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| Brief · July 18, 2011 The Foundation"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." --Patrick Henry Government"The country is on a high-speed bullet train to bankruptcy (the only kind of bullets liberals approve of), and the Democrats' motto is: Spend! Spend! Spend! Democrats are at an advantage in the 'should the U.S. go bankrupt or not?' debate because, based on their economic policies so far, they obviously favor bankruptcy. This allows them to sit back and demand that Republicans propose all the spending cuts and then turn around and scream that Republicans have declared war on the poor and disadvantaged. It's a nice trick, especially considering Republicans control only the House. Meanwhile, the Democrats control all other branches of our government: the Senate, the White House, and The New York Times op/ed page. What's their plan? Their plan is to keep spending, while blaming tax breaks for corporate jets for the entire $14.3 trillion deficit. The Democrats will never suggest any cuts to a budget that has put the country another $4 trillion in debt only since Obama became president. So Republicans keep proposing cuts and Democrats keep riling up the increasingly large number of people who get checks from the government. Nothing ever gets cut, but more people hate Republicans for having proposed any cuts at all. ... If Republicans cut government spending, recipients of government checks come after them with pitchforks. If the Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling to force spending cuts, the economy collapses. In general, the trend seems to be in the direction of higher spending and endless debt." --columnist Ann Coulter Essential Liberty"The depressing debate over the debt ceiling underscores just how recklessly the ruling class has squandered America's sacred heritage -- a heritage I had the privilege of revisiting up close this past week on a family vacation. The contrast between the sublime historical locations we experienced during the day and the alarming news we ingested each night about the dire state of our nation's financial condition couldn't have been starker. Upon witnessing the majesty of our historical sites, it's difficult not to be outraged at the irresponsible stewardship of our do-gooder ruling class. These elites are on the final leg of their long journey to uproot our founding principles and remake the nation in their quest for moral self-realization through public acts of philanthropy with other people's money and liberty. In the name of compassion, they have systematically undermined our founding ideals of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and equal opportunity under the law. ... I am more convinced than ever that words alone are insufficient to express the richness of America's heritage and the debt we owe our Founding Fathers and all others who sacrificed so much so that we could be free. As we measure the forces determined to structurally change this nation, divest us of our liberties and, in the process, inevitably bankrupt us, let us always be mindful of the sacrifice of these great men, who bequeathed to us our liberties, and honor them and our posterity by redoubling our commitment to fight to the end to preserve them." --columnist David Limbaugh Opinion in Brief"[P]resident Obama's statements that he may have to stop Social Security checks, veterans' checks and disability checks shows just how bankrupt our country is. If we literally don't have the cash to pay those checks out of our current stockpiles, how is borrowing more money going to cure the problem? ... By tacitly admitting that government benefit schemes are month-to-month, [Obama's] admitting that the underlying structure of these systems is not self-sustaining. That's a major shift for a man who, in August 2010, proclaimed, 'Social Security is not in crisis.' ... President Obama has now embraced a binary choice: either he can screw current taxpayers or he can screw past taxpayers. Those who depend on their Social Security check to pay the rent are now being asked to suffer a double burden: The burden of paying their original Social Security tax as well as the burden of forgoing their expected return. The alternative is asking those who currently pay taxes to suffer a double burden: paying a higher tax rate and then forgoing their check somewhere down the road." --columnist Ben Shapiro Political Futures"Rarely ... has any administration been so disconnected from Reality as is the one now lecturing us. Who strong-armed through Congress a health insurance measure on the supposition that somehow we, the taxpayers, will cough up the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of billions necessary to pay for it forever? As everyone and his dog knows, the Affordable Care Act was the Obama administration's bright idea. Ironically, the president plans next year, while seeking re-election, to pat himself enthusiastically on the back for winning passage of the very measure that makes control of federal spending so devilishly hard. Having told us to eat our peas, he plans next to remind us how good they tasted." --columnist William Murchison Re: The Left"In the midst of testy debt-limit negotiations, Obama told House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, 'Don't call my bluff.' The first rule in bluffing is to keep it a secret that you're bluffing. So, technically speaking, that's like a con man saying, 'Don't give any weight to the fact that I'm lying.' ... His remark about not calling his bluff notwithstanding, Obama has at least demonstrated the political professionalism to read his lines. His refusal to sign a short-term debt-ceiling extension is, according to him, an act of moral leadership, high-minded pragmatism and flat-out bravery. 'I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this,' Obama reportedly said about his determination to have a long-term deal. He says he wants the deal because America can't continue to kick the can down the road, even though that's what he did during his entire presidency until the GOP got in the way. My suspicion is that if he read his stage direction instead of his lines, it would sound very different. Something like: 'I want to be positioned as if I'm taking the high road, but I'm really just trying to kick this can past the 2012 election. I want to keep asking for things Republicans won't agree to so I can paint them as irresponsible. So, whatever you do, don't call my bluff.'" --columnist Jonah Goldberg For the Record"Let me start by saying American should pay its debts. If the debts are really, really large -- that's too bad. We owe the money and we have to pay it. We're the richest, most blessed nation in the history of the world and we have to pay what we owe. Period. ... On Wednesday a company known as a ratings