The Patriot Post Digest 1-21-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-21-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Daily Digest

Jan. 21, 2016

THE FOUNDATION

“Where there is no law, there is no liberty; and nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community.” —Benjamin Rush, 1788

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Half a Million Foreigners Overstay Their Visas1

The Department of Homeland Security this week published its Entry/Exit Overstay Report For Fiscal Year 20152. The Visa Waiver Program study “provides data on departures and overstays, by country, for foreign visitors to the United States who were lawfully admitted into the United States for specific, temporary purposes, but overstayed their lawful admission period.” From the report: “In FY 2015, of the nearly 45 million nonimmigrant visitor admissions through air or sea ports of entry that were expected to depart in FY 2015, DHS determined that 527,127 individuals overstayed their admission, for a total overstay rate of 1.17 percent.” And “more than 90 percent of those who remained in the country illegally, a total of 482,781, were believed to still be present through the end of last year,” the Washington Examiner reports3.

Even a fraction of that number would be concerning. Adds the Examiner, “A number of countries with ties to terrorism had significant numbers of nationals still in the U.S. accounted for by the federal government: 1,435 from Pakistan, 681 from Iraq, 564 from Iran, 440 from Syria, 219 from Yemen, 219 from Afghanistan, and 56 from Libya.” This particular study doesn’t take other significant visa programs into account, so the actual number of nonimmigrants who are still in the U.S. despite having expired visas is higher. Among the ways terrorists can slip through under the radar, none are more obvious than our broken visa system. After all, those overstaying visas account for somewhere between 40% and 50%4 of illegals in this country.

NOAA Confirms 2015 Was World’s Warmest, But…5

A few days before a blizzard threatens to shut down Washington, DC, probably isn’t the best time to make a major global warming announcement. Nevertheless, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today said that the 2015 global temperature finished 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit above average, which easily beat out 20146. According to the report7, “This was the highest among all 136 years in the 1880–2015 record, surpassing the previous record set [in 2014] by 0.29°F (0.16°C) and marking the fourth time a global temperature record has been set this century. This is also the largest margin by which the annual global temperature record has been broken.” An independent analysis by NASA found similar results8.

However, satellite measurements were less daunting. NOAA says, “The 2015 temperature for the lower troposphere (roughly the lowest five miles of the atmosphere) was third highest in the 1979-2015 record, at 0.65°F (0.36°C) above the 1981–2010 average, as analyzed by the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH). It was also third highest on record, at 0.47°F (0.26°C) above the 1981–2010 average, as analyzed by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS).” And that’s exactly what climatologist Dr. Roy Spencer predicted9 last month. In fact, he went a step further: “What is interesting is to consider the possibility that 2016 will indeed be a record warm year, even in the UAH (and probably RSS) satellite data. This is because the second year of El Niño year couplets is almost always the warmest, and 2015 is only the first year.” Translation: Expect 2016 to be record warm, even among satellite measurements. And when it is, remember that it was forecasted using natural variables. Speaking of which, the current El Niño is expected to flip to La Niña later this year. How will NOAA respond when global temperatures then drop beginning in 2017?

Obama Deploys the ‘Great Green Fleet’10

From December 1907 to February 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered America’s steel-hulled, steam-powered battle fleet to circumnavigate the globe. Nicknamed the “Great White Fleet,” the excursion showed that the United States' military was a technologically current global superpower. A hundred years later, Barack Obama is trying to demonstrate that the world’s greatest superpower can operate within the constraints of his climate change agenda with a Navy, Mitt Romney noted in 2012, that is the smallest its ever been since 1917. We suppose that’s one way to pay tribute to the past.

On Wednesday, the “Great Green Fleet” launched11 from San Diego to demonstrate that it can steam across the world’s oceans using nothing but alternative fuel. The Department of Defense wanted the U.S. Navy to run on a 50/50 mix of traditional petroleum and biofuels by year 2020. It seemed to be making headway by using a plant-based jet fuel — for which it paid $29.30 a gallon12. After Congress mandated that any alternative fuel had to be competitive with petroleum fuel, the military lowered its standards, as the fuel some ships in the USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group are burning is a blend of 10% biofuel and 90% petroleum. In other words, those green ships are running on a biofuel mix similar to the one found at the common gas station. At least the price is right13 — $2.05 per gallon — for a biofuel that’s composed of beef fat. How American.

While the Obama administration might cite warm, fuzzy feelings for turning the U.S. Navy green, the move toward biofuels means an increase in cronyism, with the green industry positioning itself to make a killing. Meanwhile, the price of oil14, thanks to OPEC holding steady on production and Iran entering the world market, is heading ever lower. It makes more sense for the U.S. military to develop nuclear power, but this is what we get from a commander in chief more concerned with fighting the temperature than terrorists.

Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read Trump’s ‘New York Values’15, on how he invoked the “9/11 Card” to evade his own words about his New York values.

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column by email, update your subscription here16.

Stonewall Jackson17

“My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.” —Stonewall Jackson

Today we mark the birth anniversary of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (1824-1863), a great military commander and a man of equally great faith who gave his life for the cause of Liberty and states' rights.

Jackson died of pneumonia after being wounded by a security detail in the dark of night after resounding victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. Upon learning that Jackson lay dying, Gen. Robert E. Lee18 said, “Give General Jackson my affectionate regards, and say to him: He has lost his left arm but I my right.”

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Sanders Admits What Other Democrats Won’t19

By Allyne Caan

Just as populism seems to have overtaken the Republican base20, more overt socialism is gaining momentum among Democrats. The party has long had a socialist bent, but Bernie Sanders actually has the integrity to call it what it is.

Although Hillary Clinton, a closet socialist21, remains the Democrat frontrunner, mentions of avowed-socialist Sanders as the potential nominee unfortunately no longer induce uncontrollable laughter. Clinton deserves as much credit as anyone for Saunders' surge. After all, pretty much anyone stands a chance against a candidate with so many scandals under her belt that even the lefty Atlantic saw fit to print a “Clinton Scandal Primer22.” And attitudes about sexual assault have changed enough on the Left that the “progressives” over at Vox have a thorough and damning recap23 of Bill Clinton’s history of rape accusations.

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-21-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Still, the fact that a significant number of Americans would truly consider electing an outright socialist as leader of the free world moves into the realm of downright outrageous, but it’s not without precursor in American history.

How is Sanders peddling his socialist wares? As we wrote on these pages last year24, he’s invoking Franklin D. Roosevelt, who “redefined the relationship of the federal government to the people of our nation” and “restored their faith in government.” One might credit Mussolini with the same, but we digress.

In truth, as Mark Alexander has noted25, Sanders' Democratic Socialism is “nothing more than Marxist Socialism repackaged. It seeks a centrally planned economy directed by a dominant-party state that controls economic production by way of taxation, regulation and income redistribution.”

This fits Sanders to a T. His view of a government-defined and government-run nation flies in the face of Liberty as expressed in our Declaration of Independence and codified by the Constitution.

Free health care for everyone? Check. Free college for all? Check. Free government-run child care? Check. Actual freedom? Oh, you’re out of luck there. Besides, free things are quite expensive. His proposal to pay for all this “free stuff” is $19.6 trillion in new taxes