Lingua publica
The
good and the bad...presented with permission from The Patriot E-Journal
web posted March 26, 2007
"The Muslims bring fervor and conviction to the struggle; we don't. The Muslims are self-assured in the rightness of their cause; we answer with self-denigration and self-debasement. Muslims prize loyalty and discipline; we prize politically correct multiculturalism." -- Suzanne Fields
"[P]eacefully and without much notice, Islamists are trying to use our laws of tolerance against us to carve out exceptions for themselves. The radical Islamist faction that has infiltrated and intimidated Europe has found a home in our polite denial. " -- Kathleen Parker
"Of course, the president has every right to fire any political appointee in his administration for any reason, political or otherwise. In hindsight, it would have been far better if the administration had just said so from the beginning instead of wrongly implying that the [eight U.S.] attorneys were fired for cause." -- Bruce Bartlett
"When Democrats are criticized, they counter-attack. When Republicans are criticized, they apparently believe in ‘the soft answer which turneth away wrath.' In politics, however, a soft answer is like blood in the water that provokes piranhas to more vicious attacks." -- Thomas Sowell
"[A]side from Osama bin Laden and his crew of merciless killers, the people most dedicated to seeing the United States defeated in a battle for the future of the world are the liberal Democrats now feebly trying to run the Congress. You really have to hate America and its people to lust after the defeat of your own country." -- Michael Reagan
"[The Founders] made the Second Amendment second only to the First, which protects the freedoms of speech, press, assembly and worship. They did that because individual dignity and self-respect, which are essential to self-government, are related to a readiness for self-defense -- the public's involvement in public safety." -- George Will
"When all was said and done, the least preposterous sight at Friday's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing [on Valerie Plame] could be found in the audience: namely, the woman dressed in hot pink who kept standing up behind Plame during her testimony to show the television viewers her ‘Impeach Bush' T-shirt. That woman was a lot more honest about what was taking place than Mrs. Joseph Wilson, who looked like the cat who ate the canary when Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland asked her whether she and her husband are Democrats. After giving her husband's Republican family background, she said: ‘I would say he's a Democrat.' As for herself, she conceded: ‘Yes... I am a Democrat.' As if we all didn't know." -- Investor's Business Daily
"Back in 1993, the media had a different sense of ‘crisis.' Clinton fired 93 U.S. Attorneys, and ABC and CBS never mentioned it. CNN and NBC mentioned it in passing. (FNC didn't exist yet.) The media do not merely arrive at the scene of a ‘crisis.' They are the manufacturers of ‘crisis'." -- Tim Graham
"I think a draft produces a better army than the one we would have with all volunteers...[I]f it's an all volunteer army, you get people who join up because of some problem in their own lives. They don't have anything else to do, they don't have a job, or they can't find what they want to do, so they join the Army. And it doesn't produce the best army." -- CBS's Andy Rooney
"They are studying this model of natural disasters, dispersing the community and changing the electoral process in that community." -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on the nebulous "they" who are trying to undo the "chocolate city" by keeping blacks out
"Remember the Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore global-warming pitch at the Academy Awards? Before they spoke, the screen at the back of the stage flashed not-so-subliminal messages about how to save the planet. My personal favorite was ‘Ride mass transit.' This to a conclave of Hollywood plutocrats who have not seen the inside of a subway since the moon landing and for whom mass transit means a stretch limo seating no fewer than 10." -- Charles Krauthammer
"In these dark days when freedom of speech is curtailed at every turn, it's comforting to see debate stifled for the right reasons. Yes, a blow for truth has been struck: The Democrats, bowing to the wishes of their online constituents, have withdrawn from a presidential candidate debate sponsored by Fox News, aka Satan's Blowhole." -- James Lileks
"Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum announced that a new location will open in Washington DC. It will present likenesses of lawmakers and presidents at work. The idea is to show that you can put a wax dummy in those chairs and the government will run better." -- Argus Hamilton
"Fox's biggest critics don't appreciate why Fox News exists in the first place... Air America, has been a giant failure, and maybe that explains part of the left's mounting frustration with Fox. It just seems so unfair that viewers like Fox but don't really want to watch Al Franken whine about Dick Cheney all day." -- Jonah Goldberg
"The California legislature announced that they have moved their state's presidential primary from June to February. When asked why, a California lawmaker said, ‘Because it's really fun to hear Governor Schwarzenegger try to say ‘February'." -- Conan O'Brien
"According to a recent poll, anti-American sentiment is running high in Mexico. Half of Mexico's population say they have a negative view of the United States and the other half are already here." -- Jay Leno
web posted March 12, 2007
"Conservatism is a grasp and understanding of the value of every human being and the fact that when they earn money, they should be able to keep as much of it as possible so they can gain independence. That's Reagan conservatism." -- former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore
"If we know anything about the Clintons it is this: They are incapable of taking the blame for any action -- personal, business, or political. Period. It is, has always has been, and will always be, someone else's fault." -- Rich Galen
"Nobody will out-mud the Clintons. You can't beat them tactically... They're too relentless, they're too well-organized... If they think [Barack Obama] is a real threat, they'll just grind him up." -- Newt Gingrich
"[T]he initial aim of campaign ‘reforms' was less the proclaimed purpose of combating corruption or ‘the appearance' thereof than it was to impede the entry of inconvenient candidates into presidential campaigns. In that sense, campaign reform is a government program that has actually worked, unfortunately." -- George Will
"Political correctness is not really about sensitivity and courtesy, which require mutual respect. Rather, political correctness entails intolerance for some prejudices but impunity for others." -- James Taranto
"There are no controversies over the historical claims of Islam, Judaism, or any other religious faith. But Christianity is another story. It is routinely the subject of sensationalistic TV exposès, complete with breathless claims about how Jesus ‘might be' the son of a Roman soldier, or he might have survived the Crucifixion. And now he's a dad, with kids." -- Brent Bozell
"[The American people should] really wake up and understand that they [the Bush administration] are liars and they are murderers." -- ABC's Joy Behar on "The View"
"['Don't Ask, Don't Tell'] doesn't just hurt gays and lesbians, it hurts all our troops and this to me is a matter of national security and we're going to fix it." -- Hillary Clinton
"I'm just saying if [Vice President Dick Cheney] did die, other people, more people would live. That's a fact." -- HBO's Bill Maher on the recent assassination attempt in Afghanistan
"They do the Carbon Emissions Offset? What is that -- a ‘60s dance craze? No, it's way hotter. I mean, cooler. All the movie stars are doing it. In fact, this year's Oscar goodie-bag that all the nominees get included a year's worth of carbon offsets. Totally free. So even the stars' offsets are offset. No wonder that, when they're off the set, they all do the offset." -- Mark Steyn
"Fame has nothing to do with intelligence. Isn't that made clear every time most Hollywood actors open their yaps?" -- Tom Purcell
"Wal-Mart says it classifies its customers into three groups: brand aspirationals, price sensitive affluents, and value-price shoppers. Wal-Mart says the new categories will replace the old customer classifications: teeth, or no teeth." -- Conan O'Brian
"John McCain announced for president on David Letterman's show Wednesday. However, his formal announcement isn't until April. These days if you want to run for president you have to clear it with the comedians before you run it by the public." -- Argus Hamilton
"C'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean." -- Ann Coulter, responding to the CPAC kerfuffle
"Prince Charles says he wants to ban McDonald's. He said banning McDonald's is the key to living a healthy lifestyle. Really? Why did he single out McDonald's? I think banning Dominos would make more sense. They deliver the junk food to your house. At least with McDonalds you have to get off your rear and walk to your car. Prince Charles says he wants to ban McDonald's to teach people that excess is bad. Who better to teach people that excess is bad than a guy who lives in a giant castle?" -- Jay Leno
web posted March 5, 2007
"Slowly bleeding our forces by defunding what our commanders think they need to win (the House approach) or rewording the authorization of the use of force so that lawyers decide what operations are to be launched (the Senate approach) is no way to fight a war. It is no way to end a war. It is a way to complicate the war and make it inherently unwinnable -- and to shirk the political responsibility for doing so." -- Charles Krauthammer
"[Hillary] Clinton has never gone after a fellow Democrat quite the way she's going after [Barack] Obama, and it's an indication of how threatened she is not only by his candidacy but, one suspects, his freshness. He makes her look like yesterday. He makes her look like the old slash-and-burn." -- Peggy Noonan
"So far, candidates have told us very little about where they think the world is headed and what we should do about it. And they've shown us little to indicate that they've thought seriously about governance and long-term problems like Social Security and Medicare." -- George Will
"For those with the wits to examine the history and science of climate, it is obvious that the global warmers are seeking to deceive whole nations and continents into the destruction of a thriving period of world trade and relative peace we call globalization. Short range, this is occurring today in the Congress of the United States. It must not be allowed to happen and those behind it should be driven from public office at the earliest possible moment." -- Alan Caruba
"A primary job of the federal government is to unify Americans. Besides being our native tongue, English is the language of commerce worldwide. Every student should be able to speak it fluently. That's the only way to ensure that no child gets left behind." -- Ed Feulner
"[David] Geffen was on to something with his passing mention of the fact that Obama is not from ‘the Bush royal family' or the ‘Clinton royal family.' Regardless of what you think of Bill Clinton's presidency, or his wife's talent, the dynastic aspect of Hillary Clinton's candidacy is an issue that will increasingly come to occupy center stage in this campaign. Is the country prepared to be governed, potentially, for 28 years by two families who alternate turns in the White House? The Clinton campaign appears unwilling to acknowledge this concern. The candidate likes talking to audiences about whether the nation is ready for a female president. But the question of whether the country is ready to perpetuate the dueling-family reign by voting in the former president's spouse is disingenuously left off the table." -- Los Angeles Times
"Incredible as it may seem, Al Gore is not only totally carbon neutral, but geek-chic cool. No velvet rope can stop him. He rolls with Diddy. He is on first-name basis, for real, with Ludacris." -- Washington Post reporter William Booth under the headline "Oscar Hopeful May Be America's Coolest Ex-Vice President Ever"
"The train of the Iranian nation is without brakes and a rear gear." -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad
"Last month, Sen. Barack Obama called for our troops to leave Iraq by March 2008. Last weekend, Sen. Hillary Clinton called for our troops to start leaving within 90 days. In this Demented Demagogic Democratic Destruction Derby (military status: 5F) of American national security interests, I suppose former Sen. John Edwards, in an effort to hold on to his title of supremo anti-war candidate, will have to designate it a crime against humanity that the troops weren't pulled out a week ago last Friday." -- Tony Blankley
"America is now five years on from an... extraordinary event. How have the private and public sectors responded? With longer lines at the airport and the cutting-edge technological innovation of making you bend down and remove your shoes (and even your gel-filled bra) while bored officials wander up the line barking incomprehensible lists of prohibited fluids: that would be a state-of-the-art system for boarding the Mayflower." -- Mark Steyn
"Tom Vilsack has dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, the Associated Press reports. A stunned nation has only begun to grapple with questions such as: Tom Vilsack was running for president? And: Tom who?" -- James Taranto
"When one embarks upon a mission to eliminate speech codes from college campuses it's tough to know where to start. Some codes ban speech that is merely ‘offensive.' Some ban speech that is ‘maligning.' Others ban speech that ‘challenges.' Imagine a college that guarantees a four-year education without any fear of being challenged. It's as easy as imagining a worthless college education." -- Mike Adams
"It looks like Hollywood is starting to turn on Hillary Clinton. Hollywood mogul David Geffen -- he's given huge amounts to the Clintons -- [said] that Hillary Clinton is too scripted, that Bill Clinton is reckless, and both of the Clintons lie so easily it's troubling. Bad scripts, reckless behavior, and lying -- thank God that kind of thing can never happen here in Hollywood!" -- Jay Leno
web posted February 26, 2007
"George Washington's long struggle for freedom has also inspired generations of Americans to stand for freedom in their own time. Today, we're fighting a new war to defend our liberty and our people and our way of life. And as we work to advance the cause of freedom around the world, we remember that the father of our country believed that the freedoms we secured in our revolution were not meant for Americans alone." -- U.S. President George W. Bush
"The pain inflicted by your country's indifference is ten-fold that inflicted by your ruthless captors... Debating non-binding resolutions aimed at earning political points only destroys morale, stymies success and emboldens the enemy." -- Rep. Sam Johnson
"Are the lives of courageous young American volunteers... worth so little to our Congress that they would ignore our peril for perverse personal political profit?" -- Oliver North
"I do not condemn Clinton and other Democratic presidential candidates -- Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and John Edwards -- for voting for the war because I would have done the same. I fault them, though, for passing the blame to Bush as the guy who misled them. They all had sufficient knowledge to question the administration's arguments, and they did not do so." -- Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen
"There was one refreshing aspect to [Barack] Obama's announcement: It was nice to see a man call a press conference this week to announce something other than he was the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby." -- Ann Coulter
"Of course, we wouldn't need oil at all if there were a law mandating that auto makers manufacture perpetual-motion machines!" -- James Taranto
"It takes a lot more integrity, character, and courage to be a conservative than it does to be a liberal. That's because at its most basic level, liberalism is nothing more than childlike emotionalism applied to adult issues." -- John Hawkins
"[T]he punk cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has decided that discretion is the better part of mullahs and has temporarily relocated to Iran... It may be that his Persian vacation is only to marry a cousin or two and consult with the A-list ayatollahs, but the Mookster has always had highly sensitive antennae when it comes to his own physical security -- he likes being the guy who urges martyrdom on others rather than being just another schmuck who takes one for the team." -- Mark Steyn
"Silly sensitivity has displaced intellectual honesty in American education. We've produced a generation with no sense of national identity and little connection to the nation's collective memory. In the process, we've traded life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for fat, dumb and happy." -- Kathleen Parker
"Al-Qaida released another video tape from their number-two man. This one had a shocking revelation: 'The great Satan will soon taste unspeakable suffering from our hands. Oh, and by the way, I am the father of Anna Nicole's baby.'" -- Jay Leno
"Too often environmental-policy discussions assume that the only way to advance environmental values is to create a government program or adopt new regulations. The potential for private initiative to conserve environmental treasures is overlooked. Yet where private action is viable, it is often superior to government efforts." -- Case Western Law Professor Jonathan Adler
"Was life better when a sheet of ice a mile thick covered Chicago? Was it worse when Greenland was so warm that Vikings farmed there?" -- George Will