Pulling Speeches

I'm no expert on punctuation, I think it depends on how it fits in with the rest of the text. You might consider italics. As for your right to use it, no problem. It's public domain, as is any government publication unless it is protected by some kind of classification. That doesn't apply to Dick Cheney; just ask him.

It depends on how you use it. If you use it as a motto or pre-story quote, then I'd use such sort of punctuation. If it's dialogue or thought, I'd stick with regular story punctuation and wouldn't worry about it.

yeah, I think it depends on how you intend to use the speech. If it's going to go in a big block quote somewhere in the story, definitely use [...]. If it's going to be sprinkled in dialogue or something, punctuate it the way you normally would. If it's going to be a big block quote within dialogue (like one of your characters is giving the abridged speech) punctuate as normal dialogue since you're writing what the character says and the character wouldn't pause for ellipses.

Madison said:

yeah, it's a block quote, so I'll use [...]. also, though, should I use [] if I substitute 'they' for a certain name?

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I would. That's the convention in academic writing, which is what this situation seems to closely mirror.