Kagan Donmall Quotes

She is such a blade - -beautiful, powerful, and deadly to her enemies- - as well as her bond-mate due to her fatal flaw. The questions are - How deep is her flaw and can it be healed? After all, a mortal is not a mearcair blade to be discarded if forged improperly. (Kagan Donmall regarding Tessa Montgomery) ~ Jacqueline Patricks

His fingers wrapped around the smooth metal handle, and he eased the knife from its sweat-patinaed leather sheath and weaved the blade skillfully through the air. While it didn't have the impression of a Fae-forged blade, he did feel something alive within the mortal steel as if the old blade had drunk deeply of blood and continued to thirst. ~ Jacqueline Patricks

It's not that there are no masters, but that there are many. And the job of the solicitor general is to balance those masters and to accommodate them all, each in their proper places, wisely and well and in so doing to represent the people of the United States. ~ Elena Kagan

The orchid hypothesis by David Dobbs in a wonderful article in The Atlantic. This theory holds that many children are like dandelions, able to thrive in just about any environment. But others, including the high-reactive types that Kagan studied, are more like orchids: they wilt easily, but under the right conditions can grow strong and magnificent. ~ Susan Cain

Britain has taken itself out as a major player in the international system, at least for a while, with the kind of cuts that they've made in their national security budget. ~ Robert Kagan

I think people ought to be called what they want to be called. ~ Janet Kagan

It is absolutely true that I have served in two Democratic administrations. You can tell something from me and my political views from that. ~ Elena Kagan

Go see if your weaknesses are hindering you at your job...Fix them or move to another position. Also, constantly ask yourself, "how can I make the company more valuable?" You do that and you will never get fired. ~ Noah Kagan

That was 1993 grunge in suburbia. This was 2003 hell in Harlem. (Dark City Lights) ~ Eve Kagan

My two must-haves are my cell phone and my MacBook Pro laptop, which allows me to update my Web site from wherever I am, whether I'm in Africa or in Sun Valley skiing. ~ Daryn Kagan

A renowned genius once asked a student, "What are you watching when you sit on a hillside in the late afternoon as the colors turn from yellow to orange and red and finally darkness?" He answered, "You are watching the sunset." The genius responded, "That is what is wrong with our age. You know full well you are not watching the sun set. You are watching the world turn." ~ Jeremy Kagan

Therefore, it is forbidden to say anything to anyone that might cause animosity between any two people. ~ Israel Meir Kagan

We, to some degree, are like what we are because we inherited certain things from the Greeks and the Romans. One of them that's so striking is the whole area of politics. ~ Donald Kagan

My view [is] that what morality boils down to is, 'Don't harm, and do help.' And now the question is, 'Can creatures like chickens and cows be harmed?' And the answer is, 'Of course they can.' Consequently, I think it's immoral to harm them. And that seems to me to provide a very strong moral reason to be vegetarian, to not wear leather ... it seems to me that our treatment of animals is morally appalling ... and that we ought to radically revise the way we live, precisely because they feel pain, they can be hurt, and we're constantly hurting these creatures! ~ Shelly Kagan

we're looking for a planeet on the strength of a song. it's crazy I know, but its the only chance we have to do something useful." ...Evan Wilson said gravely "I think you're as crazy as Heinrich Schliemann - and you know what happened to him!"
"What" ...
"you don't know what happened to him?" she asked her blue eyes widening in astonishment."Ever read Homer's Iliad, Captain?" ...
"I don't know what translation you read Doctor, but there was no Heinrich Schliemann in mine - or in the Odyssey."
"That depends on how you look at it." smiling she settled back into her chair and went on,"Heinrich Schliemann was from Earth, pre-federation days, and he read Homer too. No, not just read him, believed him. So he set out at his own expense-mind you, I doubt he could have found anyone else to fund such a crazy endeavor - to find Troy, a city that most of the educated people of his time considered pure invention on Homer's part."
"And?"
"And he found it. Next time you're on earth, stop by the Troy Museum. the artifacts are magnificent, and every one of them was found on the strength of a song. ~ Janet Kagan

If you put it as 'complex nervous systems' it sounds pretty deflationary. What's so special about a complex nervous system? But of course, that complex nervous system allows you to do calculus. It allows you to do astrophysics ... to write poetry ... to fall in love. Put under that description, when asked 'What's so special about humans ... ?', I'm at a loss to know how to answer that question. If you don't see why we'd be special ... because we can do poetry [and] think philosophical thoughts [and] we can think about the morality of our behavior, I'm not sure what kind of answer could possibly satisfy you at that point.
... I could pose the same kinds of questions of you ... So God says, 'You are guys are really, really special.' How does his saying it make us special? 'But you see, he gave us a soul.' How does our having a soul make us special? Whatever answer you give, you could always say ... 'What's so special about that? ~ Shelly Kagan

