Common Sense with Paul Jacob

I’m a loving guy. But some things just make me mad, I’m sorry.

Jefferson Middle School in Fort Wayne, Indiana has an image of a Minuteman on a wall near the main door. It is, or was, a depiction of the kind of man who fought for our freedom and helped to found our great republic. How did the patriots of the Revolutionary War accomplish this deed? With guns, folks. Muskets. And the soldier on that wall of Jefferson Middle School had a musket too. At least, he did until now.

Because now the principal at Jefferson Middle has decided to have that musket painted out of the picture. He says it’s his patriotic duty to do so in these trying times. He says guns have no place in school. I see. And what about the textbooks in the school? Are we going to paint over all the muskets in the pictures and the words there, too? Well, then we’re going to have an awful hard time explaining how we beat the Redcoats and won our independence, because it wasn’t with pitchforks.

We’ll have an even harder time explaining the first clash of the Revolution. After all, it was the attempt of the British General Thomas Gage to seize a munitions depot at Concord that drew the “shot heard ’round the world.”

A gun is a good thing if it’s used by soldiers or police or citizens to defend life and liberty. A gun is a bad thing if it is used to destroy life and liberty. There’s a difference. And that difference can be taught. But, apparently, not in school.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Credit where credit is due. I’ve complained about congressional pork-barrel spending in the past, and I’ll complain about congressional pork-barrel spending in the future. But when Congress exercises the fiscal discipline to do the right thing, I have to say thanks, and keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing more of the same in the very near future.

Just a week or two ago on this program, I complained about all the congressional foot-dragging when it came to closing military bases bases the military itself says are now obsolete. Indeed, there was a whole decade there in which Congress did virtually nothing to implement the military’s recommendations. They treated the bases more as work projects than as a means of defending our country. Closings have been accomplished just the same, but in a very haphazard way, with lots of fits and starts.

But now the U.S. Senate has authorized the Department of Defense to complete a fourth round of closures. John Berthoud, president of National Taxpayers Union, applauds the action and invites the U.S. House to echo the go-ahead. “During times of peace and prosperity,” says Berthoud, “it was easy for Members of Congress to get away with reducing defense spending while increasing pork-barrel spending. . . . Now Congress has the opportunity, and the obligation, to allow the military to do what every government agency should do operate as efficiently as possible, and take whatever cost-cutting measures are necessary to eliminate waste and make the best use of taxpayers’ money.”

Well, I agree, Mr. Berthoud. Time’s a-wastin’. Let’s roll.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Deena Gilbey is a British woman living in New Jersey. Her husband had a work visa to be in the U.S. and she was a “dependent” on that visa. Mrs. Gilbey’s husband was killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Now somehow she has no legal status in this country.

Within days of the bombing, she received a letter from the government telling her she must leave though her two small children, both American citizens, are free to stay in the country as orphans. That’s not all. The IRS can grab 60 percent of the life insurance benefit her husband left for her. If she were a U.S. citizen, the IRS couldn’t get a penny.

Mrs. Gilbey is understandably shocked. She says, “My husband was murdered in this country, his remains are still there somewhere at Ground Zero, and now the U.S. government is killing us all over again.” An unsettling story. But the reaction of the people in Chatham Township, New Jersey demonstrates all that is good about the American way.

The police chief promises to barricade the house if immigration officials dare to serve a warrant on Mrs. Gilbey. The fire chief agrees, saying, “The American people will simply not allow anyone, including our own government, to disturb or harass Mrs. Gilbey.” Our federal elected officials must take action.

Congress can act to protect not just Mrs. Gilbey, but any person caught in such a ridiculous and callous situation. And President Bush, as the nation’s chief executive, can also use his power to prevent this injustice. Things like this shouldn’t happen. Not in America.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Liberty is expensive. The price is eternal vigilance. If a war is just, it is fought to protect life and liberty. But there is a danger that the battle for liberty will also be used to rationalize restrictions on liberty.

