The Patriot Post Brief 4-22-2013

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The Patriot Post Brief 4-22-2013
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Aftermath of Boston

April 22, 2013

The Foundation

"A universal peace, it is to be feared, is in the catalogue of events, which will never exist but in the imaginations of visionary philosophers, or in the breasts of benevolent enthusiasts." --James Madison

Inspiration

Due to the outstanding work of both the FBI and Massachusetts law enforcement, the two young Chechen immigrants who bombed the Boston Marathon one week ago were identified and apprehended. The older of the two brothers was killed Thursday in a firefight with police, and the second was captured Friday night. He remains in stable condition at a hospital. Though he is unable to speak because of his injuries, he appears to be cooperating with investigators.

The Department of Justice is determining what charges to file and how to classify the attack. Congressional Republicans are demanding that the suspect be treated as an "enemy combatant" rather than a criminal, though that's unlikely to be the outcome.

As law enforcement seek to clarify whether these two acted alone or as part of a larger effort or cell, we still refrain from speculating other than to say their belief system and tactics have all the DNA markers of Islamic fanaticism.

Opinion in Brief

"Friday morning, the entire city of Boston was put in lockdown. Residents were warned to 'shelter in place,' meaning staying locked in their home, answering only to uniformed law enforcement personnel. Hundreds of police swarmed through the city, tracking a violent terror suspect ... with a clear intent to kill. The situation is a reminder of why millions of Americans cherish their right to own guns to protect themselves and their families. Gun control advocates mistakenly assume Americans cherish their 2nd Amendment rights because of either a cultural anachronism or an affinity for hunting. The left looks at gun control as a debate over which guns Americans 'need.' They often argue, for example, that Americans don't 'need' a 30-round magazine to hunt deer. That's true, but the debate isn't about 'needs,' it is about rights. The 2nd Amendment isn't built on a foundation of hunting, but, rather, the ability to protect one's life and property. The manhunt in Boston ... shows the very real threats that occasionally enter our lives. In a situation like Boston, seconds count, while the police are minutes away. ... Gun control advocates ... would be wise to reflect on the unfolding events to understand why many of us 'cling' to our guns. The world can be a very dangerous place." --Breitbart's Mike Flynn1

Re: The Left

"In 2009, after [Nidal] Hasan's atrocities, Obama and General Casey wandered around Fort Hood like clueless yet self-righteous parents at a 'don't keep score' little league game, pretending not to have any idea what the score was -- and congratulating themselves on their holy ignorance. ... And yet, the same cause-and-effect wizard who immediately surmised that the 'Cambridge cops acted stupidly' in the Gates case refused to voice the obvious about the attack. Even today, we are still told the massacre was a case of 'workplace violence' and that the Fort Hood killing spree is not officially listed as a terror attack on American soil. (As an aside, Hasan knew that all the soldiers at Hood were ammo-free, thanks to political correctness, but it's not like gun rights are an issue now or anything.) Apparently, Obama is still in that 'don't keep score' mode, emphasizing right after the capture of Dzhokhar 'Not Smith' Tsarnaev, that we must not 'jump to conclusions' and 'take care not to rush to judgment' in the Marathon bombing case. Isn't it astounding how liberals never want to rush to judgment -- unless, that is, a rush to judgment is perfectly appropriate?" --columnist C. Edmund Wright2

Government

"Each new crisis, it seems, leads to a growth of government's power. The Boston attack was not caused by guns. Somehow, I expect a movement will arise to ban pressure cookers. We are slow to learn that such 'terrorist' attacks are not 'caused' by weapons of any sort. They are caused by ideology, personal madness, or, sometimes, both. If we ban guns and pressure cookers, the next round of killers will use knives, poison, or baseball bats. A hundred websites will tell us how to use them, as a hundred sites tell us now how to make bombs at home. ... If two homemade bombs can disrupt a country and practically paralyze a large metropolitan area for days, who do we think is watching this drama? What lessons are being drawn? The difference between 9/11 and the Boston Marathon is not so great in that respect.... In short, while this country may return to 'normal,' I do not think that the lesson of this bombing will be lost on those who shrewdly calculate the vulnerability of modern societies. In the end, we either increase government control of everything, which not a few desire anyhow, or we leave ourselves open to increased random disruption. All of this has much to do with our unwillingness to ask ourselves about the difference between ideologies and common sense." --National Review's James V. Schall, S.J.3

Patriots' Day Campaign Final Update

We have just completed our annual Patriots' Day campaign and we raised about 95 percent of our $75,000 goal. If you have not yet gotten on board with us, and you are able, please support us today4.

On behalf of the entire Patriot Post team, thank you for your continued support!

Insight

"See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime. Then abolish this law without delay ... If such a law is not abolished immediately it will spread, multiply and develop into a system." --French economist Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850)

The Gipper

"A government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they know when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. They also knew, those Founding Fathers, that outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy." --Ronald Reagan5

Political Futures

"After his party's resounding defeat on gun control legislation, the president may have pulled the final piece away from a facade that has been crumbling for quite some time. In his Rose Garden speech Wednesday, unity, above all else, was the most obvious casualty. 'Families that know unspeakable grief summoned the courage to petition their elected leaders -- not just to honor the memory of their children, but to protect the lives of all our children,' said Obama. 'And a few minutes ago, a minority in the United States Senate decided it wasn't worth it. They blocked common-sense gun reforms even while these families looked on from the Senate gallery.' What the president fails to mention is that 'these families,' relatives of the Newtown victims, were in the gallery because he flew them down from Connecticut aboard Air Force One, precisely for the purpose of using them as props to persuade senators to vote for the bill. ... Yet if there is one thing the 2010 election proved, the rout of moderate Democrats who supported Obamacare meant little to a president far more interested in his own agenda. That may have been the best excuse of all for these Democrats to vote no on this legislation." --columnist Arnold Ahlert6