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Title: THE FEDERALIST
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
There
are a couple of important breaking news
items today so the normal content for our Wednesday Chronicle has
been altered.
CONTENTS:
The
Foundation
Insight
Lt. Col. Allen B.
West
For the
Record
Shields of Strength
update
Sociocrats
Village
Idiots
Short Cuts
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THE FOUNDATION
" 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he
whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his
principles unto death." --Thomas Paine
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INSIGHT
"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest
vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and notwithstanding go
out to meet it." --Thucydides
"He who reigns within himself and
rules his
passions, desires, and fears is more than a king." --John Milton
"The
worst of all lives is the vicious life; the life of a man who becomes a
positive
addition to the forces of evil in a community." --Theodore
Roosevelt
"Politics, n. strife of interests masquerading as a contest of
principles." --Ambrose Bierce
"If Columbus had an advisory committee he
would probably still be at the dock." --Justice Arthur
Goldberg
"Congress
may be going home for the holidays soon. How can you beat a Christmas gift
like
that?" --Bob Hope
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human
stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." --Albert Einstein
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LTC ALLEN B. WEST
Breaking News! Lt.
Col. Allen B. West, who faced criminal charges for firing his weapon to
intimidate an Iraqi detainee into providing information about an upcoming
assault on West's unit, has himself, dodged a bullet.
LTC West's
actions
yielded critical information which enabled West and his soldiers to thwart the
attack -- thus saving the lives of their fellow soldiers. It was and
remains our
position that LTC West's actions were justified. Indeed, President Bush,
on his
visit to Iraq Thanksgiving Day, said "In some cases, the measured use of force
is all that protects us from a chaotic world ruled by force." We believe this
certainly applies in the case of LTC West.
To that end,
The Federalist's companion site,
PatriotPetitions.US, collected more than 130,000 signatures asking President
George Bush, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill
Frist, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, acting Secretary of the Army
Secretary Les Brownlee and Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, exonerate LTC West from
this grossly misguided prosecution and any criminal charges.
On the day
LTC West's Article 32 Board convened, Patriot Petitions released the results of
the petition in support of LTC West. We learned yesterday afternoon, that the
Army hearing officer in this case, LTC James Davis, has recommended to MGEN
Raymond Odierno, the 4th Infantry Division commander, Article 15 administrative
correction for LTC West -- but no court-martial. MGEN Odierno can accept or
decline that recommendation.
"It's extremely good news," said Neal
Puckett, LTC West's attorney. "This is what we think the Army should have done
from the very beginning." LTC West indicated from the start of this case that
he was willing to accept nonjudicial Article 15 punishment and then retire.
MGEN Odierno has already relieved him of his artillery battalion command, a
career killer. LTC West has submitted a retirement request and acting Army
Secretary Les Brownlee may retire LTC West at his current rank, or at the
reduced rank of major.
We contend that LTC West should have received
honorable recognition for his actions and be promoted to full Colonel -- his
considerable experience will be missed on the frontlines of our war with
Jihadistan.
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FOR THE RECORD
OK, a few of our readers noted that we had two mistakes
in one sentence in our reader comments section in Monday's Brief. (Of
course it
is our policy to include one mistake just to see if you are paying attention.)
That's right, the whole section slipped by without being subjected to the
watchful eyes of our content editor for that edition -- she was out sick. We
need a second content editor on board -- and that means we need your support!
The burden of "keeping the flame" has, throughout history, fallen
on the
shoulders of a few. As our favorite Founding Patriot Samuel Adams noted, "It
does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority,
keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." That describes YOU!
Please support The Federalist. It is an
honor and privilege to serve you, Faith
Long.
Support
The
Federalist's 2003 Annual Patriot
Fund
We still must raise $65,358
before the end of the year!
Link to our Secure Commerce Page
at --
or mail your contribution to: Federalist Patriot Fund,
P.O.
