THE FOUNDATION

“Conscience is the most sacred of all property.” –James Madison

INSIGHT

“Whoever can surprise well must conquer.” –John Paul Jones

“Half-heartedness never won a battle.” –William McKinley

“We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire…. Give us the tools and we will finish the job.” –Sir Winston Churchill

“Physical courage, which despises all danger, will make a man brave in one way; and moral courage, which despises all opinion, will make a man brave in another.” –Charles Caleb Colton

“The spirit of penitence and the practice of it stimulates us to detach ourselves sincerely from everything superfluous that we have.” –Pope John Paul II

“The history of free men is never really written by chance but by choice – their choice.” –Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” –Theodore Roosevelt

“The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.” –H. L. Mencken

“When there is a lack of honor in government, the morals of the whole people are poisoned.” –Herbert Hoover

“In the long-run every government is the exact symbol of its people, with their wisdom and unwisdom; we have to say, like people, like government.” –Thomas Carlyle

“I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” –Henry David Thoreau

“Money will not purchase character or good government.” –Calvin Coolidge

“In my creed, waste of public money is like the sin against the Holy Ghost.” –John Morley

“That most delicious of all privileges – spending other people’s money.” –John Randolph of Roanoke

“Every public official should be recycled occasionally.” –John V. Lindsay

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” –Shakespeare

UPRIGHT

“Truth, honor, and integrity have always been the cornerstone of the United States armed force’s core values.” –Dexter Ingram

“…[C]ulture, morale, and training can trump both modern weapons and numbers on the battlefield.” –Victor Davis Hanson

“Only brave and independent people can preserve liberty. Are there a sufficient number of such people left in America? We shall see.” –Chuck Baldwin

“Honesty, selflessness, caring, empathy and optimism were what made our country survive the awful times of our birth and two World Wars since. When we lose those special characteristics, we will lose our special place as a nation in a world looking for moral leadership.” –John LeBoutillier

“As a country that came into being through armed rebellion, it is not our duty, nor even our right to attempt to maintain the status quo in the individual nations of the world.” –Lyn Nofziger

“You have to let the mission determine the coalition, you don’t let the coalition determine the mission.” –Donald Rumsfeld

“What used to be called ‘unilateralism’ is now recognized as leadership, the ability to visualize an objective, explain the means of attaining it, and wrap the entire venture in a cloak of inevitability.” –James S. Robbins

“When under attack, no country is obligated to collect permission slips from allies to strike back.” –Charles Krauthammer

“Denying the existence of evil is so convenient for the cowardly, so effortless for the lazy, and so uninvolving for the indifferent.” –David C. Stolinsky

“Tolerance is a virtue deeply embedded in the American people – more so indeed than in their elites who are periodically swept up in intolerant puritanical campaigns whether for prohibition or university ‘speech codes’.” –John O'Sullivan

“Injustice is rife when people have no conscience. In our time, only politically correct official ‘victim groups’ are deserving of concern, and the compassion they receive is orchestrated for the purpose of advancing political agendas.” –Paul Craig Roberts

“One of the keys to Clintonism is absence of conscience. You cannot be Bill Clinton, for example, and have a conscience. You just can’t.” –Rush Limbaugh

“There’s nothing more gullible, or more desperate, than a politicized heart.” –Mark Goldblatt

“Omar Sheikh is a British public schoolboy, a graduate of the London School of Economics, and, like Osama and Mohammed Atta, a monument to the peculiar burdens of a non-deprived childhood in the Muslim world.” –Mark Steyn **Oh, don’t leave out “poor” little Johnny bin Walker from the ghettos of Marin County!

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

Publisher’s Note: Our prayers go out to the families and friends of our service members killed in action in eastern Afghanistan this week, and we ask our readers to join us in praying for solace and strength in their grief. There will be more casualties in the weeks and months ahead – and we must remain vigilant in prayer as a nation.

“Heavy fighting continues near the eastern Afghan town of Gardez. American troops, along with others from at least six allied nations, are trying to capture or destroy a force of several hundred Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in the rugged mountains near the Pakistani border. …This battle should be no surprise, and more like it are sure to be fought as the remnants of the Taliban and its terrorist cohorts are found. The war in Afghanistan is by no means over, and it may not be for some time. The interim government of Hamid Karzai will not be able to stabilize the country soon. …Mr. Karzai’s regime may be hurting itself, and us, by his release of prisoners taken in Afghanistan. Several weeks ago, some of the prisoners taken at Mazar-e-Sharif – where CIA officer Johnny ‘Mike’ Spann was murdered and American Taliban John Walker was captured – were released and may have rejoined the conflict. Mr. Karzai’s policy of releasing the Afghan members of the Taliban and turning the non-Afghan members over to us should be the topic of a pointed discussion between Mr. Karzai and Mr. Bush. …America’s soldiers, sailors and airmen are paying a price for the victory they are winning for us. That price … should be paid once, not twice because prisoners are released too soon. …In the east, those who surrender near Gardez should be interned until a peace is reached. Those who refuse to surrender should feel the full force of America’s determination to destroy terrorism.” –Washington Times

DEZINFORMATSIA

From the Commissars of Correctness: “The goal here is to make sure that when we are seeking experts outside the news division to help explain stories we’re working on, we include in the group we’re considering a wide variety of possibilities, rather than simply going back to the same, limited group.” –ABC News President David Westin’s e-mail to news division staffers, announcing a list of 480 preferred identity group spokespersons to be contacted for “diversity” in a quota of the quoted for on-air segments.

