GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

News from the Swamp: Senate pajama party

On Tuesday, Senators brought their PJs, blankets and teddy bears to the U.S. Capitol Building for an all-night “debate” on the future of the war in Iraq. Despite Democrats’ best efforts to win one for our enemies, the troop-withdrawal amendment was defeated 52-47 (it needed 60 votes). Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) says he will not pursue any more measures to withdraw troops… for now. Furthermore, when given the opportunity to propose an alternate strategy for victory, Democrats responded with nary an idea. No wonder the latest Zogby poll has Congress’ approval rating at 14 percent.

Some Democrats remain defiant, however. “I think we accomplished what we wanted to,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) proudly. “We wanted to show the people who sent us and really gave us the reins of power in the Senate that we are willing to stay up through the night, work through the night to start bringing this war to a close and changing the mission of our troops.” Obviously, Boxer was so tired from staying up all night (which, apparently she thinks she was elected to do), that she didn’t realize the night was a total failure for her party.

But wait—Boxer didn’t stay up all night. “Yes, it is true that Harry [Reid] was going to have a vote every three hours, and some of the women senators appointed me… to go… beg to have about four and a half or five. But I slept in my office right down from here… curled up on my little couch. So I did get about four hours…[B]ut here’s the deal: We were up all night.” Profiles in courage.

This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award

“I wouldn’t be surprised if [the violence in Iraq becomes] horrendous. The only hope for the Iraqis is their own d***ed government, and there’s slim hope for that.”—Rep. David Obey (D-WI) who supports withdrawing our troops from Iraq regardless of the consequences

On cross-examination

“Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq… [S]uch talk understandably unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks.”—Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman

In the Executive Branch: Another veto threat

The Bush administration has threatened to veto a Senate bill that would substantially increase the money available for children’s health insurance. President Bush’s budget originally called for adding $5 billion over five years to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, but the Senate Finance Committee wants $35 billion. Some of the money would come from a 61-cents-per-pack tax on cigarettes and a ten-dollar tax on cigars, while the balance would come from other taxes as yet unspecified. More taxes—what a novel idea. Democrats are likely to portray the President as the enemy of uninsured children while he continues to battle a tax-and-spend Congress that shows no interest in fiscal discipline. For his part, the President said, “My concern is that when you expand eligibility… you’re really beginning to open up an avenue for people to switch from private insurance to the government.” Hmmm, insuring “kids” up to age 25 at 400 percent of the poverty level—yep, that’s government healthcare.

In the House: Demos protect union buddies

Congressional Democrats are demanding greater oversight in virtually every facet of government and the private sector, but they are pulling the leash tight on the government watchdog when it comes to unions. In a none-too-subtle nod to their faithful friends in labor, House Democrats have proposed to cut 20 percent from the budget of the Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS), the Labor Department agency tasked with reviewing union-fund disclosures. Congress has added close to $1 billion to the president’s 2008 budget request for the Labor Department as a whole. Every other Labor Department enforcement agency is due for an increase, but OLMS is losing $11 million. It’s not for lack of effort; the office has aided in the convictions of 775 corrupt union officials in the past six years. By reducing its budget, the House hopes to lighten the scrutiny OLMS exercises over how unions spend their members’ dues, which often go into the campaign coffers of Demo candidates nationwide.

New & notable legislation

Senate Democrats defeated a Republican attempt to attach an anti-Fairness Doctrine amendment to an education bill yesterday. Authored by Norm Coleman (R-MN), the bill is the Senate’s version of Rep. Mike Pence’s (R-IN) House Broadcaster Freedom Act.

A House and Senate conference committee left out a portion of the 9/11 legislation to protect a “John Doe” from litigation if they report suspicious behavior, as with the “flying imams” last November.

The House voted 357-72 Wednesday to reject President Bush’s plan to eliminate $420 million in federal funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) offered this special earmark: $2 million for the City College of New York to establish the “Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service.” Rangel’s humility is exemplary.

The latest on Second Amendment rights

On 12 July, the House Appropriations Committee successfully blocked gun-control advocates from gaining access to gun-purchasing data restricted by the Tiahrt amendment. The 2004 amendment, which Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) had sought to unravel, protects the privacy of law-abiding gun owners by restricting disclosure of federal records of gun purchases to third parties.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court may hear an appeal by the city government of Washington, DC, in a major test case on the meaning of the Second Amendment—specifically, whether it protects one’s right to have guns in the home. The city will be defending what they deem to be the “constitutionality” of their local gun-control law, the strictest in the nation. After all, it worked so well when it was in effect.

Also, the Labor Department published a notice in the 17 July Federal Register announcing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) “proposes to revise the explosives and blasting-agents standard.” Their absurd recent proposal sought to classify ammunition and various reloading supplies indiscriminately as explosives, which would have dried up ammo sales. After the massive response from gun owners, it’s no wonder that OSHA is putting the safety back on a bad idea.

Belittling politics and little money

Top Demo presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John Edwards were caught on tape at an NAACP event kvetching about the large field of contenders for the Jackass Party nomination. Edwards confided that they “should try to have a more serious and a smaller group,” presumably suggesting that Bill Richardson, Christopher Dodd, Joe Biden and others should take a hike. Clinton agreed that the number of candidates needed to be cut “because they are just being trivialized.” Naturally, both denied what they said, with Clinton pointing the finger at Edwards, and Edwards using his litigious linguistic skills to refute what has been recorded for posterity, claiming he wants debates with fewer “random” candidates. They’re for the little guy, just so long as the little guy knows his place.

Hillary and the Breck Girl may think there are too many Demos running for president, but all eight of them are doing better than Republicans when it comes to raising money for the presidential stakes. Democrats raised a total of $80 million in the second quarter of 2007, with Barack Obama topping the list at $32.8 million and Clinton following him with $27 million. Edwards raised $8.9 million.

By comparison, the top Republican was Rudy Giuliani with $17 million, followed by Mitt Romney with $13 million and John McCain with $11 million. Ron Paul did the best among the second tier with $2 million and has more cash on hand than McCain. Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore bowed out of the race after raising only $182,000, saying that he was a victim of the front-loaded primary schedule. Gilmore intends to remain active in the GOP and, of course, pay off his $67,000 campaign debt.

Candidates have been spending record amounts of money as well, but Obama and Clinton still have $34 million and $32 million on hand, respectively. Giuliani still has $14 million in the bank, and Romney has $12 million, with the added luxury of being able to dip into his personal fortune should funds get tight.

What happened to Team McCain?

Speaking of blowing money, now that the smoke has cleared from the implosion of John McCain’s presidential campaign, it has become apparent that egos and poor strategy are also to blame for his campaign’s terrible showing. Terry Nelson, a veteran of George W. Bush’s 2004 victory, was the campaign manager brought on board by longtime McCain strategist John Weaver, but it was never clear just who was in charge—Nelson, Weaver, or Rick Davis, a close adviser to McCain and chief executive of the campaign—and communication suffered.

Money flowed for high salaries for state directors and consultants, lavish offices, and private travel for the candidate that totaled more than $250,000 per month. Last week’s quarterly report stated that McCain had only $2 million cash on hand—much less when debts are figured in. Money is always an issue with candidates, but McCain’s problems were compounded when his “maverick” attitude on immigration alienated him from grassroots Republicans even further than had campaign-finance “reform.” His staunch support of President Bush with regard to Iraq is honorable and correct, but it has ruined his love affair with the Leftmedia. Despite the setbacks, McCain vows to fight on.

Group sues for Hillary’s records

In April 2006, Judicial Watch, “a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to fighting government corruption,” requested documents from the Clinton Library regarding Hillary Clinton’s tenure as First Lady. Specifically, they requested her “calendar, to include but not limited to her daily office diary, schedule, day planner, telephone log book, and chronological file,” from 1 January 1993 to 20 January 2001. The Clinton Library has yet to respond to the request, made under the 2006 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Clinton Library’s refusal to accommodate suggests that they fear researchers may find something unfavorable toward Mrs. Clinton. Perish the thought! Judicial Watch has sued for the right to obtain and review the records. Perhaps they should seek out the services of Sandy “Socks” Berger.

The Plame Game flames out

We’ll cut to the chase. According to The Washington Post, “A federal judge [Thursday] dismissed a lawsuit filed by former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband against Vice President [Dick] Cheney and top administration officials over the disclosure of Plame’s name and covert status [sic] to the media.” What in the world will The Post have to report about now?

