05-44 - An Almost MUST Read Patriot

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Patriot No. 05-44 Digest | 04 November 2005

THE FOUNDATION

"As our president bears no resemblance to a king so we shall see the Senate has no similitude to nobles." —Tench Coxe

TOP OF THE FOLD

Dear Mr. President—A letter from Teddy Kennedy...

On Tuesday morning, an urgent correspondence from Senator Edward M. Kennedy to President George W. Bush was inadvertently delivered to the publishing headquarters of The Patriot. It seems that one of Mr. Kennedy's aides mistakenly put the letter to President Bush in a Patriot donor-support envelope—which means that the White House instead received a priority message from Sen. Kennedy with a profane "cease and desist" note addressed to your humble editorial staff.

Our editors wrestled with the legal and ethical implications of reprinting this letter for at least 60 seconds before concluding that we should disclose its contents to you, our esteemed readers, verbatim.

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the American people, I must say that we are deeply disappointed, offended in fact, with your nomination of Judge Samuel Alito for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Clearly, you're pandering to the right-wing extremists on the fringe of your party.

Yes, when Ronald Reagan nominated Alito to be a U.S. attorney in 1987, he received unanimous consent from the Senate. Yes, when your old man nominated him for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 1990, he again received unanimous consent from the Senate. Surely by now, some right-wing Internet rag has uncovered my praise for Justice, err, Judge Alito at his confirmation hearing back then: "You have obviously had a very distinguished record, and I certainly commend you for long service in the public interest. I think it is a very commendable career and I am sure you will have a successful one as a judge."

However, he was the lone conservative voice on the Third Circuit Court back then, so I didn't view his confirmation as a threat to our Constitution.

Besides, Mr. President, you know how these back-room wink-and-nod deals are cut. Remember when we agreed to give Reagan unanimous consent for that right-wing nut case Antonin Scalia in 1986, with the understanding that you guys would show us the same favor when it was our turn? Indeed, when my good friend Ms. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former general counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union, was nominated by my good friend Bill Clinton, she received overwhelming bipartisan support from Republicans.

More recently, knowing that your partisans would invoke the constitutional, err, nuclear option to change Senate rules and force a full-Senate vote on your right-wing appellate nominees, we agreed to release some of them for a floor vote. Then, when you finally got an opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court Justice, you sent up a guy named John Roberts, about whom precious little was known. That allowed us to save face with the American people. Even less was known, publicly, about Harriet Miers, which is why my colleague, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, was kind enough to recommend her for the High Court.

But now you've nominated in her place a man about whom a great deal is known. After 15 years on the appellate court, we know Alito is a dinosaur, a constitutional constructionist, somebody who can read what the Constitution actually says—and this has the American people very upset.

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You and your right-wingers seem to cling to the antiquated notion that the Constitution should be interpreted as written. Well, wake up and smell the whiskey! What the American people want is a Supreme Court that will do what we, as their elected representatives, bid it to do. That's the Democratic way.

As I said in my press conference today, "Rather than selecting a nominee for the good of the nation and the court, you have selected a nominee who conservatives think has views as extreme as their own. If confirmed, Alito will fundamentally alter the balance of the court and push it dangerously to the right, placing at risk decades of American progress in safeguarding our fundamental rights and freedoms."

When Harry Reid told you to "find a consensus nominee," you not only ignored his sage advice—you also failed to seek his approval for this nominee prior to your announcement. That, Mr. President, is a disgraceful example of partisanship.

We are gravely concerned that, in the words of my senatorial colleague, Chuck Schumer, "Alito will use his seat to return the court to the injustice of the past." Well, Mr. President, we are not going to let that happen. Pat Leahy feels the same way. "This is a needlessly provocative nomination," he said. "Instead of uniting the country through your choice, you have chosen to reward one faction of your party, the virulent wing of the Republican Party, at the risk of dividing the country." My understudy, John Kerry, echoes these grave concerns: "The far right wing has now forced you to nominate a divisive justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia who does not hold mainstream American values, rather than a qualified woman or minority." Dick Durbin got it right when he called this nomination "an effort to appease the far right wing."

The same talking points have been distributed to my underlings down in the House. Nan Pelosi got them: "The radical conservative right is in charge of your administration."

Until now, Mr. President, we've worked extremely well together. As your far-right radical base has no doubt told you, you haven't yet vetoed a single spending or regulatory-expansion measure we've sent over your way. Heck, your dad's foundation even bestowed upon me its annual lifetime achievement award for public service. But everything hangs in the balance with this nominee, Mr. President—so all bets are off.

So what if Alito has great academic credentials and more judicial experience than 105 of 109 Justices confirmed to the court? So what if Alito is the son of poor Italian immigrants? He may think he's Catholic, but he lacks the integrity of an Irish Catholic like me. None of this matters. I got kicked out of Harvard for cheating on a Spanish exam—so what? I left a young gal to drown when I got sloshed and drove us off that bridge—so what? I am still a Senator.

Judge Alito has demonstrated that he's a strict constructionist who supports states' rights and thinks the First Amendment restricts only the Congress when it comes to our sacred wall of separation between church and state. He would, no doubt, return to states and local communities the decision to have prayer in their schools. He's even approved Christmas displays by local municipalities. Even worse, though, is his support of parents' rights—as if they know better how to raise their kids than the government does. Alito thinks the Second Amendment means what it says, and that, Mr. President, is really dangerous. As you know, far more conservatives own guns than liberals. But my greatest concern is that he's the sort of nut who believes that children in the womb deserve to live, and that husbands—and parents in the case of minors—should be notified before an abortion. Outrageous.

Your little "Scalito" claims, that "Judges should be judges. They shouldn't be legislators, they shouldn't be administrators." Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist seems to agree, insisting, "Judge Alito has displayed a judicial philosophy marked by judicial restraint and respect for the limited role of the judiciary to interpret the law and not legislate from the bench."

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Well, maybe that was true back when the Constitution was ratified, but not today. What unmitigated arrogance. Frankly, we know that all this "constructionist" stuff is just a ruse to suggest the Constitution does not guarantee the right to kill children before they are born. As you know, that right is what holds our Party together, and we will not turn it back over to the states.

Mr. President, as Chuck Schumer said earlier today, Alito is "a controversial nominee for a pivotal swing vote on the High Court who could shift the balance of the court, and thus the laws of the nation, for decades to come." I'm well aware, Mr. President, that you made a campaign promise to appoint strict constructionist judges in the mold of Scalia and Thomas, but it was only a campaign promise after all. I mean, it's not like anyone would've held you to it.

Candidly speaking, you know as well as I do that the majority of Americans don't support our Democratic agenda—which is why we're so desperate to maintain control of the Supreme Court. If we can't pass legislation by legitimate means, we can still do it by judicial diktat, right?

Level with me, Mr. President: Did you use the Miers nomination as a decoy to rally your troops behind Alito? Either way, you can rest assured that we'll use this same nomination to rally our constituents—we will have them whipped into a frenzy and filling our Senate and House campaign coffers with their last pennies. In the end, your Party controls the Senate and can even invoke the "nuclear option." OK, but we will not take up this nomination until January, to give us as much time as possible to unite our base.

Prepare for battle, Mr. President. We are going to use everything in our arsenal, starting with our print and television media outlets, to force you into submission.

Sincerely,

Senator Edward Kennedy

Quote of the week...

"A judicial conservative is not necessarily politically conservative, but believes in sticking to the actual Constitution as it was understood by those who made it law rather than amending the Constitution from the bench... I don't think the question is whether the candidate is like a politician who can bring the country together. The question is whether a candidate respects the actual Constitution. A candidate who does that is not a right-wing extremist."—Robert Bork

On cross-examination...