From the Commissars of Public Opinion: “There is a Gallup poll today which is making news because it is surprising to some and revealing to many. It finds that in several countries in the Muslim world the vast majority do not believe that Arabs were involved in the attacks on the U.S. in September. …[T]his is a big setback for the Bush administration and a challenge.” –ABC talkinghead Peter Jennings

From the “Garbage In – Garbage Out” Department: “…[M]any Arab-Americans say it’s not just perceptions at issue but U.S. policies, especially in the Middle East…. Other analysts say Mr. Bush’s bellicose language may be exacerbating the problem.” –ABC’s Terry Moran

This week’s “Hyper-Hypocrisy” Award: “Ari, why would this administration choose a man for counter-terrorism who is so associated with the dark side of the Iran-Contra scandal, Admiral Poindexter?” –Hearst columnist Helen Thomas. **She is implying, then, the Admiral was not on “the bright side”?

This week’s “Leftmedia Non Compos Mentis” Award: “As President Bush toured Asia last week, some world leaders worried publicly that the war on terrorism was starting to look suspiciously like the last great American campaign – against Communism. …The McCarthy years in some ways were eerily similar to the present moment. …The first victims of anti-Communist hysteria were immigrants, and hundreds of immigrants have been detained since Sept. 11, many with little apparent cause beyond the fact that they were Middle Eastern men.” –New York Times reporter Robert Worth

SOCIOCRATS

From one Democrite: “If we expect to kill every terrorist in the world, that’s going to keep us going beyond doomsday. How long can we afford this?” –Sen. Robert Byrd (AKA “conscience of the Senate”)

From the “Let Them Eat Cake” Files: “I don’t feel that we should have lethal weapons in the cockpit. I believe that stun guns or tasers, as they’re referred to, can be a possibility.” –Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta; “I don’t think we want to equip our pilots with firearms. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.” –Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge. **Hey, we’ve recently learned the hard lesson that cockpits ARE lethal weapons! And equipping pilots with firearms may not “make a lot of sense” to somebody surrounded by a phalanx of taxpayer-funded armed guards!

From the “Clinton Presidue” Files: “This is just a period, a few decades this will last, and I think that all of us who are Americans should think about this and ask ourselves how do we wish this moment to be judged 50 years from now. And how would we like to be treated when we no longer have this pre-eminent position and we have to work in a cooperative fashion with others to a far greater extent than we have to do today.” –Former President Bill Clinton

More Democrisy: “None of us knew about the secret government. Not knowing things as basic as that is a pretty profound illustration of the chasm that exists sometimes [between Congress and the Bush administration] with information.” –Senate Demo Leader Tom Daschle

VILLAGE IDIOTS

From the “Cunning Linguistics” Files: “I mean, I think if I had done all that, it probably would have been an open-and-shut case.” –Monica Lewinsky on … we’re not quite sure what! …Either if she had kept her mouth closed in the very, very first place, or if she had opened her mouth in a full-disclosure immunity deal to cooperate in prosecuting Bill Clinton for his misdeeds in office.

This week’s “Heterophobia” Award: “I’m a dyke! …I don’t know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing….. People are confused, they’re shocked, like this is a big revelation to somebody.” –Rosie O'Donnell in a “standup” routine

This week’s “Village Ignorati” Award: “The real terrorist threats are George W. Bush and his band of brown-shirted thugs.” –Hollywonk Sandra Bernhard

From the “Virtual Morality” Files: “When a doctor who performs abortions is murdered after being targeted on a pro-life Web site, the Supreme Court must rule if the Web site is responsible for his death or if they’re protected by the First Amendment.” –Synopsis of a recent episode of CBS’s “First Monday”

This week’s “Village Victimitis” Award: “I do not feel it realistic to commit to having a changed body by Dec. 1, or at any time.” –Jennifer Portnick, a 5’ 8", 240 pound fitness instructor suing Jazzercize, Inc., for violating San Francisco’s new “fat and short” anti-discrimination law by refusing to hire her until she has a “more fit appearance.”

From the “Village Academic Curriculum” Files: “Queer studies is about what thinking about sexuality can teach us about identity and desire in general. …Everyone has a gender and a sexuality – this field is not narrow, but rather incredibly expansive.” –Infelicitously named Heather Love, Harvard lecturer in literature, on the university’s foray into developing a department of “Queer Studies.”

SHORT CUTS

“This shadow security measure implies that 100 people can run the entire federal government in the event that Washington, D.C., is out of commission. Which, coincidentally, has been part of every Republican platform since Ronald Reagan.” –Mark Russell

“…[I]f I were trying to assess this in an objective, unbiased, ‘Rumsfeldian’ way I would step back and look at it and say, ‘Not bad’.” –Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on allowing press access to military missions.

