“Yes, I planned all along to spend a thousand dollars on a gun that I was going to give away just to prove that an ex-astronaut with a sterling record could buy one.”

He bought the gun for exactly the same reason that everyone else buys one — it’s a great gun. Plus, he was probably concerned that he might not be able to do so in the future, if his campaign to take away the rights of the rest of us to do so is successful. And if his story is true, then he violated a federal gun law by signing a false statement when he purchased it.

Once he was caught, he had two choices. He could tell the truth, and be right with the law, or he could come up with this ridiculously implausible fairy tale, and be in violation of the law. So it’s apparently so important to him not to undermine his campaign to deprive us of our civil rights that he had to lie about it, and make himself a federal criminal (though of course, he won’t be prosecuted, because laws are for the little people).

Disgusting. He’s becoming this era’s Sarah Brady. And of course, accordingly, the media won’t give him the skepticism, even mockery, that he so richly deserves.

…that are just lapdogs when it comes to Democrats:

President Obama is no different. Whether it’s responding to Congress, media questions, or FOIA requests, this administration is no better than its predecessor. The big difference: Obama is a Democrat. And because he is a Democrat, he’s gotten a pass from many of the civil liberty and good-government groups who spent years watching President Bush’s every move like a hawk.

No one knows this better than John Kiriakou, the CIA agent who reported to federal prison two weeks ago for blowing the whistle on the agency’s use of torture. During an interview at an Arlington, Va., coffee shop, Kiriakou said the time has come for Washington watchdog groups—organizations like Public Citizen, Project on Government Oversight, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and others—to admit that President Obama hasn’t come close to making good on his promise to make government more transparent and accountable.

“Dan Ellsberg. He called me again last night,” said Kiriakou, referring to the man who in 1971 leaked the Pentagon Papers and opened the world’s eyes to the United States’ long involvement in Vietnam. “We talk about this all the time. He keeps asking me, ‘Where is the outrage? If this were a Republican administration, people would be in the streets, right? We would be marching in the streets. But people cut Obama a break to the point of irrationality.’

Far beyond it, actually. Apparently, the only way we’ll ever get accountability in government is to put Republicans back in charge. It shouldn’t be that way.

You’ve got it made in Washington:

Republicans, for their part, appear to be relishing the leaks out of the West Wing. Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck broadcast the remarks on his Twitter feed earlier today and mused, “I wonder if the president agrees w/his senior aide who tells National Journal the charm offensive is a ‘joke’ and only done for the media.”

If he does, he’ll never admit it.

Piers Morgan once again displays his idiocy:

If a Mayor can’t do things to make his city’s populace healthier – what’s the point of his job? Bloomberg’s 100% right on supersized soda.

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 11, 2013

As Mark Steyn pointed out during Sandy, New York has a mayor who thinks that how much soda New Yorkers can have in their cups is more important than how much seawater they’re allowed in their subways.