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THE FOUNDATION: HISTORY

“A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable.”  - Thomas Jefferson

FOR THE RECORD

“In his victory speech after the North Carolina primary, Sen. Barack Obama...[defended] his stated intent to meet with America’s enemies without preconditions...: ‘I trust the American people to understand that it is not weakness, but wisdom to talk not just to our friends, but to our enemies, like Roosevelt did, and Kennedy did, and Truman did.’ That he made this statement, and that it passed without comment by the journalists covering his speech indicates either breathtaking ignorance of history on the part of both, or deceit. I assume the Roosevelt to whom Sen. Obama referred is Franklin D. Roosevelt. Our enemies in World War II were Nazi Germany, headed by Adolf Hitler; fascist Italy, headed by Benito Mussolini, and militarist Japan, headed by Hideki Tojo. FDR talked directly with none of them before the outbreak of hostilities, and his policy once war began was unconditional surrender. FDR died before victory was achieved, and was succeeded by Harry Truman. Truman did not modify the policy of unconditional surrender. He ended that war not with negotiation, but with the atomic bomb. Harry Truman also was president when North Korea invaded South Korea in June, 1950. President Truman’s response was not to call up North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung for a chat. It was to send troops... Sen. Obama is on both sounder and softer ground with regard to John F. Kennedy. The new president held a summit meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev in Vienna in June, 1961. Elie Abel, who wrote a history of the Cuban missile crisis (The Missiles of October), said the crisis had its genesis in that summit... Mr. Abel wrote, ‘There is no evidence to support the belief that Khrushchev ever questioned America’s power. He questioned only the president’s readiness to use it.’... It’s worth noting that Kennedy then was vastly more experienced than Sen. Obama is now. A combat veteran of World War II, Jack Kennedy served 14 years in Congress before becoming president. Sen. Obama has no military and little work experience, and has been in Congress for less than four years... History is an elective few liberals choose to take these days... The lack of historical knowledge among journalists is merely appalling. But in a presidential candidate it’s dangerous. As Sir Winston Churchill said: ‘Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it’.”  - Jack Kelly

INSIGHT

“Men naturally rebel against the injustice of which they are victims. Thus, when plunder is organized by law for the profit of those who make the law, all the plundered classes try somehow to enter - by peaceful or revolutionary means - into the making of laws. According to their degree of enlightenment, these plundered classes may propose one of two entirely different purposes when they attempt to attain political power: Either they may wish to stop lawful plunder, or they may wish to share in it.”  - Frederic Bastiat

FAMILY

“On Mother’s Day, we honor the grace, wisdom, and strength of our mothers, and we celebrate the special bonds shared between mothers and their children. Mothers work tirelessly to help their children build healthy and successful lives. Through their positive examples and countless acts of kindness, mothers teach the values of generosity and compassion and the importance of family and community... By providing a nurturing environment where their children can grow in confidence and character, mothers lay the foundation for the next generation of Americans to realize their full potential. Our Nation is grateful for the sacrifices mothers make every day and for the unconditional love they give their children. We are especially thankful for the mothers who support their sons and daughters serving in our Armed Forces and for the mothers who bring honor to the uniform of the United States by defending our freedom at home and abroad. Every child blessed with a mother’s love has been given one of life’s great gifts. On this Mother’s Day, we recognize the extraordinary contributions America’s mothers make to their children, their families, and our country.”  - President George W. Bush
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THE GIPPER

“Maternal love is the first tangible bond any human being knows. It is a tie at once physical, emotional, psychological, and mystical. With all of the words that have been written about motherhood, all of the poems of tribute and gratitude that have been penned through the ages, all of the portraits of a mother and child that have been painted down the centuries, none has come close to expressing in full the thankfulness and joy owing to mothers. The mark of motherhood, as the story of Solomon and the disputed infant in the first Book of Kings shows, is a devotion to the well being of the child so total that it overlooks itself and its own preferences and needs. It is a love that risks all, bears all, braves all... As inadequate as our homage may be and as short as a single day is to express it - ’What possible comparison was there,’ a great saint wrote of his mother, ‘between the honor I showed her and the service she had rendered me?’  - Mother’s Day affords us an opportunity to meet one of life’s happiest duties.”  - Ronald Reagan

CULTURE

“Time magazine has published another one of those silly and meaningless lists some in the media occasionally and irritatingly compile to validate their self-importance. It is the 100 ‘most influential people in the world.’... Who on Time’s list fits the definition of ‘influential’? Not Tim Russert, who is a terrific interviewer, but how much influence could he have at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning when millions are in church? ‘If it’s Sunday, it is Meet the Press’ he signs off every week. No, if it’s Sunday, for more people than watch his program, it is church. Why is Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the list? Most of the world’s people don’t live in New York City, though on Friday afternoons while trying to escape by plane or car it sometimes seems that way. Maybe he’s influential because of the high taxes and high tolls over which he presides. Tony Blair?... George Clooney? Chris Rock?... Oprah Winfrey?... I wonder why Jesus of Nazareth never makes the list? Over 20 centuries, uncounted numbers have testified to changed lives upon meeting Him. Changing a life from what it was to something better is real influence, isn’t it? ... John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are on Time’s list of the most influential, but only the one who wins the election will have a chance to influence us. Even then, presidents only marginally influence our opinions, most of which we already hold before they are elected. Presidents rarely influence our actions or behavior, except when we don’t like what they do. Time’s newspaper ad says these ‘most influential people are changing the world and making history.’ Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? I don’t think so.”  - Cal Thomas

LIBERTY

“The line between judicial ‘activism’ and due deference is not determined by whether one always lets elected branches get their way, but rather by whether a judge will defer to the clear language of the Constitution regardless of whether that means affirming legislative or executive action or overturning it. Sometimes a judge is being activist by refusing to overturn a congressional action despite a lack of constitutional authority for that action, merely because the judge happens to agree with the policy Congress has enacted... The very problem is that too many judges want to ensure that ‘no interest is served except the interest of justice.’ The problem is that what one man considers justice is often in conflict with the law, and that too many judges want to put their ideas of justice above the law’s dictates. But Oliver Wendell Holmes was right to upbraid a friend who urged him to ‘do justice.’ His answer: ‘That is not my job, sir. My job is to apply the law’.”  - Quin Hillyer

GOVERNMENT

“Here are my questions: In 1970, when environmentalists were making predictions of manmade global cooling and the threat of an ice age and millions of Americans starving to death, what kind of government policy should we have undertaken to prevent such a calamity? When Ehrlich predicted that England would not exist in the year 2000, what steps should the British Parliament have taken in 1970 to prevent such a dire outcome? In 1939, when the U.S. Department of the Interior warned that we only had oil supplies for another 13 years, what actions should President Roosevelt have taken? Finally, what makes us think that environmental alarmism is any more correct now that they have switched their tune to manmade global warming?”  - Walter Williams

CAMPAIGN WATCH

“Trivialization, thy name is American politics. For example, I see by the perfectly serious New York Times that Sen. Obama’s advisers had debated whether to let him be pictured playing some basketball on the campaign trail because, though it might help him look like a regular guy, especially in Hoosierland, ‘it could raise racial stereotypes...’ You can’t make this kind of thing up. It’s remarkable how the Times’ esteemed correspondents can keep a straight face when reporting on this year’s presidential election. And something tells me the campaign has only begun to get silly.”  - Paul Greenberg
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POLITICAL FUTURES

“In the name of fairness, the [Democrat] party has continued to encumber itself with a set of rules that prevents two equally popular candidates like Clinton and Obama from ever truly winning a primary. In Democrat primaries, there are no winner-take-all elections. This creates a situation where a candidate can win what would, under any other circumstances, be considered a landslide (say, 60-40) and walk away with very few more delegates than the loser. This arcane system is a microcosm of socialist thinking. In the eternal utopia of the liberal mind, no one should really win or lose. No one should have more than anyone else. Everything should be equally distributed. In fact, equality of opportunity means nothing, while equality of result means everything. Anyone who gets ahead must be penalized. As in their primary elections, no matter how hard you work, no matter how much you prosper, no matter how diligently you plan, you will never get beyond a certain point. To allow you to do so would be unfair.”  - Doug Patton

SELECT READER COMMENTS

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“Excellent article on Mrs. Obama and her racist thoughts. Both of the Obamas are a real danger to the United States and it’s Constitution.”  - Suisun City, California

“Thank you so much for the article. We hear so little about Cindy McCain and it was very enlightening. I think we all know the ‘very little’ there is to know about Michelle Obama, however. You’re right, she reminds me of Ms. Heinz-Kerry.”  - Polson, Montana

“The difference between Mrs. McCain and Mrs. Obama is shocking. Why has the Democrat Party turned against the American people and the American way? I’m certainly not oppressed, but have traveled the globe and have seen oppressed peoples. Perhaps the elitists should avail themselves to seeing the truth for a change.”  - Columbus, Ohio

“On Steven King’s ‘Stuck in Iraq’ comments: I don’t read his trashy books or watch the movies derived from same. Guess I’m too dumb since I served in the infantry in Vietnam... after graduating from an Ivy League school. After Vietnam I was so crazy and irresponsible that I went on to grad school, and became an executive of a NYSE company. A friend served two tours in Vietnam, armed with an MBA from Harvard and an engineering degree. King is out in left field.”  - Maitland, Florida

THE LAST WORD

“In addition to not being able to get half the country to vote for him in two tries, [Bill] Clinton’s connection to any other presidential candidate spells utter doom. Both his vice president and his wife have been defeated in elections they should have won, but lost because of their unfortunate association with him. The country has spoken. It wants to be rid of the Clintons. ... Americans rank Bill Clinton with national misfortunes on the order of the Great Depression and the Vietnam War. (This, of course, is an overreaction: The Great Depression wasn’t that bad.) And now Bill Clinton has wrecked Hillary’s campaign, too. He’s like the creepy guy who graduated last year but still hangs around the high school cafeteria chatting up sophomores. In a Time magazine poll taken earlier this year, more than twice as many voters said Bill Clinton’s involvement in Hillary’s campaign made them less likely to vote for her as said they were more likely to vote for her. (Some even said that ‘having Bill Clinton around makes me less likely to vote for What’s-Her-Name.’ One-third of the respondents were upset Bill didn’t call the next day, like he promised.) So before remembering that we are now left with two dangerous choices for president - a young liberal who is friendly with terrorists or an old liberal who is friendly with Teddy Kennedy - take a moment to revel in the fact that our long national nightmare is over. It turns out getting rid of the Clintons was the change we’ve been waiting for.”  - Ann Coulter

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.)