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Title: The Patriot Post Digest 4-10-2018 Post by: nChrist on April 10, 2018, 05:38:34 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 4-10-2018 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest Apr. 10, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/55265-mid-day-digest IN TODAY’S EDITION Trump’s attorney is in Mueller’s crosshairs. Congress should ignore Zuckerberg and protect user privacy. Syria is still a big mess with no easy solutions. Are refugees good or bad? Depends on who you ask. Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts. THE FOUNDATION “Nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community.” —Benjamin Rush (1788.) FEATURED ANALYSIS Mueller Goes After Trump’s Attorney1 By Thomas Gallatin On Monday, the FBI conducted no-knock raids on the office and home of President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, taking his phone, computer and personal financial records. The Washington Post reported that Cohen “is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud, and campaign finance violations,” and that this raid is directly tied to special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation. Upon learning of the raid, a clearly frustrated Trump responded by calling it “a disgrace.” He added, “I have this witch hunt constantly going on for over 12 months now or longer. It’s an attack on our country in a true sense; it’s an attack on what we all stand for.” Trump then reiterated that he has been repeatedly urged to fire Mueller and end the investigation. Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, called the FBI’s raid tactics “inappropriate and unnecessary,” pointing out that Cohen has “cooperated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath.” Cohen has long been a subject/target of the Mueller investigation because of his close working relationship with Trump over the years. When the story broke about Trump’s alleged 2006 affair2 with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and a subsequent large payment of hush money, Cohen defended Trump, claiming that Trump had no knowledge of the payment, which Cohen had paid out of his own pocket, and that he was not reimbursed by Trump. And last week Trump backed up this claim, saying he had no knowledge of a payment3 to Daniels. Cohen further explained, “The payment to [Stephanie] Clifford [a.k.a. Daniels] was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone.” Alan Dershowitz, a liberal Harvard Law professor, reacted to the news, saying, “This is a very dangerous day today for lawyer-client relations.” He explained, “I tell [clients] on my word of honor that what you tell me is sacrosanct. And now they say, just based on probable cause … they can burst into the office, grab all the computers and then give it to another FBI agent and say, ‘You’re the firewall. We want you now to read all these confidential communications, tell us which ones we can get and which ones we can’t get.’” Dershowitz astutely noted, “If this were Hillary Clinton being investigated and they went into her lawyer’s office, the ACLU would be on every television station in America, jumping up and down. The deafening silence from the ACLU and civil libertarians about the intrusion into the lawyer-client confidentiality is really appalling.” There is, of course, a big exception4 to attorney-client privilege when it comes to crime, but this instance is murky. Once again it appears that Mueller is hard at work seeking a serious charge against Trump. And with this latest move it looks as if Mueller is aiming at hanging a campaign-finance violation on Trump. So much for the Russian collusion gambit, but as we have repeatedly warned, these special investigations are given such broad authority and power to investigate that they rarely actually bring charges based on their initial impetus. And yet they rarely come up empty-handed either. Trump’s low moral character5 only makes that more likely. Ignore Zuckerberg — What Congress Should Legislate6 By Mark Alexander Facebook’s billionaire CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, an adolescent darling of the Left, is being paraded up Capitol Hill this week, where he will be answering questions about individual data privacy violations7 in the wake of his data-mining deal with Cambridge Analytica. Notably, objections to the latter came to light only after it was discovered that they provided consultation for Donald Trump’s8 2016 campaign. Fact is, Barack Obama’s9 2012 campaign was far more invasive10 with Facebook user data, but there were no objections then. Zuckerberg’s self-serving objectives11 should not frame congressional legislation objectives. In his prepared remarks12, Zuckerberg notes, “Facebook is an idealistic and optimistic company. … Just recently, we’ve seen the #MeToo movement and the March for Our Lives, organized, at least in part, on Facebook.” Attempting to divert from the privacy