OPINION: Quotables: On Iraq, Inflation, the Democrats, Teensex, Sneezing, Etc.

Byline: Ross Mackenzie

Dec. 10--Quotes addressing topics currently in the news . . .

Private David Webster of the 101st Airborne Division, reflecting on the February 15, 1945, death of a comrade in Germany -- as quoted by Stephen Am- brose in his book "Citizen Soldier": "He wasn't 20 years old. He hadn't begun to live. Shrieking and moaning, he gave up his life on a stretcher. Back in America the standard of living continued to rise. Back in America, the racetracks were booming, the night clubs were having record profits, Miami Beach was so crowded you couldn't get a room anywhere. Few people seemed to care. Hell, this was a boom. This was prosperity. This was the way to fight a war. We wondered if the people would ever know what it cost the soldiers in terror, bloodshed, and hideous, agonizing …