Note: No terrorists crotches were actually lit ablaze during the making of this video…Though I think there was a Mormon who’s sleeve caught fire in a candle mishap.

On Tuesday night I was bestowed the honor of being ridiculed on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. The segment in which I was featured had Mr. Stewart mocking those of us who dare criticize the new president. In the era of Obama, mainstream American political humor is now officially on the defensive.

Stewart lumped me with Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican — a cross section of people you might expect to be critical of an administration implementing very liberal policies in a very short time.

The “joke” was that these right-wing zealots weren’t giving the new president enough time, that the previous president did worse things, and that I, in particular, was ridiculous for blaming the president for “St. Patrick’s Day” becoming “Potato Day” at my kids’ public school. (Yes, the name change took place. No, I did not blame President Obama — specifically.)

As is his style, Mr. Stewart took wildly out of context my clip from Fox News’ “Hannity” in which Sean and I discussed the Obama administration’s decision to call the “war on terror” an “overseas contingency operation,” and “terrorism” a “man-caused disaster.” As an aside during that discussion, I pointed out that leftist bureaucrats in Los Angeles, eager to rip the religious context out of a widely celebrated holiday, opted instead to offend an entire ethnic group.

“Potato Day!” Take that, pasty white limey oppressor! And if you pinch me for not wearing green, I’ll sue you for sexual harassment.

Orwellian language shifts are usually ripe material for true comedians. But Mr. Stewart ripped me for talking about the road to pure-form political correctness that the new president has set us on.

Jonathan and his amazing technicolor dream-teleprompter (yes, he has one too) has for 10 years used sophisticated character assassination to slyly annihilate the political enemies of the Democratic Party.

The show’s multitude of liberal, Ivy-League-educated writers — another Obama echo — feed the mildly successful former stand-up comedian irony-laden words that he offers up with his signature goofy facial expressions. And Jon Stewart has a studio audience of pliant seals commanded and trained to flap their fins at every smirk or sarcastic joke.

Conservatives, who are cosmically slow on the pop-culture uptake, are just now beginning to understand the disastrous impact of Mr. Stewart’s decade-long barrage of unanswered snipes, especially among the college-aged crowd. The ironic gripes have lowered Republicans into an even-less-attractive caricature than schlockmeister Michael Moore was able to deliver.

If the targets were switched and Democrats had the same five-day-a-week bull’s-eye placed on their heads, no one doubts that financier George Soros and Media Matters would wage a well-funded rampage to destroy Mr. Stewart and his scribes. Nancy Pelosi would be demanding a comedy Fairness Doctrine. And “The Daily Show” and its partner in crime “The Colbert Report” would be taken off the air within 30 days of electoral primaries and within 60 days of general elections to comply with McCain-Feingold.

You can read the column in full here.

The unveiling of OCO capped-off a terror euphemism trifecta for the administration.  Previously, the Justice Department scrapped the ghastly “enemy combatant” to describe war prisoners in favor of the much more uplifting, “detainee.”  Additionally, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano─who may be the only member of the administration more intellectually troubled than Tim Geitner─rebranded terrorism as “man-caused disaster.” (To review:  mail carrier; police officer; business person; but man-caused disaster… maybe the errant sexism has something to do with Ms. Napolitano’s romantic leanings.)  

Ever sensitive to the plight of our illegally invading friends from the south, Ms. Napolitano also refuses to use the term “illegal immigrant.” In an administration where the Secretary of Treasury is a tax cheat, it’s only fitting that the Security of Homeland Security does not wish to tarnish the image of people who illegally raid our country and pillage our resources.

Words are very important to B. Hussein Obama─they don’t describe the narrative, they structure it.  In college, he transformed himself from Barry—a hackneyed disgrace of a name befitting lounge singers and kid actors—to Barack, instantly making him exotic and interesting (a Barry snorting coke is a hapless junkie, but a Barack snorting coke is a conflicted soul seeking to open his mind, especially if he’s wearing a kente kufi hat while snorting).  During the campaign, two little, but very important, bumper-sticker and t-shirt friendly words helped solidify his candidacy.  Thanks to Hope and Change, Barry didn’t have to leak anyone’s kinky, sealed divorce papers to the media to get elected this time.

When more than one word has to be produced, Barry defers to his teleprompter to ensure rigid semantic integrity and to minimize his brain’s default proclivity of generating “uhhhhhs” and “ummmms.” In a recent speech before a requisitely awed group of business leaders, the teleprompter displayed the following gem, which The Father of the $1.2 trillion stimulus package voiced with contemplative gravitas:  “I don’t like the idea of spending more government money, nor am I interested in expanding government’s role.” The statement wasn’t followed by a “NOT!” or a “PSYCH!” or even a “FACE!” Just more contemplative gravitas.

In Barry’s bizzaro world, reality in and of itself doesn’t matter.  Words make the reality. Words matter. Teleprompters matter.  The biggest spending bill in American history never happened if Barry calls it a “stimulus.” But if it did happen, Barry never agreed to the bonuses.  But if he did agree to the bonuses, he did so unknowingly.

