The Patriot Post Brief 5-17-2010

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The Patriot Post Brief 5-17-2010
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Foundation

"Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents, as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate in their burdens." --George Mason

Political Futures
The Specter of a big loss Tuesday

"Big day in politics tomorrow. ... In Pennsylvania, the primary between Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak will decide who gets be the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate to run against Pat Toomey in the Fall. The likely story is Sestak will win because he is running a very smart campaign, reminding Democratic voters that Specter was a Republican for 126 years until he realized he couldn't survive a GOP primary challenge and so switched, only to find he probably won't survive a Democratic primary. ... President Barack Obama has endorsed Specter so a loss will be seen as further evidence (along with the results in Virginia and New Jersey last November) that the bloom is well and truly off the Obama political rose. Also in Pennsylvania there is a special election to fill the vacancy in the U.S. House brought about by the death of John Murtha, who had held that seat for almost as long as Specter was a Republican. Murtha's staffer, Mark Critz is running against Republican businessman Tim Burns. This is a lunchbox-Democrat district which may well elect the Republican. Over in Kentucky, there is a Republican intramural battle for the nomination to replace retiring GOP Senator Jim Bunning. The son of GOP-ish Congressman Ron Paul, Rand (no, not Ru), is running an insurgent campaign against the Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson. Paul is the Tea Party candidate, having been endorsed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Sarah Palin. Grayson is the establishment candidate carrying the endorsement of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky). In Arkansas, incumbent Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln is being challenged by Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in the Senate primary. Halter has the support of organized Labor which apparently feels Lincoln is too moderate for their taste. Sen. Lincoln is expected to win, but there are additional candidates in the race which may keep her from getting 50 percent-plus-one of the votes which would require a one-on-one runoff against Halter. Whatever the combination of wins and losses tomorrow, the ruminants in Washington's chattering class will have plenty of political cud to chew over." --political analyst Rich Galen

Opinion in Brief

"First and foremost, any nominee to a lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court must demonstrate a thorough fidelity to apply the Constitution as it was written, rather than as they would like to re-write it. Given Solicitor General Kagan's complete lack of judicial experience, and, for that matter, very limited litigation experience, Senators must not be rushed in their deliberative process. Because they have no prior judicial opinions to look to, Senators must conduct a more searching inquiry to determine if Kagan will decide cases based upon what is required by the Constitution as it is actually written, or whether she will rule based upon her own policy preferences. Though Ms. Kagan has not written extensively on the role of a judge, the little she has written is troubling. In a law review article, she expressed agreement with the idea that the Court primarily exists to look out for the 'despised and disadvantaged.' The problem with this view -- which sounds remarkably similar to President Obama's frequent appeals to judges ruling on grounds other than law -- is that it allows judges to favor whichever particular client they view as 'despised and disadvantaged.' The judiciary is not to favor any one particular group, but to secure justice equally for all through impartial application of the Constitution and laws. Senators should vigorously question Ms. Kagan about such statements to determine whether she is truly committed to the rule of law. Nothing less should be expected from anyone appointed to a life-tenured position as one of the final arbiters of justice in our country." --former Attorney General Ed Meese

The Gipper

"Let it never be said of this generation of Americans that we became so obsessed with failure that we refused to take risks that could further the cause of peace and freedom in the world. Much is at stake here, and the nation and the world are watching -- to see if we go forward together in the national interest, or if we let partisanship weaken us. And let there be no mistake about American policy: we will not sit idly by if our interests or our friends in the Middle East are threatened, nor will we yield to terrorist blackmail." --Ronald Reagan

Government

"To understand the pertinence to America of events in Greece, notice General Motors' most recent misbehavior. A television commercial featuring CEO Ed Whitacre demonstrates the institutional murkiness and intellectual dishonesty that result when the line between public and private sectors disappears. In the commercial, Whitacre says GM has 'repaid our government loan in full.' Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., noted that GM used government funds to pay back the government: It 'simply transferred $6.7 billion from one taxpayer-funded TARP account to another.' The government still owns 60.8 percent of GM's common equity, and the Congressional Budget Office projects that the government will lose about $34 billion of the $82 billion of TARP funds dispersed to the automotive industry. When Ryan and two colleagues asked the Treasury Department for clarification, they got this careful reply: 'Treasury has never suggested that the loan repayment represented a full return of all government assistance.' A Treasury press release did say 'GM Repays Treasury Loan in Full.' The loan is, however, a small part of taxpayer exposure. Under crony capitalism, when government and corporate America merge, both dissemble. Now American taxpayers also own a little bit of a small nation. They provide the U.S. contribution of 17 percent of the assets of the International Monetary Fund, which is giving Greece $39 billion (the IMF also is contributing $321 billion to a 'stabilization' fund for other eurozone nations with debt problems). So the U.S. government, which would borrow 42 cents of every dollar it spends under the president's 2011 budget, is borrowing to rescue Greece and others from the consequences of their borrowing." --columnist George Will

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Brief 5-17-2010
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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For the Record

"Sen. Tom Coburn (R.-Okla.) came charging into the U.S. Senate six years ago determined to gun down the most dangerous issue facing the country: uncontrolled government spending and debt. He put delaying holds on countless spending bills, angering many of his colleagues. He offered an untold number of budget-cutting amendments to block, reduce or eliminate spending. He has fought, condemned and stomped on just about every waste-ridden bill to come before the Senate so many times that Democrats call him 'Dr. No,' a name he considers a badge of honor. Now he finds himself on President Obama's politically inspired, dubiously worthwhile commission to come up with ways to cut trillions of dollars from a mountain of debt. Coburn is outnumbered on the commission by a hand-picked majority of big spenders, but is coming well-armed with a detailed list of outdated, needless, unaffordable, fraud-ridden programs, agencies and expenditures that he has shoved under their noses, suggesting that these cuts would be a good place to start before even thinking about raising taxes. ... In 1984, the Grace Commission, under orders from President Reagan to expose waste, fraud and abuse throughout the U.S. government, concluded that at least one in every three dollars in federal spending was wasted. Today that would amount to about $1.2 trillion. Obama's 18-member commission was just getting started last month when Coburn gave each member a thick, black binder filled with hundreds of billions of dollars worth of candidates for the axe. His office refuses to give out copies to the press, not wanting to be seen as bashing the panel in the media, but commission members say Coburn is pushing his proposals vigorously and will be a major force to be reckoned with in the commission's deliberations." --columnist Donald Lambro
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Faith & Family

"You have to wonder what God thinks when scanning recent headlines. For example, 'Comedy Central's 'JC' to Depict Cartoon Jesus' announces an animated show in development for the cable network that would portray Jesus as a 'regular guy' who moves to New York to 'escape his father's enormous shadow.' Reports say, 'His father is presented as an apathetic man who would rather play video games than listen to his son talk about his new life.' Of course, that story only demonstrates that in America we protect freedom of expression, even if it potentially offends more than 80 percent of the citizenry that is resolutely Christian. A more dangerous and disturbing story this week is titled, 'Senior citizens told they can't pray before meals.' In Port Wentworth, Ga., patrons of the Ed Young Senior Center, owned by the city of Port Wentworth but operated contractually by Senior Centers Inc., were told they could observe a moment of silence, but not pray aloud before eating their federally subsidized food. The folks at Senior Centers, Inc. interpreted the guidelines issued by the state Office on Aging to prohibit the free and open expression of faith simply because $5.45 worth of the $6 per plate meal is paid for with federal funds. No wonder Comedy Central thinks G0d is apathetic. ... Within a few days, the state's Office on Aging clarified that their guidelines do not prohibit citizens from joining together to pray aloud; they only prohibit city employees or employees of the service provider from leading the patrons in prayer. ... This is the nonsensical world in which we live -- and in which our children are growing to believe that public prayer is actually outlawed." --columnist Marybeth Hicks

Reader Comments

"Your scorn for the idea of a 'living Constitution' is not justified. Jefferson wrote, 'I am not an advocate for free changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.' If applying the Constitution were simply a mechanical process, not requiring the application of judgment, wisdom or experience, judges would be unnecessary." --Jim

Editor's Reply: Your assertions are devoid of any sense of Constitutional Rule of Law, much less any understanding of Jefferson's advocacy for the same. Our Framers understood that our Constitution would require alteration with enlightenment. That is why they provide a means for such alteration in Article V, rather than by judicial diktat by what Jefferson called "the despotic branch."

"If the Supreme Court was not intended to adjudicate matters of Constitutionality, as the Jefferson quote implies, what was the intended safeguard against the codification of unconstitutional laws? Was the ballot box supposed to be the citizens' only recourse?" --Kent

Editor's Reply: Of course not. Jefferson understood that when the ballot box fails, the bullet box will succeed. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of Patriots and tyrants?

"The Patriot Post's Digest is one really great way to learn all the news we sure don't get in our papers, on TV or radio! I am always surprised at how much I learn about what really is going on in our country and around the world that is not readily available to the public in our media world. Thank you so much for keeping me up to date and aware of the good, evil, and even scary things happening to America every day! Keep up the great work, and God Bless America! --Patricia

The Last Word

"Under the leadership of the first lady, the Obama administration has unveiled a series of proposals to combat obesity in children. Among the 70 recommendations: new federal subsidies for fruits and vegetables; taxes on sodas, candy, and junk food; and mandates on federally funded and private health programs to cover obesity-related problems. Mrs. Obama and her crack team of federal do-gooders did not consider that the federal government is also in the business of feeding a significant portion of the population. The scale of federal nutrition programs is actually quite staggering. One in eight adult Americans now receives food stamps, along with 25 percent of children. More than half of all American infants are on the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) nutrition program. Sixty-two percent of American schoolchildren who eat school lunches are getting free or reduced-price meals. How in the world did programs intended to keep the neediest Americans from malnutrition end up feeding -- even overfeeding -- such a huge percentage of the population?" --columnist Mona Charen

(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.)