Quotes Archive

It's been said before but it is worth repeating a thousand times: if Hamas, Hezbollah, and most of the Arab states (and Iran) laid down their weapons tomorrow and forgot about their plans to dissolve Israel, there would be peace in the Middle East. The Israelis could forget about the fences and the Palestinians might one day have something approximating a Western standard of living. On the other hand, if Israel laid down its weapons tomorrow, the country would be utterly annihilated, the Israelis killed to the last man, woman, and child.

Gabriel Malor, at Ace of Spades HQ

Fred Thompson, on the state of the economy, and how to get out of it:

So this holiday season, be extra nice to the kids. Bless their hearts, they have no idea what's in store for them.

But of course, that's their problem.

I had my reasons — good ones — for leaving California in 2000. I never, however, put my thoughts together as concisely as this:

California is now a valuable touchstone to the country, a warning of what not to do. Rarely has a single generation inherited so much natural wealth and bounty from the investment and hard work of those more noble now resting in our cemeteries — and squandered that gift within a generation.

Victor Davis Hanson, Ten Random, Politically Incorrect Thoughts.

(Via Reynolds.)

Subtitled "Joe Explains It All":

It is not your money.

Rep. Joe Knollenberg, Republican of Michigan, inadvertently explaining why the GOP lost big in 2006 and 2008.

It's time, I would say, for a RINO hunt.

(Via Hot Air.)

About last night's Obama infomercial:

All Sham, No Wow.

Headline at Transterrestrial Musings.

Sarah Palin:

I guess the looming crisis that most worries the Obama campaign right now is Joe Biden’s next speaking engagement.

Via The Corner at NRO

Just floating a random notion here. I've only had one cup of coffee so far, so maybe I'm not fully functional.... (Hey, give me a break. It's my day off, I slept late. So sue me.)

Biden said, "Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy...."

It occurred to me, in my pre-caffeinated condition, to wonder about that wording.

The cynic in me wonders if "generated" could equal "manufactured," as in a Canadian Bacon scenario, designed to boost support of an Obama presidency, particularly among those of us on the Right who stereotypically might be expected to toss aside partisan squabbles to support the nation's leadership in times of international crisis.

Would a foreign leader be willing to cooperate? I don't know. Sure, Obama has had a lot of support from overseas, but I think the real reason for that support is that a lot of people overseas would dearly love to see the U.S. weakened by an ineffectual president. They want us to be dragged down to their level — which is exactly what would result from the implementation of the Democrats' plans for America.

They envy America's greatness, are unwilling to emulate those qualities that made us great, and, like jackals around a lion, would love nothing more than for us to be brought low.

Maybe I should have another cup of coffee and something to eat.

Plus, the lathe beckons.

Update: Iowahawk brings the funny.

And there's now a Palin video at Hot Air.

A "Joe" moment at a McCain rally:

"I was born in Colombia, but I was made in the U.S.A."

McCain-supporting construction worker Tito Munoz, as reported by Byron York at National Review Online. Great article — read the whole thing.

On the financial crisis:

Extraordinary crises sometimes require extraordinary measures. The danger is that the extraordinary could become merely ordinary.

Confederate Yankee:

If Bill Ayer's hands were any further up Barack Obama's backside, we'd have to change the Senator's name to Lambchop.

^(Bumped.)

John McCain takes off the gloves:

My opponent's touchiness every time he's questioned about his record should only make us more concerned.

For a guy who's already authored two memoirs, he's not exactly an open book.

Today's campaign speech; video at Ace's.

"Racist!" says the AP. "Up yours," says the McCain campaign:

Americans need to ask themselves if they’ve ever befriended an unrepentant terrorist, or had a convicted felon help them buy their house — because those aren’t smears, those are true facts about Barack Obama.

Tucker Bounds, McCain-Palin spokesman

Once again, it's Bill Whittle, at National Review Online:

Every decision we make is based on a risk/reward calculation. If we take away the consequences of risky behavior, we will see more of it. And if there’s a money-back guarantee for greedy and stupid decisions, we’re in real trouble, because there is only so much money in the bank but supplies of greed and stupidity are endless.

I wish I had his way with words.

On elitism in politicians:

Harvard isn't the answer - Harvard's the problem.

