THE FOUNDATION: JUDICIARY

“[J]udges, therefore, should be always men of learning and experience in the laws, of exemplary morals, great patience, calmness, coolness, and attention. Their minds should not be distracted with jarring interests; they should not be dependent upon any man, or body of men.” —John Adams

INSIGHT

“Courage… is the universal virtue of all those who choose to do the right thing over the expedient thing. It is the common currency of all those who do what they are supposed to do in a time of conflict, crisis and confusion.” —Florence Nightengale

UPRIGHT

“I’m black, so I’m supposed to think a certain way. I’m supposed to have certain opinions. I don’t do that. You don’t create a box and put people in and then make a lot of generalizations about them.” —Justice Clarence Thomas ++ “Justice Thomas does not revel in the victory of having reached the pinnacles of power through the sheer strength of his own will and hard work… Instead of gloating in sweet victory over his tormentors when he was narrowly confirmed after a bloody perversion of the process, Justice Thomas is mournful over how such an austere institution as the United States Senate could become so corrupt.” —Rebecca Hagelin

“I just want everyone to understand that this dialogue is not about, ‘Can we vote our way out of a war?’ We have an enemy who has declared war on us. We are in a war. They want to stop us from living the way we want to live our lives… We will prevail; there’s no doubt about that.” —outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Peter Pace

“The Democratic Congress quickly passed a national health insurance bill, drafted in secret and protected from amendment, that constitutes the most important legislation of this session. While designed for a presidential veto, it is national health insurance—through the front, not the back, door. Democrats view it as no-lose: either landmark health care will be enacted over President George W. Bush’s veto, or, if overridden, they’ll have a lovely 2008 campaign issue.” —Robert Novak

“Free-speech rights aren’t violated when private institutions deny speech in their name. My free-speech rights have not been denied by the fact that for years the Democratic National Committee has refused to invite me to speak at its confabs. Nor would it be censorship if this newspaper dropped my column. Freedom of speech also includes the right not to say something.” —Jonah Goldberg

DEZINFORMATSIA

Race bait: “I believe in affirmative action, but I have to acknowledge there are arguments against it. One of the more cogent is the presence of Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Supreme Court.” —The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson, who is black

But don’t question her patriotism: “The whole culture of wearing flags on our lapel and saying ‘we’ when referring to the United States and, even the ‘shock and awe’ of the initial stages, it was just too jubilant and just a little uncomfortable.” —CBS anchor Katie Couric, who is apparently too good to be an American

Pollaganda: “A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds opposition to more money for Iraq and support for more money for children’s health insurance.” ABC’s Charles Gibson

From the sycophant department: “Hillary Clinton is either having a really good time out on the campaign trail, or she’s the master of a shrewd political skill, disarming her critics with a gleam in her eye and a roar straight from the belly.” —ABC reporter Kate Snow on Hillary’s contrived, shrieking laughter on the Sunday morning-show line-up

Telling it like it is: “She’s never going to get out of our faces… She’s like some hellish housewife who has seen something that she really, really wants and won’t stop nagging you about it until finally you say, fine, take it, be the damn president, just leave me alone.” —The New Republic’s Leon Wieseltier on Hillary

Newspulper Headlines: Tell Him About the 22nd Amendment: “What to Do With Bush on the 2008 Campaign Trail?” —Reuters

And After All the Work We’ve Done to Perfect It!: “La Nina Threatens to Wreck World’s Weather” —Times (London)

Here’s Your Host, Al Gore: “World’s Most Boring TV Show to Measure Energy Use” —Reuters

But He Can’t Hide!: “Pakistani Court Says Musharraf Can Run” —Associated Press

Sorry, Not Wide Enough: “Antigay Stance Loses Support for Candidate” —St. Petersburg (FL) Times

News You Can Use: “Dead? You Still Have to Pay Your Fines at This NY Library” —Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY)

Bottom Story of the Day: “McGovern Set to Endorse Clinton” —ABCNews.com (Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

THE DEMO-GOGUES

“Supporting” the troops: “[T]he Republicans in the Senate have now taken ownership of the war in Iraq. It was President Bush’s war, and now it is the Republicans’ and Congress’s war. And that marks a big turning point for us because we had hoped to have bipartisanship and redeploying the troops out of Iraq, to do so in a timely fashion.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, admitting that the war is nothing more than politics to Democrats

Support the troops by taxing everyone?: “This war is draining the treasury dry… There is a huge opportunity cost that is being paid by the same younger generation that is going to be asked to pay the bill because the President is paying for this war on the cuff. If you don’t like the cost, then shut down the war.” —Rep. David Obey, proposing a war tax

And he knows phony: “This disgusting attack from Rush Limbaugh, cheerleader for the chicken-hawk wing of the far Right, is an insult to American troops. In a single moment on his show, Limbaugh managed to question the patriotism of men and women in uniform who have put their lives on the line and many who died for his right to sit safely in his air conditioned studio peddling hate.” —Sen. John “phony soldier” Kerry, on Rush’s comments condemning another phony soldier for lying about serving in Iraq

Cradle to grave: “I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time so that when that young person turns 18, if they have finished high school, they’ll be able to access it to go to college, maybe they’ll be able to make that down payment on their first home.” —Hillary Clinton to the Congressional Black Caucus

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

“George McGovern, who parlayed his $1,000-in-every-pot proposal into a 49-state loss in 1972, should sue for copyright infringement after Sen. Clinton told the Congressional Black Caucus’ annual legislative conference that every baby born in America should be given a $5,000 ‘baby bond.’ Actually, Hillary’s $5,000 is just McGovern’s $1,000 adjusted for inflation. McGovern’s $1,000 was equivalent in 2006 to $4,808.90. By the time she is sworn in, she should be right on the mark. Hillary argued that wealthy people ‘get to have all kinds of tax incentives to save, but most people can’t afford to do that.’ So her ‘baby bond’ is designed to give the kids of people who can’t afford to save ‘a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so that when that person turns 18 if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will be able to make that down payment on that first home.’ But to pay for that home they will have to go to work and pay taxes. Hillary doesn’t propose cutting their taxes or those of their parents. Nor does she propose increasing the dependent deduction on their federal tax form. What Clinton proposes is another brick in the cradle-to-grave wall envisioned by liberals—paid for by ever-rising taxes… In 2004 (the latest year for which official figures are available), there were 4,116,000 live births in the United States. That works out to a current price of $21 billion per year, every year. It is an amount that will get bigger, particularly if illegal immigration is allowed to increase unimpeded. Since we now have a budget deficit, this $21-billion-plus new entitlement will have to be funded by borrowing. So the $5,000 savings ‘gift’ in fact is a government loan to each new baby, payable in full through their taxes when they grow up. Happy Birthday!” —Investor’s Business Daily

VILLAGE IDIOTS

Mudslinging: “[Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas] labels Anita Hill his ‘most traitorous adversary,’ once again denying the sexual harassment claims she made against him at his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, and calling her a mediocre but ambitious lawyer. If Thomas wants to dredge up his past in an autobiography for which he reportedly got a million-dollar advance, he’s fair game for those of us who want to dredge up his background, too.” —Clintonista Secretary of Labor Robert Reich ++ “I don’t think [Justice Thomas has] been a particularly convincing justice.” —Anita Hill

This week’s, ah, “Non Compos Mentis” Award: “It’s the seventh inning and humanity is, ah, down by two runs. Now, we’ve got to score three runs in the, in the next, ah, in the next two innings, and we’ve got to hold them right where they, where they are. So, it’s, it’s, it’s real tricky. It’s ah… We’re in a dangerous spot, but we can, we can pull it out if we, ah, if we really work together and, and go to work on it, and do the smart things and, and stop doing the dumb things, like bombing, ah, Third World countries.” —Ted, ah, Ted Turner

On qualifications: “There is a difference. I was the senior governor in America. I had been head of any number of national organizations that were related to the major issue of the day, which is how to restore America’s economic strength… What America needs in a president changes from time to time. [Hillary’s] experience is more relevant and more compelling.” —Bill Clinton boasting how much more experienced he was than Barack Obama when he ran for the White House in 1992

The BIG denial: “We didn’t have the terror threat [in 1992].” —Bill Clinton

SHORT CUTS

“The pen is not mightier than the sword if your enemy is confident you will never use anything other than your pen. Sometimes it’s not about ‘freedom of speech,’ but about freedom. Ask an Iranian homosexual. If you can find one.” —Mark Steyn

“Reacting with stupefied indignation whenever someone disagrees with them—especially in a way that makes people point and laugh at liberals—they seem to be in a constant state of outrage. Liberals… have a look of perpetual outrage, kind of the way Nancy Pelosi has a look of perpetual surprise.” —Ann Coulter

“Kiefer Sutherland was arrested for drunk driving in West Hollywood. The star made an illegal u-turn and was pulled over. The cops had a pretty good idea Kiefer Sutherland was drunk after he identified himself as Special Agent Jack Daniels.” —Argus Hamilton

“Speaking of Bill Clinton, yesterday at a global conference for poverty and education, former President Bill Clinton met with actress Angelina Jolie. Before the meeting, Clinton looked himself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and said, ‘Bill, this is the moment you’ve been training for your whole life’.” —Conan O’Brien

David Letterman: “Top Ways George W. Bush Can Boost His Approval Rating”: Play comical slide-whistle every time he screws up; Tell everyone “W” stands for “Whoa, this guy’s awesome!”; Help O.J. find the real memorabilia; Devote weekly radio address to discuss what’s happening on “The Hills”; What do you mean “boost”? Everything’s great!; Appoint blue ribbon commission to find out what happened to the Mets.

Jay Leno: It’s official—Congress now has the lowest approval rating of any Congress in the history of the United States. It is just 11 percent. In fact, their approval rating is so low, today they were invited to speak at Columbia University. … In a recent interview former President Bill Clinton was asked how he would handle being a “first husband.” If Hillary gets elected that would be his title. He said he would have no problem being a first husband. Being a husband first—that’s a problem. … Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has proposed $5,000 be given to every baby in America at birth. Imagine that? Every baby born would get a $5,000 bond. Today Barack Obama topped that with $6,000 and a year supply of Turtle Wax. … Advertisers have announced plans to put up giant billboards at the runway at LAX so passengers can read them while sitting on the plane on the runway. They say it’s a way to reach people who come to visit L.A. If you want to reach millions of people who are coming to L.A., put the sign up at the border. … Congress has been having hearings this week concerning the increasing number of late airline flights. Congress said they may have to intervene in order to help the airlines improve. And really, who better than Congress to show you how to make your business run more efficiently?

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.)