No, really...

I’m a communications professional and former journalist in Southwest Virginia. These are some quotes.

[jordanfifer]

“I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths.”

— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a virtual speech to Congress

[jordanfifer]

“I get angry at a principle, not a person.”

— Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. (source)

[jordanfifer]

“Don't try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won't live long enough to find out about, but I'm still curious about them. You know people who are already saying, 'I'm going to be 30 - oh, what am I going to do?' Well, use that decade! Use them all!”

— Betty White (source)

[jordanfifer]

“Teamwork is needed in Washington now more than ever. During my years in Congress, Democrats and Republicans were political combatants, but we were also friends. I learned that it is difficult to get anything done unless you can compromise – not your principles but your willingness to see the other side. Those who suggest that compromise is a sign of weakness misunderstand the fundamental strength of our democracy.”

— Bob Dole (source)

[jordanfifer]

“I have lots of respect for women. My mom was a woman.”

— Larry Elder, the Republican candidate for California governor, in an interview with CNN’s Joe Johns (source: live TV)

[jordanfifer]

“You do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I want to say that officially. You do not know what you are talking about.”

— Dr. Anthony Fauci, addressing Sen. Rand Paul while testifying before Congress on July 20, 2021

[jordanfifer]

"Look, I know I sometimes say or post strange things. But that's just how my brain works. To anyone I've offended, I just want to say: I re-invented electric cars and I'm sending people to Mars in a rocket ship. Did you also think I was gonna be a chill, normal dude?"

— Elon Musk (source)

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"Politics isn’t about the weird worship of one dude."

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) 

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“Will you shut up, man?”

— Former Vice President Joe Biden, addressing President Donald Trump in a debate (source)

[jordanfifer]

“It affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing.”

Pres. Donald Trump, speaking about COVID-19 at an Ohio campaign rally on Sept. 21, 2020. (source)  “It affects elderly people with heart problems and other problems,” Trump said. “If they have other problems, that’s what it really affects.”

The CDC (https://bit.ly/3hWIN6u) and WHO (https://bit.ly/2RMfN71) disagree.

[jordanfifer]

“So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune.”

— Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (source)

[jordanfifer]

“You are not going to find what’s possible if you don’t try the impossible.”

— Jessica Dempsey, site director at Hawaii’s James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (source)

[jordanfifer]

“No one is lying to the American people. One day Covid will go away — I think we can all hope for that day. … One day it will go away. That is a fact. It is not inciting fear.”

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Sept. 9, defending against allegations Pres. Trump downplayed the threat from COVID-19 at multiple times, including saying on Feb. 28: “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”  (source)

[jordanfifer]

“Listening to experts to set policy is an elitist approach. I’m very fearful of an elitist approach. I’m also fearful that it leads to totalitarianism. There’s a lot of people that are willing to go back to school, willing to go back to work, and yet we’re letting a few fearful people control the lives of those of us that are not fearful.”

— Iowa state Sen. Steven Thayn, R, arguing for a bill that would mandate local school boards have the final say in deciding to enforce school closures or mandatory mask orders, not local or state public health officials (source)

[jordanfifer]

“If stupid people aren’t elected next year, we’re going to have one of the greatest years that we’ve ever had.”

— President Donald Trump, speaking at his New Jersey golf club on August 15, 2020 (source)

[jordanfifer]

“It’s going to disappear, and I’ll be right. Because I’ve been right probably more than anybody else.”

— President Donald Trump speaking about COVID-19, in an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace (source)

[jordanfifer]

“So we’ve succeeded, and I think that people just don’t want to recognize it.”

— Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking May 20. On July 12, Florida reported 15,299 coronavirus cases, the largest single-day increase of any state ever, beating California (11,694 on July 8) and New York (11,571 on April 15).

(source: story | video)