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Title: THE FEDERALIST
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05 December 2003Federalist No.
03-49Friday Digest*To PROMOTE life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness:Support The
Federalist --
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Reagan
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THE FOUNDATION
"The whole of that Bill [of Rights] is a declaration of
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FEDERALIST PERSPECTIVE
Top of the
fold...
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Based on The Federalist's
assessment
of open-source information combined with excellent leads from high-level
military and intelligence analysts, we have vigorously defended our nation's
military assault on Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. It can no
longer be credibly argued but that these are major fronts in the conduct of our
war against Jihadistan (that borderless nation of Islamic extremists with
global
reach, inhabited by al-Qa'ida and other Islamists who are targeting the U.S.).
It has also been our considered position that Saddam's WMD programs and his
alliance with terrorist organizations was a major threat to U.S. national
security -- and will remain so until the products of his biological and nuclear
programs are discovered and destroyed.
Of course, Operation Iraqi
Freedom has its detractors. Most notable are those Democrats, such as Ted
Kennedy and the ever-opportunistic "Braying Herd of Jackasses" seeking the
Demo-nomination for president, who have openly called President George Bush a
"liar" for his assertions justifying military intervention.
Their
erroneous accusations notwithstanding, there is substantial new evidence
emerging from truckloads of documents seized in the days following the fall of
the Saddamite regime that the Butcher of Baghdad did, indeed, have direct links
to Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network (links only the most nescient of
observers would deny).
Translations of highly detailed Iraqi
intelligence reports reveal, among many connections, that senior al-Qa'ida
leader Abu Musaab Zarqawi met with Iraqi Intelligence Service officials on
numerous occasions just prior to Saddam's ouster; that Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama
bin Laden's closest adviser, met several times with Iraqi Intelligence Service
Deputy Director Faruq Hijazi prior to September 11, 2001; and that al-Qa'ida
terrorists with Ansar al-Islam in Northern Iraq operated with impunity under
Saddam's orders. There is also specific evidence that high-level Iraqis
traveled to Sudan in the mid-1990s to teach al-Qa'ida operatives how to make
sophisticated vehicle bombs similar to those al-Qa'ida used against targets in
Saudi Arabia and two U.S. embassies in Africa. This information utterly
refutes
a June United Nations terrorism-committee report which concluded, at that time,
there were no links between Saddam and al-Qa'ida.
The new findings
confirm an assertion about the Saddam-al-Qa'ida link by CIA Director George
Tenet as far back as October, 2002, when he informed the Senate Select
Committee
on Intelligence, "We have solid reporting of senior-level contacts between Iraq
and al-Qa'ida going back a decade. ... We have credible reporting that
al-Qa'ida
leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire WMD capabilities."
Of course, the big question remains, where are Saddam's WMD stores,
particularly his nuclear components and his biological toxins -- including
large
quantities of weapons-grade anthrax? Also in October of 2002,
The Federalist reported that it would be
unlikely that Allied Forces would discover Saddam's WMD stores in Iraq -- that
the UN Security Council's foot-dragging provided a large window for Saddam to
export his biological and nuclear WMD. At that time, we wrote, "There is a
substantial body of intelligence supporting our position that Iraq shipped some
or all of its biological and nuclear WMD stores to Syria and Lebanon's heavily
fortified Bekaa Valley."
It is our fervent hope that those weapons are
still in that region and that we can keep the warfront on Jihadi turf rather
than witness its devastation on our soil once again.
Regarding the
whereabouts of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, and the threat posed by
their
survival, it's highly improbable, despite speculation to the contrary, that
they
still exercise any appreciable command and control of ongoing assaults against
Allied targets. Such leadership would occasionally require sticking one's head
out of whatever hole it is in -- and would thus allow us to lop it off. Still,
it's important to the emerging governments of Iraq and Afghanistan that both
these murderous psychopaths be captured and/or killed. To that end, special
units are conducting 24/7 hunt-and-kill operations in Iraq and along the
Afghan-Pakistani border.
Quote of the week...
"We will win because our cause is just. We will win because
we will stay on the offensive. We will win because you're part of the finest
military ever assembled. And we will prevail because the Iraqis want their
freedom." --President George W. Bush
In other
news...
President Bush's Thanksgiving Day visit with our
troops in Baghdad has, naturally, resulted in criticism from his Leftist
opponents.
