GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

News from the Swamp: Congress rushes to recess

Like little kids with a sugar rush, congressional Democrats are rushing bills through left and further left so they can go home and tell their constituents what a great job they’re doing.

The Homeland Security bill blew through the House, 371-40, and the Senate, 85-8. Seeking to enact the balance of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, the bill funds a massive cargo-screening program, tighter restrictions for international air travel from 27 friendly countries, and $3 billion for border-security measures. Homeland Security grants will also be reapportioned with more money going to high-risk terrorism targets.

House Demos skillfully avoided cutting harmful subsidies from the sweeping $286-billion farm bill, which passed by a largely partisan 231-191. It has drawn a White House veto threat, and not for the large sums that went to preserving grasslands and wildlife habitats. The farm-subsidy program is in need of drastic cuts, but Democrats went trolling for middle-American votes instead of heeding the warnings from economists and international-trade organizations. Democrats are too worried about losing votes next year to begin weaning the agricultural industry off government welfare.

The House also passed its “ethics” bill by a shamefully lopsided 411-8. Thanks to careful construction by Demo leaders, the earmark process will remain in the shadows, and we’re expected to trust that David Obey and Harry Reid will protect us from pork-barrel spending. Republicans in the Senate will attempt to block the legislation there, but they may have some ethics problems of their own.

Ted Stevens under scrutiny

The FBI paid a visit to the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens (RINO-AK) this week in connection to a growing investigation of Veco, an oil-field-services company whose founder, Bill Allen, was convicted in May of this year for bribing Alaska state lawmakers. The media trumped it up to a “raid,” but Stevens knew they were coming and purportedly offered a key.

Allen did extensive work on Stevens’ house in 2000, but Stevens says he paid for it himself. However, with ethics or some version of it being the talk of the day, Stevens could be in for a rough time. His 39-year reputation for being the king of earmarks made Alaska the country’s biggest recipient ($1,000 per resident in 2006) of taxpayer money, and has made Stevens a juicy target. He is already facing calls to step down from the committees on which he serves, including Appropriations, Commerce and Homeland Security. The 83-year-old Stevens is innocent until proven guilty, of course, but his own history won’t be kind to him.

New & notable legislation

Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) introduced the “Combating Terrorism Financing Act” (H.R. 3146), which will enhance our ability to stop terrorist financing by closing “loopholes” in current law.

S. 1868, the Higher Education Act Extension Act of 2007, passed by voice vote.

H.R. 3093, the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations, 2008, passed 281-142.

H.R. 3074, the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development appropriations for 2008, passed 268-153.

H.R. 2929, a bill to prevent funds for the permanent stationing of forces in Iraq, passed 399-24. That’s the spirit.

Judicial Benchmarks: Supremes not liberal enough

Speaking at an American Constitution Society event last week, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) cried about the ideological direction of the Supreme Court, which he called “dangerously out of balance.” Schumer ascribed a conservative bent to the High Court that we in our humble shop can only dream of and said he has been against Chief Justice John Roberts and associate Justice Samuel Alito since their nominations. He obviously hopes to rally the Democrats’ base, but his comments should also have the same effect on the Republican base.

With John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg likely to retire soon because of age and health, there is a real chance to make the Supreme Court as conservative as Schumer fears. It is doubtful, though, that President Bush could get another nominee such as Alito or Roberts through while the Democrats control the Senate, but another Republican president would certainly have an opportunity to make the Court one of strict construction, as it was intended.

On the immigration front: Mexican influence?

This week, a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee attempted to investigate whether the Mexican government was involved in the prosecution of former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who were sentenced to prison for shooting drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks. The panel’s attempts were mitigated when Justice Department and Homeland Security officials declined to appear for the hearing. State Department official Charles Shapiro did appear and testified that there was no documentation to indicate that Mexico influenced the Ramos-Compean prosecution.

However, under grilling from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Shapiro admitted that the State Department would not know whether Mexico had contacted other U.S. departments regarding the matter. Shapiro stated he was unaware of previous communication that occurred between U.S. Attorney John Sutton’s office and the Mexican government in other border matters, including the similar case of Texas Sheriff’s Deputy Guillermo Hernandez, in which Mexican officials wrote letters to Sutton’s office requesting prosecution.

The panel plans to hold another hearing and call on Sutton and his staff to testify in the matter. If you have not already done so, please join the nearly 64,000 Patriots who have already signed our petition, Free the Texas Three and Secure Our Borders.

Barack on Iraq

General Petraeus said recently that “al-Qa’ida is carrying out the bulk of the sensational attacks, the suicide car-bomb attacks, suicide-vest attacks, and so forth… and all of the individuals in the intelligence community, General [Stanley] McChrystal, the head of our Joint Special Operations Command, all of us feel that the central front of al-Qa’ida’s terror war is focused on Iraq.”

In other words, Iraq is the front line in the war with Jihadistan.

That notwithstanding, slicker-than-slick Demo presidential contender Barack Obama outflanked his Demo opponents this week. In an attempt to divert attention from his opposition to OIF and a recent debate gaffe in which he said he would meet with Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Kim Jong-Il, Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad and the rest of the world’s despots during the first year of his administration, Obama exclaimed Wednesday, “Let me make this clear. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”

In other words, rather than flip-flopping on OIF like Hillary Clinton and other Demos, Obama navigates around the “Iraq defeat-retreat” problem by implying he would be so tough on terror that he would launch attacks into Pakistan—the real frontline with terrorists—without its president’s consent.

However, Obama must have been out campaigning while his Senate colleagues were in briefings regarding al-Qa’ida in Pakistan. Most of the “actionable intelligence” about “high-value terrorist targets” along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan comes from—you guessed it—Pakistan, and special operators are already in the region.

Lieberman stands his ground

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has taken the fight over Iraq to his once-fellow Democrats, telling The Hill this week, “There is a very strong group within the party that I think doesn’t take the threat of Islamist terrorism seriously enough.” He didn’t mention names, but Reid, Pelosi, Clinton, Obama, Kerry, Kennedy, Biden, Feinstein, Feingold (et al., ad nauseam) leap to mind. Lieberman went on to add that the Democrats are more motivated to act against anything President Bush does than think about the consequences of their actions.

Spying for Spitzer

New York’s Democrat Governor, Eliot Spitzer, is fending off accusations that he spied on rival Republican State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno for the purpose of smearing him. Spitzer’s inner circle used the State Police to investigate Bruno’s travel expenditures, hoping to catch him using state aircraft for political purposes. “Communication aide” Darren Dopp then fed information to the Albany Times-Union. Spitzer has not acknowledged a personal role in the scandal, but it’s hard to imagine he wasn’t at least complicit. To cover his back, however, Spitzer suspended Dopp and reassigned another aide. Kudos to Democrat Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for pursuing the issue, despite Spitzer’s efforts to “put it behind him.”

NATIONAL SECURITY

On the Homeland Security front: Wiretapping

We are shocked—shocked!—to report that Democrats have canceled yet another national-security hearing without explanation, this time with DNI head Mike McConnell. Director McConnell would have testified about the critical need to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a three-decades-old law characterized by President Bush as “badly out of date.” The President hopes to overhaul FISA to address post-9/11 counterterrorism realities. When reminded by Republicans that “national security can’t be postponed,” Democrites affirmed otherwise, postponing the meeting until after the August recess. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) offered the most likely rationale: “It appears they are afraid to even risk talking about FISA because the intelligence gap is real and no amount of their rhetoric will make it go away.”

President Bush has urged Congress to restore FISA’s original focus: protecting privacy interests of people inside the United States. He also noted, however, that intelligence agencies must be able to collect on terrorists outside the U.S. Those efforts are currently hampered by court-imposed warrant requirements whenever a call originating in a foreign nation happens to be answered in the U.S. For its part, the Treason Lobby instinctively points the “blame finger” at Bush. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Omicron 5) whined that the Bush administration has refused to “treat Congress as a partner on critical national-security issues,” leading to the current crisis. Unfortunately, however, this remark only begs a larger question: How does one treat as partners in securing the nation those who demonstrate such disdain for national security?

Of Bombs and Bedouins

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” So goes the ancient Arab proverb, alluding to precarious alliances often forged for the sake of survival, without regard to long-term consequences. Fast-forward to the Middle East today, and enter the U.S. Our enemy: Iran. Our “friends”: anyone else in the region. This is the implicit logic underpinning billions of dollars of military aid and arms sales the U.S. wants to distribute, in hopes of countering Iran’s push toward regional hegemony. Saudi Arabia alone stands to purchase roughly $20 billion in state-of-the-art weaponry, including sophisticated Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) technology, which transforms “dumb” (unguided) bombs into “smart” bombs Meanwhile, Egypt will receive $13 billion in aid over a ten-year span, and six other countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates—will sign significant arms deals in the coming years. Supposedly counterbalancing this asymmetric largess to the Arab world is $30 billion in new aid to Israel—$9 billion more than in the previous ten-year period.

Ought we not ask, however, about the extent to which mega-arming the Middle East is in America’s interests? If a few years hence, for example, a formerly “friendly” Arab country were to opt for a national “Bring-Your-JDAM-to-Work Day” against Israel—a move not without precedent, you will note—won’t the proposed arms policy appear foolhardy, in retrospect? On the other hand, if the region implodes as a result of failing to respond to Iran’s quest for regional dominance, wouldn’t such inaction likewise weather an uncharitable post mortem? Moreover, the situation in Iraq must also be assessed in the calculus. Fully half of the 60-to-80 insurgents entering Iraq each month are from Saudi Arabia: what effect, if any, is giving more arms to this country likely to have on the flow of these insurgents? Though no one has a crystal ball, the most reasonable answer derives from asking questions today about what the Law of Unintended Consequences might have in store for tomorrow. On second thought, perhaps an even better rule for U.S. policymakers to consider might be that embraced by physicians: “Primum non nocere—First, do no harm.”

Warfront with Jihadistan: Afghan hostages

Lest we think the Taliban is long gone, they are not to be ignored. Taliban fighters captured 23 Korean Christian missionary workers on 19 July, the largest group of hostages yet taken in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Two already have been murdered by the Islamofascists after previous deadlines passed. Eighteen hostages are women. Spokes-thug Qari Yousef Ahmadi had said that eight captured terrorists, including some held at the United States’ Bagram base, must be released by Wednesday or more hostages will be executed. However, the deadline passed and word is that the 21 hostages remain alive, though two women are sick and may die without help. The South Korean government remains opposed to any military operation aimed at rescuing the hostages, while at the same time requesting that the terrorist-prisoners be released to mollify the terrorist-kidnappers. The U.S. and Afghan governments, however, are standing by our policy of no negotiations with terrorists in hostage situations. (Imagine the hostage count if we actually did negotiate with such thugs.) Even still, according to the Associated Press, Human Rights Watch says that “the Taliban have kidnapped at least 41 Afghan civilians this year and killed at least 23 of them. The rest are missing.”

Profiles of valor: Army National Guard Maj. Southworth

When Army National Guard Maj. Scott H. Southworth, a law-school graduate of the University of Wisconsin, went to Iraq with the National Guard’s 32nd Police Company, his mission was to train police officers in Baghdad. However, there was an unexpected twist to the story.

Southworth’s military mission was a dangerous one, with numerous Iraqi police stations being targeted by insurgents. In spite of such dangers, Southworth’s team made it a point to visit a local orphanage. One orphan, named Ala’a, quickly formed a close relationship with Southworth. Ala’a suffered from cerebral palsy and had been left to fend for himself in Baghdad’s streets. Southworth continued to visit him and the other orphans regularly.

As his tour of duty came to a close, Southworth knew that he could not leave Ala’a behind. Praying for guidance, Southworth explored adoption options, but Iraqi policy forbade foreign adoptions. Iraqi officials eventually agreed to allow Ala’a to travel to the United States for medical care, though his lack of a passport in a time of war made leaving Iraq impossible. Working with U.S. immigration attorneys, Southworth was able to obtain humanitarian parole status for Ala’a. “It’s for situations where there is no other hope, no other chance, and you have to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances,” Southworth said. Ala’a now enjoys a happy life with his foster dad and is making tremendous progress in his battle with cerebral palsy.

Southworth is now working with two other National Guardsmen to bring 24 more disabled orphans from Iraq into loving U.S. homes. Medical professionals have offered to donate their time and resources to the cause. For his commitment to “duty, honor and country,” Southworth was honored with the Army’s Gen. MacArthur Leadership award.

Department of Military Readiness: Coast Guard

On this day in 1790, the U.S. Coast Guard was created by Congress, which authorized Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to build a small fleet of ten cutters to protect the coast. The Coast Guard continues to serve a critical role under the Department of Homeland Security and we at The Patriot offer our thanks for a job well done. Happy Birthday and Semper Paratus!

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

The SCHIP sails on

Defining benevolence as solving a self-created problem, Congress stands poised to reauthorize—and dramatically expand—the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The House did vote for expansion and the measure awaits a Senate vote, despite a promised veto from President Bush.

Created in 1997 to provide insurance for children with family incomes too great to qualify for Medicaid, SCHIP has, in the last decade, reduced the rate of uninsured children by approximately 25 percent. Not all is rosy, however. During the same period, the government program has (gasp) expanded to offer coverage not only to the middle class but also to many adults. So much for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The price has been costly, too, more than just dollars. As SCHIP has wedged itself more deeply into the insurance industry, it has pushed out private insurance enterprise. The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2005, a full 77 percent of children between 200 and 300 percent of the poverty level were already covered by private insurance. Congress wants to expand the SCHIP entitlement to include these children.

The Congressional Budget Office predicts that, under the proposed expansion, every enrollment increase of 100 children will be matched by a private insurance reduction of 25-50 children. Yet, as Congress seeks to expand the $35-billion program by as much as $60 billion over five years, it is, in essence, painting itself as the savior of its own failed policies which have placed undue mandates on insurance companies and have prevented individuals from shopping nationally for the most affordable coverage.

An expanded SCHIP will further entrench Congress as a public competitor in the private-insurance industry. Whereas private competition results in lower costs, consumer choice and better services, Uncle Sam’s entrance into the ring translates into higher taxes, reduced enterprise and, as The Wall Street Journal noted, “HillaryCare on the installment plan.”

Income Redistribution File: IRS loses

A lawyer who has refused to pay taxes for a decade recently won against the Internal Revenue Service in a challenge to prove that the nation’s income tax has a constitutional foundation. A jury in U.S. District Court in Louisiana unanimously found Tommy Cryer of Shreveport not guilty on two counts of failure to file. He had been indicted on misdemeanor charges alleging he evaded payment of $73,000 to the IRS in 2000 and 2001. Cryer claims that prior to the trial the prosecution dismissed two additional felony charges of tax evasion. “The court could not find a law that makes me liable or makes my revenues taxable,” he said. “The Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot impose an income tax on anything but the profits and gains. When you work for someone you give your service and labor in exchange for money, so everything you make is not profit or gain. You put something into it.” The next step in the case will be up to the IRS if they should choose to appeal, Cryer said.

UAW negotiations begin, healthcare major issue

While Toyota outsold General Motors for the first time earlier this year, we still think of Detroit automakers as the “Big Three.” As contract talks for a new deal with the United Auto Workers commence, the Big Three want to see the union shoulder more of the healthcare burden. It’s estimated that labor costs need to drop by one third (about $20/hour) for automakers to regain long-term profitability. While the UAW has about 160,000 active members in the industry, GM alone provides health benefits for 432,000 retirees. Overall, the trio of UAW contracts covers a whopping total of 720,000 members, retirees and surviving spouses.

One trial balloon being floated is the establishment of a retiree healthcare fund of up to $40 billion, paid by the automakers and administered by the UAW. However, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger noted, “There are other things that can be done at these companies than cut costs as it pertains to the workforce.” Instead, Gettelfinger has advocated nationalizing the healthcare system (think HillaryCare.) If negotiations drag out beyond the September contract expiration, one of the three companies will become the strike target. A strike just as the 2008 model year ramps up this fall could devastate its target company, but then again, that’s often what unions do best.

The mortgage problem

With short-term interest rates rising 17 times since 2004, the number of homeowners unable to pay their mortgages has ballooned. According to RealtyTrac, foreclosures nationwide during the first half of 2007 rose more than 55 percent from the first half of 2006 and more than 30 percent from the second half. Nevada, Colorado and California were among the hardest hit, with foreclosures standing at one in 40 households, one in 60, and one in 69, respectively.

Experts blame the increase in part on adjustable-rate mortgages, which are offered at long-term, steadier interest rates but which fluctuate based on short-term, more volatile rates. In response, states including New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania are planning to spend more than $500 million to help homeowners refinance to lower-payment loans. As usual, however, taxpayers will be left footing the bill, and a government remedy may prove little more than income redistribution in the name of economic stability.

CULTURE

Around the nation: Prison news

In more absurd news from the prison front, according to the Associated Press, “An [Idaho] inmate who castrated herself with a disposable razor blade after prison officials refused to treat her for gender identity disorder should have female hormone therapy paid for by the state, a federal judge said.” Needless to say, we’re wondering whether anyone at the AP consulted their vaunted stylebook to see what it says about calling a castrated man a woman. We would also like to point out that the man sued because his “constitutional rights” were violated on “no cruel and unusual punishment” grounds when he was not properly diagnosed with gender-disorientation pathology (our term) and given male-hormone treatment instead of the female-hormone treatment he desired.

Meanwhile, several states are suffering from burgeoning prison populations and are looking to transfer prisoners to other states. Hawaii, for example, sends one third of its 6,000 inmates to private prisons in other states. States like Arizona use tent cities to accommodate over-crowding. Of course, private prisons are a bogey man of the Left, ever worried about the prisoner/victim’s “rights” (rights like cable TV, state-of-the-art gyms and other cushy treatment), but more private prisons may solve part of the problem. The other part of the problem could be solved by personal responsibility—e.g. fewer crimes committed. As long as states accommodate things like self-castration, however, the message of personal responsibility is mixed at best.

From the ‘Non Compos Mentis’ File

Fox News is under attack! We know, we know—bottom story of the century. Still, this particular attack is worth lampooning. MoveOn.org and DailyKos.com (a left-wing loony blog) are organizing a boycott of companies that advertise on the Fox News Channel. Another example of this intolerance stems from Fox’s coverage of global warming—they dare to give airtime to thoughtful critics of the Algore crowd. Because of this “fair and balanced” policy, the environ-mental wackos at the Sierra Club are targeting Home Depot, which sells “environmentally friendly products.” Fox, of course, is dubbed “environmentally hostile,” all for covering both sides of the story. We encourage Home Depot to ignore these catcalls from the Left and to continue doing what they do best—improving your home by selling what you need and helping to keep Fox News in business.

In other news concerning global-warming zealotry, Marlo Lewis of the Competitive Enterprise Institute recently received a heartwarming letter from one Michael Eckhart, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy, an environmental group. In part, Eckhart wrote, “It is my intention to destroy your career as a liar. If you produce one more editorial against climate change, I will launch a campaign against your professional integrity. I will call you a liar and charlatan to the Harvard community of which you and I are members… Go ahead, guy. Take me on.” Nice to see such tolerance and open-mindedness coming from the Left.

Faith and Family: Your children online

First it was MySpace.com; now Facebook.com finds itself under scrutiny for allegedly—even if unknowingly—hosting the profiles of convicted sex offenders. According to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, investigators in his state have launched an inquiry after “at least three” convicted sex offenders were able to register on the popular social networking site.

Since its founding in 2004, Facebook has branded itself as the safer networking alternative, with various privacy regulations and topical restrictions in place. Nevertheless, it is not immune to predators, as one “concerned parent” demonstrated by creating a fake profile as a 15-year-old girl—a girl who, after joining various sexually themed groups, was propositioned several times by both men and women.

Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer, Chris Kelly, has indicated that the site prohibits explicit adult-themed materials, individuals and groups. “Those people aren’t welcome on our service,” Kelly stated, “and they never have been.”

While we applaud Facebook’s public stance against sex predators, we are reminded that in the glow of private home-computer screens, it is parents who are ultimately responsible for monitoring the online activities of their children.

The Frontiers of Junk Science: Stem cells

U.S. scientists have recently discovered methods for creating embryonic stem cells without destroying human embryos. Gunning for federal money, these scientists will likely be thwarted by President Bush’s 2001 stem-cell policy, which halted federal funding based on the inarguable fact that human embryos were destroyed in the process. Furthermore, a longstanding and somewhat vague congressional ban on “harming” human embryos presents an additional layer of semantic complexity to the issue. Many researchers find themselves unable to procure financial support, perhaps due to the scandalous lack of progress. While techniques using adult stem cells—collected from adults as the name implies—continue to offer dozens of tangible results, the only thing proponents of embryonic stem cells have to offer is “greater potential,” further underscoring how facts are dismissed in service of the Left’s agenda.

And last…

If there were ever any doubt about Mexico’s commitment to securing our shared border, that country’s Environment Department now says that the U.S. plan to expand its border fences would threaten “migratory species” accustomed to roaming unimpeded across the border. Presumably, Environment Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira was referring to creatures such as Mexican jaguars, black bears and the elusive and endangered antelope-like Sonoran Pronghorn. Or perhaps he meant to include illegal immigrants as a “migratory species.” Nevertheless, our compadres have offered us some helpful suggestions for securing the border—suggestions such as natural cactus fences, wilderness “green corridors” free of roads and, get this, removable fencing. “The eventual construction of this barrier,” Elvira chimed, “would place at risk the various ecosystems that we share.” Not to mention the Mexican citizens that we share.

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 granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)