Patriot Post Digest 08-09

[nChrist]

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Patriot Post Digest 08-09

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THE FOUNDATION

“When all government... in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another.”  —  Thomas Jefferson

PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE
What dogs hear

By Mark Alexander

Who’d have thunk it? Since Super Tuesday, Barack Obama has not only won ten straight nominating contests against Hillary Clinton; he has absolutely crushed her in all of them. His average margin of victory in eight of those states was 32 percent, and his narrowest margin was 17 percent in Wisconsin.

It took Democrats 16 years to figure out the Clintons are a fraud, but Obama has been on the national scene for only 16 months.

Listening to the Demo “debate” in Texas last week, I marveled at how so much could be said without saying anything. I read the transcript twice, looking for substance, but to no avail. I read the transcript from this week’s final debate in Ohio, and still nothing.

Just what is it that Democrats are hearing that has them swooning over Obama?

Pondering this, I recalled an old “Far Side” cartoon by Gary Larson about what dogs hear. The first panel shows a man lecturing his dog: “I’ve told you before, Ginger, stay out of the trash! Do you hear me, Ginger?” The second panel notes, “What dogs hear: ‘Blah blah blah, Ginger. Blah blah blah blah, Ginger?”’

Realizing, then, that most Democrats are from the Far Left Side, I took the combined transcripts of those debates, all 29,607 words, and I transcribed what Demos hear when Obama speaks.

Hold on to your seats!

On the Bush administration: Blah blah, the Bush administration has done so much damage... not real good at listening... poor planning of the current commander-in-chief... politics that is dominated by the powerful... give in to George Bush... blah blah blah blah.

On change: Blah blah, unified to bring about change... working coalition for change... bring this country together... America be as good as its promise... agenda for moving change forward... comprehensive reform... we’ve got to fix that... how change comes about... bring people together... mobilize and inspire... change is going to happen... I intend to change when I am president... debate that I’m happy to have... blah blah blah blah.

On society: Blah blah, racial divisions and religious divisions... they’ve been shut out... a sense of common purpose again and higher purpose... more competitive and more safe... on behalf of families having a tough time... delivering for the American people... debate that I’m happy to have... blah blah blah blah.

On Operation Iraqi Freedom: Blah blah, end to this war in Iraq... a tactical victory imposed upon a huge strategic blunder... most vocal opponents of the war... bogged down in a war... a big strategic blunder... terrible judgment... debate that I’m happy to have... blah blah blah blah.

On healthcare: Blah blah, I believe in universal healthcare... provide healthcare... universal healthcare... mother desperate to get healthcare for her child... anybody who wants healthcare... affordable for everybody... debate that I’m happy to have... blah blah blah blah.

On the economy: Blah blah, economy is in shambles... heartbreaking story after heartbreaking story... entire cities that have been devastated... families suffering... working harder for less... without a job, without healthcare, without a pension... homes about to be foreclosed upon... dipping into retirement accounts... restore a sense of fairness... everybody to prosper... put people back to work... good jobs and good wages... creating a green economy... creating green jobs... generate billions of dollars for solar and wind energy... prosper as we move forward... debate that I’m happy to have... blah blah blah blah.
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[nChrist]

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Patriot Post Digest 08-09

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On taxes: Blah blah, end the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy... stop giving tax breaks... change our tax code... provided tax breaks to people who really needed them as opposed to just the wealthy... blah blah blah blah.

On the Obama campaign: Blah blah, 90 percent of our donations from small donors... not yet the nominee... when I am the nominee... I am the nominee... blah blah blah blah.

On the Obama administration: Blah blah, as President of the United States... prepared to be Commander in Chief... leadership that I’ll show in the future... a top priority... my judgment has been sound... as Commander in Chief... do things differently... create transparency in our government... reduce the special interests... have great plans... a government that is more responsive... the leadership that I want to show when I’m president... as President of the United States... a system that works for everybody... go after the special interests... the judgment to lead... government that is listening... keep the American people safe... that will end when I am president... sounds good... I am happy to have a discussion... blah blah blah blah.

So, did you hear it? Did you feel it? Ginger? Ginger?

Going into next Tuesday’s primaries in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont, Obama leads with 1,365 delegates to Clinton’s 1,268. One of them must obtain 2,025 delegates to win the primary, and Obama is well on his way to claiming that victory.

If Obama scores decisive wins in Texas and Ohio, and Clinton bow-wows out, don’t count her out. While conventional wisdom dictates that an Obama/Clinton combo could potentially saddle the ticket with the weight of their collective negatives, Democrats have become chronically undiscerning and the old rules don’t apply.

An Obama/Clinton ticket will unite Democrats with their core mantra: “Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country can do for you.”

Quote of the week

“[Barack Obama’s] got probably the greatest support in the national press I’ve seen since John McCain [in 2000]. And that’s one of the things he’s had going for him. But as I said, there are going to be more and more questions... [D]oes he have enough experience? This is something Democratic Party polls were still showing ten days ago: The majority of Dems say he needs several more years of experience. That’s why I was saying Hillary has done such a poor job of [raising the inexperience issue] because she’s made it an attack issue rather than an issue for people to consider.”  —  Democrat pollster Patrick Caddell

On cross-examination

“What’s remarkable about watching the rise of Barack Obama is its similarities to the ascent of another seemingly bulletproof Democratic politician: Bill Clinton. Like Clinton in ‘92, Obama gets every benefit of the doubt from the media and from the voters. He’s been allowed to make mistakes and apologize for them; just like Clinton ‘92. It’s particularly frustrating for the Clinton campaign because, literally, what’s gone around has come around. Now, Mrs. Clinton isn’t allowed to make a mistake without being called on the carpet. It’s a far cry from the treatment Bill Clinton received in ‘92.”  —  Chuck Todd, Political Director, NBC News

This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award

“This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better. This young man is capturing audiences of black and brown and red and yellow. If you look at Barack Obama’s audiences and look at the effect of his words, those people are being transformed. A black man with a white mother became a savior to us. A black man with a white mother could turn out to be one who can lift America from her fall.”  —  Nation of Islam Grand Wizard Louis Farrakhan, sounding Barack Obama’s praises

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
News from the Swamp: Earmark website fight

Two weeks ago, we reported that House Republicans, under the leadership of Ohio’s John Boehner, were establishing a website dedicated to exposing congressional-earmark abuse. Since then, the site (EarmarkReform.House.gov) has attracted thousands of visitors. Congressional Democrats are less than amused.

Last week, the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), which supports congressional offices on a supposedly non-partisan basis, sent a letter indicating that the site URL was not compliant with House rules requiring that official site addresses be recognizably associable with the sponsoring member. (Note: This is the same office that granted Rep. Boehner permission to use the URL in the first place.)
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[nChrist]

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Patriot Post Digest 08-09

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Coincidentally, the current Chief Administrative Officer, Daniel Beard, who was appointed to the office by the Democrat majority, is a former staff member of Rep. George Miller (D-CA), a close colleague of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. More to the point, Rep. Pelosi’s own pet site, GlobalWarming.House.gov, somehow meets the “recognizable by association” criterion. Not about to take this lying down, Rep. Boehner has refused to take the site down until the CAO explains his selective targeting. In the CAO’s defense, however, perhaps hot air on global warming does naturally point to congressional Democrats.

In the Senate: Obama’s global-poverty bill

Two senators have put an anonymous hold on a bill proposed by magical orator Barack Obama that would substantially increase the U.S. commitment to the United Nations’ Millennium Development initiative. This initiative, if you recall, was for the world’s richest nations to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015, presumably through handouts, which is what the UN does best —  aside from embezzlement, anyway. These unaccountable cash grants, which have flowed to the poorest nations in the Southern Hemisphere for 50 years, have done nothing to transform the impoverished. Economists have known for a long time that only the creation of free-market economies and careful investments have any real lasting benefit to the world’s poor.

Obama rejects these facts and wants to boldly move forward with his bill, which pledges 0.7 percent of U.S. GDP to the UN program. That would amount to $845 billion that American taxpayers would fork over between 2009 and 2015. The U.S. already gives the program $15 billion a year, and that’s on top of the aid we directly provide to nations around the world. America is far and away the world’s largest provider of non-refundable foreign aid. Indeed, we give too much already and we don’t need a corrupt world body that refuses to account for its spending publicly to provide that aid on our behalf.

In the House: Rick Renzi under indictment

Arizona GOP Congressman Rick Renzi became the subject of a 35-count indictment this week for, among other things, embezzlement and using his position in public office for personal gain. The embezzlement charge stems from accusations that Renzi illegally funneled $400,000 from his insurance company to bankroll his first campaign for Congress in 2002. The allegations of improper use of public office are a bit murkier, however. They involve a pair of quid-pro-quo land deals in which Renzi allegedly attempted to get two separate companies to purchase land that would then be given to the federal government in exchange for property in Arizona that could be mined for copper. The deal would have gone through Renzi’s business colleague James Sandlin, who owed Renzi $700,000. However, while one company in fact purchased the land, there are no clear ties to Renzi’s legislative proposals to make the land swap illegal. He has vowed to fight the charges, and he has already announced he is not seeking re-election, but Minority Leader John Boehner has asked him to resign.

New & notable legislation

The House is considering another ill-conceived scheme of income redistribution to “help” the economy. H.R. 3521, the “Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act of 2007,” calls for $15 billion for purchasing up to one million mortgages over five years. That must be in Article 17, Section 85 of the Constitution. Possibly aware that there is no Article 17, Senate Republicans yesterday blocked a similar bill in the Upper Chamber. Well, actually, no one mentioned the Constitution in the debate —  it was only politics as usual.

The House also passed the “Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008” (H.R. 5351) 236-182 on Wednesday to raise taxes on “Big Oil” by $18 billion. Known to Democrats as “rolling back the tax cuts,” this tax hike will, of course, hurt only those wealthy Americans who drive gasoline-powered automobiles. Supposedly, the money will be used to boost incentives for alternative energy. President George W. Bush has threatened to veto the bill.

Campaign watch: McCain’s money troubles

In a stroke of near biblical irony, John McCain is in trouble over campaign financing again. When he was broke, and his campaign hit the skids last year, he opted for public financing as collateral for a $4-million loan. Of course, since then, his fortunes have improved dramatically, and he recently told the Federal Election Commission that he wants to opt out of public financing. By doing so, he would not be hamstrung by its $54-million spending cap in the primaries. Normally, McCain’s evading rules that he has spent half of his career to get adopted would not be a problem, since he never actually received or spent any of the public funds. However, the FEC has to rule on the issue, but it cannot do so because the board lacks a quorum. There are four vacant seats on the Board due to the Senate’s years-long foot-dragging on giving President Bush’s nominations an up or down vote. Since it’s now up to Democrats to approve President Bush’s nominees, the FEC will likely not decide this issue this year.
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[nChrist]

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Patriot Post Digest 08-09

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To make matters more difficult for McCain, the Democratic National Committee has filed a suit against him to force him to stick to the spending cap. If this cap holds, it could spell big trouble for McCain, because he has already spent close to $50 million. Essentially, he would be able to spend only $4 million between now and the start of the general election. Just how the Republican nominee for president will get out of this fix remains to be seen, but he never would have gotten into it in the first place were it not for a certain onerous piece of First Amendment-abridging legislation.

Meanwhile, The New York Times’ latest hit piece on the Republican nominee was headlined, “McCain’s Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules Him Out.” The trouble is, the story is full of quotes from experts who find nothing wrong with McCain’s birthplace. The Times couldn’t find a single person who thought it might be a problem —  besides their own editors, that is.