Box 507, Chattanooga, TN 37401-0507
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SHIELD OF STRENGTH UPDATE
Way to go Federalist
Patriots! We have commitments to sponsor more than 20,000 "Shield of
Strength" dog-tags for units now in, or preparing to depart for Iraq. We have
outstanding requests for about 15,000 Shields that do not yet have sponsors.
If you want to help us with this effort, here are the instructions. We
only have sufficient staff to handle orders in bulk packages of 500 ($575). If
you want to sponsor fewer than 500, please let us combine your sponsor check
with others to put together a bulk package for a unit without a
sponsor. (NOTE:
If you are interested in purchasing just a few Shields, we will offer you a
method for doing that next week.)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Please make your
check payable to The Federalist.
2. On
the check memo line, note "Shield of Strength."
3. In order to keep these
payments separate from our donor support payments, please send you check to the
following address for our accountants.
Caldwell Management Group,
Inc.
"Shield of Strength"
820 Scenic Highway
Lookout Mountain,
Tennessee 37350
4. Please note for bulk orders of 500, if you want them
sent directly to you, please include mailing instructions. If you want them
sent to a particular unit or service branch, please designate that branch with
an address if applicable.
The Shields will be shipped within ten days
of receipt of your check. Please note that we would like to have all these
orders filled by Christmas so please send your Shields sponsor check today (and
if you have anything left, please don't forget to support
The Federalist 2003 Patriot Fund).
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SOCIOCRATS
From the Alpha Male... "Howard Dean really is the only
candidate who has been able to inspire at the grass-roots level all over this
country the kind of passion and enthusiasm for democracy and change and
transformation of America that we need in this country. ... [Dean] was the only
major candidate who made the correct judgment about the Iraq war, and he
had the
insight and the courage to say and do the right thing. Those judgments -- that
basic common sense -- is what you want in a president. ...It was Osama bin
Laden
that attacked us, not Saddam Hussein. It was a mistake to get us into a
quagmire over there." --Al Gore on Tuesday endorsing Dean for
president
This week's "Hysterical Revisionism" Award: "That's the
kind of
America we want back again. The America where Medicare passed for the first
time, Head Start passed, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, the first
African-American justice of the United State Supreme Court. What we want
is our
community back and our country back." --Howard Dean waxing nostalgic about the
1960s as "a time when we felt like we were all in it together."
++ From the "I'll Show You Mine If You'll
Show Me Your Files" File: "President Bush sort of takes the cake for his
sealing. He actually had his sent, as I understand it, to his father's
presidential library, where there's a 50-year seal, so what I've said is every
Governor does seal their records. I'll unseal mine if he'll unseal all his."
--Howard Dean **In fact, Bush's records are publicly
available. We're waiting, Howard....
From the John "F"
Kerry
Files: "Did I expect George Bush to f--- it up as badly as he did? I don't
think anybody did. ... They took that legitimacy and bastardized it. If I were
president, we would not be in Iraq today." --John Kerry in Rolling
Stone
From the "Foot in Mouth Disease" Department: "Had I been
elected to
a second term, with the prestige and influence and reputation I had in the
region [of the Middle East], we could have moved to a final solution." --Jimmy
Carter, in (we hope) an inadvertent slip into Hitlerian
terminology.
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VILLAGE IDIOTS
From the "George Bush Eats Kittens" Department: "As far
as I'm concerned, when I hear the words 'we're out to protect the American
people' I realize not only is that not true but we're harming the American
people. I think the American people are being really ill served right now
and I
think no where is it more disgraceful than in how the environment is being
treated ...I've never known an administration more narrow, more limited and
more
mean; the lack of respect and the meanness is beyond me." --Robert
Redford
This week's "TheoLib" Award: "For years now, the Religious Right
has co-opted the language of the church and the language of the Bible and used
it as a tool to motivate people in ways that conflict with our core beliefs and
that are harmful to our communities. For this reason, we are asking our clergy
and our congregations to dedicate themselves to countering the rhetoric of the
Religious Right by mobilizing voters within their communities." --Rev. Arnold
Howard, chairman of the African American Ministers Leadership Council, on
mobilizing the Religious Left
This week's "Gender Disorientation
Disorder" Award: "Many of the homosexual men that I know ... you know, they
like
to move around. They like to have -- you know, they're -- that's part of it.
