THE FOUNDATION

“In defense of our persons and properties under actual violation, we took up arms. When that violence shall be removed, when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, hostilities shall cease on our part also.” –Thomas Jefferson

INSIGHT

“The hero is the one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.” –Felix Adler

GOOD NEWS

“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.” (Psalm 24: 3-6)

“Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.” (Proverbs 2:12-15)

“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.” (Proverbs 28:4)

“Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37)

“But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6:49)

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:18-20)

ICTUS IMPRIMIS

“Now they’re coming for the Catholics in America. Yes, I understand there was child abuse, and that’s terrible, but you don’t attack the entire religion and the church and God and the Holy Ghost just because there are a few perverts who should be given the electric chair if they’re guilty. So the Catholics are under assault. What are you going to do now that the Catholics are under assault? Join the fray? Don’t you understand who’s after them? Don’t you know where this is coming from? The same forces of evil, the anti-family pagan forces that brought down Germany and brought in Hitler are liable to bring worse to this country if we don’t stand up to them. You don’t know that the Nazi leaders were not Christians, they were pagan. You don’t know that many of them celebrated the myths in Wagner, which became a pillar of their Teutonic racial superiority. Many of you have been brainwashed by the irreligious left into believing that all Christians are somewhat Nazi, if not outright Nazi, and so I’m going to defend the Catholics.” –Michael Savage

FAMILY

“The reason we make such a big deal about how you treat other people is because we know what can happen when parents don’t make that a priority. Their children sometimes grow into monsters who fly airliners into office buildings or detonate bombs in crowded pizzerias or prey sexually on teenagers who turn to them for counsel. Have I ever told you the story of Hillel? He lived 2,000 years ago and was regarded as the greatest Jewish scholar of his generation. One day a non-Jew challenged him to sum up the entire Torah – the whole Hebrew Bible – while standing on one foot. Instead of berating the man for his mockery, Hillel gave him a beautiful answer: ‘What is hateful to you, do not do unto others; this is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary – now go and study.’ Now that you’re in school, you’re learning so many things. But no lesson will ever be more important than Hillel’s. Treat other people the way you would have them treat you; be honest and ethical and kind. Be a good boy. Become a good man. (Signed) Papa” –Jeff Jacoby from a column written to his 5-year-old son

CULTURE

“There was a time, not so long ago, when you had to seek pornography out. Now you have to make an effort to avoid it. No, the mystery here isn’t why pornography is so popular. It’s why some of our universities are willing to give students credit for watching it – and then act as if they’re fulfilling some great academic need. This is one fig leaf that just won’t stick.” –Edwin Feulner

LIBERTY

“This war will not be short, pleasant, or easy. It has already required the sacrifice of our firefighters, our policemen, our soldiers, our Sailors, our airmen, and our Marines. More sacrifices will be made. In the end we will win, precisely because we are those things that the terrorists hate – prosperous, happy, tolerant, and most of all, free. Those Americans who wish they could be here with us are, in fact, here with us in spirit. Never before in American history has our nation been so completely unified and resolute in purpose. They are cheering us on, praying for our safety and our success. Our families are behind us 100%. We will not let them down. We are, and will be, men and women of honor, courage, and commitment. Abraham Lincoln said ‘America is the last, best hope for the world’. Tonight we hold a shining beacon of that hope. We shall keep it burning brightly. Stay sharp. Stay focused. Stay safe. Use the training that has made you the best Sailors in the world. Trust in your faith, and in your shipmates. God bless us all, and God bless America.” –Captain Ron Howard of the USS John F. Kennedy (CV67), shortly before the JFK launched her first strikes into Afghanistan on March 10th.

THE GIPPER

“To sit back hoping that some day, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping that he will eat you last – but eat you he will.” –Ronald Reagan

OPINION IN BRIEF

“ ‘Exit strategy’ applies only to wars of choice. You can choose to quit Vietnam or Somalia or Kosovo. The war on radical Islam is a war of necessity. Wars of necessity have no exit. They must be won. What possible exit strategy can you have against an enemy whose ordinary soldier signs up with the following oath (found among the documents captured from al Qaeda in Afghanistan): ‘I state in the presence of God that I will slaughter infidels for my entire life’? There is only one exit strategy in fighting such a man. He dies or you die. No other exit.” –Charles Krauthammer

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

And we thought only the central government IRS could complicate things beyond reason: “A few weeks ago, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge unveiled a red, orange, yellow, blue and green system to alert the country to the level of terrorism risk…. Terrorism is no joke, but Mr. Ridge’s color-coded warnings have done more to stimulate late-night comedians than to give Americans much guidance in girding for another terrorist attack. ‘Champagne-fuchsia means we’re being attacked by Martha Stewart,’ quipped Conan O'Brien. Offered Jay Leno: ‘Yesterday the alert went from blue to pink. Now half the country thinks we’re pregnant’.” –Wall Street Journal

GOVERNMENT

“The basic function of government is to protect person and property. That function requires strict enforcement of a few laws and regulations that the citizens clearly understand, as well as an intelligent and rational application of the law. A civil and prosperous society does not come about by the government passing endless legislation. It occurs when you have limited government and a society where mothers and fathers teach their children to respect others’ property and person, and to be truthful in all their dealings. Government officials, from the president on down, can be helpful in using their ‘bully pulpits’ to reinforce the importance of good character in society. And members of Congress could set an example by cleaning up their own dishonest rhetoric.” –Richard Rahn

RE: THE LEFT

“A pro-life advocate sees abortion as a sin against God who infuses life at the moment of conception; a pro-choice advocate sees abortion as a decision to be made in accordance with the best scientific opinion as to when the beginning of life, as we know it, occurs. No conversation between them can ever get started because each of them starts from a different place and they could never agree as to what they were conversing about. A pro-lifer starts from a belief in the direct agency of a personal God and this belief, this religious conviction, is not incidental to his position; it is his position, and determines its features in all their detail. The ‘content of a belief’ is a function of its source, and the critiques of one will always be the critique of the other.” –Dr. Stanley Fish

POLITICAL FUTURES

“Conservatives of all stripes – neocons, paleocons, libertarians, even the McCainiacs – want to change some, most or all of the fundamental assumptions of the culture and the politics it produces. …But conservatives … love America and speak its language; we feel alienated enough to see what’s wrong with the status quo (and make fun of it) but feel close enough to the basic goodness of America that we can speak with passion about how to fix it.” –Jonah Goldberg

FOR THE RECORD

About 39 million people tuned in Sunday night, [March 10th], to the CBS “9/11” documentary featuring video filmed inside the World Trade Center just after the terrorist attacks. According to Nielsen Media Research, the special had a 33 audience share (which means one-third of the television sets turned on were watching the show). “We felt that it was important that people experience this, and it was good that America felt the same way,” said CBS President Leslie Moonves. In New York City, the program had a 47 audience share – meaning almost half of the TV sets on in NYC were watching “9/11.” For benchmarks: The national audience size was 87 million people who watched the Super Bowl, and 45.5 million who tuned in for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. And now Matt Drudge reports: “[Last] Sunday night’s Academy Awards telecast drew the lowest rating in history, according to Nielsen Media Research. Its 25.4 rating with hostess [Whoopi] Goldberg – who began the program announcing she was the original ‘sex beast’ – was worse than last year’s previous low, 26.2, with Steve Martin.”

SELECT READER COMMENTS

“Your ‘Easter’ issue is, as usual, one of the finest pieces of work I have ever seen. I do, however, have one comment: I think that it is well past time for Christians everywhere, of all ‘denominations’ and persuasions, to abandon entirely forever, the use of the word ‘Easter.’ The Federalist noted correctly that the name ‘Easter’ is ‘derived from Eostra (a Scandinavian goddess of dawn or spring) or Ostern (a Teutonic fertility goddess), both pagan figures honored at festivals celebrating the vernal equinox.’ Thus, let us all commit to using from now on, the terms ‘Resurrection Sunday’ and ‘Resurrection Season’ in order to fully declare to the world our firm belief in that fact, and in our Blessed Hope!”
Editor’s Reply: We are now considering this request.

“Just for the record: Here are the names of the Republican U.S. Senators who voted to trash the U.S. Constitution they swore to uphold and defend by voting for the campaign finance reform bill this week: John McCain (Ariz.); Peter Fitzgerald (Ill.); Richard Lugar (Ind.); Susan Collins (Maine); Olympia Snowe (Maine); Thad Cochran (Miss.); Pete Domenici (N.M.); Arlen Specter (Pa.); Lincoln Chafee (R.I.); Fred Thompson (Tenn.); John Warner (Va.).”

“Who speaks for me? Where did my vote go? My copy of the Constitution says that ‘each Senator shall have one Vote.’ But my Senator did not have his one vote. He was kept from voting on my behalf, either for or against, on the appointment of Charles Pickering. Where is my representation in this government? Where do I find the article that has the requirement that we need sixty votes before an issue may be brought to a vote? In which section is it stated that a committee can determine if my Senator may exercise his obligation to vote on my behalf? A committee’s duty should be limited to reporting how the majority of that committee feels about an issue; it should not have the power to deny our elected representatives the right to vote on our behalf.”

“Bravo Zulu! Kudos to The Federalist for printing William Bennett’s scathing commentary on homosexual pedophilia in the Catholic priesthood. Therein lies proof of a key difference between true patriots and their leftist brethren: We patriots aren’t afraid to denounce repugnant and criminal behavior, regardless of where it resides. If pedophile priests don’t deserve strict justice under Hammurabi’s Code, I don’t know who does.”

“Shadow Government: Wow, what can we say, 100 individuals in a shadow government. How about 100 individuals in the total Federal Government?”

“Shakespeare’s King Henry the VI, pt. 4: You quoted Shakespeare with this line from Dick The Butcher, one of Jack Cade’s gang in Shakespeare’s King Henry the VI, pt. 4: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’ They were plotting what they would do after their nefarious cabal managed to take over the government. The line is best understood in view of one of the Clinton administration’s very first (and unprecedented) acts in discharging ALL the U.S. attorneys across the country. The politicization of the Justice Department that followed that act is only now being addressed.”

THE LAST WORD

Friend of The Federalist and Club For Growth President Stephen Moore announced recipients of CFG’s RINO (Republican in Name Only) of the year awards for those Republican office holders around the nation who have advanced “anti-growth, anti-freedom or anti-free market policies.” First place, as nominated by The Federalist Editorial Board, went to Tennessee Republican Governor Don Sundquist. “Gov. Sundquist wins for repeatedly trying to enact a state income tax. There is nothing that hurts the pro-economic growth cause more than Republicans who promise to hold the line on taxes during the campaign, then get in office and try to raise taxes,” said Moore. “U.S. Senate RINO of the Year award went to Sen. John McCain, and House RINO of the Year award went to Rep. Greg Ganske (R-Iowa). These RINOs have done more than anyone to kill the free market agenda of the Republican elephant. Lower taxes, less regulation and policies that stimulate economic growth, jobs and prosperity for Americans are the bedrock of the Republican Party and those so-called ‘Republicans’ who work against that agenda aren’t really Republicans at all.”