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Title: The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2018 Post by: nChrist on May 01, 2018, 05:23:09 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2018 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest May 1, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/55688-mid-day-digest IN TODAY’S EDITION Benjamin Netanyahu nukes the idea that Iran has ever not lied about its nukes. Mueller’s questions for Trump are leaked and they reveal… Dems have turned Senate “advice and consent” into another arm of the Resistance. Where did a few hundred unaccompanied minors go? Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts. THE FOUNDATION “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” —John Adams (1770) IN BRIEF Yes, Obama’s Iran Nuke Deal Really Was the Sum of All Lies1 Nate Jackson Just yesterday, we wrote2 about the upcoming negotiations and policy considerations surrounding Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal — how President Donald Trump was facing pressure from European allies to once again waive sanctions and continue pretending everything is all well and good. Soon after we published, along came Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to effectively nuke the idea that Iran has ever done anything but lie about its nuclear program. Israeli intelligence collected a massive amount of intelligence — literally half a ton3 of materials — proving that Iran hid its nuclear weapons program for two decades. And the U.S. has verified it4. “I am here to tell you one thing: Iran lied,” Netanyahu said. “After signing the nuclear deal in 2015, Iran intensified its efforts to hide its secret files.” He continued, “We’ve known for years that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program called Project Amad. We can now prove that Project Amad was a comprehensive program to design, build and test nuclear weapons. We can also prove that Iran is secretly storing Project Amad material to use at a time of its choice to develop nuclear weapons.” Those weapons include a goal of five 10-kiloton nuclear warheads, all to go with its ballistic missile program that Obama allowed to continue. As part of the ruse, Iran ensured that some of its program was dual-use — nuclear energy, not weapons. But it continued covert work on nuclear weapons, particularly at its Fordow facility, and lied to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about that work and Project Amad. So much for what it insisted were “peaceful purposes.” Obama’s nuclear deal was built on lies, just as we said from the beginning5. The worst part is that Obama and his secretary of state, John Kerry, weren’t duped — they were part of the con, all in search of a legacy for Obama. And what a horrible legacy it was6, too. Bloomberg’s Eli Lake observes7, “Advocating for a pact in 2015, John Kerry said American agencies had ‘absolute knowledge’ about the regime’s past nuclear efforts. Oops.” Except it wasn’t an “oops.” Team Obama deliberately looked the other way and deceived the world. Now, Lake says, “Beyond the fate of the nuclear deal, the Israeli intelligence also presents a crisis for the [1970] Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a member. If verified, it shows that Iran has systematically lied to weapons inspectors for nearly 20 years. If Iran doesn’t pay a price for its deception, then what is to stop future rogues from following the Iran model?” Even if Trump now pulls out of the deal, however, Europe may stand by it. The Washington Examiner’s Tom Rogan argues8, “Yet while Israel’s intelligence community, the Mossad in particular, deserves immense credit for successfully seizing and extricating this material from an Iranian stronghold, it is unlikely to persuade Europe’s big three (Britain, France and Germany) to join Trump in withdrawing from the deal. To persuade those leaders to do so, Netanyahu would have needed to show evidence of continuing, covert Iranian efforts either to construct a nuclear weapon or to secretly enrich uranium beyond the low-level cap the current agreement allows for medical research. That was not on display [Monday].” Time will soon tell what Trump does, but in discussing Netanyahu’s report in a Monday press conference, he made another important strategic point: Pulling out of the Iran deal would send “the right message” to North Korea. https://patriotpost.us/articles/55683-yes-obamas-iran-nuke-deal-really-was-the-sum-of-all-lies Mueller’s Leaky Investigation Getting Desperate?9 Thomas Gallatin Someone within Robert Mueller’s special investigation leaked to The New York Times more than four dozen questions10 on a range of topics that Mueller presented to President Donald Trump’s lawyers in his pursuit of an interview. The Times does not state how it received the information, but the paper reports: The open-ended queries appear to be an attempt to penetrate the president’s thinking, to get at the motivation behind some of his most combative Twitter posts and to examine his relationships with his family and his closest advisers. They deal chiefly with the president’s high-profile firings of the F.B.I. director and his first national security adviser, his treatment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and a 2016 Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton. Trump responded to the news by slamming the leaks, while noting that the questions did not directly ask about any attempt at Russian collusion. Trump declared, “So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were ‘leaked’ to the media. No questions on Collusion. Oh, I see…you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice!” He added, “It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened! Witch Hunt!” This is now the second time the Mueller team has leaked significant information to the press. Back in October, the special investigation leaked that it had raised charges against several individuals. At the time, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, blasted the Mueller investigation11 for the leak, stating, “In the only conversation I’ve had with Robert Mueller, I stressed to him the importance of cutting out the leaks. It’s kind of ironic that the people charged with investigating the law and the violations of the law would violate the law.” And Gowdy has been one of the few Republicans defending the Mueller investigation. As for the questions themselves, they make even more clear that Mueller has given up the Russian collusion angle, instead honing in on a case of obstruction. The number of questions dealing with Trump’s past public statements surrounding his firing of former FBI Director James Comey, for example, indicate that Mueller is looking for inconsistencies to exploit. And Trump, who so often shoots from the hip when publicly commenting on his decisions, could easily become entangled in a legal trap. He would be wise to avoid giving Mueller the opportunity. Title: The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2018 Post by: nChrist on May 01, 2018, 05:24:25 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2018 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ That may explain the motivation behind Mueller’s leak. Is it a gambit designed to keep the negative news spotlight on Trump, thus building public pressure to force Trump into an interview? Could it also be an attempt to justify to the public the “need” to keep the investigation going by implying that the answers to these questions are the only way to determine whether a crime was committed? Whatever the motivation, Gowdy’s observation back in October bears repeating: “People charged with investigating the law and violations of the law” should not themselves be violating the law. https://patriotpost.us/articles/55684-muellers-leaky-investigation-getting-desperate Top Headlines12 Trump delays steel and aluminum tariffs for Canada, Mexico and European Union, pulling back on major trade threat (The Washington Post13) U.S. May Day immigration protests target Trump, fall elections (Associated Press14) Border standoff: Caravan organizers vow to outlast U.S. government (The Washington Times15) DOJ files charges against 11 suspected caravan members for illegal border crossing (The Hill16) Prosecution for immigration crimes rising again (The Washington Free Beacon17) Reports of sexual assault in military jump 10% (ABC News18.) Gas prices could make this the most expensive summer for driving in four years (Fortune19) Another socialist success: Venezuela imports oil from U.S. (Reason20) The thrill is gone: Democrat Party losing support of young voters, says massive poll (The Washington Times21) Media falsely accuse NRA of banning guns at Mike Pence speech (National Review22) Policy: Significant — and necessary — reforms for the next farm bill (The Heritage Foundation23) Policy: Pruitt’s rule ending secret science is pro-science, pro-consumer (Competitive Enterprise Institute24) For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report25. https://patriotpost.us/articles/55685-tuesday-top-headlines FEATURED ANALYSIS To Dems, Advice and Consent Means Attack and Contempt26 Robin Smith As prescribed by the Constitution, the United States Senate provides “advice and consent” on nominations to executive and judicial nominations made by the president. Over the last 100 years, the Senate has voted to reject a nominee only three times — nominations made by Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush. In its tutorial on the Senate process, The Heritage Foundation notes27, “Historically, the Senate has confirmed most presidential nominations, but ‘in rare instances’ a vote to confirm a major appointment has failed on the Senate floor.” While it is still rare for a failed vote of the entire Senate, it has in recent decades become standard procedure for Democrats to gratuitously attack, smear and obstruct qualified men and women chosen to serve America. Since the presidency of Bill Clinton, 13 Cabinet nominations were withdrawn from consideration due to “political dustups.” In the almost 16 months of the Trump administration, there have been 24 nominations withdrawn from consideration. Why the discrepancy? The #Resistance. When Democrats are not in power, their only objective is to return to power. Period. There is no authentic effort for bipartisan accomplishments or dialogue. Despite the high-soaring rhetoric demanding civility and work for a common good, when Democrats are in the minority, they operate through tantrums, petulance, anger dripping with hatred and a high level of self-declared intellectual and moral superiority. Hence, when it comes to operating the federal agencies of government or the judiciary, the end goal for Democrats is to create dysfunction and failure. And, yes, there’s proof. Let’s look at three nominees — one in office, one just confirmed and one rejected. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is being dogged28 by allegations of a list of expenses deemed extravagant. If spending was ever an issue, we wouldn’t have seen the IRS employees of the Barack Obama years sitting in hot tubs sipping beverages from fluted glasses. The real issue is that Pruitt’s successfully tearing down the altar of worship to the most-high god of the radical dirt people. These ecofascists know that Pruitt will continue to enact the same philosophy toward environmental regulation that he sought as Oklahoma’s attorney general, where he sued the EPA more than a dozen times to restrain its malignant growth. Democrats aim to halt his work, which they view as sacrilegious. Then there’s Mike Pompeo, confirmed last week as secretary of state. In June of last year, the West Point grad received a Senate vote of support of 66-32 to become director of the CIA. It was a bipartisan vote — albeit still woefully inadequate for a man so abundantly qualified. Dial the clock forward not even a year and a few Democrats couldn’t seem to remember the qualifications and recommendations that drove their approval a few months earlier, despite world events needing America’s representation. Notwithstanding the urgent needs of the North and South Korean peace efforts, the Syrian conflict, a renegotiation of the Iran nuclear deal and the list goes on, the Senate only reluctantly confirmed Pompeo as secretary of state by a vote of 57-42. Just a reminder: Hillary Clinton was confirmed as secretary of state by a vote of 94-2. And John Kerry was confirmed by a 94–3 vote, despite his traitorous history29. That’s because Republicans put national unity first when it comes to foreign policy. With Democrats, it’s always