Old Fogey's Quotes for Monday (Covering Gays, Religion, Bush, and Race)

"It gives me pause. But I understand it well enough that it's not a show-stopper."
Jim Pierobon, a member of The Falls (Episcopal) Church in Virginia, one of two voting on whether to leave the US Episcopal Church and affiliate with Nigerian Archbishop Peter J. Akinola, in spite of the bishop's support of jailing gays
Episcopal Churches To Vote on Departure
[How can anyone believe that Jesus would be more concerned about private behavior than about sanctimonious stone-throwing? How can an issue that really gets so little print in the scriptures (compared for example with taking care of the needy) cause the breakup of a church? Am I the only one who thinks the world has gone morality mad? One of our problems with Islamic governments is their restricting personal liberty by enforcing their version of morality by law. Just how is this different?]

"This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country, and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation."
King George the Defiant, referring to the Democratic filibuster over Bolton's nomination to be UN Ambassador
John Bolton Resigns as U.S. Ambassador to U.N.
[Wow! What a concilatory start toward bipartisanship! Sounds like George knows that he in essence lost the election. Doesn't he sound humbled? You don't think so? This, however, is as good as it gets with this guy.]

"School districts have an unquestioned interest in reducing minority isolation through race-neutral means. But the solution to addressing racial imbalance in communities or student bodies is not to adopt race-conscious measures."
Solicitor General Paul D. Clement, in his brief to the Supreme Court in school desegregation case accepted for review
Supreme Court Weighs Race in Public School Admissions
[Huh? Just how, pray tell, does one do this? The Wake County schools in NC attempt to do this by using income rather than race, but that plan is just as unpopular with white parents who want their children to go to whatever school they desire. It's just so unfair, they cry, to use race as a criteria 50 years after the Brown decision. What about the race conscious practices implemented for over 300 years prior to 1954? How do you factor in those?]