Quote of the day, 7/20/07

The broadcasts changed...as soon as it had been discovered by spies that the other nest had a good store of seeds.

Mammy-mammy-mammy- gave place to Antland, Antland Over All, and the stream of orders were discontinued in favor of lectures about war, patriotism, or the economic situation. The fruity voice said that their beloved country was being encircled by a filthy horde of Other-Nesters- at which the wireless chorus sang:

When Other blood spurts from the knife,
Then everything is fine.

It also explained that Ant the Father had ordained in his wisdom that Othernest pismires should always be the slaves of Thisnest ones. Their beloved country had only one feeding tray at the moment--a disgraceful state of affairs if the dear race were not to perish. A third statement was that the national property of Thisnest was being threatened. Their boundaries were to be violated, their domestic animals, the beetles, were to be kidnapped, and their communal stomach would be starved.

...This is how the second [broadcast] went:

A. We are more numerous than they are, therefore we have a right to their mash.

B. They are more numerous than we are, therefore they are wickedly trying to steal our mash.

C. We are a mighty race and have a natural right to subjugate their puny one.

D. They are a mighty race and are unnaturally trying to subjugate our inoffensive one.

E. We must attack them in self-defense.

F. They are attacking us by defending themselves.

G. If we do not attack them today, they will attack us tomorrow.

H. In any case we are not attacking them at all. We are offering them incalculable benefits.

--T.H. White, The Once and Future King