Political quote

"Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks."
~Doug Larson (English middle-distance runner who won gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, 1902-1981)

Good words

In "Conservative Thought," an unjustly neglected essay from 1927, Karl Mannheim argued that conservatives have never been wild about the idea of freedom. It threatens the submission of subordinate to superior.

--Corey Robin's, in an essay he did in 2008 for The Nation, Out of Place

A glimmer of hope for progressives?

WASHINGTON -- As the economy worsens, President Obama and his senior aides are considering whether to adopt a more combative approach on economic issues, seeking to highlight substantive differences with Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail rather than continuing to pursue elusive compromises, advisers to the president say.

-- from "White House Debates Fight on Economy" by Binyamin Appelbaum and Helene Cooper, in today's NYT

 

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Quotable quote

It's sad that we, the American people, tolerate all of this. From the TSA fondling people at the airport to the Wars that make us less safe as a country. America's bravest and best go to die in a far off land when the real enemies of the Constitution are here at home

- Adam Kokesh

Qutoable quote

"'The party of Lincoln and Liberty was transmogrified into the party of hairy-backed swamp developers and corporate shills, faith-based economists, fundamentalist bullies with Bibles, Christians of convenience, freelance racists, misanthropic frat boys, shrieking midgets of AM radio, tax cheats, nihilists in golf pants, brownshirts in pinstripes, sweatshop tycoons. ... Republicans: The No. 1 reason the rest of the world thinks we're deaf, dumb, and dangerous."

-- Garrison Keillor, from "We're Not
in Lake Wobegon Anymore"

Qutoable quote

"Speaker of the House John Boehner, appearing alongside Rep. Ryan, offered these words of praise for the Wisconsin congressman: 'Preachers like Harold Camping go around predicting the end of the world, but it’s guys like Paul Ryan who do the hard work of making it happen.'”

-- from today's Borowitz Report

Political funny

"Rudy Giuliani is apparently thinking about running for president. Wow, that would bring us to, like, seven candidates and about 35 ex-wives."
---Jimmy Fallon

Well said

The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities. When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horror of warfare but almost impossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely.
---By BOB HERBERT

Bill Maher - spot on

"Conspiracy theorists who are claiming that we didn't really kill bin Laden must be reminded that they didn't think he did the crime in the first place. Come on, nut jobs, keep your bullshit straight: The towers were brought down in a controlled demolition by George W. Bush to distract attention from Hawaii, where CIA operatives were planting phony birth records so that a Kenyan named Barack Obama could someday rise to power and pretend to take out the guy we pretended took out the towers. And I know that's true because I just got it in an email from Trump."
---Bill Maher

JKG on conservatives...

John Kenneth Galbraith famously said that "the modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."

Barack Obama on Tim Pawlenty

"Tim Pawlenty is not here---he’s hard on the campaign trail. To be honest, I think the American people are going to have some tough questions for Tim. Specifically: who are you and where did you come from? Which is okay---two years into my presidency and I’m still getting those questions."
---President Obama at the Gridiorn Dinner

Good words - Socialism

"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." 
--John Steinbeck

Important observation...

Ever notice how
its the countries
with the least bacon
that are always rioting?


Seen on Bits and Pieces...

Well said...

"It’s clear at this point that America is only the shell of a democracy, and instead is run by a self-perpetuating oligopoly whose only law, whose only imperative, is its own survival and aggrandizement."

-- Ian Welsh, in his blogpost "An American Future"

Good Words

There is just one thing I haven’t been able to figure out yet.  How many more groups of people does the Republican Party have to hate before its members finally call for a new platform?  Those signs they carry at their rallies are getting pretty full.  The print will have to be pretty small at the next Beck rally to fit God Hates Gays, Jews, Blacks, Muslims, Clinton (him and her), the Liberal Media, Obama, Pelosi, French Fries, Activists Judges, Environmentalists, Feminists, Mexicans,  and small puppies.  Maybe they can just print up a sign that simply says God Hates Everyone Who Isn’t  Like Me.

From Margaret and Helen's Blog

Well Said

Maureen Dowd:

As McCain pal and Republican strategist Mike Murphy so sagely observed recently: "If Sarah Palin looked like Golda Meir, would we even be talking about her today?"

Well said, David

Cheney accused Obama of setting a 'terrible precedent.'
Which is not to be confused with George W. Bush, who was a terrible president. That's a different deal.

~ David Letterman,

It's Probably True

"There is a hate layer of opinion and emotion in America. There will be other McCarthys to come who will be hailed as its heroes."

Max Lerner