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From the Left: Of local garb and stabbing

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama may fawn over each other when they share a debate stage, but the fighting gets fierce when they are separated by a few states. A two-year-old photo of Obama in local Somali dress while he was visiting his father’s homeland of Kenya mysteriously popped up on the Internet this week, and it had the Clinton campaign’s fingerprints all over it. It is customary for representatives of the U.S. to dress in local garb when traveling abroad. President Bush has done it, Bill Clinton has and so has Hillary Clinton for that matter. Obama’s campaign could have let this go, since it was an unsanctioned move by the Clinton camp, but campaign manager David Plouffe took the bait, calling the photo “shameful, offensive fear-mongering.” The Clinton team shot back that it is Obama who should be ashamed for thinking the photo is divisive. Of course, the leak of it to the public clearly was meant for that purpose.

Dirty tricks may be all that Hillary has left unless she can pull off big victories in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday. Despite raising $35 million in February, she still trailed Obama in this category. His figures are “considerably more,” according to his campaign. Estimates place his February total at more than $50 million.

Whoever the eventual Democrat nominee is, he or she will have to contend with not only John McCain but also perennial candidate Ralph Nader. The longtime “consumer advocate” still draws the ire of Democrats for having cost Al Gore the 2000 election in Florida, though we are inclined to credit the good folks in Gore’s home state of Tennessee, which also went for George W. Bush. While the Democrats like to refer to Nader as a spoiler, an extrapolation of his previous results shows that he will garner approximately.001 percent of the vote.

Debates, dirty tricks and spoilers are all part of politics. However, some impassioned partisans can’t help but take it to the next level, as happened in Pennsylvania last week when a Clinton supporter stabbed his brother-in-law, an Obama supporter, in the stomach. The two got into a heated argument over the primary race, which escalated into a fistfight and ended with the stabbing. The Clinton supporter now faces a felony assault charge and the Obama supporter went to the hospital in critical condition. As of this printing, Hillary Clinton has neither rejected nor denounced the knifeman’s endorsement.

Raul Castro takes over Cuba

Almost 50 years after he first seized power, Fidel Castro is no longer Cuba’s president. His brother, Raul Castro, 76, a military general and veteran of the Cuban revolution, was “elected” president on 25 February by the country’s National Assembly. Raul had been Cuba’s acting president since 2006, when ill health forced Fidel Castro to delegate his responsibilities. Sunday’s vote served merely to make the, uh, younger Castro’s status official, and also to ensure that the status quo will be maintained.

Analysts and pundits the world over are speculating about Cuba’s future, but the truth is that very little will change. The long, fiery speeches that the National Assembly is used to hearing will instead be short and dull, and members of Fidel Castro’s personality cult will no doubt wish their new president had the Comandante’s charisma. Raul is otherwise cut from the same cloth as his brother (even if he does prefer suits over fatigues), being a staunch believer in communism, a resolute enemy of America and a notorious practitioner of intimidation and persecution. While he might be down, Fidel isn’t yet out: The “retired” dictator is still the First Secretary of the Communist Party, which is Cuba’s highest office. Even if Raul Castro did want to take Cuba in a new direction, it is unlikely that he could, since Fidel is still the island nation’s final arbiter. Which is to say that in Havana, it’s the same government, different day.
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[nChrist]

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Patriot Post Digest 08-09

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Warfront with Jihadistan: Surrender (Part 37)

Attempting to put good news from Iraq on the front page while calling the Surrendercrats’ bluff in the process, Senate Republicans on Tuesday helped advance a Democrat bill to cut off funding for the war in Iraq and withdraw the troops within 120 days. By opening the bill to debate, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said it would allow Republicans to note the “extraordinary progress that’s been made in Iraq over the last six months, not only on the military side, but also with civilian reconciliation beginning to finally take hold in the country.”

The move to open debate on the Democrats’ proposed surrender appeared to have caught Democrat leaders snoozing. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who last year said such things as “This surge is a bad idea” and “This war is lost,” was apparently hoping the Senate would start working on a mortgage bailout, expecting Republicans to remain firmly opposed to debating the withdrawal plan. Looks like the mortgage crisis will have to wait while Congress does its actual job of handling national security. While there is little chance the Democrats’ bill will actually pass, or even come to a vote, it will be enjoyable to watch the defeatists try to talk down the successes of our troops since the surge began one year ago.

