THESE EDITORIALS ARE HERE TO BE USED HOWEVER YOU SEE FIT. YOU NEED NOT AGREE, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU WILL BE MOTIVATED

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The links to the left will provide you with quick access to the latest editorials from the listed journalists. I hope you will use this page on a regular basis to obtain current political information. Simply click on the journalist of your choice, read their editorial, and click on your "BACK" button to return for another selection. The comments below express my views and are not necessarily those of the school or anyone else.

GARY'S CONSERVATIVE COMMENTS

Bush's State of the Union Address and Federalism...
According to the Constitution, much of what President Bush proposed domestically is unlawful -- that is to say, many of his proposals do not comport to the letter of our Constitution's restrictions on the central government, or to its subsequent Amendments. As one of our Constitution's authors, James Madison, noted in Federalist No. 45, "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite."

Madison's words were the basis for federalism as explicated in the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution's Bill of Rights, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (Of those "few and defined" powers delegated to the central government, many are embodied in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.)

That having been said, however, our analysis takes into consideration the pragmatic realities the President faces as a national leader. The President's "pragmatic compromise" on many issues had one strategic objective -- to restore the Senate to Republican control so he could restore some sanity to the epicenter of the central government's power -- the judiciary. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The original error [was in] establishing a judiciary independent of the nation, and which, from the citadel of the law, can turn its guns on those they were meant to defend, and control and fashion their proceedings to its own will." Indeed, the liberal judiciary has done just that.

Our Constitution has suffered more than a century of abuse at the hands of politicos, who have all but completely ignored the limitations that venerable document places on the central government. Among the Constitution's greatest abusers were Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and the activist Liberal judiciary. -- Ronald Reagan endeavored to put historic Federalism -- the proper role of the central government -- back into the political lexicon. George Bush has continued when he said "You and I serve our country in a time of great consequence. During this session of Congress, we have the duty to reform domestic programs vital to our country.... We will work for a prosperity that is broadly shared ... and we will answer every danger and every enemy that threatens the American people. ... We will not deny, we will not ignore, we will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, other presidents, and other generations. We will confront them with focus, and clarity, and courage."

President Bush makes plain the theme of reform. Of course, since most "domestic programs" now conducted by the central government are not constitutional, real reform would mean eliminating these programs by the bushel. As James Madison noted, "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents...."

President Bush is intent on eliminating some smaller programs, but he heralded his "reform" of the Department of Education, and that department is at the top of the heap of those that should be eliminated, as even some previous Education Secretaries have argued. As Ronald Reagan made clear, "I believe a case can be made that the decline in the quality of public school education began when Federal aid to education became Federal interference in education." The power the central government now wields over the "education" of American youth would make Karl Marx proud!

"Our first goal is clear: We must have an economy that grows fast enough to employ every man and woman who seeks a job. ... Jobs are created when the economy grows; the economy grows when Americans have more money to spend and invest; and the best, fairest way to make sure Americans have that money is not to tax it away in the first place."

President Bush understands that the central government produces nothing, and should not be an obstacle to free enterprise. Government taxation and regulation constrain free enterprise.

We should support Mr. Bush's efforts to make his 2004 and 2006 tax reductions permanent, eliminate the marriage penalty, raise the child credit and eliminate dividend taxes. His comment, "If this tax relief is good for Americans three, or five, or seven years from now, it is even better for Americans today," is a slam-dunk. As Thomas Jefferson advised, "A wise and frugal government ... shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned."

Bush said "The best way to address the deficit and move toward a balanced budget is to encourage economic growth -- and to show some spending discipline in Washington, D.C."
As for "spending discipline," Mr. Bush has not demonstrated much of that. The day after his SOTU speech, the Congressional Budget Office revised its deficit forecast upward by 30% to $199 billion for this fiscal year. Spending in fiscal 2003 is projected to increase 9% after an excessive increase of 7% last year. The only way Mr. Bush can authentically demonstrate "discipline" is, by terminating social programs by the bushel. And he has an obligation to model fiscal restraint for the states -- most of which have constitutional restrictions on deficit spending -- the state equivalents of Ronald Reagan's perennial request -- a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution.

Health Care:
"Our second goal is high quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Health care reform must begin with Medicare, because Medicare is the binding commitment of a caring society. ... My budget will commit an additional $400 billion over the next decade to reform and strengthen Medicare."