"He doesn't understand what it takes to defend this country,
that you have to have high moral purpose," protests Howard Dean. "He doesn't
understand that you [had] better keep troop morale high rather than just flying
over for Thanksgiving. ... Mr. President, if you'll pardon me, I'll teach you a
little about defense." (This from a man who took a "bad back" deferment to
avoid
military service during the Vietnam war -- then headed straight for the ski
slopes of Aspen ... a man who cut his national-security teeth on the mean
streets of Montpelier.)
Jamal Simmons, spokesman for Wesley Clark, says,
"The trip highlights how insecure Iraq is and shows how we need to get our
allies in to get the American face off the occupation." Sen. John Kerry
complained, "When Thanksgiving is over, I hope our president will take the time
to correct his failed policy in Iraq that has placed our soldiers in a shooting
gallery." (And just how did Kerry vote on this "failed
policy"?)
Memo to
Howard, John and Wes: There is an upcoming presidential election in France --
and still time for you to make the residency requirements!
Former
Clinton regime spokesman Joe Lockhart griped, "This is a president who has been
unwilling to provide his presence to the families who have suffered but thinks
nothing of flying to Baghdad to use the troops there as a prop." However, Sen.
Ms. Hillary Rodham-Clinton-Rodham praised the trip -- as she was also in
Baghdad
dining in the same room as military personnel. "I thought it was terrific,"
said Ms. Clinton.
Of course, there were a few differences in the tenor
and tone of their visits, most notably, Commander-in-Chief Bush humbly joined
enlisted personnel serving troops their meals, while Ms. Clinton and her
entourage ushered themselves to the front of a long serving line for their
meal.
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who traveled with the
President to Baghdad, got it right: "The President was concerned about one
thing and one thing only: He wanted to spend time with the troops on
Thanksgiving and he wanted to do it with front-line troops."
The
success of our military operations in Iraq, not to mention President Bush's
surprise visit to Baghdad, is good news for the campaign against
Jihadistan, but
bad news for Howard Dean's presidential campaign, which has been built around
the "anti-war" theme and depends on failure in Iraq and a retreat in the war
against Jihadistan.
For those who would like to see George Bush
defeated in '04 -- most notably al-Qa'ida terrorists around the world, and
their
sleeper cells in U.S. urban centers -- they have an ally in Howard Dean.
Indeed, they will likely work hard to support Dean's candidacy by doing some
murderous deeds prior to the '04 elections, thereby undermining U.S.
support for
the President's policy in Iraq. If that ugliness spills over onto our shores
again, it may also give Dean the economic downturn his campaign desires.
On
cross-examination...
"Bush's gutsy Thanksgiving engagement in
the Iraqi sands sent a strategic message for all the world to hear: The United
States is going to see this one through, and my presence here today is proof.
... The President's lead-from-the-front visit was clearly a lot more than a
photo op. True, it was symbolic -- but some symbols, like the American flag,
have powerful, hopeful, enduring meanings." --Peter
Brookes
News from the
Swamp...
In the Executive Branch, President Bush on Thursday
removed the tariffs he imposed on foreign steel imports in March, 2002 --
by far
the worst economic decision of his presidency. The WTO had proclaimed the
tariffs illegal according to existing treaties and authorized the European
Union
and others to take retaliatory measures if the tariffs were not rescinded by
December 10. While the President's decision may have a negative effect with
steel workers' unions in some critical states in the upcoming election, it is
hoped that the certain economic benefit of the lift on tariffs will offset any
political fallout.
In the Senate, now that the President has irritated
the Demo Unionistas, he might as well go after the Demo ambulance chasers. A
bill reforming class-action lawsuits by preventing lawyers from doing such
things as "venue shopping" -- searching for sympathetic judges and juries
likely
to award the biggest settlements -- has been resuscitated after Demos Chuck
Schumer, Chris Dodd and Mary Landrieu indicated they would change their vote.
The bill's language was changed slightly to "protect consumers," according to
Schumer.
On the Homeland Security
front...
The Department of Homeland Security unexpectedly
terminated an immigration program targeting men from Middle Eastern countries
this week, though department officials deny the program was cut in response to
criticism from numerous civil rights and Muslim activist groups. The National
Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) was terminated, says the DHS,
as a part of implementing a more comprehensive entry-exit monitoring system
known as US-VISIT -- expected to be fully operational by 2005.
Of the
177,000 Middle Eastern men registered under NSEERS, 20% were in violation of
their visas, and at least 11 are suspected of terrorist connections. Of those
not registered...well, you get the picture.
Meanwhile, the Census Bureau
reports that the Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled in the
past two decades, the result of lax U.S. immigration laws and discord in
the Middle East. The Bureau says there were almost 1.2 million Arabs in
the United States in 2000, compared with 860,000 in 1990 and 610,000 in 1980,
most of them from Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. Of course, most of them are
peace-loving folks. We are more concerned about the Islamists who did not
respond to the most recent census -- you know, like the crew who hijacked four
commercial aircraft on 9/11....
New warnings were issued by the FBI this
week: "Recent intelligence indicates terrorists are considering the use
of improvised explosive devices assembled onboard to hijack an
aircraft or,
alternatively, destroy it over heavily populated areas in the event of
passenger
or crew resistance," notes the FBI's weekly bulletin. "In many cases of
suspicious passenger activity, incidents have taken place in the aircraft's
forward lavatory. It is conceivable that terrorists may plan to use this
private area to construct IEDs in order to facilitate access to the cockpit or
position themselves in front of the passengers.''
Law-enforcement
authorities are also on alert for the possibility of charter or cargo planes
being used by homicide bombers to attack high-profile domestic targets.
Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security has issued an advisory based
on unspecified intelligence indicating that al-Qa'ida operatives in the U.S.
have plans to target "liquid natural gas, chemical or petrochemical sites near
major population centers using multiple vehicle-born improvised explosive
devices similar to those recently seen in the attacks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
and Istanbul, Turkey."
In other news concerning domestic threats, since
pleading guilty to materially supporting al-Qa'ida, the so-called "Lackawanna
Six" (the naturalized Americans of Yemeni descent recruited by Osama bin Laden
in Afghanistan before 9/11) have provided "substantial assistance and
information deemed highly valuable" to government terrorism investigations,
according to prosecutors. The information includes al-Qa'ida methods for
identifying and indoctrinating American recruits and details of terrorist
training at the al Farooq camp in Afghanistan. Shafal Mosed, 25; Mukhtar
al-Bakri, 23; Faysal Galab, 27; Sahim Alwan, 30; Yahya Goba, 26; and Yasein
Taher, 25, were arrested in September 2002, when federal agents received a tip
about their training in Afghanistan in early 2001. A seventh recruit, Jaber
Elbaneh, 28, remains a fugitive. The FBI has offered a $5-million reward for
information leading to his arrest. (Memo to FBI: Try profiling Islamic males
between the ages of 20 and 30.)
From the
"Department of Military Readiness"...
It is not "official
issue," but thousands of military personnel are now wearing a "Shield of
Strength" dog-tag bearing a Scriptural passage on one side (Joshua 1:9 "I will
be strong and courageous. I will not be terrified, or discouraged, for the Lord
my God is with me wherever I go.") and the words "One Nation under God" on the
other.
Army Ranger Capt. Russell Rippetoe, murdered at a checkpoint
by a
homicide bomber, was the first casualty in Operation Iraqi Freedom to be
interred at Arlington National Cemetery. His father, retired Lt. Col. Joe
Rippetoe (disabled after two tours of duty in Vietnam), reports, "All the men
who served with my son wear the shield around their necks, as do many of the
elite 75th Rangers. The Shield of Strength is to remind them that when you need
help, you look to the man upstairs [and] to love those around you today. Don't
wait until tomorrow."
Army Command Sgt. Maj. J. Clay writes from
Iraq, "I
cannot even begin to count how many soldiers are wearing them. It also has a
spiritual camaraderie impact -- for example, when you meet another Christian or
military member and they have the shield on their ID tags ... it bonds you,
even
though you may not know them."
Beaumont, Texas, native Kenny Vaughan,
who first produced the dog-tags, has asked The
Federalist to help identify Patriots with the means to purchase them
(at cost -- about $1.10 apiece) for distribution to military units of their
choosing (or we will identify a unit for you). Our marketing and accounting
staff have advised us not to seek funding for an outside project when we are in
the middle of our own year-end campaign to meet our budget (the 2003 Federalist
Patriot Fund), but this was too important for us to put off until
January.
