29 October 2004 Federalist Patriot No. 04-43 Friday Digest Extend liberty's legacy! Support The Federalist -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/support.asp
*Manage Subscription: To change your e-mail address, select editions and formats, view recent archives, send comments or to unsubscribe, Link to -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/services.asp To defeat Kerry-Edwards in '04, Link to -- http://Kerry-04.org/ Visit the Patriot Shop: Link to -- http://PatriotShop.us/ ______----********O********----______ THE FOUNDATION "It is of great importance to set a resolution, not to be shaken, never to tell an untruth. There is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible; and he who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and a third time, till at length it becomes habitual. --Thomas Jefferson ______----********O********----______ THE PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE Top of the fold -- Bush lied, he misled us... At least, that has been John Kerry's most oft-repeated assertion for the last six months. It is no coincidence that Kerry would use such a claim as the foundation of his campaign rhetoric. In fact, it is enlightening. You see, campaign hacks for a challenger use focus groups to determine their candidate's most distinguished flaw, and then tutor their candidate on how to cast the incumbent with a greater measure of that flaw. Clearly, John Kerry's most apparent liabilities are his lack of integrity and lack of fitness for command -- and there is plenty of evidence for both deficiencies. Kerry insists, "I've never, ever used the harshest word ['lie']." But of course, that is a lie. Preceding that remark, he said, "This administration has lied to us. They have misled us." After it, he said, "[Bush] failed to tell you the truth. ... I believe that it is important to tell the truth to the American people." A charter member of Kerry's Leftist cadre, Al Franken, wrote a book a few years back entitled, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them." Apparently, Kerry adopted it as his campaign playbook. While the "F" in JFK may stand for "fib," "fabrication," "falsehood," "fallacy," "feint," "forgery," "fake," and, phonetically speaking, "phony," it also stands for "flip-flop." Kerry's strategy to paint President George W. Bush as a liar is subterfuge to divert attention from Kerry's own extensive record of fibs and flips. As readers of this column well know, Kerry has been on both sides of just about every issue -- which is to say, he has lied to just about everyone at one time or another. In this, the last Patriot essay before Election Day, 2004, it is worth reviewing a few of Kerry's lies -- in his own words. We don't have sufficient bandwidth to publish all of them, but those that follow are both representative, and typically transparent, of Kerry's mendacity. Who can forget these memorable recollections from Kerry's "heroics" in Vietnam: "I remember spending Christmas Day of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border. I have that memory which is seared -- seared -- in me. ... [American military personnel in Vietnam] personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, [blew] up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to...the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country. ... There are all kinds of atrocities and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed...." He is still trying to make amends for those lies: "When it comes to war and peace, I will tell the truth to the American people.... For 35 years I have stood up, and fought, and kept faith with my fellow veterans. [Bush has] not kept faith with veterans across this country. And one of the first definitions of patriotism is keeping faith with those who wore the uniform of our country." On the economy, Kerry lies: "Now, the president has presided over an economy where we've lost 1.6 million jobs. The first president in 72 years to lose jobs. ... This is the worst economy since Herbert Hoover. ... This president chose a tax cut over homeland security. ... We didn't need that tax cut. ... I'm fighting for the middle class." On social issues, Kerry lies: "They are going to privatize your Social Security. ... They're taking money from Social Security and transferring it to the wealthiest people in America to drive us into debt. ... I believe it's time to stop viewing innovative approaches as anomalies or threats to traditional public schools and begin seeing them as part of the future of public education. ... Public schools need resources and support, and vouchers drain them of both. ... I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception. ... I have a plan to cover all [make that 25 of 45 million uninsured] Americans. ... I am not proposing a government-run [healthcare] program. It is not a government takeover. The government has nothing to do with it." On the most important issue of the day, our worldwide war against Jihadi terrorists, and particularly the Jihadi warfront in Iraq, Kerry lies: "We were safer before President Bush came to office. I went to meet with the members of the Security Council in the week before we voted. I went to New York. I talked to all of them. ... I sat with the French and British, Germans, with the entire Security Council. ... I will never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. ... America must fight and win two wars. The war in Iraq and the war on terror. ... President Bush likes to confuse the two. ... In fact, Iraq was a profound diversion from that war [on terror] and the battle against the enemy. ... I can do a better job of protecting America's security because the [global] test that I was talking about was a test of legitimacy, not just in the globe, but elsewhere. ... If George Bush were to be re-elected ... there is great potential [that he would re-instate the draft]." And there's much more from Kerry on the war: "Osama bin Laden escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best trained in the world, to go kill him. The president relied on Afghan warlords. ... We are 90 percent of the casualties in Iraq. ... The war costs -- $200 billion. And it's in Iraq. And Iraq is not even the center of the focus on the war on terror. I don't think any United States Senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That's irresponsible. ... My position on Iraq has been consistent. ... I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.... That's not a flip-flop. That's not a flip-flop. ... I have no intention of wilting. I've never wilted in my life. And I've never wavered in my life. ... Let me tell you straight up: I've never changed my mind about Iraq." On the flip-side, Kerry has said of the war in Iraq: "Saddam Hussein has used weapons of mass destruction against his own people.... I think we ought to put the heat on Saddam Hussein. I've said that for a number of years. I criticized the Clinton administration for backing off.... I think we need to put the pressure on, no matter what the evidence is about September 11. ... I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan by any imagination. And I think the president has made that clear. I think we have made that clear. Terrorism is a global menace. It's a scourge. And it is absolutely vital that we continue, for instance, Saddam Hussein. I agree completely with this Administration's goal of a regime change in Iraq. ... Saddam Hussein is a renegade and outlaw who turned his back on the tough conditions of his surrender put in place by the United Nations in 1991. ... If Saddam Hussein is unwilling to bend to the international community's already existing order, then he will have invited enforcement...even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act. ... The president always reserves the right to act unilaterally to protect the interests of our country. ... I do not regret my vote [in support of the Iraq war]. ... I think it was the right vote based on what Saddam Hussein had done, and I think it was the right thing to do to hold him accountable. [My position] can't be clearer." And Kerry's lies keep piling up. In old news that was slated to be recycled by CBS talkinghead Dan Rather this Sunday (leaving too little time to debunk it), the latest, and perhaps last Kerry prevarication of this campaign (concerning some quantity of HMX and RDX explosives missing at al-Qa Qaa weapons installation south of Baghdad) was printed by The New York Times ahead of schedule. "Our plan was to run the story on October 31, but it became clear that it wouldn't hold," said Jeff Fager, executive producer of the Sunday "60 Minutes" said. Memo to CBS News President Andrew Heyward: Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? And speaking of decency -- or the egregious lack thereof -- Kerry was quick to spin the "story," blaming our military forces in Iraq, and their commander in chief, with dereliction of duty. Of the latter, Kerry said: "Now we know that our country and our troops are less safe because this president failed to do the basics. This is one of the great blunders of Iraq, one of the great blunders of this administration. The incredible incompetence of this president and his administration has put our troops at risk and put our country at greater risk than we ought to be. After being warned about the danger of major stockpiles of explosives in Iraq, this administration failed to guard those stockpiles -- where nearly 377 tons of highly explosive weapons were kept. The missing explosives could very likely be in the hands of terrorists and insurgents, who are actually attacking our forces now 80 times a day on average." Unfortunately for Kerry, et al., it only took a few hours to debunk this feeble crack at an October surprise. As The Patriot previously noted in October, 2002, our well-placed sources in the region, and intelligence sources with the NSA and NRO, estimated that the UN Security Council's foot-dragging provided a large window for Saddam to export some or all of his deadliest WMD materials and components. At that time, we reported Allied Forces would be unlikely to discover Iraq's WMD stores, noting, "Our sources estimate that Iraq has shipped some or all of its biological stockpiles and nuclear WMD components through Syria to southern Lebanon's heavily fortified Bekaa