THE FOUNDATION: THE PRESS

“Newspapers… serve as chimnies to carry off noxious vapors and smoke.” —Thomas Jefferson

UPRIGHT

“It has become obligatory for both pro- and anti-war commentators never to mention the possibility of victory in Iraq. The most that anti-war people will admit is that the surge has gained a temporary military advantage in a war that cannot be won militarily. The most pro-war commentators will claim is that they see the possibility of success, perhaps, maybe, someday, somehow. But as of Veterans Day 2007, I think one can claim a very real expectation that next year, the world may see a genuine, old-fashioned victory in the Iraq war.” —Tony Blankley

“Forget the briefings from generals, the intelligence evaluations and the Pentagon status reports. There is a handy indicator for whether the war in Iraq is going well—its relative absence from the front pages.” —Rich Lowry

“There is something profoundly wrong—something that should trouble all of us—when we have elected Democratic officials who seem more worried about how the Bush administration might respond to Iran’s murder of our troops, than about the fact that Iran is murdering our troops.” —Sen. Joe Lieberman

“The founding principle of the republic is that the American people are perfectly capable of making life better for themselves, and all you wannabe-king types need to do is get out of the way. That goes for the Canadian people, and the British people, and the Spanish people, and pretty much any other reasonably competent citizenry.” —Mark Steyn

“Liberals protect themselves from detection with wild calumnies against anybody who opposes them. They have no interest in—or aptitude for—persuasion. Their goal is to anathematize their enemies.” —Ann Coulter

“Our ancestors understood sacrifice and adversity. In them it produced character and virtue. Today, the mere thought of such things breeds resentment in us. We see pleasure and things as rights. To suggest ‘hard times’ or sacrifice is viewed as a violation of such rights.” —Cal Thomas

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I thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you as editor and publisher of The Patriot. On behalf of your Patriot staff and National Advisory Committee, thank you and God bless you and your family!

Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis!

Mark Alexander Publisher

INSIGHT

“Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of Gratitude.” —Albert Schweitzer

“O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.” —William Shakespeare

“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” —Aesop

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent of all the others.” —Cicero

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

“[S]upport for corn ethanol seems to be ebbing in Congress. As political news goes, this is of the miracle variety, but apparently the market distortions caused by ethanol mandates are finally having an impact… Let’s review: the House energy bill taxes oil to subsidize ethanol, drawing Senate opposition, while the Senate bill forces U.S. consumers to buy more ethanol, drawing House opposition. Seems to us that the two chambers could simply agree that expanding on the already enormous subsidies for ethanol is a costly mistake and go home to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, but we don’t pretend to fully understand the ways of Congress. What we do understand is that opposition to corn-based ethanol from environmentalists has Speaker Nancy Pelosi seeking a rewrite of the Senate’s mandate. As the speaker attempts to fashion a stripped-down bill that can move in both houses, the House’s tax-and-subsidy scheme for ethanol also doesn’t appear to be part of the package. And with good reason. Last month, the National Academy of Sciences reported on the impact of ethanol production on water supplies. A University of Iowa professor chaired the report committee, so Big Corn might have hoped for a home-court advantage. But NAS reported that, ‘in some areas of the country, water resources are already significantly stressed… Increased biofuels production will likely add pressure to the water management challenges the nation already faces as biofuels drive changing agricultural practices, increased corn production, and growth in the number of biorefineries.’ When ethanol is criticized by scientists at Iowa’s two largest state universities, you have to wonder who is for it.” —The Wall Street Journal

DEZINFORMATSIA

Hitting Hillary: “The reports of a planting [questions] pattern come at a tough time for [Hillary] Clinton, who was widely criticized for being evasive during the last presidential debate. Faking questions is a particularly serious charge in Iowa, where caucus-goers are notoriously proud of their unique democratic process.” —Ari Melber of The Nation

Loving Hillary: “It seems that on social issues, by which I mean kind of welfare and economic issues, [Hillary Clinton is] fairly liberal. But she’s a moral conservative. Which is to say that she also gets behind, you know, things like values issues.” —Time magazine editor Amy Sullivan

“The economy is in the tank—elect Democrats”: “The following sounds pretty awful—and we take no pleasure in reporting it—but today Wall Street fell, the U.S. dollar fell, GM is in bad shape and the housing market continues to be in big trouble.” —NBC anchorhead Brian Williams The Leftmedia “take no pleasure in reporting” bad economic news? Coulda fooled us. ++ “And for some Americans, high gas prices are not only affecting their wallets, they’re affecting their health as well. There are reports that some people are foregoing routine visits to the doctor and are opting for cheaper foods, like pasta and peanut butter, as opposed to protein, fruits and vegetables, in order that they can save as much money as possible when they come up to fill up at the gas station.” —ABC reporter Bianna Golodryga on Americans’ constitutional right to cheap gas

Is it Vietnam yet?: “You’ve been touring colleges. Is it true? Are they not awake out there? Are they waking up? What’s the difference? What’s it going to take?” —ABC’s Diane Sawyer breathlessly interviewing actor/director Robert Redford about college student “apathy” compared with the ‘60s antiwar radicals

Newspulper Headlines: We Blame George W. Bush: “Newly Discovered Planets Are Scorchingly Hot” —FoxNews.com

We Blame Global Warming: “Cow Falls Off Cliff and Hits Van” —Associated Press

It’s Still 100%: “Extra Weight Said Won’t Raise Death Risk” —Associated Press

Good Luck With That: “Police Hope 'Pee-Wee Herman’ Can Help Them Solve a Violent Crime” —Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

‘Dude, This’ll Make Us the Highest Court in the Land!’: “Calif. Court Considers Marijuana Use” —Associated Press

News You Can Use: “Police Station No Place to Smoke Weed” —Associated Press

Bottom Story of the Day: “Rosie Says Deal With MSNBC Fell Apart” —Associated Press (Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

THE DEMO-GOGUES

The truth comes out: “I think the fact that governors are being forced into this position is really unfortunate. They should not be making immigration policy. The federal government should be making immigration policy. And that’s what I’m going to try to do as president again.” —Hillary Clinton *Again?

The truth comes out II: “[T]he evangelical community is one where the Democratic Party, I think, we have generally seen as hostile, we haven’t been reaching out to them, and I think that if we’re going to make significant progress on critical issues that we face… we’ve got to be able to get beyond our comfort zones and just talk to people we don’t like (pause) or just talk to people we like, or people that we agree with on every single issue.” —Barack Obama *Sounds like Demos don’t like evangelicals…

Blame game: “She has taken the rap for some of the problems we had with healthcare the last time that were far more my fault than hers.” —Bill Clinton sticking up for the little woman ++ “All I know is that part of the record [Hillary Clinton is] running on is having worked on healthcare, so it’s kind of hard to gauge if one of her claims is to have experience in this issue to then suggest that somehow she doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that it didn’t work.” —Barack Obama

The answer is always taxes…: “I think the best way to approach [Social Security] is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like myself are paying a little bit more and people who are in need are protected.” —Barack Obama

…Except when the answer is a lawsuit: “Our future depends on us taking action against global warming right now. We sue again, and sue again, and sue again until we get it.” —California RINO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on suing the Environmental Protection Agency over “lax” carbon-emissions regulations

VILLAGE IDIOTS

It’s hard out there for a girl: “It’s a great time to be a Democrat. Even though those boys have been getting tough on [Hillary] lately, she can handle it.” —aspiring First Lady Bill Clinton **How is she handling it? By whining, playing the gender card and sending you out to speak for her. This is presidential material?

Race bait: “Black folk in America have never been optimistic about the future—what have we had to be optimistic about?” —Marxist scholar Cornel West

This week’s “Non Compos Mentis” Award: “[In 2003], it was a relatively small number of young Muslim men. Now, thanks to this clash of civilizations we’ve created, the threat could come from anywhere.” —"comedian" Bill Maher

Deep thoughts, dude: “Anybody who’s running who’s gone through the Sixties and didn’t smoke a joint, I don’t want you for president. You haven’t lived at all. What the f‘s wrong with you?” —actor George Clooney

Global warmisim: “Failing to recognize the urgency of this [global-warming] message and act on it would be nothing less that criminally irresponsible” —UN “climate official” Yvo de Boer *And really, who knows more about criminal irresponsibility than the UN?

This week’s “TheoLib” Award: “[Mormons] are very adept at not being fazed and speaking fluently and gracefully. Why? Because every single male who’s a Mormon goes on a mission for two years when they’re 19 or 20. They learn how to deflect blows and stay on message… So when you see Mitt Romney, he’s already been practicing how to deflect blows and stay on message. But it’s plastic.” —actor/director Robert Redford **And really, who knows plastic better than Hollywood?