Selected accountability quotes

1. Media people should have long noses like an elephant to smell out politicians, mayors, prime ministers and businessmen. We need to know the reality, the good and the bad, not just the appearance.

2. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

3. These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert to fleece the people, and now that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people's money to settle the quarrel.

4. It's hard to lose weight when you're dining on the company's money.

5. Don't have good ideas if you aren't willing to be responsible for them.

6. It was my view that the catastrophe. . . . could have been avoided if Vasilevsky had taken the position he should have. He could have taken a different position. . . . but he didn't do that, and as a result, in my view, he had a hand in the destruction of thousands of Red Army fighters in the Kharkov campaign.

7. Directors and writers have a lot of stress as well, because they have people they answer to.

8. When Bush says that Abu Ghraib was the work of a few, he forgot to mention that he was one of them.

9. Of the nine red cards this season we probably deserved half of them.

10. Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.

11. We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time it makes a decision.

12. I have killed no one and I have ordered no one to be killed.

13. Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.

14. When are we going to stop making excuses for the terrorists and saying that somebody is making them do it? No, these are simply evil people who want to kill.

15. At no time did I intend to, or do I believe that I did put forward false information to the American people.

16. President Bush has said that he does not need approval from the UN to wage war, and I'm thinking, well, hell, he didn't need the approval of the American voters to become president, either.

17. The question is not whether the good outweighs the bad. The question is whether or not the good excuses the bad. And, in my opinion, it doesn't. It never does. As long as wrongs are being commited, in any quantity, and in any ratio to the amount of good that is being done, it is both irresponsible and wrong not to bring awareness to it, and struggle to put an end to it.

18. My government currently runs things only because the people 'allow' them to run things. It is my responsibility that I do everything I can to keep tabs on my government, keep them honest and make sure that they always act for the good of the people. They must be reminded that they hold no power over the people that the people do not wish for them to hold. If the government begins working in a way that the people don't agree with, they must be made to know that we will rip it to its very foundations and replace it with something that does.

19. If Nixon is not forced to turn over tapes of his conversations with the ring of men who were conversing on their violations of the law, then liberty will soon be dead in this nation.

20. The police must obey the law while enforcing the law.

21. All persons possessing any portion of power ought to be strongly and awfully impressed with an idea that they act in trust, and that they are to account for their conduct in that trust to the one great Master, Author, and Founder of society.

22. Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts.

23. When the politicians complain that TV turns the proceedings into a circus, it should be made clear that the circus was already there, and that TV has merely demonstrated that not all the performers are well trained.

24. True penitence condemns to silence. What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat.

25. I would not vote for the mayor. It's not just because he didn't invite me to dinner, but because on my way into town from the airport there were such enormous potholes.

26. I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse.

27. Bureaucrats: they are dead at 30 and buried at 60. They are like custard pies; you can't nail them to a wall.

28. My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty... it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.

29. A real failure does not need an excuse. It is an end in itself.

30. It doesn't matter whether I'm judged criminal. I have a great feeling of guilt - I have a feeling that I ran after Hitler like a wildfire without reason. If I can sacrifice my life to make something good, I'd gladly do it.

31. President Bush is a liar. He betrayed Nevada and he betrayed the country... All Americans should be concerned, not just because he lied to me or the people of Nevada and indeed all Americans, but because the President's decision threatens Americans' lives.

32. You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.

33. Don't find fault, find a remedy.

34. The First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights in the United States Constitution were being violated in Albany again and again - freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the equal protection of the laws - I could count at least 30 such violations. Yet the president, sworn to uphold the Constitution, and all the agencies of the United States government at his disposal, were nowhere to be seen.

35. Publishers are notoriously slothful about numbers, unless they're attached to dollar signs - unlike journalists, quarterbacks, and felony criminal defendants who tend to be keenly aware of numbers at all times.

