-
... to say that the CIA and the KGB engage in similar practices is the equivalent of saying that the man who pushes an old lady into the path of a hurtling bus is not to be distinguished from the man who pushes an old lady out of the path of a hurtling bus: on the grounds that, after all, in both cases someone is pushing old ladies around.
William Francis Buckley -
To buy very good wine nowadays requires only money. To serve it to your guests is a sign of fatigue.
William Francis Buckley
-
If you had a European prime minister who experienced what we've experienced it would be expected that he would retire or resign.
William Francis Buckley -
The socialized state is to justice, order, and freedom what the Marquis de Sade is to love.
William Francis Buckley -
...following Mrs. Roosevelt in search of irrationality was like following a burning fuse in search of an explosive.
William Francis Buckley -
Truth is a demure lady, much too ladylike to knock you on your head and drag you to her cave. She is there, but people must want her, and seek her out.
William Francis Buckley -
One doesn't read Jane Austen; one re-reads Jane Austen.
William Francis Buckley -
History is but the polemics of the victor.
William Francis Buckley
-
Mr. Rockefeller is due to entertain munificently at breakfast, and make his pitch. My advice to one invited guest was: Order caviar, and then say No.
William Francis Buckley -
What yells out at the US public . . . is the incandescent hypocrisy of so many people who, in the name of free speech, persecute its practitioners if their opinions are conservative.
William Francis Buckley -
Self-control is one of the most exhilarating of pleasures.
William Francis Buckley -
One must bear in mind that the expansion of federal activity is a form of eating for politicians.
William Francis Buckley -
Knee-jerk liberals and all the certified saints of sanctified humanism are quick to condemn this great and much-maligned Transylvanian statesman.
William Francis Buckley -
A conservative is someone who stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it.
William Francis Buckley
-
The academic community has in it the biggest concentration of alarmists, cranks and extremists this side of the giggle house.
William Francis Buckley -
Marijuana is not much more difficult to obtain than beer. The reason for this is that a liquor store selling beer to a minor stands to lose its liquor license. Marijuana salesmen don't have expensive overheads, and so are not easily punished.
William Francis Buckley -
The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.
William Francis Buckley -
Conservatives should be adamant about the need for the reappearance of Judeo-Christianity in the public square.
William Francis Buckley -
Bobby Kennedy and Nelson Rockefeller are having a row, ostensibly over the plight of New York's mentally retarded, a loose definition of which would include everyone in New York who voted for Bobby Kennedy or Nelson Rockefeller.
William Francis Buckley -
Treatment is not now available for almost half of those who would benefit from it. Yet we are willing to build more and more jails in which to isolate drug users even though at one-seventh the cost of building and maintaining jail space and pursuing, detaining, and prosecuting the drug user, we could subsidize commensurately effective medical care and psychological treatment.
William Francis Buckley
-
The amount of money and of legal energy being given to prosecute hundreds of thousands of Americans who are caught with a few ounces of marijuana makes no sense.
William Francis Buckley -
You know, I’ve spent my entire life time separating the Right from the kooks.
William Francis Buckley -
Before there was Ronald Reagan there was Barry Goldwater, and before there was Barry, there was National Review , and before there was National Review there was Bill Buckley with a spark in his mind.
William Francis Buckley -
We are, always, reminded of the old saw: What would happen if the Soviet Union took over the Sahara Desert? Answer: Nothing for 50 years. After that there would be a shortage of sand.
William Francis Buckley