Virtually all pain in the world can be traced to lies, stupidity or cowardice.  Don’t dwell on circumstance; what could have happened, did; the only thing possible is what actually occurred.   Excessive nostalgia is a toxic addiction.  If it flies, floats, or fornicates, lease it.  Don’t judge a president by his sex life.  Second-guessing is one of the prime follies of humankind.  Don't confuse love with sex.  Or with obsession.  The biggest tyrants are those with a tiny bit of essential power, like the guy in charge of the parking lot.  The media is at its worst when it flies the flag of a moral force.  There are few human aspirations more inane than those that seek to legislate our reproductive impulses.  Friendship and money: oil and water.  No exceptions.  The prime obstacle to technological advancement is legislative, not the technology itself.  Pete Rose doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame any more than I do.  The first casualty of addiction is the truth.  The final atrocity of war is government-ministered healing.  There are many in the world with the internal might to overcome a difficult upbringing; there are many more who lack it.  Never stay in Las Vegas longer than seventy-two hours.  Monogamy is not for everyone, or even for most people.  An inheritance is sacred, and the taxing of it is despicable.  Loners always lose.  John Wooden was right: failing to prepare is preparing to fail.  Reading is to a writer what weightlifting is to a linebacker.  Credit cards cause more suffering to Americans than drugs.  To the public, martyrs get boring very fast.   Never take your prime talent for granted.  Anything truly wonderful in this world is like a bubble -- enjoy it, just don't count on it to last forever.  A lot of the time, it's all a matter of finding people who get you.  Never look for true history in a profit-seeking motion picture.  Expectations are everything.  Don't scrimp on tires, lawyers, shoes, or sunglasses.

Above all:  We are each responsible for what we tolerate.