Political Responsibilities
Page 15
- The coming firestorm over new power-plant regulations won’t be a genuine debate — just as there isn’t a genuine debate about climate science. Instead, the airwaves will be filled with conspiracy theories and wild claims about costs, all of which should be ignored. Climate policy may finally be getting somewhere; let’s not let crazy climate economics get in the way.
- If you are passed out drunk or if there is a gun to your head, it is the same crime. It is a crime where there is not consent. It is a felony. And we need to start making sure victims understand that, so they don’t do the self blame.
- There would be some price to pay for this country and our allies…But there is a huge price to pay for allowing aggressive bullying behavior to continue…History teaches us that we have to stand up to such bullying behavior from one state on to another.
- There is no safe place in Gaza right now. Bombs can land at any time, anywhere. A small metal shack with no electricity or running water on a jetty in the blazing seaside sun does not seem like the kind of place frequented by Hamas militants - the Israel Defense Forces’ intended targets. Children, maybe four feet tall, dressed in summer clothes, running from an explosion, don’t fit the description of Hamas fighters, either.
- This is a tragic day in what has already been a tragic year for Malaysia. As we work to understand what happened, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those on the flight. I cannot imagine what they must be going through at this time. The flight and crew came from many different countries, but regardless of nationality, we are all united in grief.
- So when I say that - as a clinic - we were only functioning at 50 percent or less, I’m being generous. It’s as if the whole staff had made an agreement that we would only keep the clinic open for half a day - although our veterans are waiting 30 days for follow up care, they’re waiting 25 days for their first appointment. That was what I encountered.
- The relationship has truly been fine. Our defense cooperation and intelligence sharing, which has been substantial in both directions, and our work on anti-missile and anti-rocket defense have been very good. And this work continues under Chuck Hagel and President Obama - and I’m pleased with that. That doesn’t mean we can’t have differences of opinion on Iran.
- Any adverse event for a veteran within our care is one too many. We can and we must do better.
- If you look at what the factors were going into the decision, of course there are competing interests and values. And one of our values is we bring everybody home off the battlefield the best we can. It doesn't matter how they ended up in a prisoner of war situation…It doesn’t matter. We bring our people home.
- Here are white men poised to run big marijuana businesses, dreaming of cashing in big - big money, big businesses selling weed. After 40 years of impoverished black kids getting prison time for selling weed - and their families and futures destroyed. Now, white men are planning to get rich doing precisely the same thing?
- I can't explain the lack of integrity among some of the leaders of our health care facilities. This is something I rarely encountered during 38 years in uniform. And so I will not defend it because it is indefensible. But I can take responsibility for it and I do.
- I don’t care about your sympathy. I don’t give a s**t that you feel sorry for me. Get to work and do something. I’ll tell the president the same thing if he calls me. Getting a call from a politician doesn’t impress me.