Talking Points: Did You See What They Said?

"Let the word come out. Let it come out — the good, the bad, the ugly. Put it all on the table."—John Eddie Williams Jr., a Baylor alum part of a group demanding more transparency in the football team's sexual assault scandal (The New York Times, Thursday)"Huge thanks to everyone who has reached out. I'm humbled and overwhelmed. Honored to be part of the 30k club. #old" —Dallas Mavericks superstar Dirk Nowitzki, thanking fans for supporting his historic accomplishment (@swish41, Wednesday) "Coming out has not been nearly as difficult as living a lie."— Janine Johnson, a planning and zoning commissioner in the city of Anna who attended meetings as John Johnson, announcing that she is transgender (NBCDFW.com, Wednesday)"Even if I could, I'm never re-enlisting. Being sexually harassed online ruined the Marine Corps for me, and the experience."— Marine Lance Cpl. Marisa Woytek, who had photos stolen from her Instagram account and posted to Marines United with comments alluding to sexual assault and rape (The Washington Post, Sunday)"Russia would be a pioneer in a new sport."— Controversial Russain lawmaker Igor Lebedev, who has suggested that staged fights between different soccer fan groups could draw big crowds (FoxNews.com, Sunday) "I do wonder what rhino tastes like. I'm not a big fan of sheep. I think I'll take the rhino."— Laura Weyrich, a paleo microbiologist at the University of Adelaide, about a study concluding that Neanderthals chowed down on rhinos and sheep in Belgium (MSN.com, Wednesday)"Attending this strike is something you have to wrestle with as a teacher, because you're leaving your students for a day. But teachers use many ways to instruct, including teacher modeling. And today I'm modeling social justice for my students."— Maribeth Whitehouse, 53, a middle school special education teacher in the Bronx, on why she took a personal day from work to attend an International Women's Day rally (HuffingtonPost, Wednesday)   Continue reading...