From the MacIver Institute: "Dr. Ben Carson Rallies Crowd of More Than 2,500 in Waukesha"
Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon at John Hopkins University, spoke at an Americans for Prosperity Foundation-Wisconsin event on Thursday night that was attended by more than 2,500 people. Carson touched on items like fiscal responsibility, healthcare, and upholding the Constitution. This stop was just one of many as Carson travels the United States after he gained national attention at the President's prayer breakfast in February.
In addition to Dr. Carson's inspiring remarks, this is worth noting:
Thursday night's event was hosted by Americans for Prosperity, which now counts over 130,000 members in Wisconsin alone. According to AFP-Wisconsin's state director, that's more than double the membership of the state's teachers' union and AFSCME combined.
We don't have to let the unions push us around.
I don't think conservatives realize how much strength we have. We tend to back off. That's a mistake.
The Democrats are shameless. They've launched a fundraising effort that uses their own IRS scandal, abuse of power, and practice of targeting conservatives. There's something especially twisted about that.
The Tea Party is once again being demonized by Democrats.
Email from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee:
Mary — Look who’s back...
1. New Poll: Tea Party favorability up 14 points (Rasmussen, 5/22)
2. Washington Times: Tea Party reports “spike in contributions”
To put it bluntly: The Tea Party’s revival puts the Democratic Senate -- and President Obama’s entire agenda -- at risk.
With Tea Party fundraising on the rise, it’s critical that we have the resources to respond.
You might think the election is too far away for this to matter. The fact is, this is one of the most critical times in the election.
The Republican sweep that gave the House to Boehner and Cantor in 2010 started with Tea Party fundraising spikes just like this. That's why we must protect the Senate from a Republican takeover right now, and we need your help today to do it.
Can you pitch in $3 before the FEC deadline in just 36 hours?
With your help, we can prevent the Democratic Senate from looking like the Tea Party House. Last year, you helped in the $145 million effort to successfully fend off a Republican Senate takeover.
With the Koch brothers and Karl Rove willing spend whatever it takes to buy the Senate, stopping them again will cost even more. To stay on track, we still need $150,000 before tomorrow’s FEC deadline.
With a Tea Party resurgence underway, we simply can’t get there without you.
Can you pitch in $3 before the FEC deadline? Remember: Just 36 hours left!
Thanks for your help,
Patrick McHugh
"Tea Party." "Koch brothers." "Karl Rove."
Good grief.
The Leftists count on their minions being stupid. Their power is grounded in the abject stupidity of their supporters, blindly following their lies and silly scare tactics.
Why are we seeing spikes in Tea Party fundraising right now?
In part, it has to be because the groups have been singled out for harassment by Obama's team. The power of the U.S. government is being abused, targeting citizens for their political beliefs.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
The Tea Party is not the real threat to this country and our freedom.
The real threat to our liberty is Obama and those of his Big Government ilk.
Senator Rand Paul will deliver the Reagan Forum on Friday, May 31, 2013. Dr. Rand Paul is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. Elected in 2010, he has proven to be an outspoken champion for constitutional liberties and fiscal responsibility, and a warrior against government overreach.
When I see headlines referring to Attorney General Eric Holder (Obama's right-hand liar or, if you wish, misleader, perjurer, hitman, etc.) as the "AG," I think of the AG products building at the Wisconsin State Fair.
Grilled Cheese, baked potatoes, maple cotton candy, Usinger brats on pretzel buns with kraut, ice cream sundaes, dried cranberries dipped in dark chocolate on a stick--
Attorney General Eric Holder's plans to sit down with media representatives to discuss guidelines for handling investigations into leaks to the news media have run into trouble.
The Associated Press issued a statement Wednesday objecting to plans for the meetings to be off the record. "If it is not on the record, AP will not attend and instead will offer our views on how the regulations should be updated in an open letter," said Erin Madigan White, the AP's media relations manager.
The New York Times is taking the same position. "It isn't appropriate for us to attend an off-the-record meeting with the attorney general," executive editor Jill Abramson said in a statement.
Like the New York Times and the Associated Press, CNN will decline the invitation for an off-the-record meeting. A CNN spokesperson says if the meeting with the attorney general is on the record, CNN would plan to participate.
The Huffington Post's Washington bureau chief, Ryan Grim, also said he will not attend unless the meeting is on the record. "A conversation specifically about the freedom of the press should be an open one. We have a responsibility not to betray that," Grim told CNN.
It is absurd to have a meeting about freedom of the press that is off-the-record.
It's especially ridiculous to publicize the meeting.
The Obama administration is fumbling like crazy.
Do the Leftist media deserve credit for refusing to be lapdogs for Obama?
Too soon to tell if they will show some real independence and quit the disgrace of being an arm of the Obama administration.
The Leftist media may soon return to the cozy confines of Obama's lap.
My good buddy Barack sent me the following email, subject line "Hey":
Mary --
1,332 days. That's how many days I have left as president.
If you factor in the political circus around the midterm elections and eventually the next presidential campaign getting started, the days to focus Congress and the media on the work that needs doing are even fewer.
My administration can do many things at once: Right now, public servants are doing everything from helping people find jobs, to researching cures, to keeping us safe. And you and people like you across the country can mobilize around many issues at once -- immigration reform, gun safety, climate change, marriage equality.
But here's the thing: Our opponents know that Congress and the media tend to focus on one thing at a time.
More importantly, they know that if they can amplify or invent anything that distracts from our agenda, that's one more day burned off the clock.
That's their strategy. Ours must be to not get distracted. The stakes are too high, and the time is too short.
Say you're in today:
http://my.barackobama.com/Are-You-In
Thank you,
Barack
1,332 days.
That's not good, but it's better than 1,333.
I think it's offensive that Obama considers Benghazi and his IRS scandal and his AP/James Rosen records scandal to be invented distractions.
The House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath during his May 15 testimony on the Justice Department’s (DOJ) surveillance of reporters.
The panel is looking at a statement Holder made during a back-and-forth with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) about whether the DOJ could prosecute reporters under the Espionage Act of 1917, an aide close to the matter told The Hill.
“In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material — this is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy,” Holder said during the hearing.
However, NBC News reported the following week that Holder personally approved a search warrant that labeled Fox News chief Washington correspondent James Rosen a co-conspirator in a national security leaks case.
...Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (Wis.), the second-ranking Judiciary Committee Republican, told The Hill that Holder should resign.
He accused the attorney general of misleading the panel during the investigation of the “Fast and Furious” gun-walking operation, and again when he claimed to not know about the AP probe.
“As we saw in Fast and Furious and are seeing now, Attorney General Holder refuses to hold himself accountable,” Sensenbrenner said. “He misled the Judiciary Committee under oath when he said he had not heard about Fast and Furious and he misled us again when he claimed to be unaware of the AP scandal. The head of DOJ should be someone the American people can trust. Attorney General Holder should resign.”
There's no way Holder would resign or Obama would pressure him to leave if criticism is coming only from Republicans.
However, it appears that Holder may be in trouble, given that the outcry now includes Leftist politicians and media outlets.
The Republican criticism of Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department -- first, over the failed Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation and now, the subpoena of reporters’ phone and email records -- is growing to include outcry from liberal media outlets and Democrats.
“It seems to me clear that the actions of the department have in fact impaired the First Amendment,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said earlier this month. “Reporters who might have previously believed that a confidential source would speak to them would no longer have that level of confidence.”
The congresswoman has been joined in her concerns by Democratic commentators and the liberal-leaning Huffington Post, which recently ran a giant headline saying it’s time for Holder to go.
If the Leftists don't join forces with the Republicans on this one, then they are granting Obama and his team unbridled power to trample on our rights and acknowledging their complete lack of respect for the Constitution.
JAY LENO: In a video where Anthony Weiner announced he was running for mayor of New York, he accidentally used a picture of the Pittsburgh skyline on his website instead of Manhattan. That's not all. It doesn't stop there. Remember those pictures he tweeted of his penis? It wasn't his. It was Brett Favre's.
JAY LENO: President Obama says he is renewing efforts to close Guantanamo Bay, which he's been trying to do for five years. You know, if he really wants to close it, turn it into a government-funded solar power company. The doors will be shut in a month. The whole thing will collapse.
JAY LENO: According to the Boston Globe, Michelle Obama and her daughters will stay on Martha's Vineyard for the summer. You can tell President Obama is getting a little defensive. Like when a reporter asked him about the trip, he said he had no prior knowledge of the vacation. He just learned about it through the media.
Yesterday, Mark Belling brought a bizarre activity occuring at a Milwaukee Public School to the attention of his audience.
It's happening at Tippecanoe School, an elementary school on the south side of Milwaukee. Previously located on Howard Avenue, Tippecanoe now occupies the old Fritsche Middle School facility on Howell Avenue.
The student population includes children in K4 through 8th grade.
Today is a special day at the school. It's GENDER BENDER DAY!
This week's packet listed a new name for the day after some parents complained about Gender Bender Day.
Now, it's "Switch It Up Day," but other than the name, nothing has changed.
The male students are supposed to dress like girls and the females students are supposed to dress like boys.
It's a "School Spirit Day" activity.
Belling called Principal Jeffrey W. Krupar to discuss the event, but Krupar wasn't available. When Belling called MPS, the official school district spokesperson said simply the event is voluntary and being done for school spirit. Belling asked if the superintendent thinks it's appropriate in a school setting for children of this age to be cross-dressing. He didn't get an answer.
I really don't see how this activity promotes school spirit. I also don't think it's about fun. I think it's inviting ridicule and sanctioning a day of bullying.
It appears the faculty didn't think this through. They don't seem to have considered all the possible consequences. It seems very insensitive to subject kids who are regularly targeted by bullies to a situation that might heighten the problem.
Aside from the bullying possibility and the potential awkwardness for some kids, I have a problem with the event's original name. GENDER BENDER DAY?
Gender bender is defined as a person who dresses and behaves like a member of the opposite sex.
The term's usage, however, is bit more charged than that.
A function at which the gender roles are reversed, or manipulated in various ways. Also, a person who explores the boundaries of gender roles, or outright denies their existance
"I went to this great gender bender last night, where I met this kick ass guy, at least I thought so because of his skirt."
2. gender bender
A gender bender is a person who seeks to define gender expression outside of the binary terms of man and woman.
This person may express their gender in a variety of ways such as cross-dressing and not adhereing to stereotypical, traditional, and/or cultural ideals and practices for their gender.
The person often believes in the thought system of gender and sex being separate. A person can be one sex, but express a gender that is usually not associated with that sex.
May also use gender neutral pronouns such as ze and hir.
Explore the concepts of femininity and masculinity with freedom.
Alex is a gender bender. Ze likes to play around with gender expression through clothes, hair styles, and attitudes. Ze doesn't let anyone define what hir gender is.
I can't believe every teacher at Tippecanoe was unaware of what "gender bender" entails. I don't believe they all thought the term means nothing more than wearing a costume. Some, if not all, had to know that it doesn't just refer to what would be an innocent bit of Halloween-type play for children. Is this really about school spirit, or is there an agenda being pushed on the kids?
It's an inappropriate activity for the students. It could be confusing for the little ones and embarrassing. Do you think a first grade boy would want to put on a skirt and wear it to school?
The older students might dread the day from the bullying aspect of it.
Rather than boosting spirit, it could be a day of hell for some kids. Refusing to participate or not going to school at all wouldn't spare a child ridicule. Some are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Moreover, there could be junior high kids at Tippecanoe, 7th and 8th graders, who are discovering around now that they want to cross-dress. Making a joke out of that lifestyle choice demeans them.
The GENDER BENDER event has to be a problem for at least some of the students.
I feel sorry for the kids and families having to deal with it. It's all so unnecessary.
__________________
Listen to Mark Belling's discussion of the topic on his Thursday program.
JAY LENO: Not looking good for President Obama. Today, his teleprompter took the Fifth. That's a bad sign. In fact, they've changed their slogan from 'yes we can' to 'no I can't remember, I'm sorry.'
Well, the latest scandal in Washington, of course, is raising questions about the IRS. You know, I have a question. Why is it called the Internal Revenue Service? How is having your money confiscated a service? Really? 'Oh, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.'
Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland said that he worries the IRS scandal might have a chlling effect on the IRS and that they might be afraid to audit people. So, finally, some good is coming out of all of this! Thank you very much. Thank you.
I guess TIME magazine found a picture of President Obama at his high school prom back in 1979. Show the picture. I love this picture. Look at that.
What is that weed around his neck? I'm curious.
The theme of the prom was 'Hope and change out of that dress into something more comfortable.'
See, that was back in 1979. Let me tell you how long ago that was. Back then, Obama had to ask a girl for her phone number. He couldn't illegally obtain it through the Justice Department. You had to ask the girl.
JAY LENO: I'm sure you know by now Anthony Weiner, the peter tweeter - you know that whole story - well, he announced he is running for mayor of New York City. But he's having some problems. A lot of Democrats are distancing themselves from him. They say he doesn't represent the party. What are they talking about? Doesn't represent the party? Every day, the White House gets caught with their pants down. He couldn't be more representative of the party.
JAY LENO: White House officials continue to insist that President Obama knew nothing about the IRS scandal until we all heard about it in the news last week. They said because there was an investigation underway it would have been inappropriate to tell him. And besides, he was too busy not knowing anything about Benghazi to not know anything about this...
So, the president didn't know about Benghazi, didn't know about the IRS scandal, didn't know about the AP scandal. Do you know what this means? They took 'don't ask, don't tell' out of the Pentagon and moved it into the White House.
A woman named Lois Lerner, she is head of the tax-exempt organization division of the IRS, she testified before a congressional committee earlier today. She pled the Fifth and refused to answer questions. Somebody from the IRS refusing to answer questions... You know, we should deadline her. We should tell her she needs her answers in writing by some specific date, like, oh, maybe April 15th! Maybe that's a good date. And then, maybe charge her a penalty for every day that she's late.
____________________
Jimmy Fallon continues his comedy blackout of Obama's trio of major scandals. Instead of even remotely touching on this big news in the country, what everyone is talking about, Fallon started his monologue with a lame 'Joe Biden is an idiot' joke. JOE BIDEN!
When you refuse to testify by invoking your Fifth Amendment rights, doesn't that mean you don't make remarks related to the case?
At the IRS scandal hearings yesterday, Lois Lerner decided she could proclaim herself innocent of all wrongdoing and comment on a document, as well as declare herself to be a model government employee and servant of the people.
Lois G. Lerner, who led the IRS tax-exempt unit at the center of the scandal, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during an appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, saying that members of the panel had already falsely accused her of providing false information to Congress.
“I have not done anything wrong,” she said. “I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations. And I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee.”
On the advice of counsel, she said, she would not answer further questions.
Before dismissing her, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), asked Lerner to review a transcript of an interview she gave to the Treasury Department watchdog as part of an investigation into the matter. Lerner confirmed the contents of the document but declined to answer further questions.
Issa then dismissed Lerner and her attorney against the objections of Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who said that Lerner had waived her right to invoke the Fifth Amendment by making an opening statement.
“She ought to stand here and answer our questions,” he added later as people in the audience applauded.
When the hearing concluded six hours later, Issa announced that he might recall Lerner before the committee and review whether she waived her Fifth Amendment rights by giving an opening statement and answering questions about the document.
Accordingly, Issa said the hearing “stands in recess, not adjourned.”
...Lerner’s lawyer, William W. Taylor, adamantly disagreed with suggestions that his client had opened herself up to contempt charges.
“The law is clear that a witness does not waive her Fifth Amendment rights not to testify as to facts by asserting that she is innocent of the wrongdoing with which she is accused,” Taylor wrote in an e-mail
Stanley M. Brand, who has represented several clients who faced congressional scrutiny, agreed that Lerner did not provide “a waiver” for lawmakers to ask her questions.
“The question would be whether she made statements about the factual substance of the subject, but courts will be loath to divest someone of their rights absent a clear and unequivocal waiver,” Brand wrote in an e-mail.
Here's video of Lerner testifying on her behalf, or not:
Did Lerner waive her Fifth Amendment rights when she made her speech?
That's for lawyers and lawmakers to argue.
Kind of funny that there is discussion about protecting Lerner's rights during an investigation about the rights of conservatives being so flagrantly violated.
What's clear is that Lerner's decision not to answer questions about the IRS abuses isn't helping Obama get beyond this scandal.
This is part of a pattern. A picture of Obama fully engaged during times of crisis is shared via Twitter, either from White House photographer Pete Souza or the White House itself.
Obama was quick to release photos of himself "at work" in response to the Boston Marathon bombings. In fact, he released two photos. View the photos here and here.
JAY LENO: President Obama gave a commencement address at Morehouse College over the weekend - great speech, very inspiring. He told the young graduates 'your future is bright,' unless of course they want jobs, then they're totally screwed. But other than that...
Michelle Obama also gave a commencement address at a high school in Nashville, Tennessee. The first lady said about her husband, she said, 'I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures.' And today she was offered her own show on FOX News. So how about that? It's amazing! Amazing!
A Chicago man has set a new Guinness Book World Record for the longest Ferris Wheel ride. He went to 48 hours, 48 hours straight riding the Ferris Wheel at Chicago's Navy Pier. About the only other way to go around and around in a circle that many times is to read the official report on Benghazi. That's about the only way to go around and around.
The White House has admitted that President Obama's Chief of Staff had advance warning the IRS was targeting conservative groups but never told the president. Well, President Obama says the first time he heard about the IRS scandal and the AP phone records scandal, the first time he about it was from the media. See that's why President Obama holds press conferences - not to explain what's going on, to find out what's going on.
A massive tornado at least a half mile-wide with 200 mph winds churned through Oklahoma City's suburbs Monday afternoon, killing at least 51 people including at least 20 children, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled inside.
Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office, said at least 51 people were killed and the death toll is expected to rise. At least twenty of dead were children, Elliot said.
The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, a community of 41,000 people about 10 miles south of Oklahoma City. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.
More than 120 people were being treated at hospitals, including about 50 children.
Search and rescue crews were looking for anyone who may be trapped in the rubble. Many land lines to stricken areas were down, and cell phone networks were congested. The storm was so massive that it will take time to establish communications between rescuers and state officials, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said.
This is catastrophic. It's devastating. It's heartbreaking.
Anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that death and destruction accompany an enormous tornado when it hits a populated area.
Lizz Winstead, Jon Stewart's Daily Show buddy, apparently doesn't have that ounce.
At approximately the same time [the deadly tornado] was bearing down to kill innocent people, Lizz Winstead, the co-creator of Jon Stewart's Daily Show, commented on Twitter, "This tornado is in Oklahoma so clearly it has been ordered to only target conservatives":
Those checking that link surely have found that this tweet has been scrubbed for Winstead, after getting heat, felt contrite:
Made a political joke, Twas before devastation revealed. In hindsight, had I understood, I would have refrained. Beyond sorry. #LetMeHaveIt
She's from Minnesota! She has no excuse for her tastelessness. Her ugly remark was not the result of ignorance. She understands what a tornado can mean for people in its path.
Winstead's recommendation that people donate to the Red Cross is pathetic. Too little, too late.
Im recommending Make a donation now. Text REDCROSS to 90999. If any Oklahomans have a charity that they love, hit me up I'll tweet it out.
I suppose he's more comfortable looking back then dealing with the mess he's made in the present.
He likes to hold himself up as the ultimate role model for young black men.
"But along with collective responsibilities, we have individual responsibilities. There are some things, as black men, we can only do for ourselves. There are some things, as Morehouse Men, that you are obliged to do for those still left behind. As Morehouse Men, you now wield something even more powerful than the diploma you’re about to collect -- and that’s the power of your example."
...
"We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices. And I have to say, growing up, I made quite a few myself. Sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down. I had a tendency sometimes to make excuses for me not doing the right thing. But one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years is there’s no longer any room for excuses."
...
"And I will tell you, Class of 2013, whatever success I have achieved, whatever positions of leadership I have held have depended less on Ivy League degrees or SAT scores or GPAs, and have instead been due to that sense of connection and empathy -- the special obligation I felt, as a black man like you, to help those who need it most, people who didn’t have the opportunities that I had -- because there but for the grace of God, go I -- I might have been in their shoes. I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family. And that motivates me."
Obama - black man.
It's sad that it's 2013 and he keeps talking about his race. That's a choice Obama has made. It's unfortunate. He could focus on the content of his character but he prefers to emphasize the color of his skin.
Since he's made the choice to go that way, let's talk about his race.
It bothers me that Obama doesn't care to identify with the racial heritage he received from his mother.
In his address, Obama said, "I was raised by a heroic single mom, wonderful grandparents -- made incredible sacrifices for me."
Very nice.
Why didn't Obama say, "I was raised by a heroic single WHITE mom, wonderful WHITE grandparents -- made incredible sacrifices for me"?
If Obama is going to focus on his race, he should define himself truthfully. He's a black man and a white man.
I wish Obama would put race aside and be a decent role model. The fact is he doesn't want to put race aside and he's an awful role model.
I don't think anyone who lies repeatedly and then lies about lying is a good role model.
Obama refuses to take responsibility for his actions and inactions. He blames others for his failings.
Race is irrelevant.
The Benghazi cover-up, the IRS scandal, and the AP scandal have nothing to do with "the world trying to keep a black man down."
Obama needs to rid himself of that mindset and quit making excuses.
JAY LENO: It's casual Friday, which means at the White House they're casually going through everyone's phone calls and records.
I'm sure you heard by now President Obama fired his acting IRS commissioner. Apparently, he was fired for acting like Richard Nixon's IRS commissioner. That's why he got fired.
Well, you know, love him or hate him, you gotta admit President Obama is a new kind of Democrat. I mean, think about it - he's embroiled in three scandals, not one of them involves sex. That has never happened before. That has never happened before.
It's been a tough week for President Obama. In fact, this morning he called Mitt Romney and said, 'Look, if you still want the job...'
Let me tell how bad it's gotten: FOX News has changed its slogan from 'Fair and balanced' to 'See, I told you so.
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas asks Steven Miller, former acting commissioner of the IRS, a question that gets to that heart of the Obama administration's IRS scandal:
"Is this still America?"
Here's the video:
The government, under Obama, is out of control.
If this IRS scandal isn't enough to wake people up, I think all hope is lost. I think America as we knew it, land of the free, is gone.
I would phrase Brady's question to Miller differently.
America is its people. Our values and our ideals don't exist outside of us. How we conduct ourselves as citizens, how we choose to live, what we choose to do, and what we choose to preserve, protect, and defend reveal America.
The question that I'd like to pose to Obama and Hillary and Miller and every Leftist involved in lying, abusing power, and targeting fellow citizens is this:
Are you still Americans?
I don't know. They aren't acting like people who value liberty and justice.
The Leftists' genuine reaction and concrete response to the Obama administration's IRS scandal, its AP records scandal, and its Benghazi cover-up will be very teling.
Are they Americans? Do they believe in liberty and justice for all?
REP. MIKE KELLY (R-PA): This has nothing to do with political parties. This has to do with highly targeted groups. This reconfirms everything the American public believes. This is a huge blow to the faith and trust that the American people have in their government. Is there any limit to the scope where you folks can go? Is there anything at all? Is there any way that we could ask you is there any question that you should have asked?
My goodness. How much money do you have in your wallet? Who do you get emails from? Whose sign do you put up in your front yard? This is a tax question? And you don't think that's intimidating? It's sure as hell intimidating. And I don't know that I got any answers from you today. And I don't know that -- what Mr. George said is great work -- but you know what? There's a heck of a lot more that has to come out in this. Any anybody that sat here today and listened to what you had to say, I am more concerned today than I was before, and the fact that you all can do just about anything you want to anybody?
You know, you can put anybody out of business that you want. Any time you want. I gotta tell you. You could talk about how you're a horribly run organization, if you're on the other side of the fence, you're not giving that excuse. And the IRS comes in, you're not allowed to be shoddy, you're not allowed to be run horribly, you're not allowed to make mistakes, you're not allowed to do one damn thing that doesn't come in compliance, and if you do, you're held responsible right then. I just think the American people have seen what's going on right now in their government. This is absolutely an overreach and this is an outrage for all Americans.
Obama wants his minions to tell their representatives in Washington that they should let the string of major scandals drop and move on.
How about no?
I want "the people in Washington" to protect me and my family and my fellow citizens from an out of control, massive government and an abusive president run amok. I want accountability. I want the truth. I want the Constitution upheld.
JAY LENO: This week will mark the 37th time House Republicans have tried to repeal ObamaCare. You know, if Republicans really want to do away with ObamaCare, they should endorse it as a conservative non-profit. Let the IRS take it down.
Today, President Obama announced the appointment of a man named Daniel Werfel as the new acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue. The other guy was fired. See, they're called "acting" commissioner because you have to act like the scandal doesn't involve the White House.
A lot of critics are now comparing President Obama to President Nixon. The good news for Obama: At least he's no longer being compared to President Carter.
It has not been a good week for President Obama. He's got Benghazi, the IRS scandal, this AP records scandal, and worst of all, the Chicago Bulls got eliminated by the Miami Heat. You know what that means - LeBron James is going to get audited by the IRS. You know that's going to happen.
In his press briefing yesterday, Jay Carney said the most ridiculous thing I've heard come out of his mouth. And he has spewed some truly unbelievable (false) stuff.
JAY CARNEY: Broadly speaking, I can tell you that the President is a strong defender of the First Amendment....
WHAT???
Obama is NOT a strong defender of the First Amendment.
Good grief. How could Carney even think he could attempt to sell that BS?
As a Catholic, I'm very aware of Obama's assault on my religious liberty.
Now, Obama is attacking freedom of speech and of the press.
The systematic targeting of conservatives by the IRS is an abuse that is positively chilling. That term may be overused but it applies. The Obama administration is engaged in chilling activity.
Obama a strong defender of the First Amendment?
No way. Obama has failed to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Jimmy Fallon has been silent on Obama's scandals, until Wednesday's Late Night.
JIMMY FALLON: President Obama is not having a good week. With three scandals shaking the White House, they're saying that this is one of the worst weeks of Obama's presidency. Obama was like, 'How could things get worse?' And Joe Biden was like, 'You rang?'
That's the best from Fallon's writers?
With all due respect, that sucks.
That awful "joke" was followed by a lame bit comparing recent Obama and Biden commencement addresses.
Three quotes from Obama's Ohio State address were put on screen and juxtaposed with three alleged remarks from Biden's University of Pennsylvania speech.
OBAMA - "We've seen courage and compassion, a sense of civic duty, and a recognition we are not a collection of strangers."
BIDEN - "You should never take candy from a stranger. Unless it's Milk Duds. Those things are da bomb diggity!"
OBAMA - "While things are still hard for a lot of people, you have every reason to believe that your future is bright."
BIDEN - "My favorite thing about the future is Dippin' Dots."
OBAMA - "Incredible advances in information and technology...have the potential to change the way we do almost everything."
BIDEN - "I heard about scientists in Norway who are working on giving squirrels tiny cellphones to help them keep in touch. Or I might've dreamt that. Either way, cool, right?"
How stupid!
The Obama administration is drowning in major scandals and Fallon mocks Biden?
Fallon still hasn't addressed the mess in Washington and Obama's scandals. I wonder if the White House requested that Fallon spare Obama ridicule. After all, Michelle Obama is such a "good friend" of the show, and so is Obama.
I think it's more likely that Fallon and his team just couldn't bring themselves to deal with reality - that Obama's government has abused American citizens, allowed them to be killed in a terrorist attack, failed to uphold the Constitution, and lied, lied, lied.
Biden jokes? Unbelievable.
Fallon is no Johnny Carson.
___________________
Ann Coulter came up with a good Obama - Biden joke:
"Only two employees involved" in IRS abuses.Obama and Biden?
JAY LENO: I mentioned this the other night. You probably heard about this. The National Aquarium in Washington, D.C., is going to close. But don't worry. If you're in DC and you still want to smell something fishy, stop by the White House. There's something going on there, something going on.
Hey, did you know this week marks the 40th anniversary of the Watergate hearings? Now, for those of you too young to remember, back then the administration had an enemies list, they were spying on reporters, they used the IRS to harass groups they didn't like. Thank God, those days are gone forever! Thank God! Can you imagine?
Well, it's been a rough week for Obama. A lot of critics are comparing President Obama to President Richard Nixon, which is unfair. Nixon's unemployment rate was only five percent.
Well, this has become a huge story. You know this whole IRS thing, apparently targeting conservative groups, like the Tea Party? You know it's bad when President Obama says, 'Hey, why don't we talk about Benghazi?'
This Benghazi thing, that's not going to go away anytime soon either. The White House has gone from 'change you can believe in' to 'change the story until you believe it.'
_________________
FINALLY, some monologues that lead off with a string of jokes that lampoon Obama. It's about time. Still, it's too little, too late.
Obama's commencement address at Ohio State University on May 5, 2013, has blown up in his face.
Transcript
OBAMA: We, the people, chose to do these things together -- because we know this country cannot accomplish great things if we pursue nothing greater than our own individual ambition.
Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems; some of these same voices also doing their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. Because what they suggest is that our brave and creative and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted.
We have never been a people who place all of our faith in government to solve our problems; we shouldn’t want to. But we don’t think the government is the source of all our problems, either. Because we understand that this democracy is ours. And as citizens, we understand that it’s not about what America can do for us; it’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but absolutely necessary work of self-government. And, Class of 2013, you have to be involved in that process.
DO NOT REJECT THOSE VOICES. LISTEN.
The past few days have revealed that with Obama at the helm tyranny is, IN FACT, lurking just around the corner.
With Obama in charge, we should not have faith in our government because he can't be trusted.
I have now had the opportunity to review the Treasury Department watchdog’s report on its investigation of IRS personnel who improperly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. And the report’s findings are intolerable and inexcusable. The federal government must conduct itself in a way that’s worthy of the public’s trust, and that’s especially true for the IRS. The IRS must apply the law in a fair and impartial way, and its employees must act with utmost integrity. This report shows that some of its employees failed that test.
I’ve directed Secretary Lew to hold those responsible for these failures accountable, and to make sure that each of the Inspector General’s recommendations are implemented quickly, so that such conduct never happens again. But regardless of how this conduct was allowed to take place, the bottom line is, it was wrong. Public service is a solemn privilege. I expect everyone who serves in the federal government to hold themselves to the highest ethical and moral standards. So do the American people. And as President, I intend to make sure our public servants live up to those standards every day.
What a load!
"I expect everyone who serves in the federal government to hold themselves to the highest ethical and moral standards. So do the American people. And as President, I intend to make sure our public servants live up to those standards every day."
Look in the mirror, Obama.
Clean up your act.
Remember when Obama reacted to the BP oil spill, June 2010?
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Before we get to our correspondents, some late news tonight. Late today, Matt Lauer sat down with President Obama in Michigan for an interview to air tomorrow morning on Today. This is just in to us. And in this bit you're about to see, the president showed some anger on the topic of his handling of the oil spill so far. OBAMA: I was down there a month ago, before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the Gulf. A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there, standing in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this could be. And I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers so I know whose ass to kick.
He was looking to kick some ass. What a tough guy! However, when it comes to four dead Americans in Benghazi, he blathers on about a video being at fault.
When it comes to the seizing of AP's phone records, Obama counts on the press continuing to kiss his behind.
When it comes to the abusive actions of his big government, the targeting of American citizens for harassment based on their political affiliations, Obama is much more subdued. He didn't even say that government employees will be fired for their abuse of power as they worked to assist Obama combat his enemies. At least Obama has given up the lame "IF, IN FACT, IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that had been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups." Obama's most recent statement is irrelevant. He's embroiled in scandals, three major matters. He's been exposed. The truth is out. He's cold and calculating. He's dishonest. He's a liar.
JAY LENO: The heat wave just continuing here in California. They're warning this could be a long, hot summer, and they're telling everyone to cover up. Believe me, you don't have to tell the Obama White House twice. They know about covering up, not a problem.
Today, the White House unveiled its latest high tech weapon -- the IRS audit. Did you hear about this? The IRS has admitted they were targeting conservative groups. President Obama called the IRS targeting of conservative groups, he called it outrageous and he said he would immediately have his Benghazi investigators look into it. So we will find out, we will get to the bottom of this.
I love what IRS commissioner Steve Miller said today about this whole targeting conservative groups thing. He said, 'Mistakes were made, but they were no way made with a political or partisan motivation.' Mistakes were made. Try that during your next IRS audit....
Well, first it was Benghazi, then the IRS scandal, now this phone records scandal - Remember the old days when President Obama's biggest embarrassment was Joe Biden? What happened to those days?
Internal Revenue Service officials in Washington and at least two other offices were involved with investigating conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, making clear that the effort reached well beyond the branch in Cincinnati that was initially blamed, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
IRS officials at the agency’s Washington headquarters sent queries to conservative groups asking about their donors and other aspects of their operations, while officials in the El Monte and Laguna Niguel offices in California sent similar questionnaires to tea-party-affiliated groups, the documents show.
IRS employees in Cincinnati told conservatives seeking the status of “social welfare” groups that a task force in Washington was overseeing their applications, according to interviews with the activists.
Lois G. Lerner, who oversees tax-exempt groups for the IRS, told reporters Friday that the “absolutely inappropriate” actions were undertaken by “front-line people” working in Cincinnati to target groups with “tea party,” “patriot” or “9/12” in their names.
In one instance, however, Ron Bell, an IRS employee, informed a lawyer representing a conservative group focused on voter fraud that the application was under review in Washington. On several other occasions, IRS officials in Washington and California sent conservative groups detailed questionnaires about their voter outreach and other activities, according to the documents.
“For the IRS to say it was some low-level group in Cincinnati is simply false,” said Cleta Mitchell, a partner in the law firm Foley & Lardner who sought to communicate with IRS headquarters about the delay in granting tax-exempt status to True the Vote.
Another cover-up?
More lies from the Obama administration?
...In a news conference Monday, President Obama said he learned of the investigating in media reports on Friday and has “no patience with it.”
“If in fact IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on, and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that’s outrageous,” Obama said. “And there’s no place for it. And they have to be held fully accountable.”
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Monday that the White House counsel’s office learned of an upcoming IRS inspector general’s report on April 22 as part of a routine notification but had not received access to the report.
Obama is a horrible leader.
I'm sick of him playing ignorant and distancing himself from the abuses of his administration.
He feigns outrage and vows to get to the bottom of the matter, whether it's the Benghazi terrorist attack or the IRS targeting Tea Party and other conservative groups for harassment.
Obama acts as if his hands are clean. They aren't. Ignorance is no excuse.
Even when the facts are known, he lies as he did yesterday during his press conference with Prime Minister David Cameron.
OBAMA: Well, let me take the IRS situation first. I first learned about it from the same news reports that I think most people learned about this. I think it was on Friday. And this is pretty straightforward.
Obama is the president! He is a liar.
He should not be learning about his government abusing its power and harassing Americans from the same news reports we get.
Is he really so detached that he's clueless about something as egregious as using the IRS against political enemies?
[D]uring a press gaggle about Air Force One on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney insisted the White House was unaware of the investigation or its political implications until last month.
If, in fact, IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that had been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that's outrageous and there's no place for it.
More distortions!
Not "IF, IN FACT, IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that had been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups" - we know with certainty that it happened. I guess Obama didn't listen very closely to those news reports we all heard last week.
And they have to be held fully accountable, because the IRS as an independent agency requires absolute integrity, and people have to have confidence that they're applying it in a non-partisan way -- applying the laws in a non-partisan way.
And you should feel that way regardless of party. I don't care whether you're a Democrat, independent or a Republican. At some point, there are going to be Republican administrations. At some point, there are going to be Democratic ones. Either way, you don't want the IRS ever being perceived to be biased and anything less than neutral in terms of how they operate. So this is something that I think people are properly concerned about.
I have no patience left when it comes to King Obama. I can no longer tolerate Obama drawing from his bottomless well of BS.
The guy is shredding the Constitution. It's happening on his watch. The buck stops with him, but he refuses to take responsibility.
I always thought Obama was most like Jimmy Carter, one of the worst presidents of the 20th century. Now, Obama's morphing into Richard Nixon in terms of abusing his power.
If he's impeached, Obama will be in Bill Clinton's league.
Obama thinks he can get away with anything. So far, because of his willing partners in the Leftist media and weak, wobbly Republicans, Obama has done exactly that.
I've had enough.
Just some low-level workers in Cincinnati. What a crock!
JAY LENO: Sources say that soon the Obamas will have to start looking for a place to live after they leave the White House, and they think he's planning to go back to the Chicago area. They're looking for a house with two stories - two, which is ten stories fewer than Benghazi. That's amazing.
JAY LENO: I was going to start off tonight with an Obama joke, but I don't want to get audited by the IRS. So, forget that!
The IRS has now admitted that they targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny. That's why Mitt Romney wanted to be president so bad, keep the IRS off his back, of course.
Oh, good grief.
Turn the Obama administration's abuse of power and harassment of American citizens into a Romney smear.
The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.
The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, for general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear if the records also included incoming calls or the duration of the calls.
In all, the government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown, but more than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.
In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies.
This is outrageous.
BUT, you made your bed, AP. Lie in it.
You're an arm of the Obama administration's media army. You protected this guy. You've aided Obama's rise to power.
What now?
Any regrets?
I suppose Obama and his team thought you wouldn't mind. You cover Obama's ass. You kiss Obama's ass. You worship Obama's ass.
How's that working out?
Lord, what fools these Leftists be!
_________________
Dr. Gosnell is one of the faces of the abortion movement, so the trial received little coverage in the mainstream media. The story was buried or completely ignored by Leftist outlets.
It was awkward to report that Gosnell kills babies for a living. He runs a gruesome death chamber. He kills babies born alive during his "abortions." And now, after decades of murder, what some refer to as "women's health care," the justice system is holding Gosnell accountable.
The New York Times does report on the trial's verdict. But even now, its reporting is messed up, factually inaccurate.
The New York Times referred to three murdered children as “fetuses” in an article about the conviction of Kermit Gosnell Monday.
Gosnell, a former Philadelphia abortion doctor, was found guilty of first-degree murder Monday afternoon for severing the necks of three born-alive infants.
The New York Times referred to those infants as “fetuses” six times in the paper’s write-up:
The verdict came after a five-week trial in which the prosecution and the defense battled over whether the fetuses Dr. Gosnell was charged with killing were alive when they were removed from their mothers.
[...]
Dr. Gosnell was acquitted of one first-degree murder charge involving an aborted fetus.
[...]
Clinic workers who appeared as witnesses for the prosecution said some of the fetuses appeared to move or make noises.
[...]
…Dr. Gosnell kept the severed feet of aborted fetuses in dozens of jars around his clinic…
[...]
…Mr. McMahon argued that there was no evidence that any of the fetuses were born alive…
[...]
Mr. McMahon also dismissed prosecutors’ arguments that one of the fetuses, Baby C, was alive after being aborted.
These were not fetuses. They were babies, slaughtered babies.
Why would any human being want to cover up and mischaracterize the truth about these atrocities?
Kermit Gosnell is guilty, and justice has been done. According to one courtroom observer, Gosnell seemed surprised that he was found guilty, and it is that aspect of his cold attitude that describes the monster he is. If sane, moral people had tried to conjure up the most monstrous abortionist alive, they would have been hard put to come up with the atrocities committed by Gosnell. Our fear that he would be acquitted is unrealized, and America is once again a nation with a conscience which recognizes a grave injustice.
The jury found Gosnell guilty of first degree murder on three counts for killing babies who survived his abortion attempts and third degree murder in the death of the woman who died at his hands. The question is now raised as to why it is perfectly legal to brutally kill babies in the womb, but not outside of the womb. In the abortion context, location is everything, whether it makes sense or not. We look forward to the day when the abortion nightmare is over, and all babies in the womb are recognized in life and in law.
I share the relief and satisfaction Barbara Lyons expresses, but I don't believe that America, in general, is "once again a nation with a conscience which recognizes a grave injustice."
In this case, thankfully, Gosnell was charged and convicted.
However, we have a president incapable of recognizing grave injustices. Our nation reelected him. People of conscience have many more battles to fight.
Saturday Night Live's cold open was about the Benghazi congressional hearings.
Here's the video:
Did they slam Obama and Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration for lying to the American people and engaging in a cover-up?
Of course not.
At first, I thought maybe it was possible that the sketch would trash the mainstream media for failing to follow stories of importance. It could have gone that way. It could have been a commentary on Americans' obsession with goofy murder trials and lurid stories rather than something as significant as a 9/11 anniversary terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate, killing four Americans including the ambassador.
Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, that was not the direction it went. The target was the Republicans. The intent was to protect Obama and Hillary Clinton. The result was disgraceful and dishonest.
Republicans were mocked. Darrell Issa (Bill Hader) was a complete buffoon. FOX News was mocked. The hearing was depicted as purely a political stunt, with convicted murderer Jodi Arias as a witness.
Democrat Elijah Cummings (Kenan Thompson) was shown as reasonable, calling the hearings a witch hunt and suggesting the witness was chosen purely to boost ratings.
Trey Gowdy (Taran Killim) questioned Arias (Nasim Pedrad). When Arias, the expert witness, was asked when she first learned about Benghazi. She replied that she found out about it this morning. She asked if the attack was still going on. When told it happened eight months ago, she asked if they knew who did it. When told the terrorists responsible were identified, Arias asked why they were holding hearings.
The Republicans were dumbfounded, unable to answer, and told her that they asked the questions, not her.
Cummings complained about the political nature of the hearings, wondering if the Republicans would stoop so low as to ask the "guy from Cleveland who kept those women in his basement" to testify.
The next witness up WAS going to be Ariel Castro.
The sketch ended at that point with "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night."
SNL completely trashed the Republicans and left the Democrats untouched.
Cover-up? What cover-up?
Dead Americans? As Cummings said, "Death is a part of life." To quote Hillary, "What difference at this point does it make?"
None of the lies were mentioned at all. The many unanswered questions about the administration's response to the 9/11/12 terrorist attack, the order for the military to stand down, the talking points revisions, and the concocted story about the video were ignored. The amazingly awful press briefing by Jay Carney yesterday was left untouched.
I'm so sick of these distortions. The families of the dead deserve better than this, not this sort of treatment. They deserve respect. They deserve answers.
GREG GUTFELD: Dismissing a cover-up while having an off the record discussion or briefing about a cover-up is like denying you have a drinking problem by doing shots of tequila.
The scandal condom has burst and Carney got soaked. Twelve versions of talking points - that's not a memo, that's a Harlem Shake, more versions than you can count.
Jay Carney, actually, he used to be a reporter. The transformation from truth-seeker to a truth-hider is stunning. It makes a sex change look like a haircut.
And when you obsess over a memo that much, it's like Lady Macbeth washing her hands. It just tells you that there's something wrong and it's not going away.
You can question Gutfeld's imagery, but he's spot-on about the Obama administration and its handling of this major scandal.
JAY LENO: While President Obama was in Texas, he told people to 'Remember the Alamo' and forget about Benghazi. Just forget about that. That's a whole nother thing.
Well, actually, the administration now is very concerned that the Benghazi hearings are gaining momentum. Like today they had a press conference. Even a non-FOX reporter asked about Benghazi. That never happens.
"And my job is to shut other white people down when they want to interrupt."
"We have to, at the DNC, provide training. We have to teach them how to communicate, how to be sensitive, and how to shut their mouths if they're white."
"Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if we kick 'em all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts."
"When I would deny that there was a significant racist component in some of the politics on our side, it was because the people I hung out with were certainly not. When suddenly, this rock is turned over, there is this—'Oh shit, did I not see that?'"
----------------------------
"In any other scenario, Hillary Clinton's lying about her emails, and her pay-for-play relationship with the Clinton Foundation would be disqualifying issues. The only reason they're not disqualifying is because Donald Trump is a fundamentally more repellent, dishonest figure."
"I made a mistake in recalling the events of twelve years ago... I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire. I was instead in a following aircraft."
"I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012. I might look at the constitution of South Africa. That was a deliberate attempt to have a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights, had an independent judiciary. It really is, I think, a great piece of work that was done."
