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The good and the bad...presented with permission from The Patriot E-Journal

web posted December 21, 2009

"Every day that President Obama pushes for the government take over of health care he injures families by the thousands across America. Every day that President Obama contemplates the idea of spending trillions more of yours and my tax dollars, the less the chances of his being able to reduce the non-voluntary unemployment/under-employment rates that are now drastically impacting one out of every five families in America." --columnist Kevin McCullough

"As the Democrats inexorably slog toward the finish line, lugging and wrenching their malformed health care bill, the most passionate debate has been on contentious issues like abortion, the public option, and Medicare cuts. Yet the overriding danger of the Senate bill and its House counterpart is the massive government bureaucracies that will emerge as the legislation takes effect. The Democrats' colossal experiment threatens to unleash forces that will ultimately overwhelm the doctor-patient relationship, ration our health care, and stifle innovation and excellence in the medical field. A massive government bureaucracy soon acquires a life of its own, with dominion over its constituency that no politician dares attempt to rein in." --columnist Joseph Smith

"The more the government grabs and spends, the less chance there is that jobs will be created." --Human Events editor Jed Babbin

"From now on, when you hear Obama speak, try replacing 'let me be clear' with 'let me lie to you,' and see if it makes more sense." --columnist Jacob Sullum

"I assume we're supposed to be too dense to remember that [Obama's] stimulus spending to date hasn't created jobs and that most of it hasn't even been used for that purpose. So when this administration says its first priority is reducing debt, understand we are being played -- by consummate cynics." --columnist David Limbaugh

"[I]t just so happens that with the exception of nuclear power -- which most greens still won't support -- global warming fuels nearly every progressive ambition. Wealth transfers from rich to poor nations: Check. The rise of 'global governance' and the decline of American sovereignty: Check. A secular fatwa not only to erode capitalism but to intrude on every aspect of our lives (Greenpeace offers a guide to carbon-neutral sex): Check. Weaning us off of oil (which, don't let the Goregonauts fool you, was a priority back when we were still worried about global cooling): Check. The checks go on for as far as the eye can see, and we will be writing them for years to come." --columnist Jonah Goldberg

"Right now, if you don't like the local grade school, you move to the next town. If you're sick of Massachusetts taxes, you move to New Hampshire. Where do you move to if you don't like 'global governance'? What polling station do you go to to vote it out?" --columnist Mark Steyn

"[T]he truth of Christmas is tested in Washington as we move toward some sort of semi-universal health care against the near-unanimous opposition of Republicans. Given the chance to be shepherds or angels, they chose instead to be Herod. Spooked by the victory of Barack Obama, they decided to fight him on all fronts, even though Americans will die as a result." --NPR's Garrison Keillor

"Climate change deniers say these e-mails are proof humans aren't causing global warming. U.S. officials say the evidence proves otherwise." --ABC correspondent Bob Woodruff

"This is about life or death -- 192 countries are here in Copenhagen to cut the carbon emissions changing the climate and threatening the very existence of some nations and their people." --ABC's Anne Thompson

"[W]hy not tax the [bankers'] bonuses? Britain last week announced that they're going to have a big windfall tax, a one-time tax on these big bonuses this year because the banks got so much help. Why not do that?" --ABC's George Stephanopoulos

"There is no liberal media! The media which is, after all, owned by corporations naturally leans to the right." --MSNBC's Keith Olbermann

"An error was edited into Robert Poppiti's column. The list of corrupt politicians should have included the name of former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson, not William Jefferson Clinton." --News Journal (Wilmington, DE) correction

"Good, solid B-plus. B-plus because of the things that are undone. ... Health care is not yet signed. If I get health care passed, we tip into A-minus." --Barack Obama grading himself on nearly one year of destroying the country

"We would do almost anything to pass a health care bill." --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

"I would say to the senator from Arizona [McCain] that I am in the dark almost as much as he is, and I am in the leadership. Most of us know the fundamentals, but we don't know the important details." --Senate Whip Dick Durbin, the #2 Democrat, on the mystery contents of Harry Reid's health care bill

"It is said that the science around climate change is not as certain as its proponents allege. It doesn't need to be. What is beyond debate, however, is that there is a huge amount of scientific support for the view that the climate is changing and as a result of human activity. Therefore, even purely as a matter of precaution, given the seriousness of the consequences if such a view is correct, and the time it will take for action to take effect, we should act. Not to do so would be grossly irresponsible." --former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

"Some of the models suggest that there is a 75 percent chance that the entire north polar ice cap during some of the summer months will be completely ice-free within the next five to seven years." --Al Gore, citing a scientist who later said he didn't know where Gore got that information

"[E]verybody agrees that the recession is over." --White House economic adviser Larry Summers

