QuoteLog

“My friend Mitch and I were discussing this and regardless of who wins in the polls, the Iraqis won here and proved themselves — for a day, at least — stronger than the insurgency. And that’s a very big symbolic victory. A huge one, in fact, and Iraqis should take great pride in themselves. When they had the opportunity, they stood up and were counted.”

“It’s not safe, but they will do it. We spent our life as a number on paper. Now we count as a people, a citizenship. This is worth a lot. This is worth even dying for.”

“I wanted to keep the paper in my hand for long time. First thing I imagined how much the paper cost us as a country and a people. It cost us a million people’s deaths. Now we get the victory, just now when we elect our representatives. I want to touch the victory. I didn’t want to leave it.”

“Although I hope democracy succeeds, the fact that Iraqis have to face being gunned down in large numbers to vote does not strike me as a great achievement for an occupying power.”

“The men and women of our military have performed magnificently over the last few years. We are more proud of them than we can say. But many of them would be the first to say that the armed forces are too small. And we would say that surely we should be doing more to honor the contract between America and those who serve her in war.”

“You gave each guest the benefit of the doubt, and in this way you exemplified an American ideal: you’re nuts but you’re welcome here.”

“Because Muslims have strayed from moderation, we are now suffering from this dangerous phenomenon of branding people infidels and inciting Muslims to rise against their leaders to cause instability. The reason for this is a delinquent and void interpretation of Islam based on ignorance ... faith does not mean killing Muslims or non-Muslims who live among us, it does not mean shedding blood, terrorizing or sending body parts flying.”

“We must live like other people. Let a million of us die. That’s the price of freedom. Have you heard of any society that gained freedom without sacrifices?”

“Look, in my country we have elections that are not perfect, that have been marred by violence and terrible intimidation. But still people go to the polls. And still the results are accepted as legitimate.”

“Look, in my country we have elections that are not perfect, that have been marred by violence and terrible intimidation. But still people go to the polls. And still the results are accepted as legitimate.”

“The dinky Mac is way cool.”

“I’m going to stop playing with HTML until it learns to behave itself. ”

“A classic collection of coaches: Andy Reid looks like the star of a CBS sitcom where the portly guy is married to an improbably hot chick; Mora looks like one of those clean-cut porn stars who isn’t quite reliable enough to get his own one-on-one scene; Bill Belichick dresses like the lead singer of an ’80s cover band; and Bill Cowher looks so much like Sergeant Slaughter, you keep waiting for the Iron Sheik to attack him.”

“So during the campaign, George W. Bush visited the Cleveland Browns. But on the first day of his second term, as he put forth his agenda to fix the world, there was not one mention of any plan to fix the Browns. From now on I’ll never trust another politician.”

“I detest the word ‘blog.’ It sounds like the noise a bulimic makes after a hearty meal.”

“Blogging is a tool, Journalism is an occupation, and Credibility is a goal. They are strange bedfellows.”

“[Michael] Vick, the greatest thrill ride in the NFL, can bring Atlanta its first Super Bowl championship. All by himself. Or he can break the city’s collective heart. All by himself.”

“I’ve been averaging about 15,000-20,000 hits a day, which means that, on an average day, probably 10 times as many people hear what I have to say than otherwise would have heard me in the rest of my life. Admittedly, about half of these people come here looking for pictures of Ernest Borgnine and Thundarr the Barbarian in compromising positions, but the point stands.”

“I’d point to this as a warning for anyone who isn’t self-employed and who writes a weblog: watch out. Indeed, it’s a warning to anyone who isn’t self-employed and who wants to write in their own time. Corporate reach is threatening to deprive you of the right to self-expression.”

“Until names are named, we can assume every conservative pundit is on the White House’s payola rolls.”

“Until names are named, we can assume every Daily Kos candidate this past election wrote him a check for his consulting work.”

“But how much evidence is there that Bush’s actions generally turn out more responsible than his rhetoric? Iraq? Immigration? Medicare drug benefits? Tax cuts during war time? No Child Left Behind?”

“I’m worried about overcommitting our military around the world. I want to be judicious in its use. You mentioned Haiti. I wouldn’t have sent troops to Haiti. I didn’t think it was a mission worthwhile. It was a nation building mission, and it was not very successful. It cost us billions, a couple billions of dollars, and I’m not so sure democracy is any better off...”

“A few minutes later, a knock came at Mr. Klein’s door, and in came Nancy Grace, the blond, big-eyed, all-nostrils legal analyst, in puffy fur boots with furball tassels and a fur vest, Tammy Faye Baker as Barbarella.”

“I don’t believe that he believes this war is lost but I think he’s just too frustrated because he really wants it to work and he can’t see it working this way, meaning the way the American administration is handling it. I couldn’t, however, demand the same as I’m Iraqi and I feel it’s not my right to ask people to sacrifice more so that I can live free.”

“I asked [Colonel] Saul what lessons the Army has learned in Iraq, and he said, ‘Not much, because lessons learned, in past tense, means you’ve modified behavior. Until you demonstrate changed behavior, you haven’t learned a lesson.’”

“Don’t cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a year. Is that torture?”

“It’s consensual behavior, you moron. And if there are frequent pyramids of naked cheerleaders anywhere, my cable access is grossly inadequate.”

“The Internet, with its open, distributed structure, was designed to withstand a nuclear attack. If it can do that, it can withstand corporate America.”

“You bunch of geeks. It’s past midnight and you losers are arguing politics. Tell ya what ... how about I tell you what it’s like to kiss a girl?”

“It’s sort of like a vicious circle: Journalists make fun of webloggers saying that they only post about their cats, webloggers make fun of LiveJournalers saying that they only post about high school angst and LiveJournalers make fun of webloggers saying that they are SUV-driving yuppies who think they have something important to say.”

“Bin Laden knows nothing about Iraq; he is an extremist who lives in caves. He lost 75 percent of his support in Iraq by making everyone who votes in elections an infidel.”

“The prevailing democratic system in the world is not suitable for us in this region. We have our own Muslim faith, which is a complete system and complete religion. Elections do not fall within the sphere of the Muslim religion.”

“A close reading of the UK’s Department for International Development’s brilliantly detailed daily reports of activity in the affected regions also reveals that UN officials are working hard at planning to work — and estimating the need for work — rather than actually delivering aid on the ground. All of which is a bit chilling, since the UN is positioning itself as the primary carrier of aid relief to the region and has been critical of the ‘core group’ response led the the US and Australia.”

“In the last 90 days Wizbang has been mentioned by the AP, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. In every story — including the one that focused on how errors are corrected in the blogosphere — the big media outlet made significant errors of fact.”

“People who use [Live Journal] talk about their LJs, not their blogs. They mock bloggers who want to be pundits, journalists, experts. In essence, they mock the culture of bloggers that use Six Apart’s tools. During interviews with LJ/Xanga folks, i’ve been told that MovableType is for people with no friends, people who just talk to be heard, people who are trying too hard. LJ folks don’t see LJ as a tool, but a community.”