GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

News from the Swamp: Earmarks

The big news from the Swamp this week is the economic “stimulus” package, but more on that later. As for obviously wasteful government spending, it looks as if President George W. Bush will pass up the opportunity to reject the large number of congressional earmarks that are not part of binding legislation by simply instructing executive agencies to spend the money differently, but he is expected to push for greater justification in the future for the earmarks that do exist in conference-committee reports. Congressional Republicans are reluctant to get behind the President in his effort to shut down “the congressional favor factory” because, like their colleagues across the aisle, they want to bring money home to their constituents. They also fear a political backlash in a future Democrat administration.

However, more than 20 House and Senate members have vowed not to seek new earmarks for their districts. House conservatives led by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) hope to force a conference vote for an earmark moratorium, but they need 50 GOP votes to do so. Even then, once the vote is forced, they need a majority of the 199 House Republicans to sign on, which is unlikely. These brave souls no longer want to be a part of the problem, but they may pay the price back home, where constituents are angered at losing money for projects they believe are worthwhile.

The White House Office of Management and Budget did suggest that the total number of earmarks has decreased since 2005, with spending reduced by $2.1 billion, or 11 percent.

New & notable legislation

Congress failed this week to override President Bush’s veto of the attempted expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). However, liberals have found new clarity of vision in trying to work Medicaid expansion into any economic stimulus. A recession strikes liberals as a sure-fire reason for the government to relieve parents of their responsibility for their children’s health care.

The Senate re-approved the defense-authorization bill this week, after President Bush vetoed it over Christmas break because of the provision allowing Iraq to be held legally liable for actions perpetrated by Saddam Hussein’s regime. The bill was amended to remove the provision. The House passed the revised version last week, and President Bush is expected to sign it.

The Senate is also considering legislation that would do two things: expand government healthcare on Indian reservations and also expand the Davis Bacon Act, which requires prevailing wages and benefits be paid to contractors brought in for the work of building new facilities on the reservations.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) introduced the Middle Class Jobs Protection Act (H.R. 4995), a significant part of which would reduce the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent.

Former presidential candidate Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) reintroduced the Secure Fence Act Wednesday, which mandates construction of double-layered fencing along the U.S. /Mexico border within six months, something that the Homeland Security Department has been apparently loath to do. “Today, DHS has built approximately 75 miles of new fence along the border, of which only five miles is double-layered,” Hunter said. “The Secure Fence Act was clear in that it required double-layered fencing, separated by a road for Border Patrol vehicles, extending over 700 miles of land border.”

Campaign watch: The Republican field thins out

For the Republicans, Mitt Romney and John McCain each walked away with victories last week, winning Nevada and South Carolina, respectively. Romney was able to pull 50-percent support in Nevada, where Mormons provided a boost for him. For McCain, victory in the state that symbolized the bitter end of his 2000 White House run was further vindication of his renewed candidacy. Still, McCain secured fewer votes in South Carolina this year than when he lost eight years ago—not the direction he wants to be going. The official delegate count shows Romney in the lead with 72 to McCain’s 38. Both candidates appear to have the edge on Rudy Giuliani in Florida, where the former New York City mayor has placed all his chips. A loss there could doom the Giuliani campaign. Then again, only registered Republicans can vote in the Florida primary, taking away McCain’s base. Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee is looking more and more like a one-hit wonder.

Fred Thompson called it quits this week after his dismal third-place finish in South Carolina, a state he desperately needed to win. Many conservatives, including those in our humble shop, thought that Thompson was a good fit for the conservative coalition, but his popularity peaked even before he officially announced his candidacy, and his poor finishes in the early states suggest that he waited too long to get into the race.

Another fine conservative, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), also bowed out this week after taking a beating in the Nevada and South Carolina contests. Hunter fielded more questions from the media about the viability of his candidacy than about the issues he championed, which resulted in low national recognition, little money and a string of poor finishes.

