THE FOUNDATION: PUBLIC SPEAKING

“Amplification is the vice of modern oratory.” —Thomas Jefferson

INSIGHT

“It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.” —Justice Robert H. Jackson

“Liberty cannot be caged into a charter or handed on ready-made to the next generation. Each generation must recreate liberty for its own times. Whether or not we establish freedom rests with ourselves.” —Florence Ellinwood Allen

“You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.” —Oliver Goldsmith

“I am the first acknowledged comedian to receive a vote for the Presidency—not the first comedian, mind you, but the first acknowledged one.” —Will Rogers

UPRIGHT

“These are not debates, these are auditions. By definition, the psychology of an audition reduces the person auditioning and raises the status, for example, of Chris Matthews… I have no interest in the current political process. I have no interest in trying to figure out how I can go out and raise money under John McCain’s insane censorship rules so I can show up to do seven minutes and twenty seconds at some debate.” —Newt Gingrich

“Today’s federal government is too big, too powerful, and too expensive because it is doing things beyond the scope of the Constitution. This is foolish and it is dangerous.” —newly elected Georgia Rep. Paul Broun

“It would be helpful to have a person leading the country who understands how the economy works and has actually managed something. In the case of the three Democratic front-runners, not one of them has managed even a corner store, let alone a state or a city.” —Mitt Romney

“The recent capture of the leading Iraqi in al-Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate is no accident… You capture such people only when you have good intelligence, and you have good intelligence only when the locals have turned against the terrorists.” —Charles Krauthammer

“Not only the history of the UN, but the history of the League of Nations before it, demonstrates again and again that going to such places [as the UN] is a way for weak-kneed leaders of democracies to look like they are doing something when in fact they are doing nothing. The Iranian leaders are not going to stop unless they get stopped. And, like Hitler, they don’t think we have the guts to stop them.” —Thomas Sowell

“How do you feel about the American hostages in Iran? No, not the guys back in the Seventies, the ones being held right now. What? You haven’t heard about them?… Maybe the media figure that showing American prisoners on TV will only drive Bush’s ratings back up from the grave to the rude health of intensive care. Or maybe they just don’t care about U.S. hostages, not compared to real news like Senate sleepovers to block unblocking a motion to vote for voting against a cloture motion on the best way to surrender in Iraq.” —Mark Steyn

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

“Despite overwhelming support in and out of Congress, legal protection for airline passengers who report suspicious behavior is being blocked by Democratic leaders. Wasn’t one 9/11 enough for them? Were it not for the courage and sacrifice of the passengers of United Flight 93 who forced their plane into a Pennsylvania field, many in Congress might not be here today, with a gaping hole where the U.S. Capitol still stands. We wonder if this fact is appreciated by those trying to block final passage of the so-called ‘John Doe’ provision protecting from legal action those who report suspicious behavior on airplanes. Today’s passengers have an advantage. They know what can happen. They know what to look for. They will not be taken by surprise, and they are willing to take action. But some in Congress would sacrifice their lives on the altar of political correctness. Last November, six Muslim imams leaving an Islamic conference were removed from U.S. Airways Flight 300 in Minneapolis when passengers reported that the imams had acted in suspicious ways. Both U.S. Airways and the passengers soon became targets of legal action charging discrimination and racial profiling… So [in] March, the House of Representatives passed by a 304-121 vote the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007, with language protecting from such lawsuits airline passengers who might report suspicious activity. All seemed well. But last week, as Republicans tried to have the ‘John Doe’ protection included in final homeland security legislation crafted by a House-Senate conference committee to implement the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations, they found Democratic conferees blocking its inclusion.” —Investor’s Business Daily

DEZINFORMATSIA

The only thing to fear?: “We must be aware of the spin, the smoke and mirrors from the administration, trying to reshape the message on Iraq being specifically about al-Qa’ida, America’s lingering, most familiar fear, trying to invoke some Pavlovian response from the American public, to fear them into again supporting the war.” —CNN correspondent Michael Ware

Aiding and abetting: “Several years of headlines about possible torture of U.S. detainees, treatment of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention center and international anger over the Iraq war has not dented the pride of Americans.” —Reuters *“They might as well have added, ‘Despite our best efforts’.” —James Taranto

Bush hatred: “Go to Baghdad now and fulfill, finally, your military service obligations. Go there and fight your war, yourself.” —MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann to President Bush ++ “Do Bush and Cheney have to be impeached before it serves the public?” —PBS’s Bill Moyers ++ “[President Bush’s] crimes are real and probably impeachable, and the monarchial arrogance of the Bush-Cheney administration is monumental.” —Ken Bode, Ombudsman for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Warming up the broken record: “The damage from the flood waters is already estimated to be more than $100 million. Roads are out, the electricity supply has failed and the water supply is now contaminated. The people of Britain are all asking the same question today, could this be global warming?” —NBC’s Keith Miller *No, actually it’s called “flooding.”

Newspulper Headlines: What Would We Do Without Reports?: “Report Says al-Qaida Seeks to Attack U.S.” —Associated Press

If Not, She’ll Demand a Refund: “Wife Could Get Death in Murder-for-Hire” —Associated Press

And We Mean Large!: “Local Obesity Conference Draws Large Crowd” —Montgomery (AL) Advertiser

‘10, 9, 8… Uh, What Comes After 8?’: “Shuttle Crew Practice Countdown” —CNN.com

That Must’ve Hjurt: “Shark Bites Diver in the Fjord” —Aftenposten (Norway)

News You Can Use: “Humans Walk Upright to Conserve Energy” —Associated Press ++ “Tiny Brain No Problem for French Tax Official” —Der Spiegel

Well, It Is July: “Snowless French Ski Resort Closing” —Associated Press (Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

Free the Border Patrol agents—now!

Please take a moment to sign Free the Texas Three and Secure our Borders, a national petition calling on President Bush to commute the sentences of both former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, and their colleague, former Sheriff’s Deputy Guillermo Hernandez; asking Congress to insist that the DEA prosecute Mexican national Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on felony drug distribution charges; and demanding that Congress and the Bush administration secure our borders.

THE DEMO-GOGUES

Extreme pandering: “I would have put somebody in the White House who’s highly qualified and whose job it was—whose sole job—was to rebuild the city of New Orleans. And I would have that person in my office every morning telling me what they did in New Orleans yesterday.” —John Edwards on his poverty tour in New Orleans ++ “Find out how many senators appeared before an immigration rally last year. Who was talking the talk, and who walked the walk—because I walked. I didn’t run away from the issue, and I didn’t just talk about it in front of Latino audiences… [The recent Senate immigration debate] was both ugly and racist in a way we haven’t see since the struggle for civil rights.” —Barack Obama pandering to the National Council of La Raza’s annual convention

Rewriting the Clinton legacy: “Until recently, I did not hear the kind of insecurity and opposition to bringing immigrants into American society as I hear today… [When my husband was in office], people were too busy getting a better future for themselves. They didn’t talk to me about what was or wasn’t on their minds about immigration.” —Hillary Clinton on the “good old days”

Just blame Bush: “[George W. Bush is] the worst president we ever had… When you have a president who is so unpopular… it really reflects poorly on Congress. None of [Congress’ approval ratings] are real high and we acknowledge that, but most of it relates to the unpopularity of the president.” —Harry Reid

Really bad (but seared) memory: “We heard that argument over and over again about the bloodbath that would engulf the entire Southeast Asia [if we left Vietnam], and it didn’t happen.” —John Kerry

Wish he hadn’t said that: “At my age, any scream is a good scream. [Laughs]” —Bill Clinton

VILLAGE IDIOTS

Carbon emissions: “There’s an African proverb that says, ‘If you want to go quick, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ We have to go far quickly… What we’re facing worldwide really is a planetary emergency. I’m optimistic, but we’re losing this battle badly… The habitability of this planet for human beings really is at risk… These are not political problems. They are moral imperatives.” —Chuckleheaded greenhouse gasbag, Algore

This week’s “Hyper Hypocrisy” Award: “That had an extraordinary impact in the Senate, and as a nation, I don’t think we should be comfortable with the fact that the United States Senate responded to what was largely a wave of hate.” —Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza

Thorn in the side: “I was a lifelong Democrat only because the choices were limited. The Democrats are the party of slavery and were the party that started every war in the 20th century, except the other Bush debacle. The Federal Reserve, permanent federal income taxes, not one but two World Wars, Japanese concentration camps, and not one but two atom bombs dropped on the innocent citizens of Japan—all brought to us via the Democrats.” —Cindy Sheehan, nailing her cohorts

Postcards from the fringe: “I think we need a trial, in this country, where Mr. Cheney and Mr. Bush would be brought up on charges for causing the deaths of so many people.” —Michael Moore

SHORT CUTS

“Hillary Clinton said we need to start ‘reversing our priorities. Let’s stop sending troops to Iraq and let’s start insuring every single child.’ Yes, that should put a good healthy scare into the insurgents. ‘Run for your life, Ahmed! All American children are getting regular checkups!”’ —Ann Coulter

“Somebody with a better idea of geography should inform Mary Landrieu that bin Laden is holed up in Pakistan, a country she may not know is next door to Afghanistan. Sending troops to Afghanistan to search for bin Laden would make as much sense as sending a geography student to Mary Landrieu to find out where Beluchistan is located. They’d probably end up in Flatbush.” —Michael Reagan

“Hopeless Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was hospitalized for food poisoning on Sunday night. He’s fine now; he’s been released from Cleveland Children’s hospital. I guess he ate out of the wrong bird feeder.” —Jimmy Kimmel

“Last [week] the Senate held an all-night session. Sen. Hillary Clinton gave a speech at four in the morning. It was the first time Hillary gave a speech at four in the morning that didn’t begin with, ‘Where the hell have you been?”’ —Conan O’Brien

Jay Leno: The U.S. Senate held an all-night session last [week], trying to get the votes needed to begin troop withdrawal from Iraq. They lost. They stayed in the Senate chamber all night long, with some of them sleeping on cots. In fact, Hillary stayed up so late, she actually saw Bill sneaking in. … Things got a little testy at about four o’clock in the morning when a fight broke out between Senator David Vitter and 89-year-old Senator Robert Byrd over the last diaper. … According to a new Zogby poll, the new Congress has hit another historic low—14 percent of people approve of Congress. And that’s just the hookers who work for the DC madam. … Al Gore’s lovely daughter Sarah got married over the weekend. Critics are now bashing Al Gore for serving Chilean sea bass at his daughter’s wedding, because it is an endangered species. In his defense, whenever Al Gore picks up a knife and fork, any species is endangered. … Next month, right here in Los Angeles, the leading Democratic presidential candidates will hold a gay debate—it will be a televised debate to discuss just gay issues. Well, how much is John Edwards going to spend on his hair for that? … John Edwards is continuing his “Poverty Tour” around America. Today he visited with a group of people who get their hair cut at a place called “a barber shop.” He was horrified at their stories. … John Edwards has a new TV commercial touting him as a tough guy. His wife says he has unbelievable toughness. And he is tough. Like in the ad, it says sometimes he shampoos his hair and then skips the conditioner completely and goes commando.

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 granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)