In the first half of the 20th century, Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf cobbled together a theory of linguistic determinism and linguistic relativity which would eventually become the unwitting foundation of the PC movement.  In a nutshell, Sapir-Whorf believed that language determines thought, not vice versa.  So call a prison a “correctional facility,” and the inmates should be so overcome by the warm fuzzies that they wouldn’t rape each other as much as when they thought they were stuck in a mere “prison.” Likewise, call welfare expansion a “tax cut” and more people will vote for you.  I doubt Barry read much Sapir/Whorf, but many of the same ideas are discussed in different terms by his favorite community organizer, Saul Alinsky, and his favorite unicorn wrangler, Karl Marx.

Marx believed words may be used to confuse and control the dolts, rubes and twits who constitute the governed.  An effective leader could introduce new words─or alternative definitions and combinations of old words─into the lexicon, and thereby induce the unlearning of old belief systems and the learning of new ones. Change the culture through words─one of the planks of the Cultural Marxist platform.  As Fred Barnes points out, BHO has already redefined “fleeting”: the quarter century of unprecedented economic growth which began in the first term of the Reagan presidency was “fleeting prosperity” according to our noble leader. “The Reagan Recovery is urban legend, my children, now don your purple Nikes and listen unto me…”

Moreover, the War on Terror was that dummy Bush.  General Secretary of the Central Committee President Obama doesn’t deal with wars or terror, he deals with contingencies and operations.  You say, “potato,” I say, “potato.” You say, “that sleeveless dress really shows off Michelle’s toned arms,” I say, “pre-menopausal hot flash relief.” You say, “sensitive language soothes the people,” I say, “social engineering through verbal eugenics.”

To distance the current administration from the words of the former administration is predictable, to do so from the words of the Founding Fathers is creepy.  Whether conscious or not, the end game of the current administration is to redefine the US Constitution in its own socialist, state-must-save-the-proles image. Now hopechange means abhorrent stimulus and bailout packages.  Soon it may mean government-run health care or restrictions on how much gas and electricity citizens can use.  The more Barry’s Obonics seep out of the teleprompter and into pop culture, the easier the administration’s task to remake America becomes.

Maybe Barry was stoned the day the English teacher pointed out that George Orwell was a warning, not a blueprint.

In the New Testament, Paul admonishes us to “pray without ceasing.” I never understood that verse until I had a son deployed to a combat zone. Now I find myself praying for my son, his men, and their families almost constantly. Our Marine son is at a Forward Operating Base in Afghanistan. They have no running water, no heat, and only on occasion, electricity. The other evening I received a short email from him. His battalion lost three more men over the weekend. It was difficult for me to sleep that night, knowing somewhere in this nation mothers and fathers, wives, and children were mourning the death of a loved one. 

Obviously, my interest in what used to be called the “Global War on Terror” and now is apparently just an “Overseas Contingency Operation” is more than a historical fancy. I’ve tried to read as much as I can about the decision to launch the war, our efforts on all fronts, and our successes and failures to date. I’ve read the good, the bad, and the ugly. Trained as an attorney, I expect there to be at least two sides to every issue, but as a twenty-six year veteran of the FBI, I’ve also learned facts speak for themselves. Depending upon the author, I can find hope or discouragement. What I have found are heroes. Today’s young people (and even many adults) are as likely to find their heroes among athletes, actors, or rock stars. I guess that is the luxury of youth and a celebrity-worshipping culture. But I like Oliver North’s definition in his latest book, “American Heroes.” He says heroes “place themselves at risk for the benefit of others.” 

I’ve been fortunate to meet real heroes. Several weeks ago I attended “A Celebration of Freedom” at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. I shook hands with more than thirty Medal of Honor recipients. It was truly one of the most memorable nights of my life. But a few days later during a visit to the doctor, I told him of my experience at the reception. Professing to be a history buff, his questions caught me by surprise. “Is the Medal of Honor for military and civilians?” “Aren’t there higher medals or is that the highest?” This doctor was educated at one of our most prestigious universities yet seemed clueless to the sacrifices others have made in order for him to live in a free society. 

Since my book was released in the fall, I’ve been able to share it with Marines wounded in this current war. I met a Marine who lost the use of his legs and is confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He can maneuver pretty well, but he will never chase his children around the yard or at the beach the way you and I can. I met a Marine blinded by an RPG who will never see his children again. He can hear them and he can hold them but will never see them the way we see our children. I know a serviceman who was “present” for the birth of his child. He was deployed to a combat zone and listened over the phone as his wife give birth. I’ve spent time with children who pray every night for their daddy to come home safely. I’ve met the spouses of those deployed and watched them cope with not only managing a family but living with the constant worry the next phone call will bring tragic news. 

What is so remarkable is not one Marine, not one serviceman, not one spouse I met asked for your pity or even your thanks. No one claimed victim status. All are volunteers and all believe they are part of a team who answered the call. They are proud and they are strong. Maybe, they too, have found comfort in the words of Moses. They are all my heroes. 

Before you go to sleep tonight take a few moments to thank God for your spouse, your children, your home, a comfortable bed, and the servicemen and women who allow you to sleep under the blanket of freedom. I fear too many have forgotten or have never learned the real price of freedom.

Semper Fi.