Quote of the week…

“The outcome of the war now under way between the Israelis and Palestinians is vital to the security of every American, and indeed, I believe, to all of civilization. Why? Quite simply because Palestinians are testing out a whole new form of warfare, using suicide bombers – strapped with dynamite and dressed as Israelis – to achieve their political aims. And it is working.” –Thomas Friedman

On cross-examination…

“Why is this war different from all other Arab wars to destroy Israel? Unlike the other Arab wars of aggression, this war of terror is waged primarily against Jewish civilians, especially children.” –William Safire

“Recently Saddam Hussein began to praise Palestinian ‘homicide bombers’ and to bestow $25,000 to each of their families. Is this not a clear link to terrorism?” –Ken Adelman

Open Query…

“Israel is our ally. Indeed it is more like an American protectorate. Therefore, can we abandon these, our friends and allies, to an alternative of limitless days and nights of terror that, if not ordered by, is at least sanctioned by Arafat? And since clearly we cannot, a second question arises; is Arafat essential to the re-establishment of some sort of peace in the region?” –Lyn Nofziger

The BIG lie…

“I hope I will be a martyr in the Holy Land. I have chosen this path and if I fall, one day a Palestinian child will raise the Palestinian flag above our mosques and churches.” –Chief Palestinian terrorist Yasser Arafat

Memo to Yasser: Strange words, since you have had plenty of opportunities for martyrdom already, but have been much more content to send younger adherents out on missions of murderous “martyrdom”….

News from the Swamp…

In the Executive Branch, Mr. Bush’s statement released with his surreptitious signing of the Incumbent Protection Act, which he had previously promised to veto: “Certain provisions present serious constitutional concerns. In particular, H.R. 2356 goes farther than I originally proposed by preventing all individuals, not just unions and corporations, from making donations to political parties in connection with federal elections. I believe individual freedom to participate in elections should be expanded, not diminished; and when individual freedoms are restricted, questions arise under the First Amendment. I also have reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising, which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on issues of public import in the months closest to an election. I expect that the courts will resolve these legitimate legal questions as appropriate under the law.”

The National Rifle Association and staunch free-speech advocate Sen. Mitch McConnell promptly entered court papers contesting the bill’s constitutionality. Sen. McConnell explained, “I filed suit to defend the First Amendment right of all Americans to be able to fully participate in the political process. I look forward to being joined by a strong group of co-plaintiffs in the very near future.”

Conservative groups urging Mr. Bush to reconsider his oath to the Constitution have asked that he direct the Justice Department to refuse to defend those portions that are not constitutional.

And as The Federalist alerted you previously, the immigration amnesty passed by the House has problems. But it’s worse than even we expected! The 245(i) extension, we have now learned, contains explicit language allowing amnesty applications for suspected terrorists. The old adage was that “nobodies’ wallet is safe when Congress is in session.” The new version: “Nobody’s life or property is safe once Congress has been in session.”

In the House of Commons, for the third year running, friend of The Federalist Ron Paul ranked best in the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union annual “Taxpayers’ Friend” ratings. While average lawmakers voted to reduce federal taxes less than half the time, Ron Paul consistently voted against any and all tax hikes, making him the most pro-taxpayer member in the House of Representatives.

In the House of Lords, we are shocked – SHOCKED – to report that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton failed the “Taxpayers’ Friend” test, by voting for more new government spending than any of her 99 colleagues. HRC (Her Royal Clintonness) set a record, getting a 3% rating for 2001, the lowest score ever for a freshman and lower than any other Senator.

In other news from the upper chamber, the Puppy Protection Act passed this week in a voice vote, regulating breeding practices and the treatment of puppies. The legislation put the Senate in the doghouse with the American Kennel Club – and here’s the kicker – they reject the idea that dog breeding can fall under the domain of federal regulation. Apparently the AKC insists that the Constitution does not mention dogs – but they don’t have the appended version used by the courts.

Judicial Benchmarks…

In the halls of justice on the right, the Supremes ruled in Hoffman Plastic Compounds Inc. v. NLRB that illegal immigrants may not profit to the tune of massive court settlements and fines for back-pay awards for discharge from jobs they held illegally. As Overlawyered’s Walter Olson astutely observed, “…[T]he U.S. Justice Department – not Janet Reno’s, but John Ashcroft’s – had weighed in on the Board’s side, in a brief by Solicitor General Theodore Olson…. [Y]ou’d think the integrity of federal immigration law would count in Justice’s calculations as a ‘client’ at least as legitimate as the NLRB – more so, if anything, since Justice’s own Immigration and Naturalization Service is in charge of keeping out undocumented workers. By siding with the Board, at any rate, Justice handed the Court’s liberals their seemingly strongest argument, which Breyer duly made the most of in his dissent: The Justice Department is supposed to count as the authority on immigration law, so if it doesn’t see any conflict between IRCA and back-pay awards for illegals, why should we?”

Elsewhere in right justice, the City of Boston withdrew – with prejudice – its case alleging gun manufacturers bear responsibility for “gun violence” that the city has chosen to pay to mitigate.

In the halls of injustice on the left, Oklahoma’s Supreme Court struck down a proposed initiative making English the state’s official language and requiring the state restrict its public documents and official business to English only. No tax dollars could be spent on translating official documents or providing services in different languages. We believe the Oklahoma Supremes erred in ruling the law unconstitutional, claiming it would infringe on the rights of free speech and petition of government for redress of grievances, as well as improperly assuming the policy-making function of the state legislature. Sorry, but limiting government to official English touches not a whit on citizens’ free speech, and the larger matter is that citizens must have a common language to practice self-government in free exchange of ideas and debate; otherwise the citizens need elite rulers to mediate between them. We think better Later than Sooner on this one – not OK with us!

From the Left…

News from the “Clinton Presidue” Files this week, Bill Clinton is rolling in dough – and Hillary’s next campaign will be well financed. He’s pulling in between $200,000 and $300,000 for each of his overseas speaking engagements, and about $125,000 domestically. That brings his annual talkinghead tally to between $10-$15 million, not to mention his $12 million book contract, or about $40 million in his first two years as a private citizen! (To his credit, this is the first time in his career that taxpayers have not paid his room and board – unless, of course, you consider the Secret Service entourage in tow.)

And word now that the Clinton administration shut down investigations that could have averted terror funding – and likely stopped some Jihadi attacks. Former federal prosecutor John Loftus detailed, “If federal agents had been allowed to conduct the investigation they wanted in 1995, they would have made the connection between the Saudi government and those charities. … Had the charities been shut down, they would have been unable to raise the millions that since have been used by terrorists in hundreds of suicide attacks.” But as far as preventing funds from ever reaching terrorist bombers, looking into those suspect money sources was likely to be just too productive and embarrassing!

(Oh, and let’s not forget, amid Leftmedia accolades that Clinton did so much to advance peace between Israel and Palestinians, that chief Clintonista James Carville engineered the political defeat of Benjamin Netanyahu, giving office to Ehud Barak who rolled over to Arafat.)

From the “Je$$e Ja¢k$on ‘I have a $¢heme’” Files…

The self-professed Rev. (perhaps short for “revenue”) offered his services in a mitigating role in the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has already had “private conversations” with both sides. (Can a boycott of kosher foods be far behind…?)

The Commissars…

After the lawsuit windfall on tobacco, now come “Big Mac” attacks on food deemed too fatty. Conservative policy analyst Bruce Bartlett observes: “Although Americans have been lectured for years about eating healthy and getting into shape, the problem has only gotten worse. The culprit, we are now told, is that food prices are too low, unhealthy fast food is too convenient, restaurant portions too large, and advertising for all these things has been too successful. In short, the campaign against Big Food is following the attack on Big Tobacco almost to a ‘T.’ The only thing we haven’t heard yet is about how Big Macs, Mars bars, and Coca-Cola are addictive. I assume studies are underway to prove it, leading inevitably to charges that McDonalds, Hershey, and other purveyors of this poison knew all along and covered it up. Any day now, I expect to hear that Big Food has secretly been adding special ingredients with known health risks – like salt – to their products for years to tempt the ignorant. No doubt, one of Ralph Nader’s groups, heavily funded by the trial lawyers, will issue a report on the subject demanding congressional action.”

Regarding the redistribution of your income…

As April 15 closes in, the IRS is singing the Fat Food tune and announced that “medically recommended” weight loss treatments are deductible! Diet food purchases are excluded, and deductions are allowed back to 1998.

From the department of military readiness/ correctness…

Bombing runs resumed this week at Vieques training range, despite a gaggle of protesters, whom we think should be allowed to stage their protests in the middle of the range!

From the states…

Uh, and about that tobacco settlement “windfall” to the states…. You knew that was just money to the tax-addicted ones, didn’t you! According to CDC statistics released this week, only five states are allocating their shares on the recommended 20 to 25 percent for anti-tobacco programs. Even ultra-Left bastion Washington state is selling off rights to one-fifth of the next 20 years of its tobacco payments to cover general budget shortfalls, and California’s Gov. Gray Davis is considering doubling that – perhaps selling off 40 percent of Golden State payments for $2.4 billion to cover the state’s $12.4 billion debt.

In economic news…

Heritage scholar Daniel Mitchell observed this week: “Eleven years ago, the Soviet Union was a communist dictatorship, an ‘evil empire,’ in the words of President Reagan. But today, the Cold War is a fading memory, and the nation that used to represent international socialism has junked its ‘progressive’ income tax for a simple and fair 13 percent flat tax. What’s more – in a plot twist even novelist Tom Clancy might have scoffed at – the idea came from President Vladimir Putin, a former head of the KGB. Who would have thought it – that America would beat the Soviets to the moon, but Russia would become the first to adopt the ideal free-market tax system? (What’s next – France becomes a military superpower? The Congo wins the Winter Olympics?)”

In business news…

Corporate culture check: In Auburn, New York, the Cayuga County legislature closed its $3.8 million account with HSBC Bank USA after the company refused to continue hosting local Boy Scout meetings in protest of the group’s ban on homosexual leaders. The bank laughably claimed kicking the Scout troop out of its building was required by the bank’s “commitment to diversity.” “I hope it sends a message to the bank that if they want to fight with the national Boy Scout organization, go right ahead and do it. But they should not just single out the local group and discriminate against them,” said county lawmaker Herbert Marshall. “Our local Boy Scout group is an asset to the community.”

The “Non Compos Mentis” Department…

With an aspiration to diplomatic immortality, Jimmy Carter has solicited the State Department to become the first ex-president to visit Castro’s Cuba. Carter wants to encourage the end of the U.S. embargo which he believes to be stifling political and social reform in that Communist paradise. Don Feder comments on the situation: “The U.S. embargo is a misnomer. Havana is free (no pun intended) to buy food and medicine here – if it pays cash. But Castro wants credit sales, backed by government loan guarantees. If we’re dumb enough to give it to him, American taxpayers will end up subsidizing the world’s longest-running anti-American regime. … Jimmy Carter is a nice but totally clueless fellow.” Carter’s diplomatic mission will only serve to perpetuate a habitat for insanity.

Court Jesters…

Sixth-grade science teacher Maria Ripke was hit with a class-C assault charge in Baytown, Texas, last month. Her crime was squirting a student with a water gun in a class demonstration on kinetic energy. To her surprise, the student’s father, a local cop, chose to press charges. Ripke’s attorney commented, “This is just a police officer using his position to say that ‘you can’t treat my son that way’.” “Protect and serve,” as they say.

Culture comment…

According to a new book, “Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex,” sex between children and adults is beneficial. The book’s author, Judith Levine, argues, “Sex is not harmful to children. It is a vehicle to self-knowledge, love, healing, creativity, adventure, and intense feelings of aliveness. There are many ways even the smallest children can partake of it.” Incidentally, about the problems the Catholic church is having with pedophiles, nobody seems to call the perpetrators what they really are – homosexual pedophiles. And since the Leftmedia are so quick to condemn these pathological monsters, why are they so critical of the BSA’s policy rejecting homosexual leaders of Cub Scout dens?

