Verbatim
'This is civil disobedience at its finest.' MEGAN DAVY, Chicago resident, after hundreds of high school students skipped their first day of classes to protest financial disparities in Illinois' public education
'I'd probably call Gustav, instead of the mother of all storms, maybe the mother-in-law or the ugly sister of all storms.' RAY NAGIN, mayor of New Orleans, after Hurricane Gustav failed to damage the city as many had expected
'He is not just anybody.' MOHAMED FOUAD, a Cairo business executive, on Egyptian lawmaker and billionaire Hesham Talaat Moustafa, who was arrested for arranging the murder of Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim (right)
'Surviving in waters infested with sharks is something we're not used to.' RAMIRO ARISPE, Bolivian naval captain, on joining a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti. Bolivia lost its coast during an 1879-84 war with Chile; its navy is landlocked
'Life happens.' STEVE SCHMIDT, John McCain spokesman, after running mate Sarah Palin confirmed that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter Bristol (right) is pregnant
'It is neither friendship nor enmity.' MUAMMAR GADDAFI, Libyan leader, describing relations with the U.S. before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's arrival. It is the highest-level U.S. visit in 50 years
'I want to give a shout-out to all my Saudi Arabian brothers and sisters. If you could all please send me some oil for my jet, I would truly appreciate it.' SEAN (DIDDY) COMBS, hip-hop mogul, in a video blog, on the high cost of fuel. Combs added, "I can't believe I'm flying commercial."
Back & Forth:
Russia
'They needed a small, victorious war.' VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian Prime Minister, claiming the U.S. engineered the Georgia conflict to boost support for the Republican party
'To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate--it sounds not rational.' DANA PERINO, White House spokeswoman, denying the accusation before saying that Putin's advisers are giving him "really bad advice"
Media
'Campbell, certainly you don't mean to belittle every experience, every judgment that she makes.' TUCKER BOUNDS, John McCain spokesman, responding to questions from CNN anchor Campbell Brown about Sarah Palin's experience as commander in chief of Alaska's National Guard
'I don't think anybody expected the news media to just sit there and accept the Norman Rockwell painting. That's not our job.' JON KLEIN, CNN president, disputing the McCain campaign's claim that Brown's questions were "over the line." McCain later canceled an interview with CNN's Larry King in protest
LEXICON
sunflower architecture n. Solar-powered buildings that can rotate toward the sun
USAGE: "In the United Arab Emirates, David Fisher, an Israeli-born Italian architect, is planning an 80-story rotating skyscraper, the Dynamic Tower. Some call it sunflower architecture."
Sources: Chicago Tribune; AP; Reuters; Guardian; New York Times; Washington Post (2)
For daily sound bites, visit time.com/quotes