James Taranto Quotes & Sayings

The thing we adore about these dog-whistle kerfuffles is that the people who react to the whistle always assume it's intended for somebody else. The whole point of the metaphor is that if you can hear the whistle, you're the dog. — James Taranto

Because of racism, he can't govern effectively' is not a great argument for re-election. — James Taranto

If the rest of the world likes Americans only when we're dying, the rest of the world can go to hell. — James Taranto

Some libs took offense at my David Broder quip earlier. In my own defense, I was taught in college it's OK to disrespect dead white males. — James Taranto

The American people are fed up ... with political posturing.' True, but also an example of political posturing. — James Taranto

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth disputed whether John Kerry deserved some of his five medals. A large part of Kerry's defense was an appeal to the authority of veterans who supported him-one of whom has now been revealed to have received a medal he doesn't deserve. This doesn't prove the Kerry detractors were right, but it certainly doesn't weaken their case. — James Taranto

Making wise decisions requires more than incentives. It requires wisdom. — James Taranto

The Guardian's headline is 'How Going Green May Make You Mean.' We're inclined to think the chain of causation runs the other way - that people who are jerks to begin with gravitate toward verdant sanctimony. — James Taranto

Why has America's fringe left been making common cause with the Taliban, whose views on such matters as women's rights and separation of church and state are appallingly retrograde by anyone's standards? One reason may be that the Taliban seem to have mastered the language of victimhood, sounding like denizens of some college ethnic-studies department. — James Taranto

An industry devoted to serving the public's right to know gives twisted and evil men the means of becoming known. This problem is not obviously amenable to a solution, and it certainly is not amenable to a legal one. A regime of media regulation that would be both effective at preventing mass shootings and consistent with the American Constitution is no easier to imagine than a regime of gun regulation that would meet the same criteria. — James Taranto

Yasser Arafat remains in stable condition after dying in a Paris hospital. — James Taranto