issues, Zuckerberg hopes Congress will focus on what he claims is the real problem13: “fake news, foreign interference in elections, and hate speech…” According to Zuckerberg, “It’s not enough to just connect people. We have to make sure those connections are positive. It’s not enough to just give people a voice. We have to make sure people aren’t using it to hurt people or spread misinformation.” In other words, the company is aggressively implementing its Orwellian content-censoring programs to determine what it deems suitable for you to see or not see in your news feeds — regardless of the pages you have selected to follow. And its censorship protocols defining what is “fake, hateful or hurtful” favor leftist ideology14. Consequently, the more than 500,000 followers of The Patriot Post on Facebook are not as likely to see our content in their news feeds. In other words, yes, Zuckerberg is concerned about the negative press regarding Facebook’s dissemination of data without user consent. Indeed, users have a reasonable expectation that such information would be private. But Facebook’s business model is not about “connecting friends and loved ones15,” as Zuckerberg would like you to believe, but about profiling users to market their information to advertisers and a plethora of other third-party customers. As we have noted repeatedly in our coverage about Facebook privacy issues, Facebook is not the product; Facebook users are the product. And nobody should be shocked that Facebook is collecting all the user data it can16 to sell that product. But there are millions of social media users who are clueless about invasive data mining by social media and other companies. So what should Congress do? Ignore Zuckerberg’s agenda. Congress has the authority to protect consumer privacy through legislation, and in the case of Facebook and other aggregators of private data (which should be classified as private property), that legislation should include explicit requirements regarding the dissemination of consumer data and profiles. When it comes to invasive privacy violations — the collecting and marketing of individual profiles — a ubiquitous blanket “user agreement” is completely insufficient. Congress should enact legislation requiring that social media and other aggregators of individual data (Facebook, Google, et al.) be required to obtain specific and explicit user permissions for each and every transfer of such data, prior to the sale or transfer of any individually identifiable profiling data. The aggregators will argue about what constitutes “private” — that the data they collect is not private. But by any reasonable definition, the individual data in question most certainly is private. Title: The Patriot Post Digest 4-10-2018 Post by: nChrist on April 10, 2018, 05:39:57 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 4-10-2018 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ Facebook and other data aggregators are already enormously profitable from ad revenues. The internal use of individual profile data to determine what ads and content a user may be more interested in may be a legitimate use of that data. But exporting that data individually or in aggregate should require explicit permissions — and violations should be enormously costly to social media companies. I expect the congressional testimony will result in little more than political stage props and do little or nothing to protect the marketing of private user data. Top Headlines17 $1 trillion deficits to return, national debt to rise, projects CBO (taxpayer-funded NPR18.) Lynch: Comey didn’t question calling Clinton case a “matter” (The Washington Free Beacon19) Some 200 migrants in Mexico caravan to seek U.S. asylum (Reuters20) China’s president offers U.S. possible trade concessions (Associated Press21) Two black conservatives, Diamond and Silk, accuse Facebook of discrimination, censorship over “unsafe” label (The Daily Signal22) Trump appointee at center of fight over religious freedom (The Hill23) Missouri Gov. Greitens’ ex-lover accuser admits photo evidence may have been a “dream” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch24) Abortion-rights groups sue Mississippi over dozens of restrictions (National Review25) Good news: Why Americans’ life expectancy is getting longer (UPI26) Humor: In response to growing number of fistfights, London mayor bans hands (The Babylon Bee27) Policy: In Syria we need strength, not another war (Washington Examiner28.) Policy: Every day is Equal Pay Day (Washington Examiner29) For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report30. What Are You Doing For Liberty? Sometimes readers ask us: What good will a donation to The Patriot Post do in the fight for Liberty? Good question. The answer is that we’re a leading advocate of Liberty and limited government through our hard-hitting daily news analysis. By covering the latest headline stories from a constitutional perspective, we provide grassroots Patriots with