Political Quotes

“Like slumber parties and sleepovers, a pillow fight doesn't sound like the type of activity that would leave 30 of our Nation's most promising future military leaders injured or call into question the management practices of the Army's top academy. Yet, that is exactly what happened. We just learned that, on August 20, West Point freshman cadets got together for an annual pillow fight, and according to press accounts, they swung pillowcases packed with large, hard objects, thought to be helmets. This fight badly injured 30 cadets, 24 of them diagnosed with concussions. There were shoulders dislocated, one cadet diagnosed with a hairline fracture of the cheekbone, some with broken noses and split lips. Before the fight, upperclassmen commanders reportedly encouraged the freshmen by telling them, ``If you don't come back with a bloody nose, you didn't try hard enough.'' The American people deserve to know what happened here. West Point and the Army have provided conflicting explanations, saying in one instance, ``Many members of the plebe class spontaneously participated in a pillow fight,'' while, in another, they suggested that a pillow fight is a hallowed annual tradition, dating back to 1897. Well, which is it? West Point, apparently, doesn't know how to run this pillow fight either. This rite of passage has a track record of similar injuries, followed by ineffective attempts to make this event safer.…”