36. Prince Asaka had joined the army only about ten days before its entry into Nanking and in view of the short time he was connected with this army I do not think he can be held responsible. I would say that the Division Commanders are the responsible parties.

37. Don't blame the marketing department. The buck stops with the chief executive.

38. The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty.

39. We shall be judged by what we do, not by how we felt while we were doing it.

40. Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny.

41. A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.

42. We have no right to dodge responsibility for the country. There are no facts of deviation from principles proclaimed together with the president. On the contrary, we have overcome the difficulties together, and have become masters of our promises.

43. I have had a son killed, a son-in-law die during the last battle of Nashville, another son has thrown himself away, a second son-in-law is in no better condition, I think I have had sorrow enough without having my bank account examined by a Committee of Congress.

44. It is high time that the people are given back the flexibility and power to select and install their leaders who will be accountable to them if they are to prosper and forge ahead in the present modern and increasingly global context.

45. I repeat that all power is a trust; that we are accountable for its exercise; that from the people, and for the people all springs, and all must exist.

46. A warrior takes responsibility for his acts, for the most trivial of acts. An average man acts out his thoughts, and never takes responsibility for what he does.

47. Today, the growers are like a punch-drunk old boxer who doesn't know he's past his prime. The times are changing. The political and social environment has changed. The chickens are coming home to roost - and the time to account for past sins is approaching.

48. Maria, you were difficult to work with, you lashed out at your 'Project Manager', which is completely out of line. Wes, you lost control of Maria and you failed as a leader. You both did a horrible job. Maria, you're fired...and I just have to do this I have no choice-Wes, you're fired also.

49. 'Summer, you're fired! (To Tarek)...and you didn't make it by far,with her own stupidity, she saved your ass!'

50. I was pulled over in Massachusetts for reckless driving. When brought before the judge, I was asked if I knew what the punishment for drunk driving in that state was. I said, 'I don't know... reelection to the Senate?' (a reference to the Chappaquiddick incident)

51. The African is here and to stay. How came he to our shores? Ask your grandfathers, Mr. Anonymous, and if they will tell the truth you will or should blush for the crimes.

52. I'm the one who will not raise taxes. My opponent now says he'll raise them as a last resort, or a third resort. But when a politician talks like that, you know that's one resort he'll be checking into. My opponent, my opponent won't rule out raising taxes. But I will. And The Congress will push me to raise taxes and I'll say no. And they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again, and I'll say, to them, Read my lips: no new taxes.

53. If the people knew what we had done, they would chase us down the street and lynch us.

54. I'm not going to subsidize cowardice.

55. It is only as the temporary representatives and servants of the people that we meet here, we bring no hereditary status or gift of infallibility, and none follows us from this place.

56. I am a little late getting around to it, but confession is good for the soul. I have sometimes voted to spend more taxpayer's money for worthy Federal projects in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while I vigorously opposed wasteful spending boondoggles in Oklahoma. [Laughter] Be that as it may, Mr. Speaker, you and I have always stood together against unwarranted cuts in national defense. This is no time to change that nonpartisan policy.

57. If you fall out of that window and break both your legs, don't come running to me.

58. What is the use of being elected or re-elected unless you stand for something?

59. The free market punishes irresponsibility. Government rewards it.

60. Why should we flagellate ourselves for what the Cambodians did to each other?

61. I have never heard anything about the resolutions of the apostles, but a good deal about their acts.

62. If evil is inevitable, how are the wicked accountable? Nay, why do we call men wicked at all? Evil is inevitable, but is also remediable.

63. We feel we have been used in the worst fashion by the administration of this country. ... And we cannot consider ourselves America's best men when we are ashamed of and hated what we were called on to do in Southeast Asia.

64. I voted to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. I knew we had to hold him accountable. There's never been a doubt about that. But I also know that if we had done this with a sufficient number of troops, if we had done this in a globalized way, if we had brought more people to the table, we might have caught Saddam Hussein sooner. We might have had less loss of life. We would be in a stronger position today with respect to what we're doing.

