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THE FOUNDATION

"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it." --Thomas Jefferson

Sen. Dodd - No. 1 beneficiary of AIG

THE DEMO-GOGUES

From the AIG regulating stooges: "One way or another, we're going to try to figure out how to get these resources back." --Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who only a month ago made sure that these particular bonuses were exempt from regulation in the stimulus bill; Dodd is also the recipient of the most campaign cash from AIG ($103,000 in 2008 ) ++ "If you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you." --Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Congress' possible plan to take back AIG bonuses with a tax ++ "Maybe it's time to fire some people." --Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) on AIG, though we could have sworn he was talking about Congress

Non Compos Mentis: "The first thing that would make me feel a little bit better towards them if they'd follow the Japanese model and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things -- resign, or go commit suicide." --Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who later sort of apologized

His philosophy in a nutshell: "There are certain things only a government can do." --Barack Obama

Vintage Joe: "This is not about ideology. This is about economic necessity. ... I know some of you are holding your breath with what we're doing. This is about the change we meant. We meant fundamental, foundational change. ... Folks, this is the real deal -- this ain't politics. This is life and death for a lot of people. ... Our friends on the right say we can't afford this budget. Well I say without equivocation -- I speak for Barack Obama when I say, we can't afford not to have this budget." --Vice President Joe Biden

Reason to panic: "I think that not just the Chinese government, but every investor, can have absolute confidence in the soundness of investments in the United States." --Barack Obama

Global warmism: "Climate change is not governed by a recession, it's governed by scientific facts about what's happening to earth. And you either accept the realities of the science or you don't. You don't enter a mutual suicide pact because the economy is having a hard time right now. You certainly have room to negotiate at what the rate and schedule is within that, but it doesn't mean you can sit around and do nothing." --Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) on a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

"President Obama joined Monday in the clamor of outrage at AIG for paying some $165 million in contractually obligated employee bonuses. He and the rest of the political class thus neatly deflected attention from the larger outrage, which is the five-month Beltway cover-up over who benefited most from the AIG bailout. Taxpayers have already put up $173 billion, or more than a thousand times the amount of those bonuses, to fund the government's AIG 'rescue.' This federal takeover, never approved by AIG shareholders, uses the firm as a conduit to bail out other institutions. After months of government stonewalling, on Sunday night AIG officially acknowledged where most of the taxpayer funds have been going. Since September 16, AIG has sent $120 billion in cash, collateral and other payouts to banks, municipal governments and other derivative counterparties around the world. This includes at least $20 billion to European banks. The list also includes American charity cases like Goldman Sachs, which received at least $13 billion. This comes after months of claims by Goldman that all of its AIG bets were adequately hedged and that it needed no 'bailout.' Why take $13 billion then? This needless cover-up is one reason Americans are getting angrier as they wonder if Washington is lying to them about these bailouts." --The Wall Street Journal

INSIGHT

"In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other." --French writer Voltaire (1694-1778 )

"Forced to choose, the poor, like the rich, love money more than political liberty; and the only political freedom capable of enduring is one that is so pruned as to keep the rich from denuding the poor by ability or subtlety and the poor from robbing the rich by violence or votes." --American psychologist and philosopher Will Durant (1885-1981)

"By virtue of exchange, one man's prosperity is beneficial to all others." --French economist, statesman and author Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850)

"Did you ever know a politician that was not 'facing the most critical time in the world's affairs' every time he spoke in public?" --humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)

UPRIGHT

"If Washington's newfound opponents of rewarding failure want to do taxpayers a favor, how about giving back their automatic pay raises? How about returning all their AIG donations? How about taking back all the bailout money to all the failed enterprises, from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to AIG, the automakers and the big banks? Barry? Harry? Nancy? John? Chris? Bueller? Bueller?" --columnist Michelle Malkin

"The president's confidence in his capacities is undermining confidence in his judgment. His way of correcting what he called the Bush administration's 'misplaced priorities' has been to have no priorities. Mature political leaders know that to govern is to choose -- to choose what to do and thereby to choose what cannot be done. The administration insists that it really does have a single priority: Everything depends on fixing the economy. But it also says that everything depends on everything: Economic revival requires enactment of the entire liberal wish list of recent decades." --columnist George Will

"Going for the grandest illusion of all, Obama ... told the New York Times: 'We've actually been operating in a way that has been entirely consistent with free-market principles.' Excuse me while I pick my jaw off the ground. Everyone knows -- or should know -- that putting more and more of the government in charge of more and more of the economy is entirely inconsistent with free-market principles. This means that the president's statement to the contrary is what is known as a big lie." --columnist Diana West

"Mr. Obama made clear in the campaign his intention to raise taxes on this income class the top one percent by letting the Bush tax cuts expire. What is becoming clearer as his presidency unfolds is that something deeper is underway here than merely using higher taxes to fund his policy goals in health, education and energy. ... The rancorous language used to describe these taxpayers makes it clear that as a matter of public policy they will be made to 'pay for' the fact of their wealth -- no matter how many of them worked honestly and honorably to produce it." --columnist Daniel Henninger

"Liberals have no intention of actually parting with any of their own wealth or lifting a finger to help the poor. That's for other people to do with what's left of their incomes after the government has taken its increasingly large cut." --columnist Ann Coulter

DEZINFORMATSIA

Hoping for a dictator: "Everybody's looking to take Barack Obama's measure, and he's got to not only be a popular president, but a powerful one and make his will fact in Washington. He really hasn't done that in the details yet." --Newsweek's Howard Fineman

Truth in labeling?: "Liberals still have plenty of work to do, and if they want to be a governing majority for the foreseeable future, relabeling themselves as progressives is part of the task." --Newsweek's Eleanor Clift **How about calling them what they really are? Socialists.

