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"National defense is one of the cardinal duties of a statesman." --John Adams

FOR THE RECORD

"In the seven years since 9/11, there were no further attacks on American soil. This is an argument that's been around for a while but is newly re-emerging as the final argument for [President] Bush: the one big thing he had to do after 9/11, the single thing he absolutely had to do, was keep it from happening again. And so far he has. It is unknown, and perhaps can't be known, whether this was fully due to the government's efforts, or the luck of the draw, or a combination of luck and effort. And it not only can't be fully known by the public, it can hardly be fully known by the players at all levels of government. They can't know, for instance, of a potential terrorist cell that didn't come together because of their efforts. But the meme will likely linger. There's a rough justice with the American people. If a president presides over prosperity, whether he had anything to do with it or not, he gets the credit. If he has a recession, he gets the blame. The same with war, and terrorist attacks. We have not been attacked since 9/11. Someone -- someones -- did something right." --columnist Peggy Noonan

CULTURE

"The British media are full of stories claiming that some of the Mumbai killers were taught in Islamic schools in Britain and radicalized by fanatical imams before heading to Pakistan for weapons training. This is nothing new. The terrorists who bombed three London subway trains and a bus in 2005 were found to be part of this web of hate involving Islamic schools, radical mosques, fanatical imams and operational trainers in Pakistan. Then-Prime Minister Tony Blair attempted to shut down the most offensive mosques and deport the imams of hate. His efforts produced mixed results, thanks to opposition from British civil liberties groups that are more concerned with protecting terrorists than their targets. Some imams were deported, but many others remain and new terrorists are being incubated in Britain and other European nations. ... What is needed in Britain -- and America -- is a change in the thinking that naively believes that simply exposing foreign nationals to our way of life means they will 'catch' it as they might the flu. Allowing immigrants from nations in which the dominant religion mandates the forced subordination of every other faith (or no faith) and their subjugation through state power under Sharia law, increases the likelihood of more attacks. At the very least, all non-Western immigrants to Britain and America should be told prior to their arrival that our intention is to westernize them. They must learn English, study and embrace the history of their host nation.... Once war begins, victory is the only acceptable outcome. The goal of the terrorists is victory. If Britain and America settle for less, they will get less, which is defeat." --columnist Cal Thomas

RE: THE LEFT

"After more than 7 years since 9/11, we can now issue a verdict: Islamic terrorists have won our hearts and minds. Let's thank those who made it happen: the U.S. government, European governments and the mainstream media. It's time to stop placating or being intimidated by Islamic front groups who masquerade as civil rights groups. In 2007, the perversity of [this] was demonstrated when the FBI released its annual 2007 hate crime reports. Of the total 1,628 victims of anti-religious hate crimes, 69.2% were Jewish and 8.7% were Muslim. Yet by my still unfinished account, there were at least 40 times more stories last year about Islamophobia than about anti-Semitism. The Mumbai massacre was a heavily planned plot carried out by Islamic terrorists. Period. Memo to Obama: Until the onus of responsibility is put on Islamic 'civil rights' groups that want to ban free speech and claim that anyone who uses the term Islamic terrorist is a racist, there is no hope of winning the battle." --Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism Steven Emerson

FAITH AND FAMILY

"Barack Obama has made few policy pronouncements since his November election. But he and his wife have made a personal decision that is rich with policy ramifications: the choice of a school for their daughters. During the campaign, Obama said he supports charter schools, which are public schools that are free of some bureaucratic constraints, but that he opposes private school choice, because it doesn't work. Turns out it does work for the Obamas, who determined that no public or charter school in the nation's capital would be the 'best fit' for their daughters. Instead they chose Sidwell Friends, an exclusive private school that counts Chelsea Clinton among its alumni. No one should begrudge the Obamas for choosing the best possible school for their children. But we should begrudge Barack Obama for vowing to deny such choices to low-income parents. As Polly Williams, the state representative who gave birth to Milwaukee's school choice program put it, 'The president shouldn't be the only person who lives in public housing who gets to send his kids to private schools.'" --Hoover Institution research fellow Clint Bolick

OPINION IN BRIEF

"Unlike some of his supporters, I take Obama at his word. In my reading of history, men with his level of intentionally displayed self-confidence should be believed when they earlier have asserted grand -- even grandiose -- goals. Whether they are actually that self-confident or tormented by secret self-doubt, it often leads to efforts at grand and 'heroic' public policies once in office. And as long as the president-elect will not declare himself publicly, these foolish psychological games are necessary. So I rather doubt that a man with his self-image is likely to be content to leave the White House eight years from now having been a mere steward of Republican capitalism and military policy. I suspect he wants to play for the history books and do something dramatic with America. I suspect, as he says, he intends to be the change -- and not merely of the 'can't we all just get along?' variety. In fact, I suspect he doesn't want to get along with his philosophical opposition; he wants to overwhelm us politically. On the foreign policy front, likewise, solid appointments may not lead to solid policies. Remember during the campaign when he was on his way to Iraq and he was quite dismissive of the role of the top generals? Once again, he used the phrase 'my job, as president,' and he said it is to make the policy. He said the generals' job is merely to carry out his orders. That was a very unrealistic view of the relationship between civilian and military leadership -- even by the example of such towering civilian leaders as FDR, Churchill and Lincoln. Here is my suggestion to those who disagree with what, during and before the campaign, Obama seemed to be saying about economics, diplomacy, culture and foreign policy: Do not take too much comfort from his appointees. Brace for the change you do not believe in." --columnist Tony Blankley

THE GIPPER

"There is no question that we have failed to live up to the dreams of the Founding Fathers many times and in many places. Sometimes we do better than others. But all in all, the one thing we must be on guard against is thinking that because of this, the system has failed. The system has not failed. Some human beings have failed the system." --Ronald Reagan

GOVERNMENT

"How can the economy straighten itself out if it is being systematically skewed by government inference with prices? We are in the mess we're in precisely because of earlier government interference. Easy mortgage terms and guarantees contrived a housing boom and irresponsible lending that could not be sustained. The consequences have shaken the foundation of the financial industry. But instead of freeing the market and allowing the errors to be corrected, the government is seducing the economy into a whole new set of errors. That will lead to the next bust. 'But doesn't the government have to act?' people ask. 'We can't just let financial companies fail!' I say, Why not? Jim Rogers, the successful investor and author, puts it well: 'Why are we bailing out Citibank? Why are 300 million Americans having to pay for Citibank's mistakes? The way the system is supposed to work [is this]: People fail. And then the competent people take over the assets from the failed people, and then you start again with a new stronger base. What we're doing this time is ... taking the assets from the competent people, giving them to the incompetent people, and saying, 'OK, now you can compete with the competent people.' So everybody's weakened: The whole nation is weakened, the whole economy is weakened. That's not the way it's supposed to work." --ABC "20/20" co-anchor John Stossel

LIBERTY

"Most people on the Left are not opposed to freedom. They are just in favor of all sorts of things that are incompatible with freedom. Freedom ultimately means the right of other people to do things that you do not approve of. Nazis were free to be Nazis under Hitler. It is only when you are able to do things that other people don't approve that you are free. ...[P]eople on the Left want the right to impose their idea of what is good for society on others -- a right that they vehemently deny to those whose idea of what is good for society differs from their own. The essence of bigotry is refusing to others the rights that you demand for yourself. Such bigotry is inherently incompatible with freedom, even though many on the Left would be shocked to be considered opposed to freedom." --Hoover Institution economist Thomas Sowell

POLITICAL FUTURES

"There's a danger of extrapolating too much from a single election [in Georgia] held in unusual circumstances that are not likely to be precisely replicated elsewhere. But one lesson of political year 2008 is that voters' preferences are subject to sharp shifts in a period of what I have been calling open-field politics. An Associated Press-Yahoo series of 10 polls over 12 months showed that 14 percent of voters switched candidates, and John McCain had a clear lead in most polls when the financial crisis hit in mid-September. The world isn't likely to stand still in the months and years ahead, and the Georgia runoff result is one more piece of evidence that many political outcomes are possible." --political analyst Michael Barone

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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THE LAST WORD

"Christmas is once again upon us, and we can expect to witness countless new displays of the rampant secularization of what is meant to be a joyous celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Frankly I'm fed up with seeing federal, state and local governments, local and nationwide chain stores, and even the White House -- which last year couldn't call their Christmas Party a Christmas party -- all of them giving in to the intimidation of a handful of secular progressives who loathe Christianity and any celebration associated with it. Despite the fact that close to 90 percent of all Americans are Christians -- and that along with Easter, Christmas is one of the two most sacred days in the Christian calendar -- we have allowed a tiny minority among us to turn Christ's birthday celebration into a secular holiday devoid of any religious significance whatsoever. Merely to greet another by saying 'Merry Christmas' is now deemed politically incorrect and potentially offensive to non-Christians, and is thus taboo. Pity the poor store employee who dares to greet customers with this traditional salutation instead of uttering the meaningless 'Happy Holiday.' Municipalities large and small tremble in fear of being charged with violating the hallowed creed of separation of church and state if they allow the erection of a crèche or Christmas tree on city property, or dare to call the tree anything other than a 'holiday' tree. Obviously, any mention of the holiday's correct title -- Christmas -- is absolutely verboten. It has long been clear that the sole official purpose of the so-called holiday season is to boost the economy with an orgy of buying Christmas presents from establishments which insult us by strenuously avoiding calling them Christmas gifts. ... Have a Merry Christmas. And don't be afraid to say that loud and clear to everyone." --radio talk show host Michael Reagan

*****

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.)