__________________________________________
From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
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        September 19.

        "Then He said to them all, If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Luke 9:23

        The more important the position we occupy is, and the greater its responsibilities are—the more cares will it bring. The quiet calm is found in the low valley, not on the mountain-top. As we rise in life—our burdens increase. We need to learn how to carry our load cheerfully when it gets heavy. We cannot reach the higher places, and miss the steep climbing that leads to them. If we would gain the heights—we must consent to climb up the steep and rugged mountain. It was not a mere dream, which envisioned life to the patriarch as a ladder.

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John 3:16
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Do you believe it?
With all your heart?
Do you believe that God gave His Son because He loved the whole world?
Do you believe that whosoever believes in Him receives everlasting life?
Gentiles as well as Jews?
Do you believe that John 3:16 applies to this age?
SO DO WE!–WITH ALL OUR HEARTS!

We emphasize this because we have been charged of late with putting a dispensational question mark opposite John 3:16.

We not only believe that John 3:16 applies to this age, but that it is more pertinent today than when our Lord first spoke it to Nicodemus.

But first let us turn to two other Scriptures, just as plain, though less frequently quoted.

In Matthew 15:24 we have the plain words of our Lord, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

In Matthew 10:5,6 we read “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

How can we reconcile these Scriptures with John 3:16?

    John 3:16, — “The world…whosoever.”

    Matthew 10:5,6; 15:24, — None but “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The key to this question is found in Acts 3:25,26 where Peter says to the house of Israel, “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, AND IN THY SEED SHALL ALL THE KINDREDS OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

The Old Testament abounds with prophecies that salvation would go to the ends of the earth through Israel. This is why our Lord confined His earthly ministry exclusively to the house of Israel. This is why Peter said to the people of Israel, “Unto you first…”

It was no secret that salvation would go to all the world, but remember that it was to go through the covenant people.

We must not forget that John 3:16 was spoken to “A RULER OF THE JEWS.” This makes the words of our Lord doubly significant. It would not be at all amiss to paraphrase them thus: “For God so loved the world, Nicodemus — not only Israel, but the world— that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Sad to say, the rulers of the Jews rejected Christ. The glorious message of John 3:16 would never have reached the Gentiles if God had waited for Israel to proclaim it.

As a nation they themselves rejected God’s Son. They even persecuted those who preached Christ and Saul of Tarsus became the leader of the opposition.

It was in this crisis that God arrested Saul and saved him so that He might unfold His secret purpose of grace to him and through him.

We quote a few Scriptures from Paul’s letters:

    “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but…the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant…that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (I Tim. 1:13-16).

    “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned…so might grace reign” (Rom. 5:20,21).

    “FOR GOD HATH CONCLUDED THEM ALL IN UNBELIEF, THAT HE MIGHT HAVE MERCY UPON ALL. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:32,33).

    “For He is our peace, who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us…for to make in Himself of twain one new man…and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body BY THE CROSS” (Eph. 2:14-16).

This message of grace abounding, of grace reigning was revealed from heaven by the Lord Jesus Christ to the apostle Paul. He says in Ephesians 3:2,3: “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward, HOW THAT BY REVELATION HE MADE KNOWN UNTO ME THE MYSTERY.” This was God’s eternal purpose, “kept secret since the world began” (Rom.16:25), “hid in God” (Eph. 3:9), “in other ages not made known,” (Eph. 3:5), “hid from ages and from generations” (Col. 1:26), “THE MYSTERY” (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:9; 3:3,4,9; 6:19; Col. 1:26,27; 2:2; 4:3).

And now, thank God, though Israel, through whom the nations should have been blessed, gropes in darkness and staggers in unbelief, any poor sinner, Jew or Gentile, may rejoice that “GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”

[They are so dear to Him, that He cannot take His eyes off them!]

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
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They are so dear to Him, that He cannot take His eyes off them!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous.
 His ears are open unto their cry." Psalm 34:15

The Lord observes His redeemed people with approval and tender consideration. They are so dear to Him, that He cannot take His eyes off them! He watches each one of them as carefully and intently, as if there were only that one creature in the whole universe!

Thus the Lord's eyes and ears are both turned upon His saints. His whole mind is occupied with them. If they are slighted by all others--they are never neglected by Him. He hears their cry at once, even as a mother is sure to hear her sick babe. The cry may be broken, plaintive or feeble--yet the Father's quick ear catches each note of lament or appeal, and He is quick to answer His children's voice!

"The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,
 and His ears are attentive to their prayers." 1 Peter 3:12

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Devotionals By J.R. Miller, 1895
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
___________________________________________

        September 18.

        "Then a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him." Luke 9:35

        Many of the sweetest revealings of comfort, are spoken to God's children out of the clouds of sorrow. Many a Christian learns more about God in a brief season of trouble, than he has learned before in years of earthly prosperity. We would never see the stars—if the sun did not go down. We would never see the promises that gem the Bible pages, like stars in the sky—were there no darkening of the sky of human prosperity and joy. Out of our clouds, too, comes the Father's voice, saying, "This is my Son." It is Christ who comes even in the shadow, who for a time hides and darkens his face. HE is in the center of every cloud.

        There is significance also, in the message from the cloud, "Listen to him!" We must learn to listen to Christ—and to him only. There are mysteries about Christianity, things hard to be understood—but we may safely wait for the solution of these, meanwhile doing sweetly and quietly the things that Christ bids us do. Hereafter, we shall know.

        Rain comes out of clouds, and if there is no rain—all nature suffers. So out of sorrow's clouds—the rain falls, and our lives are enriched thereby.

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World-Class Reconciliation
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The Apostle Paul, referring to the crucifixion, declares that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:19).

How could He have shown sinners more conclusively that He desires their good than by imputing their sins to Christ and telling them that He is not imputing their trespasses unto them? Their trespasses will be imputed to them, of course, if they reject God's provision of salvation through Christ, but for the present it is a wonderful fact that we can go to any sinner and say on the authority of God's written Word: "Your sins have been paid for; God is not holding them against you. Will you accept His love and receive Christ as your Savior?"

[Here we have an emblem of the human heart!]

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
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Here we have an emblem of the human heart!

(C. Scriver, 1671)

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" Jeremiah 17:9

In a vessel filled with muddy water, the mud visibly subsided to the bottom, and left the water purer and purer, until at last it seemed perfectly clear. The slightest motion, however, stirred up the sediment and the water became as murky as before.

Here we have an emblem of the human heart. The heart is full of the mud of sinful lusts and carnal desires, and the consequence is that no pure water--that is, good and holy thoughts--can flow from it. It is, in truth, a miry pit and swamp of sin in which all sorts of ugly reptiles are bred and crawl.

Many however never imagine that his heart is half so wicked as it really is, because sometimes its lusts are at rest, and sink, as it were, to the bottom.

But this lasts only so long as he is not stirred up; I mean, so long as he is without opportunity or incitement to sin. Let that occur, and worldly lusts rise so thick, that his whole thoughts, words, and works, show no trace of anything but slime and impurity.

One is meek as long as he is not thwarted. Cross him, and he is like gun-powder, ignited by the smallest spark, and blazing up with a loud and destructive effect.

Another is temperate so long as he is not with his wicked companions.

Another is chaste while the eyes of men are upon him.

Alas, my God! How often have I imagined that the world and all its lusts were a thousand miles away, and yet afterwards discovered that, like a crafty foe, they had kept quiet only to attack and beguile me unawares.

O my God, purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow! Create in me a pure heart, O God!

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Vive La Résistance!39

Grassroots perspective by Roger Helle

Once again leftists proved they will not allow President Donald Trump credit for anything accomplished in the past three years. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made her party proud with her defiance during the State of the Union Address Tuesday night. She could not boycott the speech like other members of her party. But, at the end of Trump’s speech, she tore up the people’s official copy40 of the speech in a way that could be seen all across the country.

