“I think that there are several people who died that day and didn’t realize that they died that day.”

– New York emergency medical technician Donald Faeth, commenting about the number of rescue workers said to have died from the contamination they were exposed to at the ruins of the World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“Essentially, this is the swing district in Eastern Washington. If the Democrats want to play in a Senate race, where else are they going to go?”

– Republican state Sen. Brad Benson, who is being challenged by Democrat Chris Marr in Spokane’s 6th Legislative District, which last sent a Democrat to Olympia in 1938.

“We should be valued and taken care of – not attacked.”

– Lobbyist Jan Teague, complaining on behalf of retailers about a proposal in the Washington state Legislature to force large businesses to spend at least 9 percent of their payroll expenses on employee health care.

“I’m making sure that I have a thorough report back to you on that. And I’ll get that to you, hopefully very soon.”

– White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on Jan. 5, responding to reporters’ requests for information on meetings lobbyist Jack Abramoff attended at the White House.

“We are not going to engage in a fishing expedition.”

– McClellan last Tuesday, explaining to reporters why he won’t be releasing information on Abramoff’s White House meetings.

“They don’t want to find their stars guilty – it’s bad for business.”

– World Anti-Doping Agency head Richard Pound, criticizing U.S. professional sports leagues for being too tolerant of drug use by athletes.

“When the state is swinging at his client with a 100-pound hammer, John will swing back with all his might, even if he’s only given a 10-pound hammer.”

– Criminal defense attorney Tim Gresbeck, describing his colleague, Kootenai County Chief Public Defender John Adams, who represents accused killer Joseph Edward Duncan.

“In Spokane, there’s not quite as many distractions as there can be in New Orleans.”

– Tulane University history major Arthur Rowe, noting that he got better grades during the period he attended Gonzaga University while his New Orleans school was shut down because of Hurricane Katrina.

“This is just a sad girl who fell through the system. She was let down by a lot of people, including us.”

– Spokeswoman Denise Monteiro of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services, describing 11-year-old Haleigh Poutre, who is scheduled to be taken off artificial life support after spending more than four months in a persistent vegetative state, allegedly the result of being beaten with a baseball bat by her adoptive mother and stepfather.