Justice Antonin Scalia, Writing for the Majority in the U.S. Supreme Court Decision Striking Down as Unconstitutional the D.C. Handgun Ban in District of Columbia v. Heller:

“The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home…

“The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District’s total ban on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an entire class of ‘arms’ that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scrutiny the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this prohibition — in the place where the importance of the lawful defense of self, family, and property is most acute — would fail constitutional muster. Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional.”

Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), Writing to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in Support of ANWR and Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil Exploration and Development:

“What will it take for Congress to enact comprehensive energy policy that includes increased domestic production of oil and gas, renewable and alternative energy, and conservation? It seems to us outside of the Capitol Beltway that virtually every effort to accomplish this is met with criticism and failure. In my opinion, the debate about energy policy is no longer theoretical and abstract. Our failure to enact an energy policy is having real consequences for every American in their daily lives and has begun to affect America’s place in the world.”

Ralph Peters, LTC, USA-Ret., Author, Columnist and Commentator, On the Rights of Terrorists:

“The greatest left-wing fallacy in the War on Terror is the conviction that protecting the rights of terrorists is more important than protecting the rights of the innocent. It is utterly wrong to imagine that, by according exaggerated legal protections to terrorists, we strengthen the legal basis of our society.

“Our government's basic justification for existing is the protection of its own citizens.”

Regarding Congressional Action on the Foreign Intelligence Security Act (FISA):

“A compromise bill to overhaul foreign-intelligence surveillance passed in the House last week with an overwhelming bipartisan majority. The measure, strongly supported by the administration, now heads to the Senate. Passage appears certain. This bill is the urgently needed resolution of a national-security crisis caused by the recklessness of leaders of the Democratic Party. Embracing that recklessness, Barack Obama threatens to torpedo this important national-security legislation with a poison-pill amendment in the Senate.”

— The Editors, National Review

“The most important benefit of the agreement is that it grants retroactive liability protection to telecommunications companies who responded to the federal government's request for emergency help after September 11. The companies did their patriotic duty: making sure that the U.S. intelligence agencies were able to monitor the telephone calls and faxes of known and suspected terrorists - at a time when there was good reason to worry about a second wave of attacks. However, for doing the right thing, the companies were hit with approximately 40 lawsuits pushed by the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and trial-lawyer activists. These lawsuits exposed the telecoms to the possibility of paying billions in damages for helping the government conduct ‘illegal’ warrantless surveillance. But two centuries of American case law demonstrate that the warrant requirement has never been absolute. To cite but one of many exceptions, the president has long been understood to have the ‘inherent authority’ to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information. This has been recognized by federal appeals courts and was acknowledged in 2002 by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.”

— The Editors, The Washington Times

Steven Malanga, Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow and RealClearMarkets.com Editor, On the Market Consequences of the 2005 Supreme Court Eminent Domain Ruling in Kelo v. New London:

“Today, three years after Kelo, the game of public sponsored economic development subsidized by taxes, tax-free bonds, tax-breaks for favored businesses, and the threat of eminent domain, is alive and well, supporting everything from mega-projects like the massive 22-acre Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, N.Y., to the efforts by the tiny California town of Hercules to take land away from Wal-Mart because the town fathers objected to the big box retailer invading their domain. Kelo has allowed local officials throughout the country to remain masters of eminent domain, and private markets continue to suffer as a result.”

John Gizzi, Human Events Political Editor, On Fairness, Freedom of Speech and House Speaker Pelosi:

“The Speaker of the House made it clear to me and more than forty of my colleagues yesterday that a bill by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) to outlaw the ‘Fairness Doctrine’ (which a liberal administration could use to silence Rush Limbaugh, other radio talk show hosts and much of the new alternative media) would not see the light of day in Congress during ’08. In ruling out a vote on Pence’s proposed Broadcaster's Freedom Act, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also signaled her strong support for revival of the ‘Fairness Doctrine’ — which would require radio station owners to provide equal time to radio commentary when it is requested.”

Rich Lowry, National Review Editor, On the Country Wide Difficulties of Being a United States Senator:

“It's not easy being a U.S. Senator. People trick you into taking special favors you didn't even know existed. Shame on these unscrupulous people!

“Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad, both Democrats, fell victim to the machinations of Countrywide Financial, which gave them breaks on mortgages as part of the ‘Friends of Angelo’ program; the ‘Angelo’ in question is Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo.”

This Week On the Trail:

“The host committee for the Democratic National Convention wanted 15,000 fanny packs for volunteers. But they had to be made of organic cotton. By unionized labor. In the USA.

“Official merchandiser Bob DeMasse scoured the country. His weary conclusion: ‘That just doesn't exist.’

“Ditto for the baseball caps. ‘We have a union cap or an organic cap,’ Mr. DeMasse says. ‘But we don't have a union-organic offering.’”

— Stephanie Simon, The Wall Street Journal

“Right now, fully 80% of Americans give at least one of the candidates a passing or failing grade, according to polling that I've done — and they are breaking relatively evenly for McCain and Obama. That leaves 20% floating around like rowboats looking for a dock slip. According to the website RealClearPolitics, the average of national polls has Obama beating McCain 47% to 43%, with just 10% seemingly undecided or uncommitted. But the real floating vote is twice that number because it includes people with a slight preference, not just those with no preference at all. And it is that 20%, not the outspoken partisans on either side, that will decide this historic election.”

— Frank Luntz, Pollster, Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research Chairman and CEO

“Florida Governor Charlie Crist did not help his ambition to be John McCain's vice presidential running mate when he delivered a Flag Day speech to a conservative audience in Orange County, Calif., and praised California's Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

— Robert D. Novak, Syndicated Columnist

“The Obamans insist that mentioning any of the man’s disreputable friends and religious mentors is a no-no that smacks of McCarthyism. This is an odd complaint because, one, McCarthy was right when he pointed out that the folks who associated with other people at Communist cell meetings were in fact Communists, and, two, every child is told that he’s going to be judged by the company he keeps. So, let’s face facts — John Dillinger ran with a nicer crowd than this guy.”

— Burt Prelutsky, Author, Humor Columnist and Movie Critic

“As a father, I believe there is no more sacred responsibility in American society than that of protecting the innocence of our children. I have spent over twenty-five years in Congress fighting for stronger criminal sentences for those who exploit and harm our children. Today’s Supreme Court ruling is an assault on law enforcement’s efforts to punish these heinous felons for the most despicable crime. That there is a judge anywhere in America who does not believe that the rape of a child represents the most heinous of crimes, which is deserving of the most serious of punishments, is profoundly disturbing.”

— Senator John McCain, (R-AZ), Presumptive GOP Presidential Nominee

“About 46 seconds into [a recent Obama television] ad, we are told that Obama ‘passed laws’ that ‘extended healthcare for wounded troops who’d been neglected,’ and in the usual manner of these political commercials we are given a little citation at the bottom. The citation reads ‘Public Law 110-181 1/28/08’. That law is the only federal legislation cited in the ad — the other two items mentioned were from the Illinois legislature and referred to other issues raised in the ad.

“Public Law 110-181 was the 2008 defense authorization bill. It passed the Senate by 91 to 3 in January, with six Senators not voting. Among those six absentees was Barack Obama. So he cites a bill he didn’t even vote for.”

— Yuval Levin, Author, Ethics and Public Policy Center Fellow and Former President's Council on Bioethics Chief of Staff

“If ads don't mean much of anything in a general election, why is so much attention paid to them? Part of it is because the press zeroes in on them, which, in the echo chamber of national politics, makes them important — though even then not as much as anyone thinks. And why do reporters cover them? They're the easiest stories in the world to report, because you don't even have to leave your air-conditioned office and you can pretend to be a TV critic.”

— Steven Stark, Boston Phoenix

Regarding Public Financing and the 2008 Presidential Campaign:

“Obama announced he would become the first presidential candidate since 1972 to rely totally on private donations for his general election campaign, opting out of the system of public financing and spending limits that was put in place after the Watergate scandal.

“One reason, he said, is that ‘John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.’

“We find that to be a large exaggeration and a lame excuse. In fact, donations from PACs and lobbyists make up less than 1.7 percent of McCain's total receipts, and they account for only about 1.1 percent of the RNC's receipts.”

— Brooks Jackson, FactCheck.org, Director, Annenberg Public Policy Center

“Friday morning, scathing editorials in many top broadsheets characterized Obama’s move as a self-interested flip-flop, dismissed his efforts to cast it as a principled stand and charged that Obama wasn’t living up to the reformer image around which he has crafted his political identity.

“The scolding could mark a turning point in what has been, on balance, fawning treatment of Obama, an Illinois Senator and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, on editorial pages.

“While the influence of editorial boards has diminished as the media has fragmented, they still carry weight with opinion leaders and undecided voters.”

— Kenneth P. Vogel, The Politico