“An evacuation is not an evacuation, it’s an ‘ordered departure’. (I would have thought that an ordered departure is what happens at National Airport every couple of hours when a plane takes off on time). 

"A coup in Egypt isn’t a coup, it’s a ‘change in government.’ 

"The war in Afghanistan isn’t really a war, it's an 'overseas contingency operation.’ 

"What happened in Benghazi was not really a terror attack, it was a spontaneous riot – as the Secretary of State at the time says ‘What difference does it make?’ 

"This is the first administration in history ever to launch a lexicological war on the enemy. They’ve  thrown the book at them – the dictionary – and it really isn’t enough.”

"Here is a practical reason conservatives especially should be concerned about the national security state. People who work for the government, including inevitably those who work in national security, will not decide their powers are too broad. They can’t — they’re focused on a real foe, they have a mission and it tends to leave them in time thinking their powers aren’t broad enough. They will not declare they need more civilian control or oversight — those dizzy, self-serving politicians just gum up the works. They will not decide to limit their use of the capabilities at their fingertips, especially when the stakes seem so high.  

"It is up to the people in the country, to citizens, to control and limit government surveillance, to the extent they can and in accord with true national-security needs."

"If there is no scandal concerning the events that led to Benghazi and its aftermath, there certainly appears to be something that resembles a cover up going on about it. The White House needs to drop the politicized refrain about 'phony scandals' and start treating this issue seriously. It should direct the CIA to start answering questions from the Congress. The sooner it does, the better it will be for the president once we find out — as we inevitably will — what it is that they are trying to keep secret."

"Congressional investigators this week released emails suggesting that staff at the Federal Election Commission have been engaged in their own conservative targeting, with help from the IRS's infamous Lois Lerner. This means more than just an expansion of the probe to the FEC. It's a new link to the Obama team. ... 

This matters because FEC staff didn't have permission from the Commission to conduct this inquiry. It matters because the IRS is prohibited from sharing confidential information, even with the FEC. What the IRS divulged is unclear. Congressional investigators are demanding to see all communications between the IRS and FEC since 2008, and given that Ms. Lerner came out of the FEC's office of the general counsel, that correspondence could prove illuminating."

"Every part of ObamaCare is a growing political burden on the Democrats. But it’s the hypocrisy that will fuel resentment among voters and drive turnout in November 2014. It will be interesting to see what August brings, and what vulnerable Democratic members of Congress, particularly those in the Senate, will witness for themselves in town hall meetings during recess, as victims of the calamity that is ObamaCare begin to show up and vocalize their disapproval. Will they follow Obama’s lead and adopt the president’s 'remain oblivious' strategy, or will they begin to demand some political relief?  For the Democrats on the ballot in 2014, it’s only going to get worse."

"[S]ometimes lawmakers really should stand for something more important than their own reelection. Obamacare is such a fundamental transformation of the American health-care system, and its consequences for patients, providers, taxpayers, and the economy are so grave, that if this is not an issue that Republicans are willing to lose their jobs over, what is? ... 

"At the very least, Republicans ought to try something. As Senator Lee told Fox News, 'Maybe we can’t repeal [Obamacare] right now, but we can delay its funding. And if we can delay it, we can stop its consequences, at least for now.'"

"The sequester has 'cost jobs,' says President Obama, and 'gutted investments in education and science and medical research.' But somehow he's earmarked $500 million for Hamas terrorists.

"Circumventing Congress and with no fanfare, President Obama last week issued an executive order enabling him to send an additional $500 million directly to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank — much of which you can bet will wind up going to the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist organization.

"According to Obama, 'it is important to the national security interests of the United States to waive the provisions of' Congress' legislative restrictions 'in order to provide funds . .. to the Palestinian Authority.'"

"The German writer Goethe once said, 'With knowledge comes more doubt.'  

"That’s certainly the way Americans are reacting to the approach of ObamaCare. ... More Americans want the law repealed than want to keep it. ...  

"It wasn’t supposed to work this way. The idea was Congress would pass the bill; we’d then learn what was in it — and react more favorably as ObamaCare kicked in. But barely two months before the Oct. 1 roll-out, it appears the more Americans learn, the more worried they become. With good reason."

"When Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer announced they were running for two of this city’s most important positions — mayor and comptroller — they confirmed themselves to be men beyond embarrassment. Unfortunately, their presence in these races is making New York the punchline of a national dirty joke. We call on these men to end their campaigns. ...   

"We’d like to think that these men would simply spare the New York they claim to love the indignity of their campaigns and withdraw. The available evidence, alas, suggests that if they had that regard they never would have entered. So if they are going to go, they will likely need to be pushed."

"Second term scandals may intensify in part because presidents invariably dismiss them as unimportant, just as Obama yesterday referred to his troubles as 'phony.' But he likely won't be any more convincing with that line than Nixon was in calling Watergate 'a second-rate burglary.' Similarly, Obama's exasperated 'I am here to say this needs to stop' recalled Clinton's finger-wagging order, 'I want you to listen to me ... I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky ...'

"But a presidential dalliance with an intern is a far cry from using the IRS to silence political opponents or covering up incompetence that killed four brave Americans in Libya, nor is there anything phony about the potential consequences for Obama."