“The one function that most gods seem to have in common is to give human existence some ultimate purpose - and, while it is not possible to disprove an ultimate purpose, there does not seem to be any evidence for it. This is not to say, of course, that there is no purpose in life at all: we all make our own purposes as we go through life. And life does not lose its value simply because it it not going to last forever.” GivingHumansDoeSeemsLastsPurposeValuesCoursesLosesCommonExistenceForeverAtheismEvidenceUltimateFunctionPositive AtheismPurpose Of LifeHuman Existence Author:Barbara Smoker
“It is ordinarily said that criminal law is designed to protect property and to protect persons, and if society's only interest in controlling sex behavior were to protect persons, then the criminal codes concerned with assault and battery should provide adequate protection. The fact that there is a body of sex laws which is apart from the laws protecting persons is evidence of their distinct function, namely that of protecting custom.” IfsShouldPersonsSaidFactsBodyLawSexInterestProtectBehaviorEvidenceConcernedFunctionPropertyProtectionCriminalsCodeCustomsAssaultAdequateBatteriesCriminal Law Book:Sexual Behavior in the Human Male Source: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male
“If the decline of Christianity created the modern political zealot - and his crimes - so the evaporation of religious faith among the educated left a vacuum in the minds of Western intellectuals easily filled by secular superstition. There is no other explanation for the credulity with which scientists, accustomed to evaluating evidence, and writers, whose whole function was to study and criticize society, accepted the crudest Stalinist propaganda at its face value. They needed to believe; they wanted to be duped.” IfsMindBelieveWholeWantedFacesPoliticalValuesLeftReligiousChristianityStudyModernCrimeNeededEvidenceScientistFunctionFilledWesternAcceptedEducatedPropagandaExplanationCriticizeDeclineSuperstitionsSecularAccustomedReligious FaithVacuumsCredulityZealotFace ValueEvaporation Author:Paul Johnson
“Well, when people talk about interrogating terrorists, they're acting like this is some sort of law enforcement function. Law enforcement is about gathering evidence to take someone to trial, and convict them. Anti-terrorism is about finding out information to prevent a future attack so the same tactics do not apply.” PeopleWellsLawActingInformationFindingsEvidenceFunctionTerrorismTerroristTrialsLaw EnforcementEnforcementGatheringTacticsConvictsAnti Terrorism Author:Marco Rubio
“The principal task of a conductor is not to put himself in evidence but to disappear behind his functions as much as possible. We are pilots, not servants.” BehindsEvidenceTasksFunctionDisappearServantPilotsPrincipalConductor Author:Franz Liszt
“Interviewer: Have you ever considered writing nonfiction? Mary Doria Russell: Oh, honey, I did! Let's see...There was "A Reconsideration of the Evidence for Cannibalism at the Krapina Neandertal Site." That was a big hit. And who could ever forget "Cutmarks on the Engis II Calvarium"? Then there was "Browridge Development as a Function of Bending Stress in the Supraorbital Region." I got tons of reprint requests for that one. Trust me fiction is better.” WritingBigsForgetFictionDevelopmentEvidenceFunctionStressRegionsHoneyNonfictionMarySiteTrust MeRequestBendingCannibalismInterviewersReconsiderationWriting Nonfiction Author:Mary Doria Russell
“There is a huge body of evidence to support the notion that me and the police were put on this earth to do extremely different things and never to mingle professionally with each other, except at official functions, when we all wear ties and drink heavily and whoop it up like the natural, good-humored wild boys that we know in our hearts that we are..These occasions are rare, but they happen - despite the forked tongue of fate that has put us forever on different paths.” KnowsHeartDifferentBodyHappensEarthNaturalBoysSupportForeverPathFateHugeDrinkEvidenceFunctionPoliceNotionTongueDespiteOccasionsTiesOfficialsDifferent ThingsGonzoDifferent Paths Book:Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the F Source: Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the F
“Evidence indicates that cats were first tamed in Egypt. The Egyptians stored grain, which attracted rodents, which attracted cats. (No evidence that such a thing happened with the Mayans, though a number of wild cats are native to the area.) I don't think this is accurate. It is certainly not the whole story. Cats didn't start as mousers. Weasels and snakes and dogs are more efficient as rodent-control agents. I postulate that cats started as psychic companions, as Familiars, and have never deviated from this function.” ThinkingFirstsWholeStoriesNumbersHappenedDogEvidenceAreasCatFunctionAgentsNativeCompanionEfficientAccurateGrainEgyptPsychicsSnakesTamedWeaselsRodentsMayans Author:William S. Burroughs
“We now have irrefutable evidence that [Saddam] has once again set up and reconstituted his program to take uranium, to enrich it to sufficiently high grade, so that it will function as the base material as a nuclear weapon. And there's no doubt about the fact that the level of effort has escalated in recent months.” FactsLevelsEffortDoubtMaterialsMonthsWeaponsEvidenceProgramFunctionNuclearNo DoubtGradesNuclear WeaponsSaddamUranium Author:Dick Cheney
“Even though disciplined sleeping habits and the adrenalin of live radio ensures that we are very awake while on duty, there is evidence of a phenomenon called circadian desynchronosis which causes one's brain to function slowly at those times of day when it thinks it should be asleep, regardless how wide awake the body is.” ThinkingShouldBodyCausesSleepBrainDutyHabitEvidenceFunctionRadioWideAwakePhenomenonTime Of DayWide Awake Author:Evan Davis