The Brief

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Brief · December 13, 2010 The Foundation "No taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant." --George Washington Liberty Unemployment benefits = wealth transfer "There is no such thing as a 'free' government benefit. Ask small-business owners who are footing skyrocketing bills for bottomless jobless benefits. While politicians in Washington negotiate a deal to provide welcome temporary payroll, income and estate tax relief to America's workers, struggling employers wonder how long they'll have to pay for the compassion of others -- and whether they can survive. The Beltway deal hinges on extending federal unemployment insurance for another 13 months. This would mark the sixth time that the deadline has been extended since June 2008. ... Washington is relying on transfers from the federal general revenue fund to cover loan obligations related to all these hemorrhaging accounts. Who pays? Dentists, tavern owners, maid services, mom-and-pop shops -- small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy. In my home state of Colorado, small and mid-size firms have been saddled with eye-popping unemployment insurance bills that have doubled, tripled and more in the past year. The businesses that have the lowest claims histories are getting punished the most to make up the jobless benefits fund deficit. ... [T]he victims of government wealth redistribution never earn as much of Washington's attention as the beneficiaries." --columnist Michelle Malkin Opinion in Brief "Does the president's stout rhetorical argument these last weeks that anyone making over $250,000 is rich and can easily absorb a big tax increase encourage an investor to believe the president has any idea what economic reality is like? I have the feeling that even if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to extend for two years, if the economy does not come bouncing back, this White House will ask, 'What more do the businessmen want? We gave them their darn Bush tax break; they owe us their big investment.' Tax cuts -- or in this instance, no tax increases -- are vitally useful in creating an economic environment in which investors, and big- and small-businesspeople feel safe to invest again. But low taxes are not sufficient. When they come at the same time that the White House continues to trumpet threatening class warfare sounds, I fear this dreary economy will continue to flounder." --columnist Tony Blankley Re: The Left "The defining difference between liberal and conservative, Republican and Democrat, tea sipper and addict to castor oil, is envy. Bitter, unyielding and unforgiving envy. ... The Democrats in the House, eager to exact revenge for November, demonstrated their regard ... for the hicks and dummies who threw them out by rejecting the Senate compromise forged by Republicans and the White House that would save the tax cuts for the middle class the Democrats profess to love so much. The great divide between Democrats who 'get it' and those who don't opens wider. Those who don't get it grow mean and stingy, expressing their rage in ways petulant and petty, like the Clinton White House aides who disabled computer keyboards and pilfered whatever they could carry out of the house on the morning that George W. Bush arrived as the new tenant. It's too much even for Barack Obama as he struggles up the ever steeper presidential learning curve. He told his no longer adoring Democrats this week that it was time to grow up and put away childish things." --columnist Wesley Pruden For the Record "Don't count on the transformation of Barack Obama into a 'will of the people' politician. The evidence on tax cuts was simply too much for Obama to ignore -- even he had to admit that he was wrong, that Americans do want lower tax rates. ... Whenever Obama believes he has secured the support of a subgroup, he generally abandons them for the next several months. That's why Obama, after revising government regulations to benefit gay and lesbian couples, abandoned 'don't ask, don't tell.' That's why Obama, after failing to pass quasi-amnesty for illegal immigrants, abandoned the DREAM Act. Obama thinks this is political pragmatism.... That's how he sees the tax cuts. He gave them to us not because he's realized the error of his ways, but because he treats the American people like dogs -- throw us a bone every so often, and he can expect us to fetch the paper for him. ... After the midterm elections, Obama knows one thing very clearly: He doesn't want to follow in the footsteps of his deposed brethren. He'll masquerade as a Republican in order to avoid that fate. We must remember, though, that it's just a masquerade until he proves otherwise." --columnist Ben Shapiro Government "The [Obama deficit commission] report paints an appropriately dire picture of the nation's fiscal outlook. The annual deficit, currently more than $1.4 trillion, amounts to 9 percent of gross domestic product, while federal debt held by the public, currently 62 percent of GDP (up from 33 percent in 2001), is expected to exceed the size of the entire economy by 2025, with interest alone topping $1 trillion. 