On civilization:

[T]ime and time again, the good and decent common people have manned the walls of the city, and have been ready to give their lives in its defense, only to discover too late that some silk-robed son of a bitch has snuck out of the palace at midnight and thrown open the gates to the barbarians outside.

Glenn Reynolds:

A document so innocuous that, even though it comes from CBS, I doubt it was faked . . . .

At least, I think that's what the kids are saying these days.

Dreamy:

Four times.

On pragmatism:

For the Democrats, it's not about the welfare of the people but about keeping their jobs and about staying in line with their capricious candidate whose positions change with the wind--a wind so apparently strong that it ought to be considered an alternative energy source.

On Hillary Clinton's appearance during the DNC roll call vote to nominate the Obamessiah:

She looks so happy she could s**t a chainsaw.

Jonah Goldberg, on the Senator from Delaware, Joseph Biden:

The man loves his voice so much, you'd expect him to be following it around in a grey Buick, in defiance of restraining order, as it walks home from school.

Mr. Goldberg has additional thoughts on the Senator, in a post entitled "Biden's Brains." Worth reading.

[Originally posted 14Sept05.]

^{[Bumped and promoted to quote of the month because... well, you'll know soon enough if you don't already.]}

Gravitas isn't enough:

Biden is essentially a buffoon. He's quick on his feet. He's slick. He can put on a good dog and pony show. But if the answer to "who you gonna call" is "Joe Biden" you may be asking the wrong question. The truth is that a guy like Sam Nunn has pieces of guys like Joe Biden in his foreign policy stool.

8/23 addendum: Joe Biden couldn't carry my foreign policy jock.

Maybe it'll give Obama a chance to be competetive in Delaware.

I wonder: how will the PUMAs react?

More: Mickey Kaus: "He doesn't have gravitas. He has seniority."

Blog reactions at Stop the ACLU (STACLU).

Still more: discussing the Hillary! crowd reaction, Allahpundit provides a Quote of the Day:

The only way this could be more awesomely awesome is if it involved robots.

Ace:

Sometimes "Never Again" just means "Not Until It's Our Turn."

Steve H., at Hog on Ice:

It's funny; the hippies call the earth--an inanimate object--"Gaia," and they claim it's our mother, and that it wants to take care of us. The truth is that the earth has been working hard to kill us since the dawn of time, and it succeeds in numbers that would make Hitler and Stalin and Mao weep with admiration.

Maybe once or twice, sure. I wasn't always an angelic son. But she had her chance to do me in while she was here tending me, and didn't take it, so I presume I'm now safe.

On discourse and debate:

I’ll never understand how anyone can regard being disgusted as no better than being disgusting.

About our saviour Barack Obama's plane troubles yesterday:

If it were a boat, he could get out and walk to safety.

Patrick Henry:

The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.

In FrankJ's world, Supreme Court Justice Antonin "Tony the Bull" Scalia renders a slightly more forceful opinion in D.C v Heller:

The issue of incorporation was not brought before the Court, but our next step will be to grab our guns, form a posse, and head to Chicago. The citizens are disarmed, so they will be easy pickings and their stereos will become mine. See the barrel of my gun. I shall kill Mayor Daley and place his head upon a pike in the town square as an example to others. Usually the execution of laws falls on the Executive Branch, but I have the summer off and it sounds like fun.

Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit:

When the stormtroopers wear clown shoes instead of jackboots, it's easy to forget that they're still stormtroopers.

Glenn Reynolds:

I can think of no better reason to vote against Obama than the prospect of an administration where any criticism of the President is treated as racism.

I can think of a few other reasons, myself. But that's a pretty good one.

John Hinderaker, at Powerline:

There's a sucker born every minute...

... but a sucker like Jimmy Carter comes along only once or twice in a century.

If he'd stuck to building houses for the poor, he might have been forgiven for being the worst President we've ever had. Until a few years ago, I was certainly prepared to let him off with a wrist-slapping. Now? Not only is he the worst President we've ever had, he's the worst ex-President, too. Quite an accomplishment.

Best ex-President ever? I'm undecided, but I'd consider Herbert Hoover, if for no other reason than his creation of the Hoover Institution.

Allapundit, at Hot Air:

There's something about an 81-year-old veteran and the phrase "And then I kicked him in the teeth" that's simply magical.

