Quotes of the day

The pipe makes civilization possible.--Tom McMahon, master plumber

You should eat what you kill, but you should make sure that what you killed stays dead.--CNBC's Joe Kernen, on Goldman Sachs compensation

... I am puzzled that Harvard has landed in the mess it has so loudly, sloppily, and apparently unexpectedly. You would think a university founded almost 375 years ago would take the long view in everything it does. You would think that it would be cautious, circumspect, and conservative, and that, in the words of that arch traditionalist, Rudyard Kipling, it would have learned to treat those two imposters, triumph and disaster, the same. ... It seems that Harvard and Yale are in a race to determine which of them has the biggest edifice complex.--Epicurean Dealmaker

... what the hell is wrong with the leadership at the ACLU? In theory, for all I know, it unconstitutionally promotes religion. In practice, what important freedoms are being violated? The establishment clause was supposed to prevent a minority from being oppressed by a majority, not to prevent a minority from oppressing itself. I admire a huge amount of the work that the ACLU does on issues like habeas corpus and wiretapping. Why, then, do they so often seem intent on turning the organization into the highbrow edition of Stuff White People Like?--Megan McArdle

I set out with a typical writer’s disapproval like the people who stand outside premieres saying, “My book’s better.” But I think that’s being a bad sport. I also had a very honest conversation with Patrick who said: “It’s going to feel like a violation. I’m going to plunder your book.” I said, “I know what’s happening here. I’ve taken my money and made my choice.” We’re getting to this thing I wanted to talk about: the idea of faithfulness. I think it’s misplaced. A movie [adaptation] is taking something as a jumping-off point. And it may end up making a different genre of work. I think that’s OK. It’s a whole different set of artists working in a different form. I wouldn’t be so big-hearted about it if my book didn’t survive. But my book is still out there.--Zoe Heller