On Fundamental Truths...
"Theology never changes. A man's heart is the same. The Gospel is the same. There have been no additions to the Gospel that was preached in the first century, and there is no difference in the reading of the events of the first century; morally, they're still the same. The same old sins, the same old problems, basically, that they faced in Egypt we face today in America."
--Rev. Billy Graham, in an interview in the December issue of "George".
From the Washington Times on 11/25/96, page A2.
On the State of Education...
"The information this time around is about U.S. eighth graders, who came in 28th in math and 17th in science in testing of students from 41 nations. Our top kids, it turns out, aren't as good in math as the average kids in Singapore, which captured first place in both categories. And the spread between American kids and kids in the top 20 countries in math isn't just a little bit; it's a whole bunch."
--Jay Ambrose, chief editorial writer for the Scripps Howard News Service,
in the Washington Times on 11/25/96, page A16.
On Misplaced Self-Esteem...
"Eight years ago another comparative math study revealed how poorly American students did compared to their South Korean peers. Nevertheless, 68 percent of American students considered themselves "good at mathematics" while only 23 percent of Korean students felt that way."
--Washington Times editorial for 12/1/96. Page B2.
On Misplaced Compassion...
"Both defendants have it more difficult than the majority of people because they cannot enjoy their sexuality without committing a crime."
--Judge Heinz Peter Plefka, during sentencing of two homosexual pedophiles
in Germany. He said that although the men, ages 33 and 43, had sex with
boys, they did not physically mistreat them. One man had his sentence
suspended and the other was sentenced to four year and 10 months in prison.
Washington Times, 11/29/96, page A2.
On Understanding the Problem...
"It is impossible to maintain civilization with 12-year-olds having babies, 15-year-olds killing each other, 17-year-olds dying of AIDS, and 18-year-olds getting diplomas they can't even read."
--Newt Gingrich, as quoted in an article by Richard Brookhiser in
National Review. December 9, 1996, page 55.
On Partial-Birth Abortion (Plus 30 Seconds)...
"The comfort and wealth that surrounded Brian and Amy only make their moral poverty starker. Whatever the spin the legal mercenaries put on the killers' motives, here are two self-indulgent teenagers who are so spiritually impoverished as to treat their own flesh and blood as trash to be conveniently disposed of. The baby was an unwelcome intruder into their narcissistic world. Our culture's celebrated right to act on our every impulse had led straight to a dead end: a battered baby in a motel trash bin."
--Arianna Huffington, in an article in the Washington Times, 11/29/96,
page A23. At issue is the recent arrest of Brian Peterson Jr. And Amy
Grossberg in Newark, DE.
On Ethical Persuasion...
"The object was reelection, and a goal was to find a way for the American people to maintain a comfort level with Bill Clinton as president, regardless of what they thought about these other issues. Some of that was done by persuading people that the attacks launched by Congress on the president's ethics were partisan and politically motivated."
--Jane Sherburne, White House counsel, who is leaving after two years of
supervising responses to various charges against the president and his
administration. Washington Times, 11/29/96, page A8.
On Promoting Chaos...
"Tense and time is important in the English language. In the African language, time is relevant, but not to the same degree. If you say in American English 'I walk, I walked, I have walked' in Ebonics it would be 'I walk, I done walk, I been done walk,' which means 'I walk, I just finished walking and I walked a long time ago.'"
--Aisha Blackshire-Belay, professor and chairman of the department of
African studies at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. The Oakland
California Board of Education's Task Force on the Education of African
Americans already has agreed that the non-standard English dialect dubbed
"Ebonics" is a bona fide language and those students who use it should
qualify for federal bilingual education funds. Washington Times, 11/28/96,
front page and page A8.
On Restoring Sanity...
"I don't call it Ebonics. I call it incorrect English."
--Joan Davis Rattary, president and founder of the Washington-based
Institute for Independent Education, a national alliance of nearly
400 private black schools serving 70,000 children. She rejects the
language completely. Washington Times, 11/28/96, front page and
page A8.