Old Fogey's Quotes for Saturday

“It’s another clear example of the government playing a shell game to avoid accountability and judicial scrutiny.”
Ann Beeson, associate legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, referring to the White House's fuzzy plan to submit its domestic surveillance program to judicial supervision
White House Shifting Tactics in Spy Cases
[You know, the more I think of it, the more Richard Nixon looks like a stickler for the constitution, compared to King George the Flim-Flam Artist]

"Discrimination is good for someone, but most people have chosen to think of it merely as unkind or socially unfair. . . . Restitution theory strips away the pretense. It lets us see how discrimination has indirectly enriched millions of people relative to those who have been excluded."
Professor Richard F. America, author of "Paying the Social Debt: What White America Owes Black America"
In Virginia, More to 'Get Over' Than Slavery
[Amen! I don't know if I would go as far as reparations, but European Americans really need to understand that, like slavery, segregation was a tool for maintaining a caste system so that we could get "dirty work" done cheaply. Even today, when we talk about work that "Americans won't do," it really means that we don't want to pay enough to get it done. If CEOs can't afford to pay a living wage to get their offices cleaned, maybe they ought to do it themselves.]

"If the cure for Parkinson's disease or juvenile diabetes lay behind one of four doors, wouldn't you want the option to open all four doors at once instead of one door?"
Story Landis, director of the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Stem Cell Policy Hampering Research, NIH Official Says
[As a person who lost both parents to Alzheimer's, I join the chorus of those who find it sinful to refuse to use something that is going to be discarded anyway in the fight to save lives.]

"As a senator, I will spend [the next] two years doing everything in my power to limit the damage George W. Bush can do. But only a new president will be able to undo Bush's mistakes and restore our hope and optimism."
Senator Hilliary Clinton
Sen. Clinton Launches 2008 Campaign
[It's more than a little sad that our main national priority has become limiting the damage done by King George the Bull in the China Shop. I certainly will never again say, "How much damage can one person do?"]

“Every time he’s read something he tells you about it.”
Jay Rockefeller, the new chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee
The Ballad of Bushie and Flashy
[Perhaps we should be giving little gold star stickers for each book read by our president King George the Incurious.]

"It would get us out of the ridiculous situation of having our law saying there's justifiable beating of children in the midst of a society where we say we value children and protect them."
Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, who plans to introduce a bill next week to make California the first state to make the hitting of a toddler or baby a crime
Anti-spanking stance draws ire
[Those of you who know the remarkable Mrs. F can testify that spanking is not needed to raise a responsible and caring adult. It is the easy way out for parents who don't want to take the time to truly discipline their child.]