Quotes of the Morning: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

“... I believe that this nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law.
Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.
Shall we follow the rule of law and do our constitutional duty no matter unpleasant, or shall we follow the path of least resistance, close our eyes to the potential lawbreaking, forgive and forget, move on and tear an unfixable hole in our legal system? No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country.”
-Tom DeLay, October 9, 1998

“A beautiful principle. Of course that was when DeLay was after Clinton. Its different now that DeLay is the one being indicted.”
-Skippy

“An attorney for an indicted associate of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said in court documents Tuesday that charges against his client should be dismissed because they are a result of ‘outrageous government conduct.’
The motion, on behalf of Republican fundraiser Jim Ellis, calls the case by Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle a ‘grim spectacle of a prosecutor run amok, intent on indicting his political opponents at any cost.’
It accuses Earle of abusing the grand jury process, shoring up pretrial publicity and prosecuting Ellis and another associate, John Colyandro, ‘because they are Republicans with ties to Tom DeLay.’"
-Associated Press, October 18, 2005

“Wow. That sounds like exactly the arguments that DeLay would have scoffed at back in 1998. Odd. Oh, and please note, Ronnie Earle did not indict anyone. He gathered evidence and presented a case. A grand jury indicted Tom DeLay.”
-Skippy

"Democracies are peaceful countries.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, October 16, 2005

“That statement was made in relation to the recent election in Iraq. An election that was needed because we invaded them and overthrew their government. Hey, we had to. Saddam was an evil person who did evil things. We will not condone that kind of behavior.”
-Skippy

“President Bush decided Wednesday to waive any financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism, for failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers.
In June, the State Department listed 14 countries as failing to adequately address trafficking problems, subjecting them all to possible sanctions if they did not crack down.”
-Associated Press, September 21, 2005

“Well, they’re an ally. We can’t go making them upset. We need to support our allies and support our troops.”
-Skippy

“The Pentagon has reneged on its offer to pay a $15,000 bonus to members of the National Guard and Army Reserve who agree to extend their enlistments by six years, according to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Seattle)
[...]
A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, confirmed the bonuses had been canceled, saying they violated Pentagon policies because they duplicated other programs. She said Guard and Reserve members would be eligible for other bonuses.
Krenke said some soldiers had been paid the re-enlistment bonuses, but she was unsure how many or whether the money would have to be repaid. Murray’s office said that as far as it knew, no active Guard or Reserve members had received the bonuses.”
-News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), October 19, 2005

“No word yet on whether those people who signed up for six more years will be able to get out of their promises too. I’m kind of guessing they can’t.”
-Skippy