Polemical Judo Quotes

“Of course Soros is a criminal mastermind whose NGOs suckered millions around the world into raving socialist frenzy. Never mind that his wealth and media “empire” are minuscule compared to the triumvirate of Murdoch, Koch and Saudi co-owners of Fox.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Hardly a cent has been allocated for compliance assistance in any of the red states that passed these new voter ID laws.  Hardly one red cent. You liberals out there. Don’t make this a matter of goody-goody preaching, or denying a long term need to ratchet up ID accountability. Make it about hypocrisy.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Simply replace that cutoff switch with one that would still block backflow into the grid, but that feeds from the solar inverter to just 2 or 3 outlets inside the home, running the fridge, some rechargers, and possibly satellite coms.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Forbes in 2016 announced that just 62 ultra-rich individuals have as much wealth as the bottom half of humanity.[231] Five years before, it took 388 rich guys to achieve that status.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Of course none compare to the exponential growth unleashed by late-20th Century America’s synergy of government, enterprise and unleashed individual competitiveness. One result was the first society transforming itself from the feudal pyramid of privilege to a diamond shape[227] whose vast and healthy and well-educated middle class proved to be the generator of nearly all our great accomplishments.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“It was a revolution against owner-caste oligarchy and cheating! Adam Smith recommended the remedy of democracy, plus openly negotiated and deliberated laws that are evenly enforced by transparently accountable civil servants. And our markets got better – more creative and productive – each time those rules were adjusted to expand our circles of democratic inclusion.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Adam Smith saw what had happened to markets and societies for millennia. Winners are never satisfied with success in the latest market battle, with a cool product or financial or political achievement. As humans, we use any recent advantage to ensure that competitors will fail in future struggles.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion. – Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Chapter II, Part II”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“On the other hand, there is so much hypocrisy among supposed free market champions! The 5,000 golf buddies in America’s smug CEO caste – plus their New Lord backers and Wall Street pals – claim to oppose central planning. But their circle-jerk connivings only shift it away from openly accountable civil servants into dark crypts that are secret, self-flattering and inherently stupid.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Far worse than bribery is blackmail. Whether a person was originally entrapped in some small misjudgment, or willingly did something awful, the man who is blackmailed is far easier for evil ones to control than someone who is merely greedy or venial.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“For it is the nature of evil men that they are insatiable.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Let me repeat: I know there are conspiracies! Indeed, it’s laughable to ignore the most blatant one called Fox News, which openly works for a mélange of foreign billionaires, from the Saudis to Russian mafiosi, from Macao casino lords to an Australian deceit mogul.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“(And if you aren't a dues paying member of a dozen NGOs, each fighting for a future you believe in, then take another look at the hypocrite in the mirror. That method is a lazy person's cheap route to bragging rights: “I’m at least doing something.” Here's how.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Alas, there truly are conspirators in this world, flourishing wherever light doesn’t shine. Moreover, they developed a great technique to distract from their own plots – they help spread a stinging miasma of paranoid ravings that genuine schemes can hide behind!”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“… one by Alasdair Gray – relayed by my colleague, author Ken McLeod[143] – that sums everything so-concisely and optimistically, but with a slightly science-fictional flair: “Work as if you lived in the early days of a better nation.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“read it aloud to that teetering RASR (Residually Adult-Sane Republican) … and explain that yes, this is how we feel, ever more, each day in the face of soul-destroying, nation-wrecking treason by a madness that – like the 1860s Confederacy – is without any moral foundation, whatsoever. Tell your ostrich Republican friends, they need to choose sides in this potentially lethal phase of our endless Civil War.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Read again or hear a great actor speak aloud Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address[141] – only this time envision he’s talking to you, right now. No squinting. No adjustments or allowances for time or context. Simply talking exactly to and about us, right now. It’s shockingly pertinent. “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Pity that not one prediction ever made by Supply Siders ever came even remotely close to coming true. And that is ever. At any level, from the federal budget to states like Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“The hard-won lesson of the last two centuries, which even many liberals don’t grasp, is that most injustices shrivel under the application of light. And light consists of photons called facts. Reiterating: we see zillionaire oligarchs finance relentless propaganda aimed at riling millions into hatred, and not only wrath aimed at powerless minorities. Just as dangerous is their campaign – stirring up that pre-existing SoA reflex – of open war against “knowledge elites” – precisely because those skill castes do have power! Civil servants, scientists, teachers, doctors, intel agents and so can do a lot to thwart the New Lords’ ambitions. All must be gelded. Broken to harness. Taught their place.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Corporations demand compliance assistance when government imposes new regulations. So, why can’t poor folks get help to comply with voter ID laws?”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Those “socialists” must do badly at encouraging growth in an entrepreneurial-competitive capitalist economy. – They’re fiscally irresponsible and will saddle future generations with outrageous debt. – Because liberals moralize, that means they cannot be the pragmatic ones. Would it surprise you that these truisms all run diametrically opposite to fact? Or that almost none of our side’s pols or pundits have glommed onto that response?”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“right after the 2016 U.S. election was trashed by malevolent forces, Facebook invited me to their headquarters to consult about ways to use transparency to prevent their site from being hijacked again by meme-manipulators. I can tell you now that absolutely none of my suggestions were adopted, or even closely examined. I am not encouraged.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Others also credit Soros with this impressive (and terrifying) feat! The right-wing Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute repeat the accusation, along with many GOP politicians. But… but wasn’t that supposed to be Ronald Reagan?”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Russian President and “ex” KGB agent Vladimir Putin calls the fall of the USSR “history’s greatest tragedy,” and he pours special blame-hatred for that calamity at George Soros.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“Back up this ‘grant-hugging’ calumny on the Fox web site by next week, or admit now that you’re a coward-liar.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“The scientists pushing Global Warming are all in it for climate study grants. Seriously, you never realized you can judo-kill that with just four words? Show… us… the… ‘grants.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“it’s obvious to anyone that 5,000 golf buddies in an incestuous CEO caste can much more plausibly connive in secret with parasitic Wall Streeters, casino moguls, Mafiosi, “ex”-KGB agents and inheritance brats. The very folks who want populist rallies pouring hate at both people of color and smart folks.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“When most of the people who know the most about a subject are seen to agree, despite their competitiveness, then it's generally wise for policy to begin by paying heed to expert advice.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“But I’m now convinced the never-negotiate radicalism of today’s mad right – promoted avidly on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and by memes pouring from Kremlin basements, and even institutionalized openly by many Republican leaders – leaves us no choice. It’s become a knife-fight. Any reaching out will just win us a bloody stump.”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight

“David Axelrod put it well, citing how we respond to every Trumpian or Fox News provocation with righteous indignation: [2] “My advice to the Democratic nominee next year is: Donʼt play. … Wrestling is Mr. Trump’s preferred form of combat. But beating him will require jiu-jitsu, a different style of battle typically defined as the art of manipulating an opponent’s force against himself….” Absolutely. Moreover, it must begin with un-learning”
― David Brin, Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight