Quote of the day

“If we uphold this, are there any limits” on the power of the federal government?

So said Chief Judge Joel Dubina of the 11th circuit court of appeals in hearing arguments for and against the constitutionality of ObamaCare.

Judge Stanley Marcus chimed in: "I can't find any case" in the past, he said, where the courts upheld "telling a private person they are compelled to purchase a product in the open market.... Is there anything that suggests Congress can do this?"

After nearly three hours of argument Wednesday, the three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals seemed prepared to declare at least part of last year's law unconstitutional.

The law's requirement that nearly everyone buy health insurance by 2014 is the question at the heart of the constitutional challenge. The argument that the mandate exceeds Congress' power initially was waved aside by many legal commentators, but it has now sharply divided the federal courts.

"...waved aside..." is a rather troubling notion as this concept that Congress can force you to purchase health care insurance, let alone anything else, is central to this challenge as well as to the argument regarding the extent of power of the government.

We're running a little short on time but we will leave you with perhaps the best 3 and a half minutes in Youtube history with respect to "rights" and limits on government.





Now that it's a right, what's to stop them from just barging in through the door and demanding service?


P.S. Pete Stark is a tyranist and warrants tar and feathering for his performance in this video. No question.

Quote of the day

“In the future we may have to do exceptional things again if we face a shock that large,”... "It depends on the state of the world–how deep the recession is.”

That from Timothy Geithner, two-time tax cheat and head of the Treasury Department, on why no one, including himself, is convinced that anything substantive has been done towards preventing Bailout Nation from being the default mode when confronting a financial crisis in real time or preventing one from happening in the future.

Not to worry - crony capitalists everywhere are rejoicing.

Go on over to Secular Apostate's place where he breaks down the pervasive culture of No Consequences.

Chronically unemployed with no savings? No problem - there's an app for that.

Quotes of the day

Via Instapundit:

Now that DADT has been repealed, tools finding new and tortured rationalizations for keeping ROTC off college campuses.

ROTC and its warrior ethic taint the intellectual purity of a school...

Who the hell says things like this? The same person who also says this:

I admire those who join armies, whether America's or the Taliban's: for their discipline, for their loyalty to their buddies and to their principles, for their sacrifices to be away from home.

And from the nanny-state files...

If you really want Mayor Bloomberg to do something about the snow, just tell him that people are enjoying it.

heh

Quote of the day

"You live in Chevy Chase. Don't play with our future."

Awesome but not nearly as awesome had Bibi chosen one of the more malleable words in the English language for the verb in the second sentence.

Now us? Boy, this thing is really catching.

Quote of the Day

“We have a niche population, a subculture of people who are sacrificing their lives for us. And it seems to me that the rest of the country is oblivious,” he said. “That hurts me. That’s a disconnect hard to bridge.”

That from Del Mar's John Cote who is walking across America to raise awareness of our nation's military as well as funds for the Fisher House foundation which builds rest homes for injured service members and their families to use during treatment.

Cote began his 2,140 mile journey on April 1st and is on schedule to complete it at Fort Benning, Georgia on Wednesday.

Cote has raised $20,000 thus far. The Fisher House website is here. Give as the spirit moves you.

Quote of the day

Liberals hope to rid life of the “bad decisions” but of course only in the context of what they consider to be bad decisions. They look to lop off the tops and use it to fill the bottoms, thereby creating some sort of Utopian plain where there are no hills and valleys… where the risk and rewards of life are either eliminated or, at the very least, reduced as much as possible. Capt. Kirk always said he “needed his pain” but what we need is the freedom to make bad decisions… to buy stocks that go down, to not get an education… and, one hopes, thus learn the lessons and reform ourselves. Liberals seek to deny this for they are the arbiters of what we should choose for ourselves.

That from our blog buddy, Harrison at Just Politics? Of course, we know there are no such thing as liberals anymore but the point is well-taken.

Quote of the day

Rocker/Crooner Chris Isaak on California’s financial woes:

“But I should say that I, and the rest of entertainers, don’t know a god-durned nothing about policies. We’re too busy self-aggrandizing to come up with any solutions. It’s amazing how many entertainers can find time between adopting children to tell you how to live your life.”

We know not Isaak’s political leanings nor do we care. It’s refreshing to hear, though, an entertainer a) not take himself at all seriously, b) realize no one really cares what he thinks and c) nail spot-on a preening, self-righteous entertainment establishment.

Quote of the day

"What puts it in perspective is, very frankly, a series of contacts from people I met when I went to Iraq a couple of years ago. Many of them have contacted me and said: 'Congratulations, and, oh, by the way, when you're in a neck-high bunker and you have a four-footer, just remember, it's just a game.'

"I give them credit for keeping me on the straight and level here and not getting too disappointed about what happened on Sunday. The joy of it has been some of the tears from my son and my friends, being able to kind of soothe them to a certain degree and say I did what I was trying to do, and it just didn't work out."

Quote of the Day

“No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top”

Who said it? Thomas Sowell? Nope. Larry Kudlow? Nada. Walter Williams? Guess again.

The quote above came from our President during his speech this past week in Ghana.

Only 20%…? Got to find us one of these places.

Quote of the Day

Maybe I'm old-school but, "President fires CEO" looks as wrong as "Pope fires Missile." Does not compute.

- James Lileks

H/T: Instapundit

Quote of the Day

Vice-president-elect Joe Biden likened the country’s economic crisis to the attacks of 9/11 Monday in a private meeting on Capitol Hill.

“We’re at war,” Biden told congressional leaders of both parties during their sit-down with Barack Obama in the Capitol, according to two sources familiar with the exchange.

It’s not the first time the vice-president-elect has used stark language to underscore the perilous state of the economy.

(emphasis ours)

If your definition of “stark” happens to be synonymous with “idiotic”, “irresponsible” and “over-the-top”, then yes, perhaps “we’re at war”.

Rahm Emmanuel is credited with saying “don’t waste a crisis” and it certainly looks like Clueless Joe is taking that to heart and will be serving up gems like this for at least the next four years or whenever it is that we win “the war”.

Quote of the Day and... a thrill running up someone else's leg?

"When you look at her, and you know what the Kennedy's are capable of and you know the family she comes from... think of the DNA."

That, from noted eugenicist and excitable former New York City mayor, Ed Koch on Caroline Kennedy's "listening tour" of upstate New York.

This country's supposed hostility to privilege, entitlement and above all else, nobility, remains just that, supposed - with some people, at least.

So, perhaps to better align the mayor's sentiments, we should put a new twist on an old phrase: "We talk like Jeffersonians but govern like Royalists."

Quote of the Day

“At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only have one president at a time. I'm afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have. He's got to remedy that situation.”

(emphasis ours)

That from "Brothel" Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on President-elect Obama’s prudent decision to resist the desires of his ardent admirers both in the press and on Capitol Hill and remain President-elect until later on next month.

Yeah, Barney’s one of the most odious members of Congress but good smack is good smack and we wanted to reach out across the aisle to recognize this instance of sly oratorical brilliance.

Quote of the Day

"If you are using the word ‘knucklehead’, DeAngelo Hall is probably involved."

- Charles Arbuckle doing the Giants-‘Skins game on the radio this morning and commenting on former Falcon, former Raider and current Redskin/knucklehead defensive back, Hall, after Hall picked up a personal foul on a knuckleheaded late hit in the first quarter