GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Sen. Vitter and the DC Madam

Washington is buzzing this week over Sen. David Vitter’s (R-LA) confession that his phone number appears in the log of the DC Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who is charged with running a prostitution ring in Washington. Vitter is the first to be named after Palfrey publicized the list of numbers, though this is not his first time he has been fingered for soliciting prostitution—he denied accusations in 2004 of having an affair with a prostitute. Of all people, Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt is now patting himself on the back for outing Vitter. Flynt is offering $1 million to anyone who can prove to have had a sexual encounter with a congressman or high-ranking government official. This from a pornographer who made his fortune by exploiting women and fueling aberrant sexual of behavior. What a class act, what a solid citizen, what a decent human being.

Sen. Vitter issued a statement of contrition: “This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible.” The conservative defender of traditional marriage and values said that he had already disclosed his infidelity (which took place while he was a U.S. representative in 2004) to his wife and had sought marriage counseling as well. In 2000, when Mrs. Vitter was asked if her reaction in just such a situation would be as forgiving as Hillary Clinton, she said: “I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me.” The Senator better hope the counselor is a good one.

In the Executive Branch

President George W. Bush is up to his eyeballs in criticism, once again, for not conforming to the wishes of the Left’s witch-hunters. The President refused to allow aides Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor to testify before Congress regarding the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. (Yes, Democrats are still beating this dead horse.)

The President also commuted Scooter Libby’s 30-month prison sentence last week, though he left the conviction intact as well as the $250,000 fine and two-year probationary period. The White House has not ruled out a total pardon for Libby—a pardon that absolutely should be granted. Judging by the Democrats’ current tizzy, one might think the President already had pardoned Libby.

One might also expect Hillary Clinton to stay away from this matter, given the long list of pardons her husband hurried through in the waning hours of his presidency. Alas, Hillary’s chutzpah got the better of her: “This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice.” And again: “[T]his is consistent with their philosophy; they believe that they should be able to do what they want to do, and that the law is a minor obstacle.”

As James Taranto concludes, “Among the beneficiaries of Mr. Clinton’s pardons… were his own brother, a central figure in the Whitewater scandal, and two members of his own cabinet, one of whom, unlike Libby, actually faced charges of mishandling national secrets. Yet Mrs. Clinton can keep a straight face while throwing around charges of ‘cronyism’? This borders on sociopathy.”

New White House budget director

President Bush has nominated Jim Nussle, former chairman of the House Budget Committee, as his new budget director. While Demo House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey is complaining that the White House has “gone from someone who liked to work things out to someone who is actually confrontational,” we’re not convinced this appointment is confrontational enough. Now that the opposition is in control of Congress, President Bush has shown some signs of perhaps wanting to think about giving consideration to possibly reining in the budget… maybe. Nussle did try, unsuccessfully, to chisel one percent from non-defense spending in every federal department. He also made efforts at entitlement reform. Still, the President’s rhetoric on paring down the federal budget may be little more than a nuzzle.

New & notable legislation

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) introduced the Broadcasters Freedom Act, which would prohibit future presidents or the FCC from re-implementing the “Fairness Doctrine.” Anything but fair, the Doctrine requires “equal time” for opposing voices on controversial issues in the media. Democrats hope to use the Doctrine once again to bludgeon conservative talk radio, their most hated nemesis. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate.

Thanks to a veto threat from the White House, union-beholden Democrats finally have given up their demands for collective-bargaining rights for airport screeners in an anti-terrorism bill. House and Senate negotiators will now begin the reconciliation process on the bill, which adopts many of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

From the campaign trail

To put it mildly, Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign is in trouble. Five key staffers quit this week, including campaign manager Terry Nelson, in the wake of dismal second-quarter fundraising results and plummeting poll numbers. After raising less than half the $50 million his campaign projected this year, McCain revealed that he has only $2 million in the bank and over $2 million in debt. The Leftmedia is atwitter with the idea that McCain is suffering for supporting the war in Iraq, which just happens to serve their agenda of losing the war. To the contrary, McCain’s candidacy is coming close to extinction because grassroots Republicans know the “straight talker” can’t be trusted on immigration, not to mention that he’s the author of the abominable McCain-Feingold Incumbent Protection Act of 2003.

