic, so versed in the uses of power."

— Joan Didion (1934-     ) "7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38," Slouching Towards Bethlehem, "The Howard Hughes Underground," The Saturday Evening Post, August 23, 1967

Howard Hughes, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, and Grover Whalen in a ticker tape parade, celebrating Mr. Hughes' record-breaking flight around the world in 3 days, 19 hours, 14 minutes, and 10 seconds (July 15, 1938)