Quotes from '1984'

George Orwell penned these prescient sobering quotes in his book, released in 1948.

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
“Big Brother is Watching You.”
“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
“Until they became conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.”
“The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.”
“The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power.”
“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”
“Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.”

Shades of 1984

For those who have not read George Orwell's book, "1984" it might be a good time to do so, or at least read an online summary of it.

Tiburon, a town of 8,000 in Marin County, CA, officials want to photograph every car and use the license plate information to solve crimes in the town of 9,000.

Many see the plan as an intrusion into the rights of citizens, but officials say it is a sensible precaution that absolutely will not cross privacy lines. The town manager says, "The proposal has been misunderstood." Yeh, right! We have been misunderstanding a lot lately, like, 'Trust me, if we spend another trillion dollars today it will save more tomorrow. . .'