NATIONAL SECURITY

Warfront with Jihadistan: NIE lays it out

While the Surrender-crats in Congress were playing all-night political theater Tuesday, people with clearer vision were laying out unsettling scenarios of what would happen in Iraq should our troops leave. Major General Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, forcefully urged that the U.S. troop surge ordered by President Bush continue into the spring of 2008, saying that U.S. and Iraqi forces were making “significant” gains in areas that were previously enemy sanctuaries and that pulling back before the job was complete would create “an environment where the enemy could come back and fill the void.” The general also said the local Iraqi populations are cooperating with U.S. troops much more than in the past but are still fearful that the U.S. will abandon them.

According to the results of some recent “war gaming” analysis performed for the Pentagon, should Congress choose desertion, the majority Shi’ites would likely drive Sunnis west to the Anbar province, Shi’ite groups in southern Iraq would erupt in civil war, and the northern Kurds would solidify their borders and invite U.S. troops to stay, effectively partitioning Iraq into three separate nations. There is no doubt that al-Qa’ida would also take advantage of the chaos in order to strengthen its forces and open new jihadi training bases.

The new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was also released this week, the declassified version of which warned, among other things, that al-Qa’ida is pursuing chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and would use them—a goal made easier by their safe-haven on the Afghan-Pakistani border. (Nothing new there.) The NIE points to al-Qa’ida in Iraq as the primary threat to our homeland—reiterating the importance of keeping the front line on their soil, not ours. (Nothing new there.)

Critics of U.S. war policy immediately complained that progress hasn’t been made the way they think progress should have been made, because the NIE notes that the al-Qa’ida has strengthened to its pre-2001 level. A more accurate analysis of the NIE leads to the conclusion that without our actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Jihadistan would be bigger and stronger by order of magnitude than it is now.

As for domestic terror threats, the NIE concludes that radical environmentalist organizations such as the Animal Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Front and Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty—you know, peace-loving Leftists—may be an equal threat al-Qa’ida operatives in the U.S.

This week’s ‘Braying Jackass’ award

“The point is, that there is no military victory [in Iraq]… I believe that Gen. Petraeus is a very able man and I don’t have any doubts that they’ll win some battles… But it can’t work beyond winning a few battles.”—Bill Clinton

Bush renews ‘Roadmap to Peace’ push

President Bush on Monday renewed his call for a two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which at this point is more accurately the Palestinian-Palestinian conflict. Response has been mixed. Some point out that the President rightly continues to put the onus on the Palestinians to clean up their act. “The Palestinian people must decide that they want a future of decency and hope, not a future of terror and death,” the President said. “They must match their words denouncing terror with action to combat terror.” Specifically, the Palestinians must stop attacks against Israel, free captured Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit and purge the Palestinian Authority of corruption.

Others point out that the chance of any of these things happening is just north of zero. Muslims surrounding Israel have said and proven for 60 years that they want a one-state solution—a Muslim state instead of Israel. Still, the President should be credited with not changing his tune. The Palestinians must still live up to certain standards if they are to have the peace they proclaim (in some settings) to want. We’re not holding our breath.

North Korea and nukes

Back to the Future: 13 years after Jimmy Carter went freelance to North Korea and birthed the Agreed Framework, the agreement that supposedly shut down North Korea’s nuclear program, this week Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill was in Seoul for planning sessions regarding the upcoming Six-Party Talks, which will address inter alia, North Korea’s still-thriving nuclear program.

We could lecture on the wisdom of negotiating with compulsive liars, or giving further concessions after more than a decade of previous concessions, or North Korea’s long and distinguished record of miscreant behavior, but we will limit ourselves to advocating continued firm pressure on North Korea, coupled with unyielding insistence that Pyongyang allow international inspectors to monitor all of its relevant nuclear facilities. We don’t hold much hope that the NoKos will live up to their obligations, but we wish Mr. Hill and his contingent well.

Russia withdraws from CFE treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared this week that Russia will pull out of the Soviet-era Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty due to what he calls “extraordinary circumstances that affect the security of the Russian Federation.” The treaty regulates the positioning of military personnel and hardware in Europe. Putin has been annoyed for months by President Bush’s plans for missile defense in Eastern Europe, notwithstanding their recent meeting in Maine. Our national-security interests highlight a need for such missile-defense sites; Putin is now declaring that Russia’s national security requires freedom of troop deployment that is not possible under the CFE treaty. Russia’s exit will be complete 150 days after treaty parties are notified. All in all, it seems that this move is little more than an eye for an eye in international relations.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Good economic news

Warning: The following may upset the psychological equilibrium of John Edwards’ groupies following his recent poverty tour.

The Dow Jones closed at a record 14,000 yesterday; the U.S. economy continues to grow; and, according to the Institute for Global Economic Growth (IGEG), the whole of planet earth is not such a bad place to live after all, either. In fact, according to Institute Chairman Richard Rahn, the world this past year actually became a better address to call home. Not only is widespread economic growth happening but also the rate of growth of the world gross domestic product has reached five percent per year. At this pace, per capita income is set to double in 15 years, and nearly every country in the world is rising with this tide. As if this promising news weren’t bad enough for the naysayers, the IGEG reports increases in literacy rates, improvements in life expectancies and decreases in the percentage of the planet’s population suffering from malnutrition.

On the other hand, just to be fair, there is some bad news. Rahn warns of a dangerous threat to the world’s well being. Identified by initiatives calling for increased taxes and government-controlled “enterprise,” this hazard could spell ruin for the world economy. Perhaps you will recognize the threat—it goes by the name of the U.S. Congress.

Income Redistribution File: Subsidizing rich farmers

After claiming to deplore unnecessary and wasteful farm subsidies by suggesting, during the run up to the last election, that it was time to end them, congressional Democrats revealed their talk was all hat and no cattle by proposing that $25 billion in pork handouts remain in place. So much for reform.

Government data reveals agriculture subsidies are mostly awarded to wealthy farmers and confer little or no benefit to poorer farmers (those worth less than $2 million with net incomes below $200,000), or the nation as a whole, thus contradicting the original rationale behind subsidies during the Great Depression. In fact, the richest ten percent of farmers have received three quarters of payments under the 2002 farm bill. Some other notable “farmers” with their hands in the cookie jar: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Ted Turner, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. John Salazar (D-CO).

Subsidies are costly to both taxpayers and consumers, and they undermine our rural economy by creating surpluses in unneeded agricultural products. Two House members, Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Ron Kind (D-WI), are crafting a bill to rectify the situation. They seek to phase out most direct-cash subsidies, instead setting up “risk-management accounts” (much like IRAs), accessible only to farmers with gross incomes of less than $200,000. After 2014, government payouts would cease altogether, once private tax-free accounts were established.

Around the nation: Pennsylvania healthcare

In health news from the states, Pennsylvania has provided the latest example of good government intentions perverted by unintended consequences. Governor Ed Rendell recently proposed to overhaul the state’s healthcare system by taxing businesses to cover the state’s uninsured population. The billions in new taxes will certainly bring on some sticker shock, because only six percent of the state’s population is uninsured. As nearby Connecticut discovered, spending $18 billion a year to cover merely six percent of the Connecticut population was bitter medicine for the government, although Democrats still hope the scheme will become law. Despite worldwide publicity, most government bureaucrats hope the news that their healthcare schemes would double the size of most states’ budgets will not be reported, so their schemes are being marketed as a cost and tax savings to provide affordable health coverage.

The creator of socialized medicine, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, long ago noted that the real purpose behind the creation of a government monopoly on healthcare is preservation of the state. When big-government liberals justify colossal tax increases and bureaucratic growth to benefit only a tiny minority of the population, we should remember that transferring more power from individuals to the government is their real goal, not the banal, egalitarian-sounding guise of “free” healthcare for everyone.

CULTURE

NAACP to the rescue… again

Even though they just buried the “n word,” the NAACP’s job is never done. Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Pat McCrory recently declared, “Too many of our youth, primarily African-American, are imitating and or participating in a gangster type of dress, attitude, behavior and action.” Most of us poor saps probably thought McCrory was just making a factual statement about the condition of his city. Thankfully, we have the NAACP to expose our prejudices and bring about reconciliation—and maybe even reparations. The local NAACP chapter has demanded that Mayor McCrory apologize for his vicious insult, facts notwithstanding. McCrory, of course, refuses to apologize and added that he’s “a little disappointed because I think the NAACP… is missing out on an excellent opportunity to tell our young kids that we shouldn’t be imitating the dress, the behavior, the action [of gang members]—this is a uniform they wear.” No, no, no. The NAACP is focused only on preventing serious problems, like using the word “nappy.”

From the ‘Non Compos Mentis’ File

Earth sans people?

If environ-mental case and author of The World Without Us, Alan Weisman, were to have his way, we’d all be gone. His new book details how wonderful the world could be if all of humanity was eradicated. Of course Weisman understands that murdering the population outright or evacuating everyone to outer space wouldn’t work, so he’s proposed that we merely limit reproduction to one child per couple in a bid to curb population growth. It’s no surprise that the Leftmedia is enamored of this idea. The 23 July issue of Newsweek features a bootlicking article titled “After We Are Gone,” the basic premise of which parrots Weisman’s ideal: “If humans were evacuated, the Earth would flourish.” The article dubs Weisman’s tome “an interesting thought experiment.” Here’s another interesting thought experiment: How about population-control advocates go first?

From the Village Academic Curriculum File

Presidential wannabe Barack Obama has some interesting ideas regarding what your five-year-old should be learning in gubmint skools. According to Barack, sex education for kindergarteners is “the right thing to do”… as long as it is “age-appropriate,” of course. When asked to elaborate, the senator deferred to a 2004 statement he made defending the idea: “Nobody’s suggesting that kindergartners are going to be getting information about sex in the way that we think about it.” That certainly clarifies things. Liberals (and Republican senators from Louisiana) think of “the birds and the bees” in terms completely different from most Americans.

Faith and Family: Diocese settles with victims

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced this week that, after more than four years of litigation, it would settle with more than 500 people who were allegedly sexually abused by priests as children, though the settlement includes no public admission of guilt. The $660-million settlement will grant each victim between $100,000 and $4 million. The Church will fund about $250 million of the settlement, including the sale of its high-rise headquarters in LA, with the rest coming from insurance companies, religious orders involved in the case and other sources. Cardinal Roger Mahony is blamed for mishandling accusations of abuse, but the settlement spares him from court testimony before the victims, some of whom could very well just be cashing in on the legal lotto.

The Roman Catholic Church has faced allegations all over the world in recent years (as have many other denominations). In 2003, the Archdiocese of Boston settled with victims for $85 million. Among others, allegations in the San Diego Archdiocese remain unsettled.

The Frontiers of Junk Science: Analyzing height

Breaking News: American ideology leads to prevalence of vertical challenges.

Studies indicate that Americans, once world leaders in height, now rank behind the Dutch, Czechs and Belgians and just barely ahead of the Japanese. While many ask, “Who cares?” apparently, some people do.

According to John Komlos, an economic historian at the University of Munich, height is an important economic indicator of how well—or how poorly—a government cares for its citizens. “Obviously, America is not doing badly,” Komlos states, “but it’s also not doing as well as it could.” One culprit, according to Komlos, is America’s inadequate healthcare system, which fails to care for growing children. While praising Europe’s universal healthcare system, he writes that America’s lack of the same “gets to the fundamentals of the American society, namely what… are the shortcomings of… [American] ideology?” He concludes that “to take good care of its children is not part of that ideology.”

We actually agree that the government may be the cause of America’s loss of stature, but before blaming healthcare and a supposed “anti-child” ideology, perhaps Komlos should take into account our immigration policy that welcomes adults of, shall we say, shorter build, across our open borders.

And last…

As we noted last week, a recent study shows that older folks don’t have quite the sense of humor as younger folks. Many readers reminded us that what often passes for humor nowadays is nothing more than crass vulgarity. We couldn’t agree more. However, we may have stumbled across another reason that younger people have a “better” sense of humor: They don’t read newspapers. A report titled “Young People and News” concludes that adults age 18-30 “don’t have an ingrained news habit,” and only 16 percent of this age group read the paper every day. The correlation is clear: Years of reading The New York Times is bound to ruin your sense of humor. Then again, if younger people aren’t bright enough to develop a cleaner, wittier sense of humor, perhaps they shouldn’t be trusted with newspapers at all.

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.)