The Foundation

“Foreign influence is truly the Grecian horse to a republic. We cannot be too careful to exclude its influence.” –Alexander Hamilton

Editorial Exegesis

“The Boston Marathon bombers hated America, but they loved the American dole. The suspects in the scheme to murder and maim innocent men, women and children were living off the generosity of the American taxpayers they hated. The Boston Herald reports that the ‘brains’ of the operation, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was on the Massachusetts dole with his wife, Katherine, and their 3-year-old daughter, Zahara. The parents of the Tsarnaev brothers received welfare and the accused brother, Dzhokhar, received benefits when he was a child. Taxpayer generosity to the Tsarnaev family did not end there. The city of Cambridge awarded Dzhokhar a $2,500 scholarship toward his education at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. … Taxpayers are even paying for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyer. Congress turns now to immigration reform, and the Tsarnaev case raises important issues about the high price of certain public policies under consideration. … [Republican Sen. Jeff] Sessions observes that the Department of Homeland Security has been ignoring a 100-year-old law that requires that the government consider, before admitting an immigrant, the likelihood that he will become a ‘public charge,’ who will eventually be permanently dependent on public welfare. Less than 1 percent of visa applications were denied on these grounds in 2011, despite a growing number of undocumented residents who live on food stamps and other welfare programs. The Tsarnaev brothers were granted political asylum because they were Muslims from Chechnya. … The immigration debate gives Congress a chance to re-evaluate the wisdom of sacrificing Americans for political correctness by sending invitations to prospective citizens in parts of the world where nearly everybody hates America and all it stands for. This phenomenon illustrates the need for vigilance, to make sure immigrants will become productive, prosperous Americans. Sadly, it seems the primary motivation of the president and his party on immigration reform is to create 11 million new Democratic voters with an amnesty, and hang the cost.” –The Washington Times

Upright

“[T]he administration of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick stonewalled efforts by the Boston Herald to determine the extent of government benefits provided to the Tsarnaev brothers, particularly attack mastermind Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The Patrick administration’s absurd stance, with its preoccupation with the ‘privacy rights’ of non-citizen Tamerlan – an alien terrorist – is a reflection of the kind of inept leadership and dogmatic thinking that led to the success of the attack in the first place. The egregious intelligence failures and uniform chorus of jihad denial following the attack have left little question that leftist political establishment, from state agencies to the Oval Office, does not recognize the true nature of the threats America faces. Nor does it take them seriously.” –columnist Arnold Ahlert

“Perhaps you noticed that President Obama became the first president to speak at a Planned Parenthood gala, without ever mentioning the word abortion. This new poll suggests why: 55 percent of Americans, including 38 percent of pro-lifers, do not know that Planned Parenthood provides any abortions. Just 6 percent of all Americans know Planned Parenthood clinics perform more than 300,000 abortions each year. Alongside the refusal of television and other media to cover the sensationally disturbing Gosnell trial, this fact alone exposes the extent of the Left’s cultural domination of the media-infotainment landscape.” –National Review’s Maggie Gallagher

“Obamacare is ‘working fine,’ President Obama said yesterday in his press conference. It’s made health insurance ‘stronger, better, more secure than it was before.’ … Right. There’s nothing to worry about, which is why Members of Congress are trying to exempt themselves and their staffs from Obamacare. In reality, health insurance premiums are rising, and states – meaning taxpayers – are staring down some astronomical expenses. … President Obama dismissed Obamacare opposition from the states as political. But it’s a very real bottom-line issue. Heritage research shows that 40 of 50 states would see increases in costs due the Obamacare Medicaid expansion. In just three years, costs would exceed any potential savings that have been suggested.” –Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne

“President Obama didn’t kill American free-market health care. It began dying during World War II, when government imposed wage and price controls. At first, companies said, ‘Great, stability!’ But then they realized that they could not attract better workers without raises. So companies got around the rules, as companies do. They gave ‘benefits,’ like health insurance. Government then distorted the market further by giving employer-based health insurance better tax treatment than coverage you buy yourself. But employer-based insurance is nuts. Many workers feel locked into their jobs. Company insurance largely destroyed the health care free market, since employees rarely shop for the best service at the lowest price. Now Obamacare may kill what’s left of that market.” –columnist John Stossel

Insight

“In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.” –author Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.” –French economist Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1693)

Demo-gogues

Editor’s Note: Barack Obama was the first sitting president to address Planned Parenthood. The following are the most troubling excerpts from that speech:

“[W]hen politicians try to turned Planned Parenthood into a punching bag, they’re not just talking about you; they’re talking about the millions of women who you serve. … So the fact is, after decades of progress, there’s still those who want to turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century. … Mississippi is a conservative state, but they wanted to make clear there’s nothing conservative about the government injecting itself into decisions best made between a woman and her doctor. … Forty years after the Supreme Court affirmed a woman’s constitutional right to privacy, including the right to choose, we shouldn’t have to remind people that when it comes to a woman’s health, no politician should get to decide what’s best for you. … That’s why we fought so hard to make health care reform a reality. That principle is at the heart of the Affordable Care Act. … As Cecile described, Planned Parenthood is the only organization that she’s ever been at where there are opponents who, in her words, ‘literally got up every day trying to figure out how to keep us from doing our work.’ Now, if she had worked in the administration she’d be more familiar with this phenomenon. But when it comes to your patients, you never let them down – no matter what. … As long as we’ve got to fight to make sure women have access to quality, affordable health care, and as long as we’ve got to fight to protect a woman’s right to make her own choices about her own health, I want you to know that you’ve also got a president who’s going to be right there with you fighting every step of the way. Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you. God bless America.” –Obama