Valley." In December of 2002, our senior-level intelligence sources re-confirmed estimates that some of Iraq's biological and nuclear WMD material and components had, in fact, been moved into Syria and Iran. That movement continued until President Bush finally pulled the plug on the UN's ruse. Indeed, Kerry and his Leftmedia minions have it all wrong -- again. The NRO released photos of heavy trucks loading materials from the bunker in question at al-Qa Qaa Explosive Storage Complex on 17 March 2003, three days prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq [http://federalistpatriot.us/news/alqaqaa.asp]. And Kerry and company may have gotten additional facts all wrong. U.S. forces did find conventional weapons in the bunker in question but did not find what the UN's IAEA estimated to be three tons of HMX and RDX -- not 377 tons as claimed by Kerry. Of course, 6,000 pounds of HMX and RDX is significant -- it only took one pound of this substance in the hands of Libyan agents to bring down PanAm 103 in 1988. Of course, we all know by now how accurate these weapons estimates have been -- and the UN was one step removed from the best intelligence available. President Bush responded to Kerry's allegations, "Now the Senator is making wild charges about missing explosives, when his top foreign-policy adviser admits, quote, 'We do not know the facts.' Think about that: The senator is denigrating the actions of our troops and commanders in the field without knowing the facts...." Which brings us to the greatest of Kerry's lies this campaign season: "It is vital for us not to confuse the war, ever, with the warriors. That happened before." Indeed, it did happen before -- Vietnam. Swift Boat Vet Robert Elder notes, "It is a fact that in the entire Vietnam War we did not lose one major battle. We lost the war at home, and at home John Kerry was the field general." (Kerry's extensive and well-documented record of anti-American activities over the past three decades are covered in "Aid and comfort to the enemy: The Kerry record..." and "John Kerry: More aid and comfort..." at http://FederalistPatriot.US/alexander/) Again, as President Bush noted, Kerry is "denigrating the actions of our troops and commanders in the field without knowing the facts...." Kerry can't have it both ways. There is a direct correlation between his undermining of U.S. and Allied resolve in the war against terrorism -- specifically on the Iraqi warfront with Jihadistan -- and American and Allied causalities on that front. Those forces, including countless Iraqis, are being injured and killed in larger numbers because of the political dissent Kerry and his ilk are fomenting. A few weeks ago, John Edwards unwittingly provided the evidence for this very correlation: "We lost more troops in September than we lost in August; lost more in August than we lost in July; lost more in July than we lost in June." As Kerry's use of the war for political fodder has increased in tenor, so too has the spirit of our Jihadi enemies. As noted recently by Mohammad Amin Bashar, a professor at Baghdad's Islamic University, "If the U.S. Army suffered numerous humiliating losses, Kerry would emerge as the superman of the American people." Abu Jalal, an Iraqi resistance leader, added, "American elections and Iraq are linked tightly together. We've got to work to change the election, and we've done so. With our strikes, we've dragged Bush into the mud." The net effect can certainly be felt in greater attacks on American and Allied casualties. Those casualties equal more votes for John Kerry. This was, and remains, the unavoidable consequence of Kerry's reckless campaign rhetoric. The blood of those American Patriots (like the blood of his "brothers" in Vietnam, after he used that war as fodder for his 1972 congressional campaign), is on John Kerry's hands. To be sure, this is the harshest of all condemnations. But it is also the truth. Both Kerry and Edwards know the consequences of their actions. Fact is, they think the lives of American military personnel on the warfront with Jihadistan are second-rate to their political ambitions. He should be held accountable. As for Kerry's claims, "I've met with foreign leaders who can't go out and say this publicly. But, boy, they look at you and say: 'You've got to win this. You've got to beat this guy. We need a new policy.' Things like that." Indeed, Saddam Hussein, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden, Kim Jong-Il, Mohammad Khatami, Moammar al-Ghadafi, Hu Jingtao, Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schroeder and Kofi Annan are all rooting for John Kerry to beat George W. Bush on Tuesday. What does that tell you, fellow Patriots? A vote for John Kerry is a vote for a lie -- a fraud. It is a vote against liberty and freedom. But if the Democrat Party has been fully co-opted by Kerry's deceit, that assertion may be purely academic. And a final note. Election seasons are always hard on The Patriot's editorial staff and contributors -- we are doing double time, covering both the news, policy and opinion outlets we always cover, plus all the election news. But one feature section, "The BIG Lie," has been