The Best of Notable Quotables; December 19, 1994
Table of Contents:
- The Best of Notable Quotables; December 19, 1994
- Sore Losers Award
- Honey, I shrunk the Democratic Party
- Oliver Stone
- I Still Hate Reagan
- Apolitical Observers
- Media Hero
- Flatliner Award
- Rodney Dangerfield
- Politics of Meaninglessness
- Clinton Enemies
- You're No Anita Hill
- No Money Down
- Good Morning Morons
- Damn Conservatives
- Iron Curtain Award
- Which Way Is It?
- Dumbest Quote of the Year
- 1994 Award Judges
Politics of Meaninglessness Award (for the Silliest Analysis)
“The
first time I shot somebody, it felt, God, it felt great. I mean, years
later, I read this like, magazine, and it likened the feeling to
ejaculation, or orgasm, and I thought about it, and it really
was....When John Wayne shoots somebody, he rides off into the sunset.
Why can’t I, you know? Young people don’t make the logical connections
that adults assume they make about those kinds of things. That’s why
you’ve got to get rid of the guns.”
–Criminal-turned- Washington Post reporter Nathan McCall in profile on ABC’s 20/20, February 18.
Runners-up:
“One
standard conservative argument against antipoverty policies is their
cost: taxes burden the affluent and thus, by lowering work incentive,
reduce economic output. But if one goal of the policy is to bolster
monogamy, then making the affluent less so would help. Monogamy is
threatened not just by poverty in an absolute sense but also by the
relative wealth of the rich. This is what lures a young woman to a
wealthy married or formerly married man. It is also what makes the man
who attracts her feel too good for just one wife. As for the economic
consequences, the costs of soaking the rich might well be outweighed by
the benefits, financial and otherwise, of more stable marriages, fewer
divorces, fewer abused children and less loneliness and depression.”
–
From August 15 Time cover story on infidelity, by New Republic Senior
Editor Robert Wright.
“Programs designed to aid inner city
youths...are not pork....’Pork!’ scream the demagogues. ‘Give us the
death penalty!’ The next time you or a loved one find yourself trapped
in the nightmare of a violent crime, ask yourself if it wouldn’t have
been better for the ‘perp’ to have been off playing basketball
somewhere. You may find yourself suddenly in favor of even an imperfect
attempt at prevention.”
– New York Times columnist and former NBC News
reporter Bob Herbert, August 17 column.
