____________________________
The Patriot Post Chronicle 09-07
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
____________________________ 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
DEZINFORMATSIAColor 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
Author