July 2 Quotes

On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act. Its enactment, following the longest continuous debate in the history of the U.S. Senate, enshrined into law the basic principle upon which our country was founded - that all people are created equal. ~ Thomas Perez

So, it was done, the break was made, in words at least: on July 2, 1776, in Philadelphia, the American colonies declared independence. If not all thirteen clocks had struck as one, twelve had, and with the other silent, the effect was the same.
It was John Adams, more than anyone, who had made it happen. Further, he seems to have understood more clearly than any what a momentous day it was and in the privacy of two long letters to Abigail, he poured out his feelings as did no one else:
The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more. ~ David McCullough

On July 2, McCandless finished reading Tolstoy's "Family Happiness", having marked several passages that moved him:
"He was right in saying that the only certain happiness in life is to live for others ...
I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books , music, love for one's neighbor - such is my idea of happiness. And then, on top of all that, you for a mate, and children, perhaps - what more can the heart of a man desire?" ... ~ Jon Krakauer

I played the last Born This Way ball here in Montreal. I was so badly injured, and I had been injured for like, a few shows. And I didn't want anybody to know, because I didn't want to disappoint fans, and I didn't want to cancel. I remember, I was dancing on the stage - Sheisse - with a big castle behind me, and I was in some kinda fuckin' pain, I'll tell you. But you just kept cheering, all of you kept cheering for me. And I never told any of you what was wrong, I never said anything. But when I was saying goodbye, some fans that I picked out of the pit, backstage.. These two girls looked at me, and I'll never forget it. They passed me a McQueen cane with a skull on it. And they looked right at me, and I knew that they knew I needed the cane to walk. I don't know how they knew, or why they brought it, but it was one of the most special moments of my life, I'll never forget it. That you could feel what I was thinking, like we're one. We are friends. I made a decision on that day, and I thought I had made it long ago.. that I would never let you down again, and I would always put my fans first. The music, the magic of this music and these concerts, I hope that you remember them forever. You pretty girls putting flowers in each others hair… And you sweet boys, painting your faces like the sad clown that I was when I no longer heard your applause. How you whisper to each others ears, and you whisper, its okay. I was born this way. I will never forget these moments. you're my li ~ Lady Gaga

If our Founding Fathers wanted us to care about the rest of the world, they wouldn't have declared their independence from it. ~ Stephen Colbert

Each word he said was boring, but collectively the melody of them lulled me. I tried to resist, but just the weight of him, in pounds and ounces, was a relief. ~ Miranda July

Where do we come from? Do souls really exist? I can't answer these questions, especially not at 6am. ~ Miranda July

How different her life would be if Orrin hadn't contacted her in July. She wouldn't be embroiled in kidnapping, espionage, and murder. ~ Donna Grant

I gasp, and his mouth swoops down. He's kissing me, violently. Briefly our teeth clash, then his tongue is in my mouth.
Desire explodes like the Fourth of July throughout my body, and I'm kissing him back, matching his fervor, my hands knotting in his hair, pulling it, hard. He groans, a low sexy sound in the back of his throat that reverberates through me, and his hand moves down my body to the top of my thigh, his fingers digging into my flesh through the plum dress.
I pour all the angst and heartbreak of the last few days into our kiss, binding him to me, and it hits me - in this moment of blinding passion - he's doing the same, he feels the same. ~ E.L. James

Friday 29th July, 2005 - I spend the entire night shift feeling like water is gushing into the hull of my boat and the only thing on hand to bail it out with is a Sylvanian Family rabbit's contact lens. ~ Adam Kay

Well, it's an unimaginable honor to be the president during the Fourth of July of this country. It means what these words say, for starters. The great inalienable rights of our country. We're blessed with such values in America. And I - it's - I'm a proud man to be the nation based upon such wonderful values. ~ George W. Bush

Early on in my life I comprehended that death is the most tragic event in our life. Events of early Monday July 14, 1958 [Coup in Iraq] had convinced me that hate is the most destructive force in our life. ~ Ala Bashir

My definition of patriotism is to defend your country with the truth, no matter the consequences. ~ John F. Kerry

They were together constantly, for lunch, for dinner, and nearly every evening - always in a sort of breathless hush, as if they feared that any minute the spell would break and drop them out of this paradise of rose and flame. But the spell became a trance, seemed to increase from day to day; they began to talk of marrying in July - in June. All life was transmitted into terms of their love, all experience, all desires, all ambitions, were nullified - their senses of humor crawled into corners to sleep; their former love-affairs seemed faintly laughable and scarcely regretted juvenalia. For ~ F Scott Fitzgerald

I don't mean to sound grandiose, but there's something universal that you tap into with films like Feast of July and Schindler's List. You know they aren't make-believe. They illustrate something about life. This is my major concern whenever I select a film ~ Embeth Davidtz

In June we picked the clover,
And sea-shells in July:
There was no silence at the door,
No word from the sky.

