Always strive to learn something useful. --Sophocles

"I believe that we're going to see coming an effort for multiples in marriage -- not just two, but multiples in marriage...I think they want to legalize that. I think also they want to abolish age of consent laws, which means...we would do away with statutory rape laws so that adults would be able to freely prey on little children sexually. That's the deviance that we're seeing embraced in our culture today."
—Rep. Michele Bachmann on gays

"These things that beat in our hearts when we hear the National Anthem and when we say the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't beat the same for him."
—Rep. Steve King on President Obama

"I'm familiar with your country; I love your country. And I understand the complications of so many languages, and so many cultures, and so many histories all rolled up in one. So just as your capital is welcome here to produce good paying jobs in the U.S., I like our capital to be welcome there, and there to be freedom of capital, so that both sides are on the same territory. And I ask cooperation and commitment and priority from your government in so doing. Can I have that?"
—Rep. Curt Clawson (R-Fl.) to two Indian-American U.S. officials, at a hearing

First, Bachmann. ROFL! Yeah, and legalizing gay marriage also legalized bestiality. What an idiot. Personally I have no problem with legally recognizing plural marriages assuming the following two points: (1) All members are consenting adults of legal age, (2) There is an exit strategy. There must be a legal plan in place for how things are reorganized if one member decides to leave or should pass away, this obviously can become very complicated if children are born or significant employment changes happen, it's possible some sort of support payment would be required. Should be doable if you structure it like a limited corporation that dissolves when one partner leaves, it has to be disbursed according to the prior mutually agreed upon plan and re-structured for the new members.

Next, King. Yeah. For who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, Steve King knows. Clearly we need to bring back loyalty oaths and commissions to investigate potential breaches of same. Personally, I think the national anthem should be changed to America The Beautiful as the Star Spangled Banner has far too strong military connotations, and I'd like to see freedom FROM religion returned to the United States with removing the 'Under God' line from both the Pledge and from American currency.

And finally Clawson. This is a genuine ROFLMAO! I saw a clip of it last night, and it was amazing how wide he could open his mouth for the express purpose of sticking his foot in it. He was on a House committee on something or other and two U.S. government employees, a man and a woman, were appearing before the committee. Said employees were both U.S. born of Asian-Indian descent. Curt started with something like 'I love Punjab and traveling there', followed by other insanity. The man was leaning back in his chair, hands clasped across stomach, smiling broadly. Possibly barely able to contain laughter. The woman finally spoke, saying something like 'I agree and will convey your admiration to the Indian Government if I have the chance.' Her English was beyond flawless, it was pure American English and if you just heard her voice and didn't see her face, you would not be able to easily identify where she was from within the USA. It was absolutely amazing.

Clearly Clawson didn't read any briefing for what the committee would be doing, but the best part is that the woman was a staffer on that committee for something like a decade, long before Clawson was elected to office.

"We have seen the threat that the Muslim Brotherhood has posed here for the people in Egypt. We have seen the threat that the Muslim Brotherhood has posed around the world. We stand against this great evil. We are not for them. We remember who caused 9/11 in America. We remember who it was that killed 3,000 brave Americans."
—Rep. Michele Bachmann, in Egypt

I saw the clip for this. Bachmann and two other Congresscritters flew to Egypt and insulted the world. I especially liked her saying 9/11, because what she actually said was "nine one one", assuming everyone could insert the proper punctuation, and here I thought the people who caused 911 were the phone company. I've always wondered if Bin Laden et al chose that day for the attacks for that relationship to Americans. I was personally unaware that The Muslim Brotherhood = Al Quaeda, especially since, what was it, 11/12ths of the hijackers were Saudi Arabian nationals. Amazing the things that you can learn from elected gov't officials!

(tip o'the hat to Mr. Magoo)

"There is somebody I think is exceptional and truly comes the closest to embodying the spirit of Lincoln or Washington in this field [of candidates]. And I believe that it is Michele Bachmann."
— Glenn Beck

Except for Beck previously saying that Santorum is the next Washington. I guess he wants a Sant/Bach ticket, I'm not sure who would be on top.

"I happen to think that the communist Chinese government will end up on the ash heap of history if they do not change their virtues. It is important for a country to have virtues, virtues of honesty."
— Herman Cain

"If you look at China, they don't have food stamps. They don't have the modern welfare state, and China's growing. And so what I would do is look at the programs that LBJ gave us with the Great Society and they'd be gone."
— Michele Bachmann

*SWISH!*

I really loved hearing about Cain's fears of China getting nuclear weapons.

"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?'"
— Michele Bachmann

I guess she doesn't realize that we have earthquakes of varying magnitude every day? Or that we have tropical storms every year? She must be on Pat Robertson's speed dial. Wonderful thing, willful ignorance.

"There is a controversy among scientists about whether evolution is a fact...hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel prizes, believe in intelligent design."
— Michele Bachmann

"Forty-three Nobel Laureate scientists have endorsed our effort to repeal Louisiana's creationism law...Congresswoman Bachmann, you claim that Nobel Laureates support creationism. Show me your hand. If you want to be taken seriously by voters while you run for President, back up your claims with facts. Can you match 43 Nobel Laureates, or do you fold?"
— Baton Rouge high school student Zach Kopplin

You go, Zach! Bachmann was challenged to a debate by a NJ student who was pissed at Bachmann's displays of ignorance of the Constitution, Bachmann declined.

"What I love about New Hampshire and what we have in common is our extreme love of liberty. You're the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord."
— Michele Bachmann

I wonder if she went to the same geography school as Sarah Palin?

"Under no certain circumstances will I give the government control over my body and my health care decisions."
-- anti pro-choice Rep. Michele Bachmann

Hmmm, ironic much?