Quotable & Notable

“I think everyone born is born with talent. We all come from the creator trailing wisps of glory.”

-- Poet Maya Angelou

Abramoff deals, Congress quakes

-- Headline in The Christian Science Monitor above a story about Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s reaching a plea bargain with federal prosecutors investigating allegations of bribery among members of Congress and Capitol Hill aides

“We just love to give away money.”

-- Sister of Mercy Ruth Ravey announcing that the order will use proceeds from the 2000 sale of Trinity College, Burlington, Vt., to make grants of up to $10,000 to Vermont groups or individuals working for peace

“We cannot presume that members of Congress cannot discern right from wrong.”

-- Philippine Congressman Rolex Suplico rejecting Archbishop Fernando Capalla’s suggestion to create a Bishops-Congressmen’s Forum that would give elected officials moral guidance

“Perhaps we should give out cell phone numbers for members of Congress so that our patients can call them for help.”

-- Bismarck, N.D., pharmacist Tony P. Welder, who said he was snarled in the electronic equivalent of red tape Jan. 2 when the new Medicare prescription program went into effect

“Disney’s bid to establish a bankable family movie franchise on the order of the ‘Harry Potter’ series appears to have succeeded.”

-- L.A. Times entertainment business reporter R. Kinsey Lowe’s assessment of the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”

National Catholic Reporter, January 13, 2006