Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“The truth is, no amount of voting and no amount of electioneering can make the American government or the American people any less bankrupt. No amount of voting and no amount of electioneering can roll back a government so militarized and secretive into a government circumscribed by the Constitution. No amount of voting and no amount of electioneering can save the American people from the excruciating economic depression that is coming, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies. Last, but certainly not least, no amount of voting and no amount of electioneering against so-called ‘illegal’ immigration will save this country from any of its present or impending ills. This country was turned into a toilet by Americans in the voting booth, not by so-called ‘illegal’ immigrants, and it certainly won’t be saved by spending more time in the voting booth.”
Mark R. Crovelli

“Left unsaid, but becoming increasingly clear even to those who generally take little interest in matters political, is the fact that every operation of government is, by definition, an exercise in 'class warfare' — a raid by a political class whose very survival depends on its continued ability to loot your wallet, your wealth, your work.
Like everyone else, the political class has to eat.
Unlike everyone else, the political class proposes to eat us.”
Thomas L. Knapp

“State failure (or any other crisis) is thus a tool for increasing the power of the State. Of course, it helps to blame the failure on something else: ‘the market’ is an especially good patsy because blaming the market not only shifts blame FROM the State but infers that the market, and thus civil society generally, is unable to function properly without the State's power elite micro-managing everything – a double win for those in power!”
Glen Allport

“In Washington, being 'ethical' means you’re not in jail."
Christopher Manion

“Ordinary people know global warming is a phony excuse for turning the entire planet into a totalitarian socialist-corporatist third world slum for the benefit of the ruling classes and their suck-up toadies.”
Garry Reed

“We now have an epidemic of ‘sunshine patriots’ on both the right and the left who are all for freedom, as long as there's no controversy and nobody is offended.
Political demagoguery rules when truth and liberty are ignored.”
Ron Paul  [I use the same phrase to define "political demagoguery" as I use to define television- "useless noise."]

“We have immeasurably more to fear from the lawlessness of the government ruling us than from the ambitions of marginalized Muslim fundamentalists -- the worst of whom, let us not forget, have been recruited, equipped, and sustained by the same government that supposedly protects us from them.”
William N. Grigg

“The state didn’t save us from the violence of anarchy — it simply monopolized it, institutionalized it, and expanded its role in our lives.”
Randall Amster

“In order to finance a campaign, a politician must promise to steal (i.e., tax) money from those who earned it and give it to others who have no legal or moral right to it. There are (very) few exceptions, but politicians must also make promises that they know they can never keep (i.e., lie). This is why so few moral people are elected to political office. The most successful politicians are those who are the least hindered by strong moral principles. They have the least qualms about confiscating other peoples' property in order to maintain their own power, perks, and income.”
Thomas J. DiLorenzo

“One can be reasonably certain that there are only two ways in which an economy, and indeed an entire society, is capable of governing itself. The first is by force; the second by means of voluntary cooperation. That both are mutually exclusive should be self- evident. One cannot be partly violated any more than they can be a little bit pregnant. The concept is oxymoronic, as well as ordinarily moronic. The idea is akin to that of a 'voluntary tax.' Obviously, no such thing truly exists. It is a donation or it is an act of theft. Plain and simple.”
Joel Bowman

“Once you view the makers of rules as your equals, and their rules as arguments or suggestions to be evaluated and followed based on your own judgment of their merits (If it’s not ‘a good idea,’ I don’t CARE if it’s ‘the law‘), you’ve established that you’re a dog with too much ancestral wolf DNA to be safe around humans.”
Kevin Carson

"The history of a Republic is its own history. Its past does not contain its future, like a seed. A Republic may change its course or reverse it, and that will be its own business. But the history of Empire is world history and belongs to many people.
A Republic is not obliged to act upon the world, either to change or instruct it. Empire, on the other hand, must put forth its power."
Garet Garrett

“We cannot understand change without understanding what got us where we are. Ignorance of history and its consequences is far more of an enemy than President Obama or any politician could ever be.
We could say we are victims of the War Party but by tolerating them we become accomplices to their greed. Understanding our own role in perpetuating the revolution is the first step in causing its demise.”
Dean Hartwell

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From the Darkness:

"We need better abilities and authorities to put in place these preventive controls and hold companies accountable."

Margaret Hamburg, Food and Drug Administration chief, demanding more power after the recent egg-and-salmonella food safety challenge. [Failure by government agencies ALWAYS bring cries for more power.]

"It's fantastic."
Estela Garcia, El Paso, TX resident, while watching a warrant less search of her car by Border Control agents.

"Districts want a showpiece for the community, a really impressive environment for learning."
Joe Agron, editor-in-chief of American School & University, commenting on the opening of new $578million dollar school in Los Angeles.

“We are not leaving in 2011, we are beginning a transition. The date is important … we want to make clear to [the Afghans]: they must step up, they must exercise sovereignty if they’re ever going to prevail.
We cannot want peace and security in Afghanistan more than they want it."
Joe Biden [Where was this concern for Afghanistan’s “sovereignty” when the US blatantly VIOLATED it in 2001?  Aren't the unsurgents "exercising sovereignty?"]

"So, folks, don't buy into 'we have failed in Afghanistan.' We now are only beginning with the right general and the right number of forces to seek our objectives."
Joe Biden [This time we REALLY mean it!]

“Don’t worry about it, it’s silly stuff.”
Congressman Phil Hare, to an aide, after a constituent asked the congress critter how the government has the constitutional authority to require the purchase of health care..

"We would have to look at a significant reduction of correctional officer positions, and that would jeopardize public safety."
Michelle Lyons, Texas Criminal Justice Department spokeswoman, fretting about recent proposed cuts in the department’s budget.

“America has economic cancer and radical surgery is required. First, there has to be a massive redistribution of income by increasing taxes on both the wealthy and financial institutions (particularly those that were at the heart of 2008's economic meltdown).
Second, there has to be a second stimulus package that not only supports America's teachers and public safety workers but also strengthens the US infrastructure, in general. It's not logical to propose that American businesses provide better jobs without also ensuring that our schools produce workers who can meet employers' needs.
Third, the Federal government has to be involved in economic policy. The last thirty years has demonstrated that it's insane to assume the free market will do this. What we've learned is that the market follows the path of least resistance and dictates economic policy solely based on greed. Creating wealth for a handful of CEOs isn't consistent with the national interest. What are needed now are economic policies that produce decent jobs for average Americans.
The Federal government has to intervene and create the jobs that the greedy, shortsighted private sector hasn't provided.”
Bob Burnett, the Huffington Post

“You can ask the question, was the whole bloody thing a mistake? I don’t spend a lot of time on that.”
Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, when asked to reflect on U.S. culpability for the current state of Iraqi politics.

"The most significant threat to our national security is our debt. And the reason I say that is because the ability for our country to resource our military -- and I have a pretty good feeling and understanding about what our national security requirements are -- is going to be directly proportional -- over time, not next year or the year after, but over time -- to help our economy. That's why it's so important that the economy move in the right direction, because the strength and the support and the resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy over time."
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, finding a new reason to keep feeding the war beast.

"Something beyond imagination is happening."
Glenn Beck, exciting the bloodthirsty Tea Party patriots.

"We must restore America and restore her honor."
Sarah Palin, preaching state worship to the Tea Party faithful.

"But the bottom line is this: the war is ending, Like any sovereign, independent nation, Iraq is free to chart its own course. And by the end of next year, all of our troops will be home."
B. Obana [Yep, like they all came home from Germany, Japan, and Korea.]