Bernie Sanders was also a no-show. He’s still trying to find out if he won in Iowa or not! Rep. Al Green of Texas — who stated Trump had to be impeached because, if not, he might be elected again — was a no-show. So was Rep. Steve (Col. Sanders) Cohen, whose major accomplishment was bringing a bucket of chicken to Congress. Maxine Waters, who doesn’t even live in her district in Los Angles and has been hollering “IMPEACH 45, IMPEACH 45, IMPEACH 45” since Trump was elected, bailed, as did her sidekick, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Rashida Tlaib, foul-mouthed representative from Michigan made a big deal of walking out I could list the rest of the resisters, but you wouldn’t recognize them because they haven’t done anything except resist.

And did anyone notice they were gone?

I can remember when both sides of the political aisle worked together to accomplish the goals that made America the envy of the world. And politics stopped at water’s edge. We may have disagreed with each other, but we were united against our enemies. Like family, we may argue with our siblings, but if someone outside the family starts messing with them, watch out!

But no longer; the party is now everything. It’s no longer about what’s good for America, but what’s good for their party — or worse, their own power. As President Abraham Lincoln said, echoing the words of Jesus, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Such childish behavior on the part of elected officials who represent the world’s only superpower is sad indeed. If Republicans had behaved this way when Barack Obama was president, they would have been held accountable for their behavior, and rightly so.

For over three years now we have heard nothing but hate and seething anger. No amount of accomplishments will be recognized. Resist, sabotage, deflect, and blame-shift — that’s all we see and hear. A decorated Army staff sergeant reunited with his family… so what! A single mom getting a scholarship to get her child out of a failing public schools… boo! I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

I want to encourage you to really think about who you vote for to represent you in Congress. The choice you make may be the difference in whether we still live in a Republic with the freedoms outlined in our Constitution, or in a socialist tyranny where your freedoms are whatever your leftist overlords say they are. This is not hype. They are telling us at literally every political rally and debate across the country. It’s not going to be pretty! But it is not inevitable.

Something to think about?

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68415-vive-la-resistance-2020-02-07

NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY41

Jordan Candler

TRUMP’S GREAT WEEK42, CONTINUED: January adds a much stronger-than-expected 225,000 jobs; labor force participation rate increases 0.2% (CNBC43)

DEMS’ AWFUL WEEK44, CONTINUED: Iowa Dems release “100 percent” of caucus vote totals showing Buttigieg ahead, amid calls for recanvass (Fox News45)

AL-QAIDA IN THE CROSSHAIRS: U.S. kills another top terrorist, days after his group claimed responsibility for Pensacola attack (CNSNews46)

DECORUM FOR THEE BUT NOT FOR ME: Democrat House minions rejects GOP resolution condemning Pelosi for ripping up Trump’s speech (The Hill47)

INTOLERANCE: Pelosi omits Christians as she lists religious persecutions around the world (The Daily Signal48)

WELL … BYE: Joe Walsh ends race to unseat “dictator” Trump: “He can’t be stopped” (National Review49)

BURISMA UPDATE: Senate hets “highly sensitive” Hunter Biden records after letter to money-laundering unit in Treasury Department (The Daily Wire50)

ON THE NSC CHOPPING BLOCK? Trump administration looking to take action against Alexander Vindman (The Daily Wire51)

AMAZING THE DIFFERENCE A HANDS-OFF REGIME MAKES: New high of 90% of Americans satisfied with personal life; Republicans, married adults are among the most satisfied (Gallup52)

POLICY: What year did healthcare become a “right”? (Hint: never) (Mises Institute53)

POLICY: The IRS should go ahead with privacy reform (National Review54)

HUMOR: DNC offers startup $500 million to develop pencil that can accurately record election results (The Onion55)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights56.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68438-friday-news-executive-summary-2020-02-07

VIDEOS14

    Video: Mitt Romney Votes to Convict. Why?57 — Instead of converting voters, as Romney was trying to do, he galvanized them, argues Anthony Brian Logan.
    Video: What Democrats Refused to Clap for at SOTU58 — Millions of news jobs, record-low unemployment, welfare reductions … none of it the Left finds commendable.
    Video: Ben Shapiro Shreds Democrats Over Awful Week44 — Between Iowa, impeachment, and childish antics, Democrats have spoiled their 2020 chances.

SHORT CUTS60

Insight: “For most Americans the Constitution had become a hazy document, cited like the Bible on ceremonial occasions but forgotten in the daily transactions of life."—Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (1917-2007)

The buck stops… "Enough is enough. In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.” —DNC Chairman Tom Perez

Friendly fire I: “It’s just a matter of time before [Tom Perez is] going to go.” —Rep. Bennie Thompson

Friendly fire II: “We’re a party in chaos.” —Rep. Marcia Fudge

Pot calling the kettle black: “[Trump] looked to me like he was a little bit sedated.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Braying jenny: “I tore up a manifesto of mistruths. … It was necessary to get the attention of the American people, to say this is not true. … And I don’t need any lessons from anybody, especially the president of the United States, about dignity.” —Nancy Pelosi

Grand delusions I: “There’s a giant asterisk next to the president’s acquittal.” —Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Grand delusions II: “He wasn’t acquitted. It was a rigged trial. You don’t get acquitted when you don’t even get to call witnesses or relevant witnesses or have the documents because the president stonewalled all efforts on the part of the House to get the information they requested. So there you go. It was a rigged trial. He can run around saying he was acquitted, but you don’t get acquitted in a rigged trial.” —Sen. Mazie Hirono

Moral relativism: “Different people will interpret their own moral lights, and for that matter, interpret Scripture differently. But we live in a country where it is extremely important that no one person have to be subjected to some other person’s interpretation of their own religion.” —Pete Buttigieg

Non compos mentis: “In many ways Donald Trump is a socialist himself. He’s a socialist who believes in massive help to large corporations and the rich.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders

The BIG Lie: “Today’s structures of sin include repeated tax cuts for the richest people, often justified in the name of investment and development.” —Pope Francis

And last… “Trump economy adds 225,000 jobs, exceeding expectations by almost 50%, which can only mean one thing: new impeachment articles.” —Twitter satirist @hale_razor

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68437-friday-short-cuts-2020-02-07

TODAY’S MEME61

https://patriotpost.us/memes/68436-hooray-2020-02-07

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union61.

TODAY’S CARTOON62

https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/28218

For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive62.

Join us in prayer for our Patriots in uniform and their families — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way, and for our nation’s First Responders. We also ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the Spirit of Liberty63 in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

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Acquitted Trump Hits Back30

Thomas Gallatin

The Senate acquitted31 President Donald Trump of both of the House Democrats’ impeachment charges on Wednesday. Thus, Thursday was Trump’s first opportunity to offer his thoughts on the trial and he didn’t hold back. Beginning at the annual National Prayer Breakfast and continuing through to a White House event held at noon, Trump unloaded on those who have engaged in an unending effort to do everything in their power to resist and remove him from office.

As is often the case with Trump, decorum and etiquette fail to restrain him from expressing his thoughts and feelings. This aspect of Trump’s personality can be both refreshing and grating at the same time. It produces easy fodder for his critics to attack him while also endearing him to supporters who relate to his message, and yesterday was a prime example.

At the prayer breakfast, an event intended as an apolitical occasion where members from both parties come together, Trump, after some brief introductory remarks, began to open up. “As everybody knows, my family, our great country, and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people,” he said. “They have done everything possible to destroy us and, by so doing, very badly hurt our nation. They know what they are doing is wrong, but they put themselves far ahead of our great country.”

