Joseph Stalin

The press must grow day in and day out – it is our Party’s sharpest and most powerful weapon.

In the future, there will be fewer but better Russians.

Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union.

If any foreign minister begins to defend to the death a ‘peace conference’, you can be sure his government has already placed its orders for new battleships and airplanes.

Words are one thing – deeds something entirely different. Fine words are a mask to cover shady deeds. A sincere diplomat is like dry water or wooden iron.

We do not want a single foot of foreign territory; but of our territory we shall not surrender a single inch to anyone.

The world is changed by idealists.

In fact, Nazi war criminals who were charged were able to escape prosecution when they could show that the Americans and the British did the same thing they did.

I hate diversity workshops. Real change comes from having enough comfort to be really honest and say something very uncomfortable.

It is necessary sometimes to take one step backward to take two steps forward.

Ample work in mainstream political science shows that a majority of voters are not represented by their own elected representatives, who listen to different voices – the voices of the donor class, great wealth and the corporate sector.

I do not feel that we should set up people as ‘models’; rather actions, thoughts, principles.

I tell you folks, all politics is applesauce.

Socialism means keeping account of everything. You will have socialism if you take stock of every piece of iron and cloth.

The common good is the aspiration of all of us.

[on Les Paul guitars] It’s the construction and sound of it. With this material, the wood and neck construction and scale length really yields a different sound all together, and I just gravitate towards that. I pretty much get everything I want with it, so I’m very satisfied.

Since Jimmy Carter, religious fundamentalists play a major role in elections. He was the first president who made a point of exhibiting himself as a born again Christian. That sparked a little light in the minds of political campaign managers: Pretend to be a religious fanatic and you can pick up a third of the vote right away. Nobody asked whether Lyndon Johnson went to church every day. Bill Clinton is probably about as religious as I am, meaning zero, but his managers made a point of making sure that every Sunday morning he was in the Baptist church singing hymns.

Everyone who is critical of Israeli policy is deluged by crazed messages intended to flood their email system or, more insidiously, passwords are accessed and messages sent out under their name! I’m sure it’s illegal. It’s also an effort to undermine free speech.

Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power. And concentration of political power gives rise to legislation that increases and accelerates the cycle.

Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.

If the nation is not capable of preserving itself and reproducing, if it loses it vital bearings and ideals, then it doesn’t need foreign enemies – it will fall apart on its own.