A hand came out of August
And flicked his life away:
We had not time to bargain, mope,
Moralize, or pray. ~ Cecil Day-Lewis

If you want to write a negative review, don't tickle me gently with your aesthetic displeasure about my work. Unleash the goddamn Kraken.
[on Twitter, July 17, 2012] ~ Scott Lynch

We're all looking for a plan that will work. The current plan is not working, and 21,500 additional troops
it's a snowball in July. It's not going to work. ~ Arlen Specter

Rain Pryor was born July 16, 1969. Richard and ~ David Henry

We also quoted Robert Luskin, Rove's attorney, acknowledging that Rove did speak to Cooper late on the week prior to the article coming out, which would have been July 10 or 11. ~ Michael Isikoff

If she was going to live in Cow's Bowels, New York, she wanted the complete small town package. She wanted a Fourth of July parade, a country fair with an oxen pull and a pie-eating contest, and she wanted a little, homey mom-and-pop supermarket, run by Mr. Whipple himself. ~ Suzanne Brockmann

Liberty is the breath of life to nations. ~ George Bernard Shaw

And if a diversion is needed, why not arrest a general? Arthur Dillon is a friend of eminent deputies, a contender for the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Front; he has proved himself at Valmy and in a halfdozen actions since. In the National Assembly he was a liberal; now he is a republican. Isn't it then logical that he should be thrown into gaol, July 1, on suspicion of passing military secrets to the enemy? ~ Hilary Mantel

If taxis were patriotic symbols, I'd flag one down on the Fourth of July. ~ Jarod Kintz

Death Valley is the perfect flesh-grilling device, the Foreman Grill in Mother Nature's cupboard.

It's a big, shimmering sea of salt ringed by mountains that bottle up the heat and force it right back down on your skull. The average air temperature hovers around 125 degrees, but once the sun rises and begins broiling the desert floor, the ground beneath Scott's feet would hit a nice, toasty 200 degrees - exactly the temperature you need to slow roast a prime rib. Plus, the air is so dry that by the time you feel thirsty, you could be as good as dead; sweat is sucked so quickly from your body,you can be dangerously dehydrated before it even registers in your throat. Try to conserve water,and you could be a dead man walking.

But every July, ninety runners from around the world spend up to sixty straight hours running down the sizzling black ribbon of Highway 190, making sure to stay on the white lines so the soles of their running shoes don't melt. ~ Christopher McDougall

If you were wise enough to know that this life would consist mostly of letting go of things you wanted, then why not get good at the letting go, rather than the trying to have? ~ Miranda July

He listen something in my voice because he look up immediately. His eyes as blue as July sky. His long yellow hair fall like sunshine on his forehead and my finger burn from not touching it. ~ Thrity Umrigar

I had forgotten about the baby. Until then she had been giving birth to birth - to contractions and noises and liquids. There was someone in there. We ~ Miranda July

Not everyone on campus was fond of my hobbies. After football practice one day, one of my coaches informed me that the dean of men wanted to see me. I wasn't sure what I had done wrong, but I knew they had me on something. I walked into the office, and he asked me to close the door.
"We have a problem," he said. "Do you know what street you live on? Do you know the name of it?"
"Vetville?" I asked him.
"Let me refresh your memory," he said. "You live on Scholar Drive."
Apparently, the president of Louisiana Tech had given members of the board of trustees a tour of campus the day before.
"When we went to where you live, it wasn't very scholarly," the dean told me. "There were old boats, motors, duck decoys, and fishnets littering your front yard. He was embarrassed. This is an institution of higher learning."
"That's my equipment," I told him.
"But everybody's yard is mowed-except yours," he replied.
"At least the frost will get it," I said. "It will lay down flat as a pancake when the frost gets it."
"It's July," the dean said. "Cut your grass. ~ Phil Robertson

I'm totally not kidding ... Life is too short. This is all too hard to do to actually be kidding about the whole thing. ~ Miranda July

Being a traditionalist, I'm a rabid sucker for Christmas. In July, I'm already worried that there are only 146 shopping days left. ~ John Waters

Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. ~ Benjamin Franklin

It was Friday, July 24, 1992, when I stepped on the train. Every year I think of it. I see it as my real birthday: the birth of me as a person, making decisions about my life on my own. I was not running away from Islam, or to democracy. I didn't have any big ideas then. I was just a young girl and wanted some way to be me; so I bolted into the unknown. ~ Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of america is justice and securing the blessings of liberty. ~ George Will

Freedom is not license. For the former looks out for the good of 'all', while the latter looks out for the good of 'me'. ~ Craig D. Lounsbrough

Let freedom never perish in your hands. ~ Joseph Addison

I meant that the hatred of that July day in Nashville was alive and well on that horrible day in Pittsburgh. People hate others so they strike like snakes. It's all connected - we're all connected, bumping around into each other, some of us good, some bad, most a mixture. Every thought acted upon has consequences. Every one. ~ Laura Anderson Kurk