Trump also alluded to both Sen. Mitt Romney and Speaker Nancy Pelosi in his criticism, stating, “I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say ‘I pray for you’ when they know that is not so.”

However, near the end of his comments, Trump struck a slightly more conciliatory tone: “To the people in this room, for the love that they show, not on religion but many religions: They’re brave, they’re brilliant, they’re fighters. They like people, and sometimes they hate people. I’m sorry. I apologize. I’m trying to learn. It’s not easy. When they impeach you for nothing, then you’re supposed to like them? It’s not easy, folks. I do my best.”

During his remarks at the White House, Trump laid the blame for both impeachment and Robert Mueller’s probe at the feet of the anti-Trump deep state and Democrat resistance. “We’ve been going through this now for over three years,” he noted. “It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops. It was leakers and liars, and it should never ever happen to another president ever.” Trump specifically highlighted the actions of former FBI Director James Comey: “It was a disgrace. Had I not fired James Comey — who was a disaster, by the way — it’s possible I wouldn’t even be standing here right now. We caught them in the act — dirty cops, bad people. If this happened to President Obama, a lot of people would’ve been in jail for a long time already — many, many years.”

No question Trump is and will always be a fighter.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68443-acquitted-trump-hits-back

Is America Kicking Its Opioid Habit?32

Michael Swartz

As President Donald Trump noted in his State of the Union Address16, there’s good news on the public-health front. The increase in deaths traced to the overdose of drugs has finally come to a halt33 in all but five states. Consequently, life expectancy edged up for the first time in three years.

Overall, the toll declined 4.1% from 2017 to 2018, the latest year for which statistics are available. Excepting California, Delaware, Missouri, New Jersey, and South Carolina, the nation saw declines in mortality of up to 27%, with Alaska and Ohio leading the way.

Unlike the stereotypical image of a junkie slumped over on an urban street corner, the opioid epidemic has hit hardest in rural states and areas, especially among working-class whites. Oftentimes the root cause of this scourge was a nagging injury or malady for which doctors prescribed opioid-based painkillers once thought to be non-addictive. But once that prescription ran out and the practice of “doctor shopping” became the subject of a government crackdown, those afflicted turned to the illegal — but readily available — substitute of heroin. This not only led to the surge in opioid-related deaths; the increase in demand led to the practice of black-market sellers34 cutting those drugs with inexpensive fentanyl for a more potent high.

In 2018, President Trump vowed to stop the “scourge of drug additions” with a three-pronged approach35: addressing the supply end with a crackdown on illegal sales, enhanced recovery programs, and revamping prescription policies while simultaneously encouraging development of less addictive painkillers. One advantage he had, however, was the sheer number of state and local programs36 — at times involving federal or state grants — being put in place to address the issue. This allowed researchers to determine how positive those results were and determine their scalability — a necessary component given the estimated two million Americans who are addicted to painkillers.

To be sure, some treatment options are more controversial than others. Few of us are eager to see a recovery center in our neighborhood, and needle-exchange programs spark significant outcry from those who argue that taxpayers shouldn’t be funding the enablement of this destructive habit. But each success story brings a recovering addict back to the status of productive citizen, which makes that investment worthwhile.

As President Trump vowed on Tuesday, “We will not quit until we have beaten the opioid epidemic once and for all.”

At this point, it’s another success story for the Trump administration, but one not without its critics. As The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wrote37, “Liberals prescribe more government health care as an opioid antidote, and on Wednesday many said the Trump Administration’s health-care policies have worsened the epidemic, evidence notwithstanding.”

Perhaps it’s not the one-size-fits-all solution they desire, or maybe it’s just sour grapes from the failure of ObamaCare to address the problem. But the Left’s unwillingness to acknowledge this progress led the Journal to conclude, “Antipathy to Mr. Trump is as addictive as any drug.”

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68430-is-america-kicking-its-opioid-habit

EITC Is Just Another Wealth-Redistribution Program38

Thomas Gallatin

A recent study conducted by Princeton economist Henrik Kleven determined that the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has for the most part failed to deliver what’s been promised since its creation by Congress back in 1975. The theory behind the EITC was that it would encourage greater workforce participation by offering tax incentives to those who would otherwise refuse to take a low-paying job.

Since the EITC’s creation, the threshold for eligibility has been expanded several times, to the point where one in five households now claim the credit. Moreover, as The Wall Street Journal explains, “Government payments exceed cash welfare by six times.” In other words, it’s become a massive wealth-redistribution program.

The Journal further notes, “Complicated rules on eligibility and credit size have encouraged fraud. According to the IRS, a quarter of the $69 billion in EITC payments last year were ‘improper.’ Yet politicians from both parties continue to pump it as a labor inducement [despite] scant evidence it boosts employment.”

Kleven’s research debunks one of the biggest political justifications for the program: the claim that the EITC was responsible for sparking greater labor participation and employment among single-mother households in the early and mid 1990s. He points to the economic expansion and increased employment numbers at the time as the actual cause behind the jump in single working mothers. “Overall and contrary to consensus, the case for sizable extensive margin effects of the EITC is fragile,” Kleven concludes. Translation: Cleverly constructed welfare payments don’t drive people back to work.

Color us shocked — shocked — that another leftist scheme for income redistribution has failed.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68420-eitc-is-just-another-wealth-redistribution-program-2020-02-07

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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Feb. 7, 2020

https://patriotpost.us/digests/68444-mid-day-digest-2020-02-07

THE FOUNDATION1

“To cherish and stimulate the activity of the human mind, by multiplying the objects of enterprise, is not among the least considerable of the expedients, by which the wealth of a nation may be promoted.” —Alexander Hamilton (1791)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/68440-founders-quote-daily-2020-02-07

IN TODAY’S DIGEST

    Stellar Jobs Report Feeds Economic Optimism2
    Working Women a Mixed Blessing3
    Acquitted Trump Hits Back4
    Is America Kicking Its Opioid Habit?5
    EITC Is Just Another Wealth-Redistribution Program6
    Vive La Résistance!7
    Daily Features: News Executive Summary8, Videos9, Best of Right Opinion10, Short Cuts11, Memes12, and Cartoons13.

FEATURED ANALYSIS14

Stellar Jobs Report Feeds Economic Optimism15

Nate Jackson

“Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, crime is falling, confidence is surging, and our country is thriving and highly respected again,” President Donald Trump declared in his State of the Union Address16. “Our economy is the best it has ever been.”

That last bit of typical Trumpian hyperbole may have provoked Trump-deranged Leftmedia “fact checks,” but most Americans are indeed brimming with optimism. Given that the recession of 2008 was a crisis of confidence17, the confidence Trump exudes and the American people feel18 portends good things to come.

How optimistic are we? Gallup’s poll19 on personal finances finds two key things: “59% in U.S. say they are now better off financially than last year,” and “74% say they will be better off financially in a year.” That latter number is the highest in Gallup history.

That confidence is well-founded, reports20 The Wall Street Journal’s James Freeman: “The good news for job seekers … is that recession is nowhere in sight. … Demand for labor is so strong that the significant constraint on economic growth is a lack of workers.”

And speaking of workers, the January jobs report was excellent. “An unseasonably mild January helped power the U.S. jobs market to more gains, with nonfarm payrolls rising 225,000 for the month, well above Wall Street estimates,” CNBC reports. “The unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.6%, but for the right reason as the labor force participation rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 63.4%.” Wages have been rising 3% or more for 18 straight months.

So, while we can apparently give some credit to global warming for the “unseasonably mild January,” the real reason for the continued economic growth is the Trump administration’s policies of low taxes and deregulation.

The current consumer and business confidence levels notwithstanding, don’t underestimate the Democrats’ desire to foment recession fears between now and the November election.

