"Even if we were to say, for the sake of argument, that Hayes’ monologue was wrongheaded and offensive, it would remain the case that he 1) made sure to explicitly note that he wasn’t disrespecting any soldier who’d fallen — that is to say, he tried to anticipate which people might be needlessly offended, and to assure them that he meant something different than they thought; 2) he noted that he could be wrong; 3) he invited a panel of other intelligent people to disagree; 4) and when no one did disagree, the first thing he did was try to articulate the best counterargument that he could formulate. Unless you’re a delicate flower looking for a broadcaster who never articulates any idea with which you’re uncomfortable, what more can you ask from someone in Hayes’ position?"
— In Defense of Chris Hayes
Conor Friedersdorf
"There’s a lot of, “We’d rather be first than right.” A lot of breaking stories without facts. And when it comes to television news, it’s a lot of commentary and not a lot of reporting."
— Lizz Winstead, during an interview with Mother Jones
"What the lobbyists want, what Wall Street wants, is they want Etch A Sketch Senators. They want the ones who will clear the screen and change their minds to do whatever big money tells them to do. That’s what they want. But let me tell you — I’ve been fighting for middle class families for years and nothing — nothing — will shake that commitment."
— Elizabeth Warren
(Source: youtube.com)
"The American people have to give rewards to those people and individuals who are willing to work across party lines. There are no political rewards for that today."
— Retiring Senator Olympia Snowe(R-ME), appearing alongside Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), during an interview with Gwen Ifill on PBS’ NewsHour Wednesday.
(Source: coloradoindependent.com)
"You win by giving people a choice. You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who’s just going to be a little different than the person in there. If you’re going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk with what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate of the future"
— Rick Santorum, telling an audience in Texas that the United States would be better off with four more years of President Obama than with Mitt Romney in the White House.
(Source: abcnews.go.com)
"You’re having the taxpayers pay to take care of somebody. I’m an ordinary citizen and I would think I should pay for my own protection."
— Ron Paul, explaining why he turned down his own Secret Service detail, during an interview with Jay Leno on last night’s episode of the The Tonight Show.
(Source: livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com)
"
This is the reality of modern American politics: a large and cohesive bloc of voters lives in an alternative reality, fed fake facts by Fox and Rush — whom they listen to out of tribal affiliation — and completely unaware that it’s all fiction.
It’s also, by the way, why attempts at outreach by Obama will fail. Even if he gives the GOP 95 percent of what it wants, these voters will never hear about it; they will still know, just know, that he’s a radical bent on destroying America.
"
— The Mighty Wurlitzer In Action
Paul Krugman
"Stated simply, we’re about promoting the private sector. They’re about protecting the privileged sector. We’re a fair shot, and a fair shake. They’re about no rules, no risk. And no accountability."
— Vice President Joe Biden, according to prepared remarks provided to CNN, in a speech that he’s expected to deliver at the United Auto Workers Local 12 Hall in Toledo, Ohio this afternoon.
(Source: CNN)
"Invisible Children are known in Northern Uganda as an organization supporting the education of former abductees, which is much needed in the region. But they are not known as a peace building organization and I do not think they have experience with peace building and conflict resolution methods."
— Anywar Ricky Richard, former child soldier in the Lord’s Resistance army and the current director of the northern Ugandan ‘Friends of Orphans’ organization, responding to the KONY 2012 movement.
(Source: National Geographic)
"I’m not here to talk about President Obama. I think he is great. I’m here to talk about my dad and what he would bring to the country."
— Matt Romney, son of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, during an interview with Hawaii’s KITV.
(Source: thinkprogress.org)
"I conclude that the 11 months under conditions of solitary confinement (regardless of the name given to his regime by the prison authorities) constitutes at a minimum cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of article 16 of the convention against torture. If the effects in regards to pain and suffering inflicted on Manning were more severe, they could constitute torture."
— Juan Mendez, UN special rapporteur on torture tasked with investigating the treatment of Bradley Manning by the U.S. military since his arrest.
(Source: Guardian)
"As I’ve written before, we’ve now had three consecutive presidents who have had experience with recreational drugs. One of them was a particularly horrible chief executive, but all have lived remarkably successful lives. They’re rich and have seemingly well-adjusted family lives and they were Presidents of the United States. Do any of them think that their lives would have been markedly improved had the state intervened to set them on the straight and narrow, back when they were using? I don’t think president Obama spends his day thinking, “man, if only I had an arrest record in college, I wouldn’t have had to deal with this John Boehner asshole; why didn’t someone stop me from going down this path of incredible success?"
—
Ilyagerner
You really should start following him if you aren’t already.
"As long as you label them terrorists, people aren’t that concerned what happens to them. But there’s a principle at stake: that the United States shouldn’t be going around killing people simply because we suspect they might be doing something wrong."
— Daphne Eviatar
(Source: 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com)
"It is wholly appropriate to be sorry that Andrew Brietbart died. But in the relevant business, it is right to be sorry for how he lived."
—
On Making Yourself Right
Ta-Nehisi Coates
h/t jeffmiller