Department of Military Readiness: Tour length

On Tuesday, General George Casey, Army Chief of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Army is under serious strain from years of fighting multiple wars and it must reduce the length of combat tours for its soldiers as soon as possible. General Casey also said he hopes to reduce Iraqi combat tours from 15 months to 12 months sometime this summer, further stating that the Army would not go back to longer tours even if the White House decides to slow down or halt troop reductions in Iraq during the second half of this year. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), Senate committee chairman, pressed Casey on whether he truly could keep tour lengths at only 12 months if the President decides to halt troop reductions. Casey replied, “We believe it will still be possible, even with the pause.” When further pressed if that would be true “regardless of the length of the pause,” the General replied, “Yes.”

While it is certainly nice to see the Senate take an interest in relieving the strain on our troops, it would be wise for them to let our military commanders set the policy that they see fit to establish for our troops, and not try to micromanage war policy from Washington. Our commanders know what the troops need. If Washington pols truly want to help, they can fund the troops to whatever levels are required for victory.

Profiles of valor: ‘Red Flag’

From the Publisher: Each year, I have the opportunity to participate in national-security briefings with senior officers of each service branch. Last week, I joined Air War College NSF alumni at Nellis AFB, home of the USAF’s Air Warfare Center of the Air Combat Command, and the primary combat-training center for both U.S. and allied fighter pilots.

When “Red Flag” is in session, the number of F-15s, 16s, 18s and 22s, combined with air and ground support aircraft, and the top-line fighter aircraft from allied nations, makes the force gathered at this base the second largest air force in the world.

In addition to the briefings, I always make a point to spend plenty of time with enlisted personnel to get a foundational perspective on today’s fighting forces. As with previous visits to other service branches, I found the morale and esprit de corps in the enlisted ranks to be very high. In fact, I couldn’t help but notice how the attitude, mission and professionalism of these young men and women stands head and shoulders above so many of their civilian peers.

How fortunate we are to live in such comfort in a free country, and to have our liberties ensured with the blood of generations of Patriots such as these.

A special note of thanks to my hosts: Generals Elder, Thomas, Lorenz and Miller, and to the Red Flag top guns, “Chappie,” “Mad Dog,” “Trigger” and “Charger.” Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!

BUSINESS & ECONOMY
New Jersey budget problems

In 2005, the New Jersey governor’s race between Democrat John Corzine and Republican Doug Forrester set the bar for expensive campaigns, so it really is no surprise that fiscal issues have dominated Governor Corzine’s administration. Indeed, in his first year in office, Corzine presided over a governmental shut down to force legislators of his own party to raise the state sales tax. While we find it mind boggling that a Democrat-controlled legislature would have objections to raising any taxes, we propose that the recent election was a key motivator, not a newfound love of limited government.

Now, merely two years later, Corzine has another economic crisis on his hands. After 18 years of accelerating debt acquisition to fund various vote-buying schemes, the state now has a public debt of $113 billion (that’s right, it’s a “B”). Additionally, the state has incorporated EAAP (Enron Accepted Accounting Principals) into its budgeting procedure and elected not to fund $7 billion in retirement obligations over the same time frame.
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[nChrist]

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Patriot Post Digest 08-09

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With this huge hangover from an 18-year spending binge, Corzine has to face some hard decisions regarding expense curtailment and revenue enhancement. To his credit, the governor has raised the retirement age for certain state employees, enacted a spending freeze on existing state operations, and implemented a defined contribution retirement plan for new hires. At best, these measures will stop only the growth of the debt. To repay the existing debt, Corzine wants to begin collecting tolls from motorists on public roads.

Of course, new revenue will be required to finance the construction of those new toll plazas, and there will be a need for additional state (no doubt unionized) employees. Public debt, excessive state payroll —  hmm, wasn’t that the cause of this problem?

Seniors’ work helps entitlement programs

A crisis looms on the horizon for federal entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare; that much is certain. But recent trends are serving to alleviate some of the pain. As folks are becoming less confident in the federal government’s ability to meet its obligations, they are beginning to work later in life —  many even into their 80s and 90s. The trend has been growing since the 1990s. As people are living longer and enjoying better health, they are remaining in the work force even when their finances don’t require it.

Experts expect the trend to continue with the baby boomers, especially as financial necessity becomes a factor. Postponing retirement by as little as five years can increase retirement income by more than 50 percent and can serve to decrease dependence on federal entitlements. This is arguably a bright side to the entitlement crisis: Americans are realizing that the federal government is not absolutely trustworthy, that it’s important for citizens to work and save for their future, and that independence and self-reliance are good things. While the media lament this trend, we must confess that to us it sounds, well, downright American.

From the States: Border dispute

Last week, Georgia legislators made it known that they are thirsting to encroach a mile into Tennessee. Apparently, they got out a map that showed longitude and latitude in addition to existing state borders, and determined that there is a little piece of the Tennessee River which extends down into Georgia just to the west of Chattanooga (home of The Patriot), in New Hope. This assumes that the 35th parallel is, in fact, the recognized border between the two states. Unfortunately for the legislative land-grabbers, such efforts to alter borders between states historically have been resoundingly rejected by the Supreme Court, as with the 1893 case when Virginia filed a suit to alter its state border with Tennessee. Of course, the implications of such a decision in favor of Georgia would open up similar disputes in every state of the union, with the possible exceptions of Alaska and Hawaii.

This quarrel, of course, has nothing to do with borders and everything to do with water —  and the consequences of Atlanta’s poorly planned and uncontrolled commercial and residential development. Last summer, that lack of planning became painfully clear in the form of a drought, and legislators are now looking for water to wash the egg from their faces.

The existing and officially recognized border between Tennessee and Georgia was established when the original surveys were completed 180 years ago, and adverse position, possession and use rules apply. However, it will be interesting to see if Georgia does attempt to “settle” this matter simply by obtaining water access to the Tennessee River at New Hope. For our part, we would propose a more suitable settlement: that Atlanta developers expand their commercial and residential developments north of the border. Indeed, we Tennesseans will consider locating some of that wealth and tax base up here —  if they ask politely.

CULTURE
Around the nation: Guns in national parks

At the urging of 50 U.S. senators, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has directed his agency to review its policy on firearms in national parks, with the aim of changing federal regulations to match those of the state where the national park is located. This means that in states that allow firearms in their state parks (like Colorado, Alaska and Indiana, to name a few), guns would also be legal in their national parks. “This Administration supports the long-standing tradition of affording states the right to determine those who may lawfully possess a firearm within their jurisdictions,” Kempthorne said in response to the request for a review.
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[nChrist]

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Patriot Post Digest 08-09

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The Department of the Interior will draw up new rules for public comment by 30 April. Not surprisingly, several groups have complained about this move toward federalism, including the U.S. Park Rangers Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, whose spokesman, George Durkee, said, “People overreact and shoot at the animals. We don’t need any scared kids with guns running around the woods.” Considering that guns haven’t been allowed in national parks for decades, we aren’t sure how Mr. Durkee knows that people will “overreact and shoot at the animals.” Moreover, we aren’t aware of any states that allow “kids with guns [to run] around the woods,” scared or otherwise. In fact, it almost sounds as if Durkee is the one trying to scare people. Even if the U.S. Park Rangers Lodge believes its own argument, the very best that can be said about them is that they are more concerned about protecting animals than humans.

’Non Compos Mentis’: Oscar ratings tank

On the good news front, viewership of the Academy Awards this year reached an all-time low of roughly 32 million people. Still, it’s rather disappointing to contemplate that 32 million humans wasted their evening with such trash. The mindless appeal of the Oscars themselves, however, was overshadowed by the glitteratis’ hero-worship of Barack Obama: “He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere,” said a sycophant named George Clooney. “I’ll do whatever he says to do. I’ll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear,” gushed a ditz named Halle Berry. Liberals, of course, tend to follow along blindly while refusing to engage in critical analysis; what appeals to them is demagoguery and cheap entertainment. It is therefore no surprise that Obama’s campaign appeals to, and is supported by, the same people who are attracted to Hollywood. Obama’s campaign, after all, while long on lofty rhetoric, is notably short of substance... just like the Oscars.

Faith and Family: American portrait

While we don’t need a study to confirm that our culture has shifted away from being one of faith and religious values, a recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life yielded a fascinating glimpse into America’s theological landscape. Of the 35,000 adults questioned, 16 percent do not claim a religious association, while a quarter of those ages 18-29 do not belong to any organized religion. Contrast those numbers to the findings of a survey by the National Opinion Research Center in the 1980s that found only five to eight percent of Americans were unassociated with a religious faith. The 16 percent who don’t claim religious association represent double the number of those who grew up in a non-religious environment. In other words, half of the currently unaffiliated turned from the religion in which they were raised. So it comes as no surprise that “the United States is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country,” the study noted.

Of the Pew survey participants, 78 percent consider themselves Christian and four percent were of “other religions.” Twelve percent of the unaffiliated said their religion was “nothing in particular.” Meanwhile, another Pew report finds that, “for the first time in history, more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison.” Call us Bible-thumping extremists, but these two surveys might have a correlation.

Lest the numbers discourage our Christian readers, as columnist William Murchison noted, “American Christians... should take heart. For the simple reason that religion isn’t consumerism. It’s religion. God will have his way with the world that He himself... created ex nihilo: out of nothing.”
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[nChrist]

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Patriot Post Digest 08-09

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Frontiers of Junk Science: Snow globe

Contrary to the finger crossing of global-warming alarmists who are now worried about whether the earth will survive the sun’s death in the next few billion years, a curious phenomenon has emerged in recent months. Several parts of the world, including North America, have experienced their highest snow coverage in 42 years. Many places in the U.S. also have experienced record-low temperatures. Furthermore, Toronto smashed its all-time February snow record from 1950 in the first two weeks of this month. Arctic Sea ice is back with a vengeance, too —  approximately four to eight inches thicker than at this time last year, according to the Canadian Ice Service. Could all of this mean that we may actually be experiencing global cooling? According to The National Post’s Lorne Gunter, “If environmentalists and environment reporters can run around shrieking about the manmade destruction of the natural order every time a robin shows up on Georgian Bay two weeks early, then it is at least fair game to use this winter’s weather stories to wonder whether the alarmists are being a tad premature.” We couldn’t agree more.

And last...

William F. Buckley Jr. , the intellectual father of modern conservatism, died Wednesday in his study, working as always to further the cause. He was 82. In 1955, back when conservative ideas were routinely ridiculed, a 29-year-old Buckley launched National Review with this founding statement: “It stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it.” While often lampooned by the Left as a dry, sesquipedalian elitist, in truth Mr. Buckley was a warm, thoughtful, humorous, reverent Catholic dedicated to conservative principles. A former Army officer, CIA operative and noted wine connoisseur, he was a man who could disagree with his opponents without becoming disagreeable.

Buckley edited National Review for 35 years, writing more than 800 articles and editorials. He also published 55 books and 5,600 opinion columns, gave some 70 speeches a year and taped more than 1,400 “Firing Line” TV shows. His impact on the conservative movement can hardly be overstated. Indeed, without WFB there would have been no Barry Goldwater, and possibly no Ronald Reagan. Buckley was a mentor to many of us “youngsters.” He was one of two individuals who helped take The Patriot Post from concept to reality. He provided promotion for our publication during our first year of operation, a year in which we expected to gain 5,000 readers, but which, with Mr. Buckley’s help and advice, resulted in more than 25,000 subscribers. Those subscribers were the foundation for what is now the most widely subscribed Internet-based publication of any political stripe. The great William F. Buckley certainly has earned his reward, but he will be sorely missed. Farewell, dear friend; rest in peace.

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.)