Poking through 11+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.

Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we humans could relegate all our foolishness and foibles, both word and deed, to this one day of the year. Instead we tend to spread them across the year and repeat them over and over and over…

All humans are fools at times; some more often than others. Those who claim otherwise are usually found in the ‘more often’ category.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

Can you believe? Q1 is over, done, gone and all we have to show for it is a day especially for fools. So on this day dedicated to fools and foolishness I offer you up some foolish words of wisdom.

Way back in 1894 Mark Twain wrote a book in which the main character, Pudd’nhead Wilson, says, “This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.” A home truth if there ever was one.

If you plan on pulling any pranks today you might want to keep Will Shakespeare’s words in mind, “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.”

Ben Franklin must have been thinking of politicians when he said “Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it.”

As usual, it’s Will Rogers who nails April Fool’s Day perfectly—not to mention the upcoming elections, “The trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected.”

Finally, we can all see the truth in this old Welsh Proverb, “If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings;” all we have to do is look in the mirror.

I wish you a wonderful day full of pranks, silliness and friends.

Happy April Fools Day!

Flickr image credit: Jonny Hughes

Here is the fourth installment of comments about politics; if you missed the previous ones you may find them here 1, 2, and 3. You’ll notice I named the third one “I Hate Politics 3,” which was actually an error, but one I like, so I’m going to continue using it.

Politicians come from varied backgrounds; in times past most were lawyers, but these days they are truly anything; or, as Robert Louis Stevenson so aptly puts it, Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.

Gore Vidal adds a telling comment to that with which I totally agree, Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.

As campaigns heat up the zingers always fly thicker and faster; one of the best came from Adlai Stevenson, in a 1952 campaign speech, I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them.

Some lies never die (even when they should) and some of the nastiest seem to hang around forever (BTW, nasty isn’t a new trend as some seem to think, but more on that another week.) Our old friend Anonymous made a good point when he said, Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you.

It’s hard to argue with the wisdom of Will Rogers, especially this little gem, If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these  acceptance speeches there wouldn’t be any inducement to go to heaven.

Have a great rest-of-the-weekend and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Flickr image credit:

I ran across this comment by Joseph Mason, professor of finance at Louisiana State University in an article I was reading and I couldn’t resist sharing it with you.

“Wall Street will always have more lawyers and more accountants and more brains than the regulators.”

So I scavenged around and found a few more to make up today’s QQ list.

Let’s start with a Wall Street proverb that sounds as if it were written by Goldman.

“Buy on the rumor; sell on the news.”

Economist Paul A. Samuelson also seems to have a fairly jaundiced view of Wall Street;

“The stock market has forecast nine of the last five recessions”

I can’t imagine why, can you?

This next one is from everybody’s favorite crook, Bernard Madoff. Knowing what we know now makes this comment even more ironic.

“Whenever I go down to Washington and meet with the SEC and complain to them that the industry is either over regulated or the burdens are too great they all start to roll their eyes, just like all of our children do when we talk about the good old days.”

But it’s will Rogers who gets the last word today.

“Let Wall Street have a nightmare and the whole country has to help get them back in bed again”

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stoneford/2671172459/

Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: BaronBrian

The art of the sound bite isn’t a modern concept—it’s as old as human communications. Previously known as one liners, le mot juste or dozens of other terms over the years it involves just a few words that encompass and transmit a specific point or idea.

Will Rogers was a master le mot juste. More than a half a Century ago, he commented on the state of politics and his words are as literally accurate today as when he said them.

“We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.”

“I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.”

“If we ever pass out as a great nation we ought to put on our tombstone, ‘America died from a delusion that she has moral leadership.”

And one more special one to sum up the entire political arena at all levels from local to international.

“If you ever injected truth into politics you’d have no politics.”

Do you have a favorite Will Rogers-ism?

Your comments—priceless

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Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: Robyn Gallagher

If it’s Sunday, it’s quote day, but this isn’t just any Sunday. It’s the Sunday before Tax Day, 2008—unless you filed an extension as I did.

The challenge is for you to respond with another quote on a similar/connected topic or whatever it makes you think of.

“I haven’t committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law.” –David Dinkins, New York City Mayor, answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes. (No lie, just spin. Too bad it won’t work for the rest of us.)

“The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf.” –Will Rogers (More than 10 million and growing every year.)

“A tax loophole is something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is tax reform.” –Russell B. Long (I must not earn enough to warrant a loophole.)

Heard any great tax quotes lately?

Your comments—priceless

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