agency, Standard & Poor's, weighed in on this debt limit business by putting the whole U.S. of A. on what it calls a 'credit watch.' If we slip into the Wayback Machine we will see that S&P along with its partner in crime, Moody's Investor Services, were two of the major players in pretending that all those securitized mortgage instruments that were being bought and sold up until the whole world went broke had 'AAA' ratings even though they turned out to have the accumulated value of a bucket of beach sand. Standard & Poor's either lied about the value of all those mortgages, or it didn't understand how to value them, or it did understand that they were worthless but it (and Moody's) collected fees from the geniuses who almost made our ATM cards as useful as baseball cards in our bicycle spokes. ... If I were in a position to do so, I would haul the heads of Moody's and S&P in front of Congress, make them swear to tell the truth, and ask them if they had any conversations with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner or any of his people prior to issuing this warning. My strong suspicion is that the White House, looking for leverage, told Geithner to call his buds at Moody's and S&P and get them to issue a warning hoping it would weaken the resolve of Congressional Republicans." --political analyst Rich Galen Insight"The only freedom deserving the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest." --British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) The Gipper"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandment's would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress." --Ronald Reagan
Faith & Family"[M]arriage, redefined to include homosexuals, is now open to further redefinition to suit the homosexual lifestyle. Just a week after the New York law passed, the New York Times ran a piece promoting the practice of 'flexible' monogamy, or infidelity with permission -- a common practice in 'committed' homosexual relationships. The thesis? It 'works' for the homosexual community, so heterosexuals should try it too. ... Societies that legitimize substitutes for traditional marriage (homosexual 'marriage,' civil unions, cohabitation) inevitably witness the decline of authentic marriage. And as marriage declines, family structures weaken, producing cracks in the bedrock of a stable society. The result? Children suffer. ... Be unequivocal with your children. This is not about 'fairness' or 'equality.' It's about morality and the strength of civil society. Homosexual behavior is wrong. And homosexual relationships are not equivalent to heterosexual marriages, no matter what the New York legislature says." --columnist Rebecca Hagelin Culture"Some 'reality shows' are designed to advertise wanton misbehavior and stupidity for its own sake. There's no 'life lesson,' just an exercise in how you can grade your own moral worth on a 'Jersey Shore' curve. That is not the case with TLC's 'Sister Wives.' For TLC ... it was the usual slam-dunk oddball premise: Won't people be curious to see how four wives -- married to the same man -- get along in the same house? The show's stars, Kody Brown and his wives, want much more than fame and fortune. They want to make polygamy respectable, even legalized. The show was a surprise hit for TLC, drawing an average of 2.2 million viewers over Season 1 last fall. The polygamists have recognized the power of pop culture -- particularly television -- and are pouncing to normalize this abhorrent behavior. ... What's sad about this whole exercise is that media chroniclers of the Browns, from network TV to Oprah to blogs and wire services, routinely treat them as sympathetic figures. Every exotic alternative lifestyle is assumed to be progressive and therefore admirable and is not only to be tolerated, but welcomed." --columnist L. Brent Bozell Reader Comments"I don't think Americans ever doubted this administrations behind the scenes intentions regarding weapons ownership and gun rights. I'm not sure we ever thought that the methodology would include fabrication of events to support their intentions such as Mark Alexander outlined in Guns Gone Wild. But, how could we be surprised? I find no consolation in the fact that the stupidity has been exposed since facts seem not to matter when the will of the people is but a campaign slogan and the Constitution a document to be cast aside." --Andy "Excellent essay Mark. It is crystal clear that BHO and Eric Holder gave the order to the BATF to force border state gun dealers to sell weapons to enemies of the Unites States. For this they should be tried and sentenced, period. This criminal scheme is one of many committed by BHO in the short time he has been acting as POTUS. Unfortunately even this obscene act has not caused an uprising to remove this enemy of the state from office." --Dave "Regarding Friday's Digest and the debt ceiling, Sen. Mitch McConnell understands Sun Tzu -- pick your battles. I really do not like the plan either, but with Obama and the progressives intent on hanging everything on the Republicans heads, a tactical retreat is a smart thing to do. Time to call Obama's bluff and MAKE him take responsibility, accountability and ownership." --Kevin "We need to enforce the Rule of Law. The Constitution specifically grants the power to borrow money to the Congress not the President. It matter not whether the President demands an increased debt limit or threatens to shutdown departments in the Administration he has no say. Congress should not increase the Debt limit just because there is a spend thrift intent on destroying the Full Faith and Credit of these United States." --Jim "For the life of me, I cannot understand why the politicians are unable to do what responsible people do -- stop spending money that they do not have. You can spend every penny you have (even this is irresponsible) but not a penny more. Irresponsible people who continue to borrow money they cannot repay, end up in bankruptcy court." --Gary
The Last Word"[Thursday] we quoted President Obama as saying in his Monday press conference: 'The public is not paying close attention to the ins and outs of how a Treasury option goes.' It turns out that the White House transcript, from which we got the quote, got it wrong. The president said 'Treasury auction,' not 'option.' (The Treasury doesn't sell options or other derivatives, only debt securities.) This escaped our notice, and it obviously escaped the notice of the White House transcriber. We'd say it ended up proving the president's point, except that we ended up hearing from a bunch of readers about the error. So it turns out no one but the public is paying attention." --Wall Street Journal columnist James Taranto Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis! Patriot News Review
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