Quotes from Brad Thor

is impossible to appreciate the light without knowing the darkness.

Vengeance was a necessary function of a civilized world, particularly at its margins, in its most remote and wild regions. Evildoers, unwilling to submit to the rule of law, needed to lie awake in their beds at night worried about when justice would eventually come for them. If laws and standards were not worth enforcing, then they certainly couldn't be worth following.

It doesn't matter. In their minds we are an extension of Europe. Everything the West is, whether it's Europe or America, is connected. Seven minutes or seven centuries ago, it's all the same to them. They paint us with the same brush. It's frustrating as hell, but these people just don't think the way we do. - Jack Rutledge

There was no moral equivalence among systems of government, their leaders, or cultures. Any society that did not respect human rights or the rule of law could not consider itself the equal of those that did.

Then there were those media figures who actually tried to put a happy face on Muslim extremism and Sharia law under the banner of cultural diversity. Surely the victims of honor killings, and those beaten and killed for not wearing headscarves, for dating men from outside their faith, or for trying to convert to another religion would strongly disagree.

On vacation, people were so willing to give strangers personal information that they never would at home: names, addresses, phone numbers . . . it was a phenomenon unique to traveling. As

As it says in Job—"They that plow iniquity and sow mischief shall reap the same.

Don't curse God for creating the tiger. Rather, be grateful that God didn't give it wings.

only easy day was yesterday, Failure

YouTube video called "The American Form of Government." She wanted them to understand why America was different and why their mom had joined

two fertilized duck eggs with partially developed embryos inside known as "feathered" eggs. The unusual delicacy was boiled, served warm, and—based on how long it had been incubated—sometimes included small, soft bones and the beginnings of feathers.

three rules for happiness. Something to do. Someone to love. And something to look forward to.

they supposed to do once they got him there?" The CIA operative asked the mobster and then replied, "Apparently, he had his own people there who would get him the rest of the way into Europe.

While fame travels slowly, at least notoriety travels fast- Russian proverb

People weakened their hands by feeling they had to fill uncomfortable silences.

We all have our crosses to bear. What's more, we wouldn't trade ours for someone else's. If you and ten other people walked into a room and all laid their crosses on the table, everyone would be walking out with the same cross they walked in with.

Democracy wasn't about how you were different, it was about how you were the same. It was about the rights and freedoms everyone enjoyed, and how everyone protected them. Democracy was also about your responsibilities, your duties, as a citizen. When people began to see themselves as members of a subset first, it was a flashing red light—a warning that a nation's democracy was in peril. Factionalism was the opposite of patriotism.

Our cross, we realize, helps define who we are. How we wrestled with our problems, how we battled the demons that often accompanied them, was what built character.

The world was full of people who would tell you what you wanted to hear. The valuable ones—the people worth holding on to—were those who told you what you needed to hear.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet.

He removed the 9mm Heckler & Koch USP SD Herman had given him and spun a GEMTECH suppressor onto its threaded barrel. It was loaded with subsonic ammunition and he carried two extra magazines. If bullets started flying, though, that meant something had gone very wrong.

A believable falsehood must always be in place before conducting a clandestine operation.

He was close now. Way too close. Fuck, Harvath said to himself again. Even with subsonic ammo in his suppressed H&K, the 9mm pistol still made a lot of noise. It would sound even louder this close to the house. Somebody was going to hear it. And whoever did was going to come to investigate. Fuck.

Instead of letting idiots on TV, radio, and the internet convince us that our good lives were terrible, we needed to be practicing gratitude. Only by recognizing how good we had it and being grateful for it would we ever hope to preserve it for the next generation.