Verbatim

‘If the government can cobble together a cheaper insurance policy that gives the same benefits, I see that as a plus.’

BILL O’REILLY, Fox News commentator, arguing for the inclusion of a public option in the proposed health-care-reform bill, a measure conservatives oppose

‘When I look in the mirror, I don’t see a female. I see a soldier.’

TERESA KING, who on Sept. 22 became the first woman to be named the top drill sergeant for the U.S. Army

‘They killed the pigs. Let them clean the city.’

MOUSSA RATEB, a former pig owner in Cairo, blasting the Egyptian government for ordering the slaughter of the nation’s pigs to ward off swine flu. Since the April decree, mounds of garbage have piled up on the country’s streets

‘It’s like a nuclear-winter morning.’

PETER WILSON, a tourist in Sydney, where one of the worst dust storms in 70 years shrouded the city in an orange fog. An estimated 5 million tons of dust were blown in from the drought-stricken Australian outback by strong winds

‘I was actually black before the election.’

BARACK OBAMA, when asked during an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman whether virulent criticism of his health-care-reform proposals is driven partly by racism

‘It wouldn’t be days. It would be hours.’

ASHA ABDALLA, a member of Somalia’s parliament, on how long the country’s government would last if the 5,000 African Union troops deployed in Mogadishu, the capital, were withdrawn

‘We want to thank our friends at NBC … for keeping us on the air even though we are so much more expensive than a talk show.’

TINA FEY, after her show 30 Rock won its third straight Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series on Sept. 20. NBC executives have said that programs like the new The Jay Leno Show are more affordable to produce than scripted ones

Back & Forth

Sport

‘Who are you to say you know what’s best for the team, and you work 9 to 5 at McDonald’s?’

ROBERT HENSON, a reserve linebacker on the Washington Redskins, blasting fans for booing during the team’s lackluster home win on Sept. 20

‘I’d have booed us too.’

DEANGELO HALL, Redskins cornerback, one of several players who criticized Henson for calling fans “dimwits”

Immigration

‘This is not a humanitarian camp. It’s a base for human traffickers.’

ERIC BESSON, French Immigration Minister, on the Sept. 22 dismantling of a makeshift refugee camp in the northern city of Calais. Known as “the jungle,” it housed hundreds of Afghans and Pakistanis

‘This is a grotesque game of human pass-the-parcel.’

DAN HODGES, an official for the London-based charity Refugee Action, arguing that the decision to demolish the camp would not deter refugees from trying to enter other European countries

LEXICON

Intermovie n.–A film within a film, a technique used by directors such as Joel and Ethan Coen

USAGE: “Intermovies have long been a way for filmmakers to offer wry asides on the industry. In Burn After Reading, the Coen brothers featured a rancid-looking cookie-cutter romcom called Pushing Up Daisy.”

–Guardian, Sept. 15, 2009

Sources: Fox News; New York Times (2); Reuters; CBS; New York Times; AP

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