05-11 Digest

18 March 2005
Federalist Patriot No. 05-11
Friday Digest
*Manage Your Subscription: To change your e-mail address, select
editions and formats, view recent archives, send comments or to
unsubscribe,
Link to -- href="http://CollegiatePatriot.US/services.asp">http://CollegiatePatriot.US/services.asp
Join the Patriot Blog:
Link to -- href="http://PatriotPostBlog.US">http://PatriotPostBlog.US/

name="THEFOUNDATION">_____----********O********----______

THE
FOUNDATION

"The care of human life and happiness,
and not their destruction, is the first
and only legitimate object of good
government." --Thomas Jefferson

name="THEPATRIOTPERSPECTIVE">_____----********O********----______

THE PATRIOT
PERSPECTIVE

Top of the fold -- License To
Kill

There is proof-positive this week that countless Americans still
cherish our nation's Founding principle: "We hold these Truths to be
self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness...." What else could
account for all the anguished attention regarding the case of Terri
Schindler-Schiavo, slated to be put to death by dehydration and
starvation, commencing today under court order?

The tragedy befalling Terri and her loving parents and siblings began
15 years ago, when she collapsed under questionable circumstances and a
lack of oxygen caused brain damage. Her now-estranged husband, Michael
Schiavo, sought medical-malpractice compensation. However, since then
he has provided Terri neither standard medical care, nor aggressive
therapies to bolster her recovery, nor recent improved neurological
tests to determine her actual capabilities. And yet her family's pleas
that Terri be returned to their care have been rebuffed by Schiavo and
the Florida courts.

The tube that delivers nourishment and fluids to Terri's body is akin
to a heart pacemaker. It is a device that assists impaired physiological
functions, rather than a machine that unnaturally performs bodily
processes for a patient who may never recover (such as a ventilator
continuing respiration after apparent brain death).

The details of Terri Schiavo's case, and concern for the precious
value of her life, raise important moral and ethical questions which
should concern all Americans. Who should decide the fate of a disabled
person needing essential medical care and interventions? Are courts
really the proper venue for resolving disputes over whether to continue
or withhold life-preserving treatment? Should the government be involved
at all?

In 1973, the Supreme Court discovered a constitutional "right" for
a mother to end the life of her child before birth. Today, in the case
of Terri Schiavo, the courts are similarly bent on discovering a right
for one person to end the life of another person suffering severe injury
or illness after birth.

The Schiavo case has much to do with the judiciary's expansion of
its purview and the attendant claims to supremacy over the executive
and legislative branches, as well as the lives of the citizenry. The
judges in this case appear so intent on expanding judicial power as to be
resistant to evidence that might prove prior rulings wrong. Preservation
of the judiciary's powers thus trumps preservation of Terri Schiavo's
life, and that of anyone else who might encounter such circumstances.

If the intentional taking of an innocent human life is defined as
murder, does this definition somehow change if the taker of life is the
victim's spouse, guardian, or physician? If one person says to another,
"Here's a knife; please stab me to death, as I want to die," does this
then absolve the knife-wielder from culpability for murder? Is it really
murder if and only if the victim says it's murder?

These are the questions before the courts. As noted above, when the
Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade, it accepted without question
the belief that the lives of unborn children could be forfeited if adults
so desired. This was the legal construction of a class of persons who
could be killed if another legally recognized class of persons chose
to do so -- a license to kill.

Indeed, the courts created a new group of persons for whom customary
protections do not apply. In the Schiavo case, they seem poised to
create another such group. This was perhaps inevitable, given the
widespread belief that these issues belong to an ill-defined collection
of "liberties" that trump all other principles. Supreme Court Justice
Anthony Kennedy wrote in a 1992 decision striking down minimal abortion
restrictions, "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own
concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of
human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes
of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State."

