WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! * Veritas Vos Liberabit * THE FEDERALIST(r) DIGEST The Conservative e-Journal of Record Date: 23 June 2000 Federalist #00-25.dgst To retrieve today's Digest as HTML printer-friendly text or PDF, link to: http://www.Federalist.com/current00-2.asp To support or sponsor The Federalist, link to: http://www.Federalist.com/support.asp ______--------********O********--------______ THE FOUNDATION "When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." --Thomas Jefferson ______--------********O********--------______ FEDERALIST PERSPECTIVE In the news this week, the Supremes ruled that Texas public school districts can't let students lead a crowd in prayer before football games. "School sponsorship of a religious message is impermissible because it sends the ancillary message to members of the audience who are nonadherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens. Memo to Justice Stevens: Does this cover all the "New Age" babble being uttered in the classroom? We will buy you a steak dinner if you can find the words "separation of church and state" -- or anything even close to those words -- in our Constitution, a document which, its author said in the Federalist Papers, should never be subject to "interpretation." Stevens added, "Fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote." We think that is precisely what the majority of the court did in this case. "There is nothing in the Constitution giving the Supreme Court the authority to decide the constitutionality of federal laws, let alone state laws," notes Von Mises Institute scholar Lew Rockwell. "These dictators in black have no authority to tell a Texas school that it may not have prayer before a football game. The First Amendment simply prevents the feds from establishing a religion; the states are free to do as they choose." More to the point, the RNC's Jim Nicholson says, "Six of nine Supreme Court justices have chosen to severely weaken the First Amendment's explicit guarantee of freedom of religious expression." Our favorite Demo agitator, Rep. James Traficant added, "The Supreme Court says pornography is OK and it is OK to burn the flag, that communists can work in our defense plants, that it is OK to teach witchcraft in our schools and that it is OK for our students to write papers about the devil. But the Supreme Court says it is illegal to write papers about Jesus, it is illegal to pray in school, and now the Supreme Court says it is even illegal to pray before a football game. .. I thought the Founders intended to create a Supreme Court, not the Supreme Being. Think about that statement. I yield back a Supreme Court that is so politically correct they are downright stupid, so stupid they could throw themselves at the ground and miss." The Federalist position in this case is, of course, that decisions about prayers in public settings should be left to the several states, which would be well-advised to then remand particular decisions to localities and school districts. This case is a fine example of why the Founders opposed direct taxation. The federal government forcibly takes money from taxpayers in every state, then returns to those states the portion of those taxes not consumed by the bureaucracies' "handling fee" -- in this case, by the U.S. Department of Education -- along with all the central government's mandates in tow. Thus, the fact that schools use "federalized" dollars is cited as "justification" for such asinine federal bench rulings. For almost forty years, the High Court has endeavored to remove any acknowledgement of God from schools. Of this ruling, Chief Justice William Rehnquist notes in his dissenting opinion, "Even more disturbing than its holding is the tone of the court's opinion: It bristles with hostility to all things religious in public life." The ruling may well have broader implications for other "public square" expressions of faith. This seems an appropriate place to make a point about the "centrist" leanings of George W. versus the radical left policies of Al Gore. While our Editorial Board takes exception to Mr. Bush's "rush to the center," the fact remains that the next president may replace as many as three Supreme Court justices (including William Rehnquist, who is 75 years old). The Court now precariously hangs in 5-4 balance on most major issues, including federalism. While our Editorial Board would most like to see a trustworthy conservative like Dr. Alan Keyes making those appointments from the White House, the thought of Al Gore making those appointments is, to say the least, unsettling! This is why our Editorial Board makes the recommendation that conservative activists dedicate their efforts to electing conservatives to Congress, especially those principled enough to hold a president accountable, such as by withholding confirmation of bad nominees. Open Query... In a recent interview with PBS anchorman Jim Lehrer, Al "I Invented Prosperity" Gore was asked: "Let me read you what Governor Bush said about it. 