Medicare, welfare, Social Security, et al., are extra-constitutional socialized central government programs. Thomas Jefferson warned, "Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare but only those specifically enumerated." These New Deal and Great Society boondoggles assume that the several states, local communities, families and individuals can't take care of their own. To the extent Mr. Bush is able to reduce centralized control over these behemoths through privatization and exposing them to free market forces, he will have succeeded.

Certainly, to the extent "excessive litigation" can be curbed by tort reforms, a repetitive theme in Mr. Bush's speech Tuesday night, all Americans will be better served. As the President said, "No one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit."

Energy Policy:
"Our third goal is to promote energy independence for our country, while dramatically improving the environment. ... In this century, the greatest environmental progress will come about, not through endless lawsuits or command and control regulations, but through technology and innovation."

The President's proposed "comprehensive energy plan" has many good elements to encourage reduced dependence on foreign energy sources, but his "Clear Skies legislation" does not qualify as a free enterprise approach to reducing power-plant emissions. As for "hydrogen-powered automobiles," when the market requires them, they will be developed and produced without government subsidies. If we examine the world around us, it becomes evident that government subsidies and interference have, over the decades, stifled and not enhanced technological development.

Faith-Based Initiatives:
"Our fourth goal is to apply the compassion of America to the deepest problems of America. For so many in our country -- the homeless, the fatherless, the addicted -- the need is great. ... Americans are doing the work of compassion every day.... These good works deserve our praise ... they deserve our personal support ... and, when appropriate, they deserve the assistance of our government."

As long as the central government continues to fund a plethora of social programs, we believe that faith-based organizations should be able to compete for those dollars. (Don't bother trying to make that "wall of separation" argument. The popular interpretation of those words today have little bearing on what Mr. Jefferson meant when he wrote them.) If the central government had not, unwittingly, institutionalized poverty, there would not be so much demand for things.

Abortion and Cloning:
"We must not overlook the weakest among us. I ask you to protect infants at the very hour of birth, and end the practice of partial-birth abortion. And because no human life should be started or ended as the object of an experiment, I ask you to set a high standard for humanity and pass a law against all human cloning."

Killing children is wrong, and experimenting with them is equally wrong. Enough said.

AIDS in Africa:
"Our Founders dedicated this country to the cause of human dignity -- the rights of every person and the possibilities of every life. ... Today, on the continent of Africa, nearly 30 million people have the AIDS virus -- including three million children under the age of 15. ... I ask the Congress to commit 15 billion dollars over the next five years, including nearly ten billion dollars in new money, to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean."

Treating AIDS patients in Africa is critical to U.S. national interest.

The case against Iraq:
"Today, the gravest danger in the war on terror -- the gravest danger facing America and the world -- is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. They could also give or sell those weapons to their terrorist allies, who would use them without the least hesitation. ... All free nations have a stake in preventing sudden and catastrophic attack. We are asking them to join us, and many are doing so."

And, in a line intended as a declaration of U.S. resolve to a heretofore hesitant UN, the President continued, "Yet the course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others. Whatever action is required, whenever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and security of the American people."

Mr. Bush continued his carefully measured disclosure of the nuclear threat as he connected the terrorist threat to Iraq: "The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon, and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb. ... He has not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them. The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving.

"With nuclear arms ... Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions.... Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody, reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al-Qaida. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists.... It would take just one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known."

President Bush has now -- for the first time -- unequivocally laid out the nature of the Iraqi threat: It is not only nuclear. The danger resides in a terrorist surrogate attaining a nuclear device from Saddam Hussein, and detonating that device in a U.S. urban center. Iraq presently -- not potentially -- poses a viable nuclear threat to the national security of the United States. Saddam Hussein is a clear and present danger.

Britain's MI-6 intelligence agency revealed that in the late '90s, al-Qa'ida developed a Radiological Dispersion Device (dirty bomb) with the help of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. MI-6 confirmed that al-Qa'ida still has the expertise and materials to construct just such a weapon.

In addition, as the President noted, Iraq also can provide surrogate warriors with other WMD agents: "Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm. He has shown instead his utter contempt for the United Nations, and for the opinion of the world. ... The United Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological weapons materials sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax.... Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent. ... U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. ... From three Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs. ...[Labs] that can be moved from place to place to evade inspectors. Saddam Hussein has not disclosed these facilities. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them."