Of course, Kennedy was not referring to the unborn child's heart. Nor
do we know the heart of Terri Schiavo. What we do know is that she has
a family that wants to care for her. But judicial activists are wont
to apply their abortion argument in affirmation of those who want to
end the lives of others like Terri Schiavo.

Ironically, the courts have instituted many more safeguards in the
appeals system for death-penalty cases -- including clemency -- than
for the vulnerable innocent like Terri Schiavo. Both the U.S. House
and Senate have passed bills ostensibly rectifying this injustice
in cases concerning the long-term care of incapacitated adults, but
Senate opponents like Minority Leader Harry Reid made sure that the
wording of the Senate version is sufficiently different from the House
version. The language of those bills will not be reconciled for at least
a month. Similar legislation is stalled in Florida's state senate and
will not be resolved in time to prevent Michael Schiavo from removing
Terri's food and water supply at 1300 E.S.T. today.

Within our nation's pre-eminent founding document, The Declaration of
Independence, as upheld by its subsequent guidance, The Constitution,
there is a telling term, "unalienable." It's a term that defines
certain of our rights as incapable of being alienated, surrendered,
or transferred -- not even under court ruling. Life itself is one such
unalienable right, and no good government can transfer the right to
life for a category of persons into the control of another category
of persons.

The same Thomas Jefferson who trembled for this country, in reflecting
that God's justice cannot sleep forever, warned, "The God who gave us
life, gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy,
but cannot disjoin them." And for all the pretty speeches about life's
giving way to advance liberty, these unalienable rights will either
flourish together, or perish together.

Terri Schiavo deserves to be cared for by her parents. Clearly,
they love her best. "The measure of a society is how they treat the
least of us," says Kate Adamson, a former "vegetative state" patient
who reports that the eight-day removal of her feeding tube caused her
excruciating pain. "Life is sacred or meaningless," she says. "There
is nothing in between."

Quote of the week...

"The case of Terri Schiavo raises complex issues. Yet in instances
like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts,
our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in
favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our
special care and concern. It should be our goal as a nation to
build a culture of life, where all Americans are valued, welcomed,
and protected -- and that culture of life must extend to individuals
with disabilities." --President George W. Bush

On cross-examination...

"Do we want to reinforce the fear that the infirm are no more than
a burden on the healthy? We need to send a message that even in our
darkest hours, life is still worth living, that loved ones will come
alongside to help, and that doctors will treat pain effectively and
compassionately -- not with a lethal prescription." --David Stevens,
M.D., executive director of the 17,000-member Christian Medical
Association, an alternative to the American Medical Association,
which long ago abandoned the Hippocratic oath, especially the part,
"First do no harm..."

Open query...

"Terri Schiavo, and men and women like her, deserve the same
due-process rights that death row inmates are granted. When a court
is making a life-or-death decision for a disabled person who has been
charged with no crime, shouldn't they be afforded independent counsel
to speak on their behalf?" --Florida Republican Rep. and physician Dave
Weldon, sponsor of the House of Representatives version of the "The
Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act," which extends federal
habeas-corpus protections -- now available to convicted felons --
to innocent disabled persons set to be executed by legal order.

News from the Swamp...

President Bush this week appointed some of the most capable members
of his administration to vital and highly influential posts. Deputy
Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has been selected as America's choice
for president of the World Bank. Widely regarded as one of the chief
architects of the President's foreign policy, Wolfowitz will bring
to the post a great degree of management skill from his years at the
Pentagon and his experience as a one-time ambassador to Indonesia. In
addition, Kevin Martin, a member of the FCC, will be elevated to the
chairmanship, replacing Michael Powell, who has stepped down after four
years. Long-time Bush adviser Karen Hughes is returning to Washington
to become, pending Senate confirmation, Undersecretary of State for
Public Diplomacy, a position created to help communicate America's
values abroad.

