“I have an extreme faith in God, and about a year ago last January, he started tapping me on the shoulder and saying, ‘You know, maybe it’s time we do something else here.’ “

– Coeur d’Alene City Councilwoman Dixie Reid, announcing that after 26 years in office she will not seek re-election this year.

“This is not justice for the only real victim here, who was my brother. The bottom line is that I believe the governor folded due to political pressure.”

– Attorney Nico LaHood, complaining about Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose state leads the nation in capital punishment and who commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster Jr., the getaway driver in a fatal holdup attempt in which Michael LaHood Jr. was killed.

“How they convince them to stand there before cameras and hot lights and angry questions is impossible to know.”

– Democratic political consultant Mark Fabiani, discussing the public support political wives like Suzanne Craig give their spouses during scandals that involve marital infidelity.

“We’re bottom of the rung, bottom of the barrel. We have to do something.”

– Engineer George Miles, talking about the state of Idaho’s low national ranking in terms of how stringently it regulates septic tanks.

“Did they access Catholic experts to advise them about the propriety of running such cartoons? Did they ask Catholics on staff what they thought? No, and that’s because angry Catholics – like Jews – never decide to man the planes. This is what the cultural elites mean by diversity,”

– Catholic League President Bill Donohue, saying the Washington Post has run numerous cartoons that are insensitive to the Catholic faith but last weekend pulled an “Opus” comic strip because it made fun of radical Islam.

“Some of my friends think I wasted my summer, but I think it was worth it.”

– New Jersey teenager George Hotz, who spent some 500 hours over the past two months figuring out how to unlock an Apple Inc. iPhone so it will place calls over a cellular network other than AT&T.

“I don’t think you take your iconic properties and turn them into advertising opportunities.”

– Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District Board member Jake McGoldrick, who opposes a proposal, under consideration by the board, to make a deal with a corporate sponsor to pay for maintenance and restoration projects on San Francisco’s trademark span.

“I couldn’t be happier if I’d won the lottery.”

– Diana Appreciation Society secretary Joan Berry, upon learning Camilla Parker Bowles had decided to turn down an invitation from Prince Charles and his sons to attend last week’s service commemorating the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.