THE FOUNDATION

“I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.” —Thomas Jefferson

INSIGHT

“Consensus is the negation of leadership.” —Margaret Thatcher

“Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solution.” —Edward R. Murrow

“The first virtue of all really great men is that they are sincere. They eradicate hypocrisy from their hearts.” —Anatole France

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Well, the election campaign in the country is picking up speed… All the candidates are talking about health care now. Don’t they realize that it’s their campaign speeches that makes us sick?” —Bob Hope

UPRIGHT

“Drawing the lessons from our 20th-century confrontation with totalitarian menaces, Ronald Reagan counseled that weakness is provocative. That insight is eternal. Today, America has the economic and military capacity to lead the world—but our psychological fitness for the part is in serious doubt. There is no end to the malevolent forces who will be eager to fill the role if we decline it…” —Mona Charen

“The American left has long deplored Bush’s rhetorical reliance on such vulgar conceits as ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ But it seems even ‘victory’ is a problematic concept, and right now the momentum is all for defeat of one kind or another.” —Mark Steyn

“In Iowa last weekend, Sen. Clinton showed why she shouldn’t—and I believe won’t—be president. She deliberately misled the audience about her vote to authorize President Bush to use force against Saddam Hussein.” —Cal Thomas

“Republicans should be able to declare that Islamo-Nazi terror must be defeated and destroyed, not understood, not appeased, and not just negotiated to a standstill.” —Michael Medved ++ “Societies at war cannot wait for bombs to be phoned in to 911. We must stop the Islamists before they strike. That in turn means knowing who they are, what they say, and where they are. Even if we would rather not.” —Jeff Jacoby

“I’m proud… to be the first African-American coach to win [the Super Bowl], but again, more than anything…[Chicago Bears head coach] Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord’s way. And we’re more proud of that.” —Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

“[T]he Bush administration is reportedly poised to ask Congress to fund the development of ‘orbital battle stations,’ each of which will be able to shoot down ballistic missiles with 40 or 50 infra-red guided projectiles the size of a loaf of bread. Such a system is necessary not just to defend satellites, but millions of people… Iran already has missiles that can reach Israel, which could be armed with chemical or biological weapons even if Iran is still incapable of building a nuclear warhead. The Arrow missile, while better than nothing, is not as effective as a boost-phase defense that would shoot down missiles as they are launched from an aggressor state. Moreover, the missile threat is growing, not going away. In 1972, eight countries had long-range ballistic missiles. Today, 20 countries do. If any clarification were necessary, the recent war in Lebanon showcased the missile as the ‘equalizer’ for rogue states and their terrorist proxies. And while ABM systems may be of limited use against short-range missiles, it is the long-range missiles that pose a possible existential threat. In this context, we hope administration opponents in Congress will abandon their anachronistic opposition to space-based defense systems. The option of ‘demilitarizing’ space does not exist. The choice is between leaving the populations of free nations exposed to missile attack, or taking advantage of the best technologies available to meet that threat.” —Jerusalem Post

DEZINFORMATSIA

Whistle while you work: “Well, our job is to bash the President, that’s what we do…” —Newsweek’s Evan Thomas

No wonder ratings are low: “And how’s this for irony? Today’s Capitol Hill confrontation began four years to the day after then-Secretary of State Colin Powell made a dramatic speech at the UN to make the case that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction. It was a brilliant performance, enough to sell the Congress and the nation on going to war. But before long, it became an embarrassment.” —See BS’s embarrassment, Katie Couric

The end is near: “The science of global warming, a lot of it done in the U.S., is clearer than ever. The planet is heating up and will continue to do so. The polar ice caps have been shrinking and will continue to, and sea levels will rise. Droughts will deepen, deserts will spread, causing crops to fail.” —CBS’s Mark Phillips ++ Profiles in courage: “We want to leave you tonight with some pictures from Paris where they dimmed the 20,000 bulbs on the Eiffel tower tonight to raise awareness of climate change. And so many French households did the same thing at the same time, power use dropped across France by one percent.” —NBC’s Brian Williams *This is news? France has been running on “dimmed” bulbs for decades.

Thanks for the “support”: “We pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them, we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak up because they are above society?… [It] is just an ugly reminder of the price we pay for a mercenary—oops sorry, volunteer—force that thinks it is doing the dirty work.” —Washington Post and NBC “military analyst” William Arkin

Just “reporting” the news: “The House passed a $463.5 billion spending bill Wednesday that covers about one-sixth of the federal budget as Democrats cleared away the financial mess they inherited from Republicans.” —Associated Press

Newspulper Headlines: Who’s the Lucky Guy?: “113 Nations Blame Man for Climate Change” —Associated Press

Where’s the Rest of Him?: “Chinese Colonel Sees Arms in Space” —Associated Press

With Friends Like These…: “Pedestrian Killed in Friendship Identified” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It’s Hard to Be Humble: “Police: Humble Man Shot While Trying to Ram Officers” —Houston Chronicle

Bottom Story of the Day: “A Presidential Also-Ran, Kerry Adjusts to What Passes for a Normal Life in the Senate” —The New York Times (Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

THE DEMO-GOGUES

Memo to self: “You can run, but you can’t hide. We are going to debate Iraq.” —Harry Reid ++ “This bipartisan resolution is a critical first step to holding the president accountable and it is the basis for the first real debate on the President’s flawed Iraq policy… This obstructionism makes it clear that Republicans in Congress are not interested in offering a new direction in Iraq that the American people called for last November.” —DNC Chairman Howard “the Scream” Dean

Promises, promises: “If we in Congress don’t end this war before January 2009, as president, I will. And I expect to be busy in the White House in January 2009, because once and for all, we are going to provide quality, affordable, universal health-care coverage to every single American.” —Hillary Clinton on her schedule for the last 11 days of January 2009

In the name of “the children”: “Rather than trying to solve our health care crisis by lowering costs and covering more people, the President’s plan will make the crisis worse by raising costs and failing to cover those who need it most—our nation’s children.” —Teddy Kennedy ++ Spilling the beans: “The bottom line is we’re asking everybody to share in the responsibility of making health care work in this country. Employers, those who are in the medical insurance business, employees, the American people—everyone will have to contribute in order to make this work. Yes, we’ll have to raise taxes.” —John Edwards

Enough said: “Hopefully, the things I say and do will not be taken in the light of a presidential race anymore. And I think that’s positive.” —John Kerry

Voted off the island: “I think it’s really important that the next president of the United Sates be a good, decent, honorable human being who’s open and honest with the country…” —John Edwards *Well, that should narrow the playing field a bit…

VILLAGE IDIOTS

Charging the Race Card: “There may be a reluctance to apologize for the heinous crime of slavery because with apology goes the obligation to repair the damage.” —Je$$e Jack$on on Virginia’s recent resolution expressing “profound regret” **Or it could be that slavery ended 142 YEARS AGO!

The far left gets it right: “Actually [Hillary Clinton is] really a panderer and a flatterer. As she goes around the country, you’ll see more of that.” —Ralph Nader, considering another run if Hillary gets the Demo nod ++ The near left gets it wrong: “And [Hillary has] been remarkably consistent on Iraq, where others have wavered. Because the solution is not going to be military, it’s going to be a political solution.” —Clinton fundraiser Robert Zimmerman

From the Glitterati: “I’m very excited about the strength of the Democratic field for the 2008 presidential election, and I’m looking forward to a lively and healthy primary debate that discusses the key issues facing this country.” —Barbra Streisand, who has donated to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards

Not ruling it out: “I don’t have any plans to run for president, but I appreciate the request.” —Dr. Doom, Algore

Ashamed American: “We have no moral high ground… [Growing up] I was taught to look at the United States not from the inside out but from the outside in. The signs you see are very disheartening. It is probably the worst time ever for us internationally. When you go to Europe, for the most part, they just hate us. Not individually, but they think we are just like these big bullies—and quite honestly, we have acted like that.” —George Clooney

SHORT CUTS

“Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he’s starting a joint energy research project with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Actually, the man’s name is Rod Benson, but Arnold pronounces it ‘Blagojevich’.” —Conan O’Brien

“If [Scooter] Libby were a Democrat, we would know the sexual proclivities of everyone in Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s office, Judith Miller would be portrayed as a ‘stalker,’ Tim Russert’s cat would be dead, and the public would know about every toupee at MSNBC.” —Ann Coulter

“We are witnessing Hillary’s campaign at its zenith. Starting in Iowa last week she has been racing to the left on the Iraq situation and no one—NO one—thinks she truly believes a single thing she has said in the past two weeks.” —Rich Galen

“If [Reid, Pelosi, and Bush] were to bake a cake together, Reid would want credit for the ingredients and the color of the icing. Pelosi would want to make sure the cake was big enough to feed everybody. And Bush would compliment them on the cake, then go grill a steak.” —Tom Purcell

“Hillary says the president should ‘talk to bad people’ to see what they want (the ‘bad people’ have already said exactly what they want, loud and clear). John Edwards says he would get tough as president, and if talk doesn’t work he’ll talk some more. But of course. Isn’t that what senators do?” —Wesley Pruden

“[F]inger pointing isn’t the same thing as soul searching.” —W. James Antle III

David Letterman: “Top Messages Left on Fidel Castro’s Answering Machine”: “Yo, it’s Raul. Where’s the key to the humidor?”; “Which fatigues do you want to be buried in, the olive green ones, or the slightly darker olive green ones?”; “It’s Kim Jong Il—when you’re gone, can I have your Playstation?”; “Mel Gibson here. I think we both know who’s responsible for this.”; “Does this mean you’re dropping out of ‘Dancing With The Stars’?”; “It’s Saddam Hussein—See you soon!”; “Wow, congratulations on having Cuba’s only answering machine!”

Jay Leno: Congress began hearings [last week] on the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. They’re just investigating Hurricane Katrina now? You know, that’s pretty sad when the government’s investigation to the government’s slow response to Katrina is slower than the government’s response to Katrina. … Hillary Clinton is hard out on the campaign trail. Hillary is expected to attract the woman vote and, of course, Bill will attract “the other woman” vote. So between the two of them they should have the female vote locked up. … Is anybody really that surprised that Hillary Clinton is running for president? I’m not surprised. I mean, if you were married to Bill Clinton, wouldn’t you want to be able to tap his phone, read his mail, and torture him? … Sen. Joe Biden, on the day of announcing his candidacy for president of the United States, called Barack Obama “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate, bright and clean.” I think we’ve seen the shortest presidential campaign in history. … Biden is making the Democrats long for the comedy routines of John Kerry.

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.)