The undeniable Iraqi connection with al-Qa'ida is the case Secretary of State Colin Powell will set before the UN Security Council on February 5. And this week, President Bush ordered a closed-door briefing of some 100 Democrat members of the House of Representatives, where Secretaries Powell and Rumsfeld, together with a senior CIA official, laid out the connections between Baghdad and Islamic terrorism around the world. Following the meeting, even Leftist N.Y. Democrat Rep. Carolyn Maloney was led to conclude, "The connections to terrorist networks and al-Qa'ida are becoming more definite. They have concrete evidence."

Closing Remarks:
"America is a strong nation, and honorable in the use of our strength. We exercise power without conquest, and sacrifice for the liberty of strangers. Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity. We Americans have faith in ourselves -- but not in ourselves alone. We do not claim to know all the ways of Providence, yet we can trust in them, placing our confidence in the loving God behind all of life, and all of history. May He guide us now, and may God continue to bless the United States of America."

Overall, essentially, on matters of economic and foreign policy, President Bush is a conservative -- that is, he is operating within the original (and only) intent of our Constitution. On social issues, Mr. Bush is predisposed to see government as a key element of the solution.

Doesn't make sense...
The British government released this week a gruesomely detailed account of human rights violations by the Iraqi government. Among the "highlights" are the use of electric drills on prisoners' hands, brutal rape of men and women, eye-gouging, cutting off ears, slicing off tongues, lowering of prisoners, slowly, into vats of acid, electroshock and prolonged confinement in coffin-like cages.

The British displayed a March 6, 1991, order from Baghdad Security Headquarters instructing operatives in some provinces to "kill 95 percent" of all anti-government demonstrators but spare the remaining 5 percent for interrogation, which would involve eye-gouging, rape, drills, acid, tongue-slicing, etc.

Much of the British report uses information compiled from Amnesty International. Meanwhile, the British government rejected the suggestion that the report was attempting to justify military action."

Why lie and say it's not intended to justify military action when it surely is? Why shouldn't it be intended to justify military action? It's understandable that it won't persuade hard-bitten realists or right-wing isolationists. Some Folks take the position that atrocities against the Iraqi people, no matter how horrible, simply aren't our business.

That's ok as a principled position. But why isn't any of this well-documented horror persuasive to groups like Amnesty International or to liberals who revere Amnesty International?

There is nothing inherent to liberalism that makes it anti-war. In the 20th century, conservatives have more often been  in opposition to military action (with the exception of the right's pragmatic opposition to communism. Liberals created the idea of interventionism around the globe. Woodrow Wilson painted himself as a liberator of oppressed peoples and exporter of democracy. FDR could hardly be called a knee-jerk peacenik.

Obviously, it was Vietnam that destroyed the will to fight from liberalism, though certainly not from many individual liberals. It's worth remembering that liberals were complicit in getting us into Vietnam.

The liberal justification for war is compelling morally, and the conservative case for war is compelling intellectually. Liberals believe in helping people around the world. Conservatives believe in acting in U.S. self-interest.

These are gross simplifications, especially since few liberals would object to America defending itself against all aggressors, and few conservative would say that no threat to humanity would ever warrant even a tiny sacrifice of American blood or treasure to stop it.

During the Cold War, a liberal might have justified fighting communism or Nazism on the grounds of helping people, while a conservative might have emphasized self-defense. But conservatives were certainly interested in helping people, and liberals were eager to protect America.

Today, liberals seem to think that liberal objectives are negated if a conservative objective is to be satisfied. During the 1990s, liberals opposed any conflict that had an American self-interest component  and supported any conflict that was defined as purely humanitarian. Liberals supported armed intervention in Kosovo, Haiti and Somalia but had a problem with the Gulf War.

If Saddam Hussein were the president of Belgium, New Zealand or Chad with no oil, but with just as many tortured and brutalized subjects, liberals would be in favor of removing him from power. Why do liberals ignore the indictment against Saddam simply because conservatives have their reasons for going after him, too.

This isn't about oil, but what if it was. Does that negate the liberal rationale for war? If the U.S. needed German timber, would that mean FDR's getting rid of Hitler was an illegitimate goal? If you think this is about oil, we can have that argument when Saddam is gone. But for now let's agree that Saddam should be gone.

2002 Midterm Elections
*For the first time in history, the Republican Party picked up seats in both the upper and lower congressional chambers in midterm elections -- with a Republican in the White House. This, despite the fact that 20 of 34 Senate seats in play were Republican, and of those, retiring incumbents Gramm, Thompson, Helms and Thurmond would have been shoo-ins.

*Republicans accomplished this feat despite enormous obstacles, the most significant being a very weak economy as reflected in the security markets. (More than half of Americans are stockholders.) Democrat polling indicated economic concern was a far more important motivator for voters than the impending conflict with Iraq, and the conclusion was that Republicans would pay a heavy price for the recession inherited from Clinton/Gore. The polling may have been correct, but the conclusion certainly was not!

*Strikingly, most Democrats up for reelection voted for President Bush's plan themselves. Americans did not, as it turns out, blame the Bush administration for the nation's economic woes, rather, they affirmed their confidence in the President's efforts to restore economic prosperity for all.

*While Americans are concerned about the economy, the historic, unprecedented results of this election indicate another area of concern: national security -- and confidence in the Bush administration to answer the problem. After President Bush campaigned for candidates in so many states, yesterday's elections amount to a mandate for the administration to deal with Iraq as it deems necessary.

*The votes may have been close in many states, but that does not mean the nation is ideologically indifferent, as many commentators have suggested. The election results put to bed the challenge to George Bush's election in 2000 -- particularly with the landslide re-election of his brother Jeb in Florida -- the state where Gore's 2000 presidential election challenge was rooted.

*Some misguided souls are now asserting that the "Bush victories" are the result of the 9-11 tragedy, a tragedy which "made George Bush." 9-11 did not make George Bush, it provided an unfettered view of what our president is made of -- and that is a major distinction.

*It says much about the character of Americans that a majority of us, against huge political odds repeatedly voiced by the Leftmedia, are willing to elect representatives who run on campaign themes of responsible citizenship rather than handouts.

*It also says much about the character of Americans that every two years, there is a bloodless shift in the balance of power over the most powerful nation in world history. The "Great Experiment," though battered and bruised by those who would turn our Constitutional Republic on end, is still alive and well.

Is Islam a religion of violence?

The question is absurd. It is like asking whether Christianity is a religion of peace. Well, there is Francis of Assisi. And there is the Thirty Years' War. Which do you think?

Scripture can be invoked to support almost any position. Islam has its periods of violence and its periods of tolerance. Today the Arab world is the purveyor of the most vicious anti-Semitic propaganda since Nazi Germany.

From Nigeria to Sudan to Pakistan to Indonesia to the Philippines, the worst, most hate-driven violence in the world today is perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam.

The recent Miss World riots in northern Nigeria were canceled because Muslim mobs respond to an offensive newspaper article by burning down the newspaper's offices, massacring innocent Christians and issuing a fatwa on the life of the author of the article.

In Pakistan, Muslim extremists attacked Christian churches, killing every parishioner they could. In Lebanon, an evangelical Christian nurse, who had devoted her life to caring for the sick, was shot three times through the head, presumably, for ``proselytizing.''

The Bali disco bombers have confessed to a series of previous church bombings. In the Philippines, Muslims carry out kidnappings and beheadings of hostages in their terrorist campaign against the predominantly Catholic central government.

In Pakistani-Kashmiri Muslims foment terrorism against Hindu India, Chechen terrorism in Russian-Orthodox Moscow and Palestinian terrorism against the Jews. Of course there was Sept. 11--Islamic terrorism reached far beyond its borders to strike at the heart of the satanic ``Crusaders.''

This says nothing about inherent violence; the vast majority of Muslims are obviously peaceful people living within the rules of civilized behavior. But the actual violence, bloodletting against nearly every non-Muslim civilization, demands attention.

This feeling of a civilization in decline have led to adopting terror and intimidation as the road to restoration. It is one thing for the Arabs to have fallen behind the West. But to fall behind South Korea, also colonized, once poor and lacking any of the Islamic world's fantastic oil wealth, is the ultimate humiliation.

Islamic radicalism is characterized as a failure of self-respect, and self-identity, leading to deep feelings of inadequacy and loss. These conditions are due to enormous failures of moderate Muslim leadership. The murderers speak in the name of Islam, and the peaceful majority cannot find the courage to challenge them.

Until they speak, the borders of Islam will remain bloody.

I hope we always remember...
On November 11th, 1921, an unknown American soldier from World War I was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, in recognition of WWI veterans and in conjunction with the timing of cessation of hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). President Warren Harding requested that: "All...citizens...indulge in a period of silent thanks to God for these... valorous lives and of supplication for His Divine mercy...on our beloved country." Inscribed on the Tomb are the words: "Here lies in honored glory an American soldier know but to God." The day became known as "Armistice Day." In 1954, Congress, wanting to recognize the sacrifice of veterans since WWI, proposed to change Armistice Day to Veterans Day in their honor. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Supreme Commander in WWII, signed the legislation.

To honor those veterans who sacrificed all, an Army honor guard from the 3d U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard) keeps day and night vigil at Arlington. At 11 a.m. on 11 November, a combined color guard representing all military service branches executes "Present Arms" at the tomb for the laying of a wreath by the president. This is followed by "Taps."

What took so long?...
"Almost fifty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the government couldn't keep minority children out of public schools. The Supreme Court just ruled that officials now can't keep minority children in the public schools. Parents should have the freedom to choose which schools their kids go to, especially when the local public school isn't cutting the mustard.  This Supreme Court decision...will save millions of urban children from bad educations and provide assistance in ending what has become a cycle of poverty."

Good Grief...
A scheme to purchase of fraudulent U.S. entry visas from the U.S. embassy in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar was treated at first as a run-of-the document mill crime. Then, one of the illegal entrants swept up in the investigation admitted he had long-term contact with two of the 9-11 Jihadi hijackers who attacked the Pentagon.  When will bureaucrats begin looking at the borders with national security in mind?  The FBI has captured 31 of an estimated 70 who entered on fake documents from Qatar -- but that leaves at about 39 on the loose in our suburbs.

Good news, I think...
An important step toward homeland independence from Middle Eastern oil, crude oil from Russia's Black Sea was offloaded in the Houston Ship Channel this week -- the first-ever Russian shipment of oil to the United States.  In 1980, 65% of our crude oil came from the Middle East.  That figure is now under 50%.

Enemies Foreign & Domestic...
The 'Nation of Islam' -- the hate-based racist and anti-Semitic group headed by Louis Farrakhan?" This week Farrakhan was in Iraq to show solidarity with Saddam Hussein -- the tyrant who is the greatest threat to world peace. (Kinda reminiscent of another traitor, "Hanoi" Jane Fonda, in July of 1972, mounting an NVA anti-aircraft gun outside the "Hanoi Hilton" where American POWs -- many of them pilots shot down by AAA -- were being tortured.  Fonda encouraged the Viet Cong to "fight American imperialism."

Cuban Democracy?...
Ralph Nader spent July Fourth celebrating "independence" in the Communist island prison of Cuba. Nader claimed his visit would "launch a dialogue on the meaning of democracy" with red tyrant Fidel Castro.  Nader proclaimed that "Mr. Bush seems to think that the government is for sale to the corporate commercial interest and that conforms with the democratic processes," proclaimed. Wall Street Journal's James Taranto concludes, "Perhaps Nader is sore because, as a third-party presidential candidate, he finished some 45 percentage points behind the second-place candidate.  Cuban democracy is much fairer.  In Cuba, third-party candidates routinely do as well as second-party candidates do."

Wacky Professor...
Princeton "bioethicist" and animal rights advocate Peter Singer is back on the stump complaining that Christianity is not compatible with his assertion that all animals (including humans) are fundamentally equal.  "One of the things that causes a problem for the animal movement is the strong strain of fundamentalist Christianity that makes a huge gulf between humans and animals, saying humans have souls but animals do not. That kind of attitude is a problem in getting people to think of animals as objects of moral value." Singer replayed a few of his old tunes.... On killing disabled infants: "If you have a being that is not sentient, that is not even aware, then the killing of that being is not something that is wrong in and of itself. ... I think that a chimpanzee certainly has greater self-awareness than a newborn baby.  There are some circumstances...when killing the newborn baby is not at all wrong...not like killing the chimpanzee would be.  Maybe it's not wrong at all."  On sex with animals: "Your dog can show you when he or she wants to go for a walk and equally for nonviolent sexual contact, your dog or whatever else it is can show you whether he or she wants to engage in a certain kind of contact...mutually satisfying, consensual [bestiality]." Singer declared, "I am an atheist."

