Nancy Ellis

“It would slowly become evident that when they committed themselves at last to secession, not as a threat but as an accomplished fact armed for violence, the devoted men who wanted to preserve the Southern way of life had made a tactical error. The ultimate fate of their cause would be largely determined by what was done in Washington. Leaving Washington forever, they had fatally surrendered the initiative. Now their enemies would seize it.”
― Bruce Catton, The Coming Fury

“...this is hard to explain, but it's not a government operation, the Kennedy thing [assassination]. I've been in government my whole life, and I've seen a lot of slimy deals go down, and the one characteristic they all have is stupidity and simplicity; once you pick at them, they start to unravel. People rat each other out. They leave evidence lying around. They buy yachts they can't afford. And let's face it, you want to start a conspiracy in the government, who've you got to do the job? Guys who signed up to work at a desk eight hours a day for thirty years, with no chance of layoffs and a nice pension at the end. Not your top recruits for skullduggery, right? Prime example: Watergate. Now that's a government conspiracy.”
― Robert K. Tanenbaum

“So in your world everyone lies, and everyone's corrupt?"

"It is called the diplomatic service.”
― Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe's Fury: The Battle of Barrosa, March 1811

“Never doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light.”
― Dr. V. Raymond Edman