“This is supposed to be entertainment. It’s not theology.”

– Motion picture director Ron Howard, whose “The Da Vinci Code” has been accused of denigrating the Roman Catholic faith.

“At some point there was, I suspect, a little bit of notion that ‘This, too, shall pass.’ Well, the day of reckoning is here, and it’s not going to pass.”

– Assistant Education Secretary Henry Johnson, stressing that the federal government will hold states accountable for not meeting the No Child Left Behind Act’s deadlines for having all teachers qualified in their core classes.

“Your average commander doesn’t want to deal with a whacked-out soldier. But on the other hand, he doesn’t want to send a message to his troops that if you act up, he’s willing to send you home.”

– Maj. Andrew Efaw, an Army Reserve lawyer, commenting on the dilemma facing military leaders when deciding whether to assign soldiers with possible psychological problems to a war zone.

“Dissenters are not always right, but it is always a warning sign when they are accused of unpatriotic sentiments by politicians seeking a safe harbor from debate, from accountability, or from the simple truth.”

– U.S. Sen. and former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry of Massachusetts, speaking in Boston on the 35th anniversary of his testimony, as a Vietnam veteran, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“They put everything in there – the good, bad and the ugly.”

– Washington state Transportation Commission member Ed Barnes of Vancouver, describing a 224-page internal report spelling out the problems that have added $87 million and three years to the state Transportation Department’s reconstruction of the Hood Canal Bridge.

“I know he’s probably made some mistakes in the past, but come on, give the guy a break. Respect the numbers in the career he has put up.”

– Professional baseball star Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, in defense of fellow slugger Barry Bonds, whose home run totals are thought by many to be chemically enhanced.

“What Congress has built is one of the most expensive revolving doors in the world.”

– Victor Cerda, former chief of staff of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, describing the ineffectiveness of federal laws at controlling illegal immigration.

“They can be polluting, they can be manufacturing products that are dangerous, and you can’t do anything about it, under their theory.”

– Attorney Breean Beggs, talking about the sovereign immunity claim made on behalf of two Colville tribal businesses that Beggs alleges allowed Native American employees to harass Beggs’ white client out of his job.

“I would not want to be the general counsel for one of these phone companies.”

– George Washington University law professor Orin S. Kerr, challenging the legality of several communications companies’ decision to hand millions of customers’ records over to the National Security Agency.

“It’s time we do away with rural mailboxes.”

– Spokane Valley police Sgt. Dave Martin, about the role mail theft plays in operations such as the recently busted identity-theft ring that authorities say has claimed between 750 and 1,000 victims.