"The successful opposition to Harriet Miers was not a triumph for just some faction of the conservative movement... From the market-oriented Wall Street Journal, to my own Washington Times' classic Reaganite conservatism, to the social conservative opposition of Phyllis Schlafly and so many others on the social and Christian right, to the neoconservative opposition of the Weekly Standard and Charles Krauthammer, to the paleo-conservatism of Pat Buchanan, to the high Toryism of George Will, to the popular talk-radio titans Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and their legions of regional voices, to the lawyer turned hip radioist Laura Ingraham, to the iconoclastics: Michael Savage and Ann Coulter, to most of the conservative blogdom... This was a never-before-seen moment of comprehensive conservative opposition to a Republican initiative."—Washington Times editor Tony Blankley.

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Open query...

"The Washington Post's Dana Milbank denounces Justice-designate Samuel Alito as a 'nerd': 'Alito, bespectacled, hair askew, suit rumpled and ill-fitting, walked into Sen. Tim Johnson's office this week to pay a courtesy call on the South Dakota Democrat. Sitting in an armchair in the senator's office, Alito forgot to unbutton his suit jacket, causing his tie to stick out and his jacket to bunch up. The judge's pant leg hiked up as he sat, revealing an untied shoelace...' Well, to paraphrase Roman Hruska, even if he is dorky, there are a lot of dorky judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they?"—James Taranto, for the nerd-wing of the Republican Party

The BIG lie...

"Alito has sought to limit the rights of women and people with disabilities in discrimination cases, demonstrated an open hostility to women's privacy rights even in basic reproductive health matters, has a record of hostility toward immigrants, and tried to immunize employers from employment-discrimination cases."—Howard Dean, forever Stuck on Stupid
This week's "Alpha Jackasses" award:

Speaking of Stuck on Stupid, have you seen all those self-fulfilling media polls on President Bush's approval ratings?

Friday's lead story in The Washington Post notes: "For the first time in his presidency a majority of Americans question the integrity of President Bush, and growing doubts about his leadership have left him with record negative ratings on the economy, Iraq and even the war on terrorism, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows."

Earlier this week, CBS anchor Bob Schieffer "reported" the results of a CBS poll: "The President's job approval has reached the lowest level yet—only 35 percent... What's behind the slide: 2,000 war dead in Iraq, an indictment in the CIA leak, the aborted Harriet Miers nomination, the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina." Schieffer aptly demonstrates that he can top even Dan Rather when it comes to serving as a Leftmedia puppet.

So what's it all about? At this juncture, we should review why the media reports its own polls as if they were "news." The Patriot dictionary defines this as Pollaganda—outcome-based polling; instruments designed to generate a preferential outcome, based on prior-opinion indoctrination or cultivation by the media, the results of which are then used to manipulate public opinion further by advancing the perception that a particular opinion on an issue has majority support.

We say "outcome based" because Leftmedia polls are always the result of intentional propagation of a particular bias by Leftmedia television and print outlets to manipulate public opinion. They accomplish this by first saturating viewers with "reporting" that reflects a particular bias. For example, Bush lied about Iraq—now 2,000 American dead; Bush leads corrupt administration full of perjurers; Bush doesn't care about black folks in New Orleans; etc., ad infinitum.

After a thorough indoctrination, the media outlets then conduct "opinion polls" which, of course, reflect that indoctrination. Then they use the poll results to proselytize viewers further by treating the results as "news" and inducing "bandwagon psychology" (the human tendency of those who do not have a strong ideological foundation to aspire to the side perceived to be in the majority), thus further driving public opinion toward the original media bias. Got it? It's a self-perpetuating cycle.

So now you know why The Patriot provides analysis of polling, but never reports on media polls (favorable to the Left or Right) as if they were anything more than insidious lies designed to advance particular biases and masquerade as legitimate statistical metrics.

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This week's "Braying Jackass" award:

Here is how Leftmedia "journalists" are framing public opinion on Judge Alito. (Expect a media poll next week asking if Alito is too conservative.) You don't hear them talking about how "liberal" Demos are, but they are quick to label "conservatives"! CBS's Gloria Borger: Alito is "quite conservative." Charlie Gibson: Alito is "very conservative." CNN's Carol Costello: Alito is "quite conservative." CNN's Jeffrey Toobin: Alito is "very conservative." NBC's Katie Couric: Alito is "a favorite on the right." Matt Lauer: Alito is "so consistently conservative he's been called Scalito." CNN's Carol Costello: Alito is "quite conservative." But the award for how many times the word "conservative" can be uttered in one minute goes to ABC's Jessica Yellen: "Alito will please Bush's 'conservative base,' has 'established conservative credentials,' is 'a law-and-order conservative' who is 'in the mold of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia' and whose 'writing is so similar to the conservative justice's, he's sometimes nicknamed 'Scalito'."

Memo to all you Leftmedia talkingheads: Many Patriot readers will recall this line from Dick the Butcher, one of Jack Cade's gang in Shakespeare's The Second Part of King Henry VI: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Here, in our humble shop, we're certain that if the Bard were writing today, Ol' Dick would've suggested eliminating all the netwonk talkingheads first—and then the lawyers!

From the Left...

Lewis Libby pleaded not guilty this week to charges that he lied to a grand jury and obstructed an investigation into the outing of Valerie Plame. As we've noted on numerous occasions, this case is built on nothing—call it the "Seinfeld" investigation, if you will. Even so, the Left was hoping it would bring the Bush administration to its knees. However, with only one indictment—unrelated to the original subject of investigation—and no indication that the laws against deliberately exposing a covert intelligence agent were broken, it seems that hopes of creating another Watergate with which to politically defeat President Bush are misplaced.

News from the Swamp...

The report from President Bush's tax reform panel has called for some very underwhelming changes to the tax code, and rejects the bold changes that the president had initially called for and conservatives had hoped for—yet another dramatic disappointment. While the panel has called for lower taxes on savings and investments and the end of the Alternative Minimum Tax, the revolutionary changes that would bring an end to the personal income tax and the IRS were discarded. The two most invasive authorities of the central government are the power of the judiciary to legislate by diktat, and the power of Congress to levy taxes—both of which were sources of great concern to our Founders. The extra-constitutional actions of judicial activists have frequently been censured by The Patriot. But an equally insidious threat to liberty resides in the tax code. For more, read Mark Alexander's essay, Real Tax Reform

http://FederalistPatriot.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=286

Tax reform may rise to the top of the domestic agenda once again, as Senators Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina introduced a plan this week to scrap the personal-income tax and replace it with a national consumption tax. Under this plan, businesses would pay 8.5 percent as a value-added tax, and consumers would pay 8.5 percent on the goods they purchase. The implementation of this tax would be pro-growth and pro-jobs, and it could also bring an end to the capital-gains tax, the death tax and taxes on Social Security benefits. Its most impressive benefit, though, according to DeMint, is "getting the IRS out of people's lives." Amen.

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In the House, the Budget Committee approved $54 billion in cuts through 2010 to Medicaid, food stamps, farm subsidies, student loans and a few other entitlements. The House also passed 376-38 the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005 yesterday in the wake of Kelo v. New London. The bill would withhold federal funds from states and localities that seize property for economic development. It also bars the federal government from taking property for that purpose. A similar bill is pending in the Senate.

Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay apologized to conservative constituents yesterday for excessive Congressional spending, including the recent pork-laden highway bill. He noted that every year since 1994, House Republicans have cut taxes, but he acknowledged that "[o]ur record on spending has not been as consistent, unfortunately." To put it mildly, he is much too humble—too little, too late.

In the Senate, $35 billion in spending cuts were approved Thursday, including cuts in many of the same entitlements the House took on. Unfortunately, the White House is obstinately signaling a veto if prescription-drug benefits are cut. A further amendment to the bill included opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, a big potential victory for our economy.

In their latest attempt to hamstring the Republican agenda and shortchange the nation's legislative process, the Democrats forced a closed-door Senate session this week. Ostensibly, the reason was to draw attention to a Senate investigation of prewar intelligence that was used in the case for war against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. We believe the real reason was yet another partisan attack on the president in light of the Left's failed attempt to cripple the administration with the Libby indictment.

New and notable legislation: HR 1461, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act, passed by a vote of 331-90. The House rejected a resolution (HJRes. 65) disapproving the recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission by a vote of 85-324, which means the base closure plan will proceed. The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (HR 420) passed 228-184.

On the National Security front...

This week the UN Security Council voted unanimously to warn Syria about its lack of cooperation in the investigation of the bombing assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafik-al Hiriri last year. Syrian President Bashar Assad has until 15 December to meet UN demands or Syria will likely face economic sanctions and travel restrictions.

Meanwhile, Assad remains in a tenuous position as he faces increasing U.S. pressure to tighten his border with Iraq. He is being pressured to halt his informal support of the Iraqi insurrectionists ($800M in 2004), and for anti-Israeli terrorist groups like Hezbollah. While he faces almost sure U.S. retaliation if he doesn't cooperate, he also struggles to find a way to assuage his allies in the 13-million-strong fundamentalist Sunni majority.

Syria is a pivotal regime in the current balance of power in the Middle East—they boast 1,600 high quality (T-72) tanks (and another 2,100 tanks in service) to support 12 Divisions and 200,000 ground troops. It also has about 45 Scud or Scarab SS-21 missile launchers, 350 fixed-wing aircraft and about 200 helicopters. Clearly, Syria remains a significant conventional threat to its neighbors. Also, Damascus is purported to possess a variety of chemical weapons (including Saddam's stockpiles transferred prior to U.S. invasion), though it is unknown if they have any biological or nuclear capability at this time.

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In other Syrian trouble-making, Syrian government officials likely arranged the "spontaneous" anti-U.S. and anti-Israel protest rallies in Damascus and may even have influenced this week's unrest and violence in France's Muslim population, which is currently rioting in Paris. While not confirmed, any such tie to French Muslim fundamentalist violence could further dampen, if not end, French foot dragging in the Security Council and make sanctions against Syria far more likely.

From the warfront with Jihadistan...

The Iraqi political process continues to mature and MoveOn (unlike some of our homegrown whiners). On Tuesday, Iraqi election officials thumbed their collective noses at local Jihadis and held a public, televised lottery to determine the order of candidate names on ballots for the 15 December parliamentary election. Though the televised lottery appeared more like a game show than a vital part of the electoral process, and the Iraqi election faces continuing disruption from the Jihadi insurgency, we are encouraged to see the Iraqi political process move forward in such a public and courageous way.

Oh, and there was this gem from Senate Demo Leader Harry Reid: "We know that there were no [weapons of mass destruction] found in Iraq. We didn't know it at the time. We know now that we didn't know at the time that there was no al-Qa'ida connection. We know now that we didn't know then that there was no 9/11 connection. We know now that they had no plan for winning the peace. We didn't know that at the time."

If you were able to decipher what he means, suffice it to say, it ain't so.

On the Homeland Security front...

President Bush made clear the pandemic threat posed by the Asian Bird Flu this week, in a speech that closely paralleled the analysis provide in Patriot No. 05-42: Pandemic kills??? million worldwide...

http://FederalistPatriot.US/alexander/edition.asp?id=335

two weeks ago. Mr. Bush outlined a strategy to prepare for a pandemic, including the refinement of national early-detection protocols, funding for developing and stockpiling vaccines and anti-viral drugs, and developing a ready government response.

The President emphasized individual preparedness, saying, "Every American must take personal responsibility for stopping the spread of the virus." Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff reiterated the importance of individual preparedness as the foundation of national preparedness. "For those people who say, 'Well, I can take care of myself no matter what, I don't have to prepare,' there is an altruistic element—that to the extent that they are a burden on government services, that takes away from what's available to help those who can't help themselves," Chertoff said. "That is a matter of civic virtue."

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As we noted in Patriot No. 05-42, the primary means of protection against pandemic infection is sheltering in place. To learn more about preparing your family to shelter in place, link to this Recommended Action Plan for Mitigating the Consequences of Natural or Attack Catastrophe on Your Family and Community (http://FederalistPatriot.US/useprpc/plan.asp). As for when to implement your family preparedness plan, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, "Have you something to do to-morrow; do it to-day."

From the "Department of Military Readiness"...

Military analysts recently returned from Iraq have many positive things to say about not only our own brave Patriots in uniform, but also Iraqi forces and elections. Major General Don Shepperd said of Iraqi security forces, "These guys are good. They're coming up to speed very, very quickly." He added that 20 percent of Baghdad is now under their watch. Major General Robert Scales praised the Iraqis as "in many ways...better than we are... I mean, they can spot insurgents by their body language and by how they act and the language they use. They can spot foreigners far better than our soldiers can... eing part of the culture really means a lot when you're fighting an insurgency." Apparently, it's not all destruction and incompetence in Iraq after all...

From the "Department of Military Correctness"...

The Big Three nightly newscasts have become nothing more than anti-war activists with a national platform. The Media Research Center recently released a review of over 1,300 news stories on Iraq from January through September. Among their findings was the following: 61 percent of the stories were negative or pessimistic, while only 15 percent were positive. The gap became even worse in August and September with negative stories nearing 75 percent; positive stories at seven percent. Stories about heroic actions by the troops were outnumbered eight to one by stories of abuse or other misconduct. Two of every five news stories covered bombings, kidnappings and other mayhem. Election stories also trended negative, as if things truly were better under Saddam Hussein. We think most Patriot readers will agree—the words that come to mind are "aiding and abetting."

Judicial Benchmarks...

From the Leftjudiciary, the same Court that ruled the Pledge of Allegiance "unconstitutional," the 9th Circus, is at it again, this week ruling parenting basically unconstitutional when it "interferes" with the state's school-indoctrination system. Sex surveys are being handed out to Palmdale, California's first-, third- and fifth- graders that ask things our Editor for Standards and Practices won't allow in our publication! Many parents filed suit, arguing that they—not public schools—should have the sole right "to control the upbringing of their children by introducing them to matters of and relating to sex."

The Court disagreed, saying, "There is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children... Parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students." Judge Stephen Reinhardt went even further, saying, "No such specific right can be found in the deep roots of the nation's history and tradition or implied in the concept of ordered liberty." There are simply no words for this abhorrent travesty. No news yet on any appeal.

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There is currently a Republican proposal in a House budget reconciliation bill to split the Ninth Circuit Court territory up with the Twelfth Circuit in order to create a Leftcoast venue from the planet earth. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (from some other planet) complains, "On the merits, there is no justification for the Republican court splitting proposal. It is simply a partisan exercise to appease the radical right."

From the "Court Jesters" File, the judge who was to preside over Tom DeLay's campaignfinance trial was removed this week because he is a Republican. Prosecutor Ronnie Earle, a big donor to Democrat campaigns and causes, maintains with a straight face that his case against Congressman DeLay is not a partisan witch-hunt.

From the "Non Compos Mentis" Files...

CBS's Andy Rooney, who has lost as much mental faculty as Walter Cronkite, interrupted Don Imus Friday morning, when Imus referred to Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., as an "African-American." Rooney interjected, "I object every time I hear the words 'African-American.' You know?... The word 'negro' is a perfectly good word... I don't see anything wrong with that." For the record, Imus was singing Ford's praises, which means he must be breathing the air Rooney exhaled.

From the "Village Academic Curriculum" File...

Illinois state Demo-Rep. Mary Flowers has introduced a bill that would mandate that 400,000 Chicago students wash or sanitize their hands before eating. Will cameras be installed over sinks and alarms set to go off if a student doesn't wash? "At home, we teach our children to wash their hands, butonce they get to school, those rules are thrown out because of the time constraints the schools are under," Flowers said. "In the meantime, a lot of children are getting sick." Flowers is thinking of amending the bill to include other kids in the state. We were under the impression that schools were for education—meaning kids can be taught to wash their hands, not forced by the state.

Around the nation...

From the states, earlier this year the Pennsylvania state senate voted unanimously for a salary increase of as much as 54 percent. After voters got wind of this and began inundating lawmakers' offices with phone calls and letters, the senate voted this week (unanimously!) to repeal the new pay package. If you see any Penn-state lawmakers on the street with tin cans, be kind!

In Colorado, voters agreed Tuesday 52-48 to give $3.7 billion due in taxpayer refunds over five years back to the state to help with a budget crisis. The refunds were due because the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in the state's constitution demands state surpluses be returned to taxpayers. However, proponents of stopping the refund cited higher education, health care and transportation as the reasons the state needed the money more than residents. (Governments always "need" more money, if you haven't noticed.) This vote could possibly have lasting effects on the way taxpayer money is spent in the Rocky Mountain State.

From the Peoples' Republic of Maryland, The Patriot previously reported how Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's Social Security Number and credit card records were illegally obtained by staffers Chuck Schumer's office (where are those indictments?), all in the name of "opposition research." Now, that little faux pas could cost Maryland Demos big, as many black voters—traditionally Demo stalwarts—are enraged in the belief that the DSCC's actions were racially motivated.

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The racially sensitive Left is calling Maryland's Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele "Simple Sambo" and the "Oreo Cookie Candidate" on the Senate campaign trail, and protesters are throwing cookies at him. (We wish people would throw cookies at us!) House Delegate Salima Siler Marriott said that racial attacks are okay "because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community. His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people." Well, that clears things up.

If that's not enough to alienate The Old Line State's black Democrat voters, the state's Demo Party is challenging Steele's candidacy with Rep. Ben Cardin (who is white) while actively trying to edge out a run by former MD congressman Kweisi Mfume, who recently stepped down as president of the NAACP. To put it mildly, Maryland's blacks are feeling neglected, and all Lt. Gov. Steele will need do is make a good showing in three counties where Demos need a landslide. If successful, he'll become Maryland's first black senator. To quote the "Rev." Je$$e Jack$on (just this once): "Keep hope alive."

In business/economic news...

The economy added another 56,000 jobs in October, rebounding from a rough September full of hurricane losses. September's 35,000 job-loss numbers were also upwardly revised to only 8,000 jobs lost. The unemployment rate also dropped to 5.0 percent.

Family and faith matters...

In a Scripture-reaffirming move, the highest court of the United Methodist Church defrocked a lesbian minister who, in 2003, admitted to her congregation that she lives with another woman in a "covenanted relationship." Irene Beth Stroud was in violation of a Methodist rule prohibiting "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals" from ordained ministry, resulting in her bishop's filing a formal charge. She will remain as a lay minister at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown in Philadelphia—unable to administer Communion or baptisms. Stroud was defrocked in December, 2004, by a 13-minister panel, though that ruling was overturned by a regional appeals court earlier this year.

In a further ruling, Rev. Edward Johnson, pastor of South Hill United Methodist Church in South Hill, VA, was reinstated with back pay after being forced into unpaid leave for refusing membership to an unrepentant homosexual man. The court viewed the issue as one of pastoral authority, however, and not a referendum on homosexual behavior. We pray for courage for the leadership of the UMC as they stand against the tide of post-modern relativism and its assault on Scripture.

Around the world...

Operating under the delusion that the world still trembles at the might of the Spanish armada, a Spanish judge issued an international arrest warrant for three U.S. soldiers whose tank fired on a Baghdad hotel during the Iraq war, killing a Spanish journalist. The arrest order was reportedly issued because of a lack of cooperation from the United States, which had determined the use of force to be justified. (Besides, how would you produce an Abrams battle tank into evidence?)

If we start succumbing to the hubris of any foreign judge who asserts jurisdiction over our military, as some liberals would love to see, American soldiers could be victimized by tyrannical courts all over the world at any time. We're disappointed to see this action by our former allies in the Iraqi campaign—from the land of the matador, this is bull.

In other news from across the pond, 86 percent of 18-30-year-old Londoners surveyed said the French deserve "a popular negative stereotype." We couldn't agree more! Conversely, the same age group was surveyed in Paris and only 27 percent thought the British held negative stereotypes of France. Perhaps the haughty French were just blinded by their high opinion of themselves.

=================See Page 11

[nChrist]

From The Federalist Patriot:

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05-44 - An Almost MUST Read Patriot - Page 11

And last...

CBSNews Chief White House correspondent John Roberts made quite a Freudian slip this week in a press gaggle with White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. Discussing the President's nomination of Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court, Roberts referred to Alito as "sloppy seconds"—a rather uncouth term. "[T]he President said, repeatedly, that Harriet Miers was the best person for the job. So does that mean that Alito is sloppy seconds, or what?" According to "A Dictionary of Slang" in the UK, "sloppy seconds" means "A subsequent indulgence in an activity by a second person involving an exchange of bodily fluids." Hmmm... Roberts soon realized his mistake and did a very rare thing among journalists—he apologized! Well, sort of. "As we all experience from time to time, it was one of those 'oops' moments which we wish we could rewind and re-record. I apologize to anyone who took offense to my poor choice of words." We suppose he feels vindicated after his Durbin-esque apology, but Sloppy John should probably be more careful in the future. And, incidentally, we're still offended.

Lex et Libertas—Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for the editors and staff. (Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families, especially those of our fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who have died in defense of American liberty while prosecuting the war with Jihadistan.)

[Soldier4Christ]

I wonder if this was a true letter dictated by Sen Kennedy or if it was an aides idea of a joke. I don't see him intentionally admitting the Chappaquidic (sp) incident to anyone especially someone in an opposing party.

[nChrist]

Pastor Roger,

Brother, I did wonder about that, but I have confidence that the Federalist Patriot quoted the letter verbatim. It's hard to say what kind of day that Ted Kennedy will have or what he will say. I've watched him on C-Span a couple of times when I thought he was drunk. That would obviously be just my opinion, but he does have a reputation for that. I've heard several statements from him that didn't make much sense, especially when he is angry and probably drinking.

Love In Christ,
Tom

John 1:10-13 NASB  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

[Soldier4Christ]

I have no doubt as to the honesty of the Federalist Patriot but I was wondering about the honesty of the source. Then again Sen Kennedy has displayed that he thinks himself above the law and therefore untouchable many times. I find it surprising that he is still in office.

[nChrist]

I have no doubt as to the honesty of the Federalist Patriot but I was wondering about the honesty of the source. Then again Sen Kennedy has displayed that he thinks himself above the law and therefore untouchable many times. I find it surprising that he is still in office.

Pastor Roger,

Brother, I've wondered the same thing many times. The only answers that make any sense are:

Big MONEY
Big POWER
Liberal ICON

The folks keep electing him, so they must like the things that he's doing. The same would be true for John Kerry who might have become our President. I can't even begin to understand it. Maybe things like this are simply representative about just how much the moral fiber of our country has eroded.

As a country, I wouldn't know how to define how far we have turned our backs on GOD. Maybe we deserve the punishment that leaders like this represent. To a degree, even the Godly people of this country have turned away from GOD. Regardless of the degree, Christians should expect the chastisement of GOD and fewer blessings in this life when we don't act within the Will of GOD.

Love in Christ,
Tom

Psalms 111:7-8 NASB  The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are sure.  They are upheld forever and ever; They are performed in truth and uprightness.