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Title: The Patriot Post Digest 5-2-2018 Post by: nChrist on May 02, 2018, 05:40:47 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 5-2-2018 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest May 2, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/55713-mid-day-digest IN TODAY’S EDITION May Day protests: Refugees from socialism should come to America. Karl Marx’s 200th birthday is coming up and leftists are celebrating. Marco Rubio criticizes tax cuts at a time the GOP should be touting them. Reality check for Democrats: Millennials are abandoning their ship. Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts. THE FOUNDATION “It is necessary for every American, with becoming energy to endeavor to stop the dissemination of principles evidently destructive of the cause for which they have bled.” —Mercy Warren (1805) IN BRIEF May Day: Dems Seek to Replicate Failed Socialist States1 Thomas Gallatin Across the world yesterday, crowds of leftists2 demonstrated, protested and rioted all in celebration of that failed egalitarian pipe dream known as socialism. Meanwhile, as the infamous caravan of illegal aliens demands asylum, many of these May Day protests focused3 on advocating any and all kinds of immigration. Democrats and their Leftmedia cohorts continue to insist that President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure the border and enforce our nation’s immigration laws are dangerous expressions of bigotry and racism. When pressed on why the U.S. should essentially ignore its own immigration laws and allow for the unlawful entry of illegal aliens, they offer a ridiculous non sequitur: Because we are “a nation of immigrants.” The fundamental question is this: Why do these people want to leave failed socialist states to come to America? The Left’s vacuous logic was on full display recently when Fox News’ Tucker Carlson interviewed4 Univision senior anchor Jorge Ramos. Carlson asked Ramos why the U.S. should let into the country these illegal alien asylum seekers. Ramos responded by saying that the U.S. is the richest and most powerful nation in the world and therefore has a moral obligation to take in these illegals. Tellingly, Ramos, who has dual citizenship with Mexico and the U.S., was absolutely unwilling to grant that Mexico has any role to play in helping to deal with the illegal immigration problem. And again, a question: Why is the U.S. the richest nation in the world? Liberty and free-market capitalism. What this interview displayed was the corrupting influence of a socialist worldview. Never was the question of who is ultimately responsible for the “plight” of these illegal alien asylum seekers legitimately addressed. Rather, as is often the case, Ramos blamed the U.S. for the situation in which these foreign individuals find themselves. And this is the fundamental problem with socialism: It lays the blame for failure at the feet of the successful. Since the U.S. is so wealthy and powerful, and since it enjoys this status due to its free-market economy, leftists blame America for the failure of socialist nations across the globe. Never can the failure of those socialist nations be attributed to the corrupting agent of socialism itself. This was exposed in the controversy over Trump’s alleged reference to “s-thole countries5.” While Democrats are quick to criticize Trump and Republicans for wanting to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, they are amazingly reticent to offer any criticisms of those nations and their socialist systems of government that are directly responsible for creating the dismal economies these illegal aliens are fleeing. Worse, Democrats want to turn our country into exactly the kind of failed socialist states these migrants are fleeing. Democrats preach the glories of socialism as a more “just” and “equitable” system when all we see are examples of its failures. Karl Marx Gets Celebrity Status at New York Times6 Jordan Candler Among the many things the 19th century will forever be remembered for is the early proliferation of communism. The chief developer of this repressive framework was Karl Marx — a stalwart anti-capitalist combatant. He entered this world on May 5, 1818, and spent his life cultivating the collectivist philosophy ultimately bearing the name Marxism, which forms the foundation of communism. Last year, marking the centennial of Soviet communism, our own Mark Alexander noted this staggering statistic7: “Between 1917 and 1991, there were almost 150 million civilian casualties of communist dictatorships, the three largest dictatorial offenders being China (73,237,000), the USSR (58,627,000) and Germany (11,000,000). Where those dictatorships exist today, the slaughter continues.” That’s not exactly a sterling legacy, nor is it deserving of celebration. Yet some academics continue to treat as a hero the man who laid the foundation for one of the world’s most monstrous political systems. This week, Karl Marx turns 200 years old. Enter Jason Barker, an associate professor of philosophy, who declares in a New York Times op-ed, “Happy Birthday, Karl Marx. You Were Right!8” Professor Barker ponders: “As we reach the bicentennial of Marx’s birth, what lessons might we draw from his dangerous and delirious philosophical legacy? What precisely is Marx’s lasting contribution?” Barker’s takeaway isn’t just incredibly deleterious, it’s vehemently anti-capitalist — just like Marx was. Barker insists, “Countless books have appeared, from scholarly works to popular biographies, broadly endorsing Marx’s reading of capitalism and its enduring relevance to our neoliberal age.” He also endorses the view that “Marx’s basic thesis — that capitalism is driven by a deeply divisive class struggle in which the ruling-class minority appropriates the surplus labor of the working-class majority as profit — is correct.” He concludes by noting: “Marx, as I have said, does not offer a one-size-fits-all formula for enacting social change. But he does offer a powerful intellectual acid test for that change. On that basis, we are destined to keep citing him and testing his ideas until the kind of society that he struggled to bring about, and that increasing numbers of us now desire, is finally realized.” The biggest irony of all? Parker is employed by Kyung Hee University, which is located in … South Korea. His anti-capitalist tirade completely ignores the nuclear threat posed by communist North Korea. Parker’s tribute to Marx is a tip of the cap to revolutionary social and economic change. Yet it’s worth repeating: Whatever qualms people have with capitalism, last we checked, it didn’t result in 150 million deaths. And as Mark Alexander also observed9, “Democratic Socialism, like Nationalist Socialism, is nothing more than Marxist Socialism repackaged.” Title: The Patriot Post Digest 5-2-2018 Post by: nChrist on May 02, 2018, 05:41:49 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 5-2-2018 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ As we noted last December10, a Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation study found that “58% of Millennials would prefer living in a socialist, communist or fascist nation instead of a capitalist one.” With professors like Parker, it’s no wonder. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. Communism and its sister system, socialism, are no different. Top Headlines11 Republicans confirming Trump’s court nominees at record pace (The Hill12) Iran ordered to pay billions to relatives of 9/11 victims (ABC News13) Five takeaways from Israel’s massive intelligence operation14 on Iran (The Daily Signal15) Texas leads a coalition of seven states suing to stop DACA16 — which Trump is trying to end (The Washington Times17) California leads a coalition of 18 states suing EPA over vehicle-emissions standards18 (National Review19) Trump: We’re “seriously thinking” of sixth military branch called “Space Force” (The Washington Free Beacon20) Facebook will now start ranking news organizations by their “trustworthiness” (The Blaze21) 65% of public school eighth graders not proficient in reading; 67% not proficient in math (CNS News22) Cecile Richards finally leaves Planned Parenthood (The Daily Wire23) Not humor, tragically: Woman celebrated for killing 3.5 million people (The Babylon Bee24) Policy: Iran is a nuclear cheat and the IAEA is a complete failure (Washington Examiner25) Policy: Steel tariffs are already hurting steel-using industries (The Daily Signal26) For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report27. FEATURED ANALYSIS Rubio Distracts From GOP Tax Cut Success28 Louis DeBroux Republicans are used to economic ignorance spewing from the vapid maws of Democrats. That’s the case whether it was Barack Obama admitting that his promise of “shovel-ready” jobs was a joke after blowing $800 billion on an unstimulating “stimulus,” Nancy Pelosi claiming the way to create 600,000 jobs was to increase unemployment payments and food stamps, or Bernie Sanders lecturing us on how we should emulate socialist Venezuela — a country where people are eating dogs to keep from starving. However, such ignorance is unexpected coming from a conservative senator29 who was one of the last standing in a very crowded field of 2016 Republican presidential candidates. Regarding corporate savings from the GOP tax cuts, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told30 The Economist, “There’s no evidence whatsoever that the money’s been massively poured back into the American worker.” He continued, “There is still a lot of thinking on the Right that if big corporations are happy, they’re going to take the money they’re saving and reinvest it in American workers.” Instead, he argues, a “few gave out bonuses,” while the remainder engaged in stock buybacks31, increasing the share price for investors. During negotiations on the tax cut bill, Rubio pushed for a less generous corporate tax cut and an even greater child tax credit, winning a substantial increase. So he’s at least being consistent. In his interview, Rubio criticized supply-side “Reaganomics,” which reduced tax and regulatory burdens on businesses and unleashed a quarter-century of economic growth, benefitting the vast majority of Americans. Following the GOP tax cuts, hundreds of businesses announced bonuses and wage increases32. Apple alone announced more than $300 million in bonuses to rank-and-file workers, and America’s largest employer, the much-maligned Walmart, raised its minimum wage to $11/hour33, a whopping 52% higher than the federal minimum wage. Rubio contradicts himself by admitting that the tax cuts “make the U.S. economy a more attractive place to do business.” More business means more jobs, which creates a labor demand, which raises wages. More business means economic growth, which means higher tax revenue (because of, not in spite of, the lower rates). Even his railing against stock buybacks reveals a lack of understanding of how investments work34. The tax cuts free up money for corporations to make capital investments, which increases productivity. Increased productivity brings higher wages for workers because workers produce more goods in less time. There is also the fact that, as the National Taxpayers Union’s Andrew Wilford explains34, “Research continues to show that corporations only engage in stock buybacks when opportunities for productive capital investment are exhausted. There is no connection between increases in stock buybacks and decreases in economy-wide investment.” Additionally, stock buybacks increase the value of the remaining shares. More than half of all Americans own stock directly or through mutual funds, which means their retirement accounts gain value when corporations buy back stock. Is this not a good thing? The National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimates that shareholders (including tens of millions of American workers and retired seniors) will see a 4.32% to 4.95% increase in their portfolios as a direct result of the tax cuts. In other words, Wilford says, the stock buybacks are “not proof that corporate tax reform is failing to benefit the economy. They’re proof that it is succeeding.” Whereas workers can see an immediate benefit when they receive a bonus, the greater positive impact will come in the next 18 months to three years as the