“We resent the fact that he would come to the United States and criticize President Bush. … You don’t come into my country, you don’t come into my congressional district, and you don’t condemn my president.”

— Congressman Charles Rangel, a liberal New York Democrat, reacting to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s United Nations speech harshly denouncing President Bush as the devil.

“Universal testing for HIV is an outrageous invasion of privacy. If our society can accept this then we are ready for George Orwell’s Big Brother government.”

— Spokane sales worker Peter Gilmartin, quoted in a news story about reaction to a federal proposal that HIV testing become a routine part of health care.

“Teenagers love danger. They’ll drive right off the edge of the cliff just for the heck of it.”

— Valley Springs Road resident Judith Tuggle, describing the risks she thinks would be raised if her narrow road becomes a favored route for Rogers High School students who live in the newly approved Valley Springs subdivision.

“In other words, ‘Buy the book,’ is what he’s saying.”

— President Bush, at a White House appearance with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who had said a deal with the publisher of his pending book prevented him from elaborating on an earlier claim that the United States threatened to bomb his country back into the Stone Age if Pakistan didn’t cooperate in the war against terrorism.

“Anytime someone’s vote doesn’t get counted it’s a big concern. I don’t know what kind of fix needs to be put in place, but it needs to be looked at.”

— Washington state Rep. Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, chairwoman of the House State Government, Operations & Accountability Committee, saying lawmakers will look into the disqualification of thousands of ballots because voters in last week’s primary failed to identify their party affiliation.

“We have to hold the moral high ground. We don’t think al-Qaida will ever observe those conventions, but we’re going to be in other wars.”

— U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., former prisoner of war who objected to the Bush administration’s initial proposals governing the treatment of prisoners of war.