The Buzz

“There’s not a city in the world equipped to deal with that kind of incident.”
Former White House terrorism advisor and Kennedy School lecturer Richard Clarke at a screening of Dirty War, an HBO film showing the aftermath of a dirty bomb explosion in London, in response to a question about how well prepared cities are for such an attack.

“Smart sanctions don’t necessarily work, but they stigmatize well. You’d be surprised how much that helps. People don’t like to be stigmatized.”
Jendayi Frazer, U.S. ambassador to South Africa and a former Kennedy School professor, at a lecture answering a question about the usefulness of actions like travel sanctions imposed on Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe.

“Whether you like it or not, this door will never be shut again. Gay marriage is going to be legal in the United States of America. It is a matter of time.”
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who inflamed the passions of traditionalists with his decision to marry gay couples against state law, speaking at the Forum.

“Johnson still cared for this stuff. He still cared for the agenda, but it was over between them.”
Nick Kotz, author of the new book, Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Laws that Changed America, talking at a lecture about how the once-strong civil rights partnership between LBJ and MLK during the mid-1960s eventually deteriorated.