In the Senate, fiscal discipline received a bloody nose Thursday
when Senators reversed $15 billion in Medicaid cuts in response to the
House's budget, ultimately passing their budget 51-49, while the House
passed its budget just as narrowly, 218-214. Responding to the upper
chamber's reversal of the entitlement cuts -- the keystone in the White
House's plan for budgetary solvency -- House leaders didn't attempt
to hide their frustration. "So far, I'm not real pleased with what
I'm hearing the Senate saying," said House Budget Committee Chairman,
Republican Jim Nussle.

Senate Republican leaders were no more enthusiastic. "Its practical
implication is to gut the only thing in this budget which actually will
generate fiscal discipline -- and it's being done by Republicans,"
concluded Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg. "You know,
you just have to ask yourself how they get up in the morning and look
in the mirror."

The real surprise, however, came when the Senate actually increased
tax cuts over those proposed by the President and passed by the House,
voting 55-45 to up tax decreases in the budget from $70 billion to
$134 billion. With Medicaid increases and tax decreases, the Senate
has once again shown its contempt for economic common sense: without
complementary or greater decreases in federal spending, tax cuts (which
we support) will ultimately prove disastrous for the nation's economy,
tightening the money supply, raising inflation and crippling growth.
As the House and Senate prepare to return to reconcile their FY2006
packages, we remind them -- balancing the budget does matter!

In truly groundbreaking news (pun joyfully intended), the Senate
voted 51-49 to open a 1.5-million-acre portion of the 19-million-acre
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and drilling. This
contentious vote ended a decades-long attempt to tap into what
is believed to be billions of barrels of oil beneath the coastal
plain. Environmental groups and anti-oil Demos have opposed this action
since it was first proposed in 1980, stating that America instead needed
to pursue energy independence through alternative sources. But while the
Left endlessly talked about other solutions, the U.S. became a prisoner
of foreign oil suppliers, making our energy issue a national-security
issue. Finally, an opportunity has opened to reduce that dependence on
foreign energy sources.

In the House, Rep. John Hostettler has reintroduced the Secure Access
to Firearms Enhancement (SAFE) Act (HR 1243), which would provide for
state reciprocity for concealed-carry permits pursuant to the laws of the
carrier's home state. Further, the bill would not require a citizen to
obtain a permit so as to mesh with states like Alaska and Vermont. The
legislation would allow citizens who can legally carry in their home
state -- even without a permit -- to carry all across the country. Of
course, we at The Patriot see the Second Amendment as the only
"permit" necessary!

Other new and notable legislation: Congressmen Mike Pence
(R-IN) and Albert Wynn (D-MD) introduced the 572 Fairness Act,
which aims to deregulate political parties to the extent that 527s
are deregulated. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) introduced the Surface
Transportation and Taxation Equity (STATE) Act (HR 1097), which allows
any state that increases its state gas tax to have its federal gas tax
contributions offset by the same amount. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
introduced HR 1219 to eliminate the visa-lottery program, in which
50,000 foreign nationals are chosen by lottery to enter the U.S. each
year as permanent residents.

Fly your Patriot Colors!

Visit the Patriot Shop:

http://PatriotShop.US/

From the Left...

Proponents of the "Despotic Branch" are not
budging. Obstructionist-in-Chief Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
has publicly threatened a government shutdown if Senate Republicans
go forward with a proposed change in parliamentary procedure known as
the constitutional option with regard to the President's judicial
nominees. The procedure would allow a simple majority vote to
overcome the Demo's shameless and unprecedented filibusters, thereby
moving the nominees onto the Senate floor for an up-or-down vote. Reid's
threats have energized the radicals in his party, but clear-thinking
Demos -- all three of them -- have expressed reservations about the idea
and its potential for further marginalizing their once-proud party.

Filibusters are not to be used to prevent judicial nominees advancing
out of committee for a full Senate vote. Filibusters are to be used
to stop or delay legislation; that rule hasn't been and won't be
changed. It's worth noting here that the ultra-liberal New York
Times, in a 1 January 1995 editorial, called the filibuster "the
tool of the sore loser [and] an archaic rule that frustrates democracy
and serves no useful purpose."

In a more recent editorial on the same subject, however, the Times
revealed its hypocrisy in near-comical fashion, insisting that
"the Democrats' weapon of choice has been the filibuster, a time-honored
Senate procedure that prevents a bare majority of senators from running
roughshod." The Times further harrumphed that "there is nothing
conservative about endangering one of the great institutions of American
democracy, the United States Senate, for the sake of an ideological
crusade."

The New York Times accuses others of being on an "ideological
crusade"?

This week's "Braying Jackass" award:

"It is with great pride and deep humility that I announce to you
today my candidacy for the Senate of the United States." --Former
NAACP President Kweisi Mfume announcing his 2006 candidacy for the
U.S. Senate

From the warfront with Jihadistan...

The New York Times is finally warming up to the reality that
Iraq did indeed have WMD before Operation Iraqi Freedom in March of
2003. The Times reports, "In the weeks after Baghdad fell in
April, 2003, looters systematically dismantled and removed tons of
machinery from Saddam Hussein's most important weapons installations,
including some with high-precision equipment capable of making parts
for nuclear arms, a senior Iraqi official said this week in the
government's first extensive comments on the looting." Sami al-Araji
said that equipment capable of making parts for missiles as well as
chemical, biological and nuclear arms was missing from eight or ten
sites. "Targeted looting of this kind of equipment has to be seen as a
proliferation threat," said Gary Milhollin, director of the Wisconsin
Project on Nuclear Arms Control. Indeed.

As The Patriot noted back in November of 2002, French and
German foot-dragging at the UN provided Saddam's "looters" plenty of time
to move critical WMD components, particularly those for fission-weapon
devices, through Syria to the Bekaa Valley. If Syria actually withdraws
its forces from northern Lebanon, we suspect U.S. intelligence analysts
will be sniffing and scanning vehicles as they move west back into Syria.

Ironically, on Tuesday the Times carried an op-ed by David
Sanger -- principal author of the "missing explosives" furor last
October -- that claimed President Bush's approach to Iran's nuclear
program is actually an attempt "to rewrite, in effect, the main
treaty governing the spread of nuclear technology, without actually
renegotiating it...." After touching correctly on the fact that Iran
is pushing the envelope as far as they dare with the Europeans, Sanger
claims that "....In what amounts to a reinterpretation of the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty, Mr. Bush now argues that there is a new class
of nations that simply cannot be trusted with the technology to produce
nuclear material."

In this assessment, and its implied criticism, Sanger trips over the
same ideological barrier that has impeded the Left's thinking since 1945
-- namely, faith in written treaties to protect national interests. We
believe President Bush's firm stand with Iran represents something far
more significant. It represents the practical application of a belief
long held by those on the right, but rarely transformed into policy
before now: "You can't have a treaty with a nation you can't trust,
and you don't need a treaty with a nation you can trust."

The problem is not that the NPT's various terms are not defined
narrowly enough. It is that the NPT, like any other treaty, can
be effective only in proportion to the good faith of the other
signatories. Given Iran's track record of lying to the IAEA -- to say
nothing of 25 years of supporting, training and funding terrorists --
President Bush is correct to ignore the NPT and simply demand Iran give
up those capabilities that would enable nuclear weapons. The NPT cannot
stop Iran from developing nukes, but we hope and believe the President's
firm position can.

This week's "Alpha Jackass" award:

"Look, the answer is we have to do an unbranding. ... We have to
brand more effectively. It's marketing." --Marketing guru John Kerry,
on the Demos' need to advertise their way toward a credible position
on national security -- using his "branding and marketing" of his
credibility on Vietnam.

On the Homeland Security front...

