THE FOUNDATION

“No man in his senses can hesitate in choosing to be free, rather than a slave.” —Alexander Hamilton

INSIGHT

“I am not a saint, and I am sure I have done things I might have done better or differently, or not at all. I have also left undone things that I should have done. But I believe and hope that I have been honest with myself and with others, that I have been faithful to my friends and fair to my opponents, and that I have tried my very best to make this great government work for the good of all Americans.” —President Gerald Ford

“There is a higher law than the Constitution.” —William H. Seward

“Peace is not the absence of war, but a virtue based on strength of character.” —Spinoza

“The surest way to prevent war is not to fear it.” —John Randolph

“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” —Donald A. Adams

UPRIGHT

“Pacifism, self-hatred and complacency are lengthening the war against radical Islam and causing undue casualties. Only after absorbing catastrophic human and property losses will left-leaning Westerners likely overcome this triple affliction and confront the true scope of the threat. The civilized world will likely then prevail, but belatedly and at a higher cost than need have been.” —Daniel Pipes

“A Social Security reform that raises the tax share on upper income Americans hovers like a cloud over the GOP. Not only is President Bush refusing to rule out such a tax increase but Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been actively considering such a politically volatile provision. On top of all his other troubles, President Bush could finally lose his base on this issue and split the party.” —Robert Novak

“President George W. Bush has endorsed an increase in the minimum wage… Government wage-setting is supported by organized labor, and not for the purpose of helping poor people. Rather, the goal is to put out of work lesser-trained, low-wage competitors to union members. We need a Republican president to help labor do this?” —Doug Bandow

“Today, roughly half of those serving in uniform are married—proving that the hearts of even our toughest troops can be pierced by Cupid’s arrow. It also shows that military service is as much a family commitment as it is personal.” —Oliver North

“They say that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. Pensively, anxiously, the people of the United States and Iraq—as well as students of history from around the world—wait to see if the newly elected majority in the U.S. Congress bring with them the wisdom that only history can provide.” —Frank Salvato

Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1913-2006

Gerald Rudolph Ford, the 38th President of the United States, died last week at the age of 93. Confirmed as Vice President following Spiro Agnew’s corruption-tinged resignation on 10 October 1973, and sworn in as President following Richard Nixon’s resignation on 9 August 1974, Ford had the distinction of being the only U.S. President never elected to either of those offices.

Gerald Ford was a Rockefeller Republican and frequent political foe of Ronald Reagan. As a Congressman he was usually on the wrong side of the battle for the soul of the Republican Party in the 1960s and 70s. However, in his most important role, President of the United States, Ford had a refreshing quality. A consolation during one of the most politically troubling times in our nation’s living memory, Jerry Ford brought dignity to the office of the President. Politically, President Ford’s political tenure may not have been a particularly successful one—the economic and foreign policy woes that plagued the country upon his ascension remained in place at his exit—but the criticism that Ford’s two-and-a-half years in office “paved the way” for the disastrous Carter years hardly seems fair.

Rather, we will remember President Ford as a tribute to the durability and justness of the American system of government. As he said in his address to the American people upon assuming the presidency, “I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your President with your prayers. And I hope that such prayers will also be the first of many… Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a Government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a Higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.”

President Ford is survived by his wife, Betty, four children and numerous grandchildren.