easy to fill every week since John Kerry won the Democrat primaries last March. The challenge with that section has been choosing which of Kerry's comments in any given week constitute the BIGGEST lie! _________________________________________________ Support The Patriot Fund -- http://FederalistPatriot.com/support.asp _________________________________________________ Quote of the week... "The choice is not only between two candidates. It is between two directions in the conduct of the war on terror. Will America return to the defensive, reactive mind set that sought to manage the dangers to our country or will we fight a real war with a goal of victory?" --President George W. Bush Read our "for the record" review of President Bush's first term at -- http://federalistpatriot.us/news/bush_record.asp And for a glimpse of what this President is really about, link to Ashley's Story http://FederalistPatriot.US/news/ashley.asp On cross-examination... "We can take a chance in going back to where we were before Sept. 11, 2001, with someone who can't seem to make up his mind whether terrorism is serious or a nuisance." --Rudy Giuliani In other news from the Political Front... The outcome of 2 November could very well come down to 11 states that are just too close to call. It has been determined that those states could arrange themselves into no fewer than 33 different combinations with a resulting Bush-Kerry tie of 269 electoral college votes each. Such a scenario, unlikely in virtually any other year, would send the election to the House of Representatives, which would then elect the President, as directed by the 12th Amendment. Should this happen, President Bush is all but certain to win the day. The Senate picks the Vice President, but who can tell how the current Senate will vote? A Bush-Edwards term...rue the day. The fact that this once-outlandish possibility is even being considered demonstrates how uncertain some are about Tuesday's outcome. In this year's presidential election, there are no polls, trends, or precedents that yield any clues as to whether President Bush will be re-elected. The race is exceedingly close and all that can be done in these final days is stick to the message, encourage your friends to vote for security and continued economic prosperity (read: Bush), and watch it all unfold. And, of course, watch closely the actions of the opponent. Democrats in various areas around the country are pulling out all the stops to guarantee John Kerry's victory, legal or otherwise. If the Demos learned anything from the 2000 election, it was not to wait until after Election Day to hit the courts with legal challenges to the electoral process. In the past week, so many lawsuits have been filed by Democrat organizations in the dozen or so battleground states that it's virtually impossible to keep track of their legal maneuvering. And that is precisely the idea. By clogging the courts with legal fights -- many of which will, or have already been, tossed out -- the Demo-litigators hope to keep Republican lawyers, poll workers and election staffers from their real duty -- making sure their candidate gets a fair shake at the polls. Democrats have unsuccessfully sued Republican election officials in Florida, Michigan, and Missouri. The antics brewing in Ohio, now being referred to as the "new Florida" in election parlance, are particularly interesting. Ohio's voter-registration rolls have over 12,000 duplicate names and an indeterminate number of ineligible voters, including, according to the Columbus Dispatch, a murder victim and two suspected terrorists. Governor Bob Taft noted this week that in four counties in Ohio there are more registered voters listed than there are eligible voters. Republicans have stepped up, under the direction of Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, and filed challenges to over 35,000 registrants who may be ineligible to vote. Democrats complain that these challenges may intimidate voters on 2 November and keep many people from voting. We only hope that it keeps them from voting more than once. Florida is being overrun by legions of lefty muckrakers looking for trouble and causing some where they can't find any. Some 2,000 Demo lawyers have descended on the state to monitor early voting, with at least 700 more on the way. Several activist groups are rallying across Florida, crying that minority voting rights have been infringed upon, despite the fact that the election hasn't happened yet. The fact that the Demo-crusaders are going through all this trouble to ensure Kerry's election can only be interpreted to mean that there is a real lack of confidence in their candidate's ability to win on his merits alone. There is really only way to circumvent all these shenanigans, as former Solicitor General Theodore Olson noted in his New York Times op-ed this week: "The best chance for the American electorate to avoid a post-election repeat of 2000 is to re-elect George W. Bush decisively -- or to defeat him overwhelmingly," Olson wrote. "I, of course, recommend the former." The BIG lie... "I have nothing to hide. I want you to ask me questions." --John Kerry This week's "Alpha Jackass" award: This dialogue between John Kerry and NBC's Tom Brokaw last night is interesting in light of The Patriot's assertions about Kerry's missing military records (see Kerry's Dishonorable Discharge" at -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/alexander/). Brokaw said to Kerry: "Someone has analyzed the President's military aptitude tests and yours and concluded that he has a higher IQ than you do." Kerry replied, "That's great. More power. I don't know how they've done it, because my record is not public. So I don't know where you're getting that from." Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson writes this week, "The only 180 John Kerry hasn't accomplished in his litany of flip-flops throughout his campaign is Standard Form 180, the paperwork necessary for the complete release of his military records from the Department of Defense repository." This week's "Braying Jackass" award: "If this isn't good for my heart, I don't know what is." --Former Prevaricator-in-Chief Bill Clinton, at a Kerry campaign rally in Philadelphia Heart? What heart? DEMO-gogue campaign quotes... (No matter what side you're on, John Kerry's on your side. Listen to him at -- http://kerry-04.org/waffle.php) In other news from the Left... This should come as no surprise, but, if you put any stock in the Project for Excellence in Journalism, it is now official that the media does not like George W. Bush. PEJ, a DC group focused on raising the standard of media journalism, released a report on election coverage during the period of the debates, October 1-14. 59% of the stories about Bush were negative, with 14 percent positive. Kerry received coverage 34% favorable and 25% negative. The report focused on network news shows, PBS's nightly newscast, CNN's "Newsnight with Aaron Brown," and Fox News's "Special Report with Brit Hume." Also included were 817 stories from the Washington Post, New York Times, Columbus Dispatch, and Miami Herald. Kerry also leads Bush in the number of newspaper endorsements across the nation, 142 to 123. Although such endorsements in America's op-ed pages don't carry the weight they used to, Kerry clearly relishes such support. He actively canvassed the Orlando Sentinel and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, but in the end the latter paper chose to endorse neither candidate. When measured by circulation, Kerry's endorsements reach a combined 17.5 million subscribers. Bush's endorsements reach 11.5 million readers. Just in case there is any doubt, The Federalist Patriot unequivocally endorses the re-election of President George W. Bush. News from the Swamp... On the Hill, for the fourth election year in a row, Congress will be returning to the Swamp for a lame-duck session to wrap up unfinished business. Among the items on the November agenda are consolidating the nine remaining spending bills for 2005 and raising the debt ceiling past the $7.4 trillion limit that was reached this year. The big item on the agenda remains House-Senate agreement on the intelligence-overhaul legislation, which many hope to see happen but few expect. But what about the post-election composition of the House of Representatives and the Senate? Most polling suggests that the House will retain roughly the same slight advantage for Republicans. The Senate, which more urgently needs turnover and reform, has nine competitive races -- and polling for those indicates the Republicans have the chance to gain a seat or two. GOP politicos have been worried about the Senate contests in Kentucky (incumbent Jim Bunning is facing a stiff challenge) and Oklahoma (Tom Coburn, a favorite around our editorial shop, has a tough "phony conservative" Demo opponent); as noted above, the presence of a marriage-protection amendment on ballots in both states should boost both Republican candidates, and savvy supporters would reroute resources to both those races. Meanwhile, the White House is expected to ask for $70 billion in additional funding for military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq early next year. Congress already allocated $25 billion for this fiscal year, and this new funding initiative would push the total war cost since October 2001 to over $225 billion. Much of the extra funding is necessary to maintain the large force the U.S. has in Iraq. The violent campaign of the insurgents has forced the Pentagon to keep 130,000 troops there longer than anticipated, along with the equipment they need to perform their duties. At this point, wear and tear and outright destruction of that equipment has brought about the need to replace many items, further driving the high cost of the war. Judicial Benchmarks... "I am going to name judges who will strictly interpret the Constitution and not use the bench from which to legislate," then-Governor Bush said during his 2000 campaign. "I am going to name strict constructionists to the Supreme Court." President Bush has reiterated that promise throughout the 2004 campaign, and The Patriot reiterates that the future make-up of the U.S. Supreme Court is the pivotal issue of this campaign for the future integrity of our constitutional republic. The current makeup of the Supreme Court has existed without change since 1994, the longest period that one group of justices has sat together since the 1820s. With none of the justices younger than 60, it is expected that the winner of Tuesday's election will have the opportunity to appoint at least one justice, and possibly more, in the next four years. This has been a surprisingly low-key issue in the campaign up until it become public last week that Chief Justice William Rehnquist has thyroid cancer. Rehnquist's diagnosis has raised the issue of just what kind of appointments can be expected by either Bush or Kerry, an issue which may affect the vote in some states. We all know Kerry is a fan of judicial activism, and he has also supported his fellow obstructionist Demos in the Senate who have filibustered many fine judicial appointments that Bush made during his first term. Kerry has publicly indicated that he will support pro-abortion judges and judges who will use the bench as a means of legislating policy. Bush takes a decidedly more constitutional view on the matter, noting that he would put strict constructionists on the Supreme Court. "We've got plenty of lawmakers in Washington, DC," the President said during the final debate with Kerry. "Legislators make law; judges interpret the Constitution. And I suspect one of us will have a pick at the end of next year -- the next four years. And that's the kind of judge I'm going to put on there. No litmus test except for how they interpret the Constitution." On the war front with Jihadistan... The right war at the right time.... For a few snapshots from the warfront in Iraq that won't appear on the front page of The Washington Post, link to -- http://federalistpatriot.us/news/real_usa.asp (Note to our military readers in Iraq: If you have a photo you want posted on this page, send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED]) >From the "Regulatory Commissars" File... As The Patriot has pointed out repeatedly in the past, the problem with our health-care system is simple -- the insurance industry has eroded the doctor-patient relationship. President Bush has proposed a sane plan for strengthening that relationship: medical-savings accounts will keep patients in control of their own money, allowing medical decisions to be driven by patients and their doctors. Senator Kerry has proposed his own solution to insurance bureaucracy: government bureaucracy. Kerry's government health program (which he claims isn't a government program) will spend $1.5 trillion, will put 80% of those covered on Medicaid, and will raise taxes by an average of $969 per year per family. It will impose 225 new mandates on small-business owners alone, going so far as to take eight million Americans off the private insurance they already have. Those of you who have read a history book or two may feel as if you've stepped into The Twilight Zone. It's true: a candidate for the American presidency believes he can improve health-care by socializing it. We've seen countless nations try this and fail -- the inevitable results are price-controls and rationing. The market in America has nurtured the greatest health-care system the world has ever seen. Let's not shackle it with more coercive government bureaucracy. For a better picture of Kerry's vision of socialized healthcare, link to -- http://kerry-04.org/about/health.php >From the "Non Compos Mentis" Files... More troubles down in the Florida swamps. Barry Seltzer, a registered Democrat, of Sarasota was arrested Wednesday on an aggravated assault charge, being accused of trying to run down U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris and a group of supporters with his car. (Remember Katherine Harris -- Florida Secretary of State when Algore attempted to steal the 2000 election. Wonder why the guy was after her?) He drove his Cadillac toward the group at an intersection Tuesday evening but played chicken and swerved at the last second, then fled the scene. "I intimidated them with my car," Seltzer told police. "I was exercising my political expression." We wonder if Teddy Kennedy was just "exercising political expression" back in 1969. "I did not run them down, I scared them a little!" That's like saying "I only shot at you, I didn't hit you!" >From the "Village Academic Curriculum" File... Government schools have long been recognized by freedom-conscious folks as one of the few true monopolies in our country. What exactly they have a monopoly over is apparently more than we thought previously. Milwaukee's highly Leftist public monopoly over our youngsters' minds has extended to their political inclinations as well. Milwaukee school officials have allowed the Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund, a pro-Kerry organization, to snatch kids as young as 11 from the classroom to enlist them in voter drives such phone banks and door-to-door programs in which they are tasked with turning out voters for John Kerry. Now, we can't altogether argue that these kids would otherwise be in class learning because that rarely happens in "gummint skoos." Around the nation... In case you hadn't noticed, there are elections in the states, too -- with some with important issues that will affect the rest of the nation. In "Big Foot" California, three state propositions have significant potential to reshape countrywide politics. Prop. 71 would sink $3 billion of bond-backed funding into embryonic-stem-cell research. The already cash-strapped state would require $6 billion in taxpayer dollars to pay for this -- and said research would clone and kill living human embryos. Bad idea on both counts! Props. 