THE FOUNDATION

“Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean everything or nothing at pleasure.” — Thomas Jefferson

INSIGHT

“The mania for giving the Government power to meddle with the private affairs of cities or citizens is likely to cause endless trouble, through the rivalry of schools and creeds that are anxious to obtain official recognition, and there is great danger that our people will lose our independence of thought and action which is the cause of much of our greatness, and sink into the helplessness of the Frenchman or German who expects his government to feed him when hungry, clothe him when naked, to prescribe when his child may be born and when he may die, and, in time, to regulate every act of humanity from the cradle to the tomb, including the manner in which he may seek future admission to paradise.” —Mark Twain

FAMILY

“Parents should have the same freedom in educating their kids that they have in clothing, housing, and feeding them. You wouldn’t let the government decide what time your kids should go to bed, or which doctor should treat their chicken pox, or how they should spend their summer vacation, or which religion they should be instructed in. On matters serious and not so serious, parents are entrusted with their children’s well-being. Why should schooling be an exception? Get government out of the business of running schools, and a range of alternatives will emerge. Freedom, innovation, and competition will do for education what they do for so much else in American life: increase choices, lower costs, improve performance—and eliminate conflict. So long as education is controlled by the state, the battles and bad blood will continue. With more liberty will come more tolerance—and more resources spent on learning than on litigation.” —Jeff Jacoby

CULTURE

“The movies aren’t what they used to be. Hollywood still imagines that it’s the center of the cosmos, but the movies, politically correct as they have become (think Al Gore’s Oscar for a slide show), don’t move us as they once did… [E]ven Oscar ain’t what he used to be. Academy Awards night has come and gone, and mostly what we remember are the ladies’ gowns. Movie stars are no longer the icons of yesteryear, and they’re often known more for their romantic liaisons, their rap sheets and their half-baked political opinions than for their work on the silver screen. The days of the divas, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck, have vanished… Movies gave voice to common moral standards that were imbedded in the drama. Partisan politics was shunned. ‘If you want to send a message,’ Jack Warner (or maybe it was Sam Goldwyn) famously told his producers, ‘go to Western Union.’ Content today has splintered audiences into age groups, and politically correct messages have often replaced a good story.” —Suzanne Fields

LIBERTY

“Last week, I wrote about the Gathering of Eagles (www.gatheringofeagles.org)—veterans, active-duty troops, bikers, activists and ordinary citizens coming to Washington, DC, on March 17 to hold a counter-protest against tens of thousands of anti-war extremists demanding immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. In Washington state this week, the peace brigade held a dress rehearsal at the Port of Tacoma—where they showed support for our troops by taunting the Stryker Brigade and local police guarding against obstruction of the convoys headed to Iraq. More than 300 Stryker vehicles and other equipment are being moved from Fort Lewis to Iraq in support of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division’s upcoming deployment as part of the ongoing ‘surge’ and counterinsurgency efforts. The Strykers are equipped with slat armor to protect the troops from rocket-propelled grenades. Yes, the same ilk that purport to care so much about the troops not having enough armor and protection stood and jeered at those deploying to bring more protection to their fellow soldiers in Iraq. Such patriots, aren’t they? Members of the anti-military mob shouted condescendingly at our volunteer soldiers rolling past them: ‘Free the troops!’ ‘No justice, no peace!’ ‘You don’t have to go!’… Such patriots, aren’t they?” —Michelle Malkin

THE GIPPER

“Unlike our opponents, who find their glee in momentary political leverage, we garnish our strength of purpose from a commitment to ideals that we deeply believe are not only right but that work. Ludwig Von Mises, that great economist, once noted: ‘People must fight for something they want to achieve, not simply reject an evil.’ Well, the conservative movement remains in the ascendancy because we have a bold, forward-looking agenda.” —Ronald Reagan

OPINION IN BRIEF

“Both chambers of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s General Assembly passed a resolution saying government-sanctioned slavery ‘ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation’s history; and… the abolition of slavery was followed by… systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, and other insidious institutions and practices toward Americans of African descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, and racial misunderstanding.’… The next time the Virginia General Assembly gets into an apologetic mood and wants to pass another resolution aimed at its black citizens, here are my suggestions: The Commonwealth of Virginia apologizes to its black citizens for not protecting them from criminals who prey upon them and make their lives a daily nightmare. The Commonwealth also apologizes for our government-sanctioned school system that delivers fraudulent education, thereby consigning many of its black citizens to the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.” —Walter Williams

GOVERNMENT

“One California state legislator… introduced a bill that would get rid of private health insurance in the Golden State altogether. Wow. It’s fascinating how the people most likely to yammer about the right to privacy and the sanctity of choice are the first to sweep rights aside when a greater good presents itself. And there’s always a greater good that trumps your personal rights, if one looks closely enough. Why, look at the needs of undocumented proto-Americans, as we must now call illegal immigrants: A recent poll of Bay Area citizens revealed that 79 percent want the state to guarantee health insurance for aliens. It’s one thing to say hospitals can’t turn away a sick illegal; it’s another to say that the citizens of this country are obliged to insure the citizens of another. But that’s where state involvement inevitably leads: You begin with a warm-hearted desire to prove health care for poor children, and end up subsidizing acupuncture for an able-bodied man who threw out his back running from the border patrol.” —James Lileks

RE: THE LEFT

“When a person’s voice makes listeners recoil and want to be somewhere else, that person is not going to be an effective communicator. But what about substance? What was Clinton thinking when she hijacked a gospel hymn and effectively mocked her audience? Her speech exposed not just an incompetent ear, but disrespect for the people gathered. Would Clinton affect a Brooklyn accent with a Jewish audience remembering the Holocaust? OY VEY, LEMME TELLYA, HONEY! The female Clinton, unlike her husband, simply lacks a feel for communication, no matter how many hugs she delivers. While President Clinton could become one with his audience—his slightly hoarse voice conveying so much empathy that the hungry wanted to feed him—Sen. Clinton’s voice sends mannequins into a fetal curl. She is the rain to Bill’s parade. It may not be Hillary’s fault that her voice sounds like it was fashioned from metal, but it is her fault that she sounds like a car alarm when she’s handed a microphone. It is her fault that she panders—badly—to her audiences. Her performance last weekend in Selma revealed more than atonality. Like a warped bell, Hillary Clinton rings untrue.” —Kathleen Parker

POLITICAL FUTURES

“[I]n our world of celebrity sound bites and media saturation, talk, not reality, is what counts. Multimillionaires lecture us about fairness, while sinners rail about sin. In politics, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each election year on campaigning. Image-makers, pollsters, and media advisers shape every election. Fluffy candidates are removed enough from the electorate that the old idea that their own actions should match their rhetoric is seen as hopelessly old-fashioned. The political leaders of this country are essentially too often homogenous. Republicans may represent constituents of traditional values; Democrats may champion the underprivileged. But their similar lifestyles reflect more a political class’s shared privilege than the inherent differences of their respective constituents’ beliefs. National figures may talk conservative or liberal, but they both are more likely to act like libertines.” —Victor Davis Hanson

FOR THE RECORD

“Lewis Libby has now been found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice for lies that had absolutely no legal consequence. It was not a crime to reveal Valerie Plame’s name because she was not a covert agent. If it had been a crime, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald could have wrapped up his investigation with an indictment of the State Department’s Richard Armitage on the first day of his investigation since it was Armitage who revealed her name and Fitzgerald knew it. With no crime to investigate, Fitzgerald pursued a pointless investigation into nothing, getting a lot of White House officials to make statements under oath and hoping some of their recollections would end up conflicting with other witness recollections, so he could charge some Republican with ‘perjury’ and enjoy the fawning media attention. As a result, Libby is now a convicted felon for having a faulty memory of the person who first told him that Joe Wilson was a delusional boob who lied about his wife sending him to Niger. This makes it official: It’s illegal to be Republican.” —Ann Coulter

SELECT READER COMMENTS

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“’A real victory in ‘08’ was another fine essay. I would remind all Patriots that Republican voters still get to decide this. We can and should nominate Duncan Hunter, a tough conservative at home who is also trustworthy with foreign policy. Money only buys elections when people act like sheep.” —Seattle, Washington

“I cannot believe that Tom Tancredo is being so ignored, even by conservatives. Please take note of his outstanding ratings from several respectable conservative organizations. This man is a true and courageous conservative not seen since Ronald Reagan and I think we should rally behind and support him. Secure borders and the War on Terrorism are of the same essence and common sense should dictate that they should not be separate issues.” —New Orleans, Louisiana

“I believe that you are vastly underestimating the conservative credentials of Mitt Romney. Governing a state such as Massachusetts, he was able to show his belief in individual accountability and responsibility as he worked with the powers that be. His morals and personal integrity are great assets to anyone aspiring to serve the nation. His intelligence, his sincerity, his straight forward manner all put him at the top of many Republicans’ short list of favorites to get the nomination.” —Elkhart, Indiana

“Regarding your ’And Last’ item Friday, common sense should tell PETA that ‘doing away’ with some of the cattle on the planet, commonly called slaughter, would reduce the gases they produce. But nobody ever said PETA had common sense.” —Lincoln, Nebraska

“I very much enjoy and look forward to receiving The Patriot Post. I read all three editions each week thoroughly and have recently enjoyed the humor. After growing up on a diet of the Minneapolis (Red) Star, I did not realize that there was a source for conservative humor. Your site is by far the best for conservative news and analysis on the net.” —Edina, Minnesota

THE LAST WORD

“Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the other day the Rev. Al Gore declared that ‘climate change’ was ‘the most important moral, ethical, spiritual and political issue humankind has ever faced.’ Ever. I believe that was the same day it was revealed that George W. Bush’s ranch in Texas is more environmentally friendly than the Gore mansion in Tennessee. According to the Nashville Electric Service, the Eco-Messiah’s house uses 20 times more electricity than the average American home. The average household consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours. In 2006, the Gores wolfed down nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours. Two hundred twenty-one thousand kilowatt-hours? What’s he doing in there? Clamping Tipper to the electrodes and zapping her across the rec room every night? No, no, don’t worry. Al’s massive energy consumption is due entirely to his concern about the way we’re depleting the Earth’s resources. When I say ‘we,’ I don’t mean Al, of course. I mean you—yes, you, Earl Schlub, in the basement apartment at 29 Elm St. You’re irresponsibly depleting the Earth’s resources by using that electric washer when you could be down by the river with the native women beating your loin cloth dry on the rock while singing traditional village work chants all morning long. But up at the Gore mansion—the Nashville Electric Service’s own personal gold mine, the shining Cathedral of St. Al, Tennessee’s very own Palace of Versal—the Reverend Al is being far more environmentally responsible. As his spokesperson attempted to argue, his high energy usage derives from his brave calls for low energy usage. He’s burning up all that electricity by sending out faxes every couple of minutes urging you to use less electricity.” —Mark Steyn

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.)