As Mark Alexander declared this week, “While President Trump made clear Tuesday that the State of the Union is strong, the success of this administration deeply concerns Democrat Party leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Charles Schumer — because Trump administration success on behalf of the American people threatens the Pelosi/Schumer political dynasty.”

Two years ago in his column, “Will Democrats Get the Pre-Election Recession They Want?21” Alexander noted, “Democrats are willing to trample grassroots Americans — the ‘Forgotten Man,’ including many of their own constituents — in their relentless pursuit of power… These partisans loathe blue-collar Trump supporters22.”

Nevertheless, the great optimism with which Trump concluded his SOTU is still on the ballot in November.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68439-stellar-jobs-report-feeds-economic-optimism

Working Women a Mixed Blessing23

Brian Mark Weber

During this week’s State of the Union Address16, President Donald Trump touted a particular statistic that we thought worth exploring: “The unemployment rate for women reached the lowest level in almost 70 years. And, last year, women filled 72% of all new jobs added.”

That’s great news for women seeking work (although one wouldn’t know it by watching the stone-faced, white-clad, Trump-hating Democrat women in attendance). But, not surprisingly, many women would rather be at home with their kids.

“Nearly 60 percent of Americans — and a majority of both registered Republicans and registered Democrats — believe that children are better off with one parent at home than they would be in a day-care arrangement,” John Hirschauer writes24 at National Review. He adds, “Beyond the practical effects of day-care on children, many parents — even those already in the workforce — would prefer to be home with their children” if they had the choice and if they could afford it. A 2015 Gallup poll25 backs up this claim.

Of course, this flies in the face of the notion that American mothers are being held captive in their own homes; that they’re itching to hand off their kids to babysitters or day-care centers in order to enter the workforce. And yet it seems Democrats would rather see them out there earning a paycheck instead of at home with their children.

Democrats are pushing for federally funded childcare instead of creating tax incentives that would enable mothers to stay at home during their children’s formative years and pay the bills. They want government to foot the daycare bill as an incentive26 for Mom to get back to work as quickly as possible. Stay-at-home moms, meanwhile, would be on their own.

Generally, the idea of women at work is viewed by liberals and conservatives as a sign of a modern, egalitarian society. Republicans, after all, cheered the president’s mention of the high employment numbers for women. But there’s one factor that makes the issue more complex: nature.

The Washington Examiner’s Suzanne Venker writes27, “We envision ourselves progressive when it comes to women and work, but women are still (and always will be) the sex that gets pregnant.”

This doesn’t mean that women can’t or shouldn’t work. Women are now the majority of the workforce, and they’re performing admirably. But something is missing. Many childless, career-driven women feel unfulfilled28 by a career alone. Meanwhile, the negative effects29 of a society with large numbers of unemployed men are only recently being understood.

“Men have an innate desire to protect and to provide for their families,” Venker adds, “but most women (unless they’re single mothers) work for different reasons: for autonomy, for extra income, or because they believe that without work, they aren’t valuable. (Not true, but you can thank feminists for that.) Whatever the reason, it’s not because they have a desire to support a husband.”

The issue of working mothers will be wrestled with for years to come, but one thing is already clear: Simply providing them with government subsidies won’t address the range of societal issues that affect the quality of their lives and the lives of their families.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68431-working-women-a-mixed-blessing-2020-02-07

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NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY63

GRANDSTANDING WAS REHEARSED: Pelosi pre-ripped SOTU speech during Trump address (Fox News64)

AWESOME: McConnell, immediately after impeachment acquittal, files cloture on more judges to remake judiciary (The Daily Wire65)

“HE SHREDDED THE TRUTH”: Pelosi unloaded on Trump in private meeting after SOTU standoff (Politico66)

REMINDER: Top Romney adviser worked with Hunter Biden on board of Ukrainian energy company (The Federalist67)

CLEARER PICTURE: Buttigieg, Sanders nearly tied as Iowa caucus results narrow (AP68)

TRADE TRUCE: China cuts tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. imports (AP69)

FOR THE RECORD: ObamaCare made things worse for patients with preexisting conditions (The Daily Signal70)

RAINBOW MAFIA: “Sesame Street” to feature cross-dressing gay entertainer for impressionable preschoolers (The Federalist71)

WHEN RITUAL IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN REUSE: Baltimore County admits it hasn’t been recycling glass for seven years; it still encourages residents to recycle glass (Reason72)

POLICY: The deregulatory achievements of the Trump Labor Department (National Review73)

POLICY: As Trump said in State of the Union, demand for school choice is huge (Washington Examiner74)

SATIRE: Democrats leave chair empty at State of the Union to honor fallen hero Qasem Soleimani (The Babylon Bee75)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights76.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68407-thursday-news-executive-summary-2020-02-06

VIDEOS14

    Video: Pelosi and Her Fellow Dems Have SOTU Sadness77 — Whether it was shaking heads or tearing up Trump’s speech, Democrats weren’t too happy.
    Video: Rush Limbaugh’s Diagnosis Threatens Voice of Conservatism78 — Due to advanced lung cancer, Limbaugh’s dynasty faces its biggest challenge yet.
    Video: It’s Black History Month, but This Time Something’s Different79 — Allen West deciphers the philosophical and principle shift occurring among blacks.
    Video: The Narrative vs. the Truth on Healthcare80 — Jason Siler addresses the Left’s bogus narrative regarding our healthcare system.

SHORT CUTS82

No kidding: “I wish Romney fought as hard for voters in 2012 as he does against the Trump administration.” —Dana Loesch

Just saying: “I wasn’t sure if [Nancy Pelosi] was ripping up the speech83 or ripping up the Constitution.” —Mike Pence

Friendly fire: “A warning to Democrats — what [President Trump] was saying to African-Americans can be effective. You may not like it, but he mentioned HBCUs [historically black colleges and universities]. Our black colleges have been struggling for a long time — a bunch of them have gone under. He threw a lifeline to them, in real life, in his budget. He talked about that. He talked about the criminal justice reform. He talked about opportunity zones. He talked about school choice. … We got to wake up, folks. … We say, ‘Well, he said "s-hole nations,” therefore all black people gonna hate him forever.’ That ain’t necessarily so.“ —Van Jones

A stopped clock is right twice a day: "Those were some really poignant moments. I don’t know if you saw them, but you should go online and look. The president in that speech [Tuesday night] celebrated what the country is about from one set of moments, our diversity, how we overcome, how we come together.” —CNN’s Chris Cuomo

Snowflake: “Even the mention of Brett Kavanaugh for me is a trigger. Just as a woman in America, the fact that he, you know, rightfully was accused, and having an incredibly strong woman come before the public and the world and tell her story of sexual assault by this person that was appointed to the Supreme Court is just — I couldn’t stand still and not do anything about it, and I needed to walk away from that.” —Rep. Rashida Tlaib on why she stormed out of the SOTU

Hot air: “In the year 2020, how can a president of the United States give a State of the Union speech and not mention climate change?” —Sen. Bernie Sanders

No way to spin it: “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We took a gut punch in Iowa. The whole process took a gut punch. But look, this isn’t the first time in my life I’ve been knocked down.” —Joe Biden on his fourth-place finish

Spare us the dialogue: “As the president’s impeachment trial began, Republican senators pledged an oath to defend the Constitution. Today, 52 of them voted to betray that oath — and all of us. We’re entering dangerous territory for our democracy. It’ll take all of us working together to restore it.” —Hillary Clinton

And last… “Democrats think President Donald Trump committed a high crime or misdemeanor the moment he defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. That is the original sin of this presidency — that he won, and they lost.” —Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68406-thursday-short-cuts-2020-02-06

TODAY’S MEME84

https://patriotpost.us/memes/68402-hey-mitt-2020-02-06

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union84.

TODAY’S CARTOON85

https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/28217

For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive85.

