The Patriot Post Digest 10-29-2015

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The Patriot Post Digest 10-29-2015
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Daily Digest

Oct. 29, 2015

THE FOUNDATION

“During the course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been levelled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety.” —Thomas Jefferson, 1805

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
‘What Is Your Biggest Weakness?’1

By Nate Jackson

“What is your biggest weakness and what are you doing to address it?” That was the first of many hostile, biased, personally insulting and just plain stupid questions the 11 Republican candidates fielded from the moderators in the debate last night. Has there ever been a debate in which the moderators behaved so poorly?

Indeed, CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla’s opening question could be turned around on the moderators. He, Becky Quick and John Harwood didn’t even attempt to conceal their contempt for the candidates on stage, and they ended up making themselves the story. Perhaps that’s to be expected when, for the last 30 years, conservatives have increasing cried “foul” on Leftmedia bias, and the general public no longer trusts the press. The moderators seemed to have concluded they needn’t bother feigning objectivity, opting to move on with their Democrat activism. No wonder the audience booed them.

On the flip side, the moderators' petulant bias prompted some great moments from the candidates who rejected the premise of the questions and turned their fire toward Democrats. Three candidates did particularly well in this department: Chris Christie, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Right off the bat, Christie parried the “weakness” question by pointing to Democrats. “I don’t see a lot of weakness on this stage, quite frankly,” he said. “Where I see the weakness is in those three people that are left on the Democratic stage. You know, I see a socialist, an isolationist and a pessimist. And for the sake of me, I can’t figure out which one is which.”

Christie consistently rejected the Big Government basis for questions, and set about to contrast with Democrats rather than his fellow Republicans. His answer to the inane fantasy football question was outstanding: “Carl, are we really talking about getting government involved in fantasy football? We have $19 trillion in debt. We have people out of work. We have ISIS and al-Qaida attacking us. And we’re talking about fantasy football?”

As good as Christie was, Cruz and Rubio were even better. Quintanilla asked Cruz, “Does your opposition to [the debt-limit deal in Congress] show that you’re not the kind of problem-solver American voters want?”

Cruz responded with a spectacular takedown of his leftist interrogators:

“You know, let me say something at the outset. The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media. This is not a cage match. And, you look at the questions — ‘Donald Trump, are you a comic-book villain?’ ‘Ben Carson, can you do math?’ ‘John Kasich, will you insult two people over here?’ ‘Marco Rubio, why don’t you resign?’ ‘Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?’ How about talking about the substantive issues the people care about?

"The contrast [is stark] with the Democratic debate, where every fawning question from the media was, ‘Which of you is more handsome and why?’

"Let me be clear. The men and women on this stage have more ideas, more experience, more common sense than every participant in the Democratic debate. That debate reflected a debate between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. And nobody watching at home believed that any of the moderators had any intention of voting in a Republican primary. The questions that are being asked shouldn’t be trying to get people to tear into each other. It should be what are your substantive positions.”

The most memorable assault on general Leftmedia propaganda came from Rubio. “I know the Democrats have the ultimate super PAC. It’s called the mainstream media,” he said. That line could outlive this campaign.

“Last week,” Rubio elaborated, “Hillary Clinton went before a committee2. She admitted she had sent emails to her family saying, ‘Hey, this attack at Benghazi was caused by al-Qaida-like elements.’ She spent over a week telling the families of those victims and the American people that it was because of a video. And yet the mainstream media is going around saying it was the greatest week in Hillary Clinton’s campaign. It was the week she got exposed as a liar. But she has her super PAC helping her out — the American mainstream media.”

Rubio had plenty of reason to be frustrated, though he handled it with poise. In one exchange, Harwood knowingly misrepresented Rubio’s tax plan — after Harwood had days earlier corrected himself3 on the same point. It was reminiscent of Candy Crowley’s false attack on Mitt Romney in 2012.

In our estimation, the losers of the debate (besides CNBC) were the candidates who accepted the moderators' lead and attacked other Republicans (Jeb Bush), were just plain ticked off at having to suffer the presence of other Republicans (John Kasich), or could do nothing more than hit “repeat” on vacuous bluster (Donald Trump). That said, Trump did nothing to hurt himself with his supporters, so perhaps he shouldn’t be in the loser category.

On a final note, the debate focused on the economy, and that will no doubt be a key issue in the election. Immigration is an even hotter button. But the catastrophic Obama/Clinton foreign policy failures in the Middle East, Asia and Russia pose overarching and very real national security threats that are getting virtually no airtime. Those issues will come to the forefront in this election.

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

House Elects Ryan as Next Speaker4

By 10:35 this morning, enough House members voted5 for Rep. Paul Ryan in a roll call vote that his rise to speakership was sure. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers made Ryan’s nomination to the chamber, calling him, in the words of the Washington Times6 a “budget whiz.” The day before, 200 House Republicans nominated Ryan to lead their fractured caucus. Ryan needs 218 votes in the House to become the chamber’s 54th speaker. “This begins a new day in the House of Representatives,” Ryan said7 after his nomination. “Tomorrow, we are turning the page. We are not going to have a House that looked like it looked the last few years.” Criticisms of Ryan began to fly even before he was nominated. In his last moves as speaker, John Boehner negotiated with the Obama administration a budget that will keep the government running until March 2017. And while Ryan criticized Boehner’s methodology — it’s “not the way to do the people’s business,” he said — he ultimately supported Boehner’s budget. We just hope this isn’t a sign that the ‘clean slate’ Ryan is inheriting will soon have ‘Boehner Jr.’ written all over it8. For the present, we can give Ryan time to unpack his desk and figure out his leadership style. Let’s not label him the enemy of Liberty before he’s even taken up the gavel.

