“We have a new kind of bank. It is called too big to fail. TBTF, and it is a wonderful bank.” U.S. Congressman Stewart B. McKinney (R-Connecticut) Remark on September 19, 1984 Commenting on the federal government’s $4.5 billion bailout of Continental Illinois bank, which faced insolvency due to unwise lending practices. His phrase was resurrected during the more recent bank bailout. For more background, see the book Too Big to Fail.
ADAM SMITH STYLE COUNTERQUOTE:
“The whole notion of ‘too big to fail’ is about as anti-capitalist as it gets. When you start protecting companies that should go under through their own faults, you are removing ‘the invisible hand.’” Matt Tellam Columnist for the Oregon Daily Emerald In his April 28, 2010 column
BERNIE SAUNDERS QUOTE:
“Not only are too big to fail financial institutions bad for taxpayers, the enormous concentration of ownership in the financial sector has led to higher bank fees, usurious interest rates on credit cards, and fewer choices for consumers.” U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) Press release, April 26, 2010
DEAD DINOSAUR QUOTE:
“Chill, dudes. We’re too big to fail.” Political cartoon by Mike Keefe In the Denver Post, Nov. 12, 2008
DEPLORABLY LATE QUOTE:
“If they’re too big to fail, they’re too big. In 1911 we broke up Standard Oil – so what happened? The individual parts became more valuable than the whole. Maybe that’s what we need to do.” Alan Greenspan Former Federal Reserve Chairman Comment to the Council on Foreign Relations, October 2009. (Expressing a view he didn’t seem have mentioned when he was Federal Reserve Chairman.)
“If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?” Hillel the Elder (c. 60 BC-10 AD) Jewish scholar and religious leader In the Pirkei Avot (“Ethics of the Fathers”). The meaning of this bit of ancient wisdom has been translated in various ways and is still debated, but it seems to encourage rational self-interest, compassion for others and social activism.
PRO-HEALTH CARE VERSION:
“Now, since we took this issue on a year ago, there have been plenty of folks in Washington who’ve said that the politics is just too hard...Don’t do it now. My question to them is: When is the right time? If not now, when? If not us, who?” President Barack Obama Commenting on his health care reform legislation Speech in Glenside, Pennsylvania, March 8, 2010
ANTI-OBAMA COUNTERQUOTE:
“With the passage of ‘ObamaCare’ coming on the heels of government takeover of industries and taxpayer-funded bailouts of the irresponsible, many are wondering how we can turn the socialist tide...It is time for the few remaining pockets of traditionalism to take control of their culture and destiny. If not now, when?” Selwyn Duke Tennis player and Conservative political pundit Post on his blog, April 8, 2010
INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS VERSION:
“Someone must step forward. If not us, who will extend, promote, defend, protect, and enforce human rights?” Robert L. Maddex American attorney specializing in international law International Encyclopedia Of Human Rights (2000)
INSCRUTABLE CHINESE VERSION:
“If not now, Wen?” Jim Jubak Investment and stock-picking guru Headline of his post commenting on the reluctance of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (shown at left) to change China’s monetary policy. On the Jubak Picks site, March 8, 2010.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t seek, don’t flaunt.” Charles Moskos (1934-2008) U.S. sociologist and advisor to Sen. Sam Nunn The four-part phrase and policy he suggested in 1993 to Senate Armed Forces Committee Chairman Nunn, as a way to deal with gays in the military. Adopted by the U.S. military in 1994 as “Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue,” then shortened by the media to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”and now often referred to by the acronym DADT.
GLAA COUNTERQUOTE:
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? How about...Don’t Lie.” Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance website Post dated March 27, 2010
STRAIGHT GENERAL’S QUOTE:
“I believe repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ will weaken the warrior culture at a time when we have a fight on our hands.” General Merrill A. McPeak Former Air Force Chief of Staff In an Op-Ed in the New York Times, March 4, 2010
GAY VETERAN’S QUOTE:
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is not a joking matter. It is the only law that enforces shame.” Lt. Dan Choi Openly gay Iraq War veteran Remark about DADT in a protest on March 18, 2010 Choi’s discharge from the military for publicly “telling” he gay is pending
JOKEMEISTER’S QUOTE:
“‘Don’t ask and don’t tell.’ Isn’t that Oscar Mayers’ response to the question, ‘What’s in a hot dog?’” Comedian Jay Leno In his monologue on The Tonight Show, April 2, 1993 Commenting on the announcement of Sen. Sam Nunn's support for the “DADT” policy — and proving that DADT can sometimes be a joking matter.
BAD PRIEST VARIATION:
“It would appear that our ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy is no longer working.” Political cartoonist Rob Rogers In his cartoon about the Catholic Church’s growing sexual abuse fiasco Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 28, 2010
BAD COP VARIATION:
CLAUDETTE WYMS (CCH POUNDER):“What people want these days is to make it to their cars without getting mugged. Come home from work and see their stereo is still there. Hear about some murder in the barrio, find out the next day the police caught the guy. If having all those things means some cop roughed up some spic or some nigger in the ghetto... well, as far as most people are concerned it’s don’t ask, don’t tell.” The Shield Pilot episode, first aired March 12, 2002
“I’m as pure as the driven slush.” Actress Tallulah Bankhead (1903-1968) Originally quoted in an article published in the Saturday Evening Post, April 12, 1947
IMPURE VAMPIRE’S COUNTERQUOTE:
“I’m as impure as the driven yellow snow.” Spike, the bad boy vampire (actor James Marsters) In the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer The “Intervention” episode, Season 5, Ep. 18; first aired on April 24, 2001
ZZ TOP’S HOMAGE TO TALLULAH:
“She is so tough, As pure as the driven slush.” The blues rock band ZZ Top In the lyrics of their song “Pearl Necklace” (1981)
DRIVEN SAND VARIATION:
“Without condoning in any way the execrable conduct of Westerners during the Crusades and in the colonial and post-colonial periods, I suggest that Muslims ought to drop their pretense of having always been innocent victims as pure as the driven sand. Muslims would not like being invaded or pillaged or having their wives and sisters coerced into sexual slavery, and they need not expect other people to feel differently.” American theologist and writer Paul Culp In his book Nothing New Under the Sun: An Introduction to Islam(2007)