"Of course not. For the people on Main Street and throughout this country, they are still suffering, the unemployment rate is still 10 percent." --White House economic adviser Christina Romer

"[Greed and imperialism (read: capitalism)] tends to destroy the environment and so on. And here they are doing the same thing on another pristine planet that we've done here on earth. So it's a way, sort of looking back at ourselves from this other world and seeing what we're doing here." --director James Cameron on his epic sci-fi flick "Avatar" out last Friday

"[T]he world is waiting for some non-toxic smoke to come out of the chimney atop the meeting hall in Copenhagen to announce a global agreement on greenhouse gases." --political analyst Rich Galen

"The climate treaty negotiations inside Copenhagen's Bella Center at the United Nations Climate Change Conference ground to a halt yesterday when the G-77, the largest group of developing nations, walked out. These poorer nations demanded that richer nations sign a treaty that includes a large transfer of wealth to the developing world to compensate for the developed world's historical contribution to global warming. The G-77 countries ended their walkout after less than two hours, perhaps because global warming has had no apparent impact on December Copenhagen temperatures." --The Heritage Foundation's "Morning Bell"

"Copenhagen is having its coldest December in history. If the scientists were all that smart they would have scheduled the conference in August." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"Barack Obama's vibe used to be a cross between JFK and Beatlemania. Now it's fading into 'Oh, him again?' ... An American president is almost by definition overexposed. But Obama has jammed a full term's worth of exposure into a mere 11 months. Michelle Obama notoriously said during the campaign, 'Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.' What she really meant, apparently, was that Barack would never again allow us to turn on the TV without seeing or hearing Barack." --National Review editor Rich Lowry

"The squealing Obammyboppers of the media seem to have gotten more muted since those inaugural specials hit the newsstands back in late January. His numbers have fallen further faster than those of any other president -- because of where he fell from: As Evan Thomas of Newsweek drooled a mere six months ago, Obama was 'standing above the country ... above the world. He's sort of God.' That's a long drop." --columnist Mark Steyn

web posted December 14, 2009

"After last week's White House 'jobs summit,' the President claimed that he is 'open to every demonstrably good idea' that might create jobs, yet noted that 'we also though have to face the fact that our resources are limited.' Barack Obama may be surprised by what a tremendous 'resource' the American people can be -- if he could only get out of our way." --columnist Austin Hill

"Democrats have defined success as dragging any [health care] bill into law as quickly as possible, no matter how damaging, while leaving the mess it creates to be cleaned up in the future once the entitlement is entrenched and higher taxes are inevitable. The only way to prevent that outcome is to force them to start over." --The Wall Street Journal

"There's no difference in this global warming hoax, and the health care reform hoax. They are born of the same ideology, they're born of the same tactics, and they are born with the same objectives. Radical leftists claim that man-made global warming destroys lives. Radical leftists also claim that private sector medical care destroys lives. The president himself has indicted the medical community for this." --radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh

"One of the ostensible reasons for reforming our health insurance system is the need to halt the growth of spending on medical treatment. So it may be a surprise to learn that in its first major vote on the health care overhaul, the U.S. Senate took a clear and simple position: Cost is no object." --columnist Steve Chapman

"Facing a clock some say has ticked down to zero, [Monday] 192 nations came together to take on a potential global catastrophe." --ABC reporter Bob Woodruff

"Despite growing scientific evidence that humans are to blame for warming the planet -- rising sea level, melting glaciers, more intense droughts -- polls show the number of Americans who believe global warming is happening is at its lowest point in 12 years." --ABC reporter Clayton Sandell, who mentioned the Climategate emails without giving specifics

"Now, also under discussion here [at Copenhagen] are those stolen e-mails from a British University that have made this scandal called Climategate. And, essentially, in those e-mails, some climate scientists seem to be suggesting that perhaps they're massaging the data." --NBC's Anne Thompson

"I mean is someone using differences in semantics to try and play up a controversy that's not really there?" --MSNBC's Contessa Brewer dismissing Climategate

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.'" --Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), of the party of slavery -- then and now

"I believe that the transaction tax still has a great deal of merit. The concern that many of us or others have had is that it will send, it will send transactions overseas. ... The fact is, what we are talking about is a global transaction [tax], something that we would do in conjunction with other G nations, whether it is G8, G20, whatever the current G number is. Because it is really a source of revenue that has really minimal impact on the transaction, but a tremendous impact on helping us meet our needs. I think there would be a market for it among the American people to say that we are all participating in the economic prosperity of our country, and we are all pitching in to continue that prosperity." --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) touting a tax on stocks, bonds and other financial transactions

"Nothing that has come out in the public as a result of the recent email hackings has cast doubt on the basic scientific message on climate change and that message is quite clear -- that climate change is happening much, much faster than we realized and we human beings are the primary cause." --UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

"I think the e-mail scandal is being used as a political side show to deflect interest in actually dealing with climate change. I think, in that regard, it will fail." --Princeton University's Professor Michael Oppenheimer

"There is nothing in the hacked e-mails that undermines the science upon which this decision is based." --EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson asserting the farcical government stance that carbon dioxide is harmful to humans

"Frankly, I don't know what it is about California, but we seem to have a strange urge to elect really obnoxious women to high office. I'm not bragging, you understand, but no other state, including Maine, even comes close. When it comes to sending left-wing dingbats to Washington, we're number one. There's no getting around the fact that the last time anyone saw the likes of Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi, they were stirring a cauldron when the curtain went up on 'Macbeth'. The three of them are like jackasses who happen to possess the gift of speech. You don't know if you should condemn them for their stupidity or simply marvel at their ability to form words." --columnist Burt Prelutsky

"Imagine an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where all the members showed up drunk and with extra cases of wine, beer, and booze to keep them happy. Now imagine that that same group of drunks was empowered to make trillions of dollars worth of economic decisions for everybody in the world. This absurd scenario swiftly summarizes the United Nations Climate Change Conference beginning today, and lasting through December 18, in Copenhagen." --The Heritage Foundation's "Morning Bell"

"Congress voted Thursday to impose a 45 percent tax on all estates over $3 million. It just never ends. The only difference between death and taxes is that Congress can't think of a way to make death any worse than it already is." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"It's fitting that the first day of the Copenhagen climate hoax summit happens on December 7th, a day, FDR said, 'that will live in infamy.' We're being attacked again." --radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh

"One of the central goals of this administration is restoring fiscal responsibility." --Barack Obama

web posted December 7, 2009

"One of the media's least accurate tropes is that, with the President's speech last night, Afghanistan is now 'Obama's war.' No, it isn't. Nations go to war, not merely Administrations, and President Obama's commitment of 30,000 more troops to that Southwest Asian theater is a national investment in blood and treasure on behalf of vital U.S. security interests. We support Mr. Obama's decision, and this national effort, notwithstanding our concerns about the determination of the President and his party to see it through. Now that he's committed, so is the country, and one of our abiding principles is that nations should never start (much less escalate) wars they don't intend to win." --The Wall Street Journal

"The full transcript of President Obama's long-delayed speech on Afghanistan is here. You can watch it in full here. Bush-bashing? Check. Noxious complaining about the cost of fighting a necessary war? Check. Disingenuous denial that he dithered? Check. 'Let me be clear's = 9. Self-congratulations for sticking to Gitmo closure policy = 1. Self-referential 'As your Commander-in-Chief's = 2. References to global jihad = 0." --columnist Michelle Malkin

"[In his speech Tuesday night,] Obama did what he could to mollify those [on the Left] by blaming Bush -- always a safe bet when trying to curry favor from the Left -- and by declaring there would be a time limit on the new deployment and they would be withdrawn starting in July 2011 -- just as the 2012 re-election campaign would be getting underway." --political analyst Rich Galen

"The issue isn't whether a war is popular: either it has to be fought or it doesn't. It is a president's duty to define the war and lead the nation to victory. And if a war is worth one American life, it is -- by definition -- worth however many dollars it takes to win. Domestic spending must be curtailed to fund a war, not the other way around." --columnist Jed Babbin

"[S]trategic success isn't Obama's ultimate concern. He wants political cover and is doing all he can to ensure that he's not on the blame-line, no matter what happens. He wants to appear strong -- but without unleashing our strength. He'll send more troops -- but won't let them do more." --columnist Ralph Peters

"The blunt truth is: The United States needs to win in Afghanistan. Defeating the Taliban and destroying al-Qa'ida is in our vital interests. It is the price of peace in South Asia. It is the only way to prevent another 9/11. By dedicating the resources needed to win and by getting our fiscal house in order, we can keep our nation safe, free and prosperous. Any other talk is just politics." --James Jay Carafano of The Heritage Foundation

"The reason the Democratic leadership and the White House are rushing to pass the [health care] bill is that they know it is killing them and believe doing it quickly will kill fewer of them than doing it slowly. If they pass it by year's end, perhaps voters will move on to other concerns by the November 2010 midterm elections." --columnist Byron York

"How many times has a liberal touted this or that government agenda with the idea that they're doing it 'for the children.' When more Americans begin to understand that the more accurate phrase it 'to the children,' it will be the beginning of the end for these power-hungry thugs. Here's hoping it happens sooner rather than later." --columnist Arnold Ahlert

"[Obama] went to maybe the enemy camp tonight to make his case. I mean, that's where Paul Wolfowitz used to write speeches for, back in the old Bush days. That's where he went to rabble rouse the 'we're going to democratize the world' campaign back in '02. So, I thought it was a strange venue." --MSNBC's Chris Matthews on West Point (Matthews later said that "maybe" he "used the wrong phrase, 'enemy camp,' but..." Some apology.)

