Speakers Quotes - Page 4

• No man with a genius for legislation has appeared in America. They are rare in the history of the world. There are orators, politicians, and eloquent men, by the thousand; but the speaker has not yet opened his mouth to speak who is capable of settling the much-vexed questions of the day. We love eloquence for its own sake, and not for any truth which it may utter, or any heroism it may inspire. Our legislators have not yet learned the comparative value of free trade and of freedom, of union, and of rectitude, to a nation.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Truth, Men, America

  Henry David Thoreau (2013). “The Essential Thoreau”, p.301, Simon and Schuster

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• I started to listen to music and began collecting records around 1948. And it was fairly soon after that that hi-fi came about, so that it was possible to have really good sound - LPs and tapes and speaker systems. The whole thing came more or less at once.

  Phill Niblock

  Sound, Tape, Records

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• Look at Nelson Mandela. Why did people want to follow him? He's a lousy speaker. If he hadn't got all the other things, you wouldn't spend time listening to him. But people actually don't listen to what he's saying, in a way. They are listening to him because he has communicated that he is ready to put his life on the line.

  Desmond Tutu

  People, Listening, Looks

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• For me any moment in front of a crowd is embarrassing, because I can't stand being in front of people. I'm probably one of the worst public speakers. I try to avoid it, but there are times when it's just too rude not to do it. But there really isn't a moment that's not embarrassing for me if I'm going to stand up in front of a crowd.

  Christian Bale

  People, Rude, Trying

  "Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale". Interview, www.shortlist.com.

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• The role at the DCCC as well as the role of chief deputy whip - I wouldn't be where I am in those spots if it were not for the speaker's approval.

  Joseph Crowley

  Roles, Approval, Deputies

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• When I hear the hypercritical quarreling about grammar and style, the position of the particles, etc., etc., stretching or contracting every speaker to certain rules of theirs. I see that they forget that the first requisite and rule is that expression shall be vital and natural, as much as the voice of a brute or an interjection: first of all, mother tongue; and last of all, artificial or father tongue. Essentially your truest poetic sentence is as free and lawless as a lamb's bleat.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Mother, Father, Writing

  Henry David Thoreau (2006). “Thoreau and the Art of Life: Precepts and Principles”, p.13, Heron Dance Press

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• .......the truth is, while the FBI is hiding behind the 5th Amendment, the Unabomer is qualifying for Social Security as a terrorist. Beam me up, Mr. Speaker.

  James Traficant

  Politics, Truth Is, Hiding

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• Our being edified at conference depends on us. It becomes necessary that we prepare our hearts to receive and profit by the suggestions that may be made by the speakers during the progress of the conference, which may be prompted by the Spirit of the Lord. I have thought, and still think, that our being edified does not so much depend upon the speaker as upon ourselves.

  Lorenzo Snow

  Heart, Thinking, Progress

  Lorenzo Snow (1984). “The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow: Fifth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”, Bookcraft Pubs

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• I know so few people who actually give music their undivided attention, so I've been trying to just park myself on the couch between the speakers and listen.

  Cliff Martinez

  People, Giving, Trying

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• The nature of oratory is such that there has always been a tendency among politicians and clergymen to oversimplify complex matters. From a pulpit or a platform even the most conscientious of speakers finds it very difficult to tell the whole truth.

  Aldous Huxley

  Oratory, Matter, Politician

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• Deep listening is miraculous for both listener and speaker. When someone receives us with open- hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.

  Sue Thoele

  Summer, Communication, Judging

  Sue Patton Thoele (2000). “Heart centered marriage: fulfilling our natural desire for sacred partnership”

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• As the chief speaker at the dedication of the national cemetery at the Gettysburg Battlefield, statesman Edward Everett wrote to Lincoln: I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Dedication, Ideas, Two

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• Bill Clinton was a very, very good speaker. But like many people who are great speakers and great thinkers and have a lot of energy and ambition, he talked too much.

  Robert Reich

  Ambition, People, Too Much

  "American Experience", www.pbs.org.

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• Those who have few affairs to attend to are great speakers. The less men think, the more they talk.

  Baron de Montesquieu

  Men, Thinking, Talking

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• Mr Speaker, I withdraw my statement that half the cabinet are asses - half the cabinet are not asses.

  Benjamin Disraeli

  Half, Cabinets, Ass

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• I expect if you're a professional public speaker, you probably wouldn't want to go onstage and sing and play drums.

  Neil Peart

  Play, Want, Ifs

  "Q and A with Neil Peart of Rush". Interview with Mike Doherty, www.macleans.ca. August 13, 2012.

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• I was always accused of being too stiff. In 1974, when I ran my first primary race for state rep, I was chief aide to the speaker of the House, I knew the issues and understood state government. But what I found out the hard way is that you can know all the ins and outs but people want to know you, your family.

  Jim Edgar

  Issues, Race, Government

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• Micing it from two different angles in front of the speaker sounds huge, and it's so simple.

  Scott Putesky

  Simple, Two, Sound

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• In Hollywood, as I've often said, if you don't sing or dance, you end up as an after-dinner speaker.

  Ronald Reagan

  Hollywood, Dinner, Ends

  Ronald Reagan (1990). “An American Life”, p.106, Simon and Schuster

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• Madam Speaker, before being elected to Congress, I ran a manufacturing business that did a significant percentage of our sales outside the United States.

  Chris Chocola

  United States, Significant, Congress

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• Mr. Speaker, we are a blessed Nation. We have not suffered another attack on our soil since September 11, and we are grateful. We have killed or captured dozens of members of al Qaeda and the Taliban. Our military and intelligence forces are working both hard and smart.

  Marsha Blackburn

  Military, Smart, Grateful

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• If you asked me if I'd rather be Speaker or a very senior minister, I'd say Speaker.

  John Bercow

  Senior, Ministers, Ifs

  "The Saturday interview: John Bercow" by Stuart Jeffries, www.theguardian.com. July 22, 2011.

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• I think the record shows that as Speaker, I have taken the lead in cleaning up politics.

  John Bercow

  Taken, Thinking, Records

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• The progress in Iraq is still fragile. And it could still be reversed. Iraq still faces innumerable challenges, and they will be evident during what will likely be a difficult process as the newly elected Council of Representatives selects the next prime minister, president, and speaker of the council.

  David Petraeus

  Iraq, Challenges, President

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• Now Speaker Gingrich says interesting and insightful things. He can explain them well. On many occasions he also says outrageous things that come from nowhere and he has a tendency to say them at exactly the time when they most undermine the conservative agenda.

  Jim Talent

  Interesting, Insightful, Agendas

  "Romney Fires Back At Gingrich". "All Things Considered", www.npr.org. December 8, 2011.

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