August 23

August 23 Quotes of the day from previous years:


 * 2003
 * The conservation movement is a breeding ground of Communists and other subversives. We intend to clean them out, even if it means rounding up every bird watcher in the country. ~ John Mitchell
 * selected by Nanobug


 * 2004
 * As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular. ~ Oscar Wilde
 * selected by Kalki


 * 2005
 * I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject. ~ William Wallace at his trial (executed 23 August 1305)
 * proposed by AllanHainey


 * 2006
 * I have brought you to the ring, now see if you can dance. ~ William Wallace
 * proposed by Warrior-Poet


 * 2007
 * It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. ~ William Ernest Henley ~
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2008
 * A few Cobras in your home will soon clear it of Rats and Mice. Of course, you will still have the Cobras. ~ Will Cuppy (born 23 August 1884)
 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2009
 * Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. ~ William Ernest Henley ~
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2010
 * I never started to plow in my life That some one did not stop in the road And take me away to a dance or picnic. I ended up with forty acres; I ended up with a broken fiddle — And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories, And not a single regret. ~ Edgar Lee Masters ~
 * proposed by Ningauble


 * 2011
 * In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power: And what will explain to thee what the night of power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by God's permission, on every errand: Peace!...This until the rise of morn! ~ Al-Qur'an ~ Sura 97 : Al-Qadr as translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
 * proposed by Kalki to note ths date as one of the several dates of the Islamic calendar traditionally considered a likely one of the Night of Power, in the last 10 days of Ramadan corresponding to August 2011, in the Gregorian calendar.


 * 2012
 * proposed by Ningauble
 * proposed by Ningauble


 * 2013


 * proposed by Ningauble


 * 2014


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2015


 * proposed by allixpeeke


 * 2016


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2017


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2018


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2019


 * proposed by DanielTom


 * 2020


 * proposed by Ningauble


 * 2021


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2022


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2023


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2024 : Rank or add further suggestions…

Suggestions
Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally. ~ Abraham Lincoln, in honor of the abolition of slavery in the British colonies.
 * 3 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 11:34, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * 2 If we're going to have something about abolition of slavery then something by William Wilberforce might be more suited.AllanHainey 10:43, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
 * COMMENT - There is some uncertainty as to whether slavery in British Empire/colonies was repealed today or on 1 Aug see relevant dates talk pages. AllanHainey 12:00, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 16:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 InvisibleSun 21:42, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Ningauble 15:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:55, 9 August 2012 (UTC) with a strong lean towards 4.
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 17:34, 19 June 2013 (UTC)
 * 0 allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC) I here present four reasons for my ranking, in the order of importance, where A is the most important reason and D the least important reason. (A) I don't want to see slavery tried on anyone, not even those who argue for it.  (B) Lincoln was an American.  Quoting a Brit would make more sense, as AllanHainey suggests above.  (C) I am of the understanding that the United Kingdom abolished slavery without resorting to war.  Lincoln, by contrast, resorted to war in order to protect northern business interests, and only pretended to abolish slavery in territories over which he had zero control as a war tactic, and that didn't happen until years into the war.  Slavery wasn't actually abolished in the States until the thirteenth amendment was ratified, which happened after the war.  The United Kingdom, since it did not resort of violence, ended slavery in an infinitely better way than the United States.  (D) AllanHainey says there is a discrepancy on the actual date.
 * 3 DanielTom (talk) 10:59, 18 May 2015 (UTC)

Sons of Scotland! I am William Wallace...
 * 0 121a0012 02:55, July 21, 2005 (UTC) (too long, misformatted dialogue, inadequate attribution)
 * 0 User:Warrior-Poet Fair enough, I could put the Scots Gaelic line in there 21 July, 2005 8:06 (CST)
 * 0 AllanHainey 10:43, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
 * 0 Zarbon 16:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 0 InvisibleSun 21:42, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC) I have no objection to using a quote from a movie (so long as it is clearly attributed to the character in the film and not the actual person), but why this quote? It says nothing meaningful.  In the very same scene, he says, "I am William Wallace!  And I see a whole army of my country men here in defiance of tyranny.  You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are.  What will you do with that freedom?  Will you fight?"  Would that not be an infinitely better quote to use?