If you are able to purchase 500 or more Shields of Strength,
please e-mail us at <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Our staff will arrange for the
production and distribution of the tags to you or a specified military unit.
(The Federalist is not compensated in any
way for this service to our troops.)
Regarding the 2003 Federalist Patriot
Fund...
We still must raise $89,231
before the end of the year!
Samuel Adams advised, "Let us
contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights
bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the latter."
The Federalist is not sustained by any
political, special interest or parent organization, and we accept no
advertising. Our mission and operations are funded entirely by the voluntary
financial support of our Patriot readers -- like you! If you have not already
done so, please support The Federalist
today. Thank you! --Research Editor John
Machen
Support
The
Federalist's 2003 Annual
Fund
Link to our Secure Commerce Page at --
or mail your contribution to:
Federalist Patriot Fund,
P.O. Box 507, Chattanooga, TN
37401-0507
Judicial
Benchmarks...From the Leftjudiciary, the infamous 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals this week ruled against a 1996 federal antiterrorism
statute that provides the linchpin for many of the government's terrorism
prosecutions. The court's ruling overturns the part of the law pertaining to
the legality of providing financial assistance or "material support" to groups
classified as terrorist organizations by the State Department. The court ruled
that it is unconstitutional to punish people for providing "training" or
"personnel" to terrorist groups, inasmuch as such a restriction "blurs the line
between protected _expression_ and unprotected _expression_."
The Justice
Department did not immediately say how it will respond to the ruling, which
essentially ties one arm behind the government's back in the prosecution of
many
terrorism-related cases. The 9th Circuit's decision represents only the most
recent of many anticipated challenges to federally-instituted national security
prerogatives pertaining to terrorism.
To read
The Federalist's position on the
constitutionality of federal antiterrorism laws in general, and of the 2001 USA
Patriot Act in particular, link to:
http://www.federalist.com/papers/03-41_paper.aspIn
Colorado, a victory for the NEA and its Leftist minions this week: District
Judge Joseph Meyer ruled that state's school-voucher program was
"unconstitutional," saying it limits local school-board control over
education.
Well, yeah! This was the first case since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last
year approving another voucher plan. "I see no way to interpret the
voucher-program statute in a way that does not run afoul of the principle of
local control," writes Meyer. The plan was challenged by a coalition of folks
who argue that vouchers, when used by students wanting to attend Christian
schools, would violate -- you guessed it -- the oft-invoked and utterly dubious
"separation of church and state."
From the "Court Jesters" File, two
weeks ago
The Federalist awarded Utah RINO
Senator Orrin Hatch its "Gender Disorientation Disorder" award for commenting,
"People have got to grow up and realize that [homosexuality is] an important
issue to many, many people in our society and nobody should be discriminated
against." We suggested Hatch might be appeasing some Utah constituents and that
the Supreme Court's decision in
Lawrence v. Texas
would eventually find its way into a polygamy case.
Indeed,
this week, John Bucher, lawyer for polygamist Tom Green, argued before the Utah
Supreme Court that the Texas case regarding homosexual behavior between
consenting adults should apply equally to polygamists. "It doesn't bother
anyone, (and with) no compelling state interest in what you do in your own home
with consenting adults, you should be allowed to do so," Bucher said.
Polygamy, once an accepted practice by Utah's Mormons, was renounced by
the church in 1890 as a condition for Utah statehood. The church's official
position is to excommunicate those practicing it, however, it is estimated that
there are now more than 30,000 polygamist in Utah and surrounding
states.
Regarding the redistribution of
your income...Another omnibus spending package with all the
pork trimmings was just dumped on the shoulders of taxpayers. Since 1999,
federal spending has increased from $16,000 per household to $20,000 per
household. That's the highest level since World War II. "The number of pork
projects skyrocketed from under 2,000 five years ago to 9,362 in the 2003
budget," note Heritage Foundation researchers Brian Riedl and Thomas
Roe. For a
partial list of the "04 Pork Lotto Winners," link to --
http://federalist.com/news/04lotto.asp
From
the "Regulatory Commissars" File...Revised EPA regulations
regarding power-plant emissions have prompted the Agency to drop investigations
into 50 power plants suspected of violating the Clean Air Act. The new, less
stringent rules designed to help contain power costs are among a larger package
of energy policies to decrease U.S. demand for Middle Eastern oil. Naturally,
the Left responded with claims that President Bush hates children. Sen. Frank
Lautenberg bleated, "This latest attack on the environment sends a clear
message
to the president's corporate polluting cronies [that] profits are more
important
than cleaning the air for children...."
