In Germany they first came for the..., Martin Neimoller

"In Germany they first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me." - Martin Niemoller, 1945 (WW1 war hero & U Boat Captain, WW2 pastor who spent 7 years in Nazi prisons).

This is one variant of the quote by Martin Niemoller. Variations include trade unionists, social democrats, and others. We are now observing orders in the U.S. aimed at Muslims, with the false idea that all Muslims are terrorists - an idea as wrong as the idea that "all blacks are bad", "all blonds are dumb", "all ____ are _____."

You can view this and some of the variants at https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Niemöller, or Google Martin Niemoller for more links.

Rainbow, Someone's Cloud, Maya Angelo

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud." - Maya Angelo

Found on Brainy Quote at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/mayaangelo578763.html.

Never to be Silent, Take Sides, Neutrality, Silence, Elie Wiesel

"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Elie Wiesel

Found on Wisdom Quotes at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/authors/elie-wiesel/.

Knowledge, Wisdom, Living, Life, Sandra Carey

"Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.” - Sandra Carey

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 134.

Delusions of Grandeur, Jane Wagner, Lily Tomlin

“Delusions of grandeur make me feel a lot better about myself.” - Writer Jane Wagner, the wry collaborative mind behind some of Lily Tomlin's best lines.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 15.

One Damn Thing, Over and Over, Edna St. Vincent Millay

“It is not true that life is one damn thing after another – it's one damn thing over and over.” - Edna St. Vincent Millay

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 65.

Men on Staff, Type, Bella Abzug

“All the men on my staff can type.” - Bella Abzug, three-term U.S. Congresswoman from New York, known both for the unconventional contents of her cranium and her penchant for placing ladylike chapeaux on it.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 55.

Person, Trapped, Elayne Boosler

"I'm just a person trapped inside a woman's body." - Elayne Boosler

Found on BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/elayneboos141691.html.

Stereotyping, Females, It's a Girl, Shirley Chisholm

"The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, 'It's a girl.'" - Shirley Chisholm

Found on BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/shirleychi101403.html.

Monsters, Ghosts, Stephen King

“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real, too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” - Stephen King

Because women's work is never done..., Brigit Books, Joyce Stevens

"Because women's work is never done and is underpaid or unpaid or boring or repetitious and we're the first to get fired and what we look like is more important than what we do and if we get raped it's our fault and if we get beaten we must have provoked it and if we raise our voices we're nagging bitches and if we enjoy sex we're nymphos and if we don't we're frigid and if we love women it's because we can't get a "real" man and if we ask our doctor too many questions we're neurotic and/or pushy and if we expect childcare we're selfish and if we stand up for our rights we're aggressive and "unfeminine" and if we don't we're typical weak females and if we want to get married we're out to trap a man and if we don't we're unnatural and because we still can't get an adequate safe contraceptive but men can walk on the moon and if we can't cope or don't want a pregnancy we're made to feel guilty about abortion and...for lots of other reasons we are part of the women's liberation movement." - Author unknown, quoted in The Torch, 14 September 1987

I first read these words on a poster at Brigit Books in St. Petersburg, Florida. Brigit Books has long since closed (darn!). But I was able to find out that Joyce Stevens wrote the above quote as a Union Song for Women's Liberation Broadsheet, International Woman's Day, 1975.

Numerous links had this listed as "Author unknown, quoted in The Torch." While I was able to find links to several magazines and newsletters listed as The Torch, none of them were ones that had listed this quote. However, we now know who wrote these words.

Born, Couldn't Talk, Gracie Allen

“When I was born, I was so surprised I couldn't talk for a year and a half.” - Gracie Allen

Both found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 96.

Win a War, Win an Earthquake, Jeanette Rankin, Non-Violence, Flop, Violence, Joan Baez

“You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.” - Jeanette Rankin

“Non-violence is a flop. The only bigger flop is violence.” - Joan Baez

Both found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 127.

Keep Your Head, Grasp the Situation, Jean Kerr

“If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs, it's just possible you haven't grasped the situation.” - Jean Kerr

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 91.

Love, New Testament, Jesus Christ

"The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” - Jesus, Mark 12:31

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

Powerful, Stupid, One Thing in Common, Facts, Doctor Who

"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." - Doctor Who - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil

Found on IMDB at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0811885/quotes.

Note: I normally don't use movie or TV quotes here, but this somehow just seemed appropriate during the current political climate.

Top, Hard Work, Margaret Thatcher

“I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.” - Margaret Thatcher

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 28.

Fairy Tales, "If I Am Elected", Carolyn Warner

“Years ago, fairy tales all began with 'Once upon a time...” – now we know they all begin with, 'If I am elected.'” - Carolyn Warner, 1986 Democratic nominee for governor of Arizona. (Worse yet, they so seldom end with “And they all lived happily ever after.”)

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 66.

Prevent Injustice, Protest, Elie Wiesel

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Wiesel

This was found at Wisdom Quotes, and can be viewed at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/quote/elie-wiesel-5.html.

Opposite of, Indifference, Elie Wiesel

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." - Elie Wiesel

This was found at Wisdom Quotes, and can be viewed at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/quote/elie-wiesel-4.html.

Beautiful Shells, Collect Only a Few, Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.” - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 144.

Faith, First Step, Whole Staircase, Martin Luther King Jr.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

From http://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/31-martin-luther-king-jr-quotes-to-inspire-greatness-in-you.html.

Judgments, Compassion, Anne McCaffrey

“Make no judgments where you have no compassion.” - Anne McCaffrey

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 125.

Woman, Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher

“I don't notice that I'm a woman. I regard myself as the Prime Minister.” - Margaret Thatcher. The “Iron Lady” who served as the United Kingdom's first female Prime Minister was capable of almost anything – including, on occasion, iron.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 60.

Politicians, Truth, Lips Move, Felicity Kendall

“There's one sure way of telling when politicians aren't telling the truth – their lips move.” - Britich actress Felicity Kendall.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 65.

You Must Learn, Be Still, Be Vibrantly Alive, Indira Gandhi

"You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose." — Indira Gandhi, first female prime minister of India

Found on Beliefnet.com at http://www.beliefnet.com/quotes/inspiration/i/indira-gandhi/you-must-learn-to-be-still-in-the-midst-of-activit.aspx.

Temporary Insanity, Ironing Clothes, Sue Kolinsky

“I don't buy temporary insanity as a murder defense. Breaking into someone's home and ironing all their clothes is temporary insanity.” - Sue Kolinsky

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 52.

Philosophy, Fill, Empty, Scratch, Alice Roosevelt Longsworth

“I have a simple philosophy. Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches.” - Alice Roosevelt Longsworth

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 131.

Children Crossing the Street, Lights, Cars, Moms Mabley

“Advice to children crossing the street: damn the lights. Watch the cars. The lights ain't never killed nobody.” - Moms Mabley

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 104.

Writing, Getting Up, Getting Well, Getting Over, Getting Happy, Stephen King

“Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Found in Goodreads' Stephen King quotes section.

Feminism, Feminist, Door Mat, Rebecca West

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a door mat or a prostitute." - Rebecca West, "Mr Chesterton in Hysterics: A Study in Prejudice," The Clarion, 14 Nov 1913, reprinted in The Young Rebecca, 1982

Found at BrainyQuote; can be viewed at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rebeccawes128207.html.