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5 January 2009

THE FOUNDATION

"How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments of every hostile nation?" --James Madison, Federalist No. 41

LIBERTY

"There's only one grievance and Hamas is open about it. Israel's very existence. Nor does Hamas conceal its strategy. Provoke conflict. Wait for the inevitable civilian casualties. Bring down the world's opprobrium on Israel. Force it into an untenable cease-fire -- exactly as happened in Lebanon. Then, as in Lebanon, rearm, rebuild and mobilize for the next round. Perpetual war. Since its raison d'etre is the eradication of Israel, there are only two possible outcomes: the defeat of Hamas or the extinction of Israel. Israel's only response is to try to do what it failed to do after the Gaza withdrawal. The unpardonable strategic error of its architect, Ariel Sharon, was not the withdrawal itself but the failure to immediately establish a deterrence regime under which no violence would be tolerated after the removal of any and all Israeli presence -- the ostensible justification for previous Palestinian attacks. Instead, Israel allowed unceasing rocket fire, implicitly acquiescing to a state of active war and indiscriminate terror. Hamas's rejection of an extension of its often-violated six-month cease-fire (during which the rockets never stopped, just were less frequent) gave Israel a rare opportunity to establish the norm it should have insisted upon three years ago: no rockets, no mortar fire, no kidnapping, no acts of war. As the U.S. government has officially stated: a sustainable and enduring cease-fire. If this fighting ends with anything less than that, Israel will have lost yet another war. The question is whether Israel still retains the nerve -- and the moral self-assurance -- to win." --columnist Charles Krauthammer

CULTURE

"Hamas and its terrorist cousins know how to play the public relations game. Most recently we saw it in Lebanon with Hezbollah, as we have seen it in so many other places. The terrorists operate within civilian areas so that when Israel strikes and unintentionally kills civilians, the bodies are paraded before Western media. In some cases, in order to embellish the drama, bodies have been planted in rubble, along with a child's toy. Most of the big media don't focus on the occasional rocket attacks inside Israel; only on Israel's attempts to stop them. So much of Western thinking continues along the delusional line that only 'adjustments' by Israel have a chance of bringing peace by diminishing the passions of her enemies. If that were so, given all of Israel's concessions, shouldn't those passions have diminished by now and serious negotiations begun? Instead, the more Israel concedes, the more violence it gets. At some point you might think people would say, 'this isn't working' and try another approach, such as striking back in a manner that would not simply stop the present threat, but persuade Hamas and the others that there is no benefit in their continued aggression. ... Israel's goal should be peace through strength. The U.S. should commit to building up Israel, militarily and diplomatically, as a deterrent to Israel's enemies, many of whom also hate and wish to destroy America." --columnist Cal Thomas

OPINION IN BRIEF

"In 1993, near the height of America's anger over out-of-control crime, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote a seminal article for the American Scholar on 'defining deviancy down.' Moynihan argued that crime had gotten so out of control, Americans responded by simply defining deviancy down until many crimes seemed normal. ... One response to the crime epidemic was to redefine violent crime as a 'public health issue.' Traditional law enforcement was simply incapable of dealing with the 'social pathologies' and 'root causes' of the wave of gun violence and the like. Fortunately, this approach, while far from dead, was relegated to the back burner by the successes of anti-crime initiatives in places like Rudy Giuliani's New York. The solution, it largely turned out, wasn't to become more tolerant of criminality by recasting it as a cultural or lifestyle choice or by invoking root causes (as The New York Times often did), but to become less tolerant of crime. In New York, turnstile jumpers, graffiti artists, even the infamous 'squeegee men' were treated as the lawbreakers they were. One heartening moral of the story is that sometimes deviancy can be defined back up. We learned a similar moral after 9/11. For years ... policymakers in both parties debated how to define terrorism. Is it a law-and-order issue or a military threat? If it's a military threat, how do we define a 'proportionate response' -- this legalistic phrase entered the national-security lexicon back then, too. By the end of the 1990s, the best and the brightest of the Clinton administration found the answer in a lawerly kind of proportionality, blowing up empty office buildings as a way to 'send a message' in response to attacks on America and her interests. After 9/11, the gloves were off. The far left beseeched the government to retaliate with, at most, a proportionate response, but no one cared. We toppled the Taliban as a warm-up act. Terrorists weren't criminals anymore, they were enemy combatants, ineligible for the Geneva Conventions. But the war in Iraq and reports of American zeal in the war on terror have left a sour taste in our mouths. That there have been no terrorist attacks on our soil only bolsters the sense that terrorism is manageable, even banal. Barack Obama leads a counteroffensive from a legal establishment that wants to treat terrorists like any other criminals. Terrorists in Mumbai or Jeddah are little more than the squeegee men of the New World Order." --National Review Editor Jonah Goldberg

