Colin Quinn Quotes
I feel most empires fell when they started to act human, but then look at Russia. They kept a pretty strong hand, and they fell from Afghanistan alone because Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. I guess you just can't sustain it.
Quinn, Colin. Colin Quinn: Long Story Short. Directed by Jerry Seinfeld, HBO, 9 Apr. 2011.
Vidal was one of the first who suggested that America may be in a state of decline. He deliberately used the language of the famous, classic work by Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
The speech writer, Anthony R. Dolan, had written, “Now and forever, Russia is an Evil Empire. Reagan crossed out “Now and forever” as he had the optimism that the Soviet Union would fall and Russia would reform at a time when only Senator Pat Moynahan had ever suggested the idea.
The “execution” to which she refers was the famous speech given to communist party leaders by Nikita Khrushchev where he publicly revealed the worst crimes of Stalin and Stalinist Russia. Prior to that, publicly Stalin was godlike in the Soviet Union. Decades of disillusionment with Stalinist Russia set the stage for the fall of the Soviet Union which was also accompanied by massive corruption, economic chaos and a diminution of the standard of living of most Russians. Some, including many of the younger people who had not lived through the Stalinist horrors, were resentful that the great era of Soviet military, scientific, and political greatness and dominance was completely overshadowed by the revelation of the purges, gulags, terror and murder. Prudnikova represents that school of thought.
The defendant in a Supreme Court flag case (Texas v. Johnson, 1989) said the American flag is a symbol:
At the end of WWII there was much tension between Russia and the Anglo-American alliance. This plan was developed but never implemented. See {613195} for Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s description of the invasion idea.
The Russians, who had invaded Afghanistan successfully, then proceeded to lose Afghanistan.
This was a big factor that made the Red Scare so damaging.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, NATO expanded to include some fo the former Soviet Nations thus moving NATO territiry to the East--closer to Russia, whose leaders percieved that the expansion was hostile and dangerous for the indpendence of Russia. What made the situation more complex is that the American Secretary of State, when the Soviet Union was very powerful, had made an agreement with the Soviets that in return for Russian aquiessance of NATO being extended to East Germany, NATO would not expand further West. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was quite weak and NATO expanded east despite the earleir comittment. The US and th eother NATO counties took the pozition the previous comitmnts were not binidng as they were never formally signed. The Russians then decided to take a hard line position and flaunt and use military force to which would stop the Western expansion closer to the Russian border.
Colin Edward Quinn is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. On television, he is best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, where he anchored Weekend Update; on MTV's 1980s game show Remote Control, where he served as the announcer/sidekick; and as host of Comedy Central's late-night panel show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Notable film work includes his role as Dooey in A Night at the Roxbury, Dickey Bailey in the Grown Ups films and playing Amy Schumer's father in the film Trainwreck. Comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Chris Rock, and Dave Attell have cited Quinn as the quintessential "comic's comic" and New York comedian.
