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THE FOUNDATION

"The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." --Thomas Jefferson

INSIGHT

"The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits." --Roman historian Plutarch (c.45-125 A.D.)

"There's nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." --Austrian-American writer Peter Drucker (1909-2005)

"The height of statesmanship is to come home with a dam, even if you have nowhere to put it." --humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)

UPRIGHT

"The state is getting more and more deeply involved in business, even taking controlling interests in some private companies. And the state is even trying to 'make policy' for private companies they do not control, but merely 'help' with 'infusions of capital'.... So state power is growing at the expense of corporations. But that's not socialism. Socialism rests on a firm theoretical bedrock: the abolition of private property. ... It's fascism." --columnist Michael Ledeen

"The idea that even the brightest person or group of bright people, much less the U.S. Congress, can wisely manage an economy has to be the height of arrogance and conceit. Why? It is impossible for anyone to possess the knowledge that would be necessary for such an undertaking." --economist Walter E. Williams

"The amount of money involved in the stimulus bill is staggering. With 90 million tax filers who actually pay taxes, the $787 billion means the average taxpayer will pay over $8,700. By itself, adding $8,700 to the average tax bill should get everyone's attention. But that is on top of everything else that we are spending this year. ...This year's deficit is already at about $1.7 trillion -- almost $19,000 per taxpayer." --economist John Lott

"The big story last week was the incredible Congressional rush to pass a bill that was more than a thousand pages long in just two days -- after which it sat on the President's desk for three days while the Obamas were away on a holiday. There is the same complete inconsistency in the bill itself." --economist Thomas Sowell

"Not that long ago, Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were taking potshots at President George W. Bush for supporting deficit spending. Now that they're in power, they're spending money at record speed that Washington doesn't have. And they're still blaming the Republicans. Will they ever be responsible for the choices they make?" --columnist Debra Saunders

"Even if the Republicans were the worst hypocrites in the history of the universe, would that make it any more prudent for President Obama to embark on a mission to trump them? Indeed, that he is citing GOP fiscal profligacy as an excuse and license for more just confirms that debt is not on his mind; government debt is never on a liberal's mind except as a tactic to win arguments or elections." --columnist David Limbaugh

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

"Stimulus: Say this for the $787 billion behemoth that Congress voted on Friday -- never in our history has a more important vote been cast on legislation with so little scrutiny. Couldn't they at least read the thing before voting on it? The 1,434-page bill is, in a word, massive. It's full of details that deserve to be given a close look before anyone votes. ... The bill that President Obama called 'the largest change in domestic policy since the 1930s' was jammed down Congress' throat, breaking almost all the promises of bipartisanship and transparency along the way. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed to give members of Congress at least 48 hours to look at the historic legislation before them. After all, the bill will spend the equivalent of nearly 9% of our GDP while adding $1.2 trillion to our national debt. Obama vows to 'create or save' 3.5 million jobs at a cost of $263,000 per job. Shouldn't it get even a little bit of scrutiny? Apparently not. ... Why the haste? Surely one reason is the bill is stuffed with pork and short of real stimulus. Its authors don't want the details out. They shouldn't be surprised, then, when voters bridle at what they've been saddled with." --Investor's Business Daily

DEZINFORMATSIA

Color us not so impressed: "In my opinion, you have to say that Obama is a winner this week because he got through an, a, a huge, complicated, almost $800 billion spending rescue bill in record time. I mean, this doesn't happen in Washington. And, and you know, sure, the beginning of an administration is the time when you really want to spend some political capital and, and, and, and those chips, but wow." --Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson

Leftist grocery list: "Obama achieved more of his aims in this single legislation than many presidents will achieve in an entire term. I mean there's more new net public investment here on things the Democrats consider essential for long-term growth like education, scientific research, alternative energy, than Bill Clinton was able to achieve in two terms." --Atlantic Media's Ronald Brownstein

Using the "n" word: "A lot of economists now saying that what is really -- could be needed is bite-the-bullet nationalization." --ABC's George Stephanopoulos ++ "There are a lot of economists who look at these banks and they say all that garbage that's in them renders them essentially insolvent. Why not just nationalize the banks?" --ABC's Terry Moran to Obama

When conservatism is criminal: "I just think that when you're in a situation like this, to do nothing is so irresponsible that you can't -- you can't get away with it." --ABC's Cokie Roberts

Life's just like the movies: "So the big rolling stone following Indiana Jones is coming down. And somebody says 'let's go to the left and escape it.' And someone says, 'that's the wrong direction, let's go to the right.' Do you just sit there? No, you go to the left if that's what the majority wants to do." --ABC's Sam Donaldson

Oscar nomination for Best Fairy Tale: "You know, I think if you go back to the 1990s, what you saw is essentially a partnership between the Republican Party, the right wing, and establishment media venues. And this partnership was formed when they were essentially engaged in their lynch mob over the Lewinsky affair. And that partnership, those methods that were so successful then, translated into the media being blindly supportive and reverent of the Bush administration." --Salon's Glenn Greenwald

Newspulper Headlines:

The End of History: Part II: "Lawmakers Say All Issues Settled in Stimulus Bill" --Associated Press

Wow, He's an Artist Too!: "Obama Paints Picture of GOP Adversaries" --Los Angeles Times

The Address Is IRS.gov: "Web Site Created to Accept Donations for Octuplets' Mom" --FoxNews.com

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: "Warbling Opera Singer Mistaken for Assault Victim" --Local (Sweden)

News You Can Use: "Why You Don't Want to Die on a Sunday in Detroit" --The Wall Street Journal

Bottom Stories of the Day: "2010 Olympics Just a Year Away" --Toronto Star

(Thanks to The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto)

THE DEMO-GOGUES

What happened to saving the world?: "I don't want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic problems. Nor does it constitute all of what we have to do to turn our economy around. But today does mark the beginning of the end." --President Barack Obama on signing the stimulus bill into law

Prepare for "Stimulus, the Sequel": "I don't think $50 billion will be enough, but in fairness, we won't know that for a while. But we can't kick people out of their houses. If $50 billion's not enough, we're coming back for more." --Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) on bailing out homeowners

Just blame Bush: "We reject the failed Bush administration economic policies which got us where we are today. The proposals that the Republicans put forth were more of the same. We will not go back." --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Unfortunately, he's got a point: "When it comes to how we approach the issue of fiscal responsibility, it's a little hard for me to take criticism from folks about this recovery package after they've presided over a doubling of the national debt. I'm not sure they have a lot of credibility when it comes to fiscal responsibility." --Barack Obama

The "n" word, Part II: "This idea of nationalizing banks is not comfortable, but I think we have gotten so many toxic assets spread throughout the banking and financial community throughout the world that we're going to have to do something that no one ever envisioned a year ago, no one likes -- but, to me, banking and housing are the root cause of this problem. And I'm very much afraid that any program to salvage the bank is going to require the government... I would not take off the table the idea of nationalizing the banks." --Sen. Lindsey Graham (RINO-SC)

VILLAGE IDIOTS

Featuring Bill Clinton

What an ego: "Hell, no.... My question to them is do any of them seriously believe that if I had been president and my economic team has been in place the last eight years that this would be happening today? And I think they know the answer to that's no." --Bill Clinton responding to NBC's Ann Curry, who asked, "This week you've been reading this article in Time magazine, lists you as number 13 on the list of who is to blame for our current economic crisis. Should you be 13 on that list?"

On free speech: "We either ought to have the re-imposition of the Fairness Doctrine or more balance on the other side." --Bill Clinton

On threats to the nation: "In the short run the economic crisis is the greatest threat. In the medium-term, because I think we'll come out of the economic crisis, terror and the spread of weapons of mass destruction are. In the long term, the prospect that the climate will crater and we won't be able to preserve civilization." --Bill Clinton

Legacy building: "I think that a lot of the things that I recommended in terms of the health care reform will come to fruition now that we have a more modern Democratic Congress ... and the Obama administration there. I'll be surprised if they don't get health care reform and some of the other things I recommended. I'm excited about it." --Bill Clinton

Bridge to where?: "This package that Obama's going to sign is our bridge over troubled waters." --Bill Clinton

SHORT CUTS

"Today it's even less clear what, if anything, Obama believes -- and, even more critically, whether he has the wit or authority to impose those beliefs on a Congress whose operating procedure for the new era seems to be business as usual with three extra zeroes on the end." --columnist Mark Steyn

"Never have so few spent so much so quickly to do so little." --Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole

"Only in Washington can adding $20 billion to an $817 billion House bill earn you praise as a deficit hawk." --The Wall Street Journal

"If the stimulus plan were a Thanksgiving dinner entree, it would be a Turbaconducken -- the heart attack-inducing dish of roasted chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey, all wrapped in endless slabs of bacon." --columnist Michelle Malkin

"Hearing Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and looking at the reaction of the financial markets brings a whole new meaning to the term weapons of mass destruction." --The Heritage Foundation's James Carafano

"Senate Democrats refused to co-sponsor a bill protecting free speech on radio last week. They want the Fairness Doctrine back. Liberals are convinced their economic program will work if they can just get Rush Limbaugh to stop pointing out why it won't." --comedian Argus Hamilton

Jay Leno:

In Denver, President Obama signed the stimulus package into law. Anyone feel stimulated?

Fewer people are getting plastic surgery, the industry reports. How ironic. The one time you need a smile on your face and you can't even afford to get it.

Things are so bad, three stockbrokers tried to kill themselves by eating peanuts.

Airlines are now charging extra if you want peanuts without salmonella.

Well, just a few days after being nominated, New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg has withdrawn as the nominee for Commerce Secretary. In a statement explaining why he turned it down, he cited 'irresolvable conflict.' So, apparently, he must have paid his taxes.

After withdrawing his name for commerce secretary ... Gregg said he hoped he was just embarrassing himself and not President Obama, to which Joe Biden said, "Don't worry about it. I do it all the time."

Prosecutors have asked a Federal judge to send Marion Barry, the former mayor of Washington, DC, to jail for failing to file tax returns for the eighth time in nine years. ... So for Barry, it's either jail or a cabinet position in the Obama administration. Either one.

*****

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.)