A judge in Italy has ordered a priest to prove that Jesus Christ actually existed in a lawsuit filed by an atheist against the Roman Catholic Church for misleading the Italian public. No word on if Lee Strobel will be called as a witness.
Vice-President Dick Cheney delivered another knock-out address today from the Heritage Foundation. It was a stellar defense of the warrantless NSA surveillance program that was authorized by President Bush in the aftermath of 9-11.
For those who claim that the importance of the NSA surveillance program has been overstated or exaggerated by the administration, Cheney offered a strong rebuke:
“There are no communications more important to the safety of the United States than those related to al Qaeda that have one end in the United States. If we’d been able to do this before 9/11, we might have been able to pick up on two hijackers who subsequently flew a jet into the Pentagon. They were in the United States, communicating with al Qaeda associates overseas. But we did not know they were here plotting until it was too late.”
He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to civil liberties by drawing a parallel to his experience in the Ford White House:
“Three decades later, I work for a President who shares those same values. He has made clear from the outset, both publicly and privately, that our duty to uphold the law of the land admits no exceptions in wartime. The President himself put it best: He said, ‘We are in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility is to live by them.’ The American people can be certain that we are upholding those principles.”
He summarzied the administration’s unimpeachable position on the NSA program with this graph:
“Number one, these actions taken are necessary. Number two, these actions are totally appropriate and within the President’s authority under the Constitution and laws of the country. Number three, this wartime measure is limited in scope to surveillance associated with terrorists; it is carefully conducted; and the information obtained is used strictly for national security purposes. And number four, the civil liberties of the American people are unimpeded by these actions.”
Also, Cheney’s speech marked one of the first instances where an administration official (though Bush did it earlier today), explicitly referenced the fact that America has not been attacked by terrorists since September 11th. Of course, this fact could change tomorrow. History has shown us that terrorists work suddenly and after periods of extended inactivity. Still, Bush and Cheney are right to remind the American people that their policies have disrupted terrorist plots in this country and abroad and kept America safe since the horrific events of 9-11. The Bush administration deserves a large share of the credit for any security we have enjoyed these past four years. Here are Cheney’s words in this vain:
“Obviously, no one can guarantee that we won’t be hit again. But neither should anyone say that the relative safety of the last four years was an accident. America has been protected not by luck but by sensible policy decisions, by decisive action at home and abroad, and by round-the-clock efforts on the part of people in law enforcement, intelligence, the military, and homeland security.”
God-willing our country stays safe in 2006, this should be a winning message for Republicans in the mid-term elections. Let’s call it the “ace up our sleeve.”
It isn’t what you might think. First, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce predicts a severe shortage of skilled workers. Their solution is increased immigration (natch). Of course, one of the major reasons we have so few young engineers and scientists is the program of feminization in American universities, which George Gilder describes in the latest edition of National Review. Unfortunately, the article requires an NR subscription to read online.
To put the whole issue of population in perspective, this essay by the peerless Mark Steyn is a must read. He details how the West is, not very slowly, committing cultural suicide. Good times.
In a stunning and heartbreaking reversal, family members were told early Wednesday that 11 of 12 trapped coal miners found were dead — three hours after they began celebrating news that they were alive.