2011 already?!

Statist media members say the darndest things!

It's that time of year again! The Media Research Center has released its Notable Quotables for 2010.

Click on the link above to revisit the revolting utterances that have escaped from the mouths of our supposed betters in the Statist Media.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Forgive *this* expression: You're a moron!

Nina, Nina, Nina. National Public Radio's contribution to the national discourse, Nina Totenberg, said something very naughty the other day. It was so naughty, that Nina had to ask viewers to forgive her for what she uttered. What was the word for which she asked forgiveness?

Christmas

Take a look:



This is from the same woman who once expressed her hope that the late Senator Jesse Helms and/or his grandchildren would contract AIDS. I don't remember her ever asking for our forgiveness for saying that!

And remember: your taxes pay her salary.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

The ends justify the means

Admitted communist Van Jones, who briefly served as President Obama's "Green Czar," recently let the cat out of the bag during an unprotected moment in a speech to some of his young minions.

You know that whole "Cap and Trade" thing that would devastate our economy if it were passed? Jones and his fellow travelers are just making stuff up in an effort to get it passed. I know, shocking.

Hat tip to The Blaze for this enlightening snippet of video.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Victor Davis Hanson's California

I can think of few other people to describe the problems faced by the late, great state of California than Victor Davis Hanson; a native son, farm owner, and former CSU Fresno professor.

In an article for National Review, Dr. Hanson provides a wonderful narrative of what is wrong with California. You really need to read the whole article, but here are just some of many literary gems to be found:

I wanted to witness, even if superficially, what is happening to a state that has the highest sales and income taxes, the most lavish entitlements, the near-worst public schools (based on federal test scores), and the largest number of illegal aliens in the nation, along with an overregulated private sector, a stagnant and shrinking manufacturing base, and an elite environmental ethos that restricts commerce and productivity without curbing consumption...

It is almost as if the more California regulates, the more it does not regulate. Its public employees prefer to go after misdemeanors in the upscale areas to justify our expensive oversight industry, while ignoring the felonies in the downtrodden areas, which are becoming feral and beyond the ability of any inspector to do anything but feel irrelevant. But in the regulators’ defense, where would one get the money to redo an ad hoc trailer park with a spider web of illegal bare wires..?

California coastal elites may worry about the oxygen content of water available to a three-inch smelt in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, but they seem to have no interest in the epidemic dumping of trash, furniture, and often toxic substances throughout California’s rural hinterland. Yesterday, for example, I rode my bike by a stopped van just as the occupants tossed seven plastic bags of raw refuse onto the side of the road. I rode up near their bumper and said in my broken Spanish not to throw garbage onto the public road. But there were three of them, and one of me. So I was lucky to be sworn at only. I note in passing that I would not drive into Mexico and, as a guest, dare to pull over and throw seven bags of trash into the environment of my host...

In two supermarkets 50 miles apart, I was the only one in line who did not pay with a social-service plastic card (gone are the days when “food stamps” were embarrassing bulky coupons). But I did not see any relationship between the use of the card and poverty as we once knew it: The electrical appurtenances owned by the user and the car into which the groceries were loaded were indistinguishable from those of the upper middle class....

I think you get the picture: This state is screwed. Again, I highly recommend that you read the entire article. It is brilliant.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

The Assassination of Yogi Bear by the Coward Boo-Boo

I just wish I could have pulled the trigger. I despise the work of Hanna-Barbera:



Great send-up of that wonderful, moody Western from 2007.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Michelle Antoinette knows what is best for you

When it comes to deciding what your kid will eat, "We can't just leave it up to the parents," says Michelle Obama.

I'm so glad I have Michelle Obama around to tell me how and what to feed my children. I don't know how I would get along without her. After all, she knows better than I how to feed and raise my children. After all, I am just a peasant.

My usual question: Where in the Constitution is Congress and the President authorized to pass laws providing school lunches and breakfast at taxpayer expense? To the tune of $4.5 billion in this case.

It is always such a simple litmus test that our pampered princes and princesses in D.C. fail time and time again.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

My Bologna has a first name: It's A-s-s-h-o-l-e

With Alan Grayson on his way out the door, it appears that the baton has been passed to the new biggest jerk in the House of Representatives: Anthony Weiner (Democrat, naturally) of New York. And yes, it is pronounced *Wee-ner.*

Watch this guy in action against the lovely Megyn Kelly of FoxNews. Between his condescension and hissy-fits, he appears to be gleeful as he describes your demise so that he can tax the hell out of your estate:



Grayson was from a majority-Republican district in Florida, so he was beatable. This piece of work is from lefty New York City. I expect we will be watching the antics of the Weiner for years to come.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

December 7, 1941: 69 years ago, today

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Now I'm a cultist for supporting the Constitution

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Such a simple amendment, is it not? The final amendment of our Bill of Rights provided quite the exclamation point to the first ten amendments that were added to the Constitution. As we all (should) know, the Bill of Rights were added to the Constitution in an effort to quell the fears many Americans had that their God-given rights would be violated by the brand new federal government that was much more powerful than the one we had under the Articles of Confederation.

The Tenth Amendment stated that if the federal government had not been given express permission to do something by the Constitution, then that the power to do that something was automatically something only the states or individual Americans could do.

Now, according to the union cultists of the AFL-CIO, to support the Tenth Amendment makes one a "Tenther."

This article is admittedly almost two months old, but I highly doubt their position has changed. Read the diabolical and sadly misinformed article if you wish, but here is just a taste of the AFL-CIO's madness fueled by ignorance:

Most cults are based in some sort of skewed spiritual vision or the worship of a charismatic leader, but there is a re-emerging cult that bows down at the feet of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Many of them want to bring their cultish beliefs to the halls of Congress and are running for election this fall.

They’re called the “tenthers” and they say federal laws and rules like the minimum wage, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance, the Department of Education, even child labor laws and a laundry list of other federal laws and programs are unconstitutional.

Their rationale—irrationale would be a better word—is that if a federal power is not specifically spelled out in the Constitution, well the government doesn’t have it, according to their view of the 10th amendment....

Huh? How is it "irrationale" to interpret something as it is clearly written? For the cultists of the AFL-CIO, they hope that by insisting something isn't true, then it won't be true. That is some true anti-intellectual alchemy that only a cultist could appreciate.

You see of course how the article frames the argument: If you are against federal minimum wage laws, child labor laws, and the like, then you are against those kind of laws period.

No, no, no. If you want laws like that passed, then pass them at the state level. If you truly think that it should be a law that applies to the entire country, then by all means, work to get the Constitution amended to allow law to be passed in those areas.

Otherwise, all those areas of law that are revered in the article are indeed unconstitutional and should not have been passed or enacted. Instead, the federal government - with the support of a misguided and/or ignorant populace - passed laws in those areas, even though they had no power to do so.

Were I King for a Day, I would nullify all those laws mentioned, and leave those matters up to the several states as originally intended. But we don't need a King for a Day; we have an elected legislature and president to do the right thing - even though you know they won't.

I will just go on being a "Tenther."

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Team Guts!

When I ran track and cross-country in college, it was quite evident that I was much better at the former. I hated cross-country with every fiber of my being, but I ran it because my coach believed it would give me a good base to build on when track speedwork began in the winter. My effectiveness in a race petered out after anything longer than a mile, so the four-mile races in cross-country were utter torture for me.

Of course, torture is the nature of cross-country running. There is a reason that emblazoned across the back our team t-shirts was, "TEAM GUTS."

Now that you know how tough cross-country running can be, watch this visual representation of the TEAM GUTS philosophy in action. Ladies and Gentlemen, this young lady has guts, and also a lot of heart:



Admittedly, you also have to have a few screws loose. I don't miss those autumn days of the early 1990s.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

How can you not love to watch this?

Simple game really: Make the half-court shot, win a car.



As one commenter said at the YouTube site, at least someone in Sacramento is making shots. You also gotta love the buddy who is just brimming with confidence. HA! He thought he was going to snag an easy $50.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson