Latest posts of: nChrist

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Daily Portions By Joseph C. Philpot, 1802-1869
From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
FREE E-mail Subscription:
http://www.gracegems.org/
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January 1

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."--Psalm 90:12

Casting our eyes back upon the year now past and gone, are there no mercies which claim a note of thankful praise? It is sweet to see the Lord's kind hand in providence, but sweeter far to view his outstretched hand in grace. Are we then so unwatchful or so unmindful of the Lord's gracious hand in his various dealings with our soul as to view the whole past twelve months as a dead blank in which we have never seen his face, nor heard his voice, nor felt his power? "Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness?" (Jer. 2:31,) the Lord tenderly asks. Has he been such to us also for twelve long and weary months?

What! No help by the way, no tokens for good, no liftings-up of the light of his countenance, no visitations of his presence and power, no breakings-in of his goodness for all that long and dreary time--for dreary it must indeed have been for a living soul to have been left and abandoned of the Lord so long! If not blessed with any peculiar manifestations of Christ, with any signal revelations of his Person and work, blood and love, grace and glory, for such special seasons are not of frequent, occurrence, have we not still found him the Way, the Truth, and the Life? If we have indeed a personal and spiritual union with the Son of God, as our living Head, there will be communications out of his fullness, a supplying of all our needs--a drawing forth of faith, hope, and love--a support under trials, a deliverance from temptations, a deepening of his fear in the heart, and that continued work of grace whereby we are enabled to live a life of faith on the Son of God.

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Two Minutes With The Bible
From The Berean Bible Society

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For Questions Or Comments: berean@execpc.com
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Why "More Noble"?

by Pastor Kevin Sadler

1 Thes. 2:13: "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

Acts 17:11: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

I had one of those "Aha!" moments when studying God's Word recently. It has troubled me for years as to why Paul said "these [Bereans] were more noble than those in Thessalonica." You hear it said often how the Thessalonian church was a model church. They were noble. Based off of 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, it's easy to see why we say that. So why were the Bereans more noble than these Thessalonians?

In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul gives thanks to God without ceasing for the Thessalonians. The reason he was so thankful for them here was for their response to the Word, that when they "received the Word of God," they received it "not as the word of men" but as the Word of God. Paul was deeply grateful that the Thessalonians recognized the true nature of his preaching and teaching.

The message Paul brought to them was a revelation from Christ that was unrevealed in the Old Testament. Paul received a new message, a new gospel directly from Christ, and he relayed it to the Thessalonians who "received" it as God's Word. In Galatians 1:11,12 Paul says, "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Paul wasn't taught his gospel by man because his gospel could not be found or be taught to him from the Old Testament Scriptures. His gospel necessitated a revelation from Christ in heaven because it was new. It had been unrevealed in the past, hidden in the mind of God (Eph. 3:9).

Paul, in his missionary journeys, was making known the Word of God by God's authority, with his words and preaching, without it being found in the written Word of God at that time. Paul was grateful that the Thessalonians not only listened to the message as God's Word, but that they had swung open their hearts and embraced it warmly as God's truth. They didn't believe it was the "word of men," or just the word of Paul, Silas, Timothy (1 Thes. 1:1), or something they had made up or concocted, but that it was the very Word of God. They believed that the gospel of grace, the revelation of the mystery, and the truth of the Rapture that Paul brought to them was the Word of God, which Paul says was the "truth."

The two times "received" is mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 it conveys two different meanings. The first "received" in the Greek primarily means, "to receive and take from another." It communicates the idea that the Word of God was heard, understood, and grasped. The second word "received" in the Greek goes a step further. It primarily means, "to accept and welcome eagerly." When we welcome God's Word, we're allowing its truth into our hearts. We receive it for ourselves. We make it our own. We believe it, embrace it, welcome it with full approval. We receive it into the inner man and make it a part of our lives, and by this the Word "effectually worketh...in you that believe."

The Bereans also "received the Word of God." The word "received" in Acts 17:11 is the word meaning that they accepted and welcomed eagerly the Word of God through Paul. But the reason why the Bereans were "more noble" than those in Thessalonica was because they "searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." They received it, believed it, but then they made sure.

President Ronald Reagan once said, "Trust, but verify." When Paul spoke of a gospel, a church, a heavenly hope, and a coming of Christ that was unrevealed in the Old Testament Scriptures, the Bereans trusted, but then verified and checked it out for themselves to make sure it was true. This made them "more noble" than the Thessalonians, who just received and trusted. It was noble as well that the Thessalonians trusted the message of Paul, and Paul was thankful for this. But the fact that the Bereans searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so, made them "more noble." When we are like the Bereans and verify from Scripture the things we hear and read, then we too are "more noble" in the eyes of God.

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
FREE E-mail Subscription:
http://www.gracegems.org/
___________________________________________

What a compassionate, gracious arrangement!

(Susannah Spurgeon, "Words of Cheer and Comfort for Sick and Sorrowful Souls!" 1898)

"My times are in Your hand!" Psalm 31:15

Why then, need I worry or tremble? That great, loving, powerful hand keeps all the events of my life sealed and secure within its almighty clasp! Only He, my Maker and my Master, can permit them to be revealed to me as His will for me. What a compassionate, gracious arrangement! How eminently fitted to fulfill that sweet promise of His Word, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You!" If we fully believed this, we would be absolutely devoid of the worry which corrodes and chafes the daily life of so many professing Christians.

"My times." Not one or two important epochs of my history only--but everything that concerns me:
joys that I had not expected,
sorrows that must have crushed me, if they could have been anticipated,
sufferings which might have terrified me by their grimness, had I looked upon them,
surprises which infinite love had prepared for me,
services of which I could not have imagined myself capable--
all these lay in that mighty hand, as the purposes of God's eternal will for me.

But, as they have developed gradually and silently--how great has been the love which appeared enwrapping and enfolding each one!
Has not the grief been measured--while the gladness has far more abounded?
Have not the comforts and consolations--exceeded the crosses and afflictions?
Have not all things been so arranged, and ordered, and undertaken, and worked out on our behalf--that we can but marvel at the goodness and wisdom of God, in meting out from that dear hand of His, all the "times" that have passed over us?

You agree with me in all this, do you not, dear reader? Then I beg you to apply it to your present circumstances, however dark or difficult they may be. They have come directly from your Father's hand to you, and they are His dear will for you!

Are You A Token Grace Believer?

by Pastor Ricky Kurth

"We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

"Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God" (II Thes. 1:4,5).

In 32 years of pastoral ministry, this writer has had the privilege to officiate at many a wedding ceremony. When it comes time for the groom to say "I do," we initiate this response by asking him, "Do you give your ring, and accept your bride's ring, as a token that you will keep the pledge and perform the vows that you have made this day?" Since the word token has been defined as "something that serves as an indication or an expression of something else," we then conclude the ring ceremony by saying, "These gold rings will serve as continual reminders of the lasting and imperishable faith that you have pledged to one another this day."

In the Bible, we read that God gave the rainbow as a "token" of His promise to never again destroy the world with a universal flood (Gen. 9:11-13). Similarly, circumcision is said to be a "token" of the covenant God made with Abraham (Gen. 17:11), and the blood of the Passover lamb was said to be a "token" of God's promise to Israel to spare their firstborn (Ex. 12:13).

Here in our text, the apostle Paul says that the patient manner in which the Thessalonians were enduring persecution was "a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God." That is, their patient endurance of tribulation was a sign that, when God finally does judge the world, "He will judge the world in righteousness" (Acts 17:31), for He will be paying the world back for persecuting His people. As Paul goes on to say in the verse that follows our text,

"Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you" (II Thes. 1:6).

You see, when a Christian is persecuted for his faith, an injustice has taken place; an unrighteous thing has occurred. In God's perfect system of justice, which can leave the debt of no sin unsettled, this injustice must be paid for, and God solemnly vows to right this wrong "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,

"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (II Thes. 1:7-9).

Here God vows that He will someday avenge the Thessalonians for the tribulations given to them by their persecutors, beginning with the destruction that He will bring upon the world at His Second Coming. Of course, God knows that He will be charged with unrighteousness, as He always is when He is forced to sit in judgment upon men. This is why the Book of Revelation is sprinkled with affirmations that God's Tribulation judgments are not unrighteous, that they are rather "just and true" (Rev. 15:3), and "righteous" (16:5-7; 19:2). Similarly, here in our text, Paul is defending the righteousness of the Lord's Second
Coming judgments.

Next, Paul says that the righteous judgment of God on these persecutors of God's people will then continue in the Lake of Fire, the "everlasting destruction" of which he goes on to speak of here in II Thessalonians 1:9. Here we see clear evidence that all those in any age who reject God's provision for their sins will die in their sins (cf. John 8:24), and must themselves be made to pay for their sins.

Of course, the Thessalonians themselves could have retaliated against their persecutors, and forced them to pay for the crimes they committed against them. Surely there were times when they felt like evening the score. However, had they done so, it would then be unrighteous for God to someday recompense tribulation to their persecutors, and God will not be guilty of double jeopardy. As it was, Paul was able to tell the Thessalonians that the "patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure…is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God." If the world should someday ask why God is troubling them, He can reply, "Well, you used to trouble My people, so now, by the same token, I am troubling you!"

There is a lesson that we can learn from this. If we take vengeance on those who trouble us, that means God can't. What an incentive to leave vengeance to the One whose judgments are always fair and equitable! When we take vengeance, we often retaliate too little, leaving our sense of justice feeling unsatisfied. Or we retaliate too much, creating an additional imbalance of justice that leaves our adversary feeling a need to strike at us again. "But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things" (Rom. 2:2). God will judge all men fairly, for His judgment will be according to truth. No wonder Judgment Day is called "the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God" (2:5).

Are you a token grace believer? Is your patient endurance of those who trouble you a token that, when God judges your persecutors, He will do so in righteousness? None of us would ever knowingly and purposely take something away from God that He says belongs to Him, and yet this is what we do when we take vengeance away from the One who has said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay" (Rom. 12:19). If you are thinking of making someone pay for what they did to you, why not determine right now to leave it all with Him?

The Rest!

(James Smith, "The Rest!" 1865)

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." Hebrews 4:9

We shall consider these words as referring to HEAVENLY rest:
our Father's house,
our Savior's home, and
our eternal dwelling-place!

To the weary and way-worn, there is something delightful in the thought of REST.
They love to think of Heaven as the place where they shall "rest from their labors."

REST gives us the idea of . . .
repose--the calm, quiet repose of the soul;
refreshment--the refreshment of the exhausted spirit after conflict, sickness, or toil;
restoration to vigor--after debility, languor, and fainting.

Heaven will be a rest . . .
from sin--which will no more grieve us;
from sorrow--which will no more trouble and distress us;
from fears--which will no more harass and perplex us; and
from conflicts--which will no more agitate and suppress us.

It will be a rest . . .
with God in His glory,
with Jesus in His immediate presence,
with saints and holy angels in full perfection and blessedness.

This rest is FUTURE--it remains for the people of God.

This rest is the object of our hopes and DESIRES.
We look forward to it, with holy longing and cheering anticipations.

This rest is PERFECT--free from all mixture of anything that will agitate, give pain, or cause grief.

This rest is UNINTERRUPTED--nothing will ever occur to disturb, distress, or agitate us any more.

This rest is GLORIOUS--
as bright as the meridian sun,
as balmy as the most pleasant morning,
as glowing with holiness, splendor, and majesty.

Best of all, this rest is ETERNAL! The possibility of a change, of a return to former scenes--would spoil all. But this rest will be enduring--as changeless as the Divine nature, and as glorious as the Divine perfections.

Blessed be God for such a rest for the weary, suffering, and downcast believer in Jesus!
Oh, to keep the eye fixed upon it, and the heart expecting it--amidst all the troubles and trials of time!

This rest is FOR the redeemed people of God.
They are now a poor, tried, tempted, and restless people.
They are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth, as all their fathers were.

Satan tempts them,
the ungodly try them,
fears harass them,
Providence perplexes them.
They often cry out, "O that I had wings like a dove--then would I fly away and be at rest!"

Believer, let the prospect of this eternal glorious rest, cheer you in toil and trouble! Your work will soon be finished, your trouble will soon come to an end--and then rest--the glorious rest, remains for you!

Let your Heavenly rest quicken your pace homewards!
You are going to a rest--a perfect, uninterrupted, and eternal rest . . .
a rest in Heaven,
a rest with Jesus,
a rest in the presence of your God forever!

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, and press on towards the mark, cheered by the prospect of the end of the race.

Remember, Christian, this rest is SECURE, for Jesus has taken possession of it for you.
"I am going," said He, "to prepare a place for you." Yes, Jesus has gone there for you, He has taken possession in your name, He is preparing your place, and will soon come and receive you to Himself!

Remember too, that it is NEAR--very near. Perhaps much nearer than you may think!

You may be sighing, sorrowing, striving, wrestling, doubting, fearing, and cast down today; and tomorrow you may be in your Heavenly rest!

Today, you may be lying like Lazarus, at the rich man's gate, full of sores.
Tomorrow, you may be basking in the beams of Immanuel's glory!

Today, you may be on the bed of sickness, suffering, and pain.
Tomorrow, you may be in the presence of Jesus, where there is no more pain, nor sorrow nor crying!

Who can tell how near we all are to our Heavenly and everlasting rest?

Remember also, that your very trials, toils, and sufferings here on earth, may SWEETEN your rest to you! Soon, very soon--you may be rejoicing over your present sorrows, and praising God for what now fills you with grief and sadness. Things will look very different there, from what they do here. Never, never forget . . .
in your darkest nights,
in your most trying days,
in the midst of every storm and tempest,
when passing over burning sands and under a scorching sky,
that there remains a rest for the people of God, and a rest for you!

"Arise and depart; for this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy!"

"There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary are at rest!"

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
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September 22.

"Follow my example—as I follow the example of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

"Be imitators of me—as I also am of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

One way in which God reveals himself to us, is through the lives of the godly and the saintly. Next to living in direct communion with him—is living with others who thus live with him. Converse with those who lie in Christ's bosom and who know the secret of the Lord, cannot but greatly enrich our own knowledge of divine things. Yet in these busy days we are quite in danger of losing almost altogether out of our lives, this rich means of grace. One has said: "Do not think it wasted time— to submit yourself to any influence which may bring upon you any noble feeling."

Walk, Don't Run!

by Pastor Ricky Kurth

"...as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk... Art thou called being a servant? Care not for it..." (I Corinthians 7:17,21).

Some Christians find it troubling that the Bible counsels slaves to be content in their difficult circumstances, and walk in obedience to their masters rather than run away from them in rebellion (Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22). But there were legitimate reasons why men were slaves in those days, and God has never been in favor of freeing "a lawful captive" from his owner (Isa. 49:24).

The Apostle Paul did tell slaves, "if thou mayest be made free, use it rather" (I Cor. 7:21). For example, if a man was a slave because he was working off his financial debts, if someone offered to pay his debts, this was benevolence that no servant should ignore. But if there was no legitimate means by which a servant could be made free, it was God's will that he walk in the calling wherewith he had been called (I Cor. 7:17).

Of course, unbelievers think that this is terrible advice, and they aren't shy about criticizing the Bible for not encouraging slaves to run away from their masters. But that's because they're thinking of the kind of slavery that existed in the early days of our country, when innocent people were kidnapped from Africa and brought here as slaves to serve in an illegitimate form of bondage. This type of slavery is condemned in Scripture, and those who dared perpetrate it in Israel were given the death penalty (Ex. 21:16). Yet even when men were kidnapped and wrongfully enslaved, Paul's advice to be content in servitude was good counsel, for often it was just not possible for slaves to escape bondage, and God does not wish His children to live lives of abject frustration and misery.

But if you are thinking that it is equally impossible to "care not" for being a slave, consider the counsel that Paul went on to give servants in the very next verse,

"For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman..." (I Cor. 7:22).

The key to finding contentment as a slave was to remember that believing slaves were free men in the eyes of the Lord. In other words, the secret to being content in the harsh circumstances of bondage was for servants to look past their circumstances and focus on how God saw them in Christ. That is, when slaves couldn't change their circumstances, the key to contentment was to change how they thought about their circumstances.

Now, is there anything you can learn from that about your difficult circumstances? Sometimes our situation in life can't be changed any more than a slave could change his. Of course, if there is a legitimate means by which you might be made free from your difficulties, by all means do what Paul told slaves to do with such an opportunity and "use it." But if you can't change your circumstances, why not follow Paul's advice and change the way you think about them?

If life has you feeling like a captive for whom there is no escape, never lose sight of the spiritual reality that you are "the Lord's freeman." Focusing on the problems that have you feeling imprisoned will only make you as miserable as the slave who focused on his. Focusing on "the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (Gal. 5:1) is the only path to rejoicing.

It's the secret of life.

He fell today, and I may fall tomorrow!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Burning indignation grips me, because of the wicked who have forsaken Your law." Psalm 119:53

My soul, do you feel this holy shuddering at the sins of others? If not, you lack inward holiness.
David's cheeks were wet with rivers of waters, because of prevailing unholiness.
Jeremiah desired eyes like fountains, that he might lament the iniquities of Israel.
Lot, a righteous man, was distressed by all the immorality and wickedness around him.
Those upon whom the mark was set in Ezekiel's vision, were those who sighed and cried for the abominations of Jerusalem.

It cannot but grieve gracious souls, to see what pains men take to go to Hell! Christians know the evil of sin experimentally, and they are alarmed to see others flying like moths into its blaze!

Sin makes the righteous shudder, because it violates God's holy law, which it is to every man's highest interest to keep.

Sin pulls down the pillars of the society!

Sin in others horrifies a believer, for it puts him in mind of the vileness of his own heart.
When he sees a heinous sinner, he cries, "He fell today, and I may fall tomorrow!"

Sin is horrible to a believer, because it crucified his Savior!
He sees in every iniquity--the nails and spear.
How can a believer behold that cursed kill-Christ sin without abhorrence?

Say, my heart--do you sensibly join in all this? It is an awful thing to insult God to His face.

The good God deserves better treatment,
the great God claims it, and
the just God will have it--or repay His adversary to his face!

An awakened heart trembles at the audacity of sin, and stands alarmed at the contemplation of its punishment. How monstrous a thing is rebellion! How direful a doom is prepared for the ungodly!

My soul, never laugh at sin's fooleries--lest you come to smile at sin itself! Sin is your enemy, and your Lord's enemy--view it with detestation, for only so can you evidence the possession of holiness, without which no man can see the Lord.

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-12-2020
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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In 1787, Thomas Jefferson warned of the dangers of conspiring men and asked, “What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. … The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Is it any surprise the state seal for Virginia is an image of a robed Virtus (Virtue) standing, spear in hand, over the body of Tyranny? The state motto is “sic semper tyrannis,” meaning “thus always to tyrants.”

Jefferson was a native of Virginia, and it seems many of his fellow Virginians still have the fire of Liberty, and resistance to tyranny, burning in their breasts, judging by the 22,000 gun owners protesting30 at the state capitol recently. Or the fact that 141 counties and cities have declared themselves “gun sanctuaries.”

After the announcement of the proposed gun-control laws, Virginia gun sales nearly doubled, with nearly 70,000 gun background checks in a single month. Gun owners continue to show up at rallies, chanting “We will not comply!”31

Gun owners are by nature peaceful and law-abiding. They seek peace, but are prepared to defend themselves and their families, whether from armed intruders or tyrannical government. That is a fact that Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam and the Democrats in the state legislature would do well to remember32.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68514-virginias-model-for-both-sides-of-gun-debate-2020-02-12

NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY33

Jordan Candler

AND THE WINNER IS… Bernie Sanders edges Pete Buttigieg in New Hampshire, giving Democrats two front-runners; Michael Bennet34, Andrew Yang35, and Deval Patrick36 drop out (AP37)

MEANWHILE: Tuesday’s primary gives Amy Klobuchar major boost, puts Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren on 2020 life support (Fox News38)

NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED: Donald Trump’s New Hampshire vote total more than doubles Barack Obama’s in the 2012 primary (Washington Examiner39)

HISSY FIT: Trial team quits Roger Stone case in dispute over DOJ’s step to reduce sentence recommendation (AP40)

DRILL, BABY, DRILL: Oil from federal lands tops one billion barrels as Trump eases rules (AP41)

LOADED SWAMP: $100,001-plus salaries the norm in Washington, DC, for first time (Washington Examiner42)

GOOD TREND CONTINUES: Illegal border crossings plummet for the eighth month in a row (Townhall43)

LESSONS NOT LEARNED: Virginia House of Delegates passes sweeping gun-control bill (National Review44)

SHENANIGANS GO BEYOND GUNS: Virginia House passes bill that would award electoral votes to popular vote winner (WHSV45)

JUSTICE AFTER ALL? Jussie Smollett indicted by special prosecutor in Chicago (The Daily Wire46)

AND NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON: Sudan to hand over Omar al-Bashir for genocide trial (AP47)

POLICY: How to take on the deadly drug cartels that run the U.S.-Mexico border (The Federalist48)

POLICY: Yes, David Brooks, the nuclear family is the worst family form — except for all others (Institute for Family Studies49)

HUMOR: Biden gets huge turnout in New Hampshire by showing Trump rally on big screen (Genesius Times50)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights51.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68532-wednesday-news-executive-summary-2020-02-12

VIDEOS13

Video: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Donald Trump52 — Many people despise Trump. Others say he’s the best president in history. What’s the truth?
Video: Man Runs Van Into Group of Trump Supporters53 — Think it made the mainstream news? You’d be wrong.
Video: Bergdahl, Manning, and Vindman —The Left’s Heroes54 — Allen West scrutinizes the Left’s tawdry view of military “heroes.”
Video: Why the Left Can’t Meme55 — Democrats confuse artful meaning with randomness because they can’t articulate conservative viewpoints.

SHORT CUTS57

Insight: “All socialism involves slavery. … That which fundamentally distinguishes the slave is that he labors under coercion to satisfy another’s desires. The relation admits of many gradations. Oppressive taxation is a form of slavery of the individual to the community as a whole. The essential question is — How much is he compelled to labor for other benefit than his own, and how much can he labor for his own benefit?” —Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

For the record: “Elizabeth Warren [on Friday] said that banning semi-automatic firearms will work. A few minutes later, Warren says that banning abortion does not work because people can still get abortions on the black market.” —The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra

Observations: “Imagine if, 30 years after winning the Cold War, America elects a communist as president. What a tragic farce that would be. The kind of thing that will baffle historians for centuries to come.” —Matt Walsh

Political futures: “For a supposedly dominant frontrunner, Bernie is not dominating. Basically, Bernie is floating, and Biden clogged up the moderate line. The only question is whether anyone will be able to Roto-root this thing before Bernie floats to victory.” —Ben Shapiro

Some kind of “front-runner”: “Joe Biden has run for President three times. In 1988, 2008, and again in 2020. He is yet to win a single delegate in a Democrat nominating contest.” —Sean Davis

Friendly fire: “I, personally, am very, very concerned about some of the folks who are running. I think, you know, if we run under a democratic-socialist banner in 50 states, I think we lose the industrial Midwest. I think we lose 48 states. I think we lose working-class union voters who have negotiated their private healthcare and want to keep it, and they don’t want to be forced into a public healthcare system.” —Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan

Grand delusions: “I refuse to suggest any Democrat can lose. I think we could run Mickey Mouse against this president and have a shot.” —Joe Biden, who seems bent on losing the nomination by destroying his “electability” argument

Tone deaf: “When you hear all these pundits and experts, cable TV talkers talk[ing] about the race, tell them, ‘It ain’t over, man. We’re just getting started.’” —Joe Biden (He’ll need to start eventually to have any chance.)

Jumping the shark: “Let me say tonight that this victory here [in New Hampshire] is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders

And last… “Did you know: The California homeless population grew by around 21,306 people in 2019. This is more than the national increase in 49 other states…COMBINED! Mike Bloomberg just said that California is a model for the rest of the nation. Is this what he was talking about?” —Charlie Kirk

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68533-wednesday-short-cuts-2020-02-12

TODAY’S MEME58

https://patriotpost.us/memes/68526-then-and-now-2020-02-12

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union58.

TODAY’S CARTOON59

https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/28229

For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive59.

Join us in prayer for our Patriots in uniform and their families — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way, and for our nation’s First Responders. We also ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the Spirit of Liberty60 in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-12-2020
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In 2016, evangelicals were faced with a difficult decision only because Trump was an individual with well-known moral failures. Yet, as far as Trump’s policy platform was concerned, there was little to object to and much to be encouraged by. So, the vast majority of evangelicals chose the candidate whose policy platform aligned most consistently with their own worldview values. And one of the biggest issues in this value system is the right to life.

With the choice presented to evangelical Americans, they were wise as serpents and made the best choice given the options before them. They recognized the implications of electing Hillary Clinton — her advocacy of abortion and ever-increasing government is a road to greater tyranny and loss of Liberty. A vote for Trump was risky, for it was unknown whether he would actually follow through on what he promised, but he has and by so doing has only strengthened his evangelical support. A good argument can be made that Trump, as deeply flawed and broken as he is, has been uniquely used by God to bring blessing to the country. This is what evangelicals were hoping for when casting their votes in 2016 and almost certainly again in 2020, perhaps in even greater numbers.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68513-evangelical-support-for-trump-still-baffles-media-2020-02-12

Can Trump Win 20% of the Black Vote in 2020?25

Grassroots perspective by Willie Richardson

If you want to get the black vote, all you have to do is give a small percentage of black people options. Options that are long lasting and meaningful like funding historically black colleges and universities. Options that promote the welfare of their families like opportunity zones. Options that are expensive in taste, but at a low price like school choice. Options that give a voice to the voiceless like the First Step Act.

Well, how about that! The Trump administration has met all of the basic wants and needs of the black community. Generational wealth. Check. Better education in higher performing schools. Check. Reuniting with a loved one who got involved in nonviolent offenses. Check. Providing higher learning for first-generation college students. Check. All the boxes are being checked, and leftists’ feet are to the fire.

Democrats have far too long had the black vote in their back pocket. It’s like snow falling in the winter in Antarctica. You know what you’re going to get.

Even Van Jones exclaims, “What [Trump] was saying to African Americans can be effective. You may not like it, but he mentioned [historically black colleges and universities]. Our black colleges have been struggling for a long time. A bunch of them have gone under. He threw a lifeline to them in real life in his budget. He talked about criminal-justice reforms. He talked about ‘opportunity zones.’ He talked about school choice.”

Jones continued, “We’ve got to wake up, folks. There’s a whole bubble thing that goes on, saying, ‘Well, he said s—hole nations. Therefore, all black people are going to hate him forever.’ That ain’t necessarily so. And I think what you’re going to see him do is say, ‘You may not like my rhetoric, but look at my results — look at my record,’ to black people. If he narrowcasts that, it’s going to be effective. Trump will never win a majority of the black vote. But he doesn’t have to. If he follows through on his current strategy, he has a massive opportunity to win a greater share of it in 2020 than the 5% to 10% that Republicans have received since 2008. If Trump gets even 20% of the black vote in swing states such as Michigan, Florida, and Pennsylvania, then Democrats will simply have no path to victory.”

The Trump administration has already prepared the way to receive even more support from the black community. The State of Union address laid everything out perfectly. Trump supports the Philadelphia fourth-grader, Janiyah Davis, and her mother, Stephanie Davis, for school choice. The president surprised Janiyah and her mother with a scholarship so she could attend a better school. She had been formerly on a long waiting list. The president also honored a 100-year-old Tuskegee Airman, Charles McGee. During the Super Bowl a commercial aired that show the commuted sentence of Alice Marie Johnson by President Trump. The 63-year-old was released after serving 21 years of a life sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense and money laundering.

Trump is ahead of the black vote curve and if he can win 20% of the black vote in swing states, it’s a wrap for 2020. The black vote is actually simple. You must preach “pocketbook politics” in a way that is economically measurable. You must preach “social justice” in a way that benefits those who cannot defend themselves. Finally, you must preach “educational opportunities” in a way that black voters can see the benefits for their children. I am excited for this election!

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68512-can-trump-win-20-percent-of-the-black-vote-in-2020-2020-02-12

Virginia’s Model for Both Sides of Gun Debate26

Louis DeBroux

Like all would-be tyrants, as soon as Virginia Democrats took power following the last election, they began an all-out assault on the right to keep and bear arms, unleashing a package of gun-control measures27 intended to strip Virginians of their right to defend themselves.

The newest proposed measures include a ban on “assault weapons” such as the AR-15 and AK-47 rifles, magazines holding more than 12 rounds, and sound suppressors (“silencers”). That bill passed the House of Delegates yesterday.

As a means of reducing mass shootings, such measures are worthless. According to the FBI, in 2018, just 297 of the 6,603 gun-related murders (4%) nationwide involved a rifle of any kind. In fact, knives (1,604) and fists/kicking (656) were used to kill far more often.

The progressive obsession with the AR-15 is rooted in abject ignorance of all things gun related. Though they refer to AR-15s as “assault weapons28” and “weapons of war,” they are neither.

“AR” stands for “ArmaLite Rifle,” after the company that designed it. Furthermore, the Department of Defense defines an assault rifle as a “selective fire” rifle that can alternate between semi- (one shot fired per trigger pull) and full-auto (continuous fire). The AR-15 is semiautomatic, firing a .223 (or 5.56) round, which is smaller and less powerful than many hunting rifles. If we ban AR-15s, why not all hunting rifles and handguns? They are functionally equivalent.

Gun grabbers claim the AR-15 is especially “dangerous and unusual,” attempting to get around the Supreme Court ruling in DC v. Heller, which found the Second Amendment protects weapons “in common use by law-abiding citizens.” But the AR-15 is the very definition of “common use” — more than 15 million AR-style rifles are currently in the hands of American citizens, and more than a million more are sold each year. In fact, one in five new firearms sold in the U.S. is an AR-style rifle.

Yet far from America turning into the Wild West, as anti-gun hysterics claim, America has become more peaceful with the proliferation of firearms. Gun crimes fell to historic lows29 after the expiration of the 1994 ban on “assault weapons.”

In reality, full-auto weapons have been effectively banned for civilian use since the National Firearms Act of 1934, and there have been only two deaths by full-auto weapons in the last 40 years.

But in the grand scheme of things, this is all just semantics and details. The Constitution protects our right to keep and bear arms, period, regardless of arguments and statistics.

Yet progressives seem incapable of grasping the meaning of “shall not be infringed.” For decades, Democrats have sought to erode or eliminate this most fundamental of human and American rights. They couch their assaults in terms like “public safety” and “commonsense gun control,” insisting that no one needs certain types of weapons for hunting and sport shooting. Untrue, but irrelevant. The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting and everything to do with providing a firm check against the rise of tyrannical government.

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-12-2020
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Feb. 12, 2020

https://patriotpost.us/digests/68536-mid-day-digest-2020-02-12

THE FOUNDATION1

“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” —George Washington (1789)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/68535-founders-quote-daily-2020-02-12

IN TODAY’S DIGEST

Sanders Takes NH but Dems No Closer to Consensus Candidate2
Is Klobuchar’s Momentum Real?3
Evangelical Support for Trump Still Baffles Media4
Can Trump Win 20% of the Black Vote in 2020?5
Virginia’s Model for Both Sides of Gun Debate6
Daily Features: News Executive Summary7, Videos8, Best of Right Opinion9, Short Cuts10, Memes11, and Cartoons12.

FEATURED ANALYSIS13

Sanders Takes NH but Dems No Closer to Consensus Candidate14

Thomas Gallatin

Socialist Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire Democrat primary last night, taking in almost 26% of the vote. Nipping at his heels came Iowa caucus winner Pete Buttigieg with 24%, followed by the surprising late-surging Amy Klobuchar, who garnered nearly 20%. The slumping Elizabeth Warren and the “most electable” Joe Biden limped in at fourth and fifth place, respectively. Biden quickly jetted out of New Hampshire even before the polls closed, hoping to find greener pastures in Nevada and South Carolina.

The good news for Democrats is that, unlike in Iowa, voters turned out in higher numbers, matching 2008 totals and running well ahead of 2016. However, the bad news for Democrats is that President Donald Trump also had a good night, setting a GOP record in the New Hampshire primary with more than 120,000 votes and demonstrating that voter enthusiasm for Trump has grown significantly in a state that went for Hillary Clinton in 2016 by just 0.4%.

As the Democrat candidates shift their focus to Nevada and South Carolina, a clear division has formed within the party. It doesn’t appear it will be resolved anytime soon, either, given that none of the Democrat primary states are winner-take-all. The division is between the socialist candidates like Sanders and Warren versus the “old guard” liberals like Biden and Klobuchar15. Buttigieg is trying his best to straddle both sides16. This dynamic will allow these candidates to stay in the race longer, preventing the party from coalescing behind a clear front-runner. Additionally, late-coming Michael “Moneybags” Bloomberg will factor in the primaries going forward and the candidates may find themselves duking this out all the way to a contested convention.

It has also become patently obvious that the Leftmedia is seeking to influence the Democrats’ choice of candidate. While Sanders has consistently polled at the top of the Dems’ list of candidates — borne out by his strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire — the Leftmedia has attempted to prop up more “electable” candidates like Biden out of concerns that Sanders’s socialism makes him unelectable. It’s not a bad read, but the problem is it threatens the party’s ability to build a coalition behind the eventual nominee strong enough to take on Trump.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68534-sanders-takes-nh-but-dems-no-closer-to-consensus-candidate

Is Klobuchar’s Momentum Real?17

Nate Jackson

Exactly one year before yesterday’s New Hampshire primary, we profiled Amy Klobuchar18 and her candidacy for the Democrat presidential nomination. Since then, we haven’t had a lot to say about her because, frankly, she’s been part of the Democrat background — just one of what was at one point a bloated field of 29 candidates. Just eight now remain, and Klobuchar emerged Tuesday with a strong third-place showing in the Granite State.

As our Thomas Gallatin writes today14, the real message from New Hampshire might be that many Democrat voters are still looking for an alternative to Bernie Sanders-style socialism. Joe Biden’s sinking ship doesn’t appear to be the rescue vessel they want. Pete Buttigieg is no moderate16, meaning he may not be the Sanders alternative either. So, voters are looking at the “Minnesota nice” senator.

And why not? After all, this is the woman who boasted in the fifth Democrat debate19, “I raised $17,000 from ex-boyfriends.” Case closed, right?

In the New Hampshire debate20 last Friday night, Klobuchar was the lone candidate on stage to raise her hand as being opposed to socialism. She’s the favorite21 of religious Democrats. And Vox’s Matthew Yglesias argues22, “Klobuchar … is a Sanders alternative who offers a genuine trade-off — she’s running on a less ambitious agenda, but that consists almost entirely of being careful to avoid politically unpopular positions. She’s for taking action on climate change, but not for a fracking ban. She’s for a public option and price curbs on prescription drugs rather than an expensive Medicare-for-all program. She’d do a better job than Sanders of appealing to swing voters.”

But as our Louis DeBroux put it last month23, Klobuchar “is campaigning for an economy-destroying policy of net-zero emissions by 2050 and a ‘more robust public option’ in healthcare. In other words, socialized medicine.” She also supports eliminating the Electoral College, ending offshore oil drilling, and banning semiautomatic rifles. DeBroux remarked, “It is a testament to how far left the Democrat Party has veered that Klobuchar could be considered a centrist.”

The truth is, there are no centrists in the Democrat primary. Even The Washington Post admits that “every major Democratic candidate is running on an agenda to the left of [Barack] Obama’s.” That includes Klobuchar. Regardless, her relatively weak organization in Nevada (February 22) and South Carolina (February 29) may mean New Hampshire merely provided her with 15 minutes of fame.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68531-is-klobuchars-momentum-real

Evangelical Support for Trump Still Baffles Media24

Thomas Gallatin

It goes without saying that the Democrat Media Complex is no fan of President Donald Trump. As numerous studies have observed, over 90% of the mainstream media’s coverage of Trump and his administration has been negative and often aggressively so. In fact, if one were to take the Leftmedia’s dubious characterization of Trump as the gospel truth, one would be hard pressed in distinguishing him from Adolf Hitler. Then with this over-the-top negative characterization of Trump, anti-Trumpers bash those who voted for him and support him as either unthinking fan boys or motivated by a sinister, immoral, and selfish ambition.

This straw-man tactic has been regularly applied to evangelical Christians in an attempt to shame them for giving 80% of their votes to Trump. The anti-Trump crowd falsely charges that evangelicals made a Faustian bargain when they voted for Trump and that they have made a mockery of their Christian faith.

What these anti-Trumpers conveniently dismiss or ignore is the reality of the massively divergent worldviews between the country’s two largest political parties. Christians are called by Jesus to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The anti-Trumpers blast Christians for employing that first principle of wisdom in how they voted. The fact of the matter is we are not primarily voting for an individual and his record but rather for the political platform and vision that individual espouses. Does individual character matter? It certainly does, but so does what the individual is proposing for the nation.

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“Many local officials tout immigration, including illegal immigration, as a remedy to economic stagnation,” Stein observed. “However, as this report reveals, the reality is precisely the opposite. Illegal immigration, in particular, drives down wages and inhibits job opportunities for legal residents, while bringing more low-skilled, low-wage workers to these states. In turn, this increases costs to state and local governments, and discourages investment by businesses seeking a skilled labor force and lower overhead.”

Immigration constitutes a massive financial burden to taxpayers. CNSNews reports, “Nationwide, the immigration nonprofit calculated that taxpayers spend $59.8 billion educating LEP (limited English proficiency) students in 2016, up from $51.2 billion in 2010.” Some schools in small communities have suddenly faced a dramatic uptick in the percentage of LEP students. For example, Lewiston, Maine, with a population of 40,000, has had its percent of LEP students rise from 5% to 30% in just five years.

As Stein concludes, “Americans, in every part of the nation, are being affected by antiquated and unenforced immigration policies, which is why it is at the top of the list of voter concerns heading into the 2020 elections.”

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68481-illegal-immigration-has-outsized-negative-impact-on-smaller-us-states-2020-02-11

NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY44

PRIMARY BEGINS: New Hampshire primary voting kicks off, with Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg locked in fierce battle (Fox News45)

“SYSTEMATICALLY VIOLATING THE RULE OF LAW”: Attorney General William Barr announces sweeping new sanctions, “significant escalation” against left-wing sanctuary cities (Fox News46)

“GREAT NEWS TO REPORT”: Funding secured for 1,000 miles of border barrier, White House officials say (The Daily Caller47)

CYBERWARFARE: DOJ charges four Chinese military officials in connection with infamous Equifax data breach (The Daily Wire48)

CLEANING HOUSE: Bigger than Vindman: President Trump scrubs 70 Obama holdovers from National Security Council (Washington Examiner49)

INEXCUSABLE: Six-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome points finger gun. School district notifies police. (The Daily Wire50)

BACKFIRE: Virginia Democrats are very good for Virginia gun sales (Hot Air51)

OUT OF TOUCH: While Nancy Pelosi asserts52 “January jobs report shows the rot at the heart of the Trump economy,” Americans say they feel the current economy is the best since the late 1990s (The Washington Post53)

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: China still mostly closed down as virus deaths pass 1,000 (AP54)

POLICY: Trump budget cuts size of federal government, but bolder reforms needed (The Heritage Foundation55)

POLICY: Obama promised a “middle class” economy; Trump delivered it (Issues & Insights56)

HUMOR: Bernie Sanders confused by New Hampshire state motto “Live Free or Die” — “Both of those options sound horrible” (The Babylon Bee57)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights58.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68502-tuesday-news-executive-summary

VIDEOS14

Video: Jordan Peterson Debunks Intersectionality59 — Intersectionality is the newest fad in political activism. What is it? Who’s involved? And what does it even mean?
Video: Loans Forgiven via Transgender Kids60 — Elizabeth Warren thinks letting a transgender kid pick a SecEd is great policy.
Video: Pro-Life Message From Harvard’s First Black Woman Graduate61 — “I became a physician to help save lives, not to destroy them.”
Video: The Violence of the Radical Left62 — Warning: Video contains some language and graphic violence.

SHORT CUTS64

Observations: “Abortion was another big topic at Friday’s debate. Joe Biden and others promised to appoint only pro-abortion judges. All the candidates support late-term abortions performed on innocent unborn babies, and yet they all opposed taking out Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani. Think about that!” —Gary Bauer

Stay tuned: “People ought to go to jail. I have seen some classified information I can’t go into, but I can say this: Hopefully [U.S. Attorney John] Durham names names. I think the attorney general is waiting to see what comes out of that. And then, hopefully, they go after those people and put them in jail.” —House Republican Whip Steve Scalise

Braying jenny: “I think this election isn’t just an economic check, which is what most of our debates are. It’s also a decency check on this president. It’s a patriotism check.” —Sen. Amy Klobuchar

A distinction without a difference: “I’m not advocating for the United States government to take over the healthcare system. What I am advocating for is an expansion of Medicare. … People will still go to the same doctor. They’ll go to the same hospital. We will substantially lower the cost of prescription drugs. Cost per person will go down. People will be paying less for health care. But it’s not a takeover.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders

Litmus test: “I think being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat.” —Bernie Sanders

Village idiots: “We have made do with crumbs for so long and Bernie has said, ‘Hey, we’re starving in this country. We can’t subsist on these crumbs anymore. Why can’t we demand the whole pie?’” —millionaire actress Cynthia Nixon

Non compos mentis I: “‘The tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots’ [is] a great line. Well, guess what? The fact is if you’re going to take on the government you need an F-15 with Hellfire missiles. There is no way an AK-47 is going to take care of you if you’re worried about the government knocking down your door. And so, it’s bizarre. We never said you could own any weapon at all from the beginning. You can’t own a machine gun. You can’t own a bazooka. You can’t own an M1 tank, no matter how much money you have. … I now have over 58% of the NRA members acknowledging you can’t own an assault weapon.” —Joe Biden

Non compos mentis II: “We should eliminate and transition away from the use of plastics.” —Joe Biden

Trump Derangement Syndrome: “After all of President Trump’s mistruths at the State of the Union, the January jobs report19 shows the rot at the heart of the Trump economy.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

And last… “AG Bill Barr is announcing sweeping new crackdowns on sanctuary policies. This is huge. America should be a sanctuary for American citizens, not illegal aliens.” —Charlie Kirk

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68500-tuesday-short-cuts-2020-02-11
Don’t Miss Cartoons and Memes

Check out Here’s Who Pelosi Shredded65.

If you’d like to receive Cartoons and Memes by email every Monday, update your subscription here66.

TODAY’S MEME67

https://patriotpost.us/memes/68496-bernies-marketing-strategy-2020-02-11

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union67.

TODAY’S CARTOON68

https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/28226

For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive68.

Join us in prayer for our Patriots in uniform and their families — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way, and for our nation’s First Responders. We also ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the Spirit of Liberty69 in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 2-11-2020
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Even now, as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo abusively leverages financial regulations31 to force banks and insurance companies to boycott the NRA, there is very little, if anything, being said and much less done. Even when Cuomo brazenly declares his intention to bankrupt opponents of his anti-Second Amendment agenda, far too many establishment Republicans seem unable or unwilling to make an issue of this abuse.

The fact is, far too many establishment Republicans are still holding to what is, for all intents and purposes, the suicidal path of unilateral disarmament. Civility, like loyalty, only works when it’s a two-way street. Sometimes, leaders have to tell the harsh truth. Certainly, they have to have the backs of the people who not only vote for them but who send in small contributions, make phone calls, knock on doors, and register new voters.

If they don’t, then do they really deserve to lead?

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68486-the-folly-of-unilateral-political-disarmament-2020-02-11

Buttigieg Is No Moderate32

Thomas Gallatin

With his eventual win in the Iowa Democrat caucuses, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has suddenly risen to the top of the heap of Democrat presidential candidates heading into today’s primary in New Hampshire. And if his recent upsurge in the polls translates into votes, Buttigieg could find himself the clear frontrunner with a second victory. However, even a second-place finish in The Granite State would be enough to keep his upward momentum going as he battles Bernie Sanders.

Speaking of Sanders, the unrepentant and avowed socialist who can be credited with (or blamed for) dragging the Democrat Party to the extreme left, Buttigieg and most of the other Democrat candidates in the field have not only refused to challenge his socialist dogma but have promoted it, albeit with more politically careful language. As Joe Biden slumps in the polls, Buttigieg sees an opportunity to distance himself from Sanders by grabbing the “moderate” mantle. “With a president this divisive, we cannot risk dividing American’s future further [by] saying that you must be either for a revolution or you must be for the status quo,” Buttigieg pontificated. “Let’s make room for everybody in this movement.” Despite his “big tent” rhetoric, the fact of the matter is Buttigieg is far from moderate. His policy positions make that clear.

On abortion, Buttigieg is an absolutist and party purist. When asked recently if he thought there was room in the party for pro-life Democrats, he demurred, stating that the government should not dictate a woman’s right to choose. In other words, his answer was no.

As for Medicare for All, he once supported it but now rejects it in favor of his “Medicare for All Who Want It.” It’s a game of semantics with little policy difference, as his plan still includes a government takeover of Americans’ healthcare, just more incrementally.

On the Second Amendment, Buttigieg is seriously to the left. While he may have refused to back Beto O'Rourke’s “assault weapons” confiscation policy, he wants a national firearms registry. That’s the first step in attempting national firearm confiscation.

Economically, Buttigieg has called for raising taxes on the wealthy and the implementation of a carbon tax.

Buttigieg advocates for a massive expansion of immigration and paths to citizenship for illegal aliens currently living in the country.

In brief, while Buttigieg maybe a younger and more even-keeled candidate than Sanders, his policies are just as extreme left and dangerous to American Liberty and individual rights. What may be most troubling is that he displays an Obama-esque erudite manner that was so appealing to many Democrats. And he may just have a shot at the nomination.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68504-buttigieg-is-no-moderate

2020 Academy Awards — A Ratings Disaster33

Mark Alexander

The data is in on Hollywood’s 2020 “Golden Calf” awards Sunday night. The self-congratulatory confab had the lowest viewership on record34 — a 20% decrease in total viewers and a 31% demographic drop from last year. Last year’s ad revenue dropped 14% from 2018, but the totals are not in on this year’s revenue. Suffice it to say, however, that The New York Times ran the most fitting ad, tying its faux “1619 Project35” to the faux Hollywood nonsense36.

That’s good news for America and bad news for the card-carrying members of the elitist glitterati.

And in a fine example of “art imitating life,” our favorite satire site, The Babylon Bee, last year ran this headline over a photo of a sea of black limousines and SUVs dropping their loads for the ego-fest: “Nation’s Wealthy, Privileged Gather To Lecture Nation On Evils Of Wealth, Privilege37.” According to the Bee, “The wealthiest 0.00001% of the nation arrived at the exclusive, walled-off, high-security event in limos and luxury cars driven by servants in order to spend a few hours telling the nation’s poor and middle-class citizens how they need to throw off the yoke of oppression put on them by the wealthy elite.”

All in all, the Academy Awards gala was another exposition of hypocrisy and narcissism38. It’s also a fitting example of words written long ago warning about idolatry and how those who worship false gods fall in love with them and fall to their knees to worship them.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68503-2020-academy-awards-a-ratings-disaster-2020-02-11

NYPD Blasts de Blasio Over War on Cops39

Nate Jackson

An assailant was arrested Sunday in New York City after two separate attacks on police officers that law enforcement dubbed assassination attempts. “He was depressed at times because his son got shot in the street,” explained the perpetrator’s grandmother. But others blame anti-police rhetoric for motivating the assailant.

“Anyone who spews hatred at our officers is aiding and abetting this kind of atmosphere; it is not acceptable,” said Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio. “You could protest for whatever you believe in, but you cannot vilely attack those who are here to protect us. It creates this kind of dynamic.”

We’re glad to hear de Blasio say so, but many — including numerous NYPD officers — blame de Blasio himself for falling in with the Democrat war on cops40 begun by Barack Obama and his ilk. The two officers in New York aren’t the first in that city or elsewhere to be attacked or murdered by anti-cop zealots inspired by leftists slandering police as racists.

A union representing New York’s police sergeants declared, “Mayor DeBlasio, the members of the NYPD are declaring war on you! We do not respect you, DO NOT visit us in hospitals. You sold the NYPD to the vile creatures, the 1% who hate cops but vote for you. NYPD cops have been assassinated because of you.”

Why the blame? De Blasio won office partly on promises to rein in policing in minority communities, and he has followed through with several measures. New Yorkers are starting to notice the resulting rise in crime41. Blue lives matter, and until Democrats come around to that point of view, attacks on police will likely continue.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68501-nypd-blasts-de-blasio-over-war-on-cops

Illegal Immigration Has Outsized Negative Impact on Smaller U.S. States42

Thomas Gallatin

A newly released report43 from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has revealed that the cost of illegal immigration on taxpayers is felt in states far from the U.S. southern border, and specifically in some of the country’s least populated states. In fact, FAIR found that it costs 10 states with the fewest immigrants $454 million annually — or $4,000 to $6,500 per illegal alien.

As FAIR President Dan Stein explains, “In many ways, the influx of immigrants into less populous areas of the country has an even greater impact on long-time residents than it does in larger and more urban areas. These areas have neither the tax base, nor the economic and social infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the growing numbers of immigrants taking up residence.”

Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are the 10 states in which FAIR determined that of the 415,000 foreign-born residents living in them, 88,000 were illegal aliens. On top of that, 35,000 were children born to illegal aliens.

________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 2-11-2020
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Feb. 11, 2020

https://patriotpost.us/digests/68506-mid-day-digest-2020-02-11

THE FOUNDATION1

“We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” —Thomas Jefferson (1816)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/68505-founders-quote-daily-2020-02-11

IN TODAY’S DIGEST

White House Budget Games2
The Folly of Unilateral Political Disarmament3
Buttigieg Is No Moderate4
2020 Academy Awards — A Ratings Disaster5
NYPD Blasts de Blasio Over War on Cops6
Illegal Immigration Has Outsized Negative Impact on Smaller U.S. States7
Daily Features: News Executive Summary8, Videos9, Best of Right Opinion10, Short Cuts11, Memes12, and Cartoons13.

FEATURED ANALYSIS14

White House Budget Games15

Lewis Morris

The White House released President Trump’s 2021 budget plan16 Monday — a $4.8 trillion behemoth that boosts defense, homeland security, and Veterans Affairs. Trump laid out a roadmap that includes $4.4 trillion in reductions to spending growth over the next decade that he claims will balance the budget by 2035. Remember: Whenever the media talks “cuts,” it’s almost always really reductions in scheduled growth.

Moreover, “Republicans and Democrats last year cut a spending deal that kicked appropriations decisions past the November election,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board notes, “so the White House budget for practical purposes is irrelevant this year. It provides a starting point for talks next year with a new Congress.”

The president’s plan reduces growth in foreign aid by 21%, the EPA by 26%, Housing and Urban Development by 15%, shrinks the budget and power of the Department of Education, and makes the Republicans’ 2017 tax cuts permanent. Certain entitlement programs like disability benefits and food stamps would also see reductions after the imposition of stricter work and eligibility rules.

The White House is laying out this strategy in an election year in hopes of demonstrating that Trump is serious about reining in federal spending. “It includes more deficit reduction — $4.6 trillion — than any president in history,” boasts acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russel Vought. The president campaigned in 2016 on the promise of reversing the trends of his predecessor, who presided over massive spending, including three years of $1 trillion-plus deficits. The national debt doubled, rising by $10 trillion during Barack Obama’s eight years.

Unfortunately, the truth is that Trump hasn’t done much better.

Deficits have steadily increased under Trump’s watch, reaching nearly $1 trillion in 2019. And while the 2021 budget seems to be going in the right direction in terms of curbing spending and reducing government bureaucracy, a $996 billion deficit is still projected for the coming fiscal year. As we said in rebutting Obama’s similar boasts about deficit reduction, it’s easy to reduce a deficit after you’ve blown it up so large.

It would be great to see Trump become more serious about cutting spending, since it appears that no one in the Swamp, and very few people outside it, seem to care. For decades, economists have predicted a financial reckoning17 over politicians’ inability to control spending. Social Security payments are starting to shrink, and the sheer size of the national debt18 is weighing on economic growth.

Trump’s plan is hardly bold in that it proposes to balance the budget in 15 years, which is to say never. Even assuming he’s reelected in 2020, that still means there will be at least two more presidents after Trump by the time we reach 2035. It’s ridiculous to think that they will hold his line on spending.

Another significant problem with Trump’s proposal is that it assumes 3% annual economic growth, a threshold we have met only once since George W. Bush’s administration. While the economy is moving at a strong pace19 now, and we have Trump’s pro-business policies to thank for it, we’re just not there yet.

All that said, the president must lead by example and this budget proposal is a step in the right direction. The time will soon come when significant changes need to be made to Social Security and Medicare, or those programs will become insolvent20. Will Trump and Republicans be brave enough to make the tough calls needed to save these programs? History says no. Democrats have addicted Americans to Big Government through entitlements and promises of so-called “free” stuff. And many Republicans have gone along because they are under the mistaken assumption that this is the way to win votes.

Things can still change. Maybe once the country is staring down the barrel of fiscal disaster, we will be shocked enough to motivate our elected leaders to do the right thing. The trouble with this scenario is that people don’t like to make painful decisions, but the solutions only get more painful the longer we put it off.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68487-white-house-budget-games

The Folly of Unilateral Political Disarmament21

Harold Hutchison

Imagine that in 1980 the United States had decided to respond to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by unilaterally retiring all U.S. strategic nuclear forces. Would we still be talking about the fall of the Berlin Wall, or would the world be a much worse place? Most Patriots know the answer to that obvious question.

Yet when it comes to political disagreements, which leftists take as a license to slander all Republicans — even moderates like John McCain22 and Mitt Romney23 — the folly of unilateral disarmament is much harder to shake. For some reason, in some quarters of the GOP, Donald Trump’s fighting back draws more criticism than the vile and disgusting smears leftists have used for decades.

People wonder why Trump won the Republican nomination and ultimately the presidency. One place a lot of them should look is the GOP establishment24. For years, far too many Republican “leaders” failed to stand up for the Patriots slandered by the Left.

Opponents of gun control are routinely labeled child-killing domestic terrorists. Think we should secure the border? Phony charges of racism were on the way. Want to address a school-lunch program that isn’t working? Then you’re okay with “kids eating crap25.” Want to reform entitlements like Medicare and Social Security so those will still exist for future generations? You’re going to push grandma off a cliff. In each case, the silence of establishment Republicans spoke volumes to American Patriots.

The thing is, these constant slanders didn’t start when Trump won, and they didn’t just affect votes in elections. These lies also gave “permission” for some to abuse power against grassroots conservatives. After all, if any Republican, whether moderate or conservative, is the next incarnation of Adolf Hitler, then stopping him is such a moral imperative that the rules don’t apply. Or it can justify threats26 or violence27.

Yet the establishment didn’t seem to act. When the IRS targeted the Tea Party28, where were McCain and Romney? The former Republican standard-bearers — all too quick to attack Trump — were silent about the abuse. It wasn’t just the IRS. When rogue prosecutors in Wisconsin used the state’s “John Doe” laws to target conservatives, establishment types did nothing. It fell to David French (then of National Review)29 and our Arnold Ahlert30 to shed light on these abuses. The grassroots groups were left on their own, and no action was taken.

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-10-2020
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More harm than students graduating without job skills? More harm than students who are below college standards? More harm than kids who can’t read in the fourth grade?

Since the 1990s, the National Assessment of Educational Progress has been the “nation’s report card” in evaluating the performance of students across the nation. According46 to the latest NAEP data, nationwide, only 35% of students in the fourth grade can “read proficiently.” Similar data is reflected within my home state and town, with just over a third of students at the local and state level being able to read “proficiently or higher.”

Students aren’t faring well. So why would Democrats be against more choices to benefit students stuck in failing schools?

The current public-school system is as follows: Grocery Store A sells you a bad apple. You complain to management only to return and purchase yet another bad apple. Grocery Store B has apples of excellent quality, but because of government regulations, you can only shop at Grocer A because you live near that grocer.

With ESAs made possible, you’d be able to shop at Grocer B with no strings attached. As more people shop elsewhere for apples, Grocer A loses money and must decide whether to stock better apples or shut down its produce section.

By contrast, if a school is failing a student, what options exist for the concerned parent? Should she send yet another complaint to the superintendent? With an educational spending account, a mother could move her child to a better school. Should other parents follow suit, this would prompt underperforming schools to either improve or close their doors.

This free-market approach allows schools to compete and be their greatest. It’s what any concerned parent wants for their child, but it’s what liberal-leaning teachers unions and lobbyists oppose.

It’s simple; school choice aces the test for many parents who have demanded better. It checks all the boxes of inclusivity and opportunity — the very things Democrats claim to support. Politicians aiming for reelection must get behind this movement. We believe great schools should be rewarded, and as a concerned father and education advocate, I stand with millions of parents whose children deserve better than what has been delivered. I stand with Janiyah.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68449-stand-for-our-schools-2020-02-10

NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY47

INEVITABLE OUTCOME: Impeachment witness Alexander Vindman, who is suspected of releasing classified information, is fired and escorted out of White House after Trump acquittal (Fox News48)

SECOND IMPEACHMENT WITNESS SACKED: Trump recalls Ambassador Gordon Sondland (Washington Examiner49)

SIGNALING PRIORITIES: Trump budget would cut $4.4 trillion in spending, boosting defense while slashing safety nets and foreign aid (Fox News50)

BUTTIGIEG PREVAILS: Iowa Democrat Party awards Pete Buttigieg 14 delegates, Bernie Sanders 12 after caucus meltdown (Fox News51)

IF NOT FOR DOUBLE STANDARDS… Buttigieg argues for end of Electoral College after Iowa “victory” without popular vote (Breitbart52)

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: Buttigieg high-school essay praised “Profile in Courage” Bernie Sanders (The Daily Caller53)

BRAVO: Actor Gary Sinise recognized with Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Patriot Award for supporting veterans (Washington Examiner54)

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE… Obama-produced film wins Oscar; producer quotes Communist Manifesto in acceptance speech (The Daily Wire55)

COPS ATTACKED: Two New York officers shot in assassination attempts; Trump rips Mayor Bill de Blasio (USA Today56)

REPUBLICANS ATTACKED: Man deliberately rams vehicle into GOP tent full of volunteers (The Daily Wire57)

POLICY: China’s stranglehold on pharmaceuticals threatens Americans’ health and national security (Issues & Insights58)

POLICY: Unlike in Europe, the U.S. approach to climate change is actually working (Washington Examiner59)

HUMOR: Adam Schiff wins Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in a Fictional Impeachment (Genesius Times60)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights61.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68477-monday-news-executive-summary-2020-02-10

VIDEOS13

Video: Acquitted Forever62 — This impeachment has done a lot of damage — not to the intended target, though.
Video: All the Democrat Lies and Why They Matter63 — Simply stated: You can’t trust the Democrats. With anything.
Video: Trump Acquitted — Has He Learned His Lesson?64 — Bill Whittle thinks the president may — or should — understand now the restrictions on presidential behavior.
Video: Afghan Footage Shows What Actual Oppression Looks Like65 — Real sexism is entirely different from what our “woke” leftists claim.
Video: The Left Attacks Actress for Being Straight66 — The Left forced actress Jameela Jamil “out of the closet” after harassing her for being straight.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION67

68442 68458 68461 68459 68301

For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion67.

SHORT CUTS68

Insight: “We are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We are not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.” —Ronald Reagan

For the record: “I thought it was a terrible thing when [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] ripped up the speech. … It’s an official document. You’re not allowed. It’s illegal what she did. She broke the law.” —Donald Trump

Friendly fire: “The issue of this campaign … is that word ‘socialism.’ Some people like it, younger people like it, [but] those of us like me, who grew up in the Cold War and saw some aspects of it … don’t like it, OK? It’s not only not free, it doesn’t frickin work!” —MSNBC’s Chris Matthews

Braying jenny: “I’m stunned by [Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman’s firing]. I’ll talk to my colleagues about this because I know they have some concern about some of the interventions that the president has with our military. That’s such a shame. What a patriotic person.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

A blast from the past: “I don’t mind people coming up and calling me a communist.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders in 1972

Non sequitur: “We can give hundreds of millions of dollars to baseball players, but we’re telling the young people in America, ‘You want to be a teacher? You’re going to start off at a salary that you really can’t even survive on.’” —Bernie Sanders

The BIG Lie: “The truth is that our agenda is precisely the agenda that the overwhelming majority of the American people want.” —Bernie Sanders

Grand delusions: “I think once the Democratic Party is more certain about who the nominee is, you’re going to see a real coming together of everyone. I really do believe that. Trump represents the best unifier the Democratic Party could ever hope for.” —former Sen. Claire McCaskill

Non compos mentis: “Billionaires, they may own more shoes than the rest of us, they may own more cars, they may own more houses, but they shouldn’t own a bigger piece of our democracy.” —Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Village idiots: “They told me I only had 45 seconds up here, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week.” —Oscars winner Brad Pitt

And last… “Obama recalled ALL politically appointed ambassadors as soon as he took office. Remember that, liberals? No? Didn’t care until Trump does it?” —Liz Wheeler

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68475-monday-short-cuts-2020-02-10

TODAY’S MEME69

https://patriotpost.us/memes/68454-solution-2020-02-08

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union69.

TODAY’S CARTOON70

https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/28224

For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive70.

Join us in prayer for our Patriots in uniform and their families — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way, and for our nation’s First Responders. We also ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the Spirit of Liberty71 in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis