There is an old saying: In history nothing is true but the names and dates. In fiction everything is true but the names and dates. The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense.

What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It's not good at much else.

The general difference between conservatives and liberals is that liberals like pretty pictures and conservatives like to build bridges that people can drive across.

The tactics...no, amateurs discuss tactics,.... Professional soldiers study logistics.

If you want to kick the tiger in his ass you'd better have a plan for dealing with his teeth

Jack looked out the window as they passed the Mormon temple, just outside the beltway near Connecticut Avenue. A decidedly odd-looking building, it had grandeur with its marble columns and gilt spires. The beliefs represented by that impressive structure seemed curious to Ryan, a lifelong Catholic, but the people who held them were honest and hardworking, and fiercely loyal to their country, because they believed in what America stood for.

Being a victim is more palatable than having to recognize the intrinsic contradictions of one's own governing philosophy.