The Patriot Post Brief 9-33

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Brief 9-33
From The Federalist Patriot
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THE FOUNDATION

"The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse." --James Madison

INSIGHT

"How did it happen? How did our national government grow from a servant with sharply limited powers into a master with virtually unlimited power? In part, we were swindled. There are occasions when we have elevated men and political parties to power that promised to restore limited government and then proceeded, after their election, to expand the activities of government. But let us be honest with ourselves. Broken promises are not the major causes of our trouble. Kept promises are. All too often we have put men in office who have suggested spending a little more on this, a little more on that, who have proposed a new welfare program, who have thought of another variety of 'security.' We have taken the bait, preferring to put off to another day the recapture of freedom and the restoration of our constitutional system." --U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater (1909-1998 )

FAITH AND FAMILY

"Dirty secret No. 1 in Obamacare is about the government's coming into homes and usurping parental rights over child care and development. It's outlined in sections 440 and 1904 of the House bill (Page 838 ), under the heading 'home visitation programs for families with young children and families expecting children.' The programs (provided via grants to states) would educate parents on child behavior and parenting skills. The bill says that the government agents, 'well-trained and competent staff,' would 'provide parents with knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains ... modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices,' and 'skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development.' Are you kidding me?! With whose parental principles and values? ... Do we really believe they would contextualize and personalize every form of parenting in their education, or would they merely universally indoctrinate with their own? ... One government rebuttal is that this program would be 'voluntary.' Is that right? Does that imply that this agency would just sit back passively until some parent needing parenting skills said, 'I don't think I'll call my parents, priest or friends or read a plethora of books, but I'll go down to the local government offices'? To the contrary, the bill points to specific targeted groups and problems, on Page 840: The state 'shall identify and prioritize serving communities that are in high need of such services, especially communities with a high proportion of low-income families.' ... Is all this what you want or expect in a universal health care bill being rushed through Congress?" --columnist Chuck Norris

CULTURE

"There are all kinds of reasons to not artificially prolong life. But I hope I never get into a situation where I want to artificially limit my life so that I'm not a burden to loved ones. When you think about it, we are all 'terminal.' Along the way, allowing each other to bear our burdens is one thing that separates us from animals. To let a loved one care for me might be the very thing that leads to greater compassion or less selfishness in him. And I might have to get over my pride in not 'needing help.' To accept that I really am dependent on others. So my suffering could be a gift to both of us. ... I am not minimizing the very real sacrifices and burden that caregivers often experience. But I am convinced there is a growing mindset in our culture that genuine suffering has no value. That it must be avoided, even at the cost of life itself. Well, I think that's selfish. So, memo to kids and family: I'm not checking out early just to avoid being a burden to you. And I sure don't want you doing that for me." --columnist Betsy Hart

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Brief 9-33
From The Federalist Patriot
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LIBERTY

"The debate about health care reform [has] transformed into one about free speech -- specifically, whether the Obama administration is trying to chill the speech of its critics by creating an 'enemies list.' The ruckus started when the White House called on its supporters to help it combat what it calls 'disinformation' about its health care agenda that is being propagated through emails, websites, and 'casual conversation.' Specifically, it asked: 'If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.' ... Following a barrage of criticism that this information could be used to monitor -- and thus suppress -- the speech of those who oppose administration policies, the White House tried to reassure the public that the president is not ushering in the era of Big Brother. The White House is right. The era of Big Brother is already here. Politicians ushered it in long ago with the enactment of federal and state campaign finance laws that require 'disclosure' when you spend money to try to influence the outcome of an election. If you want to give money to candidates, ballot issue groups, or advocacy groups, or to spend your money on things like web pages, fliers, and newspaper ads, the government will require you to 'name names.' That is, you (or the organization you support) will have to report not only what you spend and what cause or candidate you're supporting or opposing, but also who you are, where you live, and even where you work. The government will then compile a database of that information and put it on the Internet for all to see. ... That disclosure laws are used to chill political speech shouldn't be surprising -- after all, that's their purpose. Politicians and other defenders of these laws confess as much when they say they want to 'get money out of politics.' But getting money out of politics is exactly how to get rid of speech in politics." --columnist Bert Gall

OPINION IN BRIEF

"The other day, an outfit here in Arkansas opposed to the usual definition of marriage as between a man and a woman put out the list of all those who had signed a petition to insert that traditional definition of marriage into the state constitution. Why publicize their names? For no apparent purpose except to harass those who had exercised their constitutional right to petition their government. And to make them a target for retribution. Circulating such a public record is perfectly legal, and perfectly petty. Like publishing a list of all the citizens in the state who have a concealed-carry permit. That's been done, too. Why do such a thing except to embarrass them for exercising their constitutional right to bear arms? What turns some of us into the kind of crank who cannot tolerate disagreement? How do they get that way? Here's my theory: They lack some quality that allows them to move graciously through life. So they strike out against those who do not mirror their own every opinion or inclination. They seem to live in a purely abstract world in which all that counts is their argument with the real one. They are unable simply to disagree; they must quarrel. They seem unable to tolerate the natural differences out there in the world, and are determined to make it conform to their own idea of perfection." --Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editor Paul Greenberg

GOVERNMENT

"Congressmen (and women), with due apologies to F. Scott Fitzgerald, are different from you and me. Privilege makes them soft where life teaches the prudent to be hard, cynical where their constituents must be trustful. The congressional entitlement to privilege, wrought not by talent or inheritance but by legislation, explains the typical congressman's blindness to tint and deafness to tone, revealed in the angry 'town hall' confrontations over health care legislation. Instead of reassuring frightened constituents, Democratic congressmen (and women) denounce the voters who sent them to Washington as Nazis, Brown Shirts and the 'un-American.' Harry Reid, the leader of the Senate Democrats, calls the critics 'evil-mongers.' Congress is dead to anything outside the bubble it has created for itself. ... The rage at the town halls is particularly irksome because congressmen are not accustomed to anyone talking back to them." --Washington Times editor emeritus Wesley Pruden

POLITICAL FUTURES

"The election over, the warming glow of those armies of supporters gone, [Barack Obama's] capacity to tolerate criticism and dissent from his policies grows thinner apace. His lectures, explaining his health-care proposals, and why they'll be good for everybody, are clearly not going down well with his national audience. ... The president has a problem. For, despite a great election victory, Mr. Obama, it becomes ever clearer, knows little about Americans. He knows the crowds -- he is at home with those. He is a stranger to the country's heart and character. He seems unable to grasp what runs counter to its nature. That Americans don't take well, for instance, to bullying, especially of the moralizing kind, implicit in those speeches on health care for everybody. Neither do they wish to be taken where they don't know they want to go and being told it's good for them. Who would have believed that this politician celebrated, above all, for his eloquence and capacity to connect with voters would end up as president proving so profoundly tone deaf? A great many people is the answer -- the same who listened to those speeches of his during the campaign, searching for their meaning. It took this battle over health care to reveal the bloom coming off this rose, but that was coming." --columnist Dorothy Rabinowitz

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Brief 9-33
From The Federalist Patriot
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FOR THE RECORD

"A community organizer is by definition an outsider, someone hired not by the community itself, but by outside political operatives attempting to gain a foothold in the community. Precisely the way a young Barack Obama was hired by outsiders to infiltrate a Southside Chicago community in the late 1980s. Barack Obama dropped in for a few years on the Southside of Chicago. Rather than actually doing anything to improve the community where he was sent to 'work,' he made political friends and established a political base from which to launch his Organizer in Chief presidential campaign. ... When Bill Clinton put forth the notion of Barack Obama as a 'fairytale' and was trounced for it, Democrats should have listened. They now have a man in the office of the presidency, for whom they must provide cover every single day. Why? It's simple. Barack Obama mastered Alinsky tactics of campaigning for power and working the crowds down to the last little letter, but he absolutely has no plan of governance, no workable solutions, and can't even talk about such things without a live-feed teleprompter glued to each hip. ... And 52% of the American electorate has bought this faster than they would buy a used car from a slick-suited salesman on a shady lot. Suckers United for Change. Wow. I'm impressed. Dr. Obama? I would sooner trust Dr. Frankenstein." --columnist Kyle-Anne Shiver

THE GIPPER

"The time is now, my fellow Americans, to recapture our destiny, to take it into our own hands. But, to do this will take many of us, working together. I ask you tonight to volunteer your help in this cause so we can carry our message throughout the land. ... Can we doubt that only a Divine Providence placed this land -- this island of freedom -- here as a refuge for all those people in the world who yearn to breathe freely? ... I'll confess that I've been a little afraid to suggest what I'm going to suggest -- I'm more afraid not to -- that we begin our crusade joined together in a moment of silent prayer. God bless America." --Ronald Reagan

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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

"Alexander's essay, Principium Imprimis was the finest piece of writing on the love of God, family, and country that I have ever read. Bravo! I felt chills and a tear in my eye as I read it. God help us to keep the First Principles first, and to drive out the culture of self-idolatry as you described it. In order to preserve our freedom we must resist the headlong charge towards National Socialism. God bless The Patriot Post and your effort to set the record right. It is an honor to be among your Patriot readers." --La Palma, California

"Thank you for your recent letter about your family trip. I was so touched by your mention of the woman in CA, who had moved there to get sober in a faith-based program. There care many patriots, myself included, who were once lost and now have been found. I got sober five years ago and met my husband at our church, here in Stuart. We are now proud parents and first time homeowners. We give all glory to God for the work HE has done in our lives. Our prayer and desire is that He will use our stories to draw others to His throne. Pray your day is blessed and thank you for your profound impact on my life through The Patriot Post." --Stuart, Florida

"Thank you for sharing your family's travels and the truths that you found along the way. You are right on with what is happening in America today! America has, for the most part, abandoned God and His saving grace and has gone off 'on her own path.' We are a country lost and our only hope is to come back to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior. I pray that God works in mysterious ways as Christians fall on their knees and pray for a spiritual awakening in this country." --Green River, Wyoming

"I never knew of The Patriot Post until my brother forwarded it to me. Since receiving it on a regular basis, I am getting an education that I would not otherwise receive from the liberal media. Thank you. I believe it is conservative media such as yours which is helping to get the message out to the public that Mr. Obama's administration is not representative of everyone in our great country. Quite the contrary, in fact. Keep up the good work!" --Grand Island, Nebraska

THE LAST WORD

"I went to Senator Ben Cardin's town hall meeting last Monday and came across a woman who had worked as a nurse in Britain's public health system. She provided a personal anecdote that is little peek into what is to come should we adopt the Democrats' plan. Catherine Midkiff, RN RSN, has been a nurse since 1979 and lived in the UK in 1991 and 1992. She earned $10 per hour there, compared to the $22 per hour then being earned by nurses in the US. As an agency night-shift nurse she earned more than staff nurses. Those women had to live in a dormitory on site as their pay would not afford them private residences. She said at St. George's Hospital she worked on a seniors ward where 23 elderly men and women shared the same room. When she asked where the code card was, her British counterparts laughed, saying, 'Oh you must be from America...' For non-seniors, most British hospitals put six people in a room. Wait lists are extremely long. An elderly British citizen she knew came to the US to get heart surgery after waiting a full year in the UK system. Others weren't so lucky. She said for many years, British hospitals had no trauma centers and thousands died as a result. For his part, Cardin simply perpetuated the smear against Obamacare protesters, claiming they were Republican stooges spreading disinformation. However, there were over 2,000 of us and only a handful of ACORN, union and party thugs. That we are no longer being fooled is becoming more and more apparent. The Dems control both houses of Congress so this remains an uphill battle, but if enough get the message that their careers are on the line, these utterly self-serving pols may actually come around to our point of view, simply for sheer survival purposes. We cannot let up. Not for a minute." --columnist James Simpson

*****

Veritas vos Liberabit -- Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot's editors and staff.

(Please pray for our 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.)