On
the Left...Joe Lieberman, the only Demo presidential candidate with an
ounce of integrity (he lost all the rest when he lowered himself to join Albert
Arnold Gore's Ticket in '00), is not happy about being excluded from the last
Demo-debate. "It was not right to deny me an opportunity to be part of today's
debate. I always thought we Democrats were the party of inclusion, not
exclusion. And I thought it was strange that Wes Clark, who just became a
Democrat six weeks ago, was allowed to effectively blackball a lifelong
Democrat
like me from this discussion."
Perhaps Mr. Lieberman should take a cue
from his Democrat colleague Zell Miller: "If this is a national party, sushi is
our national dish. If this is a national party, surfing has become our national
pastime. The people leading our party and those asking to lead our country are
like a bunch of naïve fraternity boys who don't know what they don't
know.... Like the Whig Party of the late 1850s, the Democrat Party has become
dangerously fragmented. And, considering the present leadership, it can
only get
worse. The special-interest groups have come between the Democrat Party and the
people. The party is no longer a link to most Americans. Each advocacy
group has
become more important than the sum of the whole. It is a rational party no
more. It is a national party no more. So, bang the drum slowly and play the
fife
lowly, for the sun is setting over a waiting grave."
Sen. John Heinz-Kerry, in an effort to salvage his
floundering presidential bid, told the Council on Foreign Relations this week
that if elected, he would consider dispatching Bill Clinton as U.S. special
envoy to the Middle East, as an "ambassador to the peace
process." According to
all credible accounts, the Mid-East mess we are in right now is the direct
result of Clinton's negligence. It possible that Heinz-Kerry could be
trying to
curry Clinton's much-needed favor to gain the Demo-nod.
Speaking of
ambassadors, you'll recall the flap about "CIA agent" Valerie Plame --
she's the
wife of Clintonista hack Ambassador Joseph Wilson whose identity was
"leaked" to
the media. Well, in case you thought it to be anything but a political
hack-job, consider the following: Ms. Plame recently sat for a photographic
spread to appear with an article in an upcoming Vanity Fair magazine issue --
just in case the leak didn't totally compromise her "clandestine" identity.
On the subject of hidden identities, Demo national security advisor
Barbra "Babs" Streisand filed a $10-million suit against environmental activist
Kenneth Adelman, who posted two photographs of the waterfront side of
Streisand's Malibu estate on a website documenting erosion issues on
California's coastline. Babs claimed the photograph violated her privacy, but
Superior Court Judge Allan Goodman rejected her request for an injunction to
remove the photos and ordered her to pay the defendant's six-figure legal fees.
Streisand's attorney, Mr. John Gatti, said an appeal was possible.
Babs
was so distressed that she missed the Angry Left's latest, greatest fundraising
and strategizing effort to dislodge the Bush presidency in 2004 -- an event
eloquently promoted as "Hate Bush 12-2." The event, held at the Beverly Hills
Hilton, was organized by activist Laurie David, and co-chaired by Harold Ickes,
former Deputy White House Chief of Staff and '96 Clinton-Gore re-election
campaign manager, and Ellen Malcolm, founder of Emily's List, the PAC committed
to the election of pro-abortion feminists.
From the "Non Compos Mentis"
Files...
This week's "Dumbing Down" Award goes to Fox
Infotainer Bill O'Reilly for this comment on the racial divide in Cincinnati
after the videotaped death of a black man who resisted arrest: "Cincinnati is a
southern city. It has that southern mentality." (Of course O'Reilly is from New
York -- and almost everything is south of there!) The Cincinnati coroner has
determined that heart disease, illegal drugs and obesity were major
contributing
factors in the man's death. Resisting arrest was also a major factor. Of
course, all the race-baiters are comparing the event to the videotaped of
Rodney
King resisting arrest by the LAPD -- you know, Los Angeles is "a southern city"
with that "southern mentality."
From the
"Village Academic Curriculum" File...
There's a new piece of
"art" outside the Student Union at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. The
bronze "sculpture," purchased with your
taxpayer dollars, features a bishop with a phallus rather than a miter on his
head and was the highlight of a recent "family" weekend campus tour.
Around the nation...
