Joe Nocera:

Wall Street traders are extremely reluctant to give up the "eat what you kill" mentality that has dominated their profession these past two decades. There is no sense of shared enterprise at most firms, and no belief among the rank and file that they should have to pay a price if the firm is drowning in losses and needs government support. That is why they are so blind to how they appear to the rest of us. They just want theirs. That is the culture they have created.

Paul Graham:

It will always suck to work for large organizations, and the larger the organization, the more it will suck.

Jose Saramago:

If only all life's deceptions were like this one, and all they had to do was to come to some agreement, Number two is mine, yours is number three, let that be understood once and for all, Were it not for the fact that we're blind this mix-up would never have happened, You're right, our problem is that we're blind.

Nathan Myhrvold:

At one point we saw a lone bull that was trying to get back to the herd, which was about a half mile away. In between him and the herd were four lionesses, sacked out asleep. This looked like the perfect opportunity for a kill, but the buffalo surprised both us and the lions. He crept up on the sleeping lions, then when he got close he lowered his horns and charged. The lions awoke, panicked and scattered into the bushes. The buffalo then trotted victorious back to the pride.

Niall Ferguson:

What about the rest of us?

Well, we shall now have to question some of our most deeply rooted assumptions—not only about the benefits of paper money but also about the rationale of the property-owning democracy itself.

Bob the Banker says:

Revolutionize your heart out. We'll still have this country by the balls.

Back in Baltimore, Burrell barks:

Anyone who can't bring the numbers we need will be replaced by someone who can.