"Either your brains or your signature are gonna be on that contract..."

.
.
.

"My father made him an offer he couldn't refuse... Luca Brasi held a gun to his head, and my father assured him that either his brains, or his signature would be on the contract".
- Michael Corleone, "The Godfather", 1972

(...)

"Fredo. You're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever."
- Michael Corleone, "The Godfather", 1972

(...)

"You can act like a man (SLAP!) What's the matter with you?"
- Vito Corleone, "The Godfather", 1972

(...)

"Senator. We are both part of the same hypocrisy, but never think it applies to my family".
- Michael Corleone, "The Godfather Part II", 1974

(...)

"Michael, you've won! Why do you feel you have to wipe everyone out?"
- Tom Hagan, "The Godfather Part II", 1974

(...)

"If anything in this life is certain. If history has taught us anything. It says you can kill anyone".
- Michael Corleone, "The Godfather Part II", 1974

(...)

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."
- Vito Corleone, "The Godfather", 1972

(...)

Senators Avert Showdown Over Filibusters

By DAVID ESPO,
AP Special Correspondent
42 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - In a dramatic reach across party lines, Senate centrists sealed a compromise Monday night that cleared the way for confirmation of many of President Bush's stalled judicial nominees, left others in limbo and preserved venerable filibuster rules.

"We have reached an agreement to try to avert a crisis in the United States Senate and pull the institution back from a precipice," said Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., adding the deal was based on "trust, respect and mutual desire to .... protect the rights of the minority.

"We have lifted ourselves above politics," agreed Sen. Robert C. Byrd (news, bio, voting record), D-W. Va., "And we have signed this document....in the interest of freedom of speech, freedom of debate and freedom to dissent in the United States Senate.

Under the terms, Democrats agreed to allow final confirmation votes for Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor, appeals court nominees they have long blocked. There is "no commitment to vote for or against" the filibuster against two other conservatives named to the appeals court, Henry Saad and William Myers.

The agreement said future judicial nominees should "only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances," with each senator — presumably the Democrats — holding the discretion to decide when those conditions had been met. Officials said the pact was intended to cover the Supreme Court as well as other levels of the judicary.

In light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement," Republicans joined Democrats in pledging to oppose any attempt to make changes in the application of filibuster rules — a commitment that Sen. Mike DeWine (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, said at the news conference was conditional on Democrats upholding their end of the deal.

While the agreement was signed by only 14 senators, they held the balance of power in a sharply divided Senate — able to thwart continued Democratic filibusters, on the one hand, and block GOP attempts to alter filibuster practices on the other.

Republicans, moving quickly, said they would seek to confirm Owen as early as Tuesday, with other cleared nominees to follow quickly.

SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050524/ap_on_go_co/filibuster_fight

(...)

"We gladly put you at the helm of our little fleet, but our ships must all sail in the same direction. Otherwise, who can say how long your stay with us will last. It's not personal, it's only business. You should know... Godfather."
- Lucchesi, "The Godfather Part III", 1990

(...)

"I betrayed my wife. I betrayed myself. I killed men and I ordered men to be killed. Ah, it's useless... I killed -- I ordered the death of my brother. He injured me. I killed my mother's son. I killed my father's son."
- Michael Corleone, "The Godfather Part III", 1990

(...)