The Patriot Post Brief 12-20-2010

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The Patriot Post Brief 12-20-2010
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Foundation

"If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions." --James Madison

Liberty

"One reason the Founding Fathers decided to break with England was their dismay with England's mercantilist system, which generally required colonists to purchase manufactured goods from, or through, England rather than produce them in the colonies. Hatred for this system inspired a Virginia farmer named George Washington to try to convert his colonial farm into a self-sufficient unit -- where ... he could produce and consume what he wanted without trading with others, especially those in England. The Framers, who had not forgotten English mercantilism, wrote the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to create a free-trade zone among the American states. Their aim was to facilitate freedom, not restrict it. ... [Judge Henry] Hudson, while carefully staying within the Supreme Court precedent of Wickard v. Filburn, correctly understood that the issue raised by Obamacare's individual mandate ... is freedom itself. 'The unchecked expansion of congressional power to the limits suggested by the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers,' Hudson wrote in his opinion. ... And you thought liberals believed in freedom of choice?" --columnist Terence Jeffrey1

Opinion in Brief

"The implicit argument for the legality of Obamacare is that the country hasn't taken the Constitution seriously in decades. So why start now? Since all branches of the federal government have colluded in ignoring and violating the Constitution for this or that 'good' cause over the years, why insist on returning to it? Nancy Pelosi relied on this implicit argument when she sputtered 'Are you serious?' to a question last year about Obamacare's constitutionality. Her scoff meant that the matter isn't even debatable anymore; America's de facto new Constitution -- the 'living' one that resides in the wills of modern pols and judges -- permits Congress to do anything it pleases in the name of the 'general welfare.' ... That Congress can establish whatever tax it pleases in the name of the 'general welfare' or ludicrously stretch the Commerce Clause to mean that nonactivity counts as regulatable 'interstate commerce' was rejected over 220 years ago. Forcing every person in every state into purchasing health insurance was not one of the enumerated powers of Congress." --columnist George Neumayr2

Government

"Fighting government intrusion into our lives is becoming increasingly difficult for at least two reasons. The first reason is that educators at the primary, secondary and university levels have been successful in teaching our youngsters to despise the values of our Constitution and the founders of our nation -- 'those dead, old, racist white men.' Their success in that arena might explain why educators have been unable to get our youngsters to read, write and compute on a level comparable with other developed nations; they are too busy proselytizing students. The second reason is we've become a nation of thieves, accustomed to living at the expense of one another and to accommodate that we're obliged to support tyrannical and overreaching government. Adolf Hitler had it right when he said, 'How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.'" --economist Walter E. Williams3

Re: The Left

"In the midst of a colossal global concern for the economic stability of our great nation, Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri's 5th Congressional District representative, has one small earmark on his wish list that deserves some attention. Cleaver has listed a new earmark -- one of several -- and he promises to 'fight for every one.' But this is a whopping $48 billion package that must go down as the grandaddy of all earmarks. Proposed by a gentleman named Lamar Mickens, president of the not-for-profit Quality Day Campus, the $48 billion earmark would funnel money into the inner cities to give money to the poor and thereby produce a much larger consumer class to buy the goods and services produced in this country. Just call this redistribution on steroids. Cleaver's office says this of the proposal: 'The Epicenter is a proposed estimated $48 billion (Phase One) mass scale urban reclamation project for combating, reducing, reversing and/or eliminating poverty within under served communities by utilizing mass scale economic redevelopment to bring about stability and self reliance.' ... If you truly believe that fairness involves this massive shift of money, then why mess with a paltry $48 billion. Wait. I forgot. This is just Phase One." --columnist Mike Jensen4

Political Futures

"A new analysis by a group of federal-spending watchdogs shows a striking imbalance between the parties when it comes to earmark requests. Democrats remain raging spenders, while Republicans have made enormous strides in cleaning up their act. ... In the 2011 House budget, the groups found that House Democrats requested 18,189 earmarks, which would cost the taxpayers a total of $51.7 billion, while House Republicans requested just 241 earmarks, for a total of $1 billion. Where did those GOP earmark requests come from? Just four Republican lawmakers.... The Senate is a different story. But even though some Republicans are still seeking earmarks, Democrats are by far the bigger spenders. The watchdog groups found that Democrats requested 15,133 earmarks for 2011, for a total of $54.9 billion, while Republicans requested 5,352 earmarks, for a total of $22 billion. ... The story of earmarks in the past year is one of Republican self-improvement. The party that wallowed in earmark spending in the past decade is trying to reform itself. ... Perhaps the reforms will be temporary -- beginning next year, Republicans will control the House and feel all the temptations of power -- but so far, it's a remarkable accomplishment." --columnist Byron York5

Reader Comments

"It is a great honor and privilege to be able to renew our support for The Patriot Post6 once again. I realize that a small quarterly donation is still, well, small. But with the combined efforts of Patriots across the country, I pray it will be enough to support your efforts to keep the fires of liberty burning -- and stoke more as you go. Thank you for all that you do." --Heidianne

"I was so humbled by my family's request to take whatever I was going to spend on more stuff and donate to The Patriot Post6 in recognition of their excellent work in 2010. Thank you doesn't seem adequate for the sacrifices of our military. We will always remember what you have done and are doing to secure the liberty and freedom we all enjoy. You are in our prayers every day. May God continue to bless this great country, and to Him be all the Glory as we celebrate His Son's birth." --Dean