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| #3171 | | Philosophy: A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing.
-- Ambrose Bierce
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| #3172 | | Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.
The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
-- Ambrose Bierce
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| #3173 | | Politician: 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
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| #3174 | | Pray: To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single
petitioner confessedly unworthy.
-- Ambrose Bierce
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| #3175 | | Presidency: The greased pig in the field game of American politics.
-- Ambrose Bierce
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| #3176 | | Proboscis: The rudimentary organ of an elephant which serves him in place
of the knife-and-fork that Evolution has as yet denied him. For purposes
of humor it is popularly called a trunk.
-- Ambrose Bierce
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| #3177 | | Inadmissible: Not competent to be considered. Said of certain kinds of
testimony which juries are supposed to be unfit to be entrusted with,
and which judges, therefore, rule out, even of proceedings before themselves
alone. Hearsay evidence is inadmissible because the person quoted was
unsworn and is not before the court for examination; yet most momentous
actions, military, political, commercial and of every other kind, are
daily undertaken on hearsay evidence. There is no religion in the world
that has any other basis than hearsay evidence. Revelation is hearsay
evidence; that the Scriptures are the word of God we have only the
testimony of men long dead whose identy is not clearly established and
who are not known to have been sworn in any sense. Under the rules of
evidence as they now exist in this country, no single assertion in the
Bible has in its support any evidence admissible in a court of law...
But as records of courts of justice are admissible, it can easily be proved
that powerful and malevolent magicians once existed and were a scourge to
mankind. The evidence (including confession) upon which certain women
were convicted of witchcraft and executed was without a flaw; it is still
unimpeachable. The judges' decisions based on it were sound in logic and
in law. Nothing in any existing court was ever more thoroughly proved than
the charges of witchcraft and sorcery for which so many suffered death.
If there were no witches, human testimony and human reason are alike
destitute of value. --Ambrose Bierce
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| #3178 | | "Today's robots are very primitive, capable of understanding only a few
simple instructions such as 'go left', 'go right', and 'build car'."
--John Sladek
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| #3179 | | "In the fight between you and the world, back the world."
--Frank Zappa
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| #3180 | | Here is an Appalachian version of management's answer to those who are
concerned with the fate of the project:
"Don't worry about the mule. Just load the wagon."
-- Mike Dennison's hillbilly uncle
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