The Department of Homeland Security has released -- inadvertently,
apparently -- its latest counter-terrorism-planning document, the
National Planning Scenarios. The NPS identifies an exhaustive list of
hypothetical terrorist attacks, calculates their human, economic and
environmental impact, and allows homeland security to plan and spend
more effectively. President Bush ordered the report last year when
members of Congress and counter-terrorism experts criticized the DHS
for spreading funding too thin, instead of identifying and concentrating
on high-risk targets and the most vulnerable populations.

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff says the planning
document will help reduce vulnerabilities but added a cautionary note
in testimony before the Senate, saying, "There's risk everywhere; risk
is a part of life. I think one thing I've tried to be clear in saying
is we will not eliminate every risk."

In other HomSec news, 18 people were arrested on charges of "a scheme
to smuggle rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs), shoulder-fired
surface-to-air missiles (TWA 800, anyone?) and other Russian military
weapons into the U.S. for sale," according to New York prosecutors. A
year-long wiretap investigation with an informant led to the arrests --
made possible by vigilant law enforcement, armed with the provisions
of the Patriot Act.

Judicial Benchmarks...

From the "Court Jesters" File: Leftcoast judicial tyrants are back
at it. On Monday, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard
Kramer opined, "It appears that no rational purpose exists for limiting
marriage in this state to opposite-sex partners." In so ruling, Judge
Kramer demanded the Golden State must redefine marriage to cover same-sex
pairs, despite the fact that a scant five years ago more than 60 percent
of state voters approved Prop. 22, defining marriage as a one-husband,
one-wife relationship only. Kramer has thus thumbed his nose at the
"consent of the governed" that we citizens express through lawful
elections. As for "no rational purpose" for retaining the traditional
definition of wedlock? Kramer's wording reveals a thoroughly disordered
mind, wherein only "crazies" could disagree with "enlightened" massive
social re-engineering that enlists all powers of government to enforce
the (truly irrational) view that homosexuality is no different
from heterosexuality. The decision is on hold until March 30th, and
pro-family and pro-constitutional republic lawyers will appeal.

The BIG lie...

This week's "Quid Pro Homo" Award: "[Monday's] ruling is an important
step toward a more fair and just California that rejects discrimination
and affirms family values for all California families." --San
Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera on the judicial ruling by Judge
Richard Kramer (see above) that California's ban on gay marriage is
unconstitutional

From the "Regulatory Commissars" File...

The U.S. Senate recently passed amendments to the federal bankruptcy
laws to tighten access to bankruptcy protection. The most significant
amendment pertains to means testing. Predictably, liberals opposed the
bill, but their opposition runs counter to their usual demands for means
testing. Here they claim that all manner of destitute persons will
be barred from obtaining the protections of bankruptcy. Lost in the
rhetoric is the fact that means testing is not new at all and remains
an essential part of U.S. bankruptcy laws.

The Code has long contained a formula for determining which debtors
may file for Chapter 7 (liquidation) or a Chapter 13 (reorganization).
Under this formula, if a debtor has sufficient assets or income to
satisfy debts rather than to discharge them, a creditor may move to
convert a Chapter 7 to a Chapter 13. The current Senate bill merely
clarifies this procedure.

The "overhaul" of bankruptcy laws is incremental rather than
revolutionary; however, the Left will mischaracterize it as an assault
by "big business" on our right to pursue happiness. Here we should note
that the Left included means testing when they were in power, and they
stand to gain nothing by their faux anger when it is modified.

From the "Non Compos Mentis" Files...

We're guessing Ron Gettelfinger had a Maalox moment this
week. Gettelfinger, a union boss for the United Auto Workers, told
Detroit-area Marine reservists that they could no longer use the UAW's
Solidarity House parking lot as an overflow lot if their vehicles were
not union-made, or if they displayed any bumper stickers supporting
their Commander in Chief. When Gettelfinger's rebuff of the Marines
was reported by the local press, the UAW was flooded with complaints
from across the nation, prompting him to rescind the order.

