Granting Quotes

"If you look at the course of western history you`ll see that we`re slowly granting basic rights to everyone. A long time ago only kings had rights. Then rights were extended to property-owning white men. Then all men. Then women. Then children. Then the mentally retarded. Now we`re agonizing over the extension of basic rights to homosexuals and animals. We need to finally accept that all sentient creatures are deserving of basic rights. I define basic rights as this --the ability to pursue life without having someone else`s will involuntarily forced upon you. Or, as the framers of the constitution put it, the ability to have "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". By what criteria can you justify denying basic rights to any living thing? Realize that by whatever criteria you employ someone could deny basic rights to you if they objected to your species, sexual preferences, color, religion, ideology etc. Would you eat your housecat, or force a mentally retarded child to ingest oven cleaner? If not, then why is it ok to eat cows and test products on sentient animals? I believe that to knowingly commit actions that cause or condone suffering is reprehensible in the extreme.I call upon you to be compassionate and treat others as you want to be treated. If you don`t want to be beaten, imprisoned, mutilated, killed or tortured then you shouldn`t condone such behavior towards anyone, be they human or not."

(On refusing to grant clemency to condemned killer Stanley Tookie Williams) After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency. The facts do not justify overturning the jury`s verdict, or the decisions of the courts in this case.

Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace.

The Illinois Conference of Churches regards the granting of an exemption to any government entity for expedient purposes of economic development to be a gross violation of the religious freedom secured by this nation`s laws and constitution,

I think J.D. Salinger is correct in granting no interviews, and in making no speeches.

(Phillips then made what should be the definitive argument against granting Hinckley more time off campus. While the presidential assailant may appear to be free of the demons that caused him to shoot four people in a therapeutic setting, there is really no proof that he has been cured.) His approach, potential infatuation and stalking-like behavior are historical problems, ... His interests with the female staff has been of great concern to the treatment staff ... . He is not cured. He is in recovery, in remission.

That the Iraqi Government is considering a political deal granting amnesty to insurgents who have attacked or killed American service members is not just shocking - the idea of amnesty for insurgents is an outrage.

After granting amnesty to illegals 20 years ago, we have gone from 3 million illegals to 11 million illegals. Our government has been fooled once by this amnesty argument, let us not be fooled again.

Given the somewhat unrespectful decisions by the Nicaraguan authorities relating to the granting of visas to (Cuban) rafters and other dissidents from Cuba, a climate has emerged which does not favor at all going ahead with these encounters.

(These others -- the overwhelming majority of Iraq`s people -- have repeatedly given every indication of valuing their newfound freedom: voting in two elections at the risk of their lives, preparing for a third, writing and ratifying a constitution granting more freedoms than exist in any country in the entire Arab Middle East.) The secret is out, ... There is something decent unfolding in Iraq. It`s unfolding in the shadow of a terrible insurgency, but a society is finding its way to constitutional politics.