Mixed Bag in Tepid GDP Growth9

The rate at which the nation’s gross domestic product grew in the third quarter failed to reach even pessimistic estimates made ahead of the Commerce Department’s announcement. Economists predicated the economy would grow only 1.6% from July to September. Instead, the economy grew an anemic 1.5%. Contrast this with the second quarter, where GDP grew at a 3.9% rate.

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The Patriot Post Digest 10-29-2015
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Yet while the GDP number sounds dismal, other economic indicators have economists thinking the economy has signs of life. “Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, grew at a 3.2 percent rate after expanding at a 3.6 percent pace in the second quarter,” Reuters reported10. For example, Market Watch11 said Americans are spending more on new vehicles, indicating some confidence in the economy. Furthermore, the dollar remains strong and inflation is low. The reason why GDP underperformed was because large companies paused in creating products to export. It could indicate a slowdown of the wider economy, as Americans get up on their feet, but the world out there contains unrest.

No word yet on how the Federal Reserve will take the news. This week, it decided once again not to raise interest rates, pushing off that decision until December. “Chair Janet Yellen and other members keep saying that it will soon be time to move, but each time as the date approaches they find another reason not to move,” The Wall Street Journal opined12. “Perhaps they’re afraid of taking responsibility for the consequences of raising rates if the economy turns south. At least if they stay at zero the Fed won’t be blamed for having done nothing.”

It’s Time To Take Less Interest in School Tests13

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal standardized test that has measured student performance since 1990, recorded a drop in students' academic ability this year. The “Nation’s Report Card” found14, “The 2015 average [mathematics] scores were 1 and 2 points lower in grades 4 and 8, respectively, than the average scores in 2013.” Thanks, Obama. Seriously — Common Core is part of the problem15 here, as the educational change disrupted students and teachers alike. But it’s not just about test scores, it’s that kids in public schools are learning less and less while we spend more and more. Democrat solution: Spend even more money. Every. Time. They also cut vital classes such as shop and home economics and replaced them with a drive to send every graduate to college.

The problem with tests was not lost on Barack Obama Saturday, when he called for schools16 to reduce the number of tests students take because it ultimately cuts into the amount of time students have to learn. “I hear from parents who rightly worry about too much testing,” Obama said, “and from teachers who feel so much pressure to teach to a test that it takes the joy out of teaching and learning both for them and for the students. I want to fix that.” It’s a noble gesture, but this large, centralized government uses tests to make many decisions about education policy, such as determining teacher performance. Unfortunately, they aren’t going away anytime soon.

Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read Good Bye, Old Man…17, Alexander’s tribute and final farewell to his father.

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column by email, update your subscription here18.

MORE ORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE

ANALYSIS: Another GOP Surrender on the Budget8
Walgreens and Rite Aid Team Up19
Can a Five-Year-Old Say She Wants to Die?20
Hillary Is Fun — The Onion Says So21
Kasich Is Really, Really Mad, He’ll Have You Know22

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Ed Feulner: Environmental Protection Army?23
Todd Starnes: High School Boots Praying Football Coach24
Stephen Moore: The Worst Budget Deal Since Bush Violated No New Taxes Pledge25

For more, visit Right Opinion26.

TOP HEADLINES

China to Abolish One-Child Policy27
Electric Car Sales Crash Once Subsidies Expire28
‘New’ U.S. Combat Mission in Iraq Is Not New29

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report30

OPINION IN BRIEF

Ed Feulner: “Open the Books found that the [EPA] has spent millions of dollars over the last decade on guns, ammo, body armor, camouflage equipment, unmanned aircraft, amphibious assault ships, radar and night-vision gear and other military-style weaponry and surveillance activities. … Among the EPA’s purchases: $1.4 million for ‘guns up to 300mm.’ $380,000 for ‘ammunition.’ $210,000 for ‘camouflage and other deceptive equipment.’ $208,000 for ‘radar and night-vision equipment.’ $31,000 for ‘armament training devices.’ The list goes on. It’s filled with the kind of equipment you’d expect to be purchased by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, not an agency ostensibly designed to protect the environment. But as it turns out, armed, commando-style raids by the EPA are not unheard of. One such raid occurred in 2013, in a small Alaskan town where armed agents in full body armor reportedly confronted local miners accused of polluting local waters. Perhaps the agency is gearing up for more operations like that one? If so, the EPA wouldn’t be all that unique. According to the Justice Department, there are now 40 federal agencies with more than 100,000 officers authorized to carry guns and make arrests. They include the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The EPA audit underscores the need for serious budget cuts at the agency.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden — that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time.” —C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

Upright: “The CNBC moderators acted less like journalists and more like Clinton campaign operatives. … The CNBC debate will go down in history as an encyclopedic example of liberal media bias on stage. The audience roared its disdain for these so-called ‘journalists,’ and all of America heard it. CNBC should be embarrassed for their pitiful display of partisan liberal media bias and apologize to the GOP candidates and the American people.” —Brent Bozell

Ouch: “CNBC has made CNN look like a tea party channel.” —Glenn Beck

Observations: “I think it was reasonable for the RNC to presume ahead of time that CNBC, being a business network, would have stuck to business questions about ‘your money’, as the debate was branded. After all, no one can plausibly suggest that the RNC write the questions. They relied on a business news network to ask business related questions and instead got a handful of monkeys throwing pooh at the Republican candidates.” —Erick Erickson

Dezinformatsia: “Once and for all, answer The Sun Sentinel’s question, should you resign, would you resign? Why not leave your Senate seat and just remove this issue from your opponents, remove it from the discourse?” —NBC’s Savannah Guthrie to Marco Rubio

And last… “[This week] Obama is back in Chicago for two days. For safety’s sake, he won’t be staying anywhere near the areas he organized.” —Twitter satirist @weknowwhatsbest

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson

Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.