What Congress is she referring to? “There is no way that I can say that I have ever seen a more conservative Congress. … I don’t believe a more moderate Congress, more moderate Democratic caucus, would be obstructionist as these Tea Party members are. … I am telling you, they’re dug in. I think they came here to dismantle government.” –Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)

Blame global warming: “Food-insecure women with limited socioeconomic resources may be vulnerable to situations such as sex work, transactional sex, and early marriage that put them at risk for HIV, STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and poor reproductive health.” –House resolution spearheaded by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) on the effects of climate change

Profiling: “Well, I’m an American, and I’m concerned about national safety, public safety, just like everyone is. But I think it’s ineffective law enforcement to go after a particular community. … [T]his ricin attack, for example, that’s an act of terrorism that doesn’t come out of the Muslim community. We don’t have enough law enforcement resources to just go after one community.” –Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress

Dezinformatsia

Politically correct: “[W]e have the fact that up came these, at some point after a trip to Russia and before it, up came Islamic videos, or, I’m sorry, terrorist videos on [Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s] website.” –CNN’s Candy Crowley apologizing and correcting herself for using the term “Islamic”

There are dumb questions: “What does the trial of a Philadelphia doctor who is accused of performing illegal late-term abortions by inducing labor and then killing viable fetuses have to do with the debate over legal abortion?” –New York Times columnist Andrew Rosenthal

The solution? More government: “We would be far better off with a system like that in France, where abortion is limited after 12 weeks but freely available and fully subsidized before then. Late-term abortion can be truly problematic. That doesn’t mean that the anti-abortion movement is the solution.” –Daily Beast columnist Michelle Goldberg

Gay days: “We will see [openly gay NBA player Jason Collins’] name in history next to Jackie Robinson and Billie Jean King. It’s getting its due because it is such an important – not just a sports history moment – but an American history moment.” –USA Today sport columnist Christine Brennan fawning over the first major-four-sports player to come out of the closet

“Jason Collins is Jackie Robinson.” –Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi

Newspulper Headlines:

We Blame George W. Bush: “Is Talk Radio to Blame?” –Ricochet.com

We Blame Global Warming: “Earth’s Core 1,800 Degrees Hotter Than Thought” –NBCNews.com

Shortest Books Ever Written: “McManus: Obama’s War on Red Tape” –Los Angeles Times

Questions Nobody Is Asking: “American Way: Does Barack Obama Have the Guts to Secure His Legacy?” –Daily Telegraph (London)

News You Can Use: “How to Build a Spoon” –The New York Times

Bottom Story of the Day: “Obama Wasn’t Joking at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” –Washington Post website

(Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

Village Idiots

Focusing on the wrong problems: “While America has been fixated on the threat of Islamic terrorism for more than a decade, all but a few domestic terror plots have failed. Between September 11, 2001, and the end of 2012, there were no successful bomb plots by jihadist terrorists in the United States. Jihadists killed 17 people in the United States in four separate incidents during this time, according to data collected by journalist Peter Bergen and the New America Foundation. All four of these incidents involved guns, including Nidal Hassan’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood, which killed 13 people. In contrast, right-wing extremists killed 29 people during those 11 years.” –Mother Jones’ Dave Gilson

Gun grabbers: “I mean, if we could get guns under control, if we could get rid of them, I’m with all of that. … Of course I want to get rid of guns.” –actor Tracy Morgan

Taking Joe Biden’s advice: “If you live in a city and you think you need protection of your home, you’re way better off with a shotgun than an assault weapon. Trust me. It’s not even close.” –Bill Clinton

Amnesty: “Creating a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in this country is absolutely essential. The way we treat our friends and neighbors who are undocumented – by creating a mechanism for them to earn citizenship and to move out of the shadows – transcends the issue of immigration status. This is a matter of civil and human rights.” –Attorney General Eric Holder

Hot air: “If we want to make progress on climate change, we need everyone in Congress on board for a solution. It’s our job to show them there’s a price to pay for being a climate denier.” –Organizing for Action’s Jon Carson

What’s disgusting? “When a woman doesn’t want to be pregnant, she’ll go through hell, high water in North Dakota – blizzards, floods, you know, she’ll hit a deer on the way, and have a flat tire and say, ‘Can I still come?’ When a woman doesn’t want to be pregnant, she’ll do what she needs to do. And unfortunately it just adds to the stigma that women feel when they hear all of these things about heart beat, sex selection, genetic abnormality. You know, abortion is very common and the stigma is disgusting.” –North Dakota abortion-clinic director Tammi Kromenaker

Short Cuts

“This president has an inordinate faith in the power of his rhetoric. He campaigned against Scott Brown, against Chris Christie, against Bob McDonnell. He campaigned hard for the Democratic candidates in 2010 that got shellacked. He campaigned for Obamacare. It’s still very unpopular. His rhetoric is overrated. It is no basis for government.” –columnist George Will

“The FBI and Boston police completely sealed off the neighborhood where the second bomber fled. They were sure they’d find the college kid. If the FBI and local cops couldn’t find him, they were thinking of bringing out the big dogs, student loan collection agents.” –comedian Argus Hamilton

“President Obama held a press conference [Tuesday], and he said he still wants to close the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, but he doesn’t know how to do it. He should do what he always does: declare it a small business and tax it out of existence. It will be gone in a minute.” –comedian Jay Leno

“This year, the government will spend at least $890,000 on service fees for 13,712 bank accounts with a zero balance. Leave it to the government to find a way to make being broke cost money.” –Fred Thompson

Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team