"Who would deny health care to all Americans? Well, there are a lot of those folks in Congress, including nearly all Republican lawmakers, none of whom have rejected their own generous government health care plans. The United States is the only country in the developed world that does not provide affordable health care for all its citizens." --Hearst White House correspondent Helen Thomas

"Is the honeymoon over? ... Although President Obama has been in office less than a year, many Americans are growing disenchanted with his handling of the enormous problems he and the country are facing, from health care to unemployment to Afghanistan. His poll numbers are sliding, and at least one poll shows his job approval rating has fallen, for the first time, below 50 percent." --CBS's Katie Couric

"The American people are increasingly questioning the president's credibility. He says the stimulus has saved or created 640,000 jobs, but only 7 percent of Americans believe it has created any. And he's repeatedly promised health care reform will not increase the deficit, but a mere 19 percent believe him." --CBS's Chip Reid

"The more [Obama] talks about these hard issues, the less people are buying it. ... People want something to be done about the deficit, and here he's talking about spending a trillion more dollars." --CBS News analyst John Dickerson

"I will end the war successfully." --Barack Obama ("[T]he President's goal is not to succeed in Afghanistan, but to end the war in Afghanistan." --political analyst Rich Galen)

"I can't understand for the life of me how the Catholic Church could be against the biggest social justice issue of our time, where the very dignity of the human person is being respected by the fact that we're caring and giving health care to the human person -- that right now we have 50 million people [sic] who are uninsured. You mean to tell me the Catholic Church is going to be denying those people life-saving health care? I thought they were pro-life. If the church is pro-life, then they ought to be for health care reform because it's going to provide health care that are [sic] going to keep people alive." --Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-UI) with something less than friendly fire toward his own church

"Don't be deceived into thinking that sending a few more troops into Afghanistan will make a difference, or earn you the respect of the haters. They will not stop until this country is torn asunder and every last dollar is extracted from the poor and soon-to-be poor. You could send a million troops over there and the crazy Right still wouldn't be happy. You would still be the victim of their incessant venom on hate radio and television because no matter what you do, you can't change the one thing about yourself that sends them over the edge. The haters were not the ones who elected you, and they can't be won over by abandoning the rest of us." --Leftist filmmaker Michael Moore penning an open letter to Barack Hussein Obama, and yet again defining any disagreement with extremist-Leftist Obama as "hate"

"A liberal mistrusts lessons bought with experience. For him, theory is all. He's the only man who would sit down on a red-hot stove twice. That makes well-meaning Democrats marks for shysters selling health-care 'reform,' global warming and appeasement of radical Islamists." --columnist Wesley Pruden

"No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems -- of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind." --economist Thomas Sowell

"President Obama was shown in photos Friday smiling with the couple who crashed his state dinner. The photos showed the husband, the wife and the president. If it's a crime to talk your way into the White House without a background check, all three of them could face charges." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"I have some advice for President Obama. The tough tactics being deployed against his perceived domestic political enemies should be redeployed overseas. Let me assure you that Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela are a lot more dangerous than Fox News and the health insurance industry." --columnist Bruce Bialosky

"Barack Obama [has] never seen a TV camera or a teleprompter he didn't lust after. Come to think of it, it's too bad that his administration isn't a TV show. If it were, we could at least hope it would be canceled after one season instead of four." --columnist Burt Prelutsky

"You call it 'Climategate,' I call it 'E-mail-theft-gate.... Part of our looking at this will be looking at a criminal activity which could have well been coordinated." --Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

"Reporters love a deadline -- we'll hound him over it. Just wait until next year. There will be flashy graphics on our screens saying, 'Countdown to Drawdown.'" --CBS's Kimberly Dozier

"How do you on the one hand say: 'We need to send these troops over there; it's critical; this is in our national-security interest to do this.' But then say: 'But we're only going to keep them there for 18 months; we're going to start to withdraw them after 18 months'? I just don't understand the logic of how that works. ... This is not a football game, where the time runs out. To win this war, you have to defeat the enemy." --CBS anchor Bob Schieffer

"If I were with the Taliban right now, I'd put a little Post-it up on that month in 2011, and say: 'This is when we do our surge.'" --MSNBC's Chris Matthews

"Our number one enemy concern is the existential threat, al-Qa'ida. Number two is the stability of a nuclear state called Afghanistan, under siege by radicals." --Vice President Joe Biden

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