Faith Matters…

The Wilbur Awards, given “to outstanding secular media entries that feature religious issues, themes and values” and chosen by the Religion Communicators Council, were announced this week. (The awards are named in honor of Marvin C. Wilbur, a pioneer in the field of religious public relations.) For the second year in a row, NBC’s “The West Wing” was named Best Television Drama, this year for an episode in which Martin Sheen, portraying an angry Democratic president, curses God over an accidental death. “He is yelling at God in language very similar to Old Testament prophets,” commented RCC Vice President Eric Shafer, a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, of the character’s references to God as “a son of a b****” and a “feckless thug.” Glad to have that cleared up for us!

On the frontiers of science…

A new study, fought in release by the DOJ, now indicates that racial profiling is most likely not occurring at all in New Jersey. You will recall that former Gov. Christine Whitman had denounced state police officers as racists after the release of the junk science “study” claiming blacks were improperly stopped for traffic violations more often than people of other race and ethnicity. The new study’s improved research design allows comparison of traffic stops against baselines of speeding behavior by race, finding that blacks were 16 percent of drivers but 25 percent of speeders on a New Jersey Turnpike section – suggesting that police are more likely to stop blacks because as drivers they are likelier to speed.

Around the world…

A couple of conferences of Islamic nations to report on: Meeting this week in Kuala Lumpur, reps from 53 nations at the Organization of Islamic Conference tried to hammer out an acceptable definition of the unacceptable practice of terrorism – but to no avail. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed of Malaysia ventured the reasonable proposition defining terrorists as “people who attack civilians,” which was rejected because then Palestinian terrorists would be admitted by other Islamic nations to be, uh, really terrorists (and not just violence cyclers). OIC ministers warned, “Any action taken to combat terrorism should not result in ethnic or religious profiling or the targeting of a particular community,” and stated they “unequivocally” condemned acts of international terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations, including state terrorism.” The final OIC resolution, reached unanimously late Wednesday: “We reject any attempt to link terrorism to the struggle of the Palestinian people in the exercise of their inalienable right to establish their independent state.”

About that Arab League summit in Beirut a couple weeks back…. Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak stayed home, reputedly in umbrage over Yasser Arafat’s decision to hole up in his headquarters rather than tempt the Israeli government to prevent his return after the summitry. Turns out now, they really bowed out of the gathering because of credible intelligence that Hezbollah Jihadis were planning a “large attack” during the Beirut confab.

Elsewhere around the world, the Chinese Reds may be taking advantage of our divided attention! There has been this nasty little buildup over the past three weeks of 20 additional CSS-7 short-range ballistic missiles at the base at Yongan, along the Red Giant’s southeastern coast, within striking distance of Taiwan. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis noted that the problem is location, location, location: “These missiles are clearly designed to project a threatening posture and to try and intimidate the people and the democratically elected government of Taiwan. …The modernization itself doesn’t bother us. China is a major regional power and it’s appropriate that it has a military commensurate with its stature. What is a concern to us are the things that raise tensions vis-a-vis Taiwan, in particular their missile deployments.”

And last…

Nobel Peace Prize committee member Hanna Kvanmo said this week, “I know it is impossible to revoke the peace prize [but what 1994 Nobel Laureates Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres] has done is grotesque. It is the worst I have even seen.” The ignoble Ms. Kvanmo, who has served on the Prize committee since 1991, claims that terrorist Yasser Arafat – who, as we have noted at length top of the fold, has completely disregarded the Oslo Agreement – has done everything in his power to abide by the Oslo Agreement. (That would explain Arafat’s fingerprints all over a recent 50-ton arms shipment interdicted by the IDF, and the documentation directly linking Arafat with the escalating Palestinian terror campaign.)