Monday Digest

November 4, 2013

THE FOUNDATION

"The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys." --Thomas Jefferson

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Weekly Budget Bluster

It was but two weeks ago that the government "shutdown" ended with a partial deal to fund the government through early next year. Congress began negotiating last week on the next fiscal deal. At issue is nothing particularly new -- Democrats want spending to increase a lot, and Republicans want it to increase a little less.

In his weekly address Saturday, Barack Obama lectured about budget negotiations. "It begins," Obama said, "by ending what has done more than anything else to undermine our economy over the past few years -- and that's the constant cycle of manufactured crisis and self-inflicted wounds." But of course it was Obama's former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who uttered what has become the motto of this administration: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." Indeed, Obama governs from one crisis to the next.
Then he launched into a ridiculous boast about the federal deficit: "[S]ince I took office, we've cut our deficits by more than half. ... On my watch, they're falling at the fastest pace in 60 years."
Cutting the federal deficit from $1.5 trillion in his first year -- a year that saw his own stimulus bring the deficit that high -- to $680 billion in his fifth year is hardly an achievement. The current deficit is still the fifth largest in U.S. history, and the other four highest were also all Obama's. Furthermore, Obama only achieved this reduction with his massive tax hike in January that has slowed economic growth to a crawl and will do nothing in the long run to solve our budget problems.

Setting his false benchmark, however, Obama declared, "So that gives us room to fix our long-term debt problems without sticking it to young people, or undermining our bedrock retirement and health security programs, or ending basic research that helps the economy grow." In other words, forget entitlement reform. Forget ObamaCare reform. Forget Social Security reform. And forget reforming the tax code to rid it of giveaways to Obama's favorite green energy boondoggles and payouts to other cronies. The only things Obama will do are nip and tuck at various minor budget outlays and further raise taxes on the productive.

He concluded with a call to "free up resources for the things that actually do create jobs and growth." If only his true intent weren't the opposite.

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ECONOMY, REGS & TAXES

Regulatory Commissars: Order to Combat Warming

In a Friday afternoon executive order, Barack Obama ordered the federal government to do even more to combat so-called climate change. The order read, in part, "The impacts of climate change -- including an increase in prolonged periods of excessively high temperatures, more heavy downpours, an increase in wildfires, more severe droughts, permafrost thawing, ocean acidification and sea-level rise -- are already affecting communities, natural resources, ecosystems, economies and public health across the nation. The federal government must build on recent progress and pursue new strategies to improve the nation's preparedness and resilience." The order, of course, not only ignores that the climate has not warmed over the last 15 years but also deceitfully asserts that wildfires, droughts and so forth are increasing.
The regulations that will come out of such a general order are sure to be costly or even crippling to the economy. As we have already seen, Obama's refusal to approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast is driven in part by a desire to appease his ecofascist constituents who claim drilling exacerbates global warming. Obama's EPA has also issued crushing new regulations on coal-burning power plants -- regulations that will put many plants out of business and even prevent construction of new ones. The EPA has turned a deaf ear to those concerned about the economic impact of its rules, and it regularly continues to abuse its authority.
Mountains of new regulations is one reason that Obama is seeking to pack the DC Circuit Court with nominees who will see things his way.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Iran Closes in on Nukes

Iran continues to implement its long-term nuclear strategy, despite media speculation over supposedly productive recent talks between Iran and the P5+1. For 10 years, through two U.S. administrations and numerous UNSC Resolutions, Iran has held to this strategy and, as a result, is closer than ever to nuclear weapons capability. Given the current irresolute nature of Barack Obama, why would they change now?
What is Iran's strategy?
First, talk with the West for as long as the West is willing to sit down and listen, but give nothing away. Western negotiators were almost giddy following talks earlier this month, describing them as "constructive" and "unprecedented." Iran's agents likewise mentioned "a new chapter of cooperation." And both sides agreed that the best course of action was, naturally -- more talks! Of course, behind the scenes Iranian officials clarified that Iran would give away nothing, as usual. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, "The Iranian side made no commitment" in the recent talks. Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Ali Akbar Salehi added, "No stop has occurred in the process of the production [of 20% enriched uranium], and it never stopped before."
Second, keep Russia and China close in order to get UNSC veto protection. On Tuesday Ali Larijani, the chairman of Iran's legislative body, arrived in Beijing for consultations with the Chinese. Larijani is one of the old guard in the Iranian regime, dating to his Revolutionary Guard service in the early 1980s. He was head of Iran's Supreme Council for National Security from 2005-2007, and acted as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator during that time. Zhang Dejiang, chairman of China's Committee of the People's Congress, stated last week, "We attach special importance to Tehran and the Chinese government seeks to deepen ties with Iran." Russia did its usual bit to cast Iran in a positive light following recent nuclear talks: "The Iranians displayed unprecedented openness, something that was recognized by all participants," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Wednesday.
Third, give the appearance of inevitable progress on Iran's side, Salehi further asserted, "Iran has 34 new nuclear sites under construction. We had a meeting [with Russians] at the beginning of this week regarding the signing of a protocol on the construction of the next power plant. Once this protocol is prepared, Russia will start the constructing of another power plant in Bushehr."

Since 2003, when Iranian dissidents revealed the size and scope of Iran's nuclear program, Tehran has successfully held off the Bush administration, the EU-3 (France, Germany and the UK), the P5+1 (UNSC permanent members + Germany), and now the Obama administration. It has demonstrated the ability to enrich uranium to 20%, from which it is a short and fairly easy jump to 95%. It has mastered two-stage ballistic missiles, using solid rocket fuel, and built underground silos to protect them. And it has weathered sanctions that have caused economic pain and public backlash. And what has the West achieved in that time? Nothing -- except an invitation to more talks.

CULTURE, SCIENCE & FAITH

Village Academic Curriculum: Socialist Brotherly Love

If the Philadelphia City Council has its way, high school students in the City of Brotherly Love will soon be learning U.S. history as told by socialist Howard Zinn. The council recently approved a resolution calling for the incorporation of Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" into public high schools. The resolution claims the book "emphasizes the role of working people, women, people of color, and organized social movements in shaping history; not simply the version retold by those powerful enough to ensure history remembers their actions in a positive light, regardless of the truth."

Well, at least the resolution got the "regardless of the truth" part correct. For in reality, Zinn's book is little more than a skewed presentation of history that attempts to paint the story of America in strokes of class warfare, racial prejudice and gender inequality. Of course, this is hardly surprising given that Zinn is an open socialist apologist and Castro supporter. The resolution itself is non-binding as any change in curriculum requires approval of the school district superintendent and board. But the fact that the Philadelphia City Council, meeting just blocks from Independence Hall, would call for socialist indoctrination of the young is cause for serious concern.

BRIEF OPINION

Re: The Left

Columnist Burt Prelutsky: "Politico columnist Roger Simon recently wrote an article in which he declared that Republicans are haters. That was after he opened the piece by saying he hoped John Boehner and Ted Cruz would drown. He then went on to label those of us on the right as racists. You would have to be as pompous a pinhead as Simon not to realize that when it comes to being hateful, nobody can beat a liberal fathead at his own game. ... In closing, I will quote Texas Guinan, who declared, 'A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country,' and Oscar Ameringer, who, although a confirmed socialist, was sufficiently clear-eyed to observe: 'Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.'"

Political Futures

Economist Thomas Sowell: "Many among the intelligentsia prefer to think of special interests as corrupting our dedicated public servants with campaign contributions. ... Campaign contributions are just one of the things that can be extorted. The number of spouses, children or other relatives or favorites of Congressional incumbents who get high-paying jobs in private businesses regulated by government can hardly be coincidental. When Al Gore was Vice President during the Clinton administration, he simply phoned various special interests and told them how much he wanted them to contribute. He did not have to spell out the reasons why they should -- or why they had better. They already knew from experience how the game is played. If we are serious about countering this and other political games, at the country's expense in both money and confidence in our government, we have to oppose the creation of a permanent class of long-serving politicians in Washington."

The Gipper

"[L]et us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. ... Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died."

For more, visit The Right Opinion.

CHRONICLE QUOTES

Insight

American humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935): "No party is as bad as its state and national leaders."

Demo-gogues

Barack Obama: "If we don't pick the right priorities now, make the right choices now, we could hinder growth and opportunity for decades, and leave our children with something less. That includes the obsession with cutting just for the sake of cutting. That hasn't helped our economy grow; it's held it back. Remember, our deficits are getting smaller -- not bigger. On my watch, they're falling at the fastest pace in 60 years."

Braying Jackass

Barack Obama: "There are very real consequences when you operate ideologically, the way some of these [Republican] folks do."

Village Idiots

O'Care architect Ezekiel Emanuel:"[I]nsurance companies don't want the individual market as it's constructed. They see the future. That individual market is going away. They don't want to invest in it."

Dezinformatsia

Politico's Todd S. Purdum: "To the undisputed reasons for Obamacare's rocky rollout ... add a less acknowledged cause: calculated sabotage by Republicans at every step. That may sound like a left-wing conspiracy theory -- and the Obama administration itself is so busy defending the indefensible early failings of its signature program that it has barely tried to make this case. But there is a strong factual basis for such a charge."

The BIG Lie

Sen. John McCain ("R"-AZ): "[Hillary Clinton's] work as secretary of state, with the exception of this issue of Benghazi -- which isn't going away -- I think has been outstanding. I think she would be viewed by anyone, Republican or Democrat, as a very formidable candidate for 2016."

From the 'Non Compos Mentis' File

DHS adviser Mohammed Elibiary: "I do consider the United States of America an Islamic country with an Islamically compliant constitution. Move On!"

Alpha Jackass

"Reverend" Jesse Jackson: "Goldwater and Reagan -- had they been successful, it would have been illegal for blacks and whites to play [football] together on a Saturday afternoon."

Short Cuts

Comedian Jay Leno: "Con artists are using confusion over ObamaCare to sign people up for what they call fake health insurance. The scammers lure victims with false promises -- they say stuff like, 'If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.'"

Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team

Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform -- Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen -- standing in harm's way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.

Monday, November 4, 2013

THE PATRIOT POST 11/04/2013