Verbatim

  • 'The greatest persecution of the church doesn't come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sin within the church.'

    POPE BENEDICT XVI, offering the Catholic Church's strongest statement of fault to date in its widespread sexual-abuse scandal

    'We are losing a battle, but losing a battle is not losing a war.'

    U NYAN WIN, spokesman for jailed Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party; the group was dissolved May 7 after refusing to register for upcoming elections it has denounced as undemocratic

    'It doesn't make a difference whether I'm here or in Israel.'

    ZABLON SIMINTOV, the last Jew in Afghanistan, declining to join his family in Israel even though he hasn't seen his children in 12 years; Afghanistan's Jewish community was once 40,000 strong

    'I was shocked to learn that the group was omitted from the list.'

    CHARLES SCHUMER, New York Senator, urging the Obama Administration to add the Pakistan Taliban, blamed for the recent Times Square bomb threat, to the U.S. list of foreign terrorist groups

    'Pretty cool.'

    DALLAS BRADEN, pitcher for the Oakland Athletics, on pitching MLB's 19th perfect game on May 9 against the Tampa Bay Rays

    'It's kind of like it says on the rearview mirror: Things may appear larger.'

    HOPE DWORACZYK, a Playboy centerfold, on being photographed nude for a 3-D spread in the magazine's June edition

    'I was also going to give a graduation speech in Arizona this weekend, but with my accent, I was afraid they would try to deport me.'

    ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, governor of California, ribbing Arizona's new immigration law during his commencement speech at Emory University in Atlanta

    TALKING HEADS

    Donna Brazile

    Calling for an end to punditry, in the Washington Post:

    "I probably shouldn't say this--it's the definition of biting the hand that feeds me ... It's time to abolish punditry ... If your only credentials are 'GOP shill' or 'Democratic hack,' you've no business cluttering up the airwaves or the op-ed pages. My mama always told me that if you don't know what you're talking about, it's best to keep your mouth shut."

    --5/7/10

    Thomas Friedman

    On recharging the economy in the New York Times:

    "The meta-story behind the British election, the Greek meltdown and our own Tea Party is this: our parents were the Greatest Generation. [They made] enormous sacrifices and investments to build us a world of abundance ... The Baby Boomers [have] eaten through all that abundance like hungry locusts. Now we and our kids together need to become the Regeneration--one that raises incomes ... in a way that is financially and ecologically sustainable."

    --5/8/10

    Matt Taibbi

    Writing on True/Slant about possible changes to Miranda rules:

    1. Previous Page
    2. 1
    3. 2