Ernest Spoon

“The following morning, Gary and Colby returned once more to Balanced Rock, hoping to dig up evidence of last night's sighting. An argument was taking place in my head: I'd seen diddly to suggest that Bigfoot resided in the Berkshires. What I'd experienced instead was the intoxicating power of belief, a power that's in all of us. At the same time, one need not be kissed before falling in love. Bigfoot may or may not be real, I thought, but either way, there's something profoundly true about the feeling it evinced.”
― John O'Connor

“One Secret Service officer called the armed protesters “patriots” seeking to undo an illegitimate election, and falsely claimed to her friends that disguised Antifa members had started the violence.”
― Carol Leonnig, Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service

“The pale men are far more ruthless and belligerent than our people, and our people too compromising, too conciliatory,¨ Bakako concluded. ¨They have no moral rules, and their Christ-spirit provides an excuse for all evil done in his name. Our respect for harmony and our spirits´ sincerity have left us vulnerable.¨

Tears welled in Yutowa´s eyes, and he shuddered. ¨That´s the essence.¨”
― Andrew Rowen, Columbus and Caonabó: 1493–1498 Retold

“After a decade of U.S. wars and surging defense budgets, an expectation of special treatment had taken root in the Navy. Many officers felt they were owed something extra for enduring long deployments at sea and missions to support the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The American people fed such attitudes by placing uniformed personnel on a pedestal, thanking them for their service with discounts and freebies. The further one got from Washington, the easier it became to stretch the norms of acceptable conduct. In Asia, Navy officers pocketed favors they knew would be taboo at home.”
― Craig Whitlock, Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy