# Think Tank > History >  [Citation needed] -- Misattributed and made up quotes

## Lucille

I've been wanting to start this thread for awhile and this article was my motivation.  I must have seen that Woodrow Wilson quote 5 times in the first 20 posts the comments, and he never even said it, which I didn't know until Green said so!

Fed Official Who Helped Orchestrate QE: 'I'm Sorry, America,' QE Really Was A Huge Wall Street Bailout
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-of...140558385.html

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." 
-Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence 

.....................................

Thomas Jefferson never said this either:

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered...I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

...................................

And that old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times" is also BS.

.................................

Put them here if you're wondering or got 'em!

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## Lucille

I just remembered this one!:

"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." 
-- Benito Mussolini 

Nope.  Never said it.

http://blog.skepticallibertarian.com...d-corporatism/

http://www.publiceye.org/fascist/corporatism.html

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## FrankRep

Here's a false William Jennings Bryan quote:


"As far as the Democratic Party was concerned, Woodrow Wilson was without influence, save for the patronage he possessed. It was Bryan who whipped Congress into line on the tariff bill, on the Panama Canal tolls repeal, and on the currency bill." *Mr. Bryan later wrote, "That is the one thing in my public career that I regret--my work to secure the enactment of the Federal Reserve Law."*

The part in bold is a false quote. Eustace Mullins spread around that piece of fiction. William Jennings Bryan never said it.


Source:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...Jennings-Bryan

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## mad cow

"_The problem with quotes from the internet is it is hard to verify their authenticity_"-- Abraham Lincoln..

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## TaftFan

“There’s a plot in this country to enslave every man, woman, and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot.” -JFK

http://www.metabunk.org/threads/debu...child-jfk.319/

"One day after I am long gone, you will remember me and say, we should have stopped the nuclear program of Israel, abolished the Federal Reserve and kicked all secret societies, occultists, usurpers and Zionists out of our wonderful country, to keep it that way, but it is never too late, just remember that."-JFK

http://www.metabunk.org/threads/debu...srael-jfk.638/

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## Danke

"Elementary my dear Watson" - Sherlock Holmes.

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## pcosmar

> God helps those that help themselves.
> _the Bible_


It ain't in there,, anywhere.

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## FrankRep

God helps those that help themselves.
the Bible


> It ain't in there,, anywhere.


Interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_hel...elp_themselves

The phrase originated in ancient Greece and may originally have been proverbial. It is illustrated by two of Aesop's Fables and a similar sentiment is found in ancient Greek drama. Although it has been commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the modern English wording appears earlier in Algernon Sidney's work.

The phrase is often mistaken as scriptural, but it appears nowhere in the Bible. Some Christians have criticized the expression as being contrary to the Bible's message of God's grace. A variant of the phrase, however, can be found in the Quran (13:11).

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## Lucille

> 





> I have yet to see a reliable source for this quote





> They'll stake their Pulitzers on it!
> 
> Mae Brussell Archive:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...AE1666479EF849


I assume Barlett and Steele are well-sourced, but I haven't been able to find the recording in which Brussell allegedly said it-#422-in the archive yet, and the transcript site is suspended http://www.worldwatchers.info/cgi-sys/suspendedpage.cgi .

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## juleswin

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee

Not from Ezekiel 25:17

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## Lucille

"They can march all they want, as long as they continue to pay their taxes."
--Alexander Haig

Like most, repeated often, unsourced, but true!

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## Occam's Banana

Besides "misattributed" and "made up" quotes, another species of "bad quotes" for which we should be alert are statements that have been poorly presented and/or translated (perhaps maliciously so) - statements which are then provided out of context in order to make it appear that the source is saying something other than what was actually intended.

A perfect example of this is a "quote" by Ludwig von Mises which was  recently posted here at RPFs - apparently so that the poster could then  "expose" and denounce Mises as a "racist." From the thread OP of http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...Mises-a-racist:



> *Was Mises a racist?*
> 
> I've been reading some quotes and I'm starting to wonder if he actually was one.
> 
> "It is perfectly legitimate to assume that the races are different in  their cognitive abilities and in their willpower and accordingly are  unequally suited for the task of setting up societies, and that the  better races are characterized in particular by their special ability to  strengthen social bonds."
> 
> Source: Ludwig von Mises, The Market Economy, trans. Danny Lewis, (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1932), p. 297
> 
> Seems like he's a racist just like [snip]


The OP proceeded to insist later in the thread that this "quote" could NOT be understood as anything  other than an expression of "racist" sentiment by Mises - and that  neither context nor the "prevailing attitudes of the day" could possibly  make any difference at all.

In post #43 of that thread, I provided a detailed break-down of what Mises had actually said:



> *"The problem with Internet quotes is that you can't always depend on their accuracy."
> Source: Abraham Lincoln, Using the Internet (Land of Oz: Dewey Cheatham & Howe, 1808), p. 666*
> 
> From the OP:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


In the snipped remainder of that post, I supplied the full context of  Mises's (actual) statement and demonstrated exactly why he had made that remark  (which had clearly been mistranslated by the OP's "source" - quite  possibly deliberately and maliciously). I also pointed out that  "scientific race theory" was one of the "prevailing attitudes of the  day" - which was why Mises was addressing the issue in the first place.

 As it turns out, Mises's purpose was NOT to endorse or agree with the  "assumption" specified in the remark, but rather the opposite - it was  to categorically and emphatically deny that any such "assumption" by the  "scientific race theorists" of his day could ever stand against  (classical) liberal or libertarian principles (not even if they were  assumed to be true - an assumption Mises did NOT actually accept).

The full post explaining all this can be found here: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...=1#post5567096

The moral of this story is this: When you don't have any context or facts to  back them up, don't peddle dubious, out of context "quotes" around (even  if they have a fancy source attribution line attached to them) - and  especially do not "double down" when you are called out on them. Otherwise, you might very well end up making yourself look like an  ignorant and jabbering fool. In cases such as this, more than just a citation is required - one must also know and understand the context as well. The "misquoters" are counting on other people (like the OP of the "seems like Mises is a racist" thread) to be impressed with their fancy "citations" - and to just swallow their misrepresented and out-of-context bull$#@! without bothering to look any further into the matter. Don't let yourself be one of those other people ... (especially when the good reputation of a great man such as Ludwig von Mises is at stake ...)

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## Lucille

> The moral of this story is this: When you don't have any context or facts to  back them up, don't peddle dubious, out of context "quotes" around (even  if they have a fancy source attribution line attached to them) - and  especially do not "double down" when you are called out on them. Otherwise, you might very well end up making yourself look like an  ignorant and jabbering fool. In cases such as this, more than just a citation is required - one must also know and understand the context as well. The "misquoters" are counting on other people (like the OP of the "seems like Mises is a racist" thread) to be impressed with their fancy "citations" - and to just swallow their misrepresented and out-of-context bull$#@! without bothering to look any further into the matter. Don't let yourself be one of those other people ... (especially when the good reputation of a great man such as Ludwig von Mises is at stake ...)


Nicely done!  I have to spread some rep around.

Your post convinces me that the thread title is insufficient.  Maybe it should read:  [citation needed] - Unsourced, misattributed, made up, or out-of-context quotes.

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## eduardo89

Sola_Fide once used two fake quotes and attributed them to a Pope and a Catholic publication:




> Originally Posted by Sola_Fide
> 
> 
> 
> 2.  Calvin, never in a million years, would say this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...

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## Lucille

http://takimag.com/article/the_wises...#axzz39GE4jkVZ




> Whenever the Democrats whip up a feminist frenzy to win elections, as in 1992 and 2012, Im reminded of a deflationary joke Ive always seen attributed to a 1970s secretary of state. For example, premier gossip columnist Liz Smith wrote in 1988:
> 
> _    Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. Theres too much fraternizing with the enemy, said Henry Kissinger._
> 
> But Ive often wondered: did Henry Kissinger really say that?
> 
> Well, I finally found out.
> [...]
> Many of the most famous quotes in history turn out to be misattributions. For example, theres no evidence that either Mark Twain or Winston Churchill said Golf is a good walk spoiled.
> ...

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## Ronin Truth

*Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.*
Yogi Berra 

Oh wait, he really said that.

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## Acala

"I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."  -Voltaire.

No evidence that he ever said or wrote this.  But he almost certainly would have endorsed it.  He was that kind of guy.

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## Lucille

> My goodness!!  Can't we all "JUST GET ALONG" (famous quote)...


A famous misquote, ya mean!







> The line has been often misquoted as, "Can we all just get along?" or "Can't we all just get along?" King did not use the word "just" or "Can't" in his original statement.

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## NorthCarolinaLiberty

Play it again, Sam.

Similar words were said in Casablanca, but not those exact words.



Movie trivia.

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## Lucille

This song goes here.  DH and I were trying to figure them out yesterday and had to go to the video lyrics.

"I couldn't understaaaand!"




Published on Jul 31, 2013
Because no-one knows the words.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1733




> This song is about an incident that took place on October 4, 1986, when the CBS news anchor Dan Rather was attacked on a New York City sidewalk by a crazed man yelling "Kenneth, what is the frequency." The man turned out to be William Tager, who was caught after he killed a stagehand outside of the Today show studios on August 31, 1994. Tager, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, said he was convinced the media was beaming signals into his head, and he was on a mission to determine their frequencies.
> 
> When Michael Stipe wrote the lyrics, Tager had not yet been identified as Rather's assailant. He wrote the song after becoming intrigued by the case and the media reaction to it, calling it "The premier unsolved American surrealist act of the 20th century."
> [...]
> Lead singer Michael Stipe says this is an attack on the media, who over-analyze things they don't understand.

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## AZJoe

> And that old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times" is also BS.


This one is legit. I read it on a fortune cookie.

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## Zippyjuan

> This one is legit. I read it on a fortune cookie.


http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/m...ing-times.html

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## AZJoe

> This one is legit. I read it on a fortune cookie.





> http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/m...ing-times.html


That was a joke silly.

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## Danke

///

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## Tywysog Cymru

> If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart.  If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.


Churchill never said it.

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## Lucille

> Churchill never said it.


I did not know that, thanks!  More fake Churchill quotes:  http://www.winstonchurchill.org/reso...ely-attributed

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## libertyjam

Let's play a little game, 

The 90's TV show, that is now being rerun as "Sex and the City", how many remember it as "Sex in the City"?

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## Lucille

The perversion of language.  Does it go here?



^That's legit.

Doug Casey on the Recent Corruptions of the English Language
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/09/...t-corruptions/




> Let’s discuss words. Many of the words you hear, especially on television and other media, are confused, conflated, or completely misused. Many recent changes in the way words are used are corrupting the language. The corruption of language is adding to the corruption of civilization itself.
> 
> Words are extremely important because they provide the most important means we have to communicate with each other. If you don’t mean what you say and say what you mean, then it’s impossible to communicate accurately. Do you remember that famous line at the end of Cool Hand Luke, when Paul Newman gets shot? “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”? That’s what I want to talk about.
> 
> Where shall I start, because there are over a million words in English? I’ve rather arbitrarily chosen a few that are especially relevant to investors and freedom lovers. Many of these words are popular with the political classes.


Doug Casey on the Recent Corruptions of the English Language, Part II
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/09/...pened-justice/



> Below, Doug continues his discussion on the misuse of words…and why it’s adding to the corruption of civilization itself…


“Terrorism” and Lexical Warfare 
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...exical-Warfare




> Conclusion
> 
> The transformation of the word “terrorist” has shifted focus from the raw reality of state violence onto the mere possibility of individual violence, which is defined broadly enough to include dissent. In a stunning lexical victory, the police state has become the victim. Those who peacefully exercise their natural rights have become the terrorists.

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## Lucille

Let them eat cake
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake




> Fraser points out in her biography that Marie-Antoinette was a generous patroness of charity and moved by the plight of the poor when it was brought to her attention, thus making the statement out-of-character for her.[8] This makes it unlikely that Marie-Antoinette ever said this.

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## Danke

///

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## Lucille

> "I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."  -Voltaire.
> 
> No evidence that he ever said or wrote this.  But he almost certainly would have endorsed it.  He was that kind of guy.


Evelyn Beatrice Hall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Beatrice_Hall




> In The Friends of Voltaire, Hall wrote the phrase: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"[4] (which is often misattributed to Voltaire himself) as an illustration of Voltaire's beliefs.[5][6][7] Hall's quotation is often cited to describe the principle of freedom of speech.

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## Lucille

Was reading this:

*Slowly... Then All At Once*
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-0...-then-all-once

I know what quote he's referring to and it's actually:

http://www.24grammata.com/wp-content...24grammata.pdf




> "How did you go bankrupt?" Bill asked.
> "Two ways," Mike said. *"Gradually and then suddenly.*"



In the film it goes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reEZ...tu.be&t=52m41s




> Bill:  Bankrupt?  How'd that happen to you?
> Mike:  Two ways.  *Gradually and suddenly.*


Hemingway wrote it best.

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