Here are some of the week’s most notable quotes culled from news reports from across Texas, and beyond.
Alabama Republican state Sen. Shadrack McGill, offering a novel argument against raising teacher salaries. But McGill, who was speaking at a prayer breakfast, defended a 62 percent pay hike Alabama legislators approved for themselves in 2007.
It’s a Biblical principle. If you double a teacher’s pay scale, you’ll attract people who aren’t called to teach.
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Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder Nancy Brinker, issuing an apology and reversing the organization’s decision to cut breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood.
We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.
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Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, on the Fordham Institute’s C-rating on Texas school science standards.
I’m sure most parents want more than a C-grade education for their kids because they know that competing in a 21st century economy will require much better than that. But the weak score here isn’t surprising given that board members replaced so many recommendations from teachers and scholars with revisions that simply lined up with their own personal beliefs instead.
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Texas Medical Association President Bruce Malone, an Austin orthopedic surgeon, discussing state lawmakers’ efforts to slash funding to Planned Parenthood.
That would be a really stupid thing to do. Planned Parenthood does not do abortions in the state of Texas with state funds. So this is a very stupid political thing. It’s not like the state of Texas has another safety net for these women for medical care. The Texas Medical Association doesn’t want to get into the issue of whether a patient wants an elective abortion. That’s not what we’re dealing with. We’re talking about well woman services, pap smears and breast exams, things that make public health sense. And we don’t want to see those women who are vulnerable denied essential medical services because someone wants to debate an ethics issue. That’s their right to debate that. That’s fine, but these are essential medical services.
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John Green, a senior research adviser at the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, on the religious right’s inability to unite behind a 2012 presidential candidate.
A lot of people expressed a lot of excitement when Governor Perry first got in the race. They felt he fit their values very well. But then people would tell me, ‘That was until he opened his mouth.’
I really can’t understand their surprise. If your values are based on ignorance, superstition, wishful thinking, xenophobia and, basically, a Dark Ages mentality, why would you be surprised to find out that Perry is an ignorant, inarticulate, selfish, thoughtless boob? Don’t be surprised, people, Perry is you! Perry is everything you’ve dreamed of: ideology over education. Don’t be sad, you’ve won!