Authors From The United States

"Clifford D. Conner thinks... snobbery has distorted the writing of history from ancient times to the present, because historians are scribes themselves and it is a clean, soft hand that holds the pen. In writing about science, for instance, historians celebrate a few great names -- Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein -- and neglect the contributions of common, ordinary people who were not afraid to get their hands dirty. With "A People's History of Science," Conner tries to help right the balance. The triumphs of science rest on a "massive foundation created by humble laborers," he writes. "If science is understood in the fundamental sense of knowledge of nature, it should not be surprising to find that it originated with the people closest to nature: hunter-gatherers, peasant farmers, sailors, miners, blacksmiths, folk healers and others.""

"When I graduated from Georgia Tech I worked for Lockheed Aircraft Company, which in 1966 sent me to England for a year to work as a design engineer on the C-5A cargo plane. My time in England coincided with the escalation of the Vietnam War. Opposition to that war would become a central passion of my life for the next several years. When I returned from England to Georgia, I resigned from Lockheed in a public act of protest against its role as a war profiteer. As a result, I became virtually unemployable for a while as the FBI dogged my trail, warning prospective employers against hiring me. (I suspected this at the time and confirmed it years later when I got my FBI files via a Freedom Of Information Act request.)"

"Surrogate percept, allowing people to detect some pattern or property in a remembered scene that they did not encode explicitly when they saw the scene initially."

"Modern science will continue to be blindly destructive as long as its operations are determined by the anarchism of market economic forces. The problem to be solved is whether science, technology, and industry can be brought under genuinely democratic control in the context of a global planned economy, so that all of us can collectively put our hard-won scientific knowledge to mutually beneficial use. I am confident it can be accomplished, but will it? If so, there is reason for optimism. If not... well, to paraphrase Keynes, "in the not-so-long run we're all dead.""

"Perceptual interpretive processes are applied to mental images in much the same way that they are applied to actual physical objects. In this sense, imagined objects can be "interpreted" much like physical objects."

"The French Revolution qualitatively transformed all aspects of human culture, including science, for better or worse. The institutional ideological changes wrought in French science by the Revolution and its aftermath shaped the subsequent course of modern science everywhere. The essential underlying factor, as the Hessen thesis maintains, was the victory of capitalism, which the Revolution consolidated. The new social order spread to Europe and the rest of the world, everywhere subordinating the further development of science to capitalist interests."

"The "Baconian" sciences were the kind Francis Bacon had in mind when he issued a call to revitalize science by basing it on craftsmen's knowledge of nature. Bacon is remembered as the most effective critic of the traditional learning promulgated the elite institutions of his day. ...Bacon advocated compiling a "history of arts," or encyclopedia of crafts knowledge..."

"Koyré based his analysis on a narrow definition of science that focuses only on its purely theoretical aspects. He saw the Scientific Revolution as the advent and triumph of what he called the "mathematization of nature." At the same time he downplayed experimentalism as a relatively unimportant aspect of the new science... Koyré's exaltation of the "Platonic and Pythagorean" elements of the Scientific Revolution... was based on a demonstrably false understanding of how Galileo reached his conclusions. ...By avoiding consideration of nonmathematical sciences, Koyré reduced the Scientific Revolution to the ideas of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton."

"The most important ploy that nineteenth-century European scholars devised to avoid acknowledging that the roots of civilization are Afroasiatic was to minimize the importance of Egyptian, Sumerian, and Semitic contributions and to focus instead almost entirely on the Greeks. According to this idea, the Egyptians, Sumerians, and Semites established rather static and uninteresting cultures, while the really worthwhile developments in the rise of civilization were the work of the dynamic and sophisticated Greeks, who were considered to be of Aryan stock because their language is part of the Indo-European family. ...It was claimed that the Greeks developed their culture all on their own, with virtually no contribution from the earlier civilizations."

"Although the authority of the ancient authors as the arbiters of all scientific knowledge had obviously been severely weakened, it did not immediately crumble. Too many professional, medical, ecclesiastical, and legal careers were founded on that authority for it to simply disappear without a struggle. The scientific elite resisted the infusion of new natural knowledge with all its might, but in the long run, its rearguard efforts were futile. ...The common sense of the working people prevailed and brought about the changes in worldview that have come to be known as the Scientific Revolution."

"In the nineteenth century C.E., a small but influential group of German scholars led by Karl Otfried Müller decided that the ancient Greek authors did not know what they were talking about—that their traditions of external influences were simply "myths." …They were convinced that the principle of historical explanation was race, and they believed they had discovered the "scientific laws of race." …only the white race ...had the natural ability to create advanced civilizations. ...This "racial science" …served as a useful ideology to explain the "natural right" of white Europeans to dominate the darker peoples of the world."

"Most significant of all was the success of Robespierre and the central Montagnard leadership to turn the revered memory of their fallen comrade to a potent weapon in the Jacobin triumph over the Gironde, who thereafter could convincingly be portrayed as destabilizers or fomenters of civil war for their role in the assassination of a great patriot."

"His martyrdom was the occasion for a massive outpouring of public grief throughout France, especially among the population of Paris. David painted his famous tribute to his friend and organized a spectacular funeral pageant; the torchlit procession wound through the streets of the capital for six hours, punctuated by a cannon salute every five minutes. A quasi-religious cult of Marat arose with eulogies likening Marat to Jesus. Busts, portraits, and medallions bearing the likeness of the People’s Friend were everywhere."

"A blacksmith, Thomas Newcomen, in collaboration with a plumber, John Calley, produced the first commercially successful machine for "raising water by fire." Newcomen could not have based his design on prevailing scientific theory, White argued, because his engine relied on the dissolution of air in steam, and "scientists in his day were not aware that air dissolves in water." Evidently "the mastery of steam power" was a product of empirical science and was "not influenced by Galilean science.""

"If modern science is likened to a the skyscraper, the... twentieth century triumphs are the sophisticated filigrees at its pinnacle that are supported by—and could not exist apart from—the massive foundation created by humble laborers."

"One problem for reporters relying on Stone for information? He happens to be among the least trustworthy political players. .. Stone has so effectively burnished his reputation for sinister, win-at-all-cost black bag ops that it seems remarkable it has taken so long for him to be at the center of an FBI investigation, suspected of helping the Russians meddle in the presidential election."

"He is... the wicked seed who has poisoned the tree of democracy."

"I asked longtime Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone, who is working on the unofficial "Donald Trump" effort... why Trump would embrace discredited theories about Obama's birth. Stone emails... five reasons: "...4) Personally, I think it is brilliant. It's base building. It gives voice to a concern shared by many on the right. ..." ...[A]n official copy of Obama's birth certificate—the same thing Trump would have to prove his own birth—has been available online for three years."

"[T]he universe seeks balance and order, and Stone’s life of disorder and corruption had to be confronted at some point. .. One of Stone’s favorite quotes? The Joker in Batman. "Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. .. [B]efore , before Paul Manafort, before Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, Stone along with acolyte laid the groundwork for Trump 2016."

"He was just nineteen when he played a bit part in the Watergate scandals. He adopted the pseudonym Jason Rainier and made contributions in the name of the to the campaign of Pete McCloskey, who was challenging Nixon for the Republican nomination in 1972. Stone then sent a receipt to the Manchester Union Leader, to “prove” that Nixon’s adversary was a left-wing stooge."

"Stone served as a senior consultant to Bob Dole’s 1996 campaign for President, but that assignment ended in a characteristic conflagration. The National Enquirer, in a story headlined "Top Dole Aide Caught in Group-Sex Ring," reported that the Stones had apparently run personal ads in a magazine called Local Swing Fever. ...Stone claimed that he had been set up by a "very sick individual," but he was forced to resign from Dole’s campaign. Stone acknowledged to me that the ads were authentic. "...the reason I gave a blanket denial was that my grandparents were still alive," he said. "I’m not guilty of hypocrisy. I’m a libertarian and a libertine.""

"By 1972, Stone was working for Nixon’s re-election campaign. His official title was scheduler. His real job, he said, was dispatching people to spy on the campaign of Hubert Humphrey, the Democratic nominee. ...He worked for successful presidential campaigns of George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and later opened a mega-successful Washington lobbying firm with Manafort that included GOP political strategist Lee Atwater. Not only did Black, Manafort & Stone work for Republicans, they also earned a fortune representing brutal dictators... When Trump ran for president in 2016, Stone served for a time as an adviser and knee-capper of Trump critics. ...Stone also became Trump’s ambassador to fringe right figures and bogus conspiracy mongers like Alex Jones, on whose “Info Wars” program he was a frequent guest."

"Political trickster Roger Stone who... was involved in tricks such as the "Brooks Brothers Riot," in which he led pro-Bush protestors, disarmingly dressed in suits and ties, loudly claiming the Miami-Dade County election board, which stopped the recount, when the 2000 Bush vs. Gore election outcome was uncertain. Stone has a number of rules: "Lay low, play dumb, keep moving... Nothing is on the level. ...Hate is a stronger motivator than love. ...Use a cut-out [a front-man stand-in so the prominent candidate doesn't have to do the dirty work]." The results... are toxic to the democratic process. Exploiting fears and stirring prejudices are tricks used by those whose ideas lack intrinsic strength to prevail. ...Winning a hand of poker is not on the same scale as winning an election by acts that destroy people's faith in their nation's entire political system's integrity. The trick of putting a man lacking depth perception in the driver's seat of a great nation is bound to have serious consequences."

"He was able to use the Democratic teachings on voter turnout and class warfare and turn it against us... He knew what populism was in reverse. He thought like a Democrat and dressed like a plutocrat. He once said to me, "Are you black? Are you Hispanic? Are you gay?" When I said no, he said, "Then why the f— are you a Democrat? You should be with us.""

"Roger is a stone-cold loser... He always tries taking credit for things he never did."

"Like Nixon, Stone is... a great hater—of, among others, the Clintons, Karl Rove, and Spitzer."

"Roger was a fringe player around town. He always had this reputation of being a guy who exaggerated things, who pretended he did things. Roger was never on Nixon’s staff, was never on the White House staff. I don’t think you’ll find anyone in the business who trusts him. Roger was always a little rat."

"Pat Buchanan... seized control of the most successful third party in half a century... Once Buchanan became the party's presidential nominee, he mysteriously disappeared... The saga begins with a baby, allegedly born more than four decades ago... Roger Stone was using... a scandal to undermine Buchanan. Stone, who also spearheaded the pro-Bush mob shutdown of the Miami/Dade recount in 2000... pushed [the illegitimate baby scandal] aggressively on reporters early in the 2000 campaign, then just let it hover over Buchanan... The trail starts in June 1999... "it was Roger’s brilliant idea," recalls Nofziger, "that Pat ought to leave the party and become the candidate of the Reform Party." ...The master of convoluted chaos, double agent Stone has left his mark in the dark alleys of presidential politics since Watergate, but the sacking of the Reform Party may be his lasting legacy."

"I googled this guy, Roger Stone, because he looks like he pays black guys to bang his wife, .. And I found out in 1996 he was forced to resign from Bob Dole’s campaign for asking black guys to bang his wife. Not kidding! Look it up!"

"Republican operative Roger Stone, who says he is no longer working for Donald Trump... is launching a super PAC to attack leading rivals, particularly Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. ...Mr. Trump has been an outspoken critic of super PACs... Mr. Stone makes a number of accusations against Mr. Trump’s opponents and suggests that Mr. Rubio and rival John Kasich are secretly conspiring... Mr. Trump’s campaign paid Mr. Stone’s firm, Drake Ventures, $20,000 earlier this year... but Mr. Stone says they parted ways over the summer."

"[E]arly on I saw myself as living in kind of a bridge between two cultures, the white working class and the white upper class."

"He has nicknames within the Republican party: "The Godfather," "The Prince of Darkness." The latter is a name Stone himself likes to repeat. It is, he has told more than one friend, good for his "aura.""

"The partners have been criticized by some fellow consultants for their brand of influence-peddling: first electing clients to office, then lobbying them. The political arm of the organization, formerly Black, Manafort, Stone & Atwater, is now known as Campaign Consultants Inc. ...Corporate clients are willing to pay six-figure fees to ensure the kind of access to top government officials Stone and his partners... like to flaunt."

"Stone likes to think of himself as a fixer -- "the next generation's ," in the words of one friend -- and identifies with the modern consultant-as-slick-salesman..."

"You can parlay your short-term connections into making money, but administrations change. That's where Roger is going to end up short, because he doesn't have any real talent. He doesn't have any character. That's why questions have come up about his ethics and his way of doing business. He has to parlay connections to give himself credibility because he has no credibility on his own."

"A lobbyist can perform no greater favor for a lawmaker than to help get him elected. It is the ultimate political IOU, and it can be cashed in again and again. No other firm holds more of this precious currency than the Washington shop known as Black, Manafort. Legally, there are two firms. Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly, a lobbying operation... Black, Manafort, Stone & Atwater, a political-consulting firm, has helped elect... powerful... politicians... The partners... say that the lobbying and political-consulting functions are kept separate. ...Charges , president of the public-interest lobbying group : "It's institutionalized conflict of interest." ...The partners charge six-figure fees to lobby and six-figure fees to manage election campaigns. As a result, they take home six-figure salaries. ...They unabashedly peddle their access to the Reagan Administration."

"As a political firm, Black, Manafort represents Democrats and Republicans alike--and sometimes candidates running for the same seat. ...Stone and Atwater's offices are right across the hall from each other, prompting one congressional aide to ask facetiously, "Why have primaries for the nomination? Why not have the candidates go over to Black, Manafort & Stone and argue it out?" Stone and Atwater present a contrast in styles. Stone, who practices the hardball politics he first learned as an aide to convicted Watergate Co-Conspirator ..."

"He's one of the great all-time frauds of American politics... His reputation vastly exceeds his ability. ...His personal effects... rival those of Imelda Marcos. ...In my view, the man's word is no good... Every meeting I've had with the guy, I wanted to wash my hands three times afterwards."

"Kenya and Nigeria have widely criticized human rights records. Last year, Kenya received $38 million in U.S. foreign aid, and spent over $1.4 million on Washington lobbyists to get it. Nigeria received $8.3 million and expended in excess of $2.5 million. Whom did both countries call upon to do their bidding before the U.S. government? The lobbying firm of Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly Public Affairs Co.. which received $660,000 from Kenya in 1992-1993 and $1 million from Nigeria in 1991."

"I had a lawyer who was a very good lawyer, a tough lawyer, named . He introduced me, at one point, to Roger Stone. Roy thought Roger was a very tough guy. Roy knew some very tough guys, I will tell you that. But Roy always felt that Roger was not only tough, but a smart guy, and very political."

"Roger Stone has been Donald Trump's chief political advisor. He planned and ran his presidential campaign, and he's been his hatchet man. He spent forty years as a hatchet man. But not only that, the head of the ', a guy named , is good friends with Donald Trump. ...You know the National Enquirer in its history has never endorsed a candidate, until Donald Trump. ...Donald Trump suggested that David Pecker... should take over Time magazine. Who in their right mind..."

"Three of the guys who ran the 1984 Reagan campaign - Charles Black, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone - get a million or so from a Marcos-dominated Philippine business association, and another million from the dictator of Nigeria. At Gray & Co., a one-month job for Japanese politicians to soothe American ire at trade restrictions was run by George Bush's former chief of staff and pulled in a quarter-million. I am not one to knock honest greed, but never has rainmaking seen such moneymaking."

"I wrote a lot about . I started hearing about Roger from people who were close to Roy. ...Roy Cohn is the single most evil person I have ever covered. If that's a magnet for you as a young man, it says you're soulless before you start."

"Top Five Firms Receiving the Most Money from the Torturers' Lobby, 1991-1992... Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly) $3.3 [Fees, in Millions from] Nigeria, Kenya, [headed by ], Philippines."

"Black, Manafort & Stone, in their brazeness, really created the modern sleazeball lobbyist."

"Yeah, I live a pretty Machiavellian life, and I'm a sceptic. I tend to believe the worst of people because I understand human nature. Human nature has never changed. That's why one of Stone's rules is that hate is a stronger motivator than love."

"Corey is now openly telling people he's got the goods on me. ...He's telling reporters that he has something on Manafort that will blow him out of the campaign. ...We gotta take the little prick out."

"I’m an agent provocateur."

"Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and I had worked together through the Reagan campaign. When the Reagan campaign got short of cash, [we] decided to start a political consulting firm. Paul Manafort came in one day and said, "You know we ought to start a lobbying firm, because I'm getting a lot of calls from people who all know we work for Reagan and [that we] know the people who are going to be in the Reagan administration, and they want lobbying." So we did."

"Lobbying had been considered kind of a sleazy business, but Roger Stone unabashedly came out and said, "I'm going to make a pile of money off of this and no apologies.""