60 and 62, meanwhile, have to do with ballot access in general elections. Prop. 60 would assure a place on the general election ballot presence for the winning candidate from each political party's primary contest. Prop. 62 would bring Louisiana-style corrupt politics to the Golden State by creating the so-called "jungle primary" in which voters may cast a ballot for any candidate, regardless of shared party affiliation -- with only the top two vote-getters' appearing on the general-election ballot. Should Prop. 62 garner more votes than Prop. 60, look for California to become even more of a lost cause for a return to Reagan Country Right-mindedness. In business/economic news... Despite significant losses due to 9/11, total jobs have increased by more than 1.6 million under the Bush Administration. Unfortunately for the Demos, who (gasp!) misinterpret data for political gain, this number comes directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics -- the same Bureau that they use to claim net job loss. Two surveys done by the Bureau, titled Payroll and Household, are useful. Stock-watchers follow the Payroll Survey because it focuses on firms with a large presence in the market. Early indicators are used to buy stocks, so the hiring indicators of large publicly-held firms can be assessed with the Payroll Survey, which shows a loss in the Bush era of 940,000 jobs. However, this does not measure total jobs. That's where the Household Survey comes in, measuring total employment up by 1,628,000. It includes areas that are excluded by the Payroll Survey, including the self-employed (a growing category because of tax incentives and technology that makes it feasible), unpaid family workers, farmers and agricultural workers, and workers on leave without pay (e.g. new moms). Small employers, mostly excluded by the Payroll Survey, are numbered by the Household Survey, therefore giving a more accurate picture of total employment. After all, small businesses do account for a large part of hiring activity. Once again, we see that stubborn facts stand in the way of the Demo-lition derby. And last... One might think that the Red Sox are "John Kerry's team," being from his hometown and all. That's notwithstanding his gaffe a few months ago in naming his favorite player, "Manny Ortez." (Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are two Boston stars.) Of course, consistent with his legislative record, Kerry did not put on his Red Sox hat until they had actually won the World Series. That notwithstanding, one vocal member of the squad, clubhouse leader and consummate tough guy Curt Schilling, had this to say in an interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson. Schilling and his wife spoke of their joy in the Sox's Series win. When Gibson referred to Schilling as a "warrior" for pitching through a painful injury, Curt deferred that title to our troops in Iraq. At the end of the interview, Schilling pitched this curve ball right by Gibson: "Make sure you tell everybody to vote, and vote Bush next week." Gibson struck out with this weak rejoinder, "Alright, well, something else that divides the nation...." Lex et Libertas -- Semper Vigilo, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for the editors and staff. (Please pray on this day, and every day, for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world in defense of our liberty, and for the families awaiting their safe return.) *Printer-friendly format Link to -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/current2004a.asp -- PUBLIUS -- Support Operation Shields of Strength! The Federalist Patriot is receiving new requests from military chaplains in Iraq serving Army and Marine units which have recently been deployed on rotation. If you're able to support Operation SoS and can help provide Shields of Strength to ground forces on the frontlines with Jihadistan, please link to http://FederalistPatriot.US/news/sos.asp SUBSCRIBE: FREE by E-mail! Get your own subscription to The Federalist Patriot! Link to -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/subscribe/ or if you don't have Web access, send a blank e-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (Friday's Federalist Digest is available in print for $245/year. For more information, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>) TRIAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Send The Federalist Patriot to your friends and associates! Link to -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/addmultiple.asp (Privacy Notice: We do NOT release ANY information on our users or subscribers under any circumstances, nor do we accept any advertising.) UNSUBSCRIBE: Click on the "Manage Subscription" link