“Appeal must be to an informed, civically militant electorate.”

Pages 72-73
The Revolution Will Be Digitised: Dispatches From the Information War, 1st Edition
Context: When a politician claims for example that 'crime is down' since he implemented a certain policy, it is the professional investigative journalist who knows the raw data on which this statement is based (criminal incident reports) and who asks for verification. He or she can then go to other sources to question the veracity of the data. The reason I specialise in the intricate details of bureaucracy isn't because I have a passion for paper-pushers, but rather because I need to know all the types of information collected, by whom and where they are stored so I can get my hands on them. A statement isn't a fact. Even when the person making the statement is an authority he or she still needs to provide evidence or proof that what they say is the truth and a professional journalist should be asking for this proof and supplying it for public scrutiny. All this accumulating of statements, data and information which then has to be verified takes time. But this is the only thing a journalist does that marks him out as a professional. It's the only reason anyone would choose a well-known newspaper's website over an unknown blog. The newspaper as a brand has built up, over time, a reputation for challenging the powerful and giving people meaningful, true information. The press is not like any other business and what it sells shouldn't just be rehashed press releases or celebrity gossip, but the civic information necessary for people to understand their society and participate in it. It is a check on political and financial power, or at least it should be.

Facebook Nation: Total Information Awareness (2nd Edition), 2014

Introduction.
An American Bible (1912)
Context: Robert Ingersoll was humorist, iconoclast and lover of humanity.
It is said that the difference between man and the lower animals is that man has the ability to laugh.
When you laugh you relax, and when you relax you give freedom to muscles, nerves and brain-cells. Man seldom has use of his reason when his brain is tense. The sense of humor makes a condition where reason can act.
Ingersoll knew that he must make his appeal to man's brain.

Source: Information history – an introduction (2009), p. 246.

Later life
Source: ‘Reforming the Labour Party’, Contemporary Record, Volume 8, Issue 3 (1994), p. 540

Robinson v. Bland (1760), 2 Burr. Part IV. 1084.

Source: The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (1961), p. 34.

"Hecklers are Garbage" (20 September 2008) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nYlRFGL8UQ
Context: First I'd like to address the hecklers (cause I know you're out there!)... There are people who contribute, people who create, and people who destroy.... Nobody likes hecklers — nobody likes heckling — it's not interesting, it's not funny, it's certainly not appreciated, and it's of no use and no good. And it just hurts people. And I'm not sure if the intention is to hurt people, in which case you are evil — and if not, that's what you are doing, so it is not constructive, at all. The whole idea of 'I must be honest, so here is what I think' is complete baloney. If there is information you must transmit to another, you must do it empathically, or it is worthless....
Essentially, what I have for you heckler victims is this: If you do what you must, and you do what is right, you are bulletproof! Don't bother changing — don't listen to any of that garbage — because it's garbage!

The Hill http://thehill.com/policy/international/232703-kosovar-president-atifete-jahjaga-the-four-key-ingredients-for-peace