65. I look forward to standing up and holding George Bush accountable for pushing seniors off of Medicare into HMOs.

66. When will this government admit that I was wrong, I mean that they were wrong.

67. It's too easy to blame other people and things in your past for your own self-loathing. (2004)

68. Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better.

69. Certainly inside my heart I know degrees of difference. But I can't blame any of these men who share a common fate with me. The big folly of this trial is that it lacks the two men who are to blame for anything which is criminal, namely Hitler and Himmler.

70. Takiego mamy prezydenta, na jakiego sobie zasluzylismy.

71. I didn't do it, man, I only said it.

72. Understand this law and you will then know, beyond room for the slightest doubt, that you are constantly punishing yourself for every wrong you commit and rewarding yourself for every act of constructive conduct in which you indulge.

73. The acid test of monetary policy is its record in reducing inflation. Those who wish to join the debate about the intricacies of different measures of money and the implications they may have for the future are welcome to do so. But at the end of the day the position is clear and unambiguous. The inflation rate is judge and jury.

74. I don't hold it against the men who beat me because undoubtedly there are some ruffians of every nationality and the English are not exceptions.

75. I accept responsibility for the camps, but as far as measures against the Jews, I had nothing to do with them. Those orders came from the RSHA. Himmler sent orders to Kaltenbrunner, who transmitted them to Mueller of the Gestapo, and the latter had the entire extermination program under him. That was the way all of Himmler's orders went. I did not participate in the murder of the Jews.

76. Himmler chose certain camps and, together with Kaltenbrunner and Mueller, ordered the commandants of these camps to carry out the extermination program. This was done in the chain of command as I have just told you. I emphasize that it was Himmler to Kaltenbrunner to Mueller to Gluecks, who was also one of my subordinate generals, to the individual concentration camp commandants, who had been selected by Himmler to perform the exterminations. Otherwise, Himmler would have had to give the orders to me because I was technically in charge of the concentration camps. What I am trying to bring out is that although I am responsible for the camps, and the extermination program took place within these camps, I am not responsible for the extermination program itself, because these orders did not go through me, but went through the chain of individuals I have just mentioned.

77. I can only be responsible for my orders. I cannot be responsible for all the acts of Himmler.

78. It was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practised discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice. And our failure to imagine these things being done to us.

79. We have been criticized, a little bit to my surprise, by people who think I was not enough pro-war. That is simply not the way I think of this role. This role is designed to question the behavior of government officials on behalf of the public. I think people who have done this and all jobs in journalism have believed that.

80. 'The overthrow of a democratically elected government is a very serious crime and those involved - great or small - must face the consequences. Otherwise we will continue to see a repetition of coups and other politically motivated criminal activity.'

81. Iudex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur.

82. I mean people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings [...] There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving.

83. Any government will work if authority and responsibility are equal and coordinate. This does not insure 'good' government; it simply insures that it will work. But such governments are rare - most people want to run things but want no part of the blame. This used to be called the 'backseat-driver syndrome.'

84. A monarch's neck should always have a noose around it. It keeps him upright.

85. I do not believe in forgiveness as it is preached by the church. We do not need the forgiveness of God, but of each other and of ourselves. If I rob Mr. Smith and God forgives me, how does that help Smith? If I, by slander, cover some poor girl with the leprosy of some imputed crime, and she withers away like a blighted flower and afterward I get the forgiveness of God, how does that help her? If there is another world, we have got to settle with the people we have wronged in this. No bankrupt court there. Every cent must be paid...

86. The Christians say, that among the ancient Jews, if you committed a crime you had to kill a sheep. Now they say 'charge it.' 'Put it on the slate.' The Savior will pay it. In this way, rascality is sold on credit, and the credit system in morals, as in business, breeds extravagance.

87. 'Go back to Earth with a lip unsealed - go back with an open eye, 'And carry my word to the Sons of Men or ever ye come to die: 'That the sin they do by two and two they must pay for one by one - 'And the God that you took from a printed book be with you, Tomlinson!'

