Verbatim

‘Bawdy jokes are O.K. if they’re really good.’ ANTONIN SCALIA, Supreme Court Justice, during a hearing on the use of “fleeting expletives” on radio and TV

‘Even if Obama had not won, I would still have done the same.’ PAMELA ADHIAMBO, a Kenyan woman who named her newborn twins Barack and Michelle. More than half the babies born at Kenya’s Kisumu Hospital on Nov. 5 were named after the President-elect or his wife

‘A lot of public defenders are starting to stand up and say, “No more.”‘ DAVID CARROLL, of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, on growing concerns that state-budget cuts and heavy workloads are undermining the constitutional right to free counsel

‘I regret saying some things I shouldn’t have said, like “Dead or alive” or “Bring ’em on.”‘ GEORGE W. BUSH, when asked on CNN about the highs and lows of his time as President

‘You walk the mall, and consumers look like zombies. They’re there in person, but not in spirit.’ JOHN MORRIS, a Wachovia retailing analyst, on the nation’s rising unemployment rate and the disappointing sales figures reported in October by dozens of major stores

‘Basically, we’re the bullet sponge.’ FIRST LIEUT. DANIEL WRIGHT, executive officer of a U.S. Army unit whose function is to draw insurgents away from more populated areas in Afghanistan

‘I’m trying to find my way back.’ MARK FOLEY, former Congressman, who resigned in September 2006 amid reports that he had sent sexual messages to male teens working as Capitol Hill pages

Back & Forth:

Veterans

‘It is not our day to gripe about the cost.’ ELIZABETH HASSELBECK, co-host of ABC’s The View, criticizing colleague Joy Behar for commemorating Veterans Day by listing stats about the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq

‘We are honoring them by discussing this war.’ JOY BEHAR, saying few newspaper headlines noted the Nov. 11 holiday or the number of soldiers who have died since 2003

Diplomacy

‘He’s young, handsome and even has a good tan.’ Italian Prime Minister SILVIO BERLUSCONI, joking about Barack Obama becoming the first African-American President. He later added, “If some people don’t have a sense of humor, then it’s their problem.”

‘Often I find that I am pleased to have become French.’ CARLA BRUNI-SARKOZY, Italian-born wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reacting to Berlusconi’s remark

LEXICON

philanthrocapitalism n.–Also known as venture philanthropy. A business-like approach to charity USAGE: “Leading philanthrocapitalists are giving away unprecedented amounts of money–Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are together handing out about $3.5 billion a year through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.” –NEW YORK TIMES, NOV. 11, 2008

Sources: BBC; Washington Post; New York Times; CNN; New York Times; International Herald Tribune; AP

For daily sound bites, visit time.com/quotes