"I made the wrong call on the parking issue, and I have notified
the Marine Corps that all reservists are welcome to park at Solidarity
House as they have for the past ten years," said Gettelfinger, but the
Marines rejected the offer. "I let him know that I understand he has
rescinded his decision," said Lt. Col. Joe Rutledge, "However, I've
made my decision -- either you support the Marines or you don't."

Former commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, Russ
Paquette, said of the UAW, "The Marines who fought at Iwo Jima --
including yours truly -- and those who are now in Iraq took an oath
to defend this country and its citizens. There is nothing in the oath
which indicates that Marines will only fight for citizens who drive
certain automobiles, or who voted in the last election for a certain
president."

Restore the foundations!

Support the 2005 Patriot Fund:

href="http://FederalistPatriot.US/support/">http://FederalistPatriot.US/support/

From the "Village Academic Curriculum" File...

The Left continues to cannibalize its own at Harvard. This
week, faculty members from the Arts and Sciences School passed a
"no-confidence" vote against university president and fellow leftist
Larry Summers, though it was far from unanimous -- 218 faculty members
voted for the "no confidence" statement while 185 were opposed to
it and 18 faculty members abstained. His offense? Last month at
a conference on women in the field of science, he suggested in a
non-prejudicial statement regarding gender roles -- gasp --
that there may actually be differences between men and women that
might account for the "under-representation" of women in the highest
echelons of those fields. The response from his colleagues is clear:
When a Left-elite member of the academy refers to 9/11 victims as
"little Eichmanns" and advocate further terrorist attacks on Americans,
that class of dissent is encouraged, but when one of them suggests
that a key tenet of Leftism be reconsidered in light of the evidence,
he will be subject to the wrath of Ivory Tower orthodoxy.

Around the nation...

From the states, a power plant in Florida is under the microscope
after allowing illegal aliens, working as contracted painters, into
the Crystal River Energy Complex -- a secure facility that includes
one nuclear reactor. Progress Energy, which runs the facility, says
they followed federal regulations and blamed the Texas-based contractor
for not vetting employees well enough. At least two workers -- though
it could be as many as seven -- used false Social Security numbers to
gain access. "We certainly don't want to have one illegal alien at a
nuclear power plant, let alone several," said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite,
in something of an understatement. The Florida Republican called for
hearings and highlighted the need for the Senate to pass the REAL ID
Act. We note again that our porous southern border is not nearly so much
an economic issue as an issue of the gravest national security concern.

In business/economic news...

The Kurds and Shiites in Iraq are wrangling over positions in
the coalition government's new 275-member assembly. At issue is the
future of the city of Kirkuk and the Kurdish militia. The solution is
important because the oil in that region of northern Iraq means wealth
and power. Just as when Muslims controlled the spice and silk trade
routes from Europe to India, the entire world now has a stake in who
controls these key resources.

OPEC understands the market for their black gold far better than
journalists, Democrats and environmental socialists (but we repeat
ourselves). Both the price and production of oil are rising and no
Bush-Cheney-Halliburton scheme is responsible. Rather, Adam Smith's law
of supply and demand, as explained to the teachable two centuries ago,
largely determines oil prices.

The price of oil is rising because demand is outstripping
supply. Despite Leftcoast assertions to the contrary, the driver of
this increased demand is not the coalition of American SUV owners,
but China and India. Our supply will certainly be bolstered when
we commence drilling in a minute portion of that oil-rich wasteland
otherwise known as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, along with
U.S. off-shore drilling and development of Caspian and Siberian
resources. But these factors will affect prices only gradually, as
will adjustments in the American markets caused by inflation, modified
behavior, and opportunities for alternatives.

While this increasing demand will push oil prices higher across
the globe, government regulation and intervention can create only
shortages and black markets. Ask Adam Smith. Better yet, ask the OPEC
oil ministers.

On the culture front...

From The Furthest Possible Left Imaginable: The beginnings
of democracy in the Middle East are impressive -- and relatively
sudden. Fortunately, NPR has done a penetrating job at figuring out the
impetus, promoting the piece with the headline: "Democracy on the march
in the Middle East: Is Al-Jazeera the Real Cause?" The segment goes on
to posit, "Symptoms of democracy are breaking out all over the Mideast,
and the political Right is falling all over itself to take credit."

"But what if the credit belongs not to American foreign policy? What
if the major catalyst is...?" You'll never guess... "What if pan-Arab
satellite TV news, including the widely despised in the West Al-Jazeera,
turns out to be the force that ultimately empowers citizens?"

What if NPR gets a clue? What if this leftist organ stops tying
itself in knots to avoid giving President Bush due credit for his
foreign-policy successes? What if we Patriots begin insisting that
our hard-earned tax dollars not go toward funding such partisan
rubbish? Perhaps NPR ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin
can answer these questions.

On the frontiers of science...

President Bush recently announced U.S. space policy would re-orient
toward manned space flight, return to the moon and travel to Mars. To
implement this policy, he nominated Dr. Michael Griffin, former head of
the moon-Mars effort, to lead NASA. Science Foundation's Elliot Pulham
described Griffin's task: "Once confirmed, he will take the helm of an
agency that has been set on the right track. ... But much of the ... job
of transforming NASA remains ahead. Rice bowls need to be smashed, walls
torn down, finances put in order. Under-performing or non-value-added
enterprises within the agency need to be outsourced, reinvented or
eliminated." Based on assessments of the National Research Council
and the Rand Corp., most elimination is planned for the aeronautics
technology programs.

But not everyone supports NASA's new focus. The House Science
Committee chair, Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) fears NASA will become
a single-mission agency. The Washington Post reported that
restructuring NASA may cost up to 2,680 jobs. That's 15.3 percent of
full-time employees, with most losses in aeronautical research. Job
losses and temporarily shelving peripheral technology to make NASA
more efficient and focused, however, seems small when compared to
the overwhelming need to reform the once dynamic agency; and we note
again that NASA has always served -- and must continue to serve --
the security interests of the nation as its primary mission.

Around the world...

Unusual bi-partisan agreement finds Gerry Adams, head of Sinn Fein,
political wing of the IRA, having been snubbed in Washington, D.C., this
week. Breaking with a tradition established by President Clinton in 1994,
President Bush instead hosted Irish Republic Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
for the traditional presentation of a bowl of shamrocks. Congressmen
from Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to Sens. Ted Kennedy
and Peter King (RINO-NY) are following suit.

Recent IRA crimes, including a $50-million bank robbery, kidnapping
and murder have soured American officials on Sinn Fein and especially
the IRA, which even King says it is time to abolish. The IRA has
also been linked to FARC in Colombia and indirectly to al-Qa'ida, and
administration officials warn that continued failure to clean up the
IRA could result in Adams' relegation to the status of the late Yasser
Arafat -- a persona non politica in his regional conflict.

And last...

In news from the "Village Church," God's Word was apparently not
politically correct enough for 15 American and British scholars who
recently "modernized" the New International Version of the Bible, calling
it Today's New International Version. The NIV's "dynamic equivalent"
translation philosophy was already somewhat suspect in regards to the
literal meaning of the Hebrew and Greek, but the TNIV reaches a new
level. Examples include the word "saints" being translated as "God's
chosen people" and Mary's being "pregnant" rather than "with child." (At
least they didn't say "with fetus.") Gender-inclusive language is
also used: "When God created Man, he made him in the likeness of God"
(Gen. 5:1) now reads, "When God created human beings, he made them in
the likeness of God." When the "translators" were finished, more than
45,000 changes -- about seven percent of the text -- had been made. So
rather than educate "human beings" about the original meanings, the goal
appears to be a dumbing-down the Scriptures so much so that "stoned"
no longer refers to a biblical form of execution, but rather the state
of mind of these 15 American and British scholars.

