They Said It…

(From the They Said It… section in Volume 18, No. 19 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!)

GUESS HOW TO END MOST VIOLENCE CRIME IN CHICAGO: “Most of Chicago’s violent crime comes from gangs trying to maintain control of drug-selling territories.” — Jack Riley, head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for a five-state region that includes Illinois, quoted in “Heroin Pushed on Chicago by Cartel Fueling Gang Murders,” Bloomberg Markets Magazine, Sep 17, 2013. Last year there were more than 500 homicides in Chicago.

PRO BONO CAPITALISM: “‘Rock star preaches capitalism.’ [Laughs.] Wow. Sometimes I hear myself and I just can’t believe it. But commerce is real. … Commerce, entrepreneurial capitalism takes more people out of poverty than aid. Of course, we know that. … Aid is just a stopgap. … We need Africa to become an economic powerhouse.” — Bono, lead singer for the Irish supergroup U2, from a speech at Georgetown University’s 2012 Global Social Enterprise Event, now widely circulating on the web. Bono, one of the world’s best-known philanthropic performers, has long raised funds for African charities.

SYRIA SHOWS MORE AMERICANS AGREEING WITH RON PAUL: “The American people have spoken out against war. Many more are now asking what I have been asking for quite some time: Why is it always our business when there is civil strife somewhere overseas? Why do we always have to be the ones to solve the world’s problems? It is a sea change and I am very encouraged. We have had a great victory for the cause of peace and liberty and let’s hope we can further build on it.” — Ron Paul, “Has The Tide Turned Against The Warmongers?” Texas Straight Talk column, September 16, 2013.

MINIMUM WAGE MADNESS: “One of the simplest and most fundamental economic principles is that people tend to buy more when the price is lower and less when the price is higher. Yet advocates of minimum wage laws seem to think that the government can raise the price of labor without reducing the amount of labor that will be hired. … Countries with minimum wage laws almost invariably have higher rates of unemployment than countries without minimum wage laws.” — economist and syndicated columnist Thomas Sowell, “Minimum Wage Madness,” Sept. 17,2013.

LEAVE POT USERS ALONE, GO AFTER REAL CRIMINALS: “There is no greater waste of valuable taxpayer dollars than branding hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens as criminals simply for choosing to use a substance less harmful than alcohol. Given the fact that most Americans support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, I suggest our police and prosecutors find a better use of their time.” — former prosecuting attorney Dan Riffle, now director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, Sept. 16, 2013.

THE REAL WORRY: “How many are worried about a government shutdown? How many are more worried about it starting back up? ” — Jay Leno, Oct. 1, 2013.

LENO RIPS OBAMACARE: “USA Today had a front-page feature on the new healthcare law. It said that the opposition to Obamacare is at an all-time high. It has gotten so bad that the president is now calling it ‘Bidencare.'” — Jay Leno ,Sept. 16, 2013.

LENO ON GOV’T EFFICIENCY: “According to a new report, over the last three years Social Security overpaid by $1.29 billion — thus establishing itself as the federal government’s most efficient program.” — Jay Leno, Sept. 16, 2013.

RAISING THE DEBT LIMIT: “President Obama is now making his case for raising the debt limit. He said raising the debt limit does not increase debt. You know, like raising the speed limit does not increase speed.” — Jay Leno, Sept. 26, 2013.