Follow the link to see the video of the news report.

His Imperial Rottiness, on helplessness:

Remember: When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

On firearm ownership:

The next time someone asks me what I'm compensatin' for, I think I'm gonna tell 'em, "The fact that I can't throw a rock at 1400 feet per second."

The Pistolero, via Steve H.

Patterico:

I’d like to think that maybe the spirit of Dred Scott really was hovering over his pen — whispering “I didn’t have a choice, but these people do”....

Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever.

Parts one and three of that quote (source) are pretty much true.

How about part two?

Chicks: I'm totally available. Ignore the thinning thin hair. Unless you think it's the sign of an exceptionally active brain, in which case, by all means, pay attention.

Just don't expect me to take you dancing quite yet.

Actually, it's from last week Wednesday....

So last Sunday I did something against doctors orders: I read the New York Times. On the front page - a piece on American war veterans. The Times says they're all homicidal maniacs, committing up to 121 murders total, stateside. But this is the Times, of course - so you know what they leave out is always more important than what they leave in. I'm talking context. Oh - and a soul.

In the New York Post, writer Andy Solstis, along with other bloggers, point out that the murder rate for returning vets is only one-fifth of that of young Americans who did not fight. The take home message: if you want to make peace, make warriors.

Greg Gutfeld, in his nightly Gregalogue.

You're Tivoing/DVRing Red Eye, right?

Tanker at Mostly Cajun, in the latest installment of "The Name Game," notes:

No, people, exactly what are you supposed to do when you come to an apostrophe in a name? Stop and hiccup? Stomp your foot for emphasis? Ring a tiny little bell?

The late great Victor Borge would have instinctively known what to do.

On Hillary!'s propensity for gathering campaign funds:

The thing about donations from the Chinese is that no matter how much you get, you'll want more an hour later.

Snark:

A word of advice: People who live in glass dunce caps shouldn't throw stones. Or, you know, those snub-nosed scissors gradeschoolers are always using.

Via Tim Blair:

"They’re probably going to use it to commemorate the day they expelled Greenpeace from the town,” he added.

Rachel Lucas:

I am in love with any article that uses the words ‘melee’ and ‘buttocks’ . . .

The late D. James Kennedy, former Chaplain of the Senate.

But for those for whom the very mention of Christ is an offense, I sometimes feel that what I would like to say is: Dear friend, in case you haven't noticed, in America over two hundred years ago, we gave up any supposed "right not to be offended by anything anybody might say" when we accepted the right of Freedom of Speech.

You can't have both. You've got to choose one or the other; and if everything offends you then I would suggest you're in the wrong place. You ought to pack up your offense and ship it off to China... and leave us alone.

Er... maybe not so much.

"There is only one plausible answer: Ours is a just and decent God."

Apropos of nothing....

The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men.

Even though America is a happy place, there are still some unhappy people here. They are unhappy that the president stole an election and that the government is spying on their phone. That's how happy America is: In other countries, people have real things to be unhappy about, but in America you have to make things up to be unhappy about.

The inimitable Frank J., in "A Happy Editorial About America"

See also Eiland's Theory of Compensatory Misery.

Nehring, on The Simpsons:

Think of it this way, it takes less people to crew ships into space than to write jokes about Homer poking himself in the eye with a hammer.

Heh.

Dennis Miller, on Senator Harry Reid, D-NV:

I think that he believes that getting his negative comments in early could be the one chance that a non-entity like he has at a place in history. His is a mediocre man's Thermopylae.

Go see the whole rant. It truly is a thing of beauty.

Spotted earlier this week... Jeff Foxworthy, on why he loves country music:

It doesn't take political sides, even on things as ugly as war. Instead, it celebrates the brave men and women who go to fight them, the price they pay to do it, and the longing we have for them to return home to the ones that they love.

Country music doesn't have to be politically correct. We sing about God because we believe in Him. We're not trying to offend anybody, but the evidence we have seen of Him in our small little lives trumps your opinion about whether or not He exists.

You can call us rednecks if you want. We're not offended, 'cause we know what we're all about. We get up and go to work, we get up and go to church, and we get up and go to war when necessary.

I do believe I need to listen to more country music.

Now go over and catch the whole video at Hot Air.