“In Biblical days it was considered a miracle for an ass to speak; but today it would be a miracle if one kept quiet.”
“POSSIBLY FROM SOMEONE IN MISSOURI, OR ELSE ABOUT SOMEONE IN MISSOURI” quoted in “Other Suspects – V” in Gilbert: The Magazine of the Society of G.K. Chesterton Vol. 28 #6 (July/August 2025) p. 23.
“Apparently, I must give you a lecture. I grimaced neither at your impudence nor at your sentiment, but at your diction and style. I condemn clichés, especially those that have been corrupted by fascists and communists. Such phrases as ‘great and noble cause’ and ‘fruits of their labour’ have been given an ineradicable stink by Hitler and Stalin and all their vermin brood. Besides, in this century of the overwhelming triumph of science, the appeal of the cause of human freedom is no longer that it is great and noble; it is more or less than that; it is essential. It is no greater or nobler than the cause of edible food or the cause of effective shelter. Man must have freedom or he will cease to exist as man. The despot, whether fascist or communist, is no longer restricted to such puny tools as the heel or the sword or even the machine gun; science has provided him weapons that can give him the planet; and only men who are willing to die for freedom have any chance of living for it.’”
Nero Wolfe to his adopted daughter for being reckless and romantic not practical in fighting for liberty in Rex Stout The Black Mountain
“It may be a strange sight to see the blind leading the blind; but England provides a stranger. England shows us the blind leading the people who can see. And this again is an under-statement of the case.”
G.K. Chesterton in “A Glimpse of my Country” in Tremendous Trifles, quoted in “The Golden Key Chain GKC on Scripture Conducted by Peter Floriani” in Gilbert: the Magazine of the Society of G.K. Chesterton Vol. 28 #4 (March/April 2025)
In my latest National Post column I say the Canadian state has become so profoundly incapable that when politicians and bureaucrats don’t do something they claimed they were going to, it’s nearly impossible to tell whether they didn’t want to, couldn’t, or both.
“Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.”
“Doug Larson (English middle-distance runner who won gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games)”, emailed without further attribution by a friend
“The system is broken, and once these judges get into their position, they have this sense of entitlement.... Last time I checked, there hasn’t been any judges elected. Maybe that’s the problem. We should do what the U.S. does. Let’s start electing our judges, holding them accountable.”
Doug Ford in a rare moment of lucidity, quoted in National Post April 30, 2025
“Sing while you fight”
Me on the desirability of being a happy warrior in public policy, both for tactical reasons and because life is both too short and too marvelous an adventure to go around being sour about its difficulties, June 25, 2025
“The Ontario government’s finances are a paradox. The PC government regularly boasts about ‘historic’ levels of spending, but faces constant complaints about underfunding, especially from the health-care, education and post-secondary sectors. What’s the real picture? In fact, budget figures show that revenue and spending have increased dramatically since Premier Doug Ford was first elected.”
Randall Denley in National Post June 20, 2025