RE: THE LEFT

"As he stands on the sidelines, seemingly oblivious to what's going on in the world, President-elect Barack Obama opts out of the game by proclaiming that there's only one president at a time. That's another way of saying, 'Let George do it,' when the Middle East erupts in violence, the economy continues to slump, and the governor of his state defies demands that he step down. His almost nonchalant approach to the turmoil around him has thus far protected him from adverse reactions from his real base -- the media -- but that immunity from harsh criticism has not extended to his political base, the far left. They are after him hammer and tongs. Barack Obama will not become president until January 20, but the far left of his party is already blaming him for all sorts of alleged omissions. He seems to have violated the liberal's major shibboleth, 'No enemies to the left.' He's suddenly acquired a whole slew of them. He may have chosen a few bomb throwers to serve in his Cabinet or the White House, but that hasn't satisfied the more dainty of the lefties who are appalled at his selection of Pastor Rick Warren, who committed the unpardonable sin of not only opposing gay marriage, but actually promoted Proposition 8, which banned the aberration in California. ... They simply don't buy his only-one-president-at-a-time alibi. They want him to start acting presidential now, and all he's been doing in Hawaii is physical exercise (when he's not showing off his pecs to the gaga media)." --radio talk show host Michael Reagan

OBAMAPHILES

"From the Albuquerque Journal: 'Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn from his nomination as U.S. commerce secretary, citing concerns about the timing of a federal grand jury investigation involving his administration in New Mexico.' Note the waffle: 'citing concerns about the TIMING of a federal grand jury investigation.' Not the FACT that there is a federal grand jury investigating Richardson's operation. According to the Journal, this all has to do with a California financial firm, CDR Financial Programs of Beverly Hills 'which received $1.4 million for its work' on a bond issue. 'The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office want to know how' a California financial firm, CDR Financial Programs of Beverly Hills, 'got hired in 2004 to work on the $1.6 billion bond issue used to fund highway projects and the Rail Runner commuter train.' What they think happened was the chief executive of the California firm made two contributions totaling [at least] $85,000 to political organizations attached to Richardson. Here's why it raised the eyebrows of the feds: 'The first came six days after CDR was hired as a special adviser on the bond deal; the second was four days before Finance Authority staff recommended the company get the no-bid deal to manage the escrow account.' Whoa! Check, please (literally)! ... President-elect Barack Obama announced the nomination of Peso Bill on December 3. The Journal published the existence of the investigation in August -- some four months before Obama tapped Richardson. The question, then, is: What did Peso Bill tell Obama about the status of that investigation and what his connection might be? Are no-bid-no-contract million dollar deals in return for campaign donations so pervasive among Obama's political cronies that he and Richardson had a good laugh about it and walked out onto the stage in Chicago to announce the nomination?" --political analyst Rich Galen

POLITICAL FUTURES

"After their dismal performance in November, conservatives are taking stock. ... Indeed, while sorting out their errors and considering their options, conservatives of all stripes would be well advised to concentrate their attention on the constitutional order and the principles that undergird it, because maintaining them should be their paramount political priority. A constitutional conservatism puts liberty first and teaches the indispensableness of moderation in securing, preserving and extending its blessings. The constitution it seeks to conserve carefully defines government's proper responsibilities while providing it with the incentives and tools to perform them effectively; draws legitimacy from democratic consent while protecting individual rights from invasion by popular majorities; assumes the primacy of self-interest but also the capacity on occasion to rise above it through the exercise of virtue; reflects, and at the same time refines, popular will through a complex scheme of representation; and disperses and blends power among three distinct branches of government as well as among federal and state governments the better to check and balance it. The Constitution and the nation that has prospered under it for 220 years demonstrate that conserving and enlarging freedom and democracy depends on weaving together rival interests and competing goods." --Stanford University's Hoover Institution senior fellow Peter Berkowitz

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

Patriots, 2008 has been a difficult year for many of us and our families, as indeed it has been for our great nation. In no year during my lifetime has there been such a dearth in leadership -- the conservative leadership necessary to guide our nation through its darkest periods by returning to our Patriot origins, the tried and true paths of our national heritage and Founders' legacy.