Join us in prayer for our Patriots in uniform and their families — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way, and for our nation’s First Responders. We also ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the Spirit of Liberty86 in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

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In 2016, superdelegates were allowed to vote on the first ballot, and they overwhelmingly sided with Hillary Clinton. The rule was changed to placate the party’s increasingly leftist members, who viewed it as an integral part of the effort to sandbag Sanders. His supporters would undoubtedly be enraged by any reversal of the reversal.

Yet if a brokered convention occurs and a possibly front-running Sanders is still sandbagged by party insiders? At the 1968 Democrat Convention, there was rioting in the streets outside the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. This time there might be rioting on the convention floor itself at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, especially when one considers some of the revealed comments48 made by a Sanders campaign operative. “If Bernie doesn’t get the nomination or if it goes to a second round at the DNC convention, f—ing Milwaukee will burn,” said campaign staffer Kyle Jurek. “It’ll start in Milwaukee. And when the police push back on that, other cities will just explode.”

As for Sanders himself, The Washington Post reports49 that, if elected, he would issue a series of executive orders “he could unilaterally enact.” They include a halt of border-wall construction, a reversal of Trump’s immigration policy, the reinstatement of the Obama administration policy granting legal status to illegal aliens, declaring climate change a national emergency (and thus halting the exportation of oil), and the cancellation of federal contracts for businesses paying workers less than $15 an hour.

For Democrats who don’t “feel the Bern,” such policies are untenable. “Democratic donors and party insiders are warning that large swaths of their voters could stay home — or even defect to Trump — if Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders snags the nomination,” the New York Post reports50. Michael Kempner, a longtime Democrat donor who has given money to Biden and Pete Buttigieg, sees the proverbial writing on the wall. “For Democrats to win,” he warns, “the election must be a referendum on Trump and not a debate about socialism.”

By contrast, columnist Roger L. Simon believes that debate is exactly what America needs. “This wouldn’t be a so-called ‘uni-party’ election resulting in minor differences in the tax code, as it usually does,” he explains51. “Trump versus Sanders would be capitalism versus socialism!”

Undoubtedly. Moreover, there is a searing irony attached to this ongoing debacle: A Democrat Party that has long cultivated an increasingly radical-leftist, power-consolidating agenda now has a genuinely radical-leftist candidate with the backing of equally radical supporters — but the party establishment is terrified.

Why? Because unlike other Democrats, Sanders has upended the party tradition of obscuring its radicalism until after the election. In short, Sanders won’t make phony centrist appeals that conflict with his agenda just to win votes. He is, as they say, “all in.”

The Democrat establishment? It will go all out to stop him. “Hell hath no fury like Bernie’s millennials if they are thwarted,” warns52 columnist Miranda Devine.

Thwarted? Betrayed is the far more likely scenario. And it won’t be even slightly coincidental.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68392-sandbagging-sanders-2020-02-06

Ronald Reagan’s Birthday53

Thursday, Feb. 6, marks the 109th anniversary of President Ronald Wilson Reagan’s birthday, or, as he would have phrased it, the 70th anniversary of his 39th birthday.

Either way, we’re grateful beyond measure for his service to our country, the shining City on a Hill, and his steadfast devotion to American Liberty54.

In honor of his birthday, we remember “The Speech55” — his 1964 address that vaulted him to national prominence: “The Founding Fathers knew a government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing. … You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right, there is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream — the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order — or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.”

“It’s time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers. James Madison said, ‘We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self government.’ This idea — that government was beholden to the people, that it had no other source of power — is still the newest, most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man. This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.”

He concluded, “You and I have a rendezvous with destiny.”

We also invite you to visit The Patriot Post’s vast collection of commentary and resources on our nation’s 40th president.

Mark Alexander’s essays:

The Reagan Centennial56

The Reagan Model for Restoration57

Ronald Reagan: North Star of the Conservative Revolution58

The Twilight’s Last Gleaming — God Bless Ronald Reagan59

And, of course, Reagan2020.US60

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68382-ronald-reagans-birthday-2020-02-06

President Donald Trump’s SOTU Guest List61

The honored guests that President Donald Trump recognized during his State of the Union address included:

    Stephanie and Janiyah Davis from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Janiyah is stuck in a failing school, though Trump is pushing for school choice to help her.

    Kelli and Gage Hake from Stillwater, Oklahoma, were there to represent Gold Star Families after Army Staff Sergeant Christopher Hake was killed while serving his second tour of duty in Iraq.

    Jody Jones from Farmersville, California, lost his brother, who was brutally murdered by an illegal alien.

    Iain Lanphier from Scottsdale, Arizona, wants to join the Space Force, and he’s the great-grandson of Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee.

    Carl and Marsha Mueller from Prescott, Arizona, lost their daughter, Kayla, to the brutal jihadi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

    Deputy Chief Raul Ortiz from Del Rio, Texas, has helped protect America’s homeland for nearly three decades.

    Tony Rankins from Cincinnati, Ohio, served in the Army in Afghanistan. Due to PTSD, he became addicted to drugs and ended up losing his job, family, and home. He now works in an Opportunity Zone and has overcome addiction, rejoining his family.

    Robin and Ellie Schneider from Kansas City, Missouri — Ellie was born at 21 weeks, six days, and is one of the youngest premies to survive in the U.S.

    Amy Williams works full time for the Army and devotes hundreds of hours to helping military families, all while raising her two children as her husband — Sergeant First Class Townsend Williams — serves on his fourth deployment. The Williams Family, of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were reunited at the Address.

Each of these Americans, in their own way, represent the greatness of our country, and Trump masterfully wove them into his State of the Union Address27.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68381-president-donald-trumps-sotu-guest-list-2020-02-06
Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read 2020: The Great State of the Union27. “I say to the people of our great country and to the members of Congress: The state of our Union is stronger than ever before.”

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column by email every Wednesday, update your subscription here62.

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For background:

President Donald Trump26 clearly outlined, prior to Pelosi’s criminal actions, that the State of the Union27 is strong. The success of this administration deeply concerns Rep. Pelosi and her U.S. Senate counterpart, Charles Schumer (D-NY), leaders of the Democrat Party28, because the success of the Trump administration on behalf of the American people threatens the Pelosi/Schumer political dynasty.

As evidence of her malicious intent, Rep. Pelosi bookended the President’s speech with insults, deliberately omitting the traditional words of introduction, “Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States,” and opting instead to state, “Members of Congress, the President of the United States.”

Once at the podium, President Trump personally delivered to Rep. Pelosi the official signed State of the Union transcript as prepared for the Congress.

During the President’s remarks, Rep. Pelosi scored cuts in the official transcript of the State of the Union, demonstrating premeditation in preparation for destroying it at the conclusion of the speech. After the President completed his remarks, Rep. Pelosi committed an act that starkly demonstrated her cadre’s hatred of Mr. Trump and his grassroots American supporters29, whom these partisans loathe30.

Rep. Pelosi took the official State of the Union transcript and, page-by-page, willfully mutilated and destroyed that document. Rep. Pelosi maliciously obliterated what she called the “dirty” speech, later confessing: “I tore it up. I was trying to find one page with truth on it. I couldn’t.” Notably, Rep. Pelosi also shredded the names of the great Americans listed on those pages, living and deceased, and the names of Americans in the gallery. In doing so, she libelously denigrated each of them personally by suggesting there was no truth to their life stories.

The actions of Rep. Pelosi constitute a violation of 18 U.S.C. 2071, actions that were premeditated in collusion with co-conspirators within her caucus. The signed official State of the Union Address that Rep. Pelosi destroyed was property of the United States of America. Rep. Pelosi had no records-disposition order providing her with the specific authority to destroy that official government record.

