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

web posted April 22, 2013

"On Monday, Boston and America joined cities like Jerusalem and nations like Ireland, which have long known that safety is relative, that the danger that comes from asserting the values we hold dear is omnipresent, that life itself is a gift that can be taken not only by cancer and heart disease, but by the disease of terrorism. We are no more vulnerable today than yesterday, but we will feel more vulnerable, because we had no known hint of what was to befall us. ... Here is the irony: We are vulnerable, because we are free and strong. These qualities attract the ire of those who would have us shackled and weak, who are consumed by hatred for individual possibilities, rather than love for what a free person can dream about and strive for and accomplish." --psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow

"The smoke had yet to clear from the terrorist attack in Boston when some politicians were calling for more money to be spent on domestic surveillance and anti-terrorism programs. The United States spent well over $1 trillion on 'homeland security' in the decade after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC. We have passed, and renewed, the so-called Patriot Act, revised our laws regarding electronic surveillance, created the TSA (and an alphabet soup of other federal agencies) and are now prepared to fill our own skies with armed drones -- all in the name of keeping our country 'safe.' But as the attack on the Boston Marathon demonstrated, all of this may prove to be of little avail in an open and pluralistic society being attacked in what amounts to a religious war. ... Trading freedom for safety has never worked, and putting both in the hands of politicians has proven to be an extremely expensive proposition." --ConservativeHQ

"Law enforcement, big-city mayors and security experts all echoed that famous post-terrorism refrain: 'If you see something, say something.' But who really means it? In post-9/11 America, the truth is that our politically correct guardians only want you to see, say or do something if it can't be construed by grievance-mongers as racist, sexist, Islamophobic, homophobic, nativist or any other '-ist' or '-ic.' Face it: We live in a self-defeating culture that pays lip service to heroic action in times of crisis, yet brutally punishes the very kind of snap judgments and instant security profiling that make such heroism possible in the first place. ... I would rather be damned if I do than dead if I don't." --columnist Michelle Malkin

"[W]e salute all those who assisted in responding so quickly and professionally to this tragedy. We still do not know who did this or why. And people shouldn't jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. But make no mistake -- we will get to the bottom of this." --Barack Obama, who initially neglected to call the "tragedy" an "act of terror"

"I think we've got a good chance of seeing [gun control] pass if members of Congress are listening to the American people. The notion that Congress would defy the overwhelming instinct of the American people after what we saw happen in Newtown, I think, is unimaginable." --Barack Obama

"On the anti-gun legislation before the Senate, we are making good progress on the effort to schedule a series of votes on amendments to the anti-gun violence legislation before the Senate." --Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

"I think there are multiple reasons for ensuring that we invest in our security ... and don't pursue an irrational, across-the-board policy of cutting the highest priorities and the lowest priorities essentially the same percentage. ... I think this [bombing] is another proof of that." --Demo House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer blaming the Boston bombings on sequester cuts (*Apparently Hoyer figured that if Obama can use the caskets of murdered Newtown children as a political platform to promote his agenda, Hoyer could use the death and dismemberment of citizens in Boston for the same purpose.*)

"It used to be we were dealing almost exclusively with hunters. There's a whole new sort of group of individuals now who ... never hunt at all but they own guns for one of two reasons: self protection or they just like the feel of that AR-15 at the range. They like the way it feels. You know, it's like driving a Ferrari." --Joe Biden

"Do you need a 30 round clip [sic] and an AR-15 to hunt? ... I don't understand, and I never have, why this nation is better, how we protect our people better, with these weapons being so readily available." --Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

"If you look at the deficit, we brought it down in three years from 10.1 percent of GDP to, last year, 7.1 percent of GDP. This year it will be about five and a half. That's the largest deficit reduction, fastest, since the demobilization after World War II. It is too fast. It is having an inhibiting effect on the economic growth and employment. ... [T]he deficit is not our immediate problem; our immediate problem is an economy which is going to stay at 7.6, 7.8 percent unemployment indefinitely." --Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)

"If it was more conventional explosives, which are much harder to get a hold of now, that might be some other kind of right-wing extremists. ... [W]e've also seen other extremist groups, right-wing groups, for instance, trying to attack the Martin Luther King parade in Oregon in 2010." --CNN's Peter Bergen

