The Patriot Post Brief 12-21-2009

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The Patriot Post Brief 12-21-2009
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Gipper

"The Nativity story of nearly 20 centuries ago is ... is the fulfillment of age-old prophecies and the reaffirmation of God's great love for all of us. Through a generous Heavenly Father's gift of His Son, hope and compassion entered a world weary with fear and despair and changed it for all time. On Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ with prayer, feasting, and great merriment. But, most of all, we experience it in our hearts. For, more than just a day, Christmas is a state of mind. It is found throughout the year whenever faith overcomes doubt, hope conquers despair, and love triumphs over hate. It is present when men of any creed bring love and understanding to the hearts of their fellow man. The feeling is seen in the wondrous faces of children and in the hopeful eyes of the aged. It overflows the hearts of cheerful givers and the souls of the caring. And it is reflected in the brilliant colors, joyful sounds, and beauty of the winter season. Let us resolve to honor this spirit of Christmas and strive to keep it throughout the year." --Ronald Reagan

Opinion in Brief

"Assume you are a scientist and have been given a major financial grant to prove that the mythical unicorn really did exist. You know that as long as you can demonstrate some progress in showing the unicorn might have existed, your financial grant will be renewed each year, provided some other scientist does not come out with substantial evidence that the unicorn could not have existed. Under such conditions, you would have a very strong incentive to disregard much of the evidence that the unicorn could not have existed and each year provide only the data that could demonstrate that the unicorn might have existed. You also would have a very strong incentive to attack any scientist who raised serious questions or provided evidence that the unicorn could not have existed. You even might go so far as to refer to them with the disparaging term 'unicorn deniers' and attempt to use your influence with other scientists who also are receiving grants dependent on the existence of the unicorn to try to prevent the unicorn deniers from publishing their findings in well-regarded scientific journals. The recently released e-mails (by whistleblowers or hackers, depending on your prejudice) between some of the best-known scientists behind global warming showed that they succumbed to the all-too-human tendency to protect their turfs and pocketbooks, despite the evidence." --columnist Richard W. Rahn

Political Futures

"Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress have drawn sharp ideological lines with Republicans -- divisions understood best by each side's strongest partisan supporters. For Democrats, Republicans are 'standing in the way' of needed reforms. For Republicans, Democratic policies represent European-style government meddling. To many Republicans and conservatives, 'bipartisanship' in this type of environment is code for government doing even more. After a year of bailouts, czars, government takeovers, spending sprees and huge debt, many self-identified Republicans and conservative-to-moderate-leaning independents think more bipartisan success is not necessarily accomplishment or a positive outcome. So expect the paradox of partisanship to continue. While many will undoubtedly call for the machinery of Congress to operate smoothly, many important constituents will reward those who throw sand in the gears." --columnist Gary Andres

For the Record

"He campaigned against private sector economic mismanagement, and the 'harsh realities' of global capitalism. He pledged during his campaign to end corruption in both the government, and the private sector. He campaigned against private sector economic mismanagement, and the 'harsh realities' of global capitalism. He pledged during his campaign to end corruption in both the government, and the private sector. After he took office, he claimed that he had 'inherited' the worst economic situation in his country's recent history. And then, the new President sought to consolidate his power. Once privately-owned enterprises became government-owned and operated entities, and were 'restructured' so as to become, essentially, 'workers' cooperatives.' Not surprisingly, unemployment remained persistently high, even as the new was implementing his much-celebrated 'reform' measures. And while private citizens had to struggle with the worsening economic conditions, government officials nonetheless continued to exert increasing levels of control over the nation's wealth, and also continued to enrich themselves from that wealth, despite the suffering of 'the governed.' Does this seem like a description of the first 11 months of the Obama Presidency? What I've described here thus far portrays the conduct of President Obama and members of his Administration fairly succinctly. Yet, this is actually a description of the ascendency of Hugo Chavez, the once freely elected President and now rapidly-morphing-into-a-dictator of Venezuela." --columnist Austin Hill

The Last Word

"Maybe when national universal health care fails, we'll be able to go international. Then interplanetary -- then interstellar! Why should I pay for my gall bladder surgery when some Venusian could? Eighty-five percent of Americans are happy with their health care, but Democrats have a plan to make it worse for more money. As a bonus, national health care will add trillions of dollars to the national debt, and your insurance rates will skyrocket. Democrats are being utterly disingenuous to say that you won't have to leave your current plan under national health care. Maybe, but it won't be your choice: Your employer will be making that decision for you. Recall that one of the big selling points of national health care is that it is supposed to reduce costs for American businesses. The only way national health care will make American companies 'more competitive' is if they dump their employees into the public health care system. It's so weird! We expected X number of people to show up for health care and instead 75X showed up! Yeah, just like every other government program in the history of the world. Ten years from now, we'll be talking about cost overruns of $6 trillion -- but by then, national health care will be an untouchable 'third rail' of politics, just as Medicare is now. (Ironically, injuries sustained from actually touching the third rail won't be covered under ObamaCare.) As with Medicare, voters will be terrified to go back to even the wisp of a free market system we have now, afraid that they'll never be able to get health insurance without the government providing it. Having been dragged unwillingly into the government plan, how will a 58-year-old be able to leave the public system and get insurance on the free market? ... The only solution will be for the government to keep running up gigantic deficits and raising taxes on 'the rich,' which, in turn, will stifle job creation and economic growth in a phenomenon known to economists as 'the Carter years.' In addition to forcing Americans into dealing with surly government workers in order to obtain medical care, sooner or later, there's no free lunch." --columnist Ann Coulter

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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.)