'America's long-term fiscal gap is unsustainable,' the report says. Despite that daunting description, the solutions proposed by the commission are mild and gradual. It suggests, for example, that Congress 'hold spending in 2012 equal to or lower than spending in 2011,' 'return spending to pre-crisis 2008 levels in real terms in 2013' and 'limit future spending growth to half the projected inflation rate through 2020.' Even this sort of modest spending restraint, of course, will provoke squeals of protest from the affected interest groups. ... [U]nless we are comfortable with a federal leviathan that consumes more than a fifth of the economy, which it would continue to do forever even if the commission's plan were enacted unchanged, we need to go beyond demanding that the government do more efficiently things it should not be doing at all." --columnist Jacob Sullum Insight "It is the highest impertinence and presumption, therefore, in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy of private people, and to restrain their expence, either by sumptuary laws, or by prohibiting the importation of foreign luxuries. They are themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society. Let them look well after their own expence, and they may safely trust private people with theirs. If their own extravagance does not ruin the state, that of their subjects never will." --Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790) The Gipper "The economic welfare of all our people must ultimately stem not from government programs, but from the wealth created by a vigorous private sector." --Ronald Reagan Political Futures "Democrats have not reacted well to the 'shellacking' voters administered to their party at the polls [last] month. Far from doing any soul searching or introspection of any kind, Democrats embarked on a campaign to rehabilitate their leaders, reelecting Nancy Pelosi to head their now minority House caucus and Harry Reid to lead a reduced Senate contingent. The leadership brooked no second-guessing of Democrats' electoral strategy, either, declaring that the message was good and only the party's delivery was flawed. ... Democrats' refusal to spend any time in the wilderness, indeed their refusal to acknowledge the existence of a wilderness, has not served them well as they struggle to gain a foothold from which to spring back to power. The lame-duck session of Congress thus far has resulted in no legislative accomplishments. ... Instead, the Democrats have wasted time dreaming of bills that will not pass and would enrage most of the country if they did. ... But by far the worst feature of this new Democratic push is that it isn't even new. ... Democrats might have known this too, if, instead of rushing headlong to prop up the leaders who had brought them electoral disaster, they had taken a short walk in the wilderness." --columnist Mark Impomeni Faith & Family "So it was a shocking turn of events [recently] when the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a long-standing civil rights group, added more than a dozen new organizations to their list of hate-mongering groups. Neo-Nazis? KKK-spin-offs? Muslim or Jew-haters? No. The new 'haters,' in this era of sexual license, are those who maintain that marriage has an intrinsic meaning -- the union of man and woman.... Crying 'hate speech,' the SPLC denounced 'anti-gay' groups for spreading 'falsehoods' that say children do best when raised by a mom and a dad, as opposed to two dads or two moms. 'Falsehoods' that support traditional marriage are now 'hate speech,' thrown into the same filthy bucket as KKK and Neo-Nazi ideology. ... As your children become old enough to discuss these issues, arm them with facts from scientific and religious perspectives. ... We should also teach our children to boldly proclaim -- in love -- their own faith. ... We know what marriage is. And no amount of lobbying or name-calling can change that truth. Our only shame would be to keep silent in the face of lies." --columnist Rebecca Hagelin Calling All Patriots As of this morning, we have raised about 63 percent of the funds for our 2010 Year-End Campaign. There are only 19 days left in this critical campaign, and we have only $134,850 to raise in order to meet budget. Our mission and operations budget is a small fraction of other influential conservative organization budgets. (View our expense graphic here.) We are able to do this in large part because our dedicated staff members are motivated by mission, not the modest wages they receive. Please, if you're able, make a secure online donation today to The Patriot Post's 2010 Year-End Campaign. If you prefer to support us by mail, please use our printable donor form. Thank you and God bless! Nate Jackson Managing Editor Fellow Patriots, Please Support Our 2010 Year-End Campaign Donate Online Donate by Mail Reader Comments "Attention Readers! Unlike the government, no one at The Patriot Post is holding a gun to your head for your money. Let's support an organization that is clearly working to retain our liberty. I know our government has made giving up any dollars difficult and they all would love it if The Patriot Post was silenced. Let's not let this happen. Here is my $52.00, hang in there and keep up the good work." --Anton "In response to Mark Alexander's essay, 'Do Ask, Do Tell,' there are many disqualifying traits for military service; overweight, criminal record, et al. Homosexuality is one of the others. That is not a capricious, 'anti-gay' concept. Homosexuality as a lifestyle is unacceptable in the military role. Warfighting, as an occupation, has no parallel in any civilian endeavor. Period. The primary reason for disqualification, if known, is that homosexual concepts and practices do not incite trust. The contrary is more accurate. A suspicion of such behavior immediately creates distrust. It cannot be tolerated. Mission effectiveness is reduced. Open homosexual behavior, as a military practice, will destroy the effectiveness of all fighting units. It is not acceptable, and those that oppose it will not enlist. Is this, after all, the purpose of this Republic's leadership? To destroy the military? It does seem so, and the Republic itself, one step at a time." --milret "Regarding the tax deal you reported Friday, The BIG worry the Dems have forgotten is the whole thing expires around the time of the 2012 elections. Who are they going to blame the tax debacle on at that time? It's a gift that keeps on giving." --FranLG The Last Word "Julian Assange, the public face of WikiLeaks, is, among many things, cowardly. Courageousness would involve meeting with Iranian dissidents, Russian journalists, Pakistani Christians, or Chinese human-rights activists -- and then releasing any confidential information that they might have about the torment institutionalized by their countries' authoritarian regimes. Instead, Assange navigates through the European northwest among the good-life elites whose economic and security protocols he does so much to undermine. Being summoned to a trumped-up Swedish hearing for being an exploitative cad who fails to wear a condom in his ephemeral hook-ups is not the same thing as being dragged into the basement of the Pakistani intelligence service or appearing in an orange jumpsuit on an al-Qaeda execution video. Why does not the peripatetic Assange at least drive about, say, the back roads of the Middle East, Mexico, or Central Africa in his quest for conduits to spread cosmic truth and justice? In truth, Assange is a sorry product of the postmodern West. WikiLeaks is the journalistic equivalent of a Piss Christ exhibition of the contemporary art world -- a repellent reminder of the cowardly selectivity of the shock-jock huckster." --columnist Victor Davis Hansen Click Here New! It's The Law t-shirt Calling all Second Amendment supporters! We have a great new t-shirt you are going to love. The left front chest "pocket" design states "It's The Law" with a Smith and Wesson logo underneath. The center back design features the minuteman statue with the Second Amendment text superimposed over it. This 5.4 oz pre-shrunk shirt is 100% cotton. (To submit reader comments click here.) Opinion Michael Barone: Obama Riles Dems by Spurning New Deal Complacency Roy Exum: A Lady's Goodbye George Will: Bush v. Gore, 10 Years On Roy Exum: It's How You Finish Argus Hamilton: From The Comedy Store Jeff Jacoby: The 'Islamophobia' Myth Roy Exum: The Burlsworth Trophy Burt Prelutsky: Our Infantile Society Peggy Noonan: From Audacity to Animosity Ken Blackwell: Ragin' 'n' Stagin' at the White House Mona Charen: The Daniels Dilemma Charles Krauthammer: Swindle of the Year Linda Chavez: The Dream and the Nightmare Matt Towery: Debunking the Millionaires and Billionaires Tax Cut Rhetoric David Limbaugh: There's Compromise, and There's Compromise More Opinion Headlines Venezuela Acquires 1,800 Antiaircraft Missiles From Russia Two Bank Failures Bring Year's Tally to 151 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Jerusalem Is Ours Pharmaceutical Industry on Verge of Major Hill Victory President Obama Takes Credit for Compromise Cancun Ends With Modest Climate 'Deal' Energy Secretary: I'll Stay 'as Long as the President Will Have Me' McCain: A Third Party Will Rise if We Don't Listen to America Nadler: Obama Gave in to 'a Bunch of Gangsters' in Tax Deal With GOP Despite Anger From Left, Dems Brush Off '12 Obama Challenge Judiciary Panel to Take Up Espionage Act, Legal Options Against WikiLeaks Boehner: Obama Disrespectful to Me More Headlines Reader Commentary The Similarities of Democrats and Republicans Learning the Truth About Education Open Letter to Wisconsin Governor-Elect Scott Walker & Senator-Elect Ron Johnson More Reader Commentary Policy The Heritage Foundation The Cato Institute Hoover Institution National Rifle Association Ludwig von Mises Institute National Center for Policy Analysis (Please pray for our Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families -- especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.) 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