#sec

And all the insects ceased in honor of the moon. ↗

— Jack Kerouac

#moon #nature #nature

If we had known it would eventually involve the KGB, the French National Police, and the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, we would have left that body in the river and called the Polizei like any normal German citizen; but we were Americans and addicted to solving other people’s problems, so naturally, we got involved. ↗

— Rosanne Parry

#rosanne-parry #second-fiddle #nature

Authorities this broad give the national security bureaucracy the power to scrutinize the personal lives of every law-abiding American. Allowing that to continue is a grave error that demonstrates a willful ignorance of human nature. Moreover, it demonstrates a complete disregard for the responsibilities entrusted to us by the Founding Fathers to maintain robust checks and balances on the power of any arm of the government. That obviously raises some very serious questions. What happens to our government, our civil liberties and our basic democracy if the surveillance state is allowed to grow unchecked? As we have seen in recent days, the intelligence leadership is determined to hold on to this authority. Merging the ability to conduct surveillance that reveals every aspect of a person’s life with the ability to conjure up the legal authority to execute that surveillance, and finally, removing any accountable judicial oversight, creates the opportunity for unprecedented influence over our system of government. ↗

— Ron Wyden

#national-security #secrets #surveillance #intelligence

A major determining factor by which a superior human can be isolated from his average counterparts is his very isolation—the degree to which he naturally removes himself from mass-media input and stimuli. You cannot be an elitist, a Magician, and be plugged into the system. ↗

— Anton Szandor LaVey

#magic #media #satanism #seclusion #solace

Adora changed her color scheme from peach to yellow. She promised me she'd take me to the fabric store so I can make new coverings to match. This dollhouse is my fancy." She almost made it sound natural, my fancy. The words floated out of her mouth sweet and round like butterscotch, murmured with just a tilt of her head, but the phrase was definitely my mother's. Her little doll, learning to speak just like Adora. "Looks like you do a very good job with it," I said, and motioned a weak wave good-bye. "Thank you," she said. Her eyes focused on my room in the dollhouse. A small finger poked the bed. "I hope you enjoy your stay here," she murmured into the room, as if she were addressing a tiny Camille no one could see. ↗

— Gillian Flynn

#families #insecurity #parental-approval #scary-houses #nature

How dismal it is to see present day Americans yearning for the very orthodoxy that their country was founded to escape. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#fundamentalism #religion #secularism #separation-of-church-and-state #united-states

I think I'd convinced myself that all long-term relationships end up that way; I really thought I had no right to expect more. ↗

— Catherine Sanderson

#settling-for-second-best #relationship

Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly? ↗

— Sandra Day O'Connor

#religion #secularism #separation-of-church-and-state #state #theocracy

Everything might scatter. You might be right. I suppose it's something we can't easily get away from. People need to feel they belong. To a nation, to a race. Otherwise, who knows what might happen? This civilisation of ours, perhaps it'll just collapse. And everything scatter, as you put it. ↗

— Kazuo Ishiguro

#chaos #civilization #destruction #fear #insecurity

Sometimes, loyalty gets in the way of what you want to do. Sometimes, it’s not your secret to tell. ↗

— Stephenie Meyer

#secrets #sharing-secrets #loyalty