A Moral and Patriotic Man...
NFL starting safety for the Arizona Cardinals Pat Tillman turned down a three-year, $3.6 million contract.  Seems the 25-year-old has his priorities in the right order -- he wants to become an Army Ranger and enlisted with his younger brother.  Under his new contract, he will make about $18,000 per year at Fort Benning, Georgia.  "In Pat Tillman's view of the world, football is a part of it, but there are a lot of other things that are important to him," said Lyle Setencich, Tillman's linebacker coach when he was at Arizona State University.  Last year Tillman turned down a $9 million offer from the Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams and to stay with his teammates with the low-ranked Cardinals. Pat Tillman was killed in action in the war on Terrorism.

Faith Mattered in1965...
A Virginia native son and devout Catholic, Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace, was just days away from returning stateside in October 1963 to begin seminary training when he and two other Americans accompanying an operation near U Minh Forest were captured by Viet Cong guerrillas.  A USMA graduate, Capt. Versace exemplified patriot dedication to duty, honor and country; he was executed by his captors on Sept. 26, 1965, after two years of severe torture because he refused to submit to their interrogation and indoctrination efforts.  His remains were never found. Capt. Versace is the first Army POW to earn the Medal of Honor for actions taken during captivity in Southeast Asia.  Presenting the Medal to his family, President Bush noted: "In his defiance and later his death, he set an example of extraordinary dedication that changed the lives of his fellow soldiers who saw it firsthand. His story echoes across the years, reminding us of liberty's high price, and of the noble passion that caused one good man to pay that price in full. ... The last time his fellow prisoners heard his voice, he was singing 'God Bless America' at the top of his lungs."

Not sure what the definition of earnings is, is...
President Bush's has a commitment to the tenants of free market capitalism.  The president has rejected pressure to further regulate the market, and instead has issued a proposal that by and large conforms to government's appropriate function in a free market system: to punish theft, deception and breach of contract.  And that's it.  Government doesn't protect investors by regulating the market, but by vigorously punishing injustice, thus defending justice. Since 1997, more than 1,000 U.S. companies have "restated" earnings after seemingly not being sure what the definition of earnings is... It's an easy mistake to make! "I meant loss when I said profit"

Right ON...
"Corporate criminals who steal from their employees' retirement funds should enjoy the same jail cells as street thugs who steal handbags.  President Bush has taken a strong stance in filling the moral deficit in corporate America.  The anything goes permissive attitude of the 1990s has created an environment where some executives think they are above the law." --House Majority Whip Tom DeLay

It's about time...
There are now 314,000 known illegal alien "absconders" -- those who have been ordered deported after committing felonies, but have not volunteered to show up for their trip home. It's time to form posses and round up a few hundred thousand other Islamic absconders. I wonder how many are huddled in some apartment plotting how and when to murder a large number of innocent women and children in the name of their religion of hate.

Nuts...
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals bench: The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 Wednesday that the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion because of the 1954 congressional law that added the words "under God" -- and must be banned from public school classrooms.

What did he say?...
Judge Alfred Goodwin issued this explanation. "A profession that we are a nation 'under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation 'under Jesus,' a nation 'under Vishnu,' a nation 'under Zeus,' or a nation 'under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion." Of course, this wrongly treats public statements of personal beliefs as if they created adoption of an official national church denomination by Congress. The reaction from all sides was swift and predictable, but no one should be shocked by such a ruling in a political culture where the First Amendment is persistently misconstrued by the courts as the guarantor of freedom "from" religion, rather than freedom "of" religion, as the framers of the Constitution meant for it to be. Easy for you to say!

Right On...
President George Bush called the decision "ridiculous." House Speaker Dennis Hastert said: "Of course, we are one nation, under God. The Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic salute that brings people of all faiths together to share in the American spirit. It's time for the Senate to confirm some common-sense jurists." In the Senate, Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) summed up the legislative branch sentiment, "In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 27 of 29 9th Circuit decisions so that tells you that the 9th Circuit is out of step with the rest of the federal court system." Even California extremist Barbara Boxer pretended to be concerned, and said the ruling was embarrassing," while Tom Daschle said, "We strongly disagree with the decision made  today" (Both House and Senate chambers convened early Thursday morning to recite the Pledge.)

Seems about right...
The Constitution's First Amendment has no relevance to atheism -- therefore atheists have no grounds to bring lawsuits. Why? If one wants to believe there is "no god" they are not constrained or coerced by any common or statutory laws . In addition, the Tenth Amendment was adopted to protect the states from government and court intrusion by reserving to the states the full authority to decide matters not specifically explicated in our national constitution.

Surprise, surprise...
Palestinians believe that Israel has stolen land that is theirs (all of it) and that their God wants them to use force to reclaim the land, which includes the murder of babies and grandmothers. They see the West as decadent and Christians and Jews as enemies of God. Sooner or later the battle lines are going to have to be drawn and unfortunately they are going to be between Moslems ant the rest of the world. The difference between moderate and radical Moslems is only the length of their beard. Methodists and Lutherans aren't flying commercial jet liner into building and murdering innocent people in the name of religion, but what do I know?   

Kiddy porn is kiddy porn and it has consequences; hang 'um all...
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a new bill to shield children from pornography. The latest bill only bans visual depictions that are "virtually indistinguishable" from images of real children, This was the key concern on which the Supreme Court struck down an earlier version. Other courtroom action this week included testimony that suggested links between child pornography and the murder of the little San Diego girl, Danielle van Dam. This is a stupid decision by the Supremes and if they can use judicial interpretation to force bussing of the public school system, they can ban all kiddy porn, but what do I know?

New hope for getting out of a public school system that's more interested in political/social correctness that teaching...
In a rare victory for federalism, the High Court ruled that the Cleveland, Ohio, school voucher system is constitutional. The decision sets a firm precedent for states to make law authorizing scholarships or tuition tax credits, even if parents choose a religious school. Halleluiah, about time free choice meant something, even if it's only a small step!

I didn't know there were states left that allowed judges alone to decide...
Earlier in the week, the Supremes ruled that juries instead of judges must decide death sentences.

It's about time...
The Senate and the House instructed the Defense Department to quit "encouraging" U.S. military women in Saudi Arabia to conform to Islamic religious requirements to wear the head-to-toe covering abaya. That's one piece of "militarily correctness" to militant Islam to be gone. Bravo! Its about time the American women be allowed to stand proud and be American wherever they are, especially if they are in that country to protect that country at a risk of their own lives, but what do I know?

What good is a picture without a face...
In Florida, a judge denied the state's request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Sultaana Freeman. Ms. Freeman's driver's license was revoked because she refused to have her photo taken with her face unveiled for "religious reasons." 

Great reward for being stupid...
Mr. David Burton, who, after smoking for 43 years, had his legs amputated for a circulatory condition, which he blamed on R.J. Reynolds for concealing the fact that cigarettes were hazardous. This despite the fact that for most of those 43 years R.J. Reynolds cigarette packs warned, "Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health." A jury awarded Burton $196,416 in damages, but then U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum added $15 million in "punitive damages."

With friends like this etc...
North Korea sent to Egypt 24 No Dong intermediate range ballistic missiles late last year. And Red China, taking advantage of our preoccupation with the war on terror, contracted with Russia to purchase 8 diesel-powered Kilo-class submarines as a part of a $4 billion arms package over the next 4 to 5 years. This buildup is part of a Chinese effort to increase its ability to blockade Taiwan, and to challenge U.S. naval superiority in the region.

What do you think?...
Repeal Seventeenth Amendment
By John MacMullin
With respect to states' rights, it should be readily apparent to all that state governments cannot exert any meaningful influence or control over the federal government, judiciary, or any other federal institution.
Let us state the problem precisely. At the present time, there are no checks and balances available to the states over federal power or over Congress itself in any area. However, in the history of our country, it was not always this way. In the original design by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution, there was an effective check on Congress through the state legislatures' power to appoint (and remove) U.S. Senators. As such, the core of the problem with state's rights issues lies in the passage of the 17th Amendment which abrogated the state legislatures' right to appoint U.S. Senators in favor of popular election of those officials. This amendment created a fundamental structural problem which, irrespective of the political party in office, or the laws in effect at any one time, will result in excessive federal control in every area. It also results in a failure in the federalist structure, federal deficit spending, inappropriate federal mandates, and the evaporation of state influence over national policy.
The reason for the passage of the 17th Amendment should be stated. The 17th Amendment was passed because of a procedural problem in the original concept and not because of a need to alter the balance of power. The procedural problem consisted of frequent deadlocks when the state legislatures were trying to select a senator. When deadlocked, a state would go without representation in the Senate. For instance, in the very first Congress, the State of New York went without representation in the Senate for three months. Additionally, numerous other problems resulted from the efforts to resolve individual deadlocks. The problem of deadlocked legislatures continued unabated from 1787 until 1913. The seventeenth amendment, calling for popular election of senators, fixed the procedural problems, but also inappropriately and unintentionally altered the balance of power. Instead, the 17th Amendment should have fixed the procedural problems and left the balance of power between the states and the federal government intact.
In my opinion, the 17th Amendment should be repealed. This would reinstate the states' linkage to the federal political process and would, thereby, have the effect of elevating the present status of the state legislatures from that of lobbyists, to that of a partner in the federal political process. The state legislatures would then have the ability to decentralize power when appropriate. It would give state legislatures direct influence over the selection of federal judges and the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary and much greater ability to modify federal court orders. This structure would allow the flow of power between the states and the federal government to ebb and flow as the needs of our federal republic change. The existing relationship, combined with the effect of the Supremacy Clause, is guaranteed to concentrate power into the hands of the federal government with little or no hope of return.
With that, the state governments should be focusing an effort to repeal the 17th Amendment, not on passing legislation or engaging in irrelevant activities, that are more than likely useless over the long term and probably also over the short. But what do I know?

People worried a lot more about this kind of thing before 9/11...|
*Intercept posts on embassy rooftops: 40-50
*Communications monitored every hour at average listening post: 2 million
*Amount actually processed by decrypters, translators and analysts: 1%

Talk about giving until it hurts. We can thank The terrorists of the world for this...

The $355.4 billion defense bill, approved at Bush's request with overwhelming support, increases spending by more than $34 billion over the previous fiscal year.

"It's the largest increase in defense spending since President Reagan was the president," Bush said Tuesday as he stumped for candidates in Bangor, Maine.

"Any time the United States of America sends our youngsters into harm's way they deserve the best pay, the best training and the best possible equipment. ... It doesn't matter how long it takes to defend freedom, we'll do it. ... We have a duty to future generations of Americans to make this land secure."

QUOTES

 "Men must be governed by God, or they will be ruled by tyrants." --William Penn

"It is the duty of mankind on all suitable occasions to acknowledge their dependence on the Divine being...." --Benjamin Franklin

"Eighty-nine% of Washington journalists voted for Clinton in
1992, compared to just 43% of non-journalists; 23% of the public described themselves as liberal, compared to 55% of journalists; 49% of the public is pro-choice, whereas 82% of journalists are; 75% of the public favors the death penalty, compared to 47% of journalists.  The differences go on and on.  While the media elite differ significantly from the average American, their level of dishonesty and leftist bias is appalling." --Walter Williams

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." --Gen. George S. Patton

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." -- George Washington

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." --John F. Kennedy

"No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." --Calvin Coolidge

"Honor to the soldier, and Sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field, and serves, as he best can, the same cause." --Abraham Lincoln

"Let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain. --Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!" --John Paul Jones

"The patriot volunteer, fighting for country and his rights, makes the most reliable soldier on earth." --Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity." --Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many, to so few." --Winston Churchill

"There never was a good war, or a bad peace." --Benjamin Franklin

"Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving in words evidence of the fact." --George Eliot

"Liberty means responsibility. That's why most men dread it." --George Bernard Shaw

"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil." --Max Lerner

"A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user." --Theodore Roosevelt

"If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time a tremendous whack." --Winston Churchill

"I know what it's like to pull the Republican lever for the first time, because I used to be a Democrat myself and I can tell you it only hurts for a minute and then it feels just great." --Ronald Reagan

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. ... Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." --Thomas Jefferson

"If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." --Samuel Adams

A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one!" --Alexander Hamilton

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin

"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God, I know not what course others may take, but give me liberty or give me death!" -- Patrick Henry"

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." --George Washington

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people." --John Adams

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president...." --Theodore Roosevelt

"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." --Barry Goldwater

"The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him..." --Ronald Reagan