THE FOUNDATION: COURAGE
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘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
LIBERTY
“The Democrats deliberately distort their intentions in the current debate on the Iraq War. They say their withdrawal timetable will ‘end the war’ —but it’s ludicrous to suggest that removal of U.S. troops will suddenly stop the fighting. Concerning so-called insurgents, everyone agrees they are ruthless, barbaric killers. So what will they do when Americans leave? Will bloodthirsty bad-guys suddenly turn into pacifists—or decide to retire from their murderous ways? Will they abandon sectarian hatreds and suddenly embrace their Iraqi enemies? General Petraeus, U.S. Commander in Iraq, says American withdrawal would lead to an ‘increase in sectarian violence… It can get much, much worse.’ Islamo-Nazis in Iraq would feel powerfully encouraged not mollified, by removal of the one force strong enough to contain them: the U.S. military. Democratic surrender timetables won’t ‘end the war’ —they’ll only make it longer and more bloody, necessitating the ultimate return of American forces at an even higher cost.” —Michael Medved
CULTURE
“The threat of radical Islam is not merely a few thousand terrorists using small explosives to kill a few dozen people at a time—usually in the faraway Middle East. Rather, it is an historic recrudescence of a violent, conquering old tradition of Islam that almost overwhelmed the world from the Seventh Century until as recently as the 17th century. It is radicalizing the minds of increasing numbers of the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims to be very aggressive culturally, as well as violent—from Africa to Indonesia, to Cairo to Ankara, to Paris, to Rotterdam to London to Falls Church, Va.” —Tony Blankley
RE: THE LEFT
“Veteran political columnist David Broder set off a firestorm recently when he called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid an ‘embarrassment’ for declaring the Iraq War ‘lost.’ From the assault subsequently directed at Broder—from other journalists, political operatives, left-wing bloggers and even the entire 50-member Senate Democratic Caucus—you’d have thought Broder had had an intimate encounter with an intern. Or, in the spirit of bipartisanship, had broken into Democratic National Committee headquarters. Broder committed no such dastardly deed, but merely did what he has done for the past 35 years. He called it as he saw it—just as Reid claims to have done, and that his defenders seem to find so refreshing. Nevertheless, the 50 Democratic senators felt compelled to respond. Doesn’t the U.S. Senate have more important matters to attend to than David Broder?” —Kathleen Parker
