The Patriot Post Digest 11-18-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 11-18-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Nov. 18, 2016

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Obama swamps Trump with a regulatory flurry that will be harder to undo.
The New York Times thinks Democrats will work well with Trump.
Time to detox from the mindless MSM talkingheads.
Given Trump’s moderation on social issues, what does the future of marriage and religious liberty look like?
And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.” —George Washington (1783)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Obama’s Effort to Swamp Trump1

The conciliatory words offered by Barack Obama upon Donald Trump’s post-election visit2 to the White House — owing him “an open mind and the chance to lead” and “rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country” — appear to have been little more than empty words. Shocking, we know. Since the election, Obama has actively and aggressive sought to do everything in his power to stymie3 Trump’s stated agenda of reversing many of Obama’s failed socialist policies.

To that end, the Washington Free Beacon reports4, “The Obama administration set a new record Thursday by producing 527 pages worth of new rules and regulations in a single day, bringing the president’s Federal Register up to 81,640 total pages for 2016, the most ever.” Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry announced at the UN climate conference in Morocco that the U.S. is setting a new long term goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the year 2050. That’s on top of Obama’s recent signing of the Paris Agreement5. Trump has been clear in his plan to remove the U.S. from the agreement due to the damage it would cause to the economy and his skepticism over supposedly “settled climate science.”

Obama is figuratively pouring concrete into Washington’s toilets, making Trump’s job of cleaning the DC sewer that much more difficult and time consuming.

On a final note, though, if Trump’s choices for cabinet members and department heads are any indication, he is well prepared for the clean-up job. While he has often been derided for his ego and being overly sensitive to criticism, the choices Trump is making are quite encouraging. For example, Trump plans to meet with Mitt Romney to discuss a cabinet post rumored to be that of secretary of state. That would be quite a remarkable instance of the two men burying the hatchet6. Trump clearly understands that being a good CEO means surrounding yourself with the best talent out there in order to achieved the desired goals — goals that include dismantling Obama’s awful legacy.

Democrats' Deal With the Devil?7

If you listen to Democrats, Donald Trump is the worst thing ever to happen to our nation. But that evidently doesn’t mean they’re above working with him to get some of their agenda going. The Democrat National Committee New York Times reports8, “Congressional Democrats, divided and struggling for a path from the electoral wilderness, are constructing an agenda to align with many proposals of President-elect Donald J. Trump that put him at odds with his own party. On infrastructure spending, child tax credits, paid maternity leave and dismantling trade agreements, Democrats are looking for ways they can work with Mr. Trump and force Republican leaders to choose between their new president and their small-government, free-market principles.” Divide and conquer — it’s the Democrat way.

First off, don’t trust the Times, even if they have promised to “rededicate” to honest reporting9. But we’ll come back to that.

There’s reason to think the Demo strategy might work. For one thing, incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took more political cash from Trump10 than any other senator, dating all the way back to 1996, and the two have somewhat of a bond. “I’ve known Schumer for many, many years and I have a good relationship with him,” Trump said last year. “The fact is, that I think it is time maybe that we all do get along.” And for his part, Schumer said this week, “We’re not going to just, as some have done here in the past, say just because it’s President Trump’s idea or thought, we’re going to oppose it.”

Schumer may know that the best way to Trump’s heart is through flattery. And it’s also true that Trump isn’t ideologically opposed to things like more infrastructure spending or the other things the Times report listed.

That said, here’s a reality check for the Gray Lady: Mike Pence, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell will have a thing or two to say about what gets done. And given the thrashing Republicans just gave Democrats up and down the ballot, we’d venture to guess Trump isn’t quite as eager to work with Democrats as the Times would have us believe. After all, they’ll do anything to sell a picture of a fractured Republican Party.

The Mindless MSM Talkingheads — Time to Detox11

Long before sunrise each day, Patriot Post editors are reviewing hundreds of news and policy reports in order to segregate the few important trending stories from the endless loop of mainstream media noise.

All that noise occurs because news and opinion platforms, whether print, cable or online, are almost universally sustained by noxious advertising. Thus, those outlets are, first and foremost, compelled to recycle the hype, ad nauseam, in order to keep the ad revenue flowing. Some of the “conservative news” media outlets are as guilty of this hype as the Leftmedia — a prime example being the now-ubiquitous “Fox News Alert” banners.

Of course, print and cable media hold great contempt for competing online media — though print and cable media increasingly depend on their own online presence for ad revenue — arrogantly asserting that they are the only legitimate arbiters of news, policy and opinion.

A case in point would be a CNN story this week: “Trump supporters call to boycott Pepsi over comments the CEO never made12, which is both a hit piece about "Trump supporters” and a condemnation of online media, particularly Facebook, where many people now get their news. (The Patriot Post now has more than 500,000 Facebook followers.)

According to the CNN story, which, by the way can be read on Facebook, “Fake news has been a major issue during the election.” CNN goes on to blame “Facebook for not doing enough to remove false content,” and complains about “sites designed to trick people.”

Facebook is already blocking reputable conservative news and commentary, but that is beside the point. CNN leads the pack of propagandist “fake news” sites, and the ubiquitous reference to “Trump supporters” in this headline betrays that bias — as if there are not a plethora of examples of leftist groups propagating false information to foment discontent. Indeed, this CNN “news report” ends with a reference to some obscure “white supremacist” group in an effort to equate them with “Trump supporters,” no doubt evidence of yet another “whitelash” in the election night words of CNN talker Van Jones…

Fact is, consumers should be skeptical of all media sources — print, cable and online — especially those creating and recycling news hype, notably incessant polling13, in order to generate ad revenue. But the most unfettered resource for news, policy and opinion is the online medium, where the reputable exercise of First Amendment “freedom of speech” and of “the press” are most vibrant. It is time to detox from the relentless MSM claptrap.

Great Question — Glad You Asked!

In the closing months of each year, some of you ask this question:

“If The Patriot Post is free, why are you requesting support?”

Just as freedom isn’t free, neither is publishing. To protect our reputation and the integrity of our content, we’ve never accepted advertising. Nor have we ever charged a subscription fee, which would limit our ability to reach large numbers of students and young enlisted warriors.

We’re a small organization, and we depend on many Patriots who volunteer their time and effort to our mission, while others receive only a modest salary. However, our publishing and operational costs are substantial.

Because there isn’t a special interest or parent organization financially backing us, our team of editors and staff depend entirely on the voluntary financial support14 of Patriots like you for our operations budget.

We have only a few more weeks to raise the remaining half of our annual budget. Please support The Patriot Post14 today. Thank you, as always, for all you do for Liberty. —Mark Alexander, Publisher

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Michael Barone: Clinton’s Dishonesty Costs Her the Midwest — and the Election15
David Limbaugh: Obama’s Disconnects and Delusions16
David Harsanyi: Ignore the Mob. Long Live the Electoral College.17

For more, visit Right Opinion18.

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The Patriot Post Digest 11-18-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

TOP HEADLINES

Obama Condones Anti-Trump Protests19
Rep. Tim Ryan Challenges Pelosi for Leadership Role20
GOP Opts to Avoid Final Budget Deal With Obama21

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report22.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
The Future of Marriage23

By Michael Swartz

In the early days of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump was asked24 by an interviewer if same-sex marriage was now a dead issue. “Anybody that’s making that an issue is doing it for political reasons,” Trump asserted. “The Supreme Court ruled on it.” Trump reiterated his belief this past weekend25 in a “60 Minutes” interview, telling conservative Americans who just elected him, “These cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been settled, and I’m fine with that.”

If a voter was serious about preserving the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision26, this was an election where that voter had no wrong choice: Democrats tried mightily, but they couldn’t pin the homophobe label on Trump — even if they complained his rainbow flag was upside down27. Writing at National Review, Ian Tuttle summarized it well by stating, “Contrary to liberals' fever dreams, Donald Trump is the most socially progressive candidate the Republicans have ever put forward.”

The fact that Trump considers the marriage dispute settled law is a major rebuke to a party whose platform adopted just this summer28 contends, “Our laws and our government’s regulations should recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman and actively promote married family life as the basis of a stable and prosperous society. For that reason … we do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the states.”

This dichotomy is of particular interest to millions of evangelical Christians who voted for Trump. Many likely did so in hopes that he would nominate conservative jurists, and that still could be the case. At that point, his opinions on marriage don’t matter. While Trump has from time to time spoken about the fig leaf of what’s called a “reasonable compromise”29 for those who oppose same-sex nuptials on the grounds of religious liberty, those who wish to avoid the fate of Sweet Cakes by Melissa30 may not have enough time, nor deep enough pockets, to wait for a legion of like-minded jurists to restore marriage to its proper station. They will instead simply shrug their shoulders, pray for forgiveness, and submit so as not to attract the ire of the Rainbow Mafia.

In any case, it’s unlikely that the Supreme Court would hear a same-sex marriage case in the next few years. As “gay libertarian” Casey Given points out, the chances of overturning Obergefell are diminished31 with “61% of Americans32 approving of the institution.” He argues that the issue is settled at the federal level, so the next step in advocacy would be to fight the inevitable rear-guard actions within the several states. Given also delights at the prospect of homosexual appointees such as Richard Grenell, whom he cites as a favorite to be our UN ambassador. Another prominent such Trump supporter, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, is on the executive committee of Trump’s transition team.

Yet a nation of believers pinning their hopes for saving marriage on an unelected body of judges, or (more particularly) on a man who is deeply morally flawed on several counts — notwithstanding the fact that some in the religious community consider our president-elect a born-again “baby Christian”33 — is pure folly. For the time being, evangelical Americans will have to deal with the fact that there’s a small segment of the population being catered to by the Left (and increasingly the Right) in the effort to wield vast and crushing political power. In that case, being right or wrong based on biblical values isn’t a consideration.

What we’re up against is a philosophy eloquently outlined by the late Justice Antonin Scalia in his Obergefell dissent. He wrote, “This practice of constitutional revision by an unelected committee of nine, always accompanied (as it is today) by extravagant praise of liberty, robs the People of the most important liberty they asserted in the Declaration of Independence and won in the Revolution of 1776: the freedom to govern themselves.”

Our hope is that Republicans in Washington and around the country, fresh off a sweeping electoral win, can safeguard and restore some of the Liberty of which Scalia so eloquently wrote. Trump’s position is consequential, but it won’t make or break the issue.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

First Things First on National Security34 — There are three things Trump can do to get things on a more even keel.
Media Polling — Opiate of the Masses13 — More polling by the Leftmedia as it seeks to dictate national policy.
Pelosi’s Leadership Role in Question35 — Election 2016 turned into something Democrats never imagined possible.
Pardon Clinton? For What?36 — Jesse Jackson wants a pardon, which is hilariously problematic.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Michael Barone: “Liberal pundits Jonathan Alter and E.J. Dionne characterized the Clinton email lawbreaking and lies as non-scandals. Maybe they weren’t scandals in Chicago and Massachusetts, where they grew up, but they were in the outstate Midwest. Hints of Clinton’s general election weakness came in Democratic primaries, when she lost outstates badly in Wisconsin and Michigan and ran barely even in Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Maybe outstaters were voting not for Bernie Sanders' socialism but against Clinton’s ‘damn emails.’ Team Clinton is now saying it was beaten by FBI Director James Comey’s intervention. But Comey would not have been heard from if Clinton hadn’t broken the law. That’s a vote-loser in the outstate Midwest — and an election-loser in America.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The short memories of the American voters is what keeps our politicians in office.” —Will Rogers (1879-1935)

For the record: “Obama, in Greece, said world leaders should learn from the U.S. presidential election and pay attention to the public’s fears and frustration about the economy. Why? He never has. … He doesn’t think we’ve experienced horrors. He thinks the U.S. economy has been wonderful under his watch. Listening to him characterize his eight-year record is to witness willful blindness on a scale my willing suspension of disbelief is incapable of processing.” —David Limbaugh

A vast right-wing conspiracy, part I: “I believe that the Comey letter was a foul deed. It was a wrong thing to do. I have had great admiration for Director Comey. I just think he couldn’t take the heat.” —Nancy Pelosi

A vast right-wing conspiracy, part II: “There’s no question in my mind [Clinton] would have won this election without any problem if Comey had not been the Republican operative that he is. … He is the reason she lost the election.” —Harry Reid yesterday (“No one can question the integrity, the competence [of Comey].” —Reid in July)

A blind squirrel finds a nut: “We lost because of [an] awful lot of hard-working Americans who live in areas where we did not pay much attention to. Barack Obama won these people. They are not racist. They did not vote for the Democrats this time.” —Joe Biden

Getting it right: “In the liberal community, you hate this idea of creating people as a monolith. Don’t look as Muslims as a monolith. They are the individuals and it would be ignorance. But everybody who voted for Trump is a monolith, is a racist. That hypocrisy is also real in our country.” —Jon Stewart

Advice from the lecturer and divider in chief: “What may work in generating enthusiasm or passion during elections may be different than what will work in terms of unifying the country and gaining the trust even of those who didn’t support [Trump].” —Barack Obama

Alpha Jackass: “I would not advise people who feel strongly or are concerned about some of the issues that have been raised during the course of the campaign — I wouldn’t advise them to be silent.” —Barack Obama (Maybe he could at least tell them to stop being hateful and rioting.)

And last… “This week, anti-Trump protesters hit the streets in big cities around the country, chanting ‘This is what democracy looks like!’ Yes. That’s the problem.” —David Harsanyi

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson

Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.