effects of the tax cuts take hold. Businesses make decisions over a much longer horizon35, which is why it was so important to make the corporate tax rate cuts permanent. Businesses would not make major investments based on a tax cut that expired in a year, or two or even five. It’s hard to tell whether Rubio’s statements are rooted in economic ignorance or political calculus, but either way, they are unhelpful to the Republican Party36 — a gift that Democrats were quick to exploit. While President Donald Trump has been wildly successful in slashing regulations, securing the border, nominating conservative jurists to the bench and dealing with foreign adversaries, the Republican Congress, thanks to a handful of turncoat GOP senators (Rubio is not among them), has precious little to brag about besides tax cuts as we go into the midterm elections — elections in which the majority party typically loses seats. Republicans are banking on Americans seeing the positive impact of the tax cuts in the form of wage increases, bonuses and job creation. Having a well-respected Republican senator torpedo that message is a deeply hurtful, self-inflicted wound. Rubio should be praising the tax cuts, not criticizing them. He took a step toward fixing things and better explaining himself with a new op-ed at National Review37, but some significant damage was already done. Title: The Patriot Post Digest 5-2-2018 Post by: nChrist on May 02, 2018, 05:42:44 PM ________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 5-2-2018 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription (http://patriotpost.us/subscription/new) ________________________________________ MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST Reality Check on Dems’ Blue Wave Millennials40 — A recent poll shows that Millennial voters’ support for Democrats has significantly eroded. Video: Control the Words, Control the Culture41 — The culture war is largely a war of words. Right now, the Left is winning. BEST OF RIGHT OPINION Jonah Goldberg: Criticism of Michelle Wolf, Kanye West Shows Our Coalition Instinct42 Walter Williams: Colleges: Anti-Diversity and Pro-Exclusion43 Terence Jeffrey: Liberate America From Public Schools44 Tony Perkins: May Day for Planned Parenthood45 Michelle Malkin: The ‘Uncle Tom’ Card Is Dead46 For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion47. OPINION IN BRIEF Jonah Goldberg: “Last year, John Tooby, a founder of evolutionary psychology, was asked by the website Edge.org what scientific concept should be more widely known. He argued for something called the ‘coalition instinct.’ In our natural environment, humans form coalitions. Coalitions are slightly different from tribes, families or nations in that those are all groups we are involuntarily born into. Coalitions are the teams we join. ‘Coalitions,’ Tooby explained, ‘are sets of individuals interpreted by their members and/or by others as sharing a common abstract identity.’ The coalition instinct is a bundle of ‘programs’ that ‘enable us and induce us to form, maintain, join, support, recognize, defend, defect from, factionalize, exploit, resist, subordinate, distrust, dislike, oppose and attack coalitions.’ … Because coalitions are formed to protect the interests of their members, we have a remarkable ability to forgive behavior when it is done by our teammates and condemn similar behavior when it is done by members of a rival coalition. ‘This,’ Tooby said, ‘is why group beliefs are free to be so weird.’ … Some on the Left now denounce free speech solely because it is a threat to their power. Many Trump supporters wave off his rhetorical grotesqueries because ‘he fights!’ Rather than simple blindness to our hypocritical violations of standards, we’re declaring war on the standards themselves. If this trend continues, we may get less hypocrisy and more open war between coalitions.” SHORT CUTS For the record: “When Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards walked out of her office for the last time Monday, fans gushed that her legacy wouldn’t be forgotten. They’re right — because Richards’s legacy is the brutal slaughter of 3.5 million unborn lives. In her 12 years at the top, Planned Parenthood destroyed a population bigger than Chicago’s — and somehow managed to convince Congress to help.” —Tony Perkins Dumb and dumber: “Throughout history violence and war only creates more of itself for example WWI -> WWII -> Cold War -> Korean War -> Vietnam and up to today. While nonviolent moments like Gandhi’s, the suffrage movement or Civil Rights movement lead to peace and long-lasting change. Ours will too.” —leftist darling David Hogg with a history lesson on why he thinks guns should be confiscated Non Compos Mentis: “[Hillary] Clinton is someone deeply enmeshed in the Rule of Law, respect for institutions, a lawyer. And so, given that background, I’m reasonably confident that even if she was unhappy with decisions the FBI made, she would not fire the FBI director as a result.” —James Comey Predictions: “We will win. I will run for speaker. I feel very confident about [it].” —Nancy Pelosi (Even if that happens, will Democrats support her continued “leadership” role?) Village idiots: “When you hear about slavery for 400 years — for 400 years?! That sounds like a choice.” —Kanye West Braying Jenny: “I wouldn’t change a single word. I’m very happy with what I said, and I’m glad I stuck to my guns.” —Michelle Wolf And last… “Nikolaus Haas, a German physician who had offered to take over Alfie’s care, told the court, ‘Because of our history in Germany, we’ve learned that there are some things you just don’t do with severely handicapped children. A society must be prepared to look after these severely handicapped children and not decide that life support has to be withdrawn against the will of the parents.’ [High Court Justice Anthony] Hayden declared this ‘inflammatory.’ In fact, the comparison is spot on. London survived the Blitz to stop the advance of a regime bent on the eugenic killing of, among others, the handicapped. Now Britain has such a regime anyway, by self-imposed judicial fiat.” —Marc A. Thiessen 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 |