“Trying every day to tell the truth is hard. There are harder things, of course - arguably, living with lies and meaninglessness, living in despair is harder, but it's hardship disguised as luxury and easier perhaps to grow accustomed to, since truth is usually the enemy of custom. There are harder things than writing, being President Obama, for instance, and having to deal with House Republicans, or trying to fix the leak at the Fukushima reactor, these are harder, but writing is hard.” WritingTryingHardLyingCoursesHouseGrowsPresidentDealsEnemyEasierRepublicanTruth IsDespairHarderInstanceLuxuryTelling The TruthHardshipCustomsPresident ObamaAccustomedLeaksMeaninglessnessFukushima Author:Tony Kushner
“With Republicans in control of the Senate for the first time since Barack Obama took office, the president may find it harder to appoint left-wing lawyers to judgeships. Whether he compromises on some of his nominees, including any to the Supreme Court, may depend on the willingness of the new Republican majority to engage the president on judicial philosophy.” FirstsMayPhilosophyLeftPresidentDependsRepublicanOfficeFirst TimeHarderMajorityCourtWingsIncludingLawyerSupremeCompromiseBarackWillingnessSenateSupreme CourtNotableJudicialLeft Wing Author:Terry Eastland
“Our planning system was dynamite when we first put it in. The thinking was fresh; the form mattered little. It was idea oriented. We then hired a head of planning, and he hired two vice presidents, and then he hired a planner; and the books got thicker, and the printing more sophisticated, and the covers got harder, and the drawings got better.” ThinkingFirstsLittlesTwoBookIdeasFormPresidentBusinessHarderVicesDrawingPlanningSophisticatedPrintingVice PresidentPlannersDynamite Author:John Welch
“It was easy to make fun of Bush, but it was sort of like shooting fish in a barrel and it didn't really feel all that good because it was so easy to do. I would much rather live under a thoughtful president. Even if it makes it harder to be funny about politics, it makes it more interesting to be funny about politics.” IfsFeelsFunEasyPresidentInterestingHarderFishesShootingThoughtfulBarrels Author:Roy Blount, Jr.