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Title: The Patriot Post Digest 10-31-2016 Post by: nChrist on October 31, 2016, 03:04:27 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 10-31-2016 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ Mid-Day Digest Oct. 31, 2016 IN TODAY’S EDITION What we do know and what we don’t know about the reopened FBI investigation. Once again, the “most transparent administration ever” conceals details about the Iran ransom. The Oregon occupiers are acquitted. This time. What have Democrats ever done for blacks? And more news, policy and opinion. THE FOUNDATION “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) TOP RIGHT HOOKS The FBI Files on Clinton: ‘What Difference Does It Make?’1 Recall for a moment that just four days prior to the 1992 election, as President George H.W. Bush was surging in the polls against his opponent Bill Clinton, a special prosecutor and his FBI investigators issued charges against Ronald Reagan2 era Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. At the time, Clinton applauded the charges3 and claimed that Reagan’s then-vice president personifies a “culture of corruption.” Those charges were later dismissed, but the well-timed damage was done. Fast forward to last Friday’s announcement by FBI Director James Comey that his agents are reviewing newly discovered communications found on a computer that Hillary Clinton’s senior advisor and key confidant for the last 20 years, Huma Abedin, shared with her husband, former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner. Comey previously announced the conclusion of his investigation4 into Clinton’s illegal off-grid communication concealment last July, well ahead of the election — ostensibly in order not to have undue influence on a presidential election. However, now, in a separate investigation to determine whether Weiner was soliciting sex with minors, at least 1,000 of Abedin’s emails relevant to the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s classified communications were discovered. At best, these new concealed emails violate Abedin’s compliance with FBI subpoenas associated with Clinton’s illegal classified email communications. At worst for Clinton, she may yet face indictment based on the newly discovered emails. There are two indications of how serious this new discovery is: First, it is highly unusual for Comey to revive this investigation so close to a presidential election — and to do so in defiance of his Justice Department superiors. Indeed, predictably, Sen. Harry Reid fired off a protest letter to Comey, charging, “Your actions have demonstrated a disturbing double standard for the treatment of sensitive investigation and what appears to be a clear intent to aid one political party over another.” (Asked to respond to those charges, Rep. Trey Gowdy, who chaired the House Benghazi Committee, quipped, “I did not know Mormons used drugs.”) Second, when asked about the new developments, Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, said he’s “got to read a little more” about it before commenting. Kaine did NOT dismiss the new developments. Clinton has refused to answer any questions about the reopened inquiry. So here is what we know. Hillary Clinton5 is a pathological liar6 who kept all of her official communications as secretary of state off grid in order to conceal them from public scrutiny7. She has thus far succeeded in keeping her role in deadly charades like the Benghazi cover-up8 ahead of Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election hidden, so as not to interfere with her planned 2016 presidential aspirations. The Clintons are masters at the art of maintaining plausible deniability, and when her secret communication servers were discovered, she ordered her staff to destroy any emails that might create problems for her campaign — a day after subpoenas for those communications were issued. It is also clear that Democrats have lost their love connection9 with Comey. Here is what we don’t know. It’s not clear that the newly discovered communications contain anything that would indicate criminal activity by Clinton or Abedin, and Comey’s notice to congressional investigators was a formality, not an indication of indictable discoveries. However, at FBI headquarters, there are many agents who have privately protested that the original investigation was rigged in Clinton’s favor. And a final note — Hillary Clinton can’t blame this one on “Russian hackers,” but she might claim the FBI is trying to “rig the election.” Obama’s Opaque Transparency10 Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mike Pompeo (R-KS) sent Attorney General Loretta Lynch a series of questions regarding her role in the Iran ransom11 payment deal. The two senators say Lynch chose to “essentially plead the fifth and refused to respond to inquiries regarding [her] role in providing cash to the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.” Even though the details surrounding the ransom payment aren’t classified, the Justice Department sent a letter to Congress informing lawmakers not to publicly disclose any details about the cash payment. This response from Lynch is par for the course. Barack Obama’s attorney general has continuously obfuscated when asked to respond on various matters related to questionable, at best, behavior by her boss’s administration. In fact, her tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton12 prior to the FBI’s initial conclusion on its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email scandal has raised serious questions of collusion. “Who knew that simple questions regarding Attorney General Lynch’s approval of billions of dollars in payments to Iran could be so controversial that she would refuse to answer them?” Pompeo said. Rubio and Pompeo are again requesting that Lynch provide answers to their previous questions by Nov. 4. Clearly Obama is stonewalling. He doesn’t want the American public knowing any more details about how the Iran ransom deal transpired or finding any more revelations about other conciliatory components of the Iran nuclear deal. The Iran deal was bad from the beginning and is only proving to be even more problematic as Iran has clearly taken advantage of Obama’s near-sighted desire to create a legacy of negotiated peace. When transparency reveals failings and unnecessary compromises, the “most transparent administration in history” suddenly becomes quite opaque. The truth is Obama has only been consistently transparent in his disdain for conservatives and the nation’s foundational values. Title: The Patriot Post Digest 10-31-2016 Post by: nChrist on October 31, 2016, 03:05:33 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 10-31-2016 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ Oregon Occupiers Acquitted13 In January, we reported that a group of armed activists took over the closed and unoccupied headquarters building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Oregon, part of an escalating conflict over land use out West. They stayed for 41 days. The only casualty was the occupiers' spokesman, Robert LaVoy Finicum, who was killed by law enforcement in what the district attorney ruled a justified shooting. The occupiers vigorously dispute that characterization. Rancher Ammon Bundy led the group, and if his name sounds familiar it’s because he’s the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who had a similar standoff with the feds in 2014. Essentially, this Oregon dispute arose from two things: First, the truly unjust treatment and sentencing of Dwight Hammond and his son Steven, ranchers punished for arson after they managed controlled burns on their property a decade ago; second, the use of the federal land at the wildlife refuge — Bundy and the other ranchers claim the feds have unlawfully taken it, and the ranchers should be able to continue using it. There’s no question the federal government possesses far too much land14 in the West, and undue restrictions are abundant. On Thursday, a federal jury in Portland, Oregon, acquitted all seven defendants of conspiracy to impede federal officers through intimidation, threats or force. Four of the men were also found not guilty of firearms charges. Ammon and Ryan Bundy remain in custody, however, to face trial in Nevada next year along with their father. The Wall Street Journal reports15, “Eleven other defendants in the case have pleaded guilty, while seven are set to stand trial in February.” The trial didn’t proceed or end without incident, either. One juror was dismissed after another juror wrote to the judge asking, “Can a juror, a former employee of the Bureau of Land Management, who opens their remarks in deliberations by stating ‘I am very biased’ be considered an impartial judge in this case?” And Ammon Bundy’s attorney, Marcus Mumford, was tackled, tased and taken into custody by U.S. marshals after he began shouting that his client go free despite his impending Nevada trial. We’ll say one thing for the Bundys and Co.: They don’t go down without a fight. BEST OF RIGHT OPINION Peggy Noonan: The Great Disappointment of 201616 Imprimis: Who We Are as a People — The Syrian Refugee Question17 Todd Starnes: University of Texas: No Cowboy or Indian Costumes18 For more, visit Right Opinion19. TOP HEADLINES Transgender Case Lands in SCOTUS20 Russia Voted Off UN Human Rights Council21 Garner’s Daughter Hits Hillary’s Exploits22 For more, visit Patriot Headline Report23. FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS What Have Democrats Done for Blacks?24 By Robin Smith While politics is about policies and the role and scope of government, politicians' appeal to voters is the critical aspect of those proposals in winning elections. This reality created the class-driven politics of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt era and the 1960s-identity politics that we still see today. In this presidential cycle, identity politics continue with emphasis on the women’s vote, the Hispanic vote and the black vote as opportunities to tickle the ears of these voting blocs with specific messages and promises. Without question, Democrats have excelled in controlling these demographics for decades due to skillful manipulation of issues that create victims of whichever group needs rescuing while painting Republicans as misogynists, racists and bigots. Democrats always present their solutions through the lens of government control, even to the point of becoming a ward of the state, in contrast to Republicans who offer personal achievement and responsibility yielding individual freedoms and prosperity. Yeah, who’d want that, right? Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has approached the black vote just like he’s approached every other aspect of his campaign — vacant of nuance or poll-tested phrases. Instead, Trump directly challenged black voters: What do you have to lose? He made a speech last week offering his plan for black Americans based on “three promises: safe communities, great education and high-paying jobs.” True to less-than-articulate form, The Donald told a Toledo, Ohio, rally, “And we’re going to work on our — ghettos…” He continued to note these areas to have “so many horrible, horrible problems — the violence, the death, the lack of education, no jobs.” Naturally, Hillary Clinton’s Leftmedia apparatus latched onto the politically incorrect word “ghetto” so as to charge Trump with racism. Not even a year ago, calling attention to “too many communities, from Baltimore to St. Louis to Oakland to Memphis to Chicago” a Dec. 10, 2015, CNN article25 noted the “need for reconstruction in impoverished urban areas” citing the dismal situation in Chicago where “a quarter of black adults and half of black youth are unemployed, about 50 public schools have closed in recent years, along with more than 70 grocery stores and dozens of businesses.” Continuing in the piece written by Wayne Drash and Bill Kirkos, “There are more jobs to be had in the ghetto than there are people.” Oh, wait! That was Jesse Jackson admonishing Barack Obama and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — both Democrats — for failing to address key issues in the black community, while using the same term “ghetto.” Funny, isn’t it? Two men use the term “ghetto,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “a part of a city in which members of a particular group or race live usually in poor conditions.” One is mocked and framed as an out-of-touch man of white privilege and the other makes his living keeping black voters on the take. Actually, that’s not funny. It’s pathetic and outrageous. What have Americans whose skin at birth has more melanin gained from the Democrats? Even though history documents the true home of racial violence, such as the Ku Klux Klan26, is the Democrat Party, while the earliest elected blacks were in the Republican Party, let’s just focus on the years of the first black president and the hard data. Per the U.S. Census, the poverty rate of black children in 2015 was 32.9%, an improvement from 35.7% when Barack Obama took office in January 2009. During that same window of time, the number of white children born into poverty has fallen from 17.7% to 17.2%. Looking at seniors, Caucasian 65-year-olds have lived in poverty at a rate that fluctuated at 7.5%. For black seniors, 19.5% were in poverty when Obama was sworn in with a reduction to 18.4% last year. Title: The Patriot Post Digest 10-31-2016 Post by: nChrist on October 31, 2016, 03:06:34 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 10-31-2016 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ For unemployment, the black unemployment rate was at 12.7% in January 2009 and peaked at 16.8% in March 2010, adjusted to remove those who had given up looking or were underemployed. In September 2016, black unemployment was recorded at 8.3%. For white adults, however, the unemployment rate has consistently been about half that of blacks. Relative to more subjective characteristics, the turmoil within the urban communities in the grips of gang activity and the economy of illicit drug sales is raging. As Jesse Jackson declared in December of last year, Democrats have failed “to address blighted inner cities and renew hope for black America.” The greatest hope the inner-city family should cling to in the candidacy of Donald Trump is his support of school choice that frees children trapped by a zip code in failing schools instead of the protected mediocrity enforced by educrats and their school union cartel — a cartel endorsed by the NAACP27. Trump promises choice where money follows the child to the school of their choosing. What a concept! Trump has been blunt. Specifically, he has declared to black voters, “My vision rests on a principle that has defined this campaign: America First…” Citing the role of black Americans in defending our great nation in battle and beliefs, Trump strides headlong into the fact that all citizens of this nation are his priority — Americans, not illegal immigrants who are sought by corporatists to drive down their cost of labor and compete for entry-level and lower-skilled jobs. That disproportionately harms blacks. “I promise that under a Trump administration the law will be applied fairly, equally and without prejudice,” the GOP nominee offers. Wow. Think of that. “There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.” Those were once the lofty campaign words of Barack Obama. As Sun Tzu described an impotent king, his words paint the likes of Obama and many in black leadership, “The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds.” MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST (Loretta) Lynch Mob ‘Justice’28 — The AG is still going after “racist” cops. Democrats' Love for Comey Vanishes9 — The narrative falls apart. It’s Time for Marketing School29 — The growth of charter schools is affecting public school funding. OPINION IN BRIEF Peggy Noonan: “What I’m thinking about this week is a focus group led by Peter Hart, the veteran Democratic pollster, Tuesday night, in Charlotte, N.C., still a toss-up state. Present were a dozen late-decider voters, three Democrats, six Republicans and three independents. What struck me about the group wasn’t its new insights, which were few. What was powerful was its averageness, its confirmation of what you’ve already observed. The members weren’t sad, precisely, but they were unillusioned. They were seeing things with clean eyes and they were disappointed. They wanted a candidate they could trust and believe in. Which when you think about it shouldn’t be too much to ask. Raise your hand, said Mr. Hart, if you like both candidates. No one did. Raise your hand if you like one candidate. No one did. Raise if you don’t like either. All 12 did. … Watching the next day, online, I couldn’t stop thinking of what we all know. Oh, how the two big parties have let these good people down.” SHORT CUTS The Gipper: “Trust the people. This is the one irrefutable lesson of the entire postwar period contradicting the notion that rigid government controls are essential to economic development.” Upright: “Right now, the vast majority of Democrats are furiously angry that Comey did not withhold information from Congress, because it would be politically embarrassing to Hillary Clinton. That’s not supposed to be a priority of the FBI Director.” —Jim Geraghty For the record: “The Clintons, that’s a crime family. It’s like organized crime, basically. The Clinton Foundation is a cesspool.” —former New York FBI chief James Kallstrom (No wonder there was resistance to a thorough Clinton Foundation probe.) Braying Jackass: “I am writing to inform you that my office has determined that these actions may violate the Hatch Act, which bars FBI officials from using their official authority to influence an election. Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law.” —Harry Reid to James Comey A vast right-wing conspiracy: “I think this was a terrible error in judgment by the director to release this kind of ambiguous letter. … That kind of an ambiguity bomb this close to election was a terrible lapse in judgment.” —Rep. Adam Schiff Friendly fire, part I: “I am deeply concerned that we will have a constitutional crisis if she’s elected. I want to learn more this week, see what we see, but as of today, I am not a supporter of the secretary of state for the nation’s highest office.” —Democrat analyst Doug Schoen Friendly fire, part II: “If ruling Democrats hold themselves to the high moral standards they impose on the people they govern, they would follow a simple process: They would demand that Mrs. Clinton step down, immediately, and let her vice presidential nominee, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, stand in her place.” —Chicago Tribune’s John Kass And last… “Comey should err on the side of maximum disclosure consistent with the integrity of the investigation, but the entire episode goes to show what a bad idea it is for a political party to knowingly nominate someone who is likely guilty of criminal offenses.” —Rich Lowry 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. |