From the Left: The Clinton Chronicles continue

Former President Bill Clinton told the media that he personally witnessed voter intimidation by Culinary Workers Union supporters of Barack Obama at last week’s Nevada caucus. Obama and Hillary Clinton split Nevada with 13 and 12 delegates, respectively, which was probably what led to the baseless accusations of intimidation. After all, the Clintons believe that Hillary should just be anointed as the Democrat nominee, and any loss that she suffers must be the work of fraud. The Las Vegas press has yet to find any evidence of voter suppression or intimidation in the Nevada contest, and the Obama campaign has urged the Clintons to file complaints if they have evidence. Obama’s people certainly realize that the Clintons don’t work that way. For them, it’s not about evidence; it’s about what kind of story they can spread in the media.

In another story, it appears Bill’s post-presidential work as a financial consultant for longtime supporter Ron Burkle, a billionaire investor, could net him a cool $20 million. Clinton was an adviser in Burkle’s Yucaipa investment group, which reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from large domestic sales in recent months. Clinton has been looking to cash out of the deal to remove any potential conflicts of interest with his wife’s White House candidacy. The extent of Bill’s involvement with Yucaipa still remains unclear and, based on the Clintons’ history of questionable business dealings, is worthy of further public scrutiny.

Finally, Hillary Clinton accused Barack Obama in the latest debate of “practicing law and representing your contributor, [Tony] Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago,” a nasty shot that one could read as racially bigoted. Well, what do you know… a photo of Clinton with Rezko surfaced. Hillary pulled out the old standby “I don’t recall…” when questioned about it. “I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. I don’t know the man. I wouldn’t know him if he walked in the door.” Maybe true, but with Clinton, who knows?

NATIONAL SECURITY

Gen. Petraeus to head NATO?

According to a senior Pentagon official, General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and architect of the highly successful counter-insurgency “surge” strategy, is reportedly being considered for command of NATO. However, the official also said that there are “no final decisions” yet. By this fall, a potential start date for the NATO post, Petraeus will have served 19 months as U.S. commander in Iraq and accumulated almost four years of service in Iraq during three tours since 2003. In the NATO job, Petraeus would help shape the growing alliance’s identity, helping it cope with an increasingly aggressive Russia and, more significantly, overseeing the NATO mission in Afghanistan, where his counter-insurgency tactics may be put to good use. While it may be time for Petraeus to move on up, we hope that he doesn’t leave Iraq too soon. By setting us on a course for victory there (regardless of what the Surrendercrats say), he has done a tremendous service to our troops and to our country, and he should be given the opportunity to finish the job.

From the Department of Military Correctness

If Western civilization falls, one of the root causes will be political correctness. Sadly, even the Pentagon is now infected. Major Stephen Coughlin, a lawyer and reserve military intelligence officer, is the Pentagon’s sole specialist on Islamic law, providing senior military officers with information on Islamic jihad doctrine. Considering that we are in fact fighting jihadis, that’s not a bad idea. If you recall, one of the initial—and valid—criticisms of the U.S. military after we went on the offensive was that we knew little to nothing about the enemy we were fighting. Unfortunately, Major Coughlin’s contract with the military ends in March because he has hurt the PC sensibilities of a key aide to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. The name of that key aide? Why, it’s Commander Hesham Islam, an Egyptian-born Muslim. Commander Islam has confronted Major Coughlin and told him to “soften his views of Islamist extremism,” and the PC crowd at the Pentagon is willing to go along and throw Major Coughlin under the PC bus. No doubt the message will be received by others, who may now think twice before speaking the truth about Islam. So, Commander Islam (shudder) now dictates what our military leaders will hear about our jihadi enemies. Sheer stupidity.

Homeland Security front: Padilla gets 17 years

Convicted al-Qa’ida conspirator Jose Padilla (a.k.a. Abdullah al Muhajir) was sentenced this week to 17 years in prison. The Associated Press headline read, “17 Years for Ex-’Dirty Bomb’ Suspect.” That led The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto to ask, “So what, it’s a crime to have once been suspected of something?” He continues, “Oh, by the way, what exactly was it that Padilla was convicted for? The AP finally gets around to telling us in the fifth paragraph.” Here is the AP’s account: “Padilla, 37, and co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun, 45, and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, 46, were convicted in August of terrorism conspiracy and material support after a three-month trial. Jurors concluded they were part of a support cell that sent recruits, money and supplies to Islamic extremists worldwide, including al-Qaida.”

