“Here’s this person who is homeless and desperate, and he’s reaching out to me.”

— Spokane Fire Marshal Lisa Jones, whose lost wallet was returned to her by Ralph Sandaine, who reluctantly accepted $50 she insisted on giving him, then spent it on hamburgers for others.

“Shiite and Sunni are going to have to love their children more than they hate each other.”

— Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, after being asked during a congressional hearing what it will take to calm the relentless insurgency in Iraq.

“My cars are going to smile.”

— West Central resident Stephanie Swan, testifying during a public hearing on the Kendall Yards project that although she dislikes the idea of 12-story structures overlooking the north bank of the Spokane River, she looks forward to the street improvements that would accrue to her neighborhood.

“Of course the shootings were deliberate, that’s what you do in war – you kill people. The question is, were they justifiable? This is exactly what I expected from this Pentagon, which is an effort to vilify and isolate these men before they ever have a chance to demonstrate their lack of guilt.”

— Civilian attorney Gary Myers, representing one of the Marines being investigated in the killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha.

“It is a story of mistakes made, plans poorly conceived or overwhelmed by ongoing violence, and of waste, greed and corruption that drained dollars that should have been used to build schools, improve the electrical grid and repair the oil infrastructure.”

— U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, reacting to a report by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction that details corruption and other problems going back to 2002.

“I don’t want them walking through the bushes, saying, ‘Grandma Ruby, what’s that toilet paper? What are those rubber gloves for? What are those pictures?’ “

— Ruby LaFleur, who lives near Spokane’s High Bridge Park and objects to the litter left there by those who use the site for sex and drug activity.

“I am a Muslim, but today I am a Jew.”

— From a sign held by a Redmond, Wash., man, Rusian Tokhchukov, standing near the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, where a gunman, who said he was a Muslim angry at Israel, killed one woman and wounded five others July 28.