Old Fogey's Quotes for Wednesday

"It's not true that they don't have a plan for Iraq. Their plan is to avoid having such a resolution occur on their watch, to delay the disintegration of Iraq, for which they more than anyone else are responsible, until Bush is out of office and they can lay the blame for this catastrophe on his successor."
Harold Meyerson, in WaPo editorial, regarding Bush and Cheney
So What's Our Role in Iraq's Civil War?

"I mean, what is degrading in one society may not be degrading in another, or may be degrading in one religion, not in another religion. And since it does have an international interpretation, which is generally, frankly, different than our own, it becomes very, very relevant" [to define the meaning in new legislation amending the War Crimes Act]
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England
War Crimes Act Changes Would Reduce Threat Of Prosecution

"It's hard to overstate the incompetence involved in all of these contracts. We have repeatedly asked them for information, and you get nothing."
Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), regarding four no-bid contracts awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house Hurricane Katrina evacuees that have ballooned in value from $400 million to about $3.4 billion
$400 Million FEMA Contracts Now Total $3.4 Billion

"Most Republicans are content to engage in fearmongering if that is what is needed to win elections."
John W. Dean, the top lawyer in the Nixon White House
In Your Heart, Not Quite Right

"Given his pro-life record, I think pro-life Virginians would be very confused by this decision to invest in the only producer of the morning-after pill."
Chris Freund, policy director for the Family Foundation in Richmond, talking about Republican Sen. George Allen
Abortion Foe Allen Faulted for Stock in Morning-After Pill Maker

“All we talk about is the war, what to do about the war. There is no question that the U.S. has lost morally because of the war. Even if you like the people and the culture of the United States, you can’t defend it.”
Fawaziah al-Bakr, who promotes educational change and women’s rights in Saudi Arabia
Anti-U.S. Feeling Leaves Arab Reformers Isolated

“We all have a right to privacy. Nobody should have found this all out.”
Thelma Arnold, a 62-year-old widow, regarding detailed records of her internet searches kept by AOL, which was accessed without her permission
A Face Is Exposed for AOL Searcher No. 4417749

''Unfortunately, this dangerous incompetence has become all too common in the Bush White House, and it has made America less safe.''
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nev), calling for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson and declaring his leadership a threat to national security after the VA lost another computer containing veterans' personal data.
Senator Calls for V.A. Secretary’s Resignation