Gabrielle Giffords shooting

Quotes of the month

The deadly shootings in Arizona that injured U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords -- and reactions to it -- have dominated headlines throughout the month of January.
Sarah Palin took heat for the harsh words she unleashed on critics who attacked the rhetoric and imagery she used against Giffords and other "liberals" during the midterm elections."Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn," the potential 2012 presidential candidate said in a video posted to her Facebook page.
Other news that sparked memorable quotes:
* The vote to repeal health care reform was a close second.
* Certain celebrities turned a few heads.
* As did the mysterious Arkansas fish plague, one of many odd examples of freakish acts of nature in January 2011.
Lloyd Banks

"I think every artist, you make mistakes when you come into the game. I made my first million dollars when I was 20 years old, and I was too scared to touch it. I eat humble pie every morning, so I really didn't have the temptation to go out there and live beyond my means."Lloyd Banks, a member of the rap group G-Unit, may have gotten that dish of humble pie from an incident he blamed on "sticky fingers."
John Boehner

"Repeal means paving the way for better solutions that will lower the cost without destroying jobs or bankrupting our government. Repeal means keeping a promise. This is what we said we would do."House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican and former linebacker, made good on a campaign promise when he led the House vote to repeal President Obama's signature health care reform legislation.
Brandy

"Now I'm expecting a child? WOW!!! Please check out the story for your morning comedy.. lol. At in and out... Wondering if I should get a double double since I'm eating for 'two.'"Mississippi-born and California-raised actress and singer Brandy refutes rampant Internet rumors that she's expecting. "Brandy: Special Delivery," you may recall, was a reality series following the R&B singer's 2002 pregnancy with her daughter, Sy'rai.
Aretha Franklin

"Halle Berry is my pick. For the last four years, we've been talking about that, and I have had a number of offers, but unfortunately they were not good offers. Now we have something on the table."Who will play the legendary soul singer in a biopic that's in the works? The legend herself made her choice clear but got a less-than-enthusiastic response from the actress she picked.
Wyclef Jean

"I saw Pras on the flight and as a Fugees member I didn't know whether to elbow him, shoot him or give him a kiss and we gave a hug."Wyclef Jean set aside his differences with an ex-Fugees bandmate after they boarded the same plane to Haiti to mark the anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the impoverished Caribbean country.
Kim Kardashian

"Trust me, I've tried Botox on the show. I'm the first one to talk about anything that I do. It really pisses me off that all of these plastic surgery rumors are always linked to me."Reality TV socialite Kim Kardashian has spawned thousands of websites with before-and-after "evidence" of her Botox injections.
Mark Kelly

"The kids … Claudia and Claire start crying. My mother, you know … I think she almost screamed. And I just, you know, walked into the bathroom, and you know, broke down. To hear that she died is just, it's devastating for me."NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, told ABC News' Diane Sawyer that he watched erroneous television reports that his wife had died in the shootings in Tucson.
Jay Leno on Tom DeLay

"Former House Majority LeaderTom DeLay, once considered one of the nation's most powerful and feared lawmakers, was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday. The judge sentenced him to two years for money laundering and an extra year for his performance on 'Dancing With the Stars.'"Jay Leno piled it on after the famous political powerhouse, who earned this nickname for his strict enforcement of party rules, was convicted in a money laundering scandal.
David Letterman on Hillary Clinton

"Oh, how about this? Getting off an airplane, Hillary Clinton tripped and fell and maybe broke some bones. So just to be precautionary, they took her to the emergency room and wrapped her up in a full-body pantsuit."
Brandon Lewis & Ashley Fansler

"[The doctor] said, 'You know, if we wanted to deliver one this year and then one next year, we could do that if … everything is open … we decided to do it that way, and everything worked out."Brandon Lewis, whose twins were born on each side of the 2010-2011 divide, told an Illinois TV station about how he and his wife decided to space the C-section births of their babies.
Jennifer Lopez

"I feel really anxious about cutting half the kids today, I really do. I'm really not looking forward to it. You want to pick the right ones and you want to see who's really going to make a great show, and at the same time, be great artists. But I feel like we have so many good ones that we're going to lose some good ones today. And that's what bothers me."Voted one of the most influential 20th-century Hispanics, Jennifer Lopez is a first-year "American Idol" judge, along with Steven Tyler, and has spoken candidly about the difficulty of her new job.
Rebecca Mansour & Sarah Palin

"We never ever, ever intended it to be gun sights. It was simply crosshairs like you'd see on maps."In an interview with radio talk show host Tammy Bruce, Sarah Palin political action committee staffer Rebecca Mansour defended the graphics Palin took down off her website after the Tucson shootings.
Some Palin aides suggested the crosshairs had been misconstrued and could instead be seen as these types of symbols.
Nicki Minaj on Rihanna

"I love Ri-Ri! I mean, when she's not grabbing my a** she's a sweet girl ... I like everyone."Rapper and R&B singer-songwriter Nicki Minaj didn't seem to mind the hands-on exchange she had with Rihanna at the 2010 American Music Awards .
Conan O'Brien & Larry King

"Today's Jan. 11, 2011. That makes it 1/11/11, something that only happens once every 100 years. Isn't that cool? When someone told Larry King, he said, 'This again?'"Conan O'Brien is back on TV, and Larry King is off after a long, long run.
Sarah Palin

"I will continue to speak out. They're not going to shut me up."Sarah Palin spoke out on FOX News about accusations that her fiery political rhetoric had a connection to the Arizona shootings.
Malik Mumtaz Qadri

"He did blasphemy of the Prophet Muhammad."Malik Mumtaz Qadri, a security guard for Salman Taseer, reportedly confessed to killing the governor of the Pakistani state of Punjab. Taseer had expressed reservations about certain controversial laws in Pakistan.
Tony Parker

"The most important thing is to stay strong mentally, even if these are very difficult times. I've taken refuge in basketball because that's what I've done best since my youth."San Antonio Spurs star guard Tony Parker opened up about how he's handling the end of his marriage to this famous "Desperate Housewife."
Eugene Robinson on Sarah Palin

"In the spirit of civil discourse, I'd like to humbly suggest that Sarah Palin please consider being quiet for a while. Perhaps a great while."Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson was among many commentators who criticized the former Alaska governor for comments she made in the wake of the Arizona shootings.
Keith Stephens & Arkansas Game and Fish

"Right now it's fine to fish. If you go out there you can still fish for bass and crappie, catfish, it will be fine. Obviously don't eat the dead fish."Keith Stephens, spokesman for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, tried to reassure the public -- at least somewhat -- after massive numbers of fish turned up dead in the Arkansas River.There were other odd cases of animals dying en masse, like these birds that fell from the sky in Louisiana.
Tom DeLay

"I can't be remorseful for something I don't think I did."Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLaymaintained his innocence even after he was convicted of money laundering. He blamed his fate on the place where he stood trial. He has made his share of enemies over the years and may make more when he goes to prison.
Mohamed Bouazizi

"They are deeply symbolic means of protest in a region that has little or no tolerance for dissent."Associated Press correspondent Hamza Hendawi commented on the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, an act that has been credited for helping to topple the Tunisian government.This method of protest grabbed headlines during the Vietnam War. It has a long history.