GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Administration give and take

In the Executive Branch: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is taking the path of least resistance by refusing to re-nominate Marine Gen. Peter Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace’s first two-year term is up soon, and Gates has chosen Navy Adm. Mike Mullen to replace him. Pace was the first Marine to hold the position of chairman, and he will be the first chairman since Gen. Maxwell Taylor, who served from 1962 to 1964, to serve only one term. Vice Chairman Adm. Edmund Giambastiani is also being tossed out with the bathwater.

Gates did not want to draw the ire of Bush administration critics by putting Pace and Giambastiani before Democrat Carl Levin’s Armed Services Committee, fearing they would be grilled hard about the war in Iraq. Pace has been intimately involved in that conflict since the beginning, which speaks volumes as to why he should remain at his post, particularly as the recent troop surge begins to show positive results. While Adm. Mullen is surely qualified to be chairman, rejecting Pace simply because his hearing will give liberal Senators a case of the vapors is not a sufficient reason to change leadership. In fact, it will only send Levin and his fellow Demos the message that the mere threat of hostile criticism will keep the administration from making the tough decisions needed to win the war in Iraq.

On the other hand, President George W. Bush has stood loyally by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales throughout recent months despite an ever-growing chorus of dissent coming from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. The latest pressure came in the form of an attempted “no confidence” vote on Gonzales, which failed to gain the 60 votes needed to end debate. Forty-eight Republicans voted against the measure, though Gonzales could probably count his supporters on one hand. Normally weak-kneed George Voinovich (R-OH) noted, “Today’s vote does nothing to rectify the current problem or ensure it doesn’t happen again.” The Bush administration already has thrown several members under the bus: Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Gen. Pace and, most tragically, Scooter Libby, who was ordered to report to prison while awaiting his appeal. We find it puzzling that Gonzales, who is, shall we say, not the attorney general John Ashcroft was, receives such unconditional support.

New energy bill tries to have it all

Four committees in the House and Senate began work this week on an energy bill that is meant, among other things, to boost fuel efficiency in cars, dramatically increase the use of biofuels and set stiff penalties for “price gouging” at the pump. Fierce fights are expected among lawmakers, the energy industry, automobile makers and environmentalists over the numerous controversial aspects of the bill.

Michigan Demos Sen. Carl Levin and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell are taking heat from their friends in the auto industry over provisions forcing companies to meet a 35-mile-per-gallon fuel-efficiency target by 2020. Levin and Dingell note that auto manufacturers cannot pay for the new fuel restrictions and still compete in a marketplace already dominated by imports.

One industry that likely wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for government subsidies—ethanol production—will get a healthy boost from the energy bill. Demo and Republican authors are counting on vehicles to use 36 billion gallons in ethanol products by 2022.

This energy bill is rife with contentious issues because the energy-saving and strategic goals that have been proposed were reached by liberals and environmentalists without any input from the industries that will be most affected. Furthermore, the two most effective elements of the energy bill—investing in nuclear power and offshore oil and natural gas drilling—are likely to be killed by environmentalists.

Obey promises to watch earmarks for us

House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) plans to publish earmarks in the Congressional Record one month before they are voted for final approval, and shook his finger at Republicans in the process. “If they think they can demagogue the earmarks process all year long and expect Democrats to carry the burden of passing earmarks, they’re wrong. Then there will be no earmarks for anybody.” And what a shame that would be!

Obey’s promise to take Christmas away from Republican House members seems on the surface to follow House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s promise to make her Congress a clean house. In reality, however, Obey has complete control over the earmark process, deciding what does or does not get listed in the Congressional Record. According to the rules that have been set, earmarks will not be discussed before Appropriations or Rules Committees, or even on the floor; Obey and his staff will vet the current 32,000 earmarks. As The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto quips, “We’re so disillusioned. We really thought the Democrats were going to be different!”

Demos and NRA agree on background checks

Looking to close a loophole that allowed Seung Hui Cho to murder 32 people at Virginia Tech in April, Democrats and the NRA came together over what must have been a wide table to hammer out a deal on background checks for gun purchasers. Demos wanted to beef up the National Instant Check System, which is used to prevent firearms from being sold to criminals and the mentally ill. The NRA worked hard to ensure that people with past minor infractions could petition for removal from the database, and that 83,000 military veterans who were flagged for some unknown reason by Veterans Affairs in 2000 would have an opportunity to clean their records. The Democrats agreed to an NRA call to permanently bar the federal government from charging fees for background checks to gun buyers or sellers.

Beyond the NRA deal, however, there will be a federal-cash incentive for states to send more names for the national registry. States that do not send names risk losing law enforcement money. Essentially, taxpayer money is being used to create a national database of law-abiding gun owners. It will be interesting to see if that sits well with the NRA when the final gun bill hits the floor for debate.

New & notable legislation

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) seeks co-sponsors on the Tax Increase Prevention Act, which would make the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts permanent.

Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) introduced the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (H.R. 2558), to increase competition for government construction projects by prohibiting union-only Project Labor Agreements.

NATIONAL SECURITY

On the immigration front

President Bush met with Senate Republicans this week in an attempt to resuscitate the recent immigration bill, and Senate leaders have agreed to bring the bill back as early as next week. “I believe we can get an immigration bill,” the President said. “Now, it’s going to require leadership from the Democrat leaders in the Senate, and it’s going to require me to stay engaged and work with Republicans who want a bill.” What the President fails to acknowledge, though, is that many conservatives do want a bill—one that doesn’t include amnesty. Washington is stuck on “comprehensive” when a series of small, targeted bills would serve far better. Sealing the border is the number-one priority, or should be, followed by other necessary ingredients like a realistic worker program and the issue of what to do with 12 million aliens currently here. In other words, less is more.

On the border, three Texas National Guardsmen were charged this week with human smuggling across the southern border for $1,500 to $2,000 per passenger. Border Patrol agents discovered 24 illegal aliens crammed in a van being driven by one of the Guardsmen, in uniform and “on duty” patrolling the border. We suppose the money was too good to pass up.

Warfront with Jihadistan: Arming Sunnis

American military commanders in Iraq acknowledged this week that certain Sunni tribes have been quietly meeting with U.S. officials, and will likely be provided with arms and training to help fight al-Qa’ida, mainly in western Iraq. While Iraq’s Sunni population has formed the backbone of the indigenous insurgency since 2003, the Sunni tribal leaders appear to have reached their limit with the indiscriminate attacks against civilians by al-Qa’ida foreign fighters. Deciding that the safety of their own tribal areas trumps al-Qa’ida’s vision of an Islamic caliphate established through bloodletting, these tribes have agreed to accept U.S. support in order to defend themselves against the Islamofascism in their midst.

The risks of this approach for the United States and the Iraqi government are obvious. Sunni groups receiving arms and supplies today, even if sincere in their desire to fight al-Qa’ida, might in the future revert to fighting the Iraqi government. Some Sunni groups may be playing both sides of the fence, accepting U.S. arms with no real intent of fighting al-Qa’ida at all. These are valid concerns for U.S. and Iraqi security forces. However, the larger significance of the Iraqi Sunnis turning against al-Qa’ida’s foreign fighters and their wanton bloodlust and deciding to protect their own cannot be dismissed. Virtually all insurgencies, and certainly the Iraqi insurgency, depend on the ability to blend in to some portion of the resident population, and in Iraq that population is the Sunni tribes. There is still a long way to go before al-Qa’ida loses all support in Iraq, but this early indication of that support eroding is good news, and should be exploited to the fullest.

This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award:

“[Army Gen. David Petraeus] isn’t in touch with what’s going on in Baghdad.” —Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who’s not in touch with a lot of things

On the Homeland Security front: What enemy combatant?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled this week that President Bush had overstepped his authority by indefinitely holding a U.S. resident as a suspected enemy combatant. The 2-1 decision ordered the government either to charge a detained Qatari national, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, with a crime in a civilian court or to release him, saying that the Constitution protects U.S. citizens and legal residents such as al-Marri from unchecked government power. The administration plans to appeal to the full court, so al-Marri will stay at a naval brig in Charleston, South Carolina for the time being.

The appeals panel stated, “The President cannot eliminate constitutional protections with the stroke of a pen by proclaiming a civilian, even a criminal civilian, an enemy combatant subject to indefinite military detention.” A true enough statement, but the court appears to have ignored the evidence against al-Marri, who was fingered as part of an al-Qa’ida sleeper cell, preparing for a second wave of attacks, by none other than Khalid Sheik Mohammed, mastermind of 9/11. Sounds to us like Sheik Mohammed proclaimed al-Marri an enemy combatant, not the President.

While we must remain vigilant against governmental abuses of power, especially in times of war, we also cannot forget the enemy we are fighting. At the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism law-enforcement conference in Miami, FBI Director Robert Mueller reminded us of this, warning that it was only a matter of time before terrorists obtain a nuclear weapon, and it is up to the civilized world to prevent that weapon from being used by the likes of al-Marri.

Profiles of valor: Marine Corps Maj. Douglas Zembiec

He is remembered as the “Lion of Fallujah,” a leader who took many risks in order to save the lives of others. Then-Marine Capt. Douglas Zembiec, a Naval Academy graduate born in Hawaii, served with Echo Company in war-torn Fallujah, where he and his men helped quell violence that rocked the city for some time.

During one skirmish, Zembiec’s team was providing back-up support for another Marine patrol that had encountered heavy insurgent fire. Zembiec led his men directly into the assault, where they encountered AK-47 and RPG fire. The Marines radioed for a nearby tank to open fire, but received no response to their repeated requests for aid. Zembiec left his position on a rooftop, and ran out into the fray. Remarkably, he made it safely to the tank and directed its operators where to fire. The enemy were summarily dispatched.

Not long after that incident, Zembiec’s platoon was assaulted by insurgent fire from three sides, with only 20 feet of space between the platoon’s position and the insurgents. Zembiec was wounded by shrapnel, but continued to direct platoon fire and the evacuation of the wounded.

Zembiec, 34, was later killed in the line of duty while serving in Baghdad. He left behind his wife of two years and a one-year-old daughter. “I was with your son in Fallujah,” a Marine once told Zembiec’s father. “He was my company commander. If we had to go back in there, I would follow him with a spoon.” For his efforts in Fallujah, Zembiec was awarded the Bronze Star with combat “V” for valor.

Negotiations continue on European missile defense

Last week, The Patriot reported on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to President Bush that the planned U.S. missile-defense system for Europe be moved out of Poland and the Czech Republic and to a Russian-leased installation in Azerbaijan. (Defense Secretary Robert Gates insists that the proposed sites in Poland and the Czech Republic will go forward.) Being Iran’s northern neighbor, however, the Azerbaijan proposal is questionable both politically and geographically.

According to one source within the missile-defense community, “The issue is the kill chain and the time associated with it. The ‘kill chain’ —Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, Assess—is the soup-to-nuts process of destroying targets.” The first four elements of that process take time. The fifth, Engage, is a physics problem that depends heavily on the first four elements. Obviously, the target is much harder to chase down from behind—the very problem posed by an Azerbaijan-based defense.

This point was not missed on the Russians, but the proposal allowed Putin to overcome domestic hurdles to discussing missile defense with the West. The mere fact that Putin is acknowledging the need for missile defense constitutes a major shift in Russia’s public stance toward the Iranian threat. Following last week’s meeting between Bush and Putin at the G8 summit in Germany, Putin will travel to the U.S. on 1 July to meet with President Bush at the presidential retreat in Maine.

Palestinians resort to violence… again

What little structure the Palestinian people had was shattered this week as fighting between Terrorist Group A (Hamas) and Terrorist Group B (Fatah) consumed the Gaza Strip. Hamas has taken over three critical Fatah “security” centers and dragged dozens of men into the streets and executed them. Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas dissolved the government yesterday, including the dismissal of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. Of course, Abbas’ authority is somewhat in question at this point. Abbas called for a state of emergency and the heretofore rejected multi-national peacekeeping force. Hamas was voted into power last year, and has had an uneasy governing coalition with Fatah until this week. It should be obvious by now that the Palestinians are not capable of governing their own state.

And if you were wondering who to blame for the violence, today’s Washington Post headline clears up any confusion: “Takeover by Hamas Illustrates Failure of Bush’s Mideast Vision.”

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Around the nation: State budget surpluses

As the 2007 fiscal year winds down this month, many states are surprised by balance sheets showing a budgetary surplus. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, 42 states reported higher than expected revenues, with surplus levels standing at their highest since 2000. This surprise now has legislators debating what to do with the spare cash. While some states are succumbing to the ever-present temptation to spend other people’s money, others are behaving more responsibly.

The most popular beneficiaries of the spendthrift states are education and transportation. Social initiatives, too, are reaping the rewards of taxpayer labor. The National Governors Association reports that governors in two-thirds of the states want to expand healthcare coverage, and states including Iowa, Colorado and Oregon have increased benefits for same-sex couples.

But it isn’t all bad news. In North Dakota, for example, homeowners received $118.6 million in property tax relief, and Utah and Nebraska residents saw tax cuts of $220 million and $420 million, respectively.

Before rushing to spend their extra cash, however, legislators would do well to remember its source: the American taxpayer. Our elected trustees should act responsibly by reducing state debt so future tax cuts may be possible, and by balancing budget sheets so this year’s surpluses don’t become next year’s deficits.

Premium parking for warming enthusiasts

Denver city officials are considering a “Climate Action Plan” that, if approved, would include insurance premiums based on the amount of miles driven and give hybrid and other alternative-fuel vehicles first dibs on parking spaces. The city is also considering penalties against citizens who use “excessive” amounts of electricity and natural gas. “You can think of them as penalties or you can think of them as market signals,” said project director Beth Conover. “There’s some choice involved.” Fortunately for the citizens of Denver, those choices include electing more competent city leaders. The plan has met with a firestorm of opposition that had Mayor John Hickenlooper swiftly backpedaling: “There are a lot of aspects that are worthy of conversation. But many of the ideas didn’t come from my office,” he courageously noted.

Meanwhile, in an effort to validate its existence, the World Bank has announced plans to fund a $250-million project to reward tropical regions that refrain from chopping down their rain forests. The project, funneled by a desire to fight global warming, received the blessing of the G-8 at last week’s summit. “It is the first time there’s such high-level recognition of the need to include [compensation] for avoided deforestation,” said World Bank official Benoit Bosquet, who is heading the project. However, the World Bank is asking the G-8 to fund the project, so it remains to be seen how enthusiastic the group really is about the proposal. And how can we get in on the action of getting paid to not do something?

New York Times attacks private industry

The reason so many students are drowning in college debt is not because of the soaring costs of tuition—it’s because private loans are not sufficiently regulated! At least, that’s what a recent New York Times article would have us believe. While federal loans are currently capped at around $17,125 over a period of four years and have interest-rate limits of 6.8 percent, there are (gasp!) no such limits on private loans, which “are so unregulated that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of New York recently called them the Wild West of lending,” the Times piece noted.

While the ability of students to pay for college tuition is an increasing problem, blaming private lenders for the predicament is nonsense. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has vowed to take action on the matter by meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, all of which have the ability to regulate the private industry. However, there are several factors in the skyrocketing costs of tuition—most notably the federal government and its subsidies. In addition, demand for college has increased greatly, meaning market factors of supply and demand—apparently no longer taught at universities—play a key role. Academic institutions are also taking advantage of the demand backed by guaranteed money by charging high tuition and fees. With such poor economic thinking being reflected on the pages of The New York Times, one might think they had hired a former Enron advisor for their economic analysis.

CULTURE

Massachusetts and marriage

In Massachusetts, a voter petition to preserve traditional marriage was rejected by a joint legislative session sitting as a constitutional convention. Marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004 by the state Supreme Court, which ordered the legislature to act accordingly. The proposed constitutional amendment needed only 50 votes in order to be placed on the ballot in November 2008, but fell short 45-151. The next chance for an amendment will not come until 2012—and that’s if marriage supporters are able to muster support in a state where traditional values are slowly dying.

We hope that the people of Massachusetts who value truly representative government will battle on in the fight against the homosexual agenda. It is hard to believe that our beloved Samuel Adams hailed from the state now under the sway of such “progressive” ideas.

From the ‘Court Jesters’ File: Judge Fancy Pants

In an astounding display of absurdity and legal excess, District of Columbia Judge Roy Pearson Jr. is suing a dry cleaner for $54 million—down from the original $67 million suit he filed in April—over a single pair of pants. When the mom-and-pop business run by hard-working Korean immigrants was unable to find a pair of Pearson’s fancy high-dollar pants, he demanded $1,150 for replacement of the suit. When Jin, Soo and Ki Chung failed to respond, the judge, in a display of poor judgment, decided to sue their pants off for broken promises of “Same Day Service” and “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” The standing-room-only trial opened Tuesday at the DC Superior Court, where Pearson left the courtroom in tears after recounting his claim that the pants later returned to him were a cheap knock-off. Closing arguments were heard Wednesday, and a ruling is expected by the end of next week. The Chungs’ lawyer has described the case as “outlandish” and “patently unreasonable and honestly ridiculous.” We, at our humble shop, could not agree more, and are amazed that this case has not been thrown out.

CAIR membership plummets

Membership in the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has plummeted by more than 90 percent since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, hemorrhaging from more than 29,000 in 2000 to fewer than 1,700 in 2006. Income from dues at CAIR has fallen from $732,765 in 2000 to $58,750 in 2006, and the majority of the organization’s budget now comes from approximately two dozen donors.

According to M. Zuhdi Jasser, director of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, this reflects the ideological gap between CAIR and American Muslims. Jasser stated, “Post-9/11, [CAIR has] marginalized themselves by their tired exploitation of media attention for victimization issues at the expense of representing the priorities of the American Muslim population.” CAIR certainly didn’t do itself any favors by crying foul last November when six imams were removed from a US Airways flight after passengers complained of suspicious behavior. And while applauding recent arrests in the “Fort Dix Six” case, CAIR “urged Muslims to report to police any incidents of harassment or vandalism against them,” predictably warning of an anti-Muslim backlash that never materialized.

The Patriot has noted before the thinly veiled terrorist ideology of CAIR, which has repeatedly refused to condemn Hamas and Hizballah despite claims that they “condemn all acts of violence against civilians by any individual, group or state.” Apparently, (former) members aren’t buying their line either.

The Frontiers of Science: Give ‘em DDT

Third World countries have seen an enormous increase in deaths resulting from a single parasitic disease—all because of the world’s reaction to a single book. Published in 1963, Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” touched off the environmental movement globally and inspired the ban on the use of Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) in several countries. This, in turn, led to the deaths of millions from malaria.

After reviewing a number of scientific studies, both the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Health Organization last year approved the use of DDT to combat malaria. For USAID, this meant reauthorizing the chemical for use in Africa and reversing of a longstanding anti-DDT policy. Last week, G-8 leaders claimed to have “committed new resources” to fighting malaria, promising to use “every available tool.” Sam Zaramba, Uganda’s Director of Health Services, penned in a recent op-ed for The Wall Street Journal that world leaders “must honor this promise by supporting African independence in the realm of disease control,” including the use of DDT. It’s not surprising that Zaramba would want African independence where the use of pesticide to combat malaria is concerned. The mosquito-borne illness claims the lives of 3,000 children daily and more than one million each year—the majority in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda alone, reports indicate that more than ten million are infected and up to 100,000 mothers and children die from the disease each year.

Faith and family: Ruth Bell Graham, 1920-2007

After a months-long battle with degenerative osteoarthritis of the back and neck, Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, died yesterday at the age of 87. Billy Graham said all that can be said of this remarkable woman: “Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team. No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support. I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we’ve had in the mountains together. We’ve rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.” She is survived by her husband, five children and numerous grandchildren.

And last…

Hillary in ‘08 Clinton has for years tried to be all things to all people—whether supporting or opposing the Iraq war, or sporting a different accent for each audience. Now she’s feeling the need to court the sports-fans constituency. As The New York Times points out, “Voters expect their presidents to throw out the first pitch; they are used to George W. Bush clearing brush, Bill Clinton playing golf, George H.W. Bush racing speedboats, and Ronald Reagan riding horseback.” Hillary, on the other hand, according to her MySpace page, likes “crossword puzzles, Scrabble and gardening.” Nothing wrong with those endeavors, but as the taller, trimmer Barack Obama began to gain in the polls, Hillary felt pressed to shoot back. Other than always having been a Yankees fan (except for those decades during which she was a Cubs fan), she claimed at a recent Women for Hillary event, “I played softball, I played pickup basketball, I played tennis.” Just imagine, for a moment, Hillary swinging for the fences, slashing the hole, or slugging a forehand winner in one of her patented pantsuits. Nope, it doesn’t get much more authentic than that.

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.)