For Rudy Giuliani, his national security credentials are under attack by the International Association of Fire Fighters. The union accuses Mayor Giuliani of being negligent with respect to supplying new communication radios for the New York Fire Department and making strategic blunders, such as locating the city’s emergency command center at 7 World Trade Center, which he should have known was a high-profile target. Jim Riches, a deputy chief in the New York Fire Department who lost a grown child on 9/11, says, “He’s running on his 9/11 leadership and it was lacking.”

On the other side of the isle, Sen. Barack Obama raised the record sum of $31 million in the second quarter, outpacing rival Sen. Hillary Clinton by $10 million. Obama’s donor pool remains wide and shallow, meaning he has a fundraising edge for the foreseeable future—one that could lead straight to Denver.

Hillary Clinton’s deep faith

Democrats are desperate to reach out to a new constituency: Evangelical Christians. To wit, their accomplices at The New York Times recently ran a profile piece titled, “Faith Intertwines With Political Life for [Hillary] Clinton.” Obvious from the start is the implication that faith mixed with politics is fine… as long as it’s a certain kind of politics. The problem for Clinton, according to John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, is that she “has a long history of involvement in religious matters and appears to be a person of deep and sincere faith, but a lot of people don’t perceive her that way.” Cue the makeover.

It is encouraging that she (says she) believes in the resurrection of Jesus, a key tenet of Christianity, but is, as The Times put it, “less sure of the doctrine that being a Christian is the only way to salvation.” (Memo to Hillary: Jesus is very clear about this: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” —John 14:6) Perhaps Hillary does have real faith. Perhaps she is simply growing more comfortable with sharing it, now that she is running for president. Color us skeptical—this religious renovation by the Clinton campaign smells of New Age social activism, not genuine Christian faith.

From the Left: Sheehan to challenge Pelosi

Just when you thought it was safe, anti-war moonbat Cindy Sheehan has thrust herself back into the limelight with a challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Sheehan, who has sold her property near President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, has announced her intention to run for Pelosi’s San Francisco House seat if the Speaker doesn’t come through with articles of impeachment for President Bush by 23 July. Sheehan got one thing right: “Californians… don’t care about the ruling power elite.” Nor, we suspect, do they care to have Sheehan represent them. Even in San Francisco.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Warfront with Jihadistan: Multiple angles

News in and about Iraq came from multiple angles this week. On the war front, U.S. and Iraqi troops are racking up some successes against al-Qa’ida. Brigadier General Kevin Bergner said that 26 leaders of al-Qa’ida in Iraq had been killed or captured in surge operations during May and June. General Bergner stated, “Over the past two months, our collective efforts against the al-Qa’ida leadership have begun to disrupt their networks and safe havens.” But Bergner also said he expects al-Qa’ida to lash out with spectacular attacks to try to reassert themselves and reverse their recent losses. Another report indicates that al-Qa’ida has regrouped along the Afghan-Pakistani border and is stronger and more capable than it has been since 9/11. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff has a “gut feeling that we are in a period of increased vulnerability.” As Rich Galen retorted, “From Luke Skywalker I expect to hear there may be a ‘disturbance in the Force.’ From Michael Chertoff… I expect facts.”

On the home front, the White House released its progress report Thursday, which concludes that the Iraqi government is not making enough progress in meeting reform goals laid down earlier this year (progress on only eight of 18 goals). While it is true that Iraq has not yet met these goals, the proper response is to pressure Baghdad to make progress, not hand victory to the jihadis.

Still, surrender is the favored course of action in Congress, as House Democrats and four weak-kneed RINOs waited only hours after the President’s address Thursday to vote 223-201 to pack it in. On Wednesday, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) became the second Republican to co-sponsor a Senate surrender bill, joining Sen. Gordon Smith, (R-OR). The bill requires troops to start leaving Iraq in 120 days and end combat by 30 April 2008, thereby officially establishing al-Qa’ida’s V-Day. Recent weeks have seen at least ten Republicans declaring that the U.S. should start reducing our role in Iraq, and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), smelling blood in the water, will attempt to force a series of votes on withdrawal and spending-limitation proposals.

The jihadis continue to remind us of what our future holds should they achieve victory. Michael Yon, an independent embedded reporter and former Green Beret, reports that al-Qa’ida has perfected a form of “persuasion,” inviting to lunch families with young boys whom they want to “win over” to their side. As the families sit down to eat, their boys are brought in and served to the families, baked with mouths stuffed. This is the enemy we face.

