God

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.

San Francisco

San Francisco—sometimes described as 49 square miles surrounded on all sides by reality—

Walmart

The discussion focused a lot on the degree of autonomy and authority that Wal-Mart employees had. Every employee, for example, not only has access to a wealth of information regarding item costs, profit margins, etc., but any employee has the authority to lower prices on particular items at their discretion. Individual departments also had a high degree of autonomy:

My amiable, laid-back department supervisor had been doing this kind of thing for 15 years. When I asked him why, he took a moment to process the question. He had to think back to other employers he’d worked for in the distant past. None of them, he said, had treated him so well.

What exactly did he mean by that?

His answer lay in the structure of the store. “It’s deceptive, because Wal-Mart isn’t divided into separate stores like a mall,” he said. “But really, that’s how it works. Each section is separate. This is – my pet store! No one comes here and tells me how to run it. I could go for weeks without a supervisor asking any questions.” Here was the unseen, unreported side of the corporate behemoth. Big as it was, it was smart enough to give employees a feeling of autonomy.

NYTimes

NYBehindtheTimes

Clergy v. laity

Always, sensitive to the distress of the faithful, particularly through the usurpation of their rights by the clergy

Unions

The fact is, if you're looking for a messed up organization, look for the union label.

Thinking

If you make people believe they are thinking they will love you, but if you actually make them think you will be scorned.

Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer had a song back in those days that captured some of what I am talking about. Here’s his introduction followed by the first stanza of the song:

One type of song that has come into increasing prominence in recent months is the folk-song of protest. You have to admire people who sing these songs. It takes a certain amount of courage to get up in a coffee-house or a college auditorium and come out in favor of the things that everybody else in the audience is against like peace and justice and brotherhood and so on. The nicest thing about a protest song is that it makes you feel so good. I have a song here which I realise should be accompanied on a folk instrument in which category the piano does not alas qualify so imagine if you will that I am playing an 88 string guitar.

We are the Folk Song Army.
Everyone of us . . . . cares.
We all hate poverty, war, and injustice,
Unlike the rest of you squares.

Catholics for Choice

O'Brien's statement, as well as his report attacking Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United for our own efforts to find common ground, is a roadblock to progress. It is intended as cover for Catholics for Choice's increasing irrelevance, and its inability to offer any real solutions to the challenges of our day. Despite annual expenditures of more than $3.5 million, the organization accomplishes little more than creating a hostile and divisive political climate—as evidenced by today's statement.

Nice

In casual conversation the word "nice" is often used as a synonym for "good," as when someone compliments a man for being "a nice guy." But a world of difference separates the bland quality of being "nice" from the Christian virtue of charity and the noble virtue of justice. While it is relatively easy to be "nice," charity and justice are exacting and demanding. Anyone can be nice -- that is, easygoing, non-threatening, non-judgmental, and tolerant. A nice person never criticizes or judges; a nice person avoids confrontations and arguments; a nice person does anything and everything to keep peace and make life comfortable for everyone. He hears no evil and sees no evil. A nice person never insists on virtue or ever questions the prevalent practices and trends of the day. A nice person never feels outraged at shameless behavior or shocking injustice. While being nice easily leads to popularity and respectability and never creates enemies, it does not inspire admiration, cultivate heroism, or evoke respect.

Don Marquis

The journalist Don Marquis when, after a month on the wagon, he ordered a double martini and exclaimed: "I've conquered my goddam willpower."

Sunstein

In The Cost of Rights, Sunstein and Holmes argued against the idea of "moral rights," or rights that are valid by virtue of something other than force: "When they are not backed by legal force ... moral rights are toothless by definition. Unenforced moral rights are aspirations binding on conscience, not powers binding on officials."

R E Lee

General Robert E. Lee:

“We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers.”

Moloch

"Moloch, the pre-Christian god of reproductive health care services."