The Age of Reptiles ended because it had gone on long enough and it was all a mistake in the first place. A better day was dawning at the close of the Mesozoic Era. There were some little warm-blooded animals around which had been stealing and eating the eggs of the Dinosaurs, and they were gradually learning to steal other things, too. Civilization was just around the corner. ~ Will Cuppy
 * 4 InvisibleSun 08:47, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 18:48, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 16:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1.5 Ningauble 15:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 17:34, 19 June 2013 (UTC)
 * 2 (leaning to 3) allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC)
 * 3 DanielTom (talk) 10:59, 18 May 2015 (UTC)
 * 3 Ficaia (talk) 03:48, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

The moral of the story of the Pilgrims is that if you work hard all your life and behave yourself every minute and take no time out for fun you will break practically even, if you can borrow enough money to pay your taxes. ~ Will Cuppy
 * 3 InvisibleSun 08:47, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 18:48, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 16:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Ningauble 15:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 17:34, 19 June 2013 (UTC)
 * 2 allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge. ~ from Star Wars as Darth Maul Ray Park (born August 23)
 * 3 Maul is my alltime favorite Star Wars character, along with Sidious, Dooku, and Tarkin closely followed up. Zarbon 05:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 23:37, 20 August 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 InvisibleSun 21:42, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
 * 0 Ningauble 15:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 17:34, 19 June 2013 (UTC)
 * 1 (leaning to 2) allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Fear. Fear attracts the fearful. The strong. The weak. The innocent. The corrupt. Fear. Fear is my ally. ~ from the Star Wars main trailer sequence, said by Darth Maul Ray Park (born August 23)
 * 4 his best description of power through spreading fear in the hearts of his enemies, my favorite Maul saying. Zarbon 05:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 23:37, 20 August 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 InvisibleSun 21:42, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
 * 0 Ningauble 15:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 17:34, 19 June 2013 (UTC) I would have ranked this quote higher but Ray Park doesn't have a WQ page.
 * 2 allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

It is evident that one cannot say anything demonstrable about the problem before having resolved these preliminary questions, and yet we hardly possess the necessary information to solve some of them. ~ Georges Cuvier
 * 4 Fossil 20:04, 7 November 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Zarbon 16:22, 8 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 15:26, 22 August 2009 (UTC) context is not clearly provided by the quote.
 * 0 Ningauble 15:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 17:34, 19 June 2013 (UTC) What questions?
 * 1 allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Why has not anyone seen that fossils alone gave birth to a theory about the formation of the earth, that without them, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the globe. ~ Georges Cuvier
 * 3 Fossil 20:04, 7 November 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 16:22, 8 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 15:26, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 0 Ningauble 15:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 17:34, 19 June 2013 (UTC)
 * 1 allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

''The earth keeps some vibration going There in your heart, and that is you. And if the people find you can fiddle, Why, fiddle you must, for all your life.'' ~ Edgar Lee Masters
 * 3 Kalki 15:26, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 2.5 Ningauble 15:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 17:34, 19 June 2013 (UTC)
 * 2 allixpeeke (talk) 21:31, 23 August 2014 (UTC)
 * 3 DanielTom (talk) 10:59, 18 May 2015 (UTC)

Very often atheists themselves admit that they have no evidence of God's absence, but they try to put a different spin on it. They'll tell you, “No one can prove a universal negative” (like “There is no God”). They think this somehow excuses them from needing evidence against God's existence. But not only is it false that you can't prove a universal negative (all you have to do is show something is self-contradictory), but more importantly, this claim is really an admission that it's impossible to prove atheism! Atheism involves a universal negative, you can't prove a universal negative, therefore, atheism is unprovable. It turns out that it is the atheist who is believing a view for which there is and can be no evidence. ~ William Lane Craig
 * 3 DanielTom (talk) 10:52, 18 May 2015 (UTC)
 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:07, 23 August 2015 (UTC)
 * 1 (too prosy) Ficaia (talk) 03:48, 10 June 2024 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 19:52, 22 August 2020 (UTC)


 * There is no freer man alive than a captain of cavalry in command of his own troop. ~ Jonathan M. Wainwright (general) (dob)
 * 3 Ficaia (talk) 03:48, 10 June 2024 (UTC)