Quotes of the day

In diagnosing the cause of our economic distress, [President Obama] scored not only the easy mark of "greed" but also stressed "our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age." He might have been referring to home buyers who took out "liar loans," Senators who got sweetheart mortgages, and executives who walked away with bonuses for profits that proved illusory.--WSJ Editorial Board

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.--Ronald Reagan, in 1981

To require such fealty to power in the name of patriotism was once repugnant to the left. Now, with the right guy in charge, apparently it can once again be embraced. ... Change, indeed.--David Hirsanyi

Everyone's hailing Obama's decision to suspend all Guantanamo trials for 120 days. But I thought the problem with Guantanamo was the people being held without trial.--Megan McArdle

Why have [the taxpayers been] been billed more than $45 billion to rescue Citigroup from failure when, as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, you [Timothy Geithner] were its primary supervisor?--Anna Jacobson Schwartz

The income tax code favors those with employer-provided health insurance over those who buy their own health insurance or pay medical bills out of pocket. It also favors homeowners over renters, through the mortgage interest deduction. Is this tax treatment efficient or fair? Might you favor a more level playing field?--Greg Mankiw

Some people might manipulate their genes to become smarter. I think that's a mistake, especially after you become a winged monkey. The smarter you are, the more easily bored you will be. I want to be happy all the time so I'd trim 40% off my IQ and get some new hobbies such as collecting rocks that are roundish, or running for Congress.--Scott Adams