Twenty-five years ago (like yesterday on the scale of history), Ronald Reagan won 49 of 50 states campaigning on that popular heritage and legacy, but now, fewer than half of the members of Congress who identifying themselves as "Republican" can articulate, much less act on, our Founders' timeless vision for individual liberty rooted in constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, unfettered enterprise, limited taxation, a strong national defense and traditional American values.

However, The Patriot remains steadfast in our dedication and advocacy for that vision, which embodies all that has been good and right about America for all her generations. Since our inception, that vision has been our mission.

A week ago, I sent you a message with a brief introduction of some of our key staff members. Many of our readers who have lived through more difficult times, wrote us that they were heartened to learn that our mission is in the hands of a younger generation. In fact, many of our staff are in their twenties and thirties -- I am the old guy in this organization. We have a vigorous and committed staff and we are always seeking new avenues to reach a younger audience, and will make new strides in that direction in the months ahead.

This new year will present all of us with various challenges, and accordingly, opportunities. I am looking forward to both and hope you are as well. We are indebted to you for standing with us.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness -- indeed.

Happy New Year!

Mark Alexander
Publisher, PatriotPost.US

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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"We are so encouraged to see these younger Patriot Managers, and it does my heart good to know that our nation's legacy of liberty is being advanced by the next generation of Patriots. You have your work cut out for you. You folks produce an amazing scholarly yet entertaining newsletter. God bless and God help!" --Birmingham, Alabama

"I have been meaning to say this for a long time, and your Christmas edition really struck a chord. Simply put, you saved my life. You see, I grew up in a Christian home, but when I entered my young adult life, I ventured out on my own, and my faith faltered. I engulfed myself in the material world for nearly 30 years. After 9/11, I somehow came across The Patriot, and you reminded me not only of the patriotic things that matter, but it was through reading The Patriot that I found my way back to my spiritual center as well. I cannot express the gratitude that I feel to you because mere words are not enough. Today the times are rough, and I do what I can to help financially, but I look forward to the day that I can show you the proper appreciation for what you have done for me. You have changed my life and moved my spirit and awakened something in me that had long lain dormant. You are Patriots, true Christians and I cannot find enough positive things to say about you." --Tracy, California

"I had donated to The Patriot a couple of weeks ago and truthfully due to higher-than-normal contributions to other worthy causes, I had felt that I had given as much as I could to The Patriot. However, due to the receipt of the 'Meet Your Patriot Managers' emailing, I could not help but to donate once again! I would hate to know that The Patriot lost any of these valuable people due to a lack of the minimum funds necessary to keep you-all (is that some 'southern lingo'?) there! God bless you and the work you do!" --Albany, New York

Editor's Reply: Many thanks to all who supported us in the last year! As it stands this morning, we are at about 97 percent of our 2008 Patriot Annual Fund budget, but still have to account for some mail as it comes in.

THE GIPPER

"The deficit doctors have their scalpels out all right, but they're not poised over the budget. That's as fat as ever and getting fatter. What they're ready to operate on is your wallet." --Ronald Reagan

THE LAST WORD

"Unemployment is at its highest level in 15 years. Housing prices won't stop falling. The stock market has suffered its most punishing collapse since 1931, and shareholders have lost $7 trillion in wealth. Millions of workers have lost their jobs; millions more are worried about losing theirs. IRAs and 401k accounts have been decimated, and companies are halting their contributions to retirement plans. Retail sales are dragging, the credit markets have seized up, and worse is expected in 2009. The government has gone to unprecedented lengths to improve the economy, yet the economy keeps getting worse. The federal budget deficit is headed for a trillion dollars, and the national debt is well over $10 trillion and climbing. ... So what do you do now? Well, if you're a member of Congress, you give yourself a raise. Beginning this week, US representatives and senators will be paid $174,000 a year. That represents an increase of $4,700 and the 10th time since 1998 that congressional pay has been given a boost. As has become routine, this salary hike is taking place automatically -- there were no hearings, no vote, no debate. No members of Congress stepped before the microphones to explain why their performance over the past year entitles them to a fatter paycheck. Or to make the case for helping themselves to more money at a time when so many Americans are out of work, the economy is in recession, and financial distress is spreading. Or to shed light on the curious fact that people who are chronically late when it comes to passing appropriations bills or confirming judges never seem to miss a beat when it comes to pocketing more money for themselves. ... You'd think members of Congress would be ashamed to take more of the public's money at a time when public approval of Congress is lower than ever. Then again, if they were capable of shame, they wouldn't be in Congress." --columnist Jeff Jacoby

*****

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.)