88. It was our fault, and our very great fault - and now we must turn it to use. We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.

89. What I feel or believe or experience is my business, and what I do is all our businesses; and reward or punish me according to whether I play the game well - ethically and rightly - or unethically.

90. I want to see a publicly-owned railway, publicly accountable.

91. What amazes me is how many people are happy for Saddam to stay. They ask why we don't get rid of Mugabe, why not the Burmese lot. Yes, let's get rid of them all. I don't because I can't, but when you can you should.

92. The British are special. The world knows it. In our innermost thoughts we know it. This is the greatest nation on earth. So it has been an honour to serve it. I give my thanks to you, the British people, for the times that I have succeeded, and my apologies to you for the times I have fallen short. But good luck.

93. Torture, encouraged from above, became a fact of life [in occupied Iraq]. Perhaps some good liberal apologist for Blair will soon explain how democratic torture is much nicer than authoritarian torture.

94. Like millions of others, I now bitterly resent that a prime minister could use such a farrago of lies and manipulation to deceive us and to take the nation to war so dishonestly.

95. Tony Blair, a passionate Christian, has expressed his conviction that WMDs will be found in almost directly religious terms of credo quia absurdum: despite the lack of evidence, he personally is deeply convinced that they will be found. ... The only appropriate answer to this conundrum is not the boring liberal plea for innocence until guilt is proved but, rather, the point made succintly by 'Rachel from Scotland' on the BBC website in September 2003: 'We know he had weapons; we sold him some of them.' This is the direction a serious investigation should have taken.

96. There used to be a time when this country's president could have delivered the same New Year's Address he had given a year before, and nobody would have noticed. Fortunately, that time has passed.

97. I got to see, while I was over there [England] footage of the Rodney King trial, which I had never seen while I was here. I saw footage over there of the Rodney King trial. I think I figured out why the L.A. riots occurred. Did you guys see these cops testifying, man? Did these guys have balls or what, man? These guys carry their balls in a wheelbarrow, man. ''Scuse me, 'scuse me. Man with big balls is here to testify.' 'Place your right testicle on the bible.' Whishh BOOOM. This guy, Officer Coon : is life too fucking weird or what? Officer Coon looks in the camera and actually says: 'Oh, that Rodney King beating tape, it's all in how you look at it.' The courtroom murmurs: 'Jesus, what balls. I've never seen balls of this magnitude. He must have a specially fitted uniform in which to place these large testicles.' 'That's incredible. All in how you look at it, Officer Coon?' 'That's right. It's how you look at the tape.' 'Well would you care to tell the court how you're looking at that?' 'Yeah, okay, sure. It's how you look at it. For instance, well, if you play it backwards, you see us help King up and send him on his way.' 'Mmm . . . not guilty.' ''Scuse me, 'scuse me. Man with big balls has just been acquitted.'

98. There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50-caliber machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant [William] Calley, are war criminals.

99. Very simply, I had a bad day. I'd been chased by paparazzi and was feeling a little bit like Novelty Boy. Obviously something wasnt working in my life: So it built up, and I lost it. It was the culmination of many things, a bad spark, and I went off. I did what I felt was necessary. Thank God it wasn't a human being but a hotel room that I took it out on. It was a weird incident. There was a hotel security guard who was really kind of pissy and arrogant. I wanted to pop him. But I knew that if I did it. I did my business, and they came up to the room. By that point I had cooled down. I said, I'll of course pay for any damages. I apologize. That wasn't enough. The guy got snooty and shitty. The next thing you know, the police were at the door. As dumb as the incident was, I don't have any regrets about it. I don't think it merited the amount of press it got, and I certainly don't think that I needed to go to the Tombs in New York City in handcuffs. I was in three different jails that night. But it was all part of my education, you know? (2004)

100. Invitat culpam qui peccatum praeterit