politics. But the cherry on top of this mud-pie smear approach of the Democrats came last week when Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson removed his name from consideration30 to serve as the director of Veterans Affairs. Jackson was accused of earning the nickname “Candy Man” due to his easy dispensing of narcotics, as well as engaging in drunken, reckless behavior while on the job. Leading the charge was Montana Democrat Jon Tester, whose hit job will most certainly be returned with campaign visits in the fall for his Republican opponent by President Donald Trump. The president has already called for the resignation of the attacking senator. While Trump was Trump in his bombastic criticisms of Tester and the Democrats, a beaten down doctor who had been promoted from within the medical corps of the White House in 2013 to White House physician charged to care for the First Family offered this: “The allegations against me are completely false and fabricated. If they had any merit, I would not have been selected, promoted and entrusted to serve in such a sensitive and important role as physician to three presidents over the past 12 years.” Title: The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2018 Post by: nChrist on May 01, 2018, 05:25:29 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2018 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ In the U.S. Senate, America has witnessed the constitutional role of offering advice and consent become weaponized by Democrats, who attack and disable any Republican administration through slanderous insults and false charges. When you have no policies except those that fail and no platform to win hearts and minds, and when you have become so hungry for power that you prioritize your own extreme agenda over the nation you serve, the only way to win is to destroy others. Today’s Democrats are destroying processes meant to work for a balanced and healthy government. https://patriotpost.us/articles/55681-to-dems-advice-and-consent-means-attack-and-contempt MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST Gov’t Lost Track of 1,475 Illegal Alien Children35 — Irrespective of immigrant status, government should act responsibly when considering the plight of children. Video: Fully Automatic Assault Van!36 — A man in Toronto drives a van into a crowd of people, killing 10. No one calls for banning vans. BEST OF RIGHT OPINION Gary Bauer: ‘Iran Lied’37 Rich Lowry: Hold the Nobel Peace Prize38 Stephen Moore: Goodbye, OPEC39 Dennis Prager: Fear of the Left: The Most Powerful Force in America Today40 Tony Perkins: Correspondents’ Dinner Dishes Up Controversy41 For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion42. OPINION IN BRIEF Stephen Moore: “We are getting very close to the day when America returns to becoming a net exporter of oil. This would reduce our trade deficit by more than $200 billion a year. Saudi Arabia is still a major player in the market that can move the world price by turning on and off its spigots. The recent spike in gas prices to more than $3 a gallon is due to Russia and Saudi Arabia’s production cuts. But the OPEC nations can no longer hold the world hostage, as they did in the 1970s when we had gasoline lines and price controls and had to bow to the Saudi oil sheiks. What a difference a president makes. Trump has been all in on encouraging fossil fuel production. He’s freeing up federal lands in places such as Alaska for drilling, allowing permits for new pipelines and relaxing some of the anti-fracking regulations that were enacted in the Obama years. … One idea that is floating around on Capitol Hill now is to use the royalties and lease payments from drilling on federal lands to reduce the trillion-dollar annual budget deficit. This is essentially free money to Uncle Sam, and by some estimates these payments could exceed $1 trillion over the next decade. Why not? Only a few years ago, Barack Obama told the nation that we ‘consume 20 percent of the world’s oil, [but] we only have 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves.’ He was only off by well more than an order of magnitude on our nation’s share of world supplies. Trump has always had a much more optimistic and realistic worldview. He says he wants to ‘make America energy dominant,’ and after a little more than a year of his presidency, we are on our way.” SHORT CUTS Insight: “The courts in the United States are continually called upon to deal with questions that are purely political and governmental; to enter, partially at least, into the realm of legislation; and to discuss questions of political, economic, and social theory.” —Charles Haines (1856-1929) History lesson: “Abe Lincoln freed and protected the slaves and he was republican. Republicans were the ones who’s helped black people … democrats protected the rights of the slave owners in the South.” —Kanye West continuing to blow leftist minds43 Frowning upon dissent: “Kanye West is a very creative young man. … But we also think that sometimes West talks out of turn and perhaps he needs some assistance in helping him to formulate some of his thoughts. … I think maybe he should think twice about politics — and maybe not have so much to say.” —Rep. Maxine Waters For the record: “There’s tremendous irony to Waters calling West uninformed, a person who needs help formulating his thoughts. This is a woman who called the Los Angeles riots an ‘uprising.’ This is a person whose husband, a major stockholder in OneUnited Bank, stood to see major benefit from her position on the House Financial Services Committee. This is a Congresswoman who said that Putin was invading Korea (not Crimea), said that she was once a Millennial (nope), promoted abortion by saying, ‘I have to march because my mother could not have an abortion’ (wut) and claimed that she never called for Trump’s impeachment after calling repeatedly for Trump’s impeachment.” —Ben Shapiro Alpha Jackass: “By the way, I take the apology back. F—k [Trump]!” —Kathy Griffin, who infamously displayed44 a faux severed head of Trump And last… “If there was any doubt the Mueller probe was run by biased politicos, the leak of Trump questions9 to the media confirms it.” —Liz Wheeler https://patriotpost.us/articles/55686-tuesday-short-cuts 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 |