Old Fogey's Quotes for Monday/Tuesday

"With 3,500 civilians killed in Iraq last month, you could call it a ham sandwich and the scene would be no less gruesome."
Dana Milbank in WaPo column, regarding the reluctance to use the label 'civil war' in Iraq
Wagging 'Civil' Tongues
[Has anyone considered that we lost less than 3,000 on 9/11?]

"These aren't joyous times."
President Bush at his Monday press conference
President on Another Planet
[Even in his few moments of reality, he is a master of understatement about his failures]

"But liberalism has also become associated with elitism, arrogance and disdain for the values of average Americans. "
E. J. Dionne, in WaPo column
A Wrong Turn Led to the 'L-Word'
[When the public considers 'liberal Christian' an oxymoron, we have a problem that is mostly of our own making]

"I'd remind people that pro-growth economic policies had helped us cut that deficit faster than we thought."
President Bush at Monday press conference
Bush Urges GOP to Focus on Economy
[Unbelievable! He takes credit for reducing the deficit he created. Remember in 2000, the last year of the Clinton administration, the surplus was $236 billion. Also the deficit reduction to which he refers was based on estimates, which were set artificially high]

"There aren't so many mothers who could never get on track, but getting them into work will take a lot more time and resources than many states have been able to provide."
LaDonna A. Pavetti, a welfare researcher with Mathematica Policy Research
A Welfare Law Milestone Finds Many Left Behind
[We can't insist that people "learn to fish" without giving them poles, hooks, bait, and access to water]

"Fourth graders in traditional public schools score better in reading and math than students in charter schools."
Associated Press release
Charter School Scores Down, Study Shows
[Yet another panacea proves false. There is no cheap way to ensure access to a good education for every child. If we believe that education is essential for individual and national success, why pay teachers less than other professionals?]