Lex et Libertas -- Semper Vigilo, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark
Alexander, Publisher, for the editors and staff. (Please pray 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 -- href="http://CollegiatePatriot.US/current2004a.asp">http://CollegiatePatriot.US/current2004a.asp

-- PUBLIUS --

VISIT THE PATRIOT ON THE WEB:href="http://CollegiatePatriot.US">http://CollegiatePatriot.US

SUBSCRIBE: FREE by E-mail! Get your own subscription to The Collegiate
Patriot!

Link to -- href="http://CollegiatePatriot.US/subscribe/">http://CollegiatePatriot.US/subscribe/

or if you don't have Web access, send a blank e-mail to:
href="mailto:fedlist-subscribe@thefed.com">fedlist-subscribe@thefed.com
(Friday's Patriot Digest is available in print for
$245/year. For more information, send a message to href="mailto:hardcopy@CollegiatePatriot.US">hardcopy@CollegiatePatriot.US)

TRIAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Send The Collegiate Patriot to your friends
and associates! Link to -- href="http://CollegiatePatriot.US/addmultiple.asp">http://CollegiatePatriot.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.)

REPRINT AND FORWARD POLICY:
Subscribers may reprint or forward The Collegiate Patriot, in whole
or part. If reprinting to another publication, please include the
appropriate citation The Collegiate Patriot (CollegiatePatriot.US)
in accordance with "fair use" rules, and our Subscriber/User
Disclaimer. (For questions, contact our legal department at:
href="mailto:Legal@CollegiatePatriot.US">Legal@CollegiatePatriot.US.)

COMMENTS: Our servers automatically delete "Reply" messages to this
e-mail. To read or submit comments for publication, link to --
href="http://CollegiatePatriot.US/comments.asp">http://CollegiatePatriot.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
href="mailto:Editors@CollegiatePatriot.US">Editors@CollegiatePatriot.US
(Regarding editing errors, we put at
least one error in every issue -- just to see if you are paying
attention!)

USEFUL PATRIOT LINKS: Link to --

http://CollegiatePatriot.US/news/useful_links.asp

SUPPORT THE 2005 PATRIOT FUND ONLINE:
Link to our Secure Commerce Page at --
href="http://CollegiatePatriot.US/support.asp">http://CollegiatePatriot.US/support.asp

SUPPORT THE 2005 PATRIOT FUND BY MAIL:
Download this href="https://secure.federalist.com/support/support_by_mail.pdf">PDF
donor form or print the information below.

Recommended Operation Support Levels:
Family Defender:	$26 (50¢/week)
Frontline Patriot:	$39 (75¢/week)
Company Command:	$52 ($1/week)
Recommended Mission Support Levels:
Battalion Command:	$100
Regiment Command:	$250
Division Command:	$500
Corps Command:	$1000

Send your contribution to:

The Patriot Annual Fund
P.O. Box 507
Chattanooga, TN 37401-0507

(Please make your check payable to "The Patriot Annual Fund", and
please note your e-mail address on the memo line so we can credit your
contribution to your subscriber account, and so our publisher can thank
you. Include a self-addressed, stamped #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 Liberal,"
"PatriotHomeland.US"
and other great stickers.)

"FRUIT FROM THE TREE OF LIBERTY" The Collegiate Patriot is a
publication of Publius Press, Inc.
Copyright (C) 2005 Publius Press, Inc. All rights reserved. The
Collegiate Patriot is protected speech pursuant to the "inalienable
rights" of all men, and the First (and Second) Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States of America.

Privacy Notice: No information on our users or subscribers is disclosed
to any non-affiliated third party under any circumstances, nor is any
third party advertising allowed. All Subscribers and/or Users of any
information, products or services from Publius Press, Inc., or its
Affiliates, agree to the terms of the Publius Press, Inc.
user/subscriber disclaimer. The opinions expressed in this publication
and it's host website are not necessarily the views of Publius Press,
Inc.

The Collegiate Patriot is a Town Hall Citizen Organization. In
God we trust. ><>