at the top of this edition, or if you don't have Web access, send a blank e-mail to <fedlist- [EMAIL PROTECTED]> REPRINT AND FORWARD POLICY: Subscribers may reprint or forward The Federalist Patriot, in whole or part. If reprinting to another publication, please include the appropriate citation The Federalist Patriot (FederalistPatriot.US) in accordance with "fair use" rules, and our Subscriber/User Disclaimer. (For questions, contact our legal department at: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.) PATRIOT PETITIONS: Link to -- http://PatriotPetitions.US/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SUPPORT The Federalist's 2004 Patriot Sustaining Fund: http://FederalistPatriot.US/support.asp For more information on joining The Federalist Founder's Circle of major donors, contact <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> SUPPORT BY MAIL: Make your check payable to "The Federalist" and please note your e-mail address on your check so our publisher can thank you. Suggested support levels: Family Defender -- $20, Frontline Patriot -- $35, Company Command -- $50, Battalion Command -- $75, Regiment Command -- $100, Division Command -- $150, Corps Command -- $250. (Family or Frontline donors are critical to our success.) Send your contribution to: Federalist 2004 Patriot Fund P.O. Box 507 Chattanooga, TN 37401-0507 (Help drive traffic in the "right" direction! Include a self-addressed stamped (SASE) #10 (10" business) envelope with your donation, and we will send you our trademark slogans "Veritas vos Liberabit" (the truth will set you free), "Annoy a Leftist," and other stickers.) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ COMMENTS: Our servers automatically delete "Reply" messages to this e-mail. To read or submit comments for publication, link to -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/comments.asp Please hold your comments to 75 words if you want them posted. Questions or comments NOT for publication can be submitted to Executive Editor, Mark Alexander, Senior Feature Editor Cassandra Cornell, Senior Content Editor John Machen, Senior Research Editor Pete Parker, Feature Editors Jonah Walton and Brett Anthony, Legal Editor Michael Coleman, Technical Directors Jeffrey Thomas and Joshua Murray, Advisory Committee liaison Faith Long, or Subscriptions Manager Michele Hope at. Note the name of the person you are writing on the subject line of in an e-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (Regarding editing errors, we put at least one error in every issue -- just to see if you are paying attention!) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FOUNDERS QUOTE DAILY: Start your day with words of wisdom from a Founding Patriot. Link to -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/FQD.asp +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ABOUT THE FEDERALIST PATRIOT: Link to -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/main/about.asp Subscribers agree to the terms of the Subscriber/User Disclaimer at: http://FederalistPatriot.US/disclaimer.asp +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ E-mail President Bush, link to -- http://www.whitehouse.gov/webmail Contact your Senator -- http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm Contact your Representative -- http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html White House switchboard: (202) 456-1414 House and Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Links to Central Government Agencies -- http://www.firstgov.gov/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Visit the Patriot Shop: http://PatriotShop.us/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Visit the most comprehensive tribute to Ronald Reagan on the Internet and read the definitive conservative platform for the next century -- http://www.Reagan2020.com/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "FRUIT FROM THE TREE OF LIBERTY" The Federalist Patriot is an advocate of individual rights and responsibilities as ordained by God and established in the governmental context framed by our nation's Founders in our Declaration of Independence and its subordinate guidance, our Republic's Constitution, as explicated by The Federalist Papers. Our mission is to provide Constitutional Conservatives with a quick-reading e-journal digesting a wide spectrum of reliable information from reputable research, advocacy and media organizations -- a brief, timely, informative and entertaining survey and analysis of the week's most significant news, policy and opinion as anecdotal rebuttal to political, social and media Leftists. The Federalist Patriot is protected speech pursuant to the First (and Second) Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Statement of Allegiance as subscribed by The Federalist's National Advisory Committee, Staff and Associates: "I hereby declare, on oath, that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, so help me God." The Federalist Patriot is a publication of Publius Press, Inc. Copyright (C) 1981-2004 Publius Press, Inc. All rights reserved. The Federalist Patriot is a Town Hall Citizen Organization In God we trust. ><>
