Why the rumor persists is a better question than whether it is true.
Dec 292023
Lying
To a quite unwreckable Lie,
To a most impeccable Lie!
To a water-tight, fire-proof, angle-iron, sunk-hinge, time-lock, steel-faced Lie!
Not a private hansom Lie,
But a pair-and-brougham Lie,
Not a little-place-at-Tooting, but a country-house-with-shooting
And a ring-fence-deer-park Lie.
—-Kipling
Dec 122023
One is rarely asked to lie but often forced to.
Nov 212023
To do what one does not approve is weakness; to do what one pretends to approve is servility.
Oct 052023
Nothing is off the record except what you don’t say.
Sep 212023
In any reference to “X-figures”, the first figure is 1.*
*If it is “mid X-figures”, the first figure is 2. If it is “high X-figures”, the first figure is 5.
Aug 152023
There are lies, there are damned lies, and then there are documentaries.
Jun 302023
To destigmatize what is perverse it is necessary to stigmatize not merely what is normal, but the very idea of normality itself.
May 152023
One should feel especially flattered by an insincere compliment.
Apr 262023
One often sees accuracy without truth, and sometimes truth without accuracy.
Apr 202023
Every great lie depends on narrative, the great meta-lie.