In
other news from Kansas, the City Council of Geuda Springs (population 210) has
become the second American town to pass a statute requiring that every head of
household own a gun and ammunition. The "ordnance" ordinance is similar to one
enacted in the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, Georgia, in March, 1982. FBI
uniform
crime statistics indicate that crime in Kennesaw dropped precipitously after
1982 and remains low today, even though the city's population has grown
dramatically in the past two decades.
Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, recently
ousted due to his refusal to comply with an extra-constitutional federal court
order to remove the now-famous Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda
of the
state judicial building, announced Thursday that he will appeal to the state's
high court to be reinstated as chief justice. Moore says he will file the
appeal by December 10, though he did not offer the specifics of the argument he
plans to present in his defense.
In business/economic news...
In the latest in a string of good news for the nation's
economic recovery (read: In the latest in a string of BAD news for the nation's
Democrat presidential hopefuls), the Labor Department reports that worker
productivity in the last quarter took its largest leap in 20 years, soaring at
an annual rate of 9.4% from July to September. This surge in productivity
-- the
best showing since the second quarter of 1983 -- comes on the heels of the
third
quarter's huge 8.2% annual growth rate, and the unemployment rate's drop to
5.9%.
On the culture front...
Surely you remember our story on New York City's Harvey
Milk High School founded especially for homosexual, bisexual, and transgendered
students? Just a month into its first year of operation, five students were
arrested by NYPD for pretending to be prostitutes, picking up male "customers,"
flashing fake police badges, handcuffing them and relieving them of their cash,
ATM cards, and personal identification. Arrested in connection with the
robberies were Gerald "Kimberly" Howard, 17; Kevin "Keva" Williams, 17; Brian
"Whoopie" Gonzalez, 17; Kelvin "Keisha" Howell, 17; and Keenan "Chanel" Oliver,
16.
In faith matters...
Following last month's meeting of the U.S.
Conference of
Catholic Bishops, the 275 active bishops in the U.S. are preparing to loose an
unprecedented amount of pressure on the nation's Roman Catholic politicians to
conform to the church's ethical standards. The conference has established a
task force to set procedures for dealing with unruly politicians who
profess the
faith, a move following on the heels of the Vatican's recent "doctrinal note"
calling for appropriate ethical standards and practices among Catholic
politicians. "Those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave
and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life," the papal
pronouncement said. "For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to
promote such laws or to vote for them." In addition to the church's
teaching on
abortion, the note also gave instruction on the issues of slavery, euthanasia,
religious freedom and -- significant to the current political landscape -- the
sanctity of marriage.
The church's initiatives to discipline prodigal
politicians is far from irrelevant: 150 Roman Catholics serve in the 108th U.S.
Congress, and three 2004 Democrat presidential contenders -- Wesley Clark, John
Kerry and Dennis Kucinich -- also number themselves (albeit dubiously)
among the
faithful.
Open Query...
"If
you can't bring your faith into public life, what's the use of having it? It's
embarrassing to read consistently of Catholic senators all proclaiming their
support for abortion. It's not able to be explained by me how Catholics can do
that, particularly if they go unrebuked." --Most Rev. Fabian Bruskewitz, Roman
Catholic bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska
Around the world...
A
United Nations monitoring committee reported this week that no fewer than 108
member nations have failed to report their actions against global
terrorism, due
by the end of October. The reports are mandated under Security Council
resolutions, which imposed sanctions on Afghanistan's Taliban, Osama bin
Laden's
al-Qa'ida network, and 30 to 40 affiliated terrorist
organizations. Governments
failing to report their nation's actions include Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia,
Kenya and Sudan -- all of whom are known to have al-Qa'ida or related terrorist
elements.
And
last...
All
the griping about our great nation from the "Herd of Braying Jackasses" gives
credence to this conclusion from one of our favorite political pundits, P.J.
O'Rourke: "The liberal is continually angry, as only a self-important man can
be, with his civilization, his culture, his country and his folks back home.
His is an infantile world view. At the core of a liberal is the spoiled child
-- miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding,
ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling
brats."
(Notice: Correction -- for subscribers to our daily Founder's
quote service, Thursday's posting was incorrectly attributed to Benjamin
Franklin. The quote (as posted in today's Digest under The Foundation) is from
Albert Gallatin, Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of the Treasury.)
-- PUBLIUS --
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