Further, the White House media director confirmed, “The speech she ripped up was a one-of-a-kind record, signed by POTUS… It belonged to the American people, not to [Pelosi].” That assessment was affirmed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Thus, this official signed transcript of the State of the Union speech falls under the Presidential Records Act of 197831.

According to 18 U.S.C. 207132: “Whoever, having the custody of any such record … willfully and unlawfully … mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit [his or her] office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.”

Concurring with this assessment that Rep. Pelosi violated 18 U.S.C. 2071, House Judiciary Committee member Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has filed an official complaint with the House Committee on Ethics, noting: “There is no question that Speaker Pelosi ‘mutilated, obliterated, or destroyed’ the copy of the President’s address provided to her. The law does not allow the Speaker of the House to destroy the records of the House…”

I respectfully request a prompt reply from the Department of Justice concerning this criminal complaint and the legality of Rep. Pelosi’s actions, as well as of those who had prior knowledge of this criminal act.

Sincerely,

Mark Alexander
Publisher, The Patriot Post

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68391-filed-department-of-justice-criminal-complaint-against-rep-nancy-pelosi-2020-02-06

Sandbagging Sanders33

Arnold Ahlert

When are “coincidences” no longer believable — and a Democrat Party civil war seemingly inevitable?

On February 1, the Des Moines Register informed34 its readers why it decided not to release the final installment of the CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll, indicating where the Democrat presidential candidates stood heading into Monday’s first-in-the-nation primary (caucus) vote. According to the paper, “A candidate’s name was omitted in at least one interview in which the respondent was asked to name their preferred candidate.” And despite the fact that it appeared to be a single instance, the paper decided not to publish the same poll it has conducted and published for 76 years “out of an abundance of caution.”

Perhaps. Or perhaps, as a tweet35 by reporter/conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich indicated, Bernie Sanders finished first and Joe Biden finished last. For the less conspiratorial, political analysis website FiveThirtyEight’s final poll36 on February 3 had Biden in second place, but Sanders still maintained the top spot.

After Monday night, none of it was supposed to matter because the Iowa caucuses would remove all doubt as to which candidate the voters preferred.

Except that they didn’t37. Although denied by party officials, a disastrous new smartphone app created for caucus organizers by Shadow, a tech firm run38 by veterans of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, failed to properly tally the votes. The chaos39 continued into Wednesday evening40. While results remained officially unfinished, three things became clear: Biden’s media-anointed status as the frontrunner is a sham, Sanders remains a potent force, and a Democrat Party that wants to run the country is composed of embarrassing incompetents bedazzled by dubious technology.

Regardless, that’s two coincidences. Yet for Sanders supporters, two other developments also seemed destined to undercut their candidate. One is the reality that the DNC has changed41 the debate rules — candidates no longer need to meet a minimum number of donations to appear on the debate stage in Nevada on February 19. This paves the way for the appearance of billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who is not soliciting any campaign donations. Again, it is undoubtedly sheer coincidence that Bloomberg is the only Democrat candidate who has personally donated42 money to the DNC, to the tune of $300,000.

Two, Sanders supporters believe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delay in sending articles of impeachment to the Senate was designed to keep Sanders off the campaign trail, while Biden remained unimpeded by the subsequent trial. This particular manipulation was seen as a reprise of the DNC’s effort to undermine43 Sanders in favor of Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Democrats are facing a “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” conundrum. If Sanders wins the nomination, the man who honeymooned44 in the Soviet Union, praised45 Fidel Castro’s revolution in Cuba and the Sandinista46 revolution in Nicaragua, and advocates for free college, free healthcare (even for illegal aliens), a moratorium on deportations, and just about every other big-government, redistributionist, national-debt-exploding scheme imaginable would likely get crushed in the general election.

On the other hand, if Bernie loses the nomination and his supporters believe it’s due to DNC malfeasance or subterfuge, they will likely stay home, or possibly vote third party, also enabling Trump to prevail.

A brokered convention? According47 to Politico, a handful of Democrat insiders have “discussed the possibility of a policy reversal to ensure that so-called superdelegates can vote on the first ballot at the party’s national convention.” This is viewed as a way to “potentially weaken Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and head off a brokered convention.”

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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Feb. 6, 2020

https://patriotpost.us/digests/68411-mid-day-digest-2020-02-06

THE FOUNDATION1

“Men of energy of character must have enemies; because there are two sides to every question, and taking one with decision, and acting on it with effect, those who take the other will of course be hostile in proportion as they feel that effect.” —Thomas Jefferson (1817)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/68410-founders-quote-daily-2020-02-06

IN TODAY’S DIGEST

    Trump ‘Acquitted for Life’2
    The Political Tragedy of Mitt Romney3
    Filed: Department of Justice Criminal Complaint Against Rep. Nancy Pelosi4
    Sandbagging Sanders5
    Ronald Reagan’s Birthday6
    President Donald Trump’s SOTU Guest List7
    Daily Features: News Executive Summary8, Videos9, Best of Right Opinion10, Short Cuts11, Memes12, and Cartoons13.

FEATURED ANALYSIS14

Trump ‘Acquitted for Life’15

Thomas Gallatin

Wednesday was a memorable day for our Republic. For only the third time in U.S. history, the Senate voted to acquit the president of articles of impeachment introduced by the House. To this day, no U.S. president has been convicted by the Senate and removed from office, and with President Donald Trump the vote wasn’t even close. In a clear repudiation of the House Democrats’ partisan impeachment charade, the Senate voted 53-47 and 52-48 acquitting Trump of the Democrats’ two vacuous charges. The lone Republican siding with the Democrats on the “abuse of power” charge was, unsurprisingly, Mitt Romney16, the GOP presidential nominee who lost to Barack Obama. Thus ends the most hyper-partisan impeachment in U.S. history.

Trump celebrated his acquittal and promised to further respond to “our Country’s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax!” by noon Thursday. It certainly is a big win for the president, for the Republican Party, and for the country. Once again, the wisdom of our Framers was poignantly displayed, as the Democrats’ politically motived gambit failed precisely because impeachment was never designed or intended to be used as a political tool by the opposing party to oust a duly elected president over purely partisan sentiments. As The Wall Street Journal notes17, “Chalk up one more victory for the Framers of the Constitution, who realized the dangers of political factions and created the Senate to check them.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s petulant action of tearing up18 her copy of Trump’s State of the Union Address perfectly matched the grossly partisan nature of the Democrats’ impeachment charade. Thus, in response to her declaration that Trump is “impeached for life,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy shared a video19 of himself declaring Trump “Acquitted for life” as he tears up a copy of the articles of impeachment.

Getting back to the vote, what may have come as a minor surprise was the fact that Joe Manchin (WV) and Doug Jones (AL), Democrat senators representing solidly pro-Trump states, voted to convict Trump. Then again, it’s really not surprising at all. In Jones’s case, his chance for winning reelection in 2020 in deep-red Alabama is so slim that no matter how he voted he’s unlikely to win — so why break with his party? He might as well be a loyal sailor and go down with the ship.

In Manchin’s case, the calculation was that of pragmatism. He’s not up for reelection until 2024, so that was hardly a pressing concern. The bigger factor was his standing within the party and the reality that if the Democrats win control of the Senate in November he doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of Chuck Schumer for failing to hold the party line. In all likelihood, Schumer also engaged in a little quid pro quo with Manchin to ensure his vote to convict. As we have previously noted, the Democrats’ primary aim with their impeachment gambit was not the removal of Trump but winning control of the Senate. Schumer’s oft-repeated talking point is that Senate Republicans held an unfair impeachment trial. For that to have any appearance of credibility, he couldn’t have any Democrat defectors.

