Category: Awards

"Whatever you think of Theodore Roosevelt, he was not Lenin. Woodrow Wilson was not Stalin. The philosophical foundations of progressivism may be wrong. The policies that progressivism generates may be counterproductive. Its view of the Constitution may betray the Founders’. Nevertheless, progressivism is a distinctly American tradition that partly came into being as a way to prevent ideologies like communism and fascism from taking root in the United States. And not even the stupidest American liberal shares the morality of the totalitarian monsters whom Beck analogizes to American politics so flippantly," – Matthew Continetti, Weekly Standard.

"You don’t have to look very closely to figure out that in Macy’s “wedding” sales space, there are lesbian and homosexual couples represented. Apparently Macy’s has been very active when it comes to capitalizing on the marketing opportunities afforded by the legalization of gay marriage. They ran ads in California after gay marriage was (briefly) legalized in that state, promoting their gay marriage registry services. And now that Washington DC has legalized gay marriage they are opening up shop here, too.

I’ve remarked to friends that I think DC would be a hard place to raise kids. I’m beginning to think that’s more and more the case, especially if you live near the Macy’s," – Christianist Thomas Peters.

Larison picks up on this Totten-Hanson exchange:

What is remarkable about the interview is that Totten and Hanson simply feed off one another and reinforce each other’s nonsense. There is not one probing or challenging question for Hanson in the entire interview. Totten does not object when Hanson says, “We’re only 65 years from the Holocaust. Europe is still anti-Semitic, and Israel is on its own except for the United States.” This sort of blanket condemnation of an entire continent for rank prejudice is as sloppy and false as it gets, and it gets dropped into the conversation as if Hanson were discussing the weather.

"The president had a choice between standing with Benjamin Netanyahu, or standing with Ahmadinejad and Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization. This should not have been a difficult choice, but the President chose to stand with Hamas and then they were rewarded this week with $400 million in aid," – Michele Bachmann, to FNC host David Asman (who titled a recent piece, "Is the president funding terrorism?").

"The president has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down the side of race – on the side that favors the black person," – Congressman Steve King (R-IA).

"Watching this Presidential commission discuss strategies for deficit reduction is like watching a pack of gluttons talk about getting in shape while they prowl up and down a buffet table. They linger over the deep-fried mortgage interest deduction caps, dip their spoons into the rich chocolate of the VAT tax, and lick their lips as they wait for the expired Bush tax cuts to pop out of the oven. They end up perched on the edge of creaking chairs, tittering at the wonderfully naughty idea of devouring everyone’s 401k plans for dessert. It’s a nauseating spectacle that will only end when they’re escorted from the restaurant by angry voters," – DocZero, HotAir.

Doctor Zero does not specify any spending cuts in his jeremiad. His solution? Ending $400 million on foreign aid to Gaza and abolishing public sector unions. Nearly there …

"Is Obama anti-Semitic? I don't know what the answer is," – Victor Davis Hanson, in an interview with Michael Totten.

The question is why Obama does not …  have, er, some kind of instinctive understanding that there is a massive moral difference between Arabs and Israelis. Or something like that. Hanson notes that the end of the Soviet Union will allow Israel to "finish" its wars of the past:

The earlier wars were between nation-states, and Israel couldn't finish those wars because of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union called us up and told us to make the Israelis stop. They did that in 1967 and 1973. The war was at least finished enough, though, so that Egypt, Syria, and Jordan wouldn't attack Israel directly any more. If they did, Israel would not only fight back, but maybe demolish their capitals. Today there is no longer a Soviet Union to stop the Israelis.

Totten asks:

What are the Europeans going to do if Israel decides to just destroy Hamas once and for all?

And how exactly does one "just destroy Hamas once and for all?" Cast Lead was too wimpy?

"It’s just that some people can never forgive her for not aborting a Down-syndrome child. Believe me, I know such people (I’m sorry to say)," – Jay Nordlinger, NRO, trying to explain why so many find Sarah Palin an absurdist (though lethal) political character.