Judicial Benchmarks: Court rules on wiretapping

In the halls of justice on the right, a federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that the plaintiffs could not challenge President Bush’s warrantless-wiretapping program (or in Leftmedia speak, “domestic spying”) because they could not prove they were wiretapped. The ACLU, which filed the suit, claims the ruling is a “Catch-22” —how could someone know they were spied on? Here we would point out two things: First, if anyone can sue based on their distaste for fighting terrorism, this useful program would be critically hindered. Second, wiretapping must involve at least one party outside the United States and at least one party must be suspected of terrorism. Still, the court’s decision was based on the technicality of standing, not on constitutional or legal issues, leaving open the question at hand.

Profiles of valor: Navy Petty Officer Luttrell

Operation Redwing began as a hunt to find a notorious Taliban leader. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and three team members were conducting their operation in a mountainous region of Afghanistan when they were ambushed by scores of Taliban fighters. Luttrell and his team fought hard even though they were clearly outnumbered. A Chinook helicopter sent in as backup was hit by an RPG, killing all 16 of the flight crew. By the end of the night, 19 Americans and 35 Taliban were dead, and Luttrell was the only survivor of SEAL Team 10.

Luttrell could not make contact with the rescue helicopter and, suffering from three cracked vertebrae, a bullet and shrapnel in his legs, Luttrell eventually traveled seven miles before finding help from friendly Afghan villagers who protected him from jihadi assassins sent to finish him. One of the villagers contacted Luttrell’s post, and the rescue operation that followed was, according to one rescue official, “one of the largest combat search-and-rescue operations since Vietnam.” Through the work and bravery of many U.S. forces, Luttrell was pulled out of harm’s way.

Operation Redwing ultimately yielded the largest casualty count in Navy SEAL history. However, “In the middle of everything evil, in an evil place, you can find goodness… I’d even call it godliness,” Luttrell has said of the villagers who harbored him. Luttrell was later awarded the Navy Cross for his part in the operation.

To read more about the events surrounding Operation Redwing and the brave actions of the military forces involved, purchase Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 from the Patriot Bookstore.

Illegal alien arrests down; Tancredo’s new bill

The number of aliens arrested for trying to cross the border illegally is down 24 percent from last year. From 1 October through 30 June, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested 682,468 illegal aliens along the border; the same period last year yielded 894,496 arrests. On the other hand, drug confiscation has increased by more than 20 percent, particularly of marijuana and cocaine. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman Michael Friel said, “We are continuing to develop and add the resources we need to gain effective control of the border and we are beginning to see a difference.” We can only hope that difference continues.

In DC, Rep. and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has introduced a bill called the Optimizing Visa Entry Rules and Demanding Uniformed Enforcement (OVERDUE), which would restructure the current policy on legal immigration and put greater pressure on the illegal population. The bill contains such common-sense measures as eliminating “chain migration,” limiting birthright citizenship to those with a least one citizen-parent or legal permanent resident and prohibiting in-state college-tuition rates for illegal aliens.

In other border news, a Senate panel will hold hearings next week on the case of former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were imprisoned for shooting a drug dealer. Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila crossed the border in a van carrying 743 pounds of marijuana; he fled from Ramos and Compean, who opened fire, hitting Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks. While the two agents should have known better than to shoot a fleeing suspect, the punishment was excessive, to put it mildly. The Senate will look into that, for whatever it’s worth.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Income Redistribution: Cost of Government Day

According to Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), Wednesday was this year’s “Cost of Government Day,” the day Americans finally quit working to pay for all taxes and the cost of regulation. Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, said, “It should not take half of the national income to fulfill government’s duty to protect life, liberty and property.” ATR president Grover Norquist said, “With tax increases on everything from cigarettes to private equity on the table, this year’s ‘Cost of Government Day’ must spur politicians into action to protect taxpayers and the economic growth achieved under President Bush’s tax cuts.” Most of those tax cuts will expire by 2010 unless Congress extends them—something class-warfare Democrats are predictably loath to do. As for reducing spending, Scott Lilly of the liberal Center for American Progress informs us that “the rest of the country” supports continued spending on education, roads, and the like—which is apparently his constitutional test for federal spending. He also pointed out that pulling out of Iraq “would save more than $300 million a day.” That’s the spirit.

