He wasn’t as dumb as I thought, I realized—just not interested in the — John Barnes

"“Jesse, news for the masses, whether it’s XV or all the way back to the old newspapers, is entertainment. People don’t follow the news to stay informed, no matter what they tell you in school, they watch or experience to be entertained. If it were like they teach in school, they’d put the congressional budget, scientific research, and bios of every important bureaucrat in the opening slot, and they’d do special editions for the Nobel Prizes and the World Health Organization’s annual report. That’s not what it’s about. They cover crime, sports, famous people having sex, funny animal stories, what it’s like to stay in an expensive hotel in a resort area. Because that’s what’s interesting and fun and entertaining. “It wouldn’t matter so much except that people’s lives are so dull they believe their entertainment—and for a hundred years we’ve been telling them that the world is very dangerous, that there are violent thugs everywhere, war is constantly imminent, sex is their most important need, all that crap. “Well shit, Jesse, if you were a shrink and you had a patient who only wanted to talk about violence, extravagance, cruelty, and his sexual fantasies—what would you suggest? More of the same?” Jesse’s a bit startled, but he asks, “Whatever happened to freedom of the press?” She snorts, a funny, ugly noise. Then she says, “Sorry, Jesse, but what does that have to do with the present day? You think the broadcast nets are like Ben Franklin, turning out little pamphlets for a few to read and most to ignore? Look, a few huge private corporations are making all their money by spreading fear, hate, depression, and an exploitive attitude. Justice would demand public hangings.”"

"Writing about yourself is addictive. I hope all you kids noticed that. If you feel like autobiography, try heroin. Lots safer and easier to control…"

"“See, if you’re on top, it’s easy to think that what’s good for you is what’s good for the organization. In the short run it might even be—a company does better if it gets more work for less wages paid, or if it spends less on health and safety. “In the longer run, though, workers do the work. Management doesn’t. If workers are sick, hurt, pissed off, or broke, they don’t work as well.” As Papa’s daughter, I’m a pretty good debater myself, and cross ex is one of my strong points. “But then there’s no problem. Doesn’t the company have an interest in keeping the workers working?” “Sure—but for as little as possible. Suppose a manager got us all to work two extra hours per day for half pay. Who would get the added profit?" “NAC,” I admitted. “Well, that’s what I’m trying to say. Management works for the employer, and at least in the short run your employer’s interests are exactly opposite yours. No matter how nice a guy your manager is, he still gets paid to be your enemy. “But that’s not the whole story. Otherwise I suppose they just make slaves of us or we’d kill them. The fact is, they don’t dare win—because if they destroy the worker, who will make the product or buy it? The union limits how much management can win. So in a sense the union looks after the long run. Or justice, which might be the same thing.”"

"It is characteristic of information that it can be stolen an all but unlimited number of times."

"“I never get into arguments between people of opposite gender,” he said. “Part of why I’m still healthy and vigorous at my age.”"

"Other people say that their parents are the same way whenever there’s bad news from whatever patch of dirt they came from, but being common still doesn’t mean it makes any sense. After all, it was twenty years ago, and if the adults were going to get so upset about having everything smashed up, they shouldn’t have had a war or tolerated AIDS for so long that they gave it the chance to turn into mutAIDS, or allowed the climate disequilibration to get so far out of hand. Honestly, they remind me of the three-year-olds in the nursery, smashing things to bits and then crying because they’re broken. I certainly hope I’m not that kind of a moron when I’m that old."