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| Brief · January 3, 2011 The Foundation"No country upon earth ever had it more in its power to attain these blessings than United America." --George Washington The Gipper"I've always thought New Year's Day was an especially American tradition, full of the optimism and hope we're famous for in our daily lives -- an energy and confidence we call the American spirit. Perhaps because we know we control our own destiny, we believe deep down inside that working together we can make each new year better than the old. ... Let us renew our faith that as free men and women we still have the power to better our lives, and let us resolve to face the challenges of the new year holding that conviction firmly in our hearts. That, after all, is our greatest strength and our greatest gift as Americans." --Ronald Reagan Editor's NoteThe final tally for our 2010 Year-End Campaign isn't in yet, but it appears that, once again, we will make our budget. Faithful readers like you made this possible and we are both grateful and humbled by this support. As we begin 2011, we are encouraged, emboldened and optimistic. We hope you share this same drive to accomplish great things for our nation in the coming year. Reader Comments"Just wanted to let you know that I am thankful for a fine group of young Americans that look out for the true interests of our Country. I know that what I was able to contribute will go to further the cause of righteousness in our government. My thanks to all of you for your steadfast vigilance against the tyranny of our so-called national leaders. Keep up the good work." --William "I read your wonderful Patriot Post every day and am always enlightened and lifted up by what you write. God Bless you and your staff for your wonderful work. I have given two small contributions to you this year. I wish I could afford to give more." --Melinda "I trust that the 'beacon of liberty' that The Patriot Post faithfully holds up will be bigger and brighter than ever this coming New Year. You are all much appreciated. Please keep up the good work!" --Gary Opinion in Brief"The lapdog big media will predictably question everything the new Republican House attempts to do, characterizing it as 'insensitive,' pro-rich and even inhuman. They will be helped by unions, which will stage demonstrations against any program cuts or attempts to reduce the size and reach of government. ... As Byron York correctly noted in The Washington Examiner, Democrats will again cry 'Washington is broken' after Republicans take control of the House and improve their numbers in the Senate. To them, Washington 'works' only when it is passing bills authored by Democrats that cost and tax more, while expanding the size and reach of government. Washington is 'broken' when Republicans say 'no' to more dependence on government and yes to liberty, opportunity and personal responsibility. The message from the November election was about ending Obamism, not expanding it. You wouldn't know that from the drooling big media, which is already trying to re-establish the liberal narrative that everything Democrats do is good and everything Republicans do is evil." --columnist Cal Thomas Culture"Nothing is easier for politicians than to play Santa Claus by promising benefits, without mentioning the costs -- or lying about the costs and leaving it to future governments to figure out what to do when the money runs out. In the United States, the biggest and longest-running scam of this sort is Social Security. Fulfilling all the promises that were made, as commitments in the law, would cost more money than Social Security has ever had. ... All the incentives are for politicians to do what they have done, namely to promise benefits without raising enough taxes to pay for them. That way, it looks like you are getting something for nothing. When crunch time comes and politicians are either going to have to tell people the truth or raise taxes, the almost inevitable choice is to raise taxes. If the people think they are already taxed too much, then the taxes can be raised only for people designated as 'the rich.' If 'the rich' object, then demagogues can denounce them for their selfishness and 'greed' for objecting to turning over ever-growing amounts of what they have earned to politicians. ... The scams inherent in welfare states are not only economically counterproductive, they turn group against group, straining the ties that hold a society together." --economist Thomas Sowell Re: The Left"Most people don't remember Obamacare's notorious Section 1233, mandating government payments for end-of-life counseling. It aroused so much anxiety as a possible first slippery step on the road to state-mandated late-life rationing that the Senate never included it in the final health care law. Well, it's back -- by administrative fiat. A month ago, Medicare issued a regulation providing for end-of-life counseling during annual 'wellness' visits. It was all nicely buried amid the simultaneous release of hundreds of new Medicare rules. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., author of Section 1233, was delighted. ... In early November, his office sent an e-mail plea to supporters: 'We would ask that you not broadcast this accomplishment out to any of your lists ... e-mails can too easily be forwarded. ... The longer this (regulation) goes unnoticed, the better our chances of keeping it.' So much for Democratic transparency -- and for their repeated claim that the more people learn what is in the health care law, the more they will like it. Turns out ignorance is the Democrats' best hope." --columnist Charles Krauthammer Liberty"Early [last] month, the Federal Communications Commission ('FCC') voted to regulate the Internet for the first time. This scheme, known as Net Neutrality that forbids Internet service providers from impeding access to legal web content, may seem minor but it raises larger free speech issues and the threat of more intrusive regulation. Even Congress has been sensitive to the First Amendment implications of any legislation regulating the Internet and has been careful in taking any action to date. The people want debate by their elected representatives on this issue, not the imposition of new regulation at the whim of a president who believes he knows better than the citizenry. ... Regardless of where anyone stands on these ... issues, it is the dictatorial action implied by this process that should be rejected. The 112th Congress can use its power to review any regulation to strike down this power grab. The American people need to demand that this new Congress act swiftly to send the president notice that our liberty will not be taken from us by the stroke of a pen." --columnist Robert Bonelli For the Record"The greatest tyrants in history have used food as a method of control. To state the obvious, people must eat to live. By controlling the flow of food to people who side with the political intelligentsia, rule is established. ... Meet the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), a new legislative proposal designed to centralize control over food stocks to protect Americans from 'terror.' The motive may indeed be to protect the food supply from the actions of terrorists, but what about acts of government terror? Can centralized control by the government protect the people against the whims of human nature? This question is not being asked by those so in favor of surrendering control of food to an entity that cannot even manage a budget, much less an oil spill or other natural disaster. Now we are to believe that this same inefficient, broken entity can guarantee the safety of our food? Something stinks, and it smells like government cheese. ... The bottom line vis-à-vis food is that Americans lose control, and foreign bureaucrats gain control. Even if the alleged motive were legitimate, the FDA already inspects food imports, albeit quite poorly. The federal government already possesses the necessary power to thwart terrorist contamination of the food supply. This proposal, then, is not really about protecting food, but instead about controlling food -- and by extension, controlling Americans." --columnist John Griffing
Government"From 1900 to 1910, [California's] population grew by an astounding 60.1 percent, according to the Census Bureau. In the remaining decades of the 20th century, it grew by 44.1 percent, 65.7 percent, 21.7 percent, 53.3 percent, 48.5 percent. 27.0 percent, 18.6 percent, 25.7 percent and 13.8 percent. After each Census, California won additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and gained greater influence over the nation's political destiny. Then came the population count of 2010. Last week, the Census Bureau announced that for the first time since California became a state in 1850, it would gain no additional seats in the House. ... Who killed the California dream? Politicians did -- specifically, politicians who pushed a vision of big government that called for redistributing wealth and rewarding indigence while penalizing the hard work and calculated risk-taking that marked Californians of generations past. ... Whether they replace indigenous workers by taking their jobs or increase the burden of government on those workers by going on the dole, the illegal immigrant population is helping to build California's welfare state -- as are pensioned state-government employees and native-born Americans who have grown accustomed to government dependency." --CNSNews editor in chief Terence Jeffrey Insight"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, 'Who is destroying the world?' You are." --author Ayn Rand (1905-1982) Political Futures"A new Gallup poll shows that most Americans view our country as exceptional but only 37 percent think Barack Obama agrees. This may not surprise you, but it should alarm you. Whatever our policy differences with a sitting president, we should at least have confidence that he loves America and believes in American superiority -- economic, military, cultural. But from the beginning, he was abundantly clear that he wasn't satisfied with our country 'as is,' and wanted to remake it. Unfortunately, that included sinking us further into debt and apologizing on the world stage for what he perceived to be our past transgressions. Two years into this we see that his policies and approach have made our nation weaker and less influential on the world stage. ... Note to file: when we elect a president who doesn't believe we're something special, we shouldn't expect other countries to think any differently. Our next president will have a full plate, but combating the narrative of America in decline must be one of his top priorities. Otherwise more Americans will begin to view their country as Obama does -- just another nation state in the global community." --radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham The Last Word"I'd like to challenge you to consider that the 'good news' we celebrate during the Christmas season really is true. You may choose to believe the Bible is merely a book of fables with nice moral lessons, but there is more abundant and accurate manuscript evidence for the New Testament than any other book from antiquity. Moreover, the number of witnesses to Christ's life, death and resurrection, as well as the nature of their testimony, is strong evidence of the reliability of the scriptural accounts, as are the corroborating secular testimony and archeological evidence. In fact, the New Testament writers had every temporal motive to deny the resurrection occurred. Why would they fabricate and stand by a story that would lead to their being beaten, tortured and murdered? So next time you read your Bible, consider that you're reading the inspired word of God and that Jesus really did say and do what the Bible reports, beginning with His claims about His own divinity..... Once we conclude the Bible is the word of God, we will delight in the Scriptures (Psalm 119:92) and, as one writer put it, acquire 'that great sense that we are living in the sphere of eternal security.' Eternal security, indeed, for Christ died so that by repenting and trusting in Him, we could live. Now that's the true meaning of Christmas and the best news of all." --columnist David Limbaugh
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