About Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921-2009), the founder of Special Olympics, who died this week, and the rights of the intellectually disabled:
"Most of all, I see from Mrs. Shriver that I have rights." --A student with an intellectual disability at a Special Olympics.
"She was up against ignorance. She was up against stigma. She was up against prejudice. And because, at her heart, she cared about social justice, she saw disability issues through a prism of civil rights. And many, many Americans, when she started doing this work, didn't see it that way. They saw it as a charity or an issue of health care or medicine. They didn't see it as civil rights...She was helping sensitize Americans that this is part of human diversity that we have not done a good job of embracing, and I think she was very effective." --Andrew Imparato, American Association of People With Disabilities, on PBS NewsHour, Aug. 11, 2009.
"She never ran for office, but changed the world." --A member of the Kennedy family.
About the upcoming documentary "Sick for Profit" and the health rights of Americans:
"Profit should not be built into the fire department or the police department, anymore than it should be in health care." --The filmmaker of "Sick for Profit" documentary on CNN, Aug. 11, 2009.
"Every time he says 'no' to health care for someone, he and his company make money." -- The documentary filmmaker talking about one insurance company CEO who has a salary of $3.2 million per year.
About actor Brad Pitt, his relationship with actress Angelina Jolie, and his support for gay rights:
"I have love in my life, a soul mate--absolutely. When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else.' I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it--hate mail from religious groups. I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a loving environment." -- Actor Brad Pitt, quoted on the website PopEater, Aug. 6, 2009.
About President Barack Obama and his proposal for health care reform with a public option:
"No one in America should go broke because they get sick." -- President Obama at the Portsmouth, N.H., town hall meeting, Aug. 11, 2009. He also noted how his mother, when she was fighting cancer, worried about what her insurance would cover.
"In the past three years, over 12 million were discriminated against by insurance companies in providing their coverage." -- President Obama in New Hampshire.
"Change is hard." -- President Obama in New Hampshire.
About the value of education and the view of change, as quoted in the 2006 book "A Thomas Jefferson Education" by Oliver Van DeMille:
"Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave." -- Lord Brougham, quoted in "A Thomas Jefferson Education."
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -- India leader Mahatma Gandhi.
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