That's part of the fun of being a gay man. So if they're married, does that
mean
they're not going to cheat, they're only going to be with one?" --Bette Midler,
admitting that "gay marriage" is doomed to fail.
Poor Sonny: "I would
rather stick needles in my eyes than be a Republican." --Cher
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SHORT CUTS
"The United States realizes that a citizen must be
protected whether he wants to be or not -- controlled, regulated, and
intimidated in every aspect of everything he does, for his own good. He
must not
be permitted to ride a bicycle without a helmet, smoke if he chooses, or go
to a
bar where smoking is permitted. He cannot be trusted to run his life." --Fred
Reed
Joe Lieberman thinks it is mean/ Of Algore to endorse Howard
Dean./
He thought that Big Al / Was his loyal pal -- / What a fool Joe Lieberman's
been." --Lyn Nofziger
"Mzz Clinton was entitled to a pout, too, at least
a little one, after she went all the way to Iraq to get her picture taken with
the men (and women) in the ranks, and all she got for it was an up close and
personal view of George W. Bush serving Thanksgiving dinner to his fighting
men.
That might as well have been her on the platter, a crispy turkey with
drumsticks
aglow, surrounded by sweet potatoes and cornbread dressing." --Wesley
Pruden
"With economic growth and name recognition of the average
Democratic presidential candidate both running at about 7 percent, the
Democrats
are in trouble. Unable to rouse more than the Saddam-supporting left with their
kooky foreign-policy ideas, the Democrats had been counting on a lousy
economy."
--Ann Coulter ++ "Democrats and liberals
are beginning to sound like a beleaguered minority." --James
Taranto
Jay Leno.... Let's see
what's going on with Senator John "F" Kerry. ....
In an interview with "Rolling Stone," Senator John Kerry said
when he
voted for the war in Iraq he didn't expect President Bush to "F*** it up as
badly as he did." Of course Kerry is not the first presidential candidate to
use the F-word. Clinton used it, too. Of course, the difference is Clinton
always used it as a verb. .... Here's some
breaking news. Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean as the
Democratic nominee for president of the United States. You thought John Kerry
was using four-letter words before. ....
To
John Kerry, "Dean" is a four-letter word.
David
Letterman.... (reruns)
Argus
Hamilton.... President Bush soared in the polls after his trip to
Iraq and so did Hillary Clinton after her trip to Iraq. It's important that
they
both went there. In addition to food and ammunition we need to keep our troops
supplied with fresh jokes. .... President
Bush addressed a steel executives' luncheon in Pittsburgh. The menu was
sumptuous. The dessert was so rich it received a fund-raising letter from
Howard
Dean, a tax cut from the President and a proposal of marriage from John Kerry.
.... The Beverly Hilton was the site of a
meeting [last] Tuesday of movie executives and agents who want to defeat
President Bush. Terms were simple. They offered Hillary Clinton forty million
dollars plus her name above the country if she will just agree to run.
.... Wesley Clark expressed his pride in
his Jewish heritage at a temple in Palm Beach.... He was born Jewish and raised
Protestant then converted to Roman Catholicism. As a result, no country club in
America can turn him down for membership.
.... Howard Dean soared to a 30-point lead
over John Kerry in Thursday's poll in New Hampshire. Still it's no guarantee he
will get the nomination. Political forecasting has one essential function,
which
is to make astrology look respectable. ....
Democrats in Beverly Hills [last] Tuesday vowed to raise $80 million to help
defeat President Bush. He doesn't leave them much room. To get to the left of
President Bush's prescription drug plan Democrats would have to nationalize the
steel industry. .... Billy Bob
Thornton did
a huge box office in Bad Santa last weekend in the only Santa Claus movie ever
made that was rated for adults only. Psychiatrists have a clinical name for
adults who still believe in Santa Claus. They call them Democrats.
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.)
-- PUBLIUS --
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