The Patriot Post Brief 1-10-2011

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The Patriot Post Brief 1-10-2011
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Foundation

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."

For the Record

"We pray for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, her family, and the other victims of the heinous violence in Arizona. It should not be, but the media, under the guise of 'a full exposition' of the evil in Arizona, is back to subtly and not so subtly pinning the blame for the attempted assassination of the Congresswoman and the related shootings on the tea party movement, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, me, you, and everyone right of center. Let's be crystal clear: this is the supposedly objective news media doing this, not the openly, partisan left, though it is fueling the media witch hunt. And from what we now know, it is not just media malpractice, but a lie. Ironically, by perpetuating the lie -- by even treating it as a legitimate topic of consideration to revisit the accusations of violence and hate the media tried to run with prior to the November election -- that the right and the tea party incited this evil act, the left and media may very well incite violence against the right. ... But then there is the real culprit -- the shooter himself. A friend of the shooter's described the shooter as decidedly 'left-wing' as recently as 2007. On YouTube, he flagged as a favorite video one of a person dressed as a terrorist burning the American flag. Only a lunatic or a leftist would do that. His favorite work was not a Glenn Beck book, but a staple of every left-wing bookshelf, the Communist Manifesto. In the Communist Manifesto, there are numerous, frequent calls for violence against the bourgeoisies. ... It is also not to say in any way, shape, or form that the guy is of the left. If, however, we take the evidence as presented and not as the media and left would have it presented, the shooter very clearly is not of the right. More precisely, the shooter is neither left-wing nor right-wing. He is crazy and evil -- a word not used enough. ... By the way, as an exit thought, the tea party movement won in November. Winners don't go on shooting sprees." --Red State blogger Erick Erickson1

Culture

"I am pretty wary of people who try to seek political gain out of terrible tragedies. And as sure as the sun comes up, the anti-gun lobby became among the first to run on autopilot and seek to politicize the senseless human killings in Tucson. The anti-gun movement resurrected itself only hours after Saturday's mayhem. At 10:34 on Saturday night, Politico filed an anti-gun story as Rep. Giffords and others battled for their lives: 'Gun control activists slammed Arizona for its gun laws Saturday, which allow almost any adult who can pass a federal background check to purchase a firearm.' Their auto-rant is consistent with their strategy of trying to exploit human heartbreak for political gain, sometimes even before the blood dries. When I heard their tired political calls for gun control, I decided to conduct a thought experiment. As it turns out, Washington, D.C., and Tucson have about equal populations. D.C. has 599,000 residents. Tucson has 544,000. ... So what are the differences in the homicide rates between Tucson and Washington, D.C.? As it turns out, they are staggeringly different. ... According to Tucson Police Department records, by December 2010, the city -- which is located 60 miles north of the Mexican border -- experienced 51 murders by the use of guns. Washington police records, meanwhile, recorded 131 homicides in 2010, nearly three times the Tucson rate. ... My wish is that the gun control lobby, which continues to exploit terrible tragedies for political gain, will concede defeat in the real world and remain silent during national sorrow." --Pajamas Media editor Richard Pollock2

Insight

"The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." --President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Government

"For far too long, Republicans have been reticent to engage in emotional arguments to make their case. ... It would be nice if they didn't have to, but a substantial portion of the population has grown quite comfortable with empty slogans like 'social justice,' 'speaking truth to power,' 'evil corporations,' and a host of others designed to do one thing: convince Americans that the greatest country in the world must abandon the very economic system that has made it the envy of the world. What both political parties have done with regard to irresponsible spending is criminal. One party wants to 'go straight.' The other will not be content until every American is equally miserable -- with the exception of a ruling class which must administer that misery 'fairly.' ... If there's a debt ceiling, my fellow Americans, that means there's also a spending floor. Lower the floor, Republicans, even if it means fighting emotional fire with emotional fire." --columnist Arnold Ahlert3

Liberty

"I was struck [recently] by the words of the great Christian theorist and historian of the last century, Hilaire Belloc, that I read in his 1916 book 'The Elements of the Great War, the Second Phase.' He observed that when the most profound issue may face a nation, there is the danger that 'the lesser should conquer the greater, the viler the more noble, the more changeable the more steadfast. ... We know, upon the analogy of all historical things, small and great, that the less creative, the dullest and the worst elements may destroy, and [have] frequently attempted to destroy, the vital, the more creative and the best.' That is what America faces today. For too long, the decent American majority of citizens who are productive and hardworking ... have sat by while others have tried to usurp our liberty to enhance the power of government.... Now all these conflicting interests and passions are funneling into Washington. These next 24 months -- beginning now -- are the decisive period." --columnist Tony Blankley 4

Re: The Left

"We hear all sorts of sad stories about people whose homes are 'under water' or who are facing foreclosure. But why should our attention be arbitrarily focused on these particular people, rather than on the many other people who would benefit from being able to buy those same houses, if the prices came down? The government is artificially keeping the prices up with subsidies and with pressures on lenders to accommodate the current occupants. Can we not walk and chew gum at the same time? Is our attention span so limited that we can only think about one set of people that the media and the politicians have chosen to highlight? Do other people count for less just because the media don't put their pictures in the paper or on the TV screen? Or because politicians are ignoring them? Sometimes we are more concerned about some people because they are especially deserving. But this cannot be said about those who borrowed money to buy homes that they could not afford, or who borrowed against the equity in their homes, and now find that what they owe is more than the home is worth. If anyone is especially deserving, it is those who had the common sense to avoid taking on bigger financial obligations than they could handle, but who are now expected to pay as taxpayers for other people's irresponsibility." --economist Thomas Sowell5

Political Futures

"The White House is reportedly looking to manufacture a 'pro-business' aura with [new Chief of Staff] Bill Daley, who holds a 'corporate responsibility' executive office at J.P. Morgan and once headed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- the latter, a left-wing hate object and Obama punching bag leading up to the midterms. But the Beltway-based Chamber of Commerce is too often a fair-weather statist lobbying organization. It supported the TARP all-purpose bailout, the auto bailout and the bottomless, pork-filled stimulus package, all of which have forcibly redistributed money from taxpayers and small businesses to politically connected special interests (including Daley's J.P. Morgan, which was most recently swept up in a massive pay-to-play bond scheme in Alabama). Daley has about as much real experience creating jobs as Da Boss now sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave -- which is to say, less than a thimble full. ... Instead of distancing himself from the favor-trading Wall Street fat cats who have earned the ire of both anti-bailout tea party activists and anti-corporate liberals, Obama remains wedded, embedded and indebted to the worst kind." --columnist Michelle Malkin6