I had never heard of John McCarthy..............

..............until I found the previous quote.  Turns out that John McCarthy was fairly quotable.  Below are selections culled from here:

Mankind will probably survive even if it doesn't take my advice.

Equality of the sexes is more important than equality of the genders.

During the second millenium, the Earthmen complained a lot.

When there's a will to fail, obstacles can be found.

You are eager to defend rationality against the creationists. Fine. Are you also willing to defend it against the environmentalists? 

Cynicism is a cheap substitute for sophistication. You don't actually have to learn anything. 

God did not design human beings in accordance with Christian principles, fascist principles, feminist principles, socialist principles, romantic principles, secular humanist principles, vegetarian principles, deep environmentalist principles, biocentric principles, or libertarian principles. Any of these groups could have told God a thing or two.

No-one has yet built a monument so high that a bird can't fly over and shit on it.

The peace movement is a great force for peace. Some of the world's most quarrelsome people act out their aggressions through the peace movement. 

Self-righteousness has killed more people than smoking. 

It is deplorable that many people think that the best way to improve the world is to forbid something. However, they're morally more advanced than the people who think the best way to improve the world is to kill somebody. 

Don't try to talk anyone out of concentrating his hatred on Ayn Rand or any other dead person. It can't harm the dead. Diverted to a living person, it might actually do harm.