A garland of quotations CXVII

Culled from the finest cold warriors in literary history, and re-woven every Wednesday

(Upcoming appearances: April 26, 12–3, Breakwater Books, Guilford CT | June 1, 12–5, Skullastic Book Fair @ American Legion Post 16, Shelton CT | July 15, 6–7:30, Hagaman Library, East Haven CT)

I am a frind to all onnest men
•Timothy Dexter, A Pickle for the Knowing Ones (1802).

Let’s kiss.
•Nikita Krushchev to Richard Nixon (1959).

I was utterly flabbergasted at seeing the [Russian] Secretary go up and kiss the Consul three times on both cheeks and then see the Consul go up to Macartney and kiss him likewise! He then advanced on me but as much as I like him I draw the line at kissing him, so I extended my hand well in front of me to keep him at a respectable distance while I wished him Happy Easter.
•Francis Younghusband, letter to Emmie Younghusband (1891).

I happen to be one of those optimists who believe Ivan will never push the button because he knows we’ve got a button, too. But all the same, I strongly advocate preparedness. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
•Ann Landers, “Ask Ann Landers” (1961).

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.
•John F. Kennedy, “Remarks on the 20^th Anniversary of the Voice of America” (1962).

The very disrespect of Russians for objective truth—indeed, their disbelief in its existence—leads them to view all stated facts as instruments for furtherance of one ulterior purpose or another.
•George Kennan, “The Long Telegram” (1946).

Don’t be fooled by what you hear or read from any source If anyone claims to have all the answers then put your fingers in your ears and run as fast as your legs will carry you. Don’t accept anyone's opinion or data. Do your homework and find the truth for yourself. We all sit and wait for disclosure. Wake up! It is happening as I am writing this. Just look around you and be aware of all you see, hear and feel.
•Roger Leir, interview with L.A. Marzulli (2009).

But truth, like murder, will out some day.
•Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh (1864).

For murdre abydeth not hyd. it shal come out peraduenture
•William Caxton, The Historye of Reynard the Foxe (1481).

All names and places in these true-to-life stories are fictitious. Any similarity between actual persons or places and those used in these stories is purely coincidental.
•War Action #8 (1952).

Sources: Krushchev: “The Kitchen Debate” transcript pdf; Younghusband: quoted in Patrick French, Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer (HarperCollins, 1994); Landers: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!: Advice, Wisdom, and Uncommon Good Sense (Villard, 1996); Kennan: quoted in Tim Weiner, The Folly and the Glory (Henry Holt, 2020); Kennedy: audio file; Leir: in Marzulli, The Alien Interviews: Conversations with People Who Experienced UFO Contacts (Summerside Press, 2009); Caxton: The History of Reynard the Fox (Oxford UP, 1970); some of this material is copyrighted, and I plead only fair use.