"The death of Andrew Breitbart disproves the adage that only the good die young."
--JULIAN BOND
"The National Institute of Health has said that it is a danger to women's health and safety of their families that for 30 years to be exposed to the prospects of pregnancy."
"Why did- Couldn't the President have said at that moment, way back in December of last year, 'no game playing. No hostage-taking. No terrorizing this country with the debt ceiling. I'm not going to negotiate with you guys. You can't play it that way.' Could he have done that?"
"I remember distinctly an image of--we were sitting on his couches, and I was looking at [Obama's] pant leg and his perfectly creased pant, and I'm thinking, a) he's going to be president and b) he'll be a very good president."
--DAVID BROOKS
"I feel like calling her back and smackin' her around."
"[I]f you go back to the year 2000, when we had an obvious disaster and - and saw that our voting process needed refinement, and we did that in the America Votes Act and made sure that we could iron out those kinks, now you have the Republicans, who want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws and literally - and very transparently - block access to the polls to voters who are more likely to vote Democratic candidates than Republican candidates. And it's nothing short of that blatant."
--DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ
"This is probably one of the worst times we've seen because the numbers of people elected to Congress. I went through this as co-chair of the arts caucus. In '94 people were elected simply to come here to kill the National Endowment for the Arts. Now they’re here to kill women."
"The protesters have proven today that they‘re not going away. It was a pretty rough night last night. You can imagine if people said, well, we just can‘t fight the power. Instead, this morning, they came by tens, by hundreds, by thousands. By midday today, it was easily more than 10,000, perhaps as many as 15,000 people on the square here in Madison. Not organized by anyone, just grassroots citizens who came out just like the Minutemen in 1776."
--JOHN NICHOLS
"They're sitting on the money, they're using it for their own -- they're putting it someplace else with no interest in helping you with your life, with that money. We've allowed them to take that. That's not theirs, that's a national resource, that's ours. We all have this -- we all benefit from this or we all suffer as a result of not having it. I think we need to go back to taxing these people at the proper rates."
"Why don't we just raise the taxes and let these folks have their collective bargaining, have their union representation and go back to their jobs? Raise the taxes on the wealthy."
"So I would urge my Republican colleagues, no matter how strongly they feel -- you know, we have three branches of government. We have a House. We have a Senate. We have a president. And all three of us are going to have to come together and give some, but it is playing with fire to risk the shutting down of the government."
"I'm Rebecca Kleefisch. I performed fellatio on all the talk show hosts in Milwaukee. And they endorsed me and that's how I became lieutenant governor."
"[Military leaders] tell us that childhood obesity isn’t just a public health issue; they tell us that it is not just an economic threat -- it is a national security threat as well."
"[Obama] has to realize that Mitch McConnell has virtually said so that politically he wants to cut out his heart and throw his liver to the dogs."
--DAN RATHER
"And the instructions are not to improvise a comedy sketch, but to elect a group of unqualified, unstable individuals who will do what they are told, in exchange for money and power, and march this nation as far backward as they can get, backward to Jim Crow, or backward to the breadlines of the '30s, or backward to hanging union organizers, or backward to the trusts and the robber barons.
"Result: the Tea Party. Vote backward, vote Tea Party. And if you are somehow indifferent to what is planned for next Tuesday, it is nothing short of an attempted use of democracy to end this democracy."
"I gotta wonder when people are gonna start wearing uniforms. I mean they've got an army out there in Alaska of militia people. You've got these guys going around acting like street thugs. I mean it isn't far from what we saw in the thirties, where all of a sudden, political parties started showing up in uniform."
"[Sharron Angle] is a moron on top of being evil...
I'd like to see her do this ad in the South Bronx. Come here, bitch. Come to New York and do it. I'm not praying for her. She's going to hell. She's going to hell, this bitch."
"So people have been hurting and I understand that. And it doesn't give them comfort or solace for me to tell them, you know, but for me, we'd be in a worldwide depression."
"And to play Dick Cheney, all I had to do was find my Dick Cheney. And you can find all the villainy in the world in your own heart, and that's what an actor's job is. I always say to kids, inside you is Hitler and Jesus. And you got to find the appropriate person and bring them out."
"Because I live in the District of Columbia which is so predominantly Democratic, I am a registered Democrat. But I am an avowed neutral. And to put that into practice, I take my young daughter into the voting booth and she votes for me. She's now 14. We've been doing this since she was about age 4. She's now quite informed."
"Sarah Palin's an idiot. Come on. This is a remarkably, stunningly, jaw-droppingly incompetent and mean woman."
"The Democrats may have moved into the center, but the Republicans have moved into a mental institution."
--AARON SORKIN
"Perhaps the greatest threat of all is the undermining of our Constitution and the systematic attack against the inalienable rights of the citizens of this nation, rights that are guaranteed by our Constitution. At the vanguard of this insidious attack is the Tea Party. This band of misguided citizens is moving perilously close to achieving villainous ends."
"Ah, the Tea Party, the nativist bed-wetters who somehow control our national dialogue. Yes, I call them the Pee Party, Jay, because they're always peeing in their pants about something. They're just, they're afraid of a mosque being built in New York. They're afraid of guns. You know, they think Obama, who like every other pussy Democrat has never said a single word about gun control, but they are very sure that he and his Negro army are coming after their guns.
You know what? If you think that he's coming after your guns, you need to get out of your chat room and have your house tested for lead. He's not coming after your guns or your Bible or your fishing pole or your chewing tobacco."
"That's a trade-off society is making because of very, very high medical costs, and a lack of willingness to say, you know, is spending a million dollars on that last three months of life for that patient, would it be better not to lay off those ten teachers and to make that trade-off in medical costs. But that;s called the 'Death Panel' and you're not supposed to have that discussion."
"[If Rush Limbaugh suffered a heart attack in my presence, I would] laugh loudly like a maniac and watch his eyes bug out. I never knew I had this much hate in me. But he deserves it."
--SARAH SPITZ
"You want freedom, you going to have to kill some crackers. You going to have to kill some of their babies."
"If this was Texas, which is the state that, that is directly on the border with Mexico, and they were calling for a measure like this, saying that they had a major issue with, you know, with undocumented people flooding their borders, I would say I would have to look twice at this.
"But this is a state that is a ways removed from the border. And, um, it just, it doesn't make sense to me that when you google this subject, if you put in 'Arizona S.B. 1070,' that you see a picture of the governor of Arizona meeting with President Obama in May of 2010. If you have direct linkage to the president, there are already National Guard troops on the border in Arizona."
"Tell [the Jews] to get the hell out of Palestine. Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not German. It's not Poland. [The Jews] can go home. Poland. Germany."
--HELEN THOMAS
"After the last eight years, it's good to have a president that knows what a library is."
--PAUL McCARTNEY
"By the way, I just want to point out I'm wearing my splash shield because I was told I was going to be in the splash zone (during Harry Smith's colonoscopy on live TV)."
--KATIE COURIC
"And that Word is, we have to give voice to what that means in terms of public policy that would be in keeping with the values of the Word."
----------------------------
"Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance or that people could start a business and be entrepreneurial and take risk, but not job loss because of a child with asthma or someone in the family is bipolar—you name it, any condition — is job-locking."
--NANCY PELOSI
"Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as 'yellow, slant-eyed dogs' that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what's going on today?"
--TOM HANKS
"The 'White Right' is trying to set Barack up to be assassinated.... Here are Christians praying for God to kill Barack Obama."
--LOUIS FARRAKHAN
"I refuse to accept the notion that the United States of America is not going to lead the world economically throughout the 20th Century."
--JOE BIDEN
"Obama's critics keep blasting him for Chicago-style politics. So, fine. Channel your inner Al Capone and go gangsta against your foes. Let 'em know that if they aren't with you, they are against you, and will pay the price."
--ROLAND MARTIN
"Martha Coakley is running to fill the rest of Ted Kennedy's term, and her opponent is a far-right tea-bagger Republican."
--CHUCK SCHUMER
"I tell you what, if I lived in Massachusetts, I'd try to vote ten times. I don't know if they'd let me or not, but I'd try to. Yeah, that's right, I'd cheat to keep these bastards out. I would. 'Cause that's exactly what they are."
--ED SCHULTZ
"We also see how revved up the tea baggers are at the thought of hijacking health care reform and every chance we have at making progress in Washington."
--JOHN KERRY
"A few years ago, this guy (Obama) would have been getting us coffee."
--BILL CLINTON
"I didn't realize I had written a column defending Roman Polanski and minimized his crime - are you sure it was me? I mean, I? There is, apparently, more to this crime than it would seem, and it may sound like a hollow defense, but in Hollywood I am not sure a 13-year-old is really a 13-year-old."
--TOM SHALES
"Joe Wilson yelled 'You lie!' at a president who didn't. But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!"
--MAUREEN DOWD
"One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game... During the 7th inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
--DAVID LETTERMAN
"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life."
--SONIA SOTOMAYOR
"We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature."
--REMBERT WEAKLAND, Archbishop of Milwaukee 1977- 2002
"You know, you might want to look into this, [President Obama], because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker, but he was so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight."
"Rush Limbaugh -- 'I hope the country fails.' I hope his kidneys fail."
----------------------------
"[Obama] told me I did a great job. The first lady said the same thing. I got a 'well done' from the president, I'm on cloud nine."
--WANDA SYKES
"Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less."
--COLIN POWELL
"[Tea Party goers are] just a bunch of wimpy, whiny, weasels who don't love their country."
--PAUL BEGALA
"I wouldn't want [gay marriage] to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court."
--BARNEY FRANK
"Going forward, my mind will be open to every solution -- except one. We should not -- we must not -- and I will not -- raise taxes."
--JIM DOYLE, Liar
"He's a terrorist. Rush Limbaugh is a terrorist."
--JOY BEHAR
"You know, I just want to say to her (Sarah Palin), just very quickly...F--- you."
--JON STEWART
"Should I be worried about being a slave and being returned to slavery?"
--WHOOPI GOLDBERG
"I also believe that America is the greatest sin against God."
--FR. MICHAEL PFLEGER
"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken. Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation."
--MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD
"We'll be eight degrees hotter in ten, not ten but 30 or 40 years and basically none of the crops will grow. Most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals."
--TED TURNER
"Look, [Mitt] Romney comes from a religion founded by a criminal who was anti-American, pro-slavery, and a rapist. And he comes from that lineage and says, 'I respect this religion fully.'"
--LAWRENCE O'DONNELL
"Mexico does not end at its borders... Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico."
--FELIPE CALDERON
"The planet has a fever. If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor says you need to intervene here, you don't say, 'Well, I read a science fiction novel that told me it's not a problem.' If the crib's on fire, you don't speculate that the baby is flame retardant."
--AL GORE
"Don't fear the terrorists. They're mothers and fathers."
--ROSIE O'DONNELL
"Is America ready for a black president? Well, I say we just had a retarded one. When did being black become a bigger deterrent than being retarded?"
--CHRIS ROCK
"Shut the f--- up! Shut up if you can't take a joke [about President Bush]!"
--BARBRA STREISAND
"Right, oh, yeah, Happy 9/11! Celebrate the day, right?"
--JAMES BROLIN, Mr. Barbra Streisand
"I think President Bush very well may have signed an authorization for the 9/11 attacks."
--KEVIN BARRETT, UW-MADISON Lecturer
"I said what I said. I am not guilty."
--SADDAM HUSSEIN
"Terri will not be starved to death. Her nutrition and hydration will be taken away."
--MICHAEL SCHIAVO
"On the eve of the election last month my wife Judith and I were driving home late in the afternoon and turned on the radio for the traffic and weather. What we instantly got was a freak show of political pornography: lies, distortions, and half-truths -- half-truths being perhaps the blackest of all lies. "
--BILL MOYERS
"I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for."
--HOWARD DEAN
"The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not 'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or 'The Enemy.' They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win."
--MICHAEL MOORE
"And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs."
"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president."
--HILLARY CLINTON
"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."
--BILL CLINTON
"And let me tell you something -- for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment."
--MICHELLE OBAMA
"If asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a Jew, uh, as a janitor, makes me a warrior for the working class, I wear that with a badge of honor."
"[F]or most of my lifetime, the United States was such a dominant economic power, we were such a large market, our industry, our technology, our manufacturing was so significant that we always met the rest of the world economically on our terms. And now, because of the incredible rise of India and China and Brazil and other countries, the United States remains the largest economic and the largest market but there’s real competition out there. And that's potentially healthy. It makes -- Michelle was saying earlier I like tough questions because it keeps me on my toes. Well, this will keep America on its toes."
----------------------------
"If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, 'We're gonna PUNISH OUR ENEMIES and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,' if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's gonna be harder and that's why I think it's so important that people focus on voting on November 2."
----------------------------
"We don't mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but THEY GOTTA SIT IN BACK."
----------------------------
"We can absorb a terrorist attack. We'll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever... we absorbed it and we are stronger."
"We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers so I know whose ass to kick."
----------------------------
"We're not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that's fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money. But, you know, part of the American way is, you know, you can just keep on making it if you’re providing a good product or you're providing good service. We don't want people to stop fulfilling the core responsibilities of the financial system to help grow the economy."
"It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them. And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure."
----------------------------
"But I -- I think that the most important thing for the public to understand is, we're not handling any of these cases any different than the Bush administration handled them all through 9/11."
----------------------------
"One such translator was an American of Haitian descent, representative of the extraordinary work that our men and women in uniform do all around the world -- Navy CORPSE-MAN Christian [sic] Brossard. And lying on a gurney aboard the USNS Comfort, a woman asked Christopher: 'Where do you come from? What country? After my operation,' she said, 'I will pray for that country.' And in Creole, CORPSE-MAN Brossard responded, 'Etazini.' The United States of America."
----------------------------
"I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout-out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It's good to see you."
"I am going to teach [my daughters] first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."
----------------------------
"The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings, and INEFFICIENCIES to our health care system."
----------------------------
"Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."
--BARACK OBAMA
NOTEWORTHY QUOTATIONS
"In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good.... [A] democracy without values can lose its very soul."
--POPE BENEDICT XVI
"When freedom does not have a purpose, when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women, when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society."
--POPE JOHN PAUL II
"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."
--MOTHER TERESA
"To promote choice for its own sake is more akin to self-indulgence than self-determination. It is the philosophy of a pre-schooler in a candy shop."
--BRIAN POLLARD, M.D.
"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people."
--MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
"The house we hope to build is not for my generation but for yours. It is your future that matters. And I hope that when you are my age, you will be able to say as I have been able to say: We lived in freedom. We lived lives that were a statement, not an apology."
--RONALD REAGAN
"Liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid."
--MARK LEVIN
"We are Warriors forever."
--BO ELLIS
"I know how much you're supposed to enjoy every sandwich, you know."
