“What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote.” — E. M. Forster

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“To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind of food that it is very good but that most people can’t eat it.” — Leo Tolstoy

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“If we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us.” — Francis Bacon …

“Art is not a study of positive reality, it is the seeking for ideal truth.” — John Ruskin …

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

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“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” — Alan Moore, V for Vendetta …

“In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.” — Aristotle …

My recommendations for the state ballot propositions:

Proposition 30 YES
Proposition 31 NO
Proposition 32 NO
Proposition 33 NO
Proposition 34 YES
Proposition 35 NO
Proposition 36 YES
Proposition 37 YES
Proposition 38 YES
Proposition 39 YES
Proposition 40 YES

“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt …

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein …