THE FOUNDATION: COMMERCE

“I think all the world would gain by setting commerce at perfect liberty.” —Thomas Jefferson

THE DEMO-GOGUES

Who does she represent again?: “What you saw in the Congress this week was the war dance of the handmaidens of the oil companies. That’s what you saw on the Republican side of the aisle.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-OPEC) on Republican congressmen staying on the job to debate energy while Democrats went home and ignored the problem ++ “What our [GOP] colleagues are talking about is something that won’t have an effect for 10 years and it will be two cents at the time.” —Nancy Pelosi, who needs remedial economics training

Clear as mud: “What I don’t want to do is for the best to be the enemy of the good. And if we can come up with a genuine bipartisan compromise, in which I have to accept some things that I don’t like or the Democrats have to accept some things that they don’t like in exchange for actually moving us in the direction of actual energy independence, then that’s something I’m open to.” —Barack Obama

Is Obama ready to be president?: “You could argue that no one is ever ready to be president.” —Bill Clinton with a typical “Clintonesque” answer

Is Obama qualified to be president?: “I think everybody’s got a right to run for president who qualifies under the Constitution. And I would be the last person to ever begrudge anybody their ambition.” —Bill Clinton “who qualifies under the Constitution.” Wonder what Clinton knows…

Race bait: “Nobody thinks that Bush and McCain have a real answer to the challenges we face. So what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, ‘he’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name,’ you know, ‘he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills’.” —Barack Obama

UPRIGHT

“It’s one thing [for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] to not allow a vote on more energy production. It’s another to not even allow people to speak about it… You can turn off the lights, but you cannot silence the will of the American people.” —John Campbell ++ “I really believe that the reason why the Democratic leadership has not brought [The American Energy Act] or a compromise bill like that to the floor is because it would pass.” —Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)

“What exactly has the Democrat-controlled House done for us lately? Well, it authorized the FDA to regulate tobacco, it apologized for slavery and Jim Crow laws, and let’s not forget, the House Transportation Committee moved to ban in-flight cell phone use.” —Laura Ingraham

“Does Obama have the sort of adviser a candidate most needs—someone sufficiently unenthralled to tell him when he has worked one pedal on the organ too much? If so, Obama should be told: Enough, already, with the we-are-who-we-have-been-waiting-for rhetorical cotton candy that elevates narcissism to a political philosophy.” —George Will

“When one side sees their own country as the problem, and the other side sees their own country as the solution, somebody tell me where you compromise with that?” —Rush Limbaugh

“Any news account, biography or political history of the twentieth Century that talks about who ‘won’ the Cold War—a complicated historical reality for sure—and does not include [Aleksandr] Solzhenitsyn with Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II is not only incomplete but wrong. Solzhenitsyn was the inside man.” —John Couretas ++ “Edward E. Erickson, who wrote two major works on Solzhenitsyn, argues that the key to understanding Solzhenitsyn is Christianity—the Russian Orthodox faith that framed Solzhenitsyn’s worldview.” —Albert Mohler

INSIGHT

“Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart.” —Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

“Such is the debt of free spirits to [Aleksandr] Solzhenitsyn that we owe it to him at least to consider anything he asks us to consider.” —William F. Buckley

“The capacity for self-deception, and self-justification, is large.” —Jay Nordlinger

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

“The ‘windfall profits’ tax is back, with Barack Obama stumping again to apply it to a handful of big oil companies. Which raises a few questions: What is a ‘windfall’ profit anyway? How does it differ from your everyday, run of the mill profit? Is it some absolute number, a matter of return on equity or sales—or does it merely depend on who earns it? Enquiring entrepreneurs want to know. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama’s ‘emergency’ plan, announced on Friday, doesn’t offer any clarity. To pay for ‘stimulus’ checks of $1,000 for families and $500 for individuals, the Senator says government would take ‘a reasonable share’ of oil company profits. Mr. Obama didn’t bother to define ‘reasonable’… This extraordinary redefinition of free-market success could use some parsing. Take Exxon Mobil, which on Thursday reported the highest quarterly profit ever and is the main target of any ‘windfall’ tax surcharge. Yet if its profits are at record highs, its tax bills are already at record highs too. Between 2003 and 2007, Exxon paid $64.7 billion in U.S. taxes, exceeding its after-tax U.S. earnings by more than $19 billion. That sounds like a government windfall to us, but perhaps we’re missing some… business subtlety. Maybe [Obama has] in mind profit margins as a percentage of sales. Yet by that standard Exxon’s profits don’t seem so large. Exxon’s profit margin stood at 10% for 2007, which is hardly out of line with the oil and gas industry average of 8.3%, or the 8.9% for U.S. manufacturing (excluding the sputtering auto makers). If that’s what constitutes windfall profits, most of corporate America would qualify… The fun part about this game is anyone can play. Jim Johnson, formerly of Fannie Mae and formerly a political fixer for Mr. Obama, reaped a windfall before Fannie’s multibillion-dollar accounting scandal. Bill Clinton took down as much as $15 million working as a rainmaker for billionaire financier Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies. This may be the very definition of ‘windfall.’… The point is that what constitutes an abnormal profit is entirely arbitrary. It is in the eye of the political beholder, who is usually looking to soak some unpopular business. In other words, a windfall is nothing more than a profit earned by a business that some politician dislikes. And a tax on that profit is merely a form of politically motivated expropriation. It’s what politicians do in Venezuela, not in a free country.” —The Wall Street Journal

DEZINFORMATSIA

Remedial economics needed: “Most criticism of John McCain’s decision to follow the Bush administration’s lead and embrace offshore drilling as the answer to high gas prices has focused on the accusation that it’s junk economics—which it is.” —former Enron advisor Paul Krugman, who knows a bit about junk economics, in The New York Times

No bias here: “It seems like that Obama should be miles ahead of McCain when you consider the political climate. Americans can no longer stand President Bush or the Republican Party or the war in Iraq, and, of course, there’s the deteriorating economy… Obama has run a pretty flawless campaign…” —CNN’s Jack Cafferty

How dare McCain actually campaign: “[O]ne big question for Obama now is how long can he continue to take the high road with McCain increasingly on the attack?” —CBS’s Chip Reid

Not exactly: “[T]he biggest problem John McCain is facing in this campaign is the hard right of his own party, which is trying to pin him into positions that are not really very realistic right now.” —Financial Times editor Chrystia Freeland

“The racial fantasy factor in this presidential campaign is out of control. It was at work in that New Yorker cover that caused such a stir… It’s driving the idea that Barack Obama is somehow presumptuous, too arrogant, too big for his britches—a man who obviously does not know his place. Mr. Obama has to endure these grotesque insults with a smile and heroic levels of equanimity. The reason he has to do this—the sole reason—is that he is black.” —New York Times columnist Bob Herbert

The BIG Lie: “[O]rganizations like the NRA… are trying to increase deaths by gun in this country.” —MSNBC’s Keith Olberman, the perennial “Worst Person in the World”

Newspulper Headlines: Breaking News From 2009: “President Obama Continues Hectic Victory Tour” —The Washington Post ++ “Why President Obama’s Likely to Have a Tough Four Years” —NJ.com

Finding Happiness in Unexpected Places: “Ecstasy Reported in Spare Tire on Ambassador Bridge” —Detroit Free Press

And the Clerks Are Stuck Cleaning It Up: “Whole Foods Case Overturned by Appeals Court” —Austin American-Statesman Web site

We Hope the Bear Was Wearing a Helmet: “Man Hits Bear on Motorcycle” —Associated Press

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: “Wind Blows Semitrailer Into Ditch, Killing Turkeys” —Plainsman (Huron, SD) ++ “Earthquake Forces Judge Judy Into Recess” —Broadcasting & Cable

News You Can Use: “Don’t Streak, Get Drunk or Sleep Outside” —Reuters ++ “Enjoy Beer—and Life Will Be Good” —For-UA.com

Bottom Stories of the Day: “Rosie O’Donnell Is Taking a Break From Blogging” —GaySocialites.com (Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

VILLAGE IDIOTS

Delusional: “There aren’t a lot of role models for us in the world, or people we can look up to. People who are not afraid to stick their neck out, people who are not afraid to stand up for things and be unpopular, to go against the grain, think outside the box. And we need, and I need, Michael Moore in my life.” —Madonna re the Leftist documentarian

Uh, maybe quit being racist: “What steps should we take as a nation to alleviate the effects of racial exclusion and racial discrimination?” —Urban League President Marc Morial pressing his members to question Obama on how he intends to handle this issue during his first 100 days in office

Spoken with the “clarity” of a Leftist: “They keep trying to make me say she lost because of sexism. I’m not saying that. It’s never one thing. Here’s an analogy: It doesn’t make sense to say, ‘Is cancer heredity or carcinogens?’ because it’s both. But it would be good for the country and for our political and physical health to get rid of misogyny and get rid of carcinogens.” —former Playboy bunny turned feminazi Gloria Steinem on why Hillary lost ++ “[The vice president] not an independent position, to put it mildly. I would rather see [Hillary] as the president of the Senate.” —Gloria Steinem on why Hillary should not take the VP slot on Obama’s ticket Memo to Gloria: “The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate.” —Article I, Section 3, U.S. Constitution

SHORT CUTS

“It doesn’t seem to occur to Obama that the oil companies would pass the ”windfall profits tax“ on to consumers. What a great plan: You get relief from $4-a-gallon gas, and the only downside is $5- or $6-a-gallon gas!” —James Taranto

“President Bush urged Congress to pass offshore drilling, with the vast majority of the nation behind him. We aren’t about to change our lifestyles. The day before, Detroit introduced a six-hundred-horsepower Corvette which runs on ground-up Priuses.” —Argus Hamilton

“The exclamation of a journalist at the UNITY minority news media gathering this weekend sums up the star-struck reverence that fuels the Obama phenomenon: ‘He touched me!’ And yet, he’s sooo ‘down to earth.’ Hurtling toward a government of the stupid, by the stupid, for the stupid we go.” —Michelle Malkin

“In McCain’s universe, the planets rotate around the sun in a predictable pattern. In Obama’s universe, he is the sun.” —Kathleen Parker

“In a speech [recently], Barack Obama said he’s distantly related to the famous 19th century gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok. After hearing this, John McCain said, ‘Big deal, I went to high school with him’.” —Conan O’Brien

Jay Leno: Well, [last week] Congress officially apologized for slavery. Not a moment too soon, huh? You hate to see these things fester until there’s a lot of animosity. Thank God they nipped it in the bud like that. … Congress is going on a much-deserved break. They got so much done this year. They don’t even call it a vacation; they call it a recess. Let’s see who gets recess: kindergarten, Congress and juries. The three you can’t trust to make an adult decision. … Barack Obama may still pick a woman for VP, but not Hillary Clinton. Yeah. Well today, a top Hillary Clinton supporter named Lanny Davis said it was “inconceivable” that Obama would pick another woman over Hillary, to which Bill said, “It’s not that inconceivable.” … Yeah that’s the big talk, they say Barack Obama could decide to go with another woman. See that’s what killed John Edwards’ chances of being VP—he decided to go with another woman. … Barack Obama told Tom Brokaw the other day on “Meet the Press” that what he’s looking for in a VP is a person who will tell him when they thought he was wrong, to which President Bush said, “Trust me, that gets old really fast.” … Beijing skies are so polluted that Chinese authorities are planning emergency measures for the Olympics. For example, protesters will now only be run over with hybrid tanks.

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.)