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THE FOUNDATION

"The nation which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest." --George Washington

POLITICAL FUTURES

Voting "irregularities" plague Iran

"The [Iranian] election allowed the political space and provided the spark for the eruption of anti-regime fervor that has been simmering for years and awaiting its moment. But people aren't dying in the street because they want a recount of hanging chads in suburban Isfahan. They want to bring down the tyrannical, misogynist, corrupt theocracy that has imposed itself with the very baton-wielding goons that today attack the demonstrators. ... What's at stake now is the very legitimacy of this regime -- and the future of the entire Middle East. This revolution will end either as a Tiananmen (a hot Tiananmen with massive and bloody repression or a cold Tiananmen with a finer mix of brutality and co-optation) or as a true revolution that brings down the Islamic Republic. The latter is improbable but, for the first time in 30 years, not impossible. Imagine the repercussions. ... The entire trajectory of the region is reversed. All hangs in the balance. The Khamenei regime is deciding whether to do a Tiananmen. And what side is the Obama administration taking? None." --columnist Charles Krauthammer

LIBERTY

"If Iranian voters had thrown Mahmoud Ahmadinejad into the street, the American president would have assumed that he was the One who did it, and the American press would have led the hosannas for the messiah from the south side of Chicago. Just a few more speeches, a few more respectful bows toward Mecca, and all the rough places would be made smooth and plain. But now even Mr. Obama must wake up and smell the tear gas. The prospect that a victory by the Iranian moderates would cure what's wrong in the Middle East was a hookah dream from the start, a tale of the Arabian night indulged by those unable to bear the sight, sound and responsibility posed by reality. Iran is not ruled by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but by the head ayatollah, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and his pigsty of brutal mullahs. ... The election results, together with the high probability that the result was tinkered with if not rigged, and the cops and troops controlling the streets with clubs and tear gas suggest that, surprise, surprise, Mr. Ahmadinejad is getting away with it. From the capitals of the West, there was mostly spluttering and whining. The French foreign minister said the treatment of the demonstrators was 'somewhat brutal,' the operative word apparently the 'somewhat,' and the German government said the Tehran reaction was 'unacceptable,' which is diplo-speak for, 'is there any more tea?' There was all but silence from the White House, where Mr. Obama said he was pleased with the 'robust debate' in Iran, proving only that he's easily pleased and eager to get back to what he does best, wrapping appeasement of the enemy in the sticky warmth of mere words." --Washington Times editor emeritus Wesley Pruden

FOR THE RECORD

"First they said health care legislation would cost $1 trillion. Then they upped it to $1.6-trillion. It might as well be a made-up number like 'gazillion.' No one really comprehends the sheer tonnage of the dollars being spent. Washington's spending spree seems to be lulling everyone into a total daze. ... Focusing for the moment just on the cost, how can we afford this? The price tag for last fall's bailouts approached a trillion dollars. So did this spring's stimulus spending. And if you count the interest on the borrowed money, both initiatives will surpass that benchmark. Now here comes health care to complete the trifecta. ... Eyes glaze over at such numbers because nobody really understands what a trillion is. It's often said that people ignore what they don't understand. But we must not ignore something so gargantuan. ... Traveling at the speed of light it takes two months to cover a trillion miles. But of course you can't do that unless you're an actor in a science fiction movie. However, if you took a trillion one-dollar bills and laid them end-to-end, they would reach from the Earth to the sun. You can't do that either, because there's not that much money; the total of all the cash in America is less than $900-billion. ... What will it cost to pay back the borrowed money? Truth-in-Lending laws require that borrowers must be told the total they must repay, including interest, on a home mortgage or other major loan. Politicians exempt themselves from this requirement. But the interest alone on a trillion dollars, at a common rate such as 6%, requires paying $166 million in interest -- each and every day, perhaps in perpetuity. The scariest thing about spending new trillions is that it's no longer just a possibility. It's happened in the last year and is happening again right now. And who will be asked to pay it back? Our children and grandchildren. ... The best approach to counting to a trillion is not to try. And not to spend it either." --former congressman Ernest Istook

GOVERNMENT

"The Obama administration reportedly is considering whether to broaden an experimental 'shrink to survive' program in Flint, Mich., -- one of the nation's poorest cities. The proposal is to raze districts within some cities and towns while bulldozing others in their entirety. Land would be returned to its pre-construction state. Local politicians in Flint think the city must contract by as much as 40 percent. They want to focus on the population that remains and cut services to save money. ... This idea ought to have appeal across the political spectrum. Dividing up failing cities and towns into smaller entities and creating grasslands in between them also might reduce crime and urban sprawl while lessening pollution and gridlock. Downsizing cities and towns also could serve as a model for government. Smaller government would possibly mean less waste, fraud and abuse and more power for taxpayers. If the federal government wishes to proceed with this proposal, it could greatly enhance its credibility by starting with itself. How about shrinking the size, cost and reach of the federal government because many of its components are out of date and in need of 'bulldozing'? ... The shrinking of American cities and towns that are not as vibrant as they once were is potentially a good idea. So is shrinking the size and cost of the federal government. If the bulldozing of outdated and unnecessary federal spending could be linked to the reduction of failing cities and towns, it would be a win-win for distressed taxpayers." --columnist Cal Thomas

THE GIPPER

"Remember that every government service, every offer of government-financed security, is paid for in the loss of personal freedom. ... In the days to come, whenever a voice is raised telling you to let the government do it, analyze very carefully to see whether the suggested service is worth the personal freedom which you must forgo in return for such service." --Ronald Reagan

OPINION IN BRIEF

"In reading more of [President Obama's] comments, I've noticed a tendency that now almost qualifies as a reflex: the more strongly the president denies something -- and especially, the more he mocks his critics and feigns amusement at what they say -- the greater the odds are that he will do what he denies. In an interview [last week], the president said, 'I think the irony ... is that I actually would like to see a relatively light touch when it comes to the government.' Of course; examples of his 'light touch' abound during the first five months of his presidency. ... Obama is not only doing something different than what he said, he's doing very nearly the opposite of what he says. Obama's 'light touch' is turning out to be as intrusive a set of actions by the federal government as we have seen. He is 'growing government' in record-shattering ways. Facing a staggering deficit and debt, Obama has decided to hit the accelerator rather than pump the brakes when it comes to federal spending. Facing a deficit and debt he calls unsustainable, Obama is adding trillions to them. He actually is running GM. He really is trying to engineer a government takeover of health care. His health-care plan may be the single worst thing he could do for America's long-term fiscal health. ... Let's stipulate that most politicians use words in an elastic and imprecise manner, that often their account muddles rather than clarifies things, and that what they say doesn't always correspond to what is. Even with all of that, President Obama seems to be carving out some fairly exclusive rhetorical real estate for himself. No one doubts Obama speaks exceedingly well; he uses soothing words that come across as reassuring and reasonable. The problem comes when you examine what he says versus what he does. And by that standard, Mr. Obama is turning out to be almost promiscuously misleading." --columnist Peter Wehner

RE: THE LEFT

"The President's admirers, especially in the media, consider him some speechmaker. He is reasonably good, by post-Reagan standards. If only his speeches had content as well as cadence! The content-less speech, which you can't remember when it's over except that it sure sounded good, is the Barack Obama specialty. Audiences eat it up with spoons. He promises change, promises unity, promises transformation. It sounds so good you want to march. March where? That's the eternal question with Obama. You won't find him, I venture, trying to shoot down in public the Congressional Budget Office's arithmetic -- first, because he knows we know it's no GOP hatchet job; second, because meeting telling objection with telling reply isn't his stock in trade. He inspires. He rouses. He sends you airborne -- without telling you what it's going to cost when you come down. That's the detail stuff -- cost. Obama seems to have decided we don't care about details; we trust him to do the backstage work that makes everything come out right." --columnist Bill Murchison

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

(To submit reader comments visit our Letters to the Editor page.)

"Health care reform will be the defining issue of our time. Nothing more clearly defines the difference between conservatism and liberalism (statism). Who ultimately defines our rights; who is best able (and ought) to provide for our needs? Is it the individual or is it the government? Nothing is more basic to our freedoms than the control over health care decisions -- from the moment of conception to our lifestyle choices to our final breath. For if the government controls our health care decisions, it controls us. The outcome of this debate will set the course for the future of our country. Thank you Patriot Post for spreading the truth." --Ada, Michigan

"I've been hearing how ABC News will be asking the commander in thief tough questions when they visit the White House. Reminder to ABC: Asking what his favorite color is, or whether he would prefer a hamburger over a hot dog or his shoe size will not count as tough questions. Instead, ask him who will pay for his spending or how much our taxes might go up to cover the debt." --Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

"Whoa! Your Chronicle picture of a long line of people waiting to see the doctor is no joke here in Australia -- land of 'free' socialized health care for the masses. We must wait for FOUR YEARS to simply have a dental checkup when we have a toothache. And then, when the result of that checkup arrives -- in, oh, about six months or so -- and you are found to be in urgent need of additional treatment, there's good news. The wait will 'only' be another three years." --Brisbane, Australia

"One point never seems to come up in the never-ending saga of error-laden statistics about guns being smuggled from the U.S. into Mexico for the benefit of the drug cartels and how we need to 'do something' about it. When people are smuggled across our border, into our country, and we ask Mexico, as the nation on the other side of the border, to help us, we are rebuffed. Now, when guns are purportedly being smuggled across their border, and Mexico asks for help from us, we are supposed to change our laws, abrogate our Constitution and generally jump through hoops for them. What's fair about this?" --Vail, Arizona

"I would just like to say I appreciate all of the information/references that you publish, seemingly every week, about Ronald Reagan. I was born in 1985 and did not really have the pleasure of understanding what was going on with our country at the time he held office due to my infancy. However, throughout the last month/few months that I've been subscribed to The Patriot, I have really learned a lot about Reagan. He was an extremely intelligent, conservative and great leader from what I have gathered to this point. Hard to believe he came out of Hollywood! Anyways, you guys at The Patriot are awesome. I look forward to my e-mails everyday because it is hard to find a source of news that isn't false or just part of the truth. Keep up the good work." --Fort Wayne, Indiana

THE LAST WORD

"Are you confused by all that has changed since Pres. Barack Obama took office in January? If so, you're not alone. Perhaps, though, this handy guide to Age of Obama 'logic' might be of some assistance. ... Wanting to cut $17 billion from the budget, as President Obama has promised, is proof of financial responsibility. Borrowing $1.84 trillion this year for new programs is 'stimulus.' The old phrase 'out-of-control spending' is inoperative. ... The number of jobs theoretically saved, or created, by new government policies -- not the actual percentage of Americans out of work, or the total number of jobs lost -- is now the far better indicator of unemployment. ... Nationalizing much of the auto and financial industries, while regulating executive compensation, is an indication of our new government's repeatedly stated reluctance to interfere in the private sector. ... The media are disinterested and professional observers of the present administration. When television anchormen and senior magazine editors bow to the president, proclaim him a god, or feel tingling in the legs when he speaks, it is quite normal. ... Once we remember and accept the logic of the above, then almost everything about this Age of Obama begins to make perfect sense." --Hoover Institution historian Victor Davis Hanson

*****

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.)