In the early days of the Republic, our second president, John Adams, used a war with France to impose the Alien and Sedition Act. This Act repressed the speech of resident aliens and even American citizens who might oppose the war. The Act also provided for indefinite detention and expulsion of aliens.

Liberty also suffered during other times of crisis. Everyone remembers how Japanese citizens were interned during World War II, no matter how loyal and innocent they were.

Even without explicit government action, open discussion of ideas and policy can be jeopardized. Citizens may sometimes muzzle themselves, out of fearing to seem disloyal.

Joe Andrews is a political reporter who has noticed a drop-off in political debate. He worries, “Will every political difference . . . be portrayed now as an unpatriotic display of partisanship? Our patriotism is premised on our democracy. . . . That is why there is so much danger in politics dying.” Andrews has a legitimate concern. But I am confident that we won’t let the terrorists warp our American way of life.

Most Americans know that in a battle for freedom, the winning strategy is not to support America and shut up, but to support America and speak up. So if you love liberty, practice it. It may be the most patriotic thing you can do.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Recently a pilot gave a pep talk to his passengers, just before takeoff. He said: Be ready to fight back. We are on our own now. If somebody jumps up out of his seat and waves around something that looks like a weapon and says, “Hi, I’m a terrorist hijacker” don’t submit. Start throwing things at him and at any fellow hijackers. Pillows, blankets, laptops, whatever. Fight back, while we land the plane and call in the cavalry. But don’t do what the terrorists tell you to do. There will be many more of you than there will be of them. FIGHT BACK.

When the pilot finished his pep talk, the passengers broke into applause. You can bet nobody was napping the way we usually do when the oxygen masks are being explained. Now, I ask you: shouldn’t this pilot, in addition to his courage, also be allowed to carry a weapon? A gun that he can point at a terrorist hijacker, if he ever has to face one? Reinforce the cockpit doors, have a marshal program sure. But we’re at war, we say. And the pilot is the first person any hijacker is going to want to control or kill. So give the men at this particular front line an adequate chance to protect themselves if and when they are attacked. They’re certainly a responsible bunch.

Most pilots have military training and, heck, aren’t they already entrusted with hundreds of lives? This is what the pilots union argues: Allow pilots to be armed. And I support them. And I fly.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

In the wake of a terrible blow for his city, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has been a true leader under incredibly difficult circumstances. But he’s making at least one mistake. Some people are so grateful to Mr. Giuliani that they’ve been urging him to find some way to keep his job, even though he is scheduled under term limits to step down soon.

At first, Mayor Giuliani said we shouldn’t let the terrorists win by allowing their attack to disrupt our democracy. Then he said, well, let me think about it. Now he suggests that either his current term be extended or he be allowed to serve a whole additional third term. You don’t have to be a staffer of U.S. Term Limits to be dismayed by this change of heart. Other friends of democracy also recognize the danger here.

For example, the New York Times observes: “Neither New York City nor the nation has ever postponed the transfer of power because the public was convinced it could not get along without the current incumbent.”

The Times goes on to say that, “the very concept goes against the most basic of American convictions, that we live in a nation governed by the rule of law. To suggest that the city would be incapable of getting along without Mr. Giuliani after the end of the year undermines New York’s sense of self-sufficiency and normality, which the mayor himself has worked so hard to restore. While Mr. Giuliani has been a great leader during this crisis, the truth is that no one is indispensable.” Close quote. And time’s up!

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

“Don’t cuss a farmer with your mouth full,” says the bumpersticker. Well, would it be okay to cuss a farmer who is also a politician? You might feel like cussing ’em when you learn that some congressmen, eleven, to be exact, are receiving thousands of dollars in federal taxpayer subsidies. Benefits they get to vote for themselves.

Some of these highly paid representatives, like Speaker Denny Hastert, get only a few thousand tax dollars a year. But Rep. Marion Berry of Arkansas has raked-in over $750,000 in the last four years. Three others have harvested over $100,000 each. Congress is voting on a new farm bill, full of sweetheart deals for everyone . . . oh, except the taxpayer.

Congressman Charles Stenholm of Texas, another recipient of farm subsidies, says he won’t sit back and deny subsidies to farmers “at the same time we are throwing money at every problem down the pike.” But Florida Congressman Dan Miller , a term limits supporter, who is stepping down at the end of this term just as he promised has a better idea.

He wants to amend the farm bill to reduce the price supports for sugar, a move that could save Americans as much as $400 million dollars. The sugar subsidies are especially outrageous, enriching a few powerful farmers at the expense of the rest of us. All too many Washington politicians are all too eager to dole out special favors at your expense. Miller, committed to coming back home, is trying to stop it.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

America United. America Rising. America Fights Back.

The terrorists expected a response to what they did. But did they expect our spirit?

Who knows whether Taliban and company predicted our defiant solidarity and spirited fellow-feeling in the wake of their attack. Americans have surprised themselves. Despite all our typical and often bitter contentiousness we are united at a certain rock-bottom level. All those disagreements still exist, and should.

And let’s keep talking.

But underneath all that, there is a sense in which all of us Americans are united. In response to the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we feel a sense of kinship and solidarity. Misery, yes, but also a rebellion against the misery. No matter what, we want to live. And America is a place where people can live, better than in a great many other places in the world. We can because of the abundance of material wealth here, which we have because of the abundance of freedom we enjoy, notwithstanding all the roadblocks the busybody bureaucrats and politicians plunk in our path.

In America, we can make ourselves a to-do list and then, for the most part, we can actually go about doing the things that are on the to-do list, crossing them off one by one as we go along.

Try doing that in China or Afghanistan.

Ask an Afghan woman what’s next on her to-do list. The American dream is the dream of life, the chance to pursue what makes us happy. America is for people who want to live.

And can.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

I’m no military expert. But I do know bad spending habits when I sees ’em, and Congress has ’em. And a lot of what they’re spending badly has to do with the military and our national defense. If we want to have the best possible protection against foreign aggression, we need to talk not only about military reform but also about congressional reform.

President Eisenhower used to talk about a “military-industrial complex.” In a new book on Arms, Politics and the National Economy, editor Robert Higgs says that a better name for this establishment would be “military-industrial-congressional complex.”

Higgs says the U.S. is well prepared to fight conventional battles, but that we’ve been behind the curve when it comes to combating a threat like terrorism. The U.S. is the world leader in defense spending. But the problem is not really too much or too little spending as such, but how the money gets allocated. In other words, the problem is politics. Take the issue of base closings, for instance.

You’d think that if military leaders agree that this or that military base is no longer necessary, Congress would rush to close it. So the money can be better spent elsewhere. Instead, congressmen often act as if the point of the base was to provide employment to voters in their district, not to defend the country.

Even when all that was involved was just robbing poor taxpayers, deciding defense issues on the basis of personal politics was wrong. Today it is a matter of life and death. It’s been said, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.” Let’s add, “Don’t pass the pork!”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

This just in: According to the Los Angeles Times , there’s no more back bench in the California Assembly. Apparently they’ve hauled it away to a garage sale. “New members do not sit meekly and keep quiet while they learn,” says the Times . “Even rookies will rebel.”

Everybody remembers what the leaders pushed five years ago the so-called “deregulation” of the power companies and how it led to disaster. That energy legislation passed without a single dissenting vote. But more than merely historical memory is motivating these frisky freshmen. Little something I like to call: Term Limits.

In California, term limits went into effect in 1997. Since then, rookies have been skating right out into the center of the rink. Of course, there are always complaints that the assembly is both too fast and too slow in passing legislation. Some complain that their colleagues are dragging their feet about a new energy bill. According to Assemblyman Joe Simitian, one of the rookies, “My mom used to say, ‘Honey, if you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.'” The assemblyman goes on to say, “Don’t let our regret of the past or fear of the future rob us of the courage to take action now.”

But other newcomers have good reason to oppose this same energy bill a controversial multi-billion-dollar bailout of a California power company. In the days before term limits, rarely did rookies act so independently of leadership. Now it’s different . . . and good for them! After all, representatives are supposed to represent, not rubber-stamp.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.