Quotes of the day

Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don’t give it any value.--Dean Steacy, Canadian Human Rights Commissioner

Funny how those who are always lecturing on “human rights” are so quick to ignore Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s as if they’re really more concerned with power than with rights.--Glenn Reynolds

George Orwell once observed, brilliantly, that every joke is a tiny revolution. So are the best political blogs – that’s why so many powerful people want to silence them.--Stabroek News Editorial Board

Bill Gates' April Fools joke is not very funny.--Donald Sensing

As the popular saying goes, they told me if I voted for McCain … there would be no end to the hated Bush Constitution-stomping policies, and they were right! Obama admin moves to thwart a lawsuit on NSA eavesdropping.--Jules Crittenden

Top 1% Earned 19% of Income, Paid 28% of All Taxes. And got 1% of the vote.--Glenn Reynolds

It turns out that financial regulation is not like a math problem, which can be solved once and stays solved. Instead, financial regulation is like a chess game, in which moves and counter-moves proceed continually, eventually changing the board in ways that players have not anticipated.--Arnold Kling

... does Barney Frank really think that the next crisis -- and you know we'll see plenty more -- is going to look like the last? Does Frank really anticipate that if things got back to normal, banks would immediately start ignoring homeowner credit risk.--Joe Weisenthal

Maybe I’m overly cynical, but trusting a politician’s conscience seems a bit like trusting a prostitute’s sense of propriety.--Tony Woodlief

The Boston Globe finds itself having to live up to the ideals it espoused for others, facing the threat that it mocked and denied. The stalwart defender of unions must now wrest back concessions from its own unions.--J.G. Thayer

It turns out St. Paul might have been a precursor of Norman Vincent Peale and Dr. Ruth. (Well, he did say it was better to marry than to burn.)--K.J. Webb

Sure, my boxed trifecta might not come in, but I think it's worth six bucks to threaten a horse with a trip to the glue factory. (I'm not sure what emoticon to add here to indicate that I actually love horses and that was Soviet-level black humor. Maybe a smiley Dostoevsky?)--Jesse Livermore

Last night I convinced Caleb that instead of saving up money to buy an expensive, super-complicated Star Wars Death Star Lego kit, he should spend that money on a motorbike. I’m fairly certain that as a result I’ve rescued him from a lifetime of involuntary virginity.--Tony Woodlief