Category: Awards

"Wow, I rarely find myself disagreeing with PZ, Melissa, and Samhita, but I have to say that I don’t really see the problem with the American Academy of Pediatrics advising doctors to offer a “ritual nick” in lieu of the more serious forms of female circumcision that are often on offer in some other parts of the world.  The practice is something that is done in modern places that want to have a link to tradition without actually doing any real harm to little girls, from what I understand.  All they do is prick your genitals, or make a small cut that heals over, but nothing is removed.  You’re basically scratching the girl.  It’s not awesome—and from what I understand, in some places they just wave the razor over the girl’s genitals but don’t touch her at all—but comparing it to more severe forms of female circumcision troubles me," – Amanda Marcotte.

"Democrats tend to be more interested in legislating than in managing. They come to office filled with irrational exuberance, pass giant fur balls of legislation — stuff that often sounds fabulous, in principle — and expect a stultified bureaucracy, bereft of the incentives and punishments of the private sector, to manage it all with the efficiency of a bounty hunter. This has always been the strongest conservative argument against government activism. Traditionally, Republicans were more concerned with good management than Democrats — until the Reagan era, when the "government is the problem" mantra took hold. If you don't believe in government, you don't bother much with governing efficiently. You hire political cronies for jobs that professionals should be doing. Eventually, you wind up with the former head of the Arabian Horse Association — the infamous Michael Brown — trying to organize federal aid after Hurricane Katrina," – Joe Klein.

This is an indictment of the press as well. We are much more interested in the ideological fights and the horse race than we are with how new laws are actually implemented. Take health care reform. Much of what is good in the bill requires very careful enforcement, administration, cost-awareness, and fiscal vigilance. Will any of us – apart from Ezra Klein and Jon Cohn – be paying as much attention to the implementation as we did to the fooferaw of its actual legislative process?

I know it's boring. But government is boring – and necessary.

"My question is – and this is something I personally don’t understand – if it’s a naïve question then I apologize: in light of what Obama has done to leave us vulnerable, to cut defense spending, to make us vulnerable to outside enemies, and to slight our allies, how (pause) – what would he have to do differently to be defined as a domestic enemy?" – a questioner of Eric Cantor at a Heritage Foundation event.

Cantor refused to call the president a domestic enemy and received boos from the crowd as a result. Yes, the right has gone mad. This is not a tea-party event; it's a Heritage Foundation lunch.

"[W]hy the delay in the response? You guys were pointing out, nine days before it’s even addressed. Twelve days before he made a formal comment. The question is did they let this thing leak? I mean, I know BP said 1,000 barrels a day went to 5,000. Did they let it leak a little bit and say, “boy I don’t know.” I mean, the conspiracy theorists would say, maybe they let it leak for a while and then they address the issue. […If] they’re going to try to pull drilling, that may be the way to do it," – Fox Business’ Eric Bolling.

"Think about what the environmentalists have always said about this. Is it’s not a matter of if there’ll be a disaster of this kind resulting in this kind of offshore drilling, it’s only a matter of when. This verifies that argument, and becomes a powerful factor in the debate over what to do next. I don’t see any way around the political reality that this will set back the cause of offshore drilling in the United States," – Brit Hume, a drilling advocate.

"You know Arizona has been under terrorist attacks, if you will, with all of this illegal immigration that has been taking place on our very porous border. […W]e do not and will not tolerate illegal immigration bringing with it very much so the implications of crime and terrorism into our state," – Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R).

"I can understand Obama being touchy on the subject of producing your papers. Maybe he’s afraid somebody is going to ask him for his," – Rush Limbaugh.

Jon Stewart's devastating take-down on Apple last night. Way to bite the audience that feeds you.

“I think we should catch ’em, we should document ’em, make sure we know where they are and where they are going. I actually support micro-chipping them. I can micro-chip my dog so I can find it. Why can’t I micro-chip an illegal?" Pat Bertroche, Republican congressional candidate from Iowa.