Meanwhile, in Congress, Democrats are completely stumped as to how to fix the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which is set to hit millions more Americans next year. A last-minute and temporary patch is probably the best they will come up with, given that they would never dream of actually doing away with a tax.

Regulatory Commissars: Aim to limit ammo

The latest rounds fired in the Left’s assault on our Second Amendment rights include a back-door ploy by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to dry up ammo sales, and another newspaper’s decision to publish non-public records of concealed-carry permit holders.

A recently proposed rule from OSHA seeks to have ammunition, primers or black and smokeless powder indiscriminately treated as “explosives.” The regulations would prohibit firearms in commercial “facilities containing explosives” (gun stores, for example), require that all such facilities be evacuated in the event of an electrical storm (even Wal-Mart) and prohibit smoking within 50 feet of the facilities. This issue has gun-rights advocates up in arms, decrying the incredible absurdity of the proposed regulations. The NRA says, “[I]t’s important to remember this is only a proposed rule right now, so there’s still time for concerned citizens to speak out.”

Meanwhile, in Ohio, The Sandusky Register published the names, ages and home counties of 2,700 concealed carry permit holders in its circulation area as a “public service to readers” according to the newspaper’s Managing Editor, Matt Westerhold. A number of its readers, understandably, were incensed. In well-deserved retaliation, the Buckeye Firearms Association published Westerhold’s publicly available personal information, including phone numbers, automobile records, traffic-ticket records and the address and mortgage information about a home he owns.

The incident echoes a March episode in which The Roanoke (Virginia) Times published the names and addresses of 135,000 Virginians with concealed-carry permits.

Wal-Mart rethinks homosexual support

Pro-homosexual groups are having a hissy fit over Wal-Mart’s recent announcement that it will no longer make contributions to “gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender” (GLBT) groups. Citing a new company policy that largely prevents the retail giant from either supporting or opposing controversial issues, Wal-Mart executive Mona Williams stated that the move “does not signal any less support” for the corporation’s GLBT employees.

While some pro-gay groups seemed to accept the announcement, others weren’t so willing to take it lying down. Union-supported WakeUpWalMart.com criticized the company for “divid[ing] America” while exposing its own “extreme right-wing colors,” and Wal-Mart Watch noted that Sam Walton’s empire “has the dubious distinction of being one of the few companies to ever pull back a GLBT initiative.” While not as earth-shattering as activists would have us believe, this is a positive step—if only a first step—for the neighborhood store once known for its commitment to pro-family principles.

Americans are the world’s most generous

Last year was a record year for American giving. The Giving USA Foundation at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy reports that American generosity rose by one percent in 2006—from $283.05 billion in 2005 to $295.02 billion in 2006. Individual donations accounted for fully three fourths of the record-breaking figure, with Americans across all income levels reaching into their pockets to support causes and ideals close to their hearts. Religious organizations were the biggest beneficiaries, drawing 32.8 percent ($96.82 billion) of total donations, and education followed a distant second, garnering 13.9 percent ($40.98 billion).

Claire Gaudiani, professor of NYU’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy, notes, “It tells you something about American culture that is unlike any other country.” Unfortunately, The New York Times is determined to find the cloud in every silver lining, as its version of the story, far from lauding the new record, reported instead that “charitable giving was almost flat last year.” For all its spinning, however, The Times missed a golden opportunity. After all, when else could this leader in journalistic integrity honestly have headlined: “Report Indicates Americans More Liberal than Ever”?

CULTURE

Live Earth Dead Heads

“Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis” took place last weekend. What awaited Al Gore’s brainchild, however, was a ratings crisis—the three-hour prime time slot on NBC drew only 2.8 million viewers, making it the least watched of the major broadcast networks, trailing reruns and a cartoon movie. The event featured concerts on all seven continents and left a carbon footprint the size of at least one continent, while preaching to the masses that Leftists can save the planet.

Some unintentionally humorous moments included Madonna’s call: “If you want to save the planet, I want you to start jumping up and down. Come on mother f***ers.” Notably, the Material Girl has nine homes and six cars, and she always flies on private jets. Her “Ray of Light” charity foundation also invests in companies hated by environmentalists for their evil greenhouse gas emissions. Then there was Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. , who shrieked, “Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington, who are nothing more than corporate toadies.” He even declared those opposed to the wacko environmentalist agenda to be traitors. “This is treason and we need to start treating them as traitors.” Jane Fonda, call your office.

Alas, just as we were about to heed the warning of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (“The climate-change situation is the number-one problem facing humanity”), we noticed that Buenos Aires, Argentina, got its first snow since 1918.

In home-front news for Al Gore, his 24-year-old son, Albert Gore III, was pulled over in Los Angeles after having been clocked at 100 mph in his Toyota Prius. It got worse for Gore III, who was then arrested for possession of marijuana and various prescription drugs including Valium, Xanax, Vicodin, Adderall and Soma, all without prescriptions. Gore III was also arrested in 2002 for suspected DUI and in 2003 for marijuana possession. Of the incident, comedian Jay Leno cracked, “When his dad found out he said, ‘Whew, thank God it was a Prius. That could’ve been so embarrassing’.”

From the ‘Non Compos Mentis’ File

Hundreds of joyful mourners formed an unconventional funeral procession in Detroit this week as the NAACP officially “buried” the “n word.” “Today, we’re not just burying the n word, we’re taking it out of our spirit,” announced Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. “Die, n word, and we don’t want to see you ‘round here no more.” Michigan Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm bade “[g]ood riddance to this vestige of slavery and racism and… hello to a new country that invests in all its people.”

Ironically, while rejoicing over a symbolic casket, the NAACP continued to ignore the 1,452 real caskets of unborn blacks killed each day through legal abortions. For the second time in four years, the organization rejected a resolution asserting opposition to abortion because of its “disproportionate impact on minorities.” Apparently, for the organization purportedly committed to the “advancement of colored people,” the death of a word takes precedence over the lives of its most innocent members.

Faith and Family: Young increasingly pro-life

Meanwhile, on the flip side, a new report indicates that young people are increasingly identifying themselves as pro life. A study by Illinois-based Overbrook Research found a noticeable reversal in the pro-choice/pro-life ratio in men and women under the age of 30. Whereas in 1992, a full 39 percent of this age group was pro choice and only 23 percent pro life, in 2006 the same demographic polled 36-18 in favor of life. Among women, the change was even more marked, with 40 percent being strongly pro life and only half that number strongly pro-choice. Some experts attribute the shift in part to the growing spotlight on the horrors of partial-birth abortion. Perhaps a sizeable portion of those who would likely be “pro choice” (say, 48 million people) is simply no longer with us.

APA looks at homosexual therapy

Next week, the American Physiological Association will undertake a review of its ten-year-old policy on counseling homosexuals. While homosexual activists are pressuring the APA to condemn this reparative or conversion therapy as discriminatory and harmful, conservative groups are crying foul for being left out of the review process. Conservatives and church counselors often offer reparative therapy and can testify that it does indeed work. The concerted efforts by activists on the other side, however, will likely result in a policy that is no longer based on truth, or hope, for those trapped in a destructive lifestyle. For more on The Patriot’s analysis of this issue, link to Alexander’s essay, “Gender Identity, the Homosexual Agenda and the Christian Response.”

And last…

A new study conducted by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis reveals that older folks may not always get the joke. According to their research, aging adults experience greater difficulty with cognitive flexibility, abstract reasoning and short-term memory. And short-term memory. We also become a bit slower on the uptake. During the study, 40 healthy adults were asked to choose the correct punch line or the correct final panel to a cartoon strip. Younger adults did six percent better on the verbal portion and 14 percent better on the comics than did older folks. “This wasn’t a study about what people find funny,” one researcher said. “It was a study about whether they get what’s supposed to be funny.” The conclusion is that because of deficient cognitive abilities, older adults “may have a harder time understanding what a joke is about.”

If you didn’t find this story funny, please write us with your name, city and date of birth.

Publisher’s Note:

Please join us in welcoming aboard our newest little Patriot, Ariana, daughter of The Patriot’s research assistant, David Milton, and wife Audra. Momma and baby are doing great and little Ari will soon begin training with her baby Beretta.

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 have died in defense of American liberty, while prosecuting the war with Jihadistan.)