It's tough being a socialist: "They the Obama administration feel caught in a bind. When they respond to this populist anger, they feel they get a very negative reaction from the business community and the stock market. When they try to appease the business community and the stock market, the public rises up. It's a tough dilemma." --ABC's George Stephanopoulos

Change in propaganda: "Optimism offensive. ... The Obama administration has switched its tone and is now saying the economy is on the road to recovery." --CBS's Julie Chen

Nonsense: "President Obama won the presidency promising change. There was more evidence of that in Washington today. His wife, now First Lady, Michelle Obama, and his former rival, now Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, a former First Lady herself, joining arms, joining forces. A study in style, substance and power, really." --NBC's Brian Williams **How is this change? Bush also had a female wife and a female secretary of state.

Newspulper Headlines:

'How He Got in My Underwear, I'll Never Know': "Man Wrestles 'Lunatic Ninja' Kangaroo in His Underwear" --3news.co.nz

We Blame Global Warming: "Hot Air Linked to Headaches, but How?" --CNN.com

In Case Hell Freezes Over: "Satan, Penguins Working on New Deal" --Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Life Imitates the Onion: "Annoying Stickler Insists on Every Detail of Space Mission Being Exactly Right" --Onion, 6 February ++ "Gas Leak Postpones Space Shuttle Discovery Launch" --Associated Press, 11 March

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: "France Set to Raise Drinking Age" --The Wall Street Journal

Bottom Stories of the Day: "Maldives President Vows Carbon Neutral Nation" --Associated Press

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

VILLAGE IDIOTS

Doesn't get science: "If it's obvious that we're not taking embryos that can -- that under any conceivable scenario would be used for a process that would allow them to be fertilized and become little babies, and I think if it's obvious that we're not talking about some science fiction cloning of human beings, then I think the American people will support this." --Bill Clinton, completely missing the fact that an embryo is a fertilized egg and a baby

Thou shalt not criticize Obama: "I guess Rush Limbaugh was busy so they trotted out the next most popular member of the Republican cabal. ... The president has made quite clear that keeping the American people safe and secure is the most serious job that he has each and every day." --White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Dick Cheney's remarks that Obama's decision to revamp policies on terrorism suspects would make the United States more vulnerable to attack

What's in a name?: "By withdrawing the term 'enemy combatants,' the Obama administration took a further step forward in clarifying its position on Guantanamo detainees. As the government continues to develop a comprehensive detention policy, Amnesty International calls on President Obama to bring those policies fully in line with U.S. obligations under domestic and international laws. Amnesty International views with great concern that the power to hold people indefinitely without charge remains substantially intact. Amnesty International believes that the criminal justice system represents the best mechanism to handle these cases." --Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA Executive Director

SHORT CUTS

"Growth supposedly will cut the deficit in half -- growth and the $1.6 trillion 'saved' by first assuming, and then 'canceling,' a 10-year continuation of the surge in Iraq. Why, one wonders, not 'save' $5 trillion by proposing to spend that amount to cover the moon with yogurt, and then canceling the proposal?" --columnist George Will

"President Obama signed a budget bill with nearly nine thousand congressional earmarks despite his campaign pledge to end earmarks. He said these are the last earmarks he will sign. Cigarette smokers always say this is going to be the last one." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"So much for hope and change. And if this is audacity, what would be just plain old habit?" --columnist Paul Greenberg

"Here's a good idea: Instead of continuing to pick the pockets of American taxpayers, how about extending the tax cuts which are due to expire next year? Call it a Taxpayer Retention Bonus." --political analyst Rich Galen

Jay Leno:

The U.S. Justice department said they will no longer use the term "enemy combatant" when talking about detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The new name will be "guys who make you nervous when they're on your flight."

The insurance company AIG has done it again. They announced they're giving their executives another $165 million in bonuses. So they bankrupt the company, took $170 billion of our dollars, and they're giving out bonuses. You know the main thing they want to reward their people for? Convincing the Treasury Department to give out $170 billion to a failing company.

Now it turns out they gave $35 billion -- not million -- $35 billion of our money to bail out European banks. See, this is how a global economy works. Our hard earned tax dollars are used to bail out German banks for making bad investments in American companies that shut down because their Japanese owners moved the whole thing to India, China and Mexico. You follow?

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was called before Congress again. Geithner defended himself against criticism, saying he inherited this crisis. In fact, he said when the economy started this downturn he was busy in the private sector cheating on his taxes.

Because of the bad economy, they're laying off employees on "Sesame Street." It's pretty sad. Elmo is now out on the street letting people tickle him for $5.

*****

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.)