The unique perspective and provocative opinions of Joe O’Neill
Quoteworthy
“I’m sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It’s just been too intelligent to come here.”—the late British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.
“We stand with the Cuban people as they bravely assert their fundamental and universal rights—as they all call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering.”—President Joe Biden.
“The writing is on the wall. (Northern Ireland) is well on its way to having a Catholic majority. … One thing seems certain: There isn’t going to be a second centenary for Northern Ireland. It might not even last another decade.”—Susan McKay, author of “Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground.”
“(China’s) government is openly appealing to American CEOs to lobby the Biden Administration to go softly on the China policy his administration is developing.”—William J. Holstein and Clyde Prestowitz, National Review.
“What to the slave is the Fourth of July?”—Frederick Douglas.
“Racism isn’t an American phenomenon; it’s a human one.”—Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”—George Orwell.
“The last time the economy grew at this rate was in 1984, and Ronald Reagan was telling us it’s morning in America. Well, it’s getting close to afternoon here. The sun is coming out.”—President Joe Biden.
“It is not a governable situation in D.C. right now for the president or for Congress, because you have the commitment of the Republican leader to block everything and let nothing get through.”—Former Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Nelson, who retired in 2012 after two terms. His upcoming memoir is titled “Death of the Senate.”
“Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.”—Hillary Clinton.
“One simple question for climate-change skeptics: What is it about 121 degrees in Canada that you don’t understand?”—Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.
“In an eerie sort of way, the debate about fixing the (Champlain Tower South) was a lot like the debate about fixing our climate: It’s all too easy to kick the can down the road, to minimize the scale of the risk we face, and to believe that even urgent warning signs can be ignored.”—Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone.
“It’s nowhere near as bad as people thought.”—David Cole, national legal director of the ACLU, on the upshot of a Supreme Court with three Trump appointees.
“This is really the next big piece of our transformational effort for intercity passenger rail across America.”—Amtrak president Stephen Gardner, on plans for a $7.3 billion upgrade to its rolling stock over the next decade.
“The supposed boundaries between generations are no more meaningful than the names (“Boomers,” “Gen X,” “Millennials,” “Gen Z”) they’ve been given. … Worse than irrelevant, such baseless categories drive people toward stereotyping and rash character judgment.”—University of Maryland sociologist Philip N. Cohen.
“Some of the hardest news I’ve ever had to deliver in my professional career.”—Miami-Dade Fire Chief of Operations Ray Jadallah, who announced the end of rescue efforts in the Champlain Tower South collapse.