a resource that can’t be found in the mainstream media. Arming conservatives with the Right perspective is essential in combatting the Left’s relentless assault on the Rule of Law. But we need your financial support to keep that coming. Because there isn’t a special interest or parent organization financially backing us, we rely on the generosity of our readers, many of whom donate in the $26 range. Please make a secure online donation today31 to help fund our daily operations into the summer. Thank you for standing with us! —Nate Jackson, Managing Editor MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST No Easy Solution in Syria36 — It seems to be déjŕ vu all over again as the U.S. considers how to handle Syria’s latest chemical attack. Nothing to Fear From Refugees?37 — Two new studies paint contrasting portraits of the issue of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. Trump Ends Dubious ‘Catch & Release’ Policy38 — New policy is to detain illegals caught crossing until they are processed and deported. Video: SNL Black Jeopardy39 — Shanice, Rashad and T'Challa (Black Panther) compete on Black Jeopardy, hosted by Darnell Hayes. BEST OF RIGHT OPINION Dennis Prager: Whatever the Left Touches It Ruins40 Ken Blackwell: In Neil Gorsuch, Trump Kept His Promise to the American People41 Hans von Spakovsky: 10 Questions Mark Zuckerberg Should Answer When He Testifies Before Congress42 Cal Thomas: Syria, Trump and Isolationism43 George Will: How Should America Respond to Syria’s Use of Chemical Weapons?44 For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion45. OPINION IN BRIEF Ken Blackwell: “On April 10, Justice Neil Gorsuch will celebrate his first anniversary on the United States Supreme Court. President Donald Trump and his supporters should celebrate as well, because in Gorsuch, Trump kept one of his core campaign promises to the American people. … During the campaign Clinton boasted that she had ‘a bunch of litmus tests’ for her nominees, meaning she expected them not to be impartial and approach each case on its merits but to vote certain ways to achieve her preferred policy ends. In sharp contrast, Trump offered a list that was carefully crafted to include only thoughtful, principled jurists with a record of interpreting the Constitution with both originalism and textualism. In doing so, he gave Americans a voice in determining the direction of the Supreme Court. … Gorsuch’s track record from his first year on the bench shows Trump — and the American people — chose well. Since his confirmation, Gorsuch has consistently argued in defense of Americans’ constitutional rights. … Justice Gorsuch has said that the duty of a judge ‘is to say what the law is, not what it should be.’ That is the hallmark of a fair and independent judge — precisely the sort Trump promised voters.” SHORT CUTS Insight: “The enemies of freedom do not argue; they shout and they shoot.” —William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) Upright: “The Middle East is a mess and has been for some time. No one-size policy fits all circumstances, but premature withdrawal is not a policy, at least not one that will lead to victory or at a minimum stability. Perhaps President Trump can get our allies to share more of the cost and burden. For certain, both cost and burden will be much greater if he follows in President Obama’s footsteps and makes a decision that feels good at first but in the end exacts a much higher price.” —Cal Thomas Preach! “The only way to save Western civilization is to convince more people that leftism — not liberalism — is a nihilistic force. Quite literally, whatever the Left touches it ruins.” —Dennis Prager “Journalism”: “Who would force [Trump] to comply with the subpoena ordering him to do an interview with Robert Mueller? … What if he refuses to open the White House door? What if he fires any Secret Service agent who would allow the federal marshals in? What if Donald Trump simply decides, ‘I don’t have to follow the law. I refuse to be held under the law. No marshal can get into this White House, and any Secret Service agent that defies me is fired’?” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid Non Compos Mentis: “You can hear the faint applause from heaven of this country’s founding fathers, who bequeathed to us a nation where the rule of law is supreme.” —MSNBC’s Steve Schmidt condoning Robert Mueller’s raid on Trump’s attorney Alpha Jackass: “Would any of us put it past President Trump to decide that a nice little military adventure in Syria might be a nice distraction from [Mueller]?” —Ron Reagan And last… “So John Kerry was hoodwinked by Syria that 100% of its chemical weapons were gone, but Iran is super-sticking to its nuke deal.” —Twitter satirist @hale_razor 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. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen. Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis Nate Jackson, Managing Editor Mark Alexander, Publisher |