As we noted in August, Padilla’s arrest and, in particular, his detention as an “enemy combatant” rather than a criminal (he is a U.S. citizen and Chicago native) sparked outrage among leftists who decried the “violation” of his civil rights. He became the poster child, as it were, for the debate over classification of terrorists. The AP’s “reporting” only highlights the problem.

Profiles of valor: USAF Staff Sgt. Kimberling

In August 2006, Staff Sgt. Jason Kimberling was one of three members of a security force assisting a convoy of 35 Afghan personnel from the National Police (ANP) and the Afghan National Army (ANA). The convoy was sent to aid at a highway checkpoint in Qalat Province that had come under attack. More than 100 Taliban fighters suddenly attacked Kimberling’s convoy with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. The driver of the security force’s Humvee positioned the vehicle to provide cover. Kimberling returned fire from outside the vehicle until nearly being hit by an RPG. He quickly recovered from the blast to kill two Taliban fighters headed his way, which further enabled his Afghan allies to kill other jihadis. After more fighting, the convoy was able to move to higher ground, where, still under fire, Kimberling used a satellite phone to call in air support to end the battle. An estimated 20 jihadis were killed in the firefight, while not a single casualty occurred among the good guys. Kimberling was awarded the Bronze Star with combat “V” for valor and the Army Commendation Medal for his actions.

From Russia with love

The United Nations Security Council Permanent 5 (P5) + 1 (USA, Britain, France, China, Russia + Germany) announced on Wednesday that they had agreed on language for a new Security Council resolution on Iran’s nuclear program. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov couldn’t even wait for the joint press release before he broadcast the message that Iran had nothing to worry about: “Additional measures of influence on Iran are envisioned, but they are not of the tough or sanctionative [sic] kind.” The other P5 + 1 members all tacitly confirmed Lavrov’s statements, acknowledging that the new language ruled out any serious measures aimed at Iran’s economy. The draft reportedly calls only for monitoring Iranian financial transactions and certain military organizations. Attempting to put some lipstick on this pig, State Department rep Nicholas Burns said, “Iran had been predicting that the Security Council was no longer unified enough to pass a third resolution, and they were wrong.” We suppose it depends on what the meaning of “unified” is.

It is common knowledge that Russia and China have fought tooth and nail to water down the UNSC language, but observers should keep their eyes on three other known trouble-makers: Libya, Indonesia, and South Africa currently occupy non-permanent seats on the UNSC, and all three have backed Iran against the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the past. In November 2005 they were among five countries that abstained on an IAEA Board of Governors vote over whether to refer Iran to the UNSC. As if that wasn’t enough, the rotating UNSC Presidency will pass to Russia in March, just as the UNSC will likely get down to voting on the proposed resolution. Iran has thus far successfully gamed the IAEA and is within one year of waiting out the Bush administration, with a key assist from the very organization—the IAEA—that exists solely to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Income Redistribution: Economic ‘stimulus’

Now that foreign and domestic markets are trembling at the possibility of a recession in America, President Bush, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and congressional leaders all agree that the time has come to create an economic-stimulus package to revive the economy. In a display of surprising bipartisanship (or is that “buy-partisanship”?), “House leaders and the administration reached tentative agreement today on a roughly $145 billion economic stimulus that would quickly send payments to poor and middle class workers while offering businesses one-time incentives to invest in new equipment and write off tax losses,” The Washington Post reports.

Both sides gave up important demands. Republicans agreed to tax rebates of up to $1,000, even for families who don’t earn enough to pay income taxes to begin with. This is otherwise known as “income redistribution.” Democrats, on the other hand, gave up on extending unemployment benefits and food stamps—for now. As for the rebates, again The Post: “Under the deal, nearly everyone earning a paycheck would receive at least $300 from the Internal Revenue Service. Most workers would receive rebates of $600 each, or $1,200 per couple. Families with children would receive an additional payment of $300 per child. Workers who earned at least $3,000 last year—but not enough to pay income taxes—would be eligible for $300.”

As with past tax rebates, the idea behind the scheme is that returning this money to taxpayers will lead to a rush of consumer spending that will boost the economy. President Bush used this option in 2001, but there is little evidence that the $300-$600 payout actually was what turned the country around. In fact, it was the tax cuts that revived the economy after the 2001 recession, not the tax rebates, that ended up being put into savings and used to pay existing expenses. Rather than falling back on political parlor tricks that have never been proven to work, Congress should make the Bush tax cuts permanent. Lower taxes are what keep the economy growing, no matter how you crunch the numbers.

This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award

“It’s OK, I’m for tax rebates—put some money in people’s pockets, though it has to be structured in the right way.” —Hillary Clinton, who thinks that the government is akin to the tooth fairy

Good economic medicine needed

The White House is currently considering a plan to take inflation into account when taxing capital gains. The President, by executive order, may have the Treasury Department define “cost” as “historical cost plus inflation” when assessing capital-gains taxes. The National Center for Policy Analysis says that the current system, which does not account for inflation, means “investors pay billions of dollars of tax on phantom gains.” In other words, taxpayers fork over money on “profitable” investments that didn’t actually gain purchasing power over time. It’s high time this was fixed.

Another way to stimulate the economy would be to expand oil drilling. Crude has dropped to around $90 a barrel on the news of the looming economic slump, but it is estimated that the U.S. spends about $1 billion per day more on oil than just two years ago. Meanwhile, we are sitting on billions of barrels in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and two trillion barrels in oil shale in the western U.S. and Canada. Drilling in one location is currently being held up for fear of the effect on polar bears. From the We’re-Not-Making-This-Up Files, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) wants to block drilling in the Chukchi Sea (OCS lease 193) until the Department of Interior classifies the polar bear as an “endangered species,” despite the fact that the polar-bear population is healthy and growing. In fact, the population of about 25,000 is nearly three times what it was 50 years ago. Lease 193 and ANWR together represent nearly $3 trillion to the economy.

Regulatory Commissars: Freedom = prosperity

Rather than focusing on practices that have the short-term appearance of increasing wealth (like tax “rebate” checks), the government ought to be working to enhance and strengthen the only real foundation for prosperity: freedom. In the long-term, income redistribution stifles innovation, encourages dependence and simply makes everyone poorer. As much as the demagogues on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail may try to convince us otherwise, the reality is that only free Americans can generate prosperity by working hard and investing wisely.

This basic principle of a connection between freedom and prosperity is demonstrated once again by the “2008 Index of Economic Freedom,” recently released by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. The report rates the levels of economic freedom in 150 nations, taking into account factors like low taxes, low government spending, property rights and courts that reliably enforce contracts. The results are clear: the freer a nation’s economy, the higher the average income of the nation’s citizens. The freest are eight times as prosperous as the most oppressed.

Specific situations are often complicated, but the principle is clear. The best thing a government can do for the economy is to cease meddling, to keep its citizens free and to allow them to keep their income and spend, share or invest it as they see fit. It is perhaps most important to remember this during an election season. Presidents don’t create jobs or wealth, entrepreneurs do. What presidents can do is make sure the citizens of our country remain free under the Constitution.

CULTURE

Around the nation: The ‘gun show loophole’

A bill that would have closed the so-called “gun show loophole” failed to pass a Virginia House committee on 18 January, and a similar bill was defeated in a Senate committee five days later. The bills were backed by Virginia Democrat Governor Timothy Kaine, anti-gun lobbyists and the families of certain Virginia Tech shooting victims. While our condolences go out to the latter, we can’t help but notice that the “gun show loophole” —the sale of firearms between private parties at gun shows without background checks—had nothing to do with the Virginia Tech shooting. Seung-hui Cho bought his guns from licensed dealers and passed government-mandated background checks before going on a rampage in a “gun-free” zone. “The bill would not have changed anything,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. “If this had passed last year, Virginia Tech would still have happened.”

Gun-rights groups worry that a law requiring “instant” background checks on private sales at gun shows would be the first step toward a California-style law that requires a ten-day waiting period on private sales anywhere. We can forgive said groups for believing that the Virginia bills were nothing more than an attempt by gun grabbers to restrict further the rights of law-abiding citizens, with the Virginia Tech tragedy used as an emotional, albeit false, pretext. In the end, the shooting at Virginia Tech was politicized by the Left and the families were only pawns in the process.

Village Academic Curriculum: What we meant was…

The University of California at San Francisco issued a press release last week stating that homosexual men are much more likely than heterosexual men to be diagnosed with a new strain of drug-resistant staphylococcus known as MRSA USA300. This disease has quickly become known as “the new HIV.” While it is no surprise that homosexual behavior puts a person at greater risk to get an infection or HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, for years the politically correct police have been denying that fact. It is therefore interesting to note that, after the press release had been published and conservative groups took note, the University quickly rushed to cover up its candor. They issued an apology saying that their release had “contained some information that could be interpreted as misleading.” The statement continued, “We deplore negative targeting of specific populations in association with MRSA infections or other public health concerns.” Political correctness such as this should not take priority over the need to convey accurate information to the public. The truth is that homosexual behavior increases the risk of psychological problems and sexually transmitted diseases. Of course, the only way to avoid such risks is to take responsibility and accountability for one’s actions, a behavior modality that runs contrary to the liberal agenda.

Faith and Family: RU-486 use on the rise

It’s butchery in a bottle, and it’s becoming the weapon of choice against unborn babies. RU-486, the so-called “non-surgical abortion,” is on the rise. According to a new survey by the Guttmacher Institute, RU-486 abortions “expanded substantially between 2000 and 2005.” The survey reported that although overall abortion rates are at their lowest since 1974, RU-486 abortions have been surging by 22 percent per year and now constitute 13 percent of all reported abortions and 22 percent of abortions performed by the ninth week of pregnancy. The reasons range from the increasing availability of the drug to its “privacy,” as it can be distributed in any doctor’s office, allowing women to avoid abortion clinics.

According to Beth Jordan, Medical Director of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, “It’s going a long way towards normalizing abortion.” Indeed, RU-486 already accounts for more than 60 percent of abortions in some European countries, and experts expect its popularity in the U.S. to continue growing. If that happens, the downward abortion trend may only be temporary. Unfortunately, because reporting requirements for RU-486 lag behind requirements for surgical abortions, we many never know the true number of unborn babies lost to the “convenience” of this pill.

Frontiers of Science: Active Antarctica volcano

During the lifetime of Alexander the Great, a massive volcanic eruption rocked Antarctica, punching a hole through the ice sheet and sending up great plumes of debris that littered the surrounding landscape, an area spanning about 110 miles. The layer, hidden beneath the snows of more than two millennia, was discovered during airborne radar surveys conducted in 2004 and 2005. The thickness of the ice above the ash along with acids found in ice cores aided in dating the eruption to approximately 325 B.C. Scientists F.J. Corr and David Vaughan discovered the evidence for this volcano and reported in a Sunday post on the Web site of the journal Nature Geoscience that it is still active today. The scientists agree that the heat from a volcano could be a contributing factor to Antarctica’s melting ice. Meanwhile, global-warming alarmists would have you look the other way while they repeat their “man-made” mantra.

And last…

As our capitalist economy plunges toward Armageddon—or so the Leftmedia would have us believe—we urge readers to remember the most defenseless among us. Though the media constantly peddles the idea, we are not referring to women and children, nor minorities, nor even minority women and children that are always hardest hit by bad economic news. Just this week, a Reuters dispatch was titled, “Poor still suffering from last recession.” After all, George W. Bush cut taxes only for the rich, so the poor (who by the way don’t pay taxes) didn’t get a tax cut. Then again, the Bush tax cuts removed about 25 million Americans from the federal tax rolls, but we digress. These most defenseless among us are cats. And dogs. The Chicago Tribune reports on the disaster created by the sub-prime-mortgage crunch with a headline: “Dogs, cats latest victims of subprime-mortgage mess.” Now we know it’s bad. All we can say is, they forgot to mention birds, fish, snakes, rabbits, other miscellaneous rodents, horses and maybe most important, donkeys.

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.)