Great Quote, felt the need to share. :)

[EnslavedByNinjas]

"As I said, the S.S. is just a tool. Men are always for hire who like dirty work. How dirty will that work become if you nudge Douglas out of his majority?"
"Jubal, are you saying I ought not to criticize the administration?"
"Nope. Gadflies are necessary. But it's well to look at the new rascals before you turn your present rascals out. Democracy is a poor system; the only thing that can be said for it is that it's eight times as good as any other method. Its worst fault is that its leaders reflect their constituents-a low level, but what can you expect? So look at Douglas and ponder that, in his ignorance, stupidity, and self-seeking, he resembles his fellow Americans but is a notch or two above average. Then look at the man who will replace him if his government topples."
"There's little difference."
"There's always a difference! This is between 'bad' and 'worse' - which is much sharper than between 'good' and 'better.'"

- Jubal Harshaw

(Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein, 1961)

I'm halfway through this book, and found it to be VERY readable and stimulating. I grok now why it's gone 48 years so far while never being out of print. On a side note, I also read that this book was one of two books that prevented the water bed from being patented when invented. Also, the world the book is set in, roughly present day, is so accurate in some ways it's scary. Pakistan and India are even still fighting over Kashmir.

 

[Laurie]

I LOVE Heinlein! My favorite's by him are: Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is Harsh Mistress. When I think of Science Fiction my big 3 are: Clark, Asimov and Heinlein. Heinlein, especially, to me was living well beyond his years. His insight to things to come is dead on scary!

 

[eroomlorac]

Stranger in a Strange Land is an excellent book. I haven't read it in many years, though. Thanks for the suggestion. But what is the waterbed connection, though, I don't remember. I sleep in a water bed and love it.

 

[EnslavedByNinjas]

I didn't remember it either, I may not have even gotten to that yet. But if I had to guess, Jubal has it.

From wikipedia:
Stranger contains an early description of the waterbed, an invention which made its real-world debut a few years later in 1968. Charles Hall, who brought a waterbed design to the United States Patent Office, was refused a patent on the grounds that Heinlein's descriptions in Stranger and another novel, Double Star, constituted prior art. [8]

I didn't realize this when I posted that, but both novels that blocked the patent are Heinleins. Double Star, the other, was even earlier at 1957. It wasn't actually invented for another 11 years. :groovy: :woolie: