The Patriot Post Brief 11-14-2011

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The Patriot Post Brief 11-14-2011
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Foundation

"The history of ancient and modern republics had taught them that many of the evils which those republics suffered arose from the want of a certain balance, and that mutual control indispensable to a wise administration. They were convinced that popular assemblies are frequently misguided by ignorance, by sudden impulses, and the intrigues of ambitious men; and that some firm barrier against these operations was necessary. They, therefore, instituted your Senate." --Alexander Hamilton

Government

"The bipartisan debt panel to nowhere is exactly where K Street lobbyists want it to be: hopelessly deadlocked. ... Instead, we are witnessing another obscene special-interest splurge to preserve the status quo. All in the name of 'reform,' of course. The only thing 'super' about the so-called budget control super committee is the size of lobbying muscle exerted on its members. Almost 100 registered lobbyists who are former employees of super committee members are now 'representing defense companies, health-care conglomerates, Wall Street banks and others with a vested interest in the outcome of the panel's work,' the Washington Post found in September. ... On the other side of the revolving door, 10 out of the panel's 12 members have now raked in donations from foreign registered agents totaling more than $50,000 in direct campaign contributions during 2011 alone, according to government watchdogs. ... Moreover, all 12 super committee members have been contacted by foreign lobbyists, eager to secure targeted exemptions, loopholes and protectionism. ... [Last] week, the Seattle Times disclosed that [super committee co-chair Patty] Murray held a two-day staff retreat at heavyweight lobbying outfit Strategies 360, which was founded by Democratic political operative Ron Dotzauer. The group donated meeting space to Murray's team and skirted ethics rules by offering similar deals to nonprofits. ... According to OpenSecrets.org, Strategies 360 has conducted $985,000 worth of lobbying targeting more than a dozen government agencies this year. A spokesman for the senator ... sniffed that the report was a 'non-story.' ... Remember: The 'K' in 'K Street' stands for 'Kabuki.'" --columnist Michelle Malkin1

Insight

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

Essential Liberty

"The Declaration of Independence recognizes that the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness don't come from the divine to government, but from the divine to you and me. But when the elected delegates went off to the Continental Congress to represent the people of the 13 colonies -- and eventually sign the Declaration of Independence -- everyone in America was a 'subject.' Yet alive in the hearts of those 'subjects' was a unique vision; a vision of life without kings, where each human being is himself sovereign before God. This patriot vision, found in the Declaration of Independence, articulates our national creed and is the very foundation of American exceptionalism. In it, we are truly unique in the annals of time, but ... the preservation of our revolutionary American idea -- that individuals are sovereign -- is not foreordained. Its survival hinges, as it always has, on its power to bring forth a new generation of veterans who are willing to lay down their lives to protect it and a people wise enough to honor them when they do." --ConservativeHQ's Richard A. Viguerie2

Opinion in Brief

"The good news is that the GOP field is united around free-market principles and united against government bailouts for housing, autos, energy and banks. I was, however, disappointed [during Wednesday's CNBC debate] with all the candidates' responses to the financial crisis in Italy, in particular, and Europe overall. No one wants to bail out Italy or Greece or Europe. And yes, the GOP candidates did provide examples of why America must change course to avoid the European disease brought on by social-welfare entitlements. But the fact remains that U.S. stock market investors are very worried about a banking-contagion threat in a worst-case European scenario. If that were to happen, it would absolutely spread to the United States. And if that were to happen, we'd need some strategic contingency planning about the proper roles of the Federal Reserve, FDIC and Treasury. It's not just bailouts or nothing. I think the Republican field has to think about this in order to connect with the investor class. Remember, investors are the most likely to vote in presidential elections. No one wants more TARP bailouts. But no one wants a financial catastrophe that could sink our economy, either." --columnist Lawrence Kudlow3

The Gipper

"I'm sure everyone feels sorry for the individual who has fallen by the wayside or who can't keep up in our competitive society, but my own compassion goes beyond that to the millions of unsung men and women who get up every morning, send the kids to school, go to work, try and keep up the payments on their house, pay exorbitant taxes to make possible compassion for the less fortunate, and as a result have to sacrifice many of their own desires and dreams and hopes. Government owes them something better than always finding a new way to make them share the fruit of their toils with others." --Ronald Reagan4

Political Futures

"Maybe it's best that there is some loathing between conservatives and our presidential nominee. The last thing we want to do is fall in love with a politician. Because what type of people become skilled politicians? People who hate government? No, those people never learn to work in the system. The people who succeed in politics are those who kinda like government and see it as a great tool for change -- i.e., they're the enemy. No one gets to the level of being able to run a skilled campaign for president and remains a true conservative. ... The true conservatives are always going to be those of us who never have the taint of politics on us, and if we want real change that reduces the size of government in this country, that means we'll have to put even more pressure on a Republican president than we do on a Democrat." --columnist Frank J. Fleming5

Re: The Left

"Today's liberals would have you believe they occupy the moral high ground on every political and cultural issue. But have you ever taken inventory of their double standards? ... Democrats maligned former President George W. Bush's economy for the better part of his two terms, despite the robust growth, unemployment below 5 percent and a 2007 deficit less than 10 percent of what it is today. They tell us that President Obama's horrendous economy, on the other hand, is not even his fault. ... Democrats have slandered genuine grassroots Tea Partiers as lawless, racist, AstroTurf scofflaws who are sometimes even domestic terrorists, despite the Tea Partiers' peaceful, respectful behavior, no evidence of racism and almost no arrests at any of their events. ... But when leftist Occupy Wall Street protesters have truly been organized from above, have engaged in lawless and violent behavior leading to many arrests and have spewed anti-Semitic bile, liberals, including President Obama himself, have lionized them and identified with their cause. ... I'll stop here, even though I'm not yet halfway through my list." --columnist David Limbaugh6

Culture

"'Of course we're going to riot,' Paul Howard, a 24 year-old aerospace engineering student at Penn State University, told The New York Times. 'What do they expect when they tell us at 10 o'clock that they fired our football coach?' The coach in question, as we all know, is Joe Paterno, the decades-long patriarch of Penn State football. Paterno was fired by the board of trustees for his part in a reprehensible non-response to the alleged rape of a 10-year-old boy in the locker room showers. You have to wonder what's wrong with our society when someone can say, 'Of course we're going to riot,' but not over the cover-up of pedophiliac rape. Rather, students feel it is their obvious right, perhaps even duty, to throw violent temper tantrums when a multimillionaire football coach is fired, simply because the coach is part of their 'college experience.' ... People keep saying the cover-up proves the corruption of college football. Maybe so. College football certainly has its myriad and manifest vices. But what about the riots? These aren't simply a product of football culture, they're a product of a campus culture that teaches students they have an absolute right to whatever their hearts desire, starting with a fun-filled college experience and, afterwards, a rewarding career." --columnist Jonah Goldberg7