Finally, immediately following the Senate’s acquittal vote, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell got back to business by filing cloture on several judges. He continues the unrelentingly effort20 to act on Trump’s agenda to fill the nation’s federal courts with solid constitutionally committed judges.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68409-trump-acquitted-for-life

The Political Tragedy of Mitt Romney16

Harold Hutchison

With his vote to convict President Donald Trump on one of the two dubious articles of impeachment, Mitt Romney became the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a president of his own party. He also managed to cement himself as arguably the biggest tragedy in American politics in recent years.

Romney has served his country, including saving the 2002 Winter Olympics while working for free and serving a term as governor of Massachusetts, also forgoing his salary. He twice ran for president, which takes an enormous commitment of time and energy that, in Romney’s case at least, indicates a deep love for the country and a desire to make it better. The same can be said for Trump’s decision to run for the office. Had Romney won in 2008 or 2012, our nation would have been spared all or some of the woeful Barack Obama years.

As we noted in 2016, Romney was right about Trump’s numerous flaws21. (If President Trump’s personal life had been closer to Romney’s, the GOP would potentially be in a much better position in the suburbs22.) And Romney has been correct about our departure from the principles of the Founders23.

That said, despite grasping the problem, Romney is a deeply flawed messenger who is unable to bring himself to do what needs to be done in order to get back to those principles — partly because he has been on both sides of every important issue. Trump, character flaws and his own flip-flopping notwithstanding, has been willing to fight the Left.

Arguably, Romney’s “good guy” persona has rendered him unable to deal with the realities we currently face. In 2012, he was viciously attacked as a tax cheat by Harry Reid and accused of wanting to put African Americans back in chains by Joe Biden. Had a fraction of the fire and energy Romney aims at Trump been directed at Reid and Biden in the 2012 election, Romney would have won and rendered Trump unnecessary. Instead, he’s relegated to throwing barbs at Trump24 from the Senate, even if he does support the president’s agenda 80% of the time (more than several other Republicans).

While turning the other cheek may be good for the soul, in politics, it is unilateral disarmament.

Romney’s vote to convict burned a lot of bridges and, in 2024, he will have to face the voters of Utah, who will render their verdict. He may well end up a one-term senator when he could have been a good president. That is the real tragedy.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68397-the-political-tragedy-of-mitt-romney-2020-02-06

Filed: Department of Justice Criminal Complaint Against Rep. Nancy Pelosi18

Mark Alexander

To the Honorable William Pelham Barr, United States Attorney General, and to the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice:

At approximately 2218 hours on Tuesday, 04 February 2020, I witnessed clear and indisputable evidence of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House, committing an act that I believe brazenly and feloniously violates federal law, specifically 18 U.S.C. 2071. In fact, her actions were witnessed by federal law-enforcement officials and she may have colluded with members of her political caucus who were also witness to this act, in premeditation for the commission of this offense. Please see this video evidence25 in support of this complaint that Rep. Pelosi violated 18 U.S.C. 2071 and the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

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The Patriot Post® · Sanders on Women's Gang-Rape Fantasies

By Mark Alexander · Feb. 5, 2020 · https://patriotpost.us/alexander/68390-sanders-on-womens-gang-rape-fantasies-2020-02-05

    “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” —John Adams (1798)

While endlessly waiting for the Demos’ Iowa caucus comedy1 to conclude, the Socialist Democrats’2 78-year-old Patron Saint of Witless Rants, Bernard Sanders, shared some feelings: “I have a strong feeling that at some point the results will be announced. … I have a good feeling we are going to be doing very, very well here in Iowa.”

That being said, the latest tabulations indicate Sanders is neck and neck with the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, the latter’s performance considered an Iowa anomaly. Trailing them by seven points is Bernie’s chief socialist competitor, Cherokee candidate Elizabeth Warren3. Trailing Sanders by a full 10 points is Joe Biden, which has the Demos in full panic mode4.

Sanders and Warren are likely to be running first and second in New Hampshire.

Recall that after the last Demo debate, Bernie had a little powwow with Warren over whether a woman could be president. In the end, they agreed to disagree as to who said what — opting instead to call each other liars5.

For what it’s worth, I think Bernie did make that claim, and my theory is that he doesn’t believe a woman could be elected president because she’d be too preoccupied with gang-rape fantasies.

Wait, I can explain.

Back in 1972, Sanders claimed in one of his pseudo-intellectual essays, “Man and Woman6,” that “A woman enjoys intercourse with her man — as she fantasizes being raped by 3 men simultaneously.” Apparently, Sanders suffered from acute non compos mentis syndrome back then, too.

So, why the interest in something Sanders said in 1972? I mean, I said things in the ‘70s that don’t reflect my views today — albeit nothing so profoundly asinine as Sanders’s comment.

But for Sanders, the problem is that he did not attempt to walk back that assertion7 until 2015, and then only under pressure when he was running for president against a female opponent, Hillary Clinton8.

As Sanders told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd: “This is a piece of fiction that I wrote in 1972, I think. That was 43 years ago. It was very poorly written. If you read it, it was dealing with gender stereotypes. Why some men like to oppress women. Why other women like to be submissive. You know, something like 'Fifty Shades of Grey.’ Very poorly written. Forty-three years ago.”

Actually, it was social commentary, but it’s clear that everything flowing from Sanders’s head should be fairly classified as “fiction.” And after #MeToo went viral, Sanders hoped against hope that his misogynistic missive would somehow escape further mention. It didn’t.

To put his commentary into context, this rubbish was written after his divorce from Deborah Shiling Messing and his affair with Susan Campbell Mott, who gave birth to his out-of-wedlock son and only descendant, Levi. We’re not sure to which of them Sanders attributes the fantasies, but despite his offensive denigration of women, he would later convince Jane O'Meara Driscoll to marry him. They had a taxpayer-funded honeymoon in the Soviet Union as part of Bernie’s official capacity as mayor of Burlington, Vermont. That was his first public office, which he won by promising not to raise property taxes9 as much as the incumbent mayor.

Like his latest praise for the failed socialist state of Venezuela10, he once argued that a sure sign of the Soviet economy’s success11 was that people were standing in line for food. “That’s a good thing!” he said.

Setting aside Bernie’s odd fantasies about women and economics, his considerable lead over Biden is causing a lot of Democrat Party heartburn. As National Review political observer Jim Geraghty12 notes, “Bernie is frightening the Democrats. Establishment Democrats suddenly realize Bernie Sanders might win the nomination.” (Geraghty also compiled Twenty Things You Probably Didn’t Know about Bernie Sanders13.)

A year ago, in my column “Take Sanders’s 2020 Campaign Seriously and Literally14,” I noted, “Sanders is crushing his opponents’ fundraising efforts, and his campaign has already signed up more than a million collectivist volunteers.” And that hasn’t changed.

Indeed, so concerned are the establishment Demos that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a charter member of the “Archenemies of Liberty15” Club, has positioned himself as a convention insurance policy against Sanders’s nomination16. He’s also planning to spend $1.5 billion on advertising to defeat Donald Trump17 regardless of who the nominee is. Make no mistake: Bloomberg, a longtime enemy of Trump, is the most dangerous Demo in the field — and if Biden continues to falter, Bloomberg may go from a Bernie firewall to brokered-convention nominee.

Last May, in “The Democrat Party’s ‘Collective Constituencies’ Voter Strategy18,” looking through my dusty and barely opaque crystal ball into political futures, I projected that Biden will be the Demo nominee, if he can find a way to do what Hillary Clinton8 did to rig the primary against Sanders19. And I suggested that he would choose a younger running mate from the opposite race, sex, and coast — Sen. Kamala Harris20 (D-CA).

But it now increasingly appears that, after Nancy Pelosi and her cadre lost control of the impeachment charade21, Biden became an unintentional collateral victim of that miscalculation.