"Well ... [it's] tax day today. That came up. ... But of course, it's Patriots' Day. It's also the Boston Marathon. And would you as an expert be thinking domestic at this point? ... Normally, domestic terrorists ... tend to be on the far right." --MSNBC's Chris Matthews

"The interesting thing is, this is someone on a stage trying to make a statement and that statement has been lost. We don't know whether they're trying to complain about abortion, about taxes. This did happen on tax day in Boston, the place of the Tea Party." --MSNBC analyst Adam Lankford

"We don't know anything yet of course, but it is tax day & my first thought was all these anti-gov groups, but who knows." --Huffington Post blogger Nida Khan

"Let's hope the Boston Marathon bomber is a white American" --article by Salon's David Sirota

"Now, if it's a right-wing white guy, those same exact people will turn around and say, 'Well, look, let's not over blow this. I mean it's just one crazy guy, he doesn't affect anything else. It has no other implications, let's just all calm down." --Current TV's Cenk Uygur

"[The Boston] explosion is a reminder that ATF needs a director. Shame on Senate Republicans for blocking apptment [sic]." --New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof taking to Twitter for a quick round of blame

"The truth is that the Newtown slaughter has finally moved the gun debate away from irrational emotions, ridiculous assumptions, manipulative rhetoric -- and, on the part of politicians, debilitating terror at the alleged electoral reach of those who see any new gun regulations as a step into totalitarianism. These bills are being taken seriously precisely because we are finally putting emotion aside. We are riding a wave of reason. ... Reason tells us that our freedom as Americans does not rest on the existence of an armed citizenry." --Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne

"You use those words ['terrorist attack'] and it means something very specific in people's mind. And I'm sure what was going through the president's mind is -- we really don't know who did this -- it was tax day." --former White House adviser David Axelrod

"In this terrible situation, let's be very grateful that we had a well-funded, functioning government. It is very fashionable in America, and has been for some time to criticize government, belittle public employees, talk about their pensions, talk about what people think ... of [their] health care. ... No tax cut would have helped us deal with this or will help us recover. This is very expensive." --former Rep. Barney Frank

"Westboro Baptist Church [sic] to picket funerals of those dead by Boston Bombs! GOD SENT THE BOMBS IN FURY OVER FAG MARRIAGE! #PraiseGod" --Westboro tweet

"What bothers me most about today is that we're getting used [to] it. ENOUGH. 2nd amendment must go. Violence has [to] stop. Culture MUST change. The 2nd Amendment lends itself to the CULTURE of violence we are living in." --actor Jay Mohr tweeting an anti-gun tirade

"[Foreign students are] actually scared. They think they're not safe in the United States, and so they don't come." --John Kerry on guns

"I would argue if you want to sell your gun to your son, maybe you have a problem in your family. Why don't you just give -- I don't know if you should have a gun or not, but if you have a commercial transaction of $100 with your son, there's something wrong in your family." --New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg

"It seems not so much as the left think it's likely the right are responsible as much as they seem to be hoping and praying that this time it will finally be the right-wingers and the left will then be able to screech and condemn the right for it. It's like each terrorist attack is a present, and the left open it up hoping it will be the toy they've always wanted always only to once again find socks instead. Deadly, deadly socks." --humorist Frank J. Fleming

"It's against the backdrop of peril that some of our politicians give in so easily to the temptation to indulge in cheap politics. ... Pressure for pressure-cooker control will inevitably follow, with zealots determined to confiscate pressure cookers. New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg might suggest adding this kitchen assault weapon to the gun-control legislation now pending in Congress." --The Washington Times

"North Korean officials reportedly are planning a cyber attack on the U.S. in an effort to bring our economy to a halt. Nice try guys. You're five years too late." --comedian Jay Leno

"Lady Margaret Thatcher was eulogized Monday as a great woman and as a champion for liberty. Her era was so different from today's. President Obama expressed his sorrow for the passing of the Iron Lady and sent his condolences to her husband, Iron Man." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"I think it's incumbent on Republicans, Democrats, and every one of us to ask what is going to happen to working Americans whose wages have been falling since 2000, who are unemployed at a very high rate. [The Senate bill] will impact them adversely. We have to ask how the new flow of workers is going to maybe double the current flow of legal workers in the future, in addition to those who will be legalized, [which is] 11 million. The public interest is to figure out how we can deal with the crisis we face, how we can have a lawful system that serves the national interest without hammering ... the average low-income worker, the African-American and Hispanic worker that's here. It's logical that if you bring in a massive supply of low-wage workers, you're going to pull the workers down." --Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

"[W]e're just not taking no for an answer." --Nancy Pelosi on gun control

web posted April 15, 2013

"As we celebrate the remarkable life of Margaret Thatcher, it is fitting that we remember the most important aspect of it: She won, and she deserved to win. Those who opposed her and reviled her were on the wrong side of the most important question of their age, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with tyrants, many of them as guilty as those who manned the gulag watchtowers. And even today, when they make their pilgrimages to sit at the feet of Castro or bury Ch??vez, when they put leftist terrorists on their payrolls, they know: They lost. What they do not know, because they are incapable of understanding the fact, is that they deserved to lose. We should not allow them to pretend that they were on the right side all along." --National Review's Kevin D. Williamson

"We tend to think that leaders like [Margaret Thatcher], Ronald Reagan, et al. ought to be the norm -- that if we could only find another Thatcher or Reagan we could regain control of our societies. But alas, such figures are the exceptions, especially in democracies, where the ability to get elected now appears to be the sole qualification to run for office, even high office. How else to explain the election, twice, of a man of mediocre accomplishment such as Barack Obama? ... Wishing for another Thatcher or Reagan is not the answer. Hoping that another will come along is not a plan. Not strangling them in their cradles when they do finally appear is the key." --columnist Michael Walsh

"Hatred follows those who stand for the truth. It does take courage to stand for what you believe, for what is right. It's a lesson that many politicians need to learn. It's easy when the media and public opinion support you, but what to do when the hard choices need to be made for the greater good that short-sighted spectacles cannot focus on. The lessons of Thatcherism stand the test of time. ... Above all, we must learn to, as Mrs. Thatcher so ably put it, 'stand on principle or not stand at all.'" --columnist David C. Jennings

"[B]eing underestimated is a great gift in politics. Ronald Reagan was dubbed an 'amiable dunce' before he was known as the 'Teflon president,' and Thatcher had imbecile charm before she was dubbed ... the 'Iron Lady.' ... It's worth remembering that Thatcher did not destroy the British equivalent of what Americans call liberalism. She destroyed socialism, which was a thriving concern ... in Britain. When Labor decided to get serious about winning elections again, Tony Blair had to repudiate the party's century-long support for doctrinaire socialism and embrace the market. Soon, Bill Clinton followed suit, bending his party to Reagan's legacy. Suddenly, liberals were playing the 'me-too' game. That's one reason the left still hates her and Reagan so much. Thatcher and Reagan didn't just force change on their societies, they forced change on their enemies, proving that the wave of the future is not so inevitable after all." --columnist Jonah Goldberg

"[Mine is] a budget that doesn't spend beyond our means, and it's a budget that doesn't make harsh and unnecessary cuts that only serve to slow our economy." --Barack Obama on his budget that spends way beyond our means and will slow the economy in the process

"Now, the truth is, our deficits are already shrinking. That's a fact. I've already signed more than $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction into law, and my budget will reduce our deficits by nearly $2 trillion more, without harming the recovery. That surpasses the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that many economists believe will stabilize our finances." --Obama

"There is only one thing that can stand in the way of change and that's politics in Washington. This is not about me. This is not about politics. This is about doing the right thing for all the families that are here that have been torn apart by gun violence. ... Every once in a while, we set politics aside, and we just do what's right." --Barack "Skeeter" Obama

"We will not walk away from the promises we've made. We are as determined as ever to do what must be done. ... [W]e can protect more of our citizens from gun violence while still protecting our Second Amendment rights. Those two things don't contradict each other." --Obama

"What's more important to you, our children or an A grade from the gun lobby?" --Obama pressuring Congress to adopt gun control measures

"Ninety percent of Americans support universal background checks. Think about that. How often do 90 percent of Americans agree on anything? ... And yet, there is only one thing that can stand in the way of change that just about everybody agrees on, and that's politics in Washington. ... If our democracy is working the way it's supposed to, and 90 percent of the American people agree on something, in the wake of a tragedy you'd think this would not be a heavy lift." --Obama

"I'm ... convinced that reasonable limits on gun trafficking across state lines, super-size magazines and certain combat-style weapons make sense, and I'll be pleased to vote in support of such measures." --Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)

"[Margaret Thatcher] was developing this notion, economically, that regulation had been a problem. And so, many city bankers and individuals in the financial community felt completely unleashed to do as they wanted. And the result was a kind of flagrant excessive and ostentatious pursuit of cash. ... Gordon Brown wrote a book ... called 'Where There Is Greed,' which was basically a critique of that kind of selfishness that she seemed to embody." --MSNBC's Martin Bashir

"You know, the bigger question is not whether [Margaret Thatcher] was to blame for all of our problems, but would Britain have got better without her? ... Would the economy have taken off in the '80s without her? Probably. Would it have been restructured? Probably. Could it have been done in a more humane way? Absolutely. ... Margaret Thatcher, no question, she stood up to communism. She ... had an attitude to her domestic enemies that, frankly, was the antithesis of freedom." --MSNBC's Richard Wolffe

"[T]here's something else that's going on now that is really, really dangerous, and it's this festering sense that we need to have these semi-automatic weapons because the government in Washington is about to oppress us. And that is paranoia that these groups like the NRA, the Gun Owners of America, they feed this crap and it really is anti-American." --Time magazine's Joe Klein

"We haven't had a very collective notion of these are our children. So part of it is we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities." --MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry

"What I will say is that this is not the president's idealized budget. It is not what he would do if he were king, or if only people who supported his proposals were in Congress." --White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

"It is important to bear in mind that the March household and payroll surveys are the first monthly surveys to look at employment since the beginning of sequestration. While the recovery was gaining traction before sequestration took effect, these arbitrary and unnecessary cuts to government services will be a headwind in the months to come, and will cut key investments in the nation's future competitiveness." --Obama's economic adviser Alan B. Krueger

"I think it's important to look at the overall picture on the economy. We have made a lot of progress, 6.5 million private sector jobs created over the last three years. The housing market's coming back, manufacturing's coming back. The American auto industry is back, but there's more to do. And so, we shouldn't focus on any individual month because if we created 290,000 jobs this month, I would have given you the same answer, which we're making progress, but we have to do more." --Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer

"The courts have consistently determined that the Second Amendment does not ensure each individual the right to bear arms. The courts have never found a law regulating the private ownership of weapons unconstitutional. This means that the rights of this amendment are not extended to the individual citizens of the states. So a person has no right to complain about a Second Amendment violation by state laws." --Connecticut Northeast Middle School social studies worksheet

"Here's something I didn't know. When Vice President Biden and President Obama meet for lunch at the White House, the chef goes out of his way to personalize their meals. For example, Biden's lunch always comes with a toy." --comedian Jay Leno

"The Associated Press removed the phrase illegal immigrant from its style-book [last] week. The editors feel the label is stigmatizing. From now on, all Associated Press reports will simply refer to an illegal immigrant as a person diagnosed with Happy Feet." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"The Department of Homeland Security defended their large ammo purchases saying that they buy in bulk to 'significantly lower costs.' That's true. Now try it with fence-construction materials." --Fred Thompson

"The Republicans just need to take Obama aside and tell him, 'Shut up, you idiot. You lost on this [gun control] issue. Lost. Clock has expired. It's over. You think you're winning just because you're the only one on the field still trying to play because everyone else has left to the victory ceremony. No one cares about your stupid gun control anymore and only a dwindling number of really dumb people think it will actually achieve anything. We know you hate freedom, Obama, but your just going to have to find a different one to attack. Here, have a cookie.' Omit that last part if you don't have a cookie to give him; teasing him with a cookie would just be mean." --humorist Frank J. Fleming

web posted April 8, 2013

"Last Friday, the so-called 'comprehensive immigration reform' effort received a boost when U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka reportedly came to an agreement regarding a guest-worker program. ... The deal creates a new 'W' visa category aimed at low-skill workers. It would allow immigrants to earn the same wages paid to Americans, or an industry's prevailing wages, whichever is higher. Since such wages can vary from city to city, the Labor Department would determine the prevailing wage. The proposal also includes the additional promises of border security, a crackdown on employers who hire illegals, and a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal aliens currently in the country. It's the oh-so-familiar promises that ought to infuriate Americans well aware that the exact same promises about border control and a crackdown on businesses were made when the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed into law." --columnist Arnold Ahlert

"On Tuesday, the Associated Press announced that it is banishing the phrase 'illegal immigrant' from its famous stylebook. ... AP explains that it wants to stop labeling people. Hah. This is the same organization that employs journalists who have repeatedly shown naked bias against tea party members, gun owners and pro-life activists. ... I propose that we banish the term 'journalist' when referring to members of mainstream news organizations who pose as neutral news-gathers while carrying out a blatantly ideological agenda." --columnist Michelle Malkin

"Soft-minded and sloppy-thinking academics, lawyers and judges harbor the silly notion that but for the fact of discrimination, we'd be proportionately distributed by race across incomes, education, occupations and other outcomes. There is absolutely no evidence anywhere, at any time, that proportionality is the norm anywhere on earth; however, much of our thinking, many of our laws and much of our public policy are based upon proportionality's being the norm. Maybe this vision is held because people believe that equality in fact is necessary for equality before the law. But the only requirement for equality before the law is that one is a human being." --economist Walter E. Williams

"Most of the social liberalism comes with quite a price tag. The most reliable constituency for Big Government is single women, for whom the state is a girl's best friend, the sugar daddy whose checks never bounce. A society in which a majority of births are out of wedlock cannot be other than a Big Government welfare society. Ruining a nation's finances is one thing; debauching its human capital is far harder to fix." --columnist Mark Steyn

"The notion that two months or three months after something as horrific as what happened in Newtown happens and we've moved on to other things, that's not who we are. ... Less than 100 days ago that happened, and the entire country was shocked. And the entire country pledged we would do something about it and that this time would be different. Shame on us if we've forgotten. I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten." --Barack Obama

"Tears aren't enough. Expressions of sympathy aren't enough. Speeches aren't enough. We've cried enough. We've known enough heartbreak. What we're proposing is not radical. It's not taking away anybody's gun rights. It's something that, if we are serious, we will do." --Barack Obama

"[T]he Assault Weapons ban and the limitation on the size of magazines, let me say this as clearly as I can: This is just the beginning. We believe that weapons of war have no place on our streets. That's the message that the retired admirals and generals have spoken to us about. The comment one of them used was: 'If you want to learn how to use a semi-automatic weapon, join the United States military, but these are weapons of war.' And we believe there's no rational reason why someone would need a clip that can hold 15, 20, 30, 100 bullets, 100 rounds. We have to do more and we will do more." --Joe Biden

"I call upon all Americans to observe this month with programs and activities to improve their understanding of financial principles and practices. My Administration is dedicated to helping people make sound decisions in the marketplace. My Administration continues to encourage responsibility at all levels of our financial system." --Barack Obama, in a declaration designating April "National Financial Capability Month" (Since taking office in 2009, Obama has increased the national debt by 60 percent, or $53,377 per household.)

"You have a responsibility to honor the Constitution. In fact, we take an oath to do just that, and that is the oath that President Obama is upholding. We weigh equities. Congress passes a bill. It's questionable in terms of constitutionality. There's no question about your oath to the Constitution of the United States.... I think we would all say we're honoring, as the president does, the Constitution." --House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

"Now, I'm not suggesting that John and Jesus were getting it on, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if John was gay and not acting sexual [towards Jesus] but just being affectionate, and Jesus was fine with that. Jesus did not say, 'John, get off my chest. Get your head away from me. I'm not gonna sit here with a guy with his head on my chest through an entire meal. I'm a homophobe, I'm scared, I'm...' No, Jesus didn't say that. Jesus just continued to hang out with John." --radio talk-show host Thom Hartmann

"Easter is the celebration of the resurrection into heaven of Jesus, three days after he was crucified, the premise for the Christian belief in an everlasting life." --New York Times reporter Elisabetta Povoledo (Following the embarrassing gaffe, the Times issued the following correction: "An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the Christian holiday of Easter. It is the celebration of Jesus's resurrection from the dead, not his resurrection into heaven.")

"Bear in mind that most veterans did nothing heroic. They served, and that's laudable, but it hardly seems necessary to provide them all with military honors after they have died. In fact, it seems generous enough to provide veterans and their spouses with free space and headstones at a national cemetery." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Bill McClellan

"I think [if] people watch [CNN] more critically and not just listen to what other people say about it -- I won't mention names -- they'll see that it [isn't a liberal news network], and I think one of the things we fix is make sure we have the right balance of voices on CNN. That we have good conservatives, good liberals, experts in all areas. It's a serious news network." --Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent

"As an absolute matter of fact in my view, and I think many other constitutional experts, there's not a single measure in this package of proposals the president has put forward that in anyway violates the Constitution. In fact, they reflect the president's commitment to our Second Amendment rights." --White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

"There are still thousands of Americans that are being murdered every single day." --Newark Mayor Cory Booker (Booker then followed up on Twitter with multiple corrections: "Just caught myself miss-speaking on ABC. It's hundreds being killed everyday not thousands. Sorry about that." Moments later: "Sorry again, officially it is approximately 30 people murdered every day due to gun violence." You know, whatever.)

"I come from the city of Chicago. We know we have had a violence problem there. A lot of it has to do with straw buyers arming street gangs. There is no doubt and every law enforcement person will tell you that stronger trafficking laws combined with universal background checks would make a real difference. People are afraid of the NRA and they're trading their jobs for young lives in places like Chicago. And it's a terrible blight." --David Axelrod

"For those who say I'm a hypocrite because I have an armed bodyguard, lets make one thing clear: No one in my employ is allowed to carry a large magazine and NO ONE IS ASKING ANYONE TO GIVE UP THEIR RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.... And to the bullies who will try to marginalize and discredit me by saying, 'Shut up, you're just an actor,' while they brag about what a great president the ACTOR Ronald Reagan was, who threaten me with the demise of my acting career and much worse, I say SO BE IT!" --actor Jim Carrey

"It drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are always calling people back, never forward, forgetting that we are called to be a pilgrim's people. ... The captains of the religious right are always calling us back, back, back. For blacks to be back in the back of the bus, for women to be back in the kitchen, for gays to be in the closet and for immigrants to be on their side of the border." --Rev. Luis Leon's Easter "sermon" for the Obama klan at St. John's Episcopal Church (Somebody get ahold of the IRS and revoke St. John's non-profit status!)

"If Jesus were alive today, he would be more inclined to say, 'you know, I didn't know it all.'" --Rev. Oliver White on why Jesus was wrong about same-sex "marriage"

"So the president of the United States chose a preacher this Easter whose sermon was devoted to claiming that Republicans want to force blacks to ride at the back of the bus again. The Obamas were probably flashing back to the old Reverend Wright days and thinking, 'Man, it's good to be home.'" --radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh

"A new report shows that PETA killed 90% of the dogs & cats placed in its animal shelter. President Obama, though, was quick to praise the organization because at least they didn't waterboard." --Fred Thompson

"The Weekly Standard cited the Obamas for taking a vacation a month since the year started. They went to Hawaii in January, then he went to Florida while Michelle went to Aspen in February, now she's back in Aspen and the daughters are in the Bahamas. It turns out they cancelled the White House tours so that no one would see that the house is empty." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"In a groundbreaking move, the Associated Press, the largest news gathering outlet in the world, will no longer use the term 'illegal immigrant.' That is out. No longer 'illegal immigrant.' They will now use the phrase 'undocumented Democrat.'" --comedian Jay Leno

"[Colorado] treasures its Second Amendment rights -- a state of proud hunters and sportsmen. ... Surely we can have a debate ... to do something to stop the epidemic of gun violence. There's no reason we can't do this unless politics is getting in the way." --Barack Obama, repeating his mendacious mantra that the Second Amendment is about "hunters and sportsmen"

"The good news for you, you live in Denver. The Denver PD would be there within minutes. (laughing) You'd probably be dead anyway." --Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) mocking a senior citizen concerned about defending himself

"I will tell you these are ammunition, they're bullets, so the people who have those now -- they're going to shoot them, and so if you ban them in the future, the number of these high-capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won't be any more available." --Diana DeGette, primary sponsor of House legislation to ban standard-capacity magazines, responding to a question about what they are. DeGette apparently thought that magazines are single-use items, and once empty, disposed.

web posted April 1, 2013

"OK, Obamacare. Up on the table. It's time for your annual physical. Three years old, eh? ... I can see one problem already. Have you seen these tax hikes? Let's see -- five, 10, 15, 18 tax hikes in all. ... It all adds up, Obamacare. It's not healthy. Hate to tell you this, but it gets worse. See this? That's the number of people who are going to lose their current health insurance because of you. Not thousands, but 7 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. ... Wait. Obamacare, didn't you say that nobody who liked his current plan would lose it? Yes. You promised it, in fact -- repeatedly. I'd better note that in your chart. You may be getting uncomfortable, but we're not done yet. Over here, there's another serious problem: You're hurting hiring.... There's more. It's a good thing you're sitting down. It turns out you're making it more difficult to access Medicare services. ... Finally, I see that insurance premiums are going to skyrocket under you. It's those coverage mandates you put in place; they're the culprit. ... You can pay the receptionist on your way out. No, I'm afraid we don't accept that insurance plan anymore." --Heritage Foundation president Ed Feulner

"We could improve America's future just by recognizing what so-called 'public choice' economists started to realize around the time of World War II: that government isn't just a 'public servant.' It's not a demon, either. But government and its employees are selfish, like anyone else. That explains most of their behavior better than occasional shifts to the political left or right. We all tend to overspend and act lazy when we can get away with it. In the private sector, though, that eventually means that you get fired or realize you're depleting your bank account. In Washington, the Fed just prints more money. As long as Washington spends other people's money, there will be little incentive for them to be prudent -- or humble." --columnist John Stossel

"Three weeks ago we gave Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood government a $250 million economic stimulus package, and this week we decided to double-down in our national support for anti-Semites by giving the Palestinian Authority its own $500 million bonus. ... It is beyond strange how a Western elite so carefully attuned to racism or even racial insensitivity allows itself to not just turn a blind eye to the avalanche of anti-Semitic hate pouring out of the Muslim world, but then denigrates its critics as 'Islamophobes' and subsidizes some of the worst offenders. ... I'm reminded of the scene from the movie adaptation of The Two Towers when King Theoden observes the approaching army of Saruman and asks, 'What can men do against such reckless hate?' Apparently the American answer is, 'Give it lots of money.'" --National Review's David French

"[ObamaCare] helped us honor our promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to the American people. ... And just think, if you could be a photographer or writer, start your own business, be self-employed, as well as change jobs or start a business and not have to be constrained by whether you had affordable and accessible quality health care. Well that's what this legislation does." --House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

"[Sequestration] will cause pain. It will cause economic dislocation. And then, the wailing will begin. ... And they'll say, 'Well, okay, instead of the sequester which is causing all this pain, let's cut Social Security. Let's cut Medicare. Let's cut medicaid.' This is the first step down a slippery slope toward 'you work until you die.' And that's why this has to be fought so vigorously." --Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

"We're talking about millions of kids dying -- being shot down by assault weapons. This is not just a political issue, it's a moral issue." --Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) (Fact is, of the 12,664 murders in 2011, the most recent year for complete FBI statistics, there were 323 homicides committed with a rifle of any type, and likely fewer than 50 children (those under age 18) killed with rifles. By comparison, there were 496 murders committed with hammers in the same year.)

“Think about what happened out in -- where Gabby Giffords, my good friend, was shot and mortally [sic] wounded. Think about when that young man had to try to change the clip. Had he only had a 10-round clip when he changed the clip and fumbled and had it knocked out of his hands, how many more people would have been alive? And tell me, tell me how it violates anyone's constitutional right to be limited to a clip that holds 10 rounds instead of 30, or in Aurora, 100." --Joe Biden

"I wonder, in Noah's ark, when God had pairs of everything, were they, were they male-female, or could they have been lesbian or homosexual couples? I betcha a few, a few lesbian or homosexual couples snuck through there." --radio host Dr. Mike Newcomb

"You do understand Dr. Carson's success is, in part, thanks to government assistance aka college loans? No one builds it alone." --MSNBC's Toure

"When the media covers something, it's important to do basic homework. You can't just repeat something over and over again until it sounds true. It's not fair." --NBC's Matt Lauer

"90% of Americans want universal background checks. ... Among those people who own guns, 85% support. Are you thwarting the will of the American people by standing in opposition to universal background checks?" --NBC's David Gregory to NRA's Wayne LaPierre

"In the months since the Newtown, Conn., school massacre, some gun rights supporters have repeatedly compared U.S. gun control efforts to Nazi restrictions on firearms, arguing that limiting weapons ownership could leave Americans defenseless against homegrown tyrants. ... But comparisons between a push by gun control advocates in the U.S. and Hitler have become so common ... they're often asserted as fact, rather than argument." --Associated Press writer Adam Geller

"Did you realize that over 90% of the guns in this country are owned by white people in the suburbs and in rural areas? Ninety-percent of our guns are not owned by African-Americans, hispanics, minority groups, they're owned by white people. Now what are these white people so afraid of out in the suburbs?" --filmmaker Michael Moore

"We're going to work on this ['assault weapon' ban]. We're going to find the votes. And it deserves a vote and let's see if we can get it done." --White House chief of staff Denis McDonough

"Scientific evidence affirms that children have similar developmental and emotional needs and receive similar parenting whether they are raised by parents of the same or different genders. If a child has 2 living and capable parents who choose to create a permanent bond by way of civil marriage, it is in the best interests of their child(ren) that legal and social institutions allow and support them to do so, irrespective of their sexual orientation." --American Academy of Pediatrics endorsing same-sex marriage

"'Cold Dead Hand' is about you heartless motherf-----s unwilling to bend for the safety of our kids. Sorry if you're offended by the word safety!" --actor Jim Carrey on his new "song" about the bitter people who cling to their guns.

"What the extremists do is spread fear and unrealistic theories of conspiracies and the citizenry that needs to be armed because the government is possibly tyrannical, and they need their arms to defend themselves against the tyrannical government." --NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo

"I do think there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom. ... [I]f you want to smoke, I think you have a right to do so and I would protect that. ... You certainly have a right to have a gun if you want. If you want to eat a lot and get fat, you have a right to do it. But our job as government is to inform the public." --New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

"New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that he thinks 'there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom.' If he really believes that, then he truly is a little tyrant. ... If the state can infringe on freedom at 'certain times,' then it can do it at any time. Once that wall has been breached, it's only a matter of how far government goes. And as we've seen, and as Thomas Jefferson foresaw, the trend has been for government to grow and liberty to yield. That wall has been breached and it only gets bigger as the invaders drive deeper into occupied territory. The Declaration of Independence rightly said that people are born with unalienable rights given them by their Creator. ... Our rights, our freedoms, our liberties are with us when we are born, and we lose them only when they are stolen from us, when lawmakers impose their views on others. There is no balance, no halfway mark or compromise that produces some ill-defined greatest good. ... Not so many years ago, H.L. Mencken thoughtfully noted that 'The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.'" --Investor's Business Daily

"In case you missed it, on his first mission as Secretary of State, John Kerry boasted to a group of Germans 'In America, you have a right to be stupid.' A right?! For years now, the Democrats have relied on it to win elections. As for horse-faced John Kerry, were it not for the terminally stupid, he would have spent the last 30 years not in the Senate, but in a stable." --columnist Burt Prelutsky

"A 28-year-old woman from Serbia has a rare brain condition where she sees everything upside down. The good news? She's now been given a job at the White House as President Obama's economic adviser." --comedian Jay Leno

"President Obama's limo wouldn't start at Ben Gurion Airport after they rolled it off the U.S. transport plane. It turns out the Israeli ground crew filled it up with the wrong type of fuel and it wouldn't start. They filled the tank with water instead of wine." --comedian Argus Hamiton

"You can't be against fascism and for government expansion. That's like being against mass shootings while arming the mentally ill. If the push for gay marriage is like the civil rights movement of the 60s, did the civil rights movement have this much self-back patting?" --humorist Frank J. Fleming

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