Samurai philosopher Geroge Orwell was to have said:

All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.

A fool may as well be a blind man.

Todays’ wisdom is from great samurai general George Washington:

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

Your trust and your confidence is a prize that must be won through great hardship.
BTW, I’d like a list of some other great samurai I should be looking up quotes from.

Today’s wisdom comes from honorable samurai philosopher Dave Barry:

The weightlifting competition I saw was the women’s 63 kg class. I’m not sure whether this means the actual women weighed 63 kg or the weights they lifted weighed 63 kg. Or possibly the temperature in the weightlifting hall was 63 kg. There’s no way to know for sure without finding out what a ”kg” is, and my belief, as an American, is that if I have to start understanding the metric system, then the terrorists have won.

Thanks to Best of the Web for pointing this one out.

American Shogun Harry S Truman was to have said:

Carry the battle to them. Don’t let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive. And don’t ever apologize for anything.

Listen to Truman, ’cause he’ll bomb yer ass.

These words are from A Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) written by the great samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi:

Holding the Long Sword
Grip the long sword with a rather floating feeling in your thumb and forefinger, with the middle finger neither tight nor slack, and with the last two fingers tight. It is bad to have play in your hands.
When you take up a sword, you must feel intent on cutting the enemy. As you cut an enemy you must not change your grip, and your hands must not “cower”. When you dash the enemy’s sword aside, or ward it off, or force it down, you must slightly change the feeling in your thumb and forefinger. Above all, you must be intent on cutting the enemy in the way you grip the sword.
The grip for combat and for sword-testing is the same. There is no such thing as a “man-cutting grip”.
Generally, I dislike fixedness in both long swords and hands. Fixedness means a dead hand. Pliability is a living hand. You must bear this in mind.

Sensei Winston Churchill was to have said:

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.

Today’s wisdom comes from an eight-year-old Shyna who is well on his path to being a wise samurai:

There should be no monkeys in the world.

Ken Wheaton has the full context.

From Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai:

Because of some business, Morooka Hikoemon was called upon to swear before the gods concerning the truth of a certain matter. But he said, “A samurai’s word is harder that metal. Since I have impressed this fact upon myself, what more can the gods and Buddhas do?” and the swearing was cancelled.

Be of sound virtue, and never stand being questioned of it.

Samurai General and American Shogun Dwight D. Eisenhower was to have said:

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight — it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

True strength comes from the heart… not that fast twitch muscles don’t help.

Today’s wisdom comes from Socrates… who I think pre-dates samurai… and might have been made up by Plato. Anyhoo:

Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of – for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.

The true samurai is what he appears to be (and thus probably not a politician).

Samurai Benjamin Takeshi Franklin was known to say:

Well done is better than well said.

Facta non verba.

Today’s wisdom is from samurai Shiba Yoshimasa:

Many men feel that they should act according to the time or the moment they are facing, and thus are in confusion when something goes beyond this and some difficulty arises.
The man whose profession is arms should calm his mind and look into the depths of others. Doing so is likely the best of the martial arts.

Yes, touchy-feely crap can help you kill others.

Learned samurai James Madison was known to say:

The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.

So I am the only guardian of true liberty. Me!

Heed these words from A Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) written by the great samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi:

Stance in Strategy
Adopt a stance with the head erect, neither hanging down, nor looking up, nor twisted. Your forehead and the space between your eyes should not be wrinkled. Do not roll your eyes nor allow them to blink, but slightly narrow them. With your features composed, keep the line of your nose straight with a feeling of slightly flaring your nostrils. Hold the line of the rear of the neck straight: instil vigour into your hairline, and in the same way from the shoulders down through your entire body. Lower both shoulders and, without the buttocks jutting out, put strength into your legs from the knees to the tops of your toes. Brace your abdomen so that you do not bend at the hips. Wedge your companion sword in your belt against your abdomen, so that your belt is not slack – this is called “wedging in”.
In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance. You must research this well.

The true warrior is prepared every moment for battle.

From Master Reagan:

History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.

Let the enemy know how expensive it is to cross us.