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

“Death on a scaffold is the fitting ending for Saddam Hussein. His was a carefully conceived career of mass murder and terror, and an Iraqi court, with Iraqi judges and Iraqi lawyers, has sat in judgment on it. True, they passed sentence on only a small portion of his crimes, and much of the evidence was still to be heard of the genocide he ordered for the Shi’ites and the Kurds. However, legalistic quibbles or conscientious objections are particularly misplaced. Iraq has long been a failed state, its true condition concealed by a run of dictators, each more brutal than the last… Arab despotism is a fearsome phenomenon, renewing itself from within each and every time yet another glorified hit man sets out on his bloody career. In the spirit of pure self-aggrandizement, Saddam invaded Iran and Kuwait, fired missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia, decimated his own population and in the process resorted to poison gas, manipulated the great powers, and made a special mockery of the United Nations… With such brutes, entreaty, diplomacy, conferences are exercises in self-deception. Regime change imposed by superior force was the only realistic way to ensure Saddam’s fall. This is what occurred in March 2003, and it is a historic marker. The collapse of his dictatorship has created a social and political void, and a variety of hit men, as usual, are trying to make careers out of it. The only way to prevent their doing so is to introduce the rule of law and impose enough security that it has a chance to take. Saddam’s trial, for all its flaws, was an exercise in the rule of law. Justice is never perfect, especially when carrying an element of retribution. Much more important, though, this case is exemplary. Saddam’s trial and execution could yet be the building block of a future with hope in it for an Iraqi society and state at last free from his tyranny.” —National Review

DEZINFORMATSIA

Now they like him: “Gerald Ford hits the Bush administration with a broadside. Before he died, he called the war in Iraq, ‘a big mistake’ made by some of the men he brought into power.” —ABC’s Charles Gibson ++ “The last word, President Gerald Ford opposed the war. Why did he keep it a secret until after his death?” —NBC’s sub anchor Campbell Brown

“Patriotism” on display: “I’ll read to you what Kofi Annan said on Monday. He said, ‘If current patterns of alienation and violence persist much further, there is a grave danger the Iraqi state will break down, possibly in the midst of a full-scale civil war.’ Is this what the American people bought into?” —CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to President Bush ++ “Here’s the question to you. Has the U.S. already lost in Iraq?” —CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to John Murtha ++ “Sometime early in January, the president plans to lay it [the plan for Iraq] all out. Maybe then he will finally tell us why he invaded a Third World country under false pretenses. He may even explain why U.S. forces continue to be there.” —Helen Thomas

From the ‘08 Jackass Stampede: “Al Gore, who is now in contention as a possible presidential candidate and who is leading a campaign to recognize the potential danger of global warming. Hooray that he is back.” —Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift ++ “First up, the restoration. Who is the most likely Democratic nominee for president? Any way you slice it, Hillary Clinton is the one to beat… Hillary hopes to capitalize on the nostalgia that many Americans have for the Clinton years, the good old days.” —NBC’s Andrea Mitchell

Newspulper Headlines: ‘Hey, It’s Really Hot Down Here. Oh, and Saddam Says Hi.’: “Castro Sends New Year’s Message to Cubans” —Reuters

Door Handles and Armrests Are Optional: “Fords Are Expected to Feature Windows” —Detroit Free Press

In Search of New Worlds to Surrender To: “Planet-Hunting Satellite to Be Launched Today by French Agency” —Bloomberg

What Other Species Do Our Emails Protect?: “Protecting Polar Bears: Your E-Mails” —CNN.com ++ Why Move the Whole Country if We Can Just Send Some Emails?: “U.S. Moves to Protect Polar Bears” —CBSNews.com

News You Can Use: “Reading Diet Articles Could Be Unhealthy” —Associated Press (Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

THE DEMO-GOGUES

That’s the spirit!: “Militarily, we’ve lost. There’s no question about it. We cannot win this militarily.” —John Murtha

They’ve got their talking points down: “I don’t believe that [another 50,000 troops in Iraq] would stabilize the country, nor do I think it’ll bring victory.” —Teddy Kennedy ++ “I want to make it clear that I totally oppose the surging of additional American troops into Baghdad. I think it is contrary to the overwhelming body of informed opinion. A surge of up to 30,000 American troops cannot have any positive effect except for only temporary.” —Sen. Joe Biden ++ “I don’t think [a troop-number surge] will change a thing. It could actually exacerbate the situation even further.” —Missouri Rep. Ike Skelton ++ “I am not in favor of sending more troops to continue doing what our young men and women have been told to do, with the government of Iraq pulling the rug out from under them when they actually go after some of the bad guys. I am not in favor of doing that unless it’s part of a larger plan.” —Hillary Clinton, not in favor of sending more troops unless she’s in favor of sending more troops

He can’t be serious: “[T]he Democrats will have the best candidate. And we have every intention to win. The fact is all of them, whether you take Obama, Hillary, Chris Dodd, John Kerry, they’re all better than our Republican friends.” —Teddy Kennedy

VILLAGE IDIOTS

Deep thoughts: “My grandmother and my grandfather, and my mother and father were Republicans. And I started thinking for myself.” —actor James Brolin (Mr. Barbra Streisand) explaining why he is a Democrat

From the “Sympathy for the Devil” Department: “The United States, and the Bush administration in particular, engineered the demonization of [Saddam] Hussein, and it has a clear political interest in his conviction. Obviously, a fair trial of Hussein will be difficult to ensure—and critically important to the future of democracy in Iraq.” —Former Attorney General and Saddam defense lawyer Ramsey Clark who must now be in mourning

From the “X-Mas” Department: “God followers are historically over-emotional and will do what they are told if they think their God wants them to do it, without questioning the merit of the actions… [Christmas was merely] the Christianization of the winter solstice celebration, which was secular in the first place. Christmas’ loss of religion is simply a return to its roots.” —David Silverman, national spokesperson for American Atheists

From the Global Village: “Concerning my recovery I always said it would be a long process, but it is far from being a lost battle… I have not stopped being in the loop on main events and information. I have had exchanges with our closest comrades always when co-operation has been necessary on vitally important issues.” —Cuba’s “Fidel Castro,” if that was really him still breathing

SHORT CUTS

“In Washington today the funeral for President Gerald Ford was held and all the living presidents were in attendance. Jimmy Carter said Ford was a wonderful man. Clinton called Ford a true American. And President Bush said Ford was the guy who invented the automobile.” —Conan O’Brien

“[John Edwards is] running for president on five big priorities: ‘guaranteeing health care,’ ‘leading the fight against global warming,’ ‘strengthening our middle class and ending the shame of poverty,’ and by then my fingers were too comatose to write down the fifth theme but, if memory serves, it was guaranteeing to lead the fight to strengthen ending the shame of platitudinous campaign rhetoric.” —Mark Steyn ++ “John Edwards announced his candidacy Thursday for the Democratic presidential nomination. It’s the second time he has run. The desire to be president is a siren’s call, and no one responds to a siren faster than a personal injury attorney.” —Argus Hamilton

“In the annual spirit of compulsive declarations, summations and resolutions, let me just say, I’m sorry. For everything. The Crusades, destruction of the Mayan temples, the Spanish Inquisition, (really sorry for that), the Bay of Pigs and, not least, typing the word ‘possom’ when I really meant ‘possum’.” —Kathleen Parker

“[T]here were many pesky problems left over from 2005 that refused to go away in 2006, including Iraq, immigration, high gas prices, terrorism, global warming, avian flu, Iran, North Korea and Paris Hilton.” —Dave Barry

Jay Leno: I’m the designated driver on New Years Eve. I still have fun. Here’s what I do. I like to drop off all my drunken friends at homes of strangers. … It is tradition on New Year’s Eve to watch the ball drop. Who also watched Saddam drop? … Saddam Hussein was executed in Iraq by hanging over the weekend. Which in Iraq is known as death by natural causes. … Big announcement from Senator Hillary Clinton: She now says that she wouldn’t have voted to authorize President Bush’s attack on Iraq if she knew what she knows now. Big deal. She wouldn’t have married Bill if she knew what she knows now. … There is now a new law outlawing melting down pennies and nickels for profit. Based on current metal prices, both pennies and nickels are worth more melted down. Leave it to the government to figure out a way to lose money while making money.

Veritas vos Liberabit—Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot’s editors and staff. (Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm’s way around the world, and for their families—especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who have died in defense of American liberty, while prosecuting the war with Jihadistan.)