What is certain is that Bloomberg and the eventual Demo nominee (if not him) are going to do everything they can to keep the Trump administration from Keeping America Great in 2020 and Beyond22. They will use their considerable resources, combined with the enormous influence of their Leftmedia propagandists23, to undermine Liberty24 and advance their statist agenda.

If that nominee is actually Sanders, he should have his feelings about female fantasies challenged at every stump speech. While Democrat Party strategists believe their women voters are emotionally incontinent idiots25, they may have some second thoughts about gang-rape fantasies.

Meanwhile, there is one caucus result in Iowa that was clear. Donald Trump17 won 97% of the Republican support, with the remaining 3% split between “Never Trumpers” Bill Weld and Joe Walsh. And given the strength of his administration’s record, as aptly outlined in his State of the Union26 Address, he is likely to overcome the odds and remain President Trump four more years.

Footnote: The failure of the Iowa Democrats to provide results by Tuesday evening is yet one more reason that this first-in-the-nation caucus nonsense should be relegated to the political trash heap. Iowa and New Hampshire should not wield that much influence on candidate futures.

Update As expected, President Trump was acquitted on both articles of impeachment27. The Senate voted 52-48 to acquit the president of the abuse of power charge and 53-47 to acquit the president of the obstruction of Congress charge. Mitt Romney, of course, voted with the Democrats on the abuse of power charge. Remarkably, Doug Jones (D-AL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) did not break ranks with Democrats, and will likely pay a political price in their respective states, which Trump carried by wide margins in 2016.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

Join us in prayer for our Patriots in uniform and their families — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way, and for our nation’s First Responders. We also ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the Spirit of Liberty24 in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

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https://patriotpost.us/articles/68348-twitter-democrats-are-most-extreme-leftists-2020-02-05

Wishing Black History Weren’t ‘Black’44

Grassroots perspective by Willie Richardson

It’s about that time of year when pictures of prominent black inventors, physicians, abolitionists, and judges are displayed in the hallways of schools and churches. The month where black people feel a certain way about themselves. A time when black celebrities and athletes pay homage to the person who broke color barriers in their field of sports and entertainment. As a child, I remember there were three people you would definitely hear about during Black History Month: Dr. King, Malcolm X, and a tie between either Rosa Parks or Harriet Tubman. From “I Have a Dream” to not giving up a seat on the bus to a white man.

Unfortunately, Black History is ghettoized from mainstream American history. Segregation still exists within the present day “Black History” celebration. It’s not the separation of color and history, but an apartheid of context and history. History does not see color, yet this is the way our schools and churches investigate it. Must we continue telling history from a hue perspective instead of a human one?

First, let’s examine the origins of Black History Month. It was known as African American History Month, which came from “Negro History Week.” Historian Carter G. Woodson created this brainchild along with other prominent African Americans. In 1926, national Negro History Week was always the second week of February to celebrate the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Isn’t that something?

This entire Black History Month “celebration” was centered between a white Republican president and a black Republican abolitionist. Even the NAACP was founded on February 12, 1909, the centennial anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

As it relates to history, you cannot celebrate Lewis Latimer without including Thomas Edison. You cannot teach about Robert Peary and the North Pole without including Matthew Henson, an explorer of the North Pole. You cannot celebrate Colonel Charles Young without including Major John J. Pershing and the Punitive Expedition. You cannot celebrate Frederick Douglass without appreciating the contributions of William Lloyd Garrison.

Black History Month disconnects American history, culture, and ideals, and, worst of all, it disconnects blacks from whites.

This nation has witnessed the blood, sweat, and tears of both whites and blacks and that story should be told as one. I wish Black History weren’t “black” but a call to freedom, excellence, triumph, and hope. These ideals have no color; they are American. Welcome to American History.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68349-wishing-black-history-werent-black-2020-02-05

NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY45

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Susan Collins will vote to acquit Trump, saying he’s “learned” from impeachment (CBS News46)

2020 VISION: Trump job approval at personal best 49% (Gallup35)

PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA: Nevada Democrats vow not to use the same app that contributed to Iowa caucus failure (National Review47)

WHO’D A THUNK IT? Sacramento proposes homeless shelter near school. It doesn’t go well. (Hot Air48)

GOOD GUYS WIN THE SKIRMISH: Virginia Senate blocks another Northam-backed gun bill (Fox News49)

CORONAVIRUS: Hong Kong and Taiwan, territories that China sees as its own, restrict travel from the mainland (The Washington Post50)

POLICY: Impeachment shows the ethical difficulties of foreign assistance (The Hill51)

POLICY: Brexit’s three key implications for U.S. policymakers (The Heritage Foundation52)

HUMOR: Iowa caucus results delayed due to DNC using Common Core math to tally votes (Genesius Times53)

BUT NOT TO WORRY — THEY GOT IT FIGURED OUT: Surprise candidate Hiltasha Clintonov declared winner of Iowa caucus (The Babylon Bee54)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights55.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68371-wednesday-news-executive-summary-2020-02-05

VIDEOS14

    Video: Pelosi’s BIG State of the Union Lie56 — “I tore it up. I was trying to find one page with truth on it. I couldn’t.”
    Video: Super Bowl Halftime Show: Cultural Decay57 — Recent NFL Halftime Shows represent a culture crisis, because they treat women as sex objects.
    Video: CNN Slams Trump’s ‘Unwoke’ Coronavirus Panel58 — Diversity is more important than mitigating death by flu in the mind of the Leftmedia.
    Video: Everyone’s a Criminal59 — Thanks mostly to unelected bureaucrats, you probably broke the law today.

SHORT CUTS61

For the record: “Trump stands accused, in essence, of making substantive U.S. foreign policy decisions based on his desire to be reelected president. No president has ever been impeached for this.” —Paul Mirengoff

Pretty much: “I felt that the House managers really took our Constitution, threw it on the ground, drove a bus over it, then for good measure backed up over it again.” —Sen. Joni Ernst

Nailed it: “We saw Nancy Pelosi ripping up a speech just like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi and others have been trying to rip apart America for the last three years.” —Rep. Mark Meadows

Pretty dumb, ain’t it? “The same Democrats who want to take over everyone’s healthcare and micromanage the entire economy couldn’t even organize their own traditional Iowa caucuses?” —Mitch McConnell

Friendly fire: “The Democrats can’t even get a three-car funeral organized or whatever you want to call it.” —MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on the Iowa debacle

Race bait: “The Iowa caucus is essentially the perfect example of systemic racism. Ninety-one percent of the voters in Iowa are white. The reason why you see a drop in turnout, I’m just speculating here, it could be perhaps that white children are not in the cages. So when you’re talking about the tangible pain that black and brown people are feeling, they feel a sense of urgency because their kids are being put in cages, right? So if you have 91% white electorate, that sense of urgency may not be reflected in the turnout numbers. I’m not saying that’s the reason for this. It could be a factor.” —MSNBC’s Zerlina Maxwell

Braying jenny: “The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people. The American people expect and deserve a President to have integrity and respect for the aspirations for their children.” —Nancy Pelosi in a statement following the State of the Union, which she tore in half at its conclusion

Braying jackass: “This was a state of the base speech, not a state of the union speech. The state of the Trump base is strong. The state of the union is deeply divided.” —CNN’s Jim Acosta

And last… “It really is remarkable how many reporters, not just pundits, have been praising Pelosi for several months as a strategic genius and the only thing she’s done is gotten the President’s approval rating to a record high.” —Erick Erickson

https://patriotpost.us/articles/68370-wednesday-short-cuts-2020-02-05

TODAY’S MEME62

https://patriotpost.us/memes/68363-that-face-2020-02-05

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union62.

TODAY’S CARTOON63

https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/28207

For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive63.

Join us in prayer for our Patriots in uniform and their families — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way, and for our nation’s First Responders. We also ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the Spirit of Liberty64 in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis