Notable Quotables - 12/11/1989
Quote of the Month
"For the most part, the Nicaraguan Contras burned villages and murdered civilians. On behalf of their cause, Reagan sold out his oath of office and subverted the Constitution....
"Oliver North
presented himself as the immortal boy in the heroic green uniform of Peter
Pan. Although wishing to be seen as a humble patriot, the colonel's testimony
showed him to be a treacherous and lying agent of the national security state,
willing to do anything asked of him by a President to whom he granted the
powers of an Oriental despot."
- Harper's Editor Lewis Lapham narrating his PBS series America's
Century, November 28.
The Ferocious Pope
"Jesus said love
your enemies. This week's meeting of Pope John Paul and Mikhail Gorbachev
brings together two traditional enemies, both of whom have shown, time and
again, that they can rise above the hatreds of history...The meeting, said one
priest in Rome, is like the lion lying down with the lamb, but in this case,
he said, it's hard to tell who's the lion and who's the lamb."
- Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, November 29.
Who's Who in El Salvador
"Prominent Rightist
Slain in El Salvador: An official seen by leftists as a barrier to change is
gunned down."
"Woman Held on Arms
Charge in Salvador Is Defended as Neutral Idealist: She was 'young and very
moved by the suffering."
- New York Times, November 29, page A8.
Fanatic Right, Statesmanlike Left
"Washington should
rethink its relationship with a democratically elected government that cannot
control fanatic right-wing elements in the armed forces. El Salvador's armed
forces, nourished by American dollars, bear primary responsibility for the
country's scandalous human rights record. Washington should cut off military
aid unless travesties like the killing of the six Jesuits are stopped."
- Time magazine box titled "A Scandalous Record," December
4.
"A grisly fantasy
of a different sort may soon be conjured up out of the frustration by
ultra-rightists in the Salvadoran army and government who are considering a
campaign of terror to suppress the insurgents...Already the government is
betraying distressingly fascist leanings...The future for El Salvador looks to
be a free-for-all between a buoyant and rearmed F.M.L.N. and generals willing
to make the country a boneyard."
- Time Washington correspondent J.F.O. McAllister, December 11.
"At one side of the
table in Malta will sit a statesman; the other seat will be occupied by a man
who calmly bankrolls the murderers of priests."
- Editorial in The Nation, December 4.
Lesbian Rights, A Noble Cause
"The ERA and
lesbian rights, while noble causes, seemed to have garnered more attention
than the pressing need for child care and more flexible work schedules."
- Time Senior Editor Claudia Wallis, December 4 issue.
Those Irrational Campaign Promises
"We should all be
thankful that the 'no new taxes' charade is over. From now on, the question of
how to pay for what the country needs can be debated without the irrational
rhetoric of campaign promises...With that campaign rhetoric behind them, the
government's fiscal leaders can get on with the job of reducing the deficit
directly by raising revenues. A federal sales tax, a big increase in the gas
tax, taxes on speculative investments, even an increase in the top income tax
rate all can be considered on their own merits rather than as threats to
campaign promises that everyone knew could not be kept."
- Washington Post business reporter Jerry Knight, November 28.
Having It Both Ways
"For more than a
year, the rebels have been receiving large supplies of AK-47 assault rifles
and Cuban ammunition, making their current firepower far superior to what they
had during the 1981 offensive."
- Charles Lane in Newsweek, November 27, page 50.
"Bush will ask
Gorbachev to cut off Soviet aid to the Salvadoran rebels and their Sandinista
backers in nearby Nicaragua. Even that is unlikely to work. Superpower
diplomacy, military experts believe, is not of much use against a homegrown
and largely self-sufficient insurgency."
- Lane, same issue, page 55.
Making Gorbachev Feel Safe
"With the shield of
captive nations melting away a day at a time, the most important question Mr.
Bush will ask Gorbachev is how the West can make the Soviet Union feel
secure."
- CBS reporter Wyatt Andrews on CBS This Morning, December 1.
Superior Sweden
"Tonight we have
put the best child care system in the world on the American Agenda. That is to
say, the system which is acknowledged to be the best outside the home. It's in
Sweden. The Swedish system is run and paid for by the Swedish government,
something many Americans would like to see the U.S. government do as
well."
- Peter Jennings on the November 22 World News Tonight.
Your PBS Tax Dollars At Work
"Behind the smiles,
behind the one-liners, the pretty pictures, the manipulation of emotions, the
government rots. Its costs soar, its failures mount, from the folly of Star
Wars to the scandals of HUD. But on the bridge of the ship of state, no one is
on watch and below the deck, no one can see the iceberg. But everybody feels
good."
- Bill Moyers concluding a segment of Bill Moyers: The Public Mind,
November 15.
Conservatives for Mondale?
"It was the Navy,
its style and its patriotism, Donovan makes clear, that bent his
conservative-leaning twig into permanent place....After retirement in 1979,
Donovan spent a largely fruitless year or so as President Carter's 'senior
adviser'...Here he reveals he voted for Mondale rather than for Reagan."
- Washington Post book review of former Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief
Hedley Donovan's autobiography, October 20.
What's the Frequency, Dan?
"In Washington, a
federal judge tonight ordered former President Reagan to produce personal
records and testimony for the next criminal trial stemming from the
missiles-for-Iran, what-happened-to-the-money, who-gave-the-orders case."
- Dan Rather on the November 16 CBS Evening News.
- L. Brent
Bozell III; Publisher
- Brent H. Baker, Tim Graham, Marc S. Ryan; Editors
- Jim Heiser, Jay Marois, Patrick Swan, Dorothy Warner; Media Analysts
- Cynthia Bulman; Administrative Assistant