'The momentum of today's prosperity began in the 1980s with sound money, deregulation, the opening of global trade and a 25 percent tax cut.' Has he got it wrong?" The BIG lie... Gore responded to Lehrer: "Oh yeah, of course. Because we had a miserable economic performance in the 1980s, and you don't have to take my word for that. Just ask anybody on the street who went through it. We had the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s." Brent Bozell shed a little light on Gore's perception of the 80's: "How on earth can anyone pretend that we had a 'miserable economic performance' on a national scale in the 1980s? Reagan saved America from Jimmy Carter economics: inflation went down from 13.5 to 4.1 percent; unemployment, from 9.5 to 5.2 percent; the federal discount rate, from 14 to 6.5 percent; the number of jobs up almost 20 million; median family income up every year from 1982 to 1989. It was the greatest peacetime expansion in history." >From "The most ethical administration"... "After this election, assuming we get a new attorney general, I think I will be sending criminal referrals," says House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton, who will seek criminal prosecutions of Clinton, Gore and Reno if Mr. Bush is elected. "I think Janet Reno has blocked for the president, as have her top officials over at the Justice Department," said Mr. Burton. "I think they've made a mockery of justice." News from the Swamp... The House of Commons voted 218-207 to bar the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs from expanding or administering the Communities for Safer Guns Coalition -- Clinton's quid pro quo with gun makers -- specifically, Smith & Wesson. With S&W's acquiescence, more than 400 coalition localities have agreed to make S&W a preferred contractor for their law enforcement agencies' weapon acquisitions. Rep. John Hostettler, said the vote would mean "local law enforcement agencies won't feel pressure from a federal agency ... in the procurement of firearms." HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo said the vote "strikes at the heart of HUD's ability to work with local communities to reduce the awful toll of gun violence." Memo to Andy: It's not a "gun problem." The House of Lords voted 57 to 42 to approve Teddy Kennedy's expanded federal "hate crimes" classification, to include sexual orientation as a special category for "hate crimes." In effect, the measure punishes similar crimes unequally, implying that some murder victims are more valuable to society than others. In the halls of justice on the right... A federal judge in Louisville, KY ended a 25-year-old desegregation plan for that city's government school system. Black parents complained that the plan actually discriminated against their children -- that racial quotas were keeping their children out of the higher performing magnet schools. It was the first case where black citizens have challenged a desegregation decree. In other "justice" news, the $675 million lawsuit brought by the families of 80 Branch Davidians, who died in the federal FBI's assault on their Waco, Texas, compound, began this week. Among the statements submitted by the plaintiffs were those ATF agents gave to Texas Rangers following the assault on the Mount Carmel compound. "I didn't see anyone shooting at our people," a sniper said. Another agent said, "At no time did I see any occupant, other than shadows moving." Mike Bradford, defending the government's action, said, "The evidence will show that the responsibility [for the deaths] should not be placed on the shoulders of the brave men and women of the ATF and the FBI. David Koresh and the Branch Davidians themselves were responsible for those events." The Davidians were a less-than-orthodox cult group, but there was no more justification for the assault on their compound than there was for the consequential assault on the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City -- end of story! >From the "Department of Justice Served" Files... The State of Texas executed convicted murderer Gary Graham, whose "cause celeb" status was heralded in the last week by all the regular suspects -- Geraldo, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and glitterati like Bianca Jagger. George Bush refused to intervene saying, "When I was sworn in as Governor of Texas, I took an oath to uphold the laws of our state, including the death penalty. My job is to ensure our state's laws are enforced fairly. This is a responsibility I take very seriously because the final determination of innocence and guilt is among the most profound and serious decisions a person can make. ... Over the last 19 years, Mr. Graham's case has been reviewed more than 20 times by state and federal courts. Thirty-three judges have heard and found his numerous claims to be without merit. ... After considering all the facts, I am confident justice is being done. May God bless the victims of these crimes, their families, and Mr. Graham." Regarding your IRS overpayment... Projecting an even greater budget surplus (read "tax overpayment"), to coincide with Al Gore's "prosperity tour," Clinton said, "What got us to this unbelievable point to have this discussion at all was discipline, fiscal discipline, arithmetic, being careful, understanding that a projection is just that. I think it would be a grave error to plan to spend every penny of this, particularly on tax cuts or other things that are so unavoidable because they may not get it back." Get it back? Tax cuts mean you don't give it up! In other news of squandered taxes, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's own Inspector General, taxpayers have been bilked out of almost $1 billion due to waste, fraud and abuse. The IG audit shows that in 1998 alone, HUD handed out $935 million in housing subsidy overpayments through its Section 8 housing assistance program for very low-income tenants. Perhaps Secretary Cuomo should spend a little more time on matters pertaining to HUD than serving as a water boy for the Clintonistas' gun control agenda. >From the department of military readiness... The Xinhua News Agency, Communist China's state-run news service, has purchased an seven-story apartment building overlooking the Pentagon's "E-ring," claiming it will serve as the new headquarters for its Washington news bureau. Xinhua is an arm of the Reds' extensive intelligence-gathering network. >From the states... Tennessee is one of 8 states that do not have an income tax. Last year, Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist, in his 1999 State of the State address, had this to say about an income tax in his state: "You will hear from those who say we ought to preserve special breaks for some businesses and impose an income tax on working Tennesseans. That's not tax relief; it's not tax reform; and it's not fairness. All an income tax does is raise the tax burden on Tennesseans and create a way to finance the easy and endless expansion of government. Tennessee does not need a state income tax." This year, fresh from the "Read My Lips" Files, after being re-elected on his promise not to support an income tax, Sundquist has joined Democrat leadership in Tennessee calling for a state income tax. "I go to these national governors' meetings and I'm jealous and embarrassed. I have to listen to all these states with huge surpluses trying to figure out how to cut their taxes, and here we are at the bottom without a way to collect from people who ought to be paying." People who ought to be paying? Tax protestors have surrounded the state capitol building in Nashville each time the legislature has met to discuss an income tax. Responding to almost universal opposition, the legislature has, thus far, refused to sign up for Sundquist's tax plan. Sundquist, meanwhile, says he will veto any budget that is not financed with an income tax. National Review is on the case. "Sundquist, easily the worst governor in America, continues to push a first-ever income tax in the Volunteer State. Sundquist is now routinely booed at Tennessee professional and collegiate sporting events." He is routinely booed anywhere he shows his face! Further north, New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, announced her bid for reelection and refused to renew her pledge to veto an income tax. Though she has twice before taken that pledge, she said this time around, she could not, "whatever the political price." At least she had the integrity to let voters know -- before they go to the polls -- that a state income tax will be on the table if she is elected. The "Dumb and Dumber" Department... >From the "Lost and Found" Files, those hard drives "missing" from Los Alamos nuclear labs were found behind a Xerox machine where, it is rumored, an inept spy attempted to "copy" them. They were sitting between a stack of billing records from HILLARY!'s days at the Rose law firm and a stack of FBI background files on Republican operatives. Sources tell The Federalist that the classified data on the drives may have overwritten with 15 months of Al Gore's missing e-mail. In related news, on the heels of this most recent DOE snafu, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson's chances of becoming Gore's V.P. were found in the recycle bin next to that Xerox machine. Demo-gogue Sen. Robert Byrd had this to say about Richardson: "I think it's a rather sad story -- that you had a bright and brilliant career [and] that you would never again receive the support of the Senate of the United States for any office to which you might be appointed." Around the world... Don't call them "rogue nations" anymore, demands Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who announced that the State Department will start calling North Korea, Iraq, Libya, et al. "states of concern" instead. It's just not nice! Spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States is still prepared to respond forcefully "if we see states of concern that continue to be of concern because they are not willing to deal with some of the issues we are concerned about." Speaking of "rogue nations," plans to ease sanctions against North Korea took effect, as part of the embargo against the nation was lifted this week. A fine example of a functional Communist dictatorship, North Korea's economic output has fallen by one half since 1991, with staple grain output 1 million tons below what the country needs to meet its citizens' basic consumption demands. On the frontiers of junk science... The University of Cincinnati has coined a name for the "disease" people exhibit when they lose their tempers. It's called "intermittent explosive disorder" or "HILLARY! rage blackout." Culture comment... >From the "Politically Challenged" files, Thomas Sowell puts PC into perspective: "The very tactics of those totalitarian movements -- intimidation, demonization, and disregard of all rules in favor of politically defined results -- have become hallmarks of political correctness today. Some people think political correctness is just silly. But many people thought Hitler was just silly before he took power and demonstrated how tragically mistaken they were." And last, "This war will be fought not on the frontier nor on distant battlefields, but among our homes. Our children will learn of it from their own eyes..." says Mel Gibson's Benjamin Martin character in his new film, "Patriot," about the Revolutionary War. The leftists are outraged by one scene where Gibson's character, after British Redcoats kill one of his sons, gives his 13- and 10-year-old boys muskets and tells them to join the battle. As for the Hollywood criticism about showing children using weapons to kill opponents, Gibson says he has trained his own children to shoot, and would let them take up arms in self-defense. The film will be opening over Independence Day weekend. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! ****************************************************************************** ******************* A vote for Bush or Gore is a vote to continue Clinton policies! A vote for Buchanan is a vote to continue America! Therefore a vote for Gore or Bush is a wasted vote for America! Don't waste your vote! Vote for Patrick Buchanan! Today, candor compels us to admit that our vaunted two-party system is a snare and a delusion, a fraud upon the nation. Our two parties have become nothing but two wings of the same bird of prey... 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