When it comes to setting national priorities, determining threats, defining challenges, and fashioning and implementing foreign and defense policies, the United States and Europe have parted ways. ~ Robert Kagan

Law matters, because it keeps us safe, because it protects our most fundamental rights and freedoms, and because it is the foundation of our democracy. ~ Elena Kagan

A true measure of an entrepreneur / successful-person is how they deal with adversity. ~ Noah Kagan

Foreign policy is like hitting a baseball: if you fail 70 percent of the time, you go to the Hall of Fame. ~ Robert Kagan

Consuming is the opposite of producing. ~ Noah Kagan

Perhaps most important, judges will have goals. And because this is so, judges will often try to mold and steer the law in order to promote certain ethical values and achieve certain social ends. Such activity is not necessarily wrong or invalid. ~ Elena Kagan

History had its own way of explaining things. The way historians explain things is by telling a story. ~ Donald Kagan

I think most Americans believe that although it's better not to use military force if you can avoid it, that the world simply doesn't provide us the luxury of giving away military force as an important tool of foreign policy. ~ Robert Kagan

Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form. ~ Jerome Kagan

That year the Ribeiro's daffodils seeded early and they seeded cockroaches. Now, ecologically speaking, even a cockroach has its place
but these suckers bit. That didn't sound Earth-authentic to me. Not that I care, mind you, all I ask is useful. I wasn't betting on that either. ~ Janet Kagan

I've led a school whose faculty and students examine and discuss and debate every aspect of our law and legal system. And what I've learned most is that no one has a monopoly on truth or wisdom. I've learned that we make progress by listening to each other, across every apparent political or ideological divide. ~ Elena Kagan

love was nothing but a prison for fools. ~ Roberta Kagan

I think people are great in many different ways. So, I think some justices are great because they have extraordinary wisdom, they have an understanding of how to apply the law in their times ... in a way that's completely consistent with ... the text of the law and the purposes of the law, and in a way that's completely right for the times in which they live in. ~ Elena Kagan

American power made it possible for Europeans to believe that power was no longer important." -Robert Kagan ~ George Weigel

When RBG fretted over the first dry opinion the chief justice assigned her, O'Connor gave her a pep talk. As RBG read that opinion on the bench, O'Connor, who had dissented in the case, passed her a note. "This is your first opinion for the Court," she had written. "It is a fine one, I look forward to many more." Remembering the comfort that note gave her on such a nerve wracking day, RBG did the same for the next two women to join the court, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. ~ Irin Carmon

The sign of a great man is that the closer you get, the greater he seems. ~ Israel Meir Kagan

You are not just the person
who walks the earth.
You are a Soul. ~ Annie Kagan

It is true that I have known Straussians almost all my life. And the one thing I was taught about them from the earliest age is that they are wrong. ~ Robert Kagan

Suppose a state said that, Because we think that the focus of marriage really should be on procreation, we are not going to give marriage licenses anymore to any couple where both people are over the age of 55. Would that be constitutional? ~ Elena Kagan

Medicine I know. you tell me what a pulsar is and I'll tell you whatever you need to know about the organ of Zucker-kandl.
Sulu made a polite scoffing noise and explained anyway, ... ~ Janet Kagan

There are few people who define the word, 'rock star' better than U2's Bono. He's revered the world over not just for leading one of the biggest bands ever, but for his very public work on behalf of the underprivileged in Africa. ~ Daryn Kagan

It's important to be informed but I also think it's important to be inspired. I'm creating a space where people can be inspired. ~ Daryn Kagan

The dimple in his left cheek was ironic-it gave the impression that he was sweet as a cupcake. (Dark City Lights) ~ Elaine Kagan

Joy and serenity are not slavishly tied to our physiology. We are not programmed neurons over which we have no control. We are collaborators in the generation of our thoughts and emotions. ~ Jerome Kagan

I left Russia in 1993 optimistic that democracy had taken hold despite the obstacles. ~ Robert Kagan

Like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant! ~ Elena Kagan

Everyday I meet folks who show me how to look at challenges differently. ~ Daryn Kagan

Obviously the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces find - and there will be plenty. ~ Robert Kagan

The better idea doesn't have to win just because it is a better idea. ~ Robert Kagan

A startup can focus on only one metric. So you have to decide what that is and ignore everything else. ~ Noah Kagan

When the Senate ceases to engage nominees in meaningful discussion of legal issues, the confirmation process takes on an air of vacuity and farce, and the Senate becomes incapable of either properly evaluating nominees or appropriately educating the public. ~ Elena Kagan

So who's more adult- somebody who works like mad to avoid a problem or somebody who works like mad to solve it? ~ Janet Kagan

I definitely believe marijuana helps with menstruation. Since I started smoking pot, my girlfriend's period has become painless for me ~ Randy Kagan