“Man Date: The September 11th attack/ Put America back on track,/ But the nags at NOW/ Are having a cow/ ‘Cause the Macho Man is back!” –F.R. Duplantier

“It was only a matter of time. …They gave the Oscar to a politician.” –Brant Parker & Johnny Hart in the comic strip “The Wizard of Id”

“Now Algore has grown him a beard/ And it makes him look really weird./ Though he thinks he can win/ With hair on his chin/ He really should have the thing sheared.” –Lyn Nofziger

“Since we know that, in fact, exactly 100 percent of the 19 hijackers on 9-11 were of Middle Eastern descent, why don’t we focus on them ducks? Since we know that explicitly zero percent of 75-year-old women in tennis shoes have hijacked an airplane, why don’t we let the little ladies move along? To do otherwise is wasteful and … defies common sense.” –Kathleen Parker

“According to initial buoyant reports in early February, enraged travelers rose up in a savage attack on the secretary of transportation. Hope was dashed when later reports indicated that the irritated travelers were actually rival warlords, the airport was the Kabul Airport, and Norman Mineta was still with us.” –Ann Coulter

“If we wanted a system which depended on the vagaries of insipidity and reflexive asininity we’d have made Alec Baldwin Czar-for-Life.” –Jonah Goldberg

“On almost all campuses, the behavior of both the studentry and the professoriate is remarkably teenaged in savor. Universities are not the potting soil of maturity.” –Fred Reed

Jay Leno…. Tom Ridge says that he doesn’t favor airline pilots carrying guns on board airplanes. He went on to say that if pilots want to carry guns they’ll have to sneak them on board through security just like everyone else does. …. Did you see the Monica Lewinsky documentary the other night? Do you get the feeling that Monica’s 15 minutes of stain is about up? …. According to Forbes magazine, Bill Gates is once again the richest man in the world. Now that award is something money can’t buy! …. It has come out that Ken Lay, the former Enron CEO still owns nine houses worth over $20 million – and that excludes the House of Representatives, which he bought last year. …. It happened again today. At an airport a bunch of passengers had to be re-screened after it was found the metal detector wasn’t working – they then found that the machine was unplugged! …. The United States is going to give Afghanistan 1,000 old computers to help them rebuild business. That’s just what they need, a game of “Pong” on a Commodore 64 – that will straighten them out. …. Ninety-seven percent of men say that their lover is also their best friend. This is disturbing, because I always thought that man’s best friend is his dog.

David Letterman… Top Reasons I’m Proud to Be in the United States Navy: “The Navy is my favorite branch of the armed forces and my favorite color”; “The way people stare when you pull up to the marina in a fast-attack submarine”; “Best chance I’ll ever have to meet Popeye”; “You didn’t hear it from me but we’ve got flying submarines”; “Remember that game Battleship? We get to play it with real ships”; “Best chance I’ll ever have to meet Olive Oyl”; “You can fish off the stern of the ship – try doing that in an F-16”; “I look sweet in uniform”; “I’d like to see some skinny late night talk show host drive a submarine.”

Argus Hamilton…. President Bush just activated the top-secret Continuity of Operations Plan. He has sent 100 senior government managers to live and work in an underground bunker on the East Coast. Nuclear war or no nuclear war, taxes are due April 15th. …. President Bush … defended contacts between the White House and energy executives to help develop the Bush administration’s energy policy. Where to drill new oil wells is the tricky part. They must produce enough oil to keep prices around a $1 a gallon and kill enough caribou to lure Ralph Nader into the 2004 race. …. President Bush decided … to store U.S. nuclear waste near Las Vegas. It’s amazing. Who would’ve believed that the man who restored honor and dignity to the White House would someday be responsible for showgirls who glow in the dark? …. The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee will investigate Senator Robert Torricelli for taking gifts from a campaign contributor. He got a Rolex watch, an Oriental rug, Italian suits and cash. It’s the first Senate investigation ever hosted by Bob Barker. …. The White House ordered a radio transmitter built on a mountain in Iraq. The broadcasts will help to destabilize the Iraqi regime. The idea is to overthrow Saddam Hussein and install David Letterman before Ted Koppel gets back from vacation. …. David Letterman is negotiating to replace ABC Nightline with his late night comedy show. It won’t go down without a fight. Last night, Ted Koppel asked his make-up artist to make him look even more like Alfred E. Neuman than he already does. …. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer apologized for saying Bill Clinton is to blame for Mideast violence due to the way he conducted peace talks. That wasn’t fair. He was just an Arab intern away from being as even-handed as humanly possible. …. Monica Lewinsky’s eight-part HBO series Monica in Black and White premiered. She said that her future plans include designing her own line of women’s clothing. They will be sold under the label Defense Exhibit A. Lewinsky denies craving the spotlight on her HBO show Sunday. She was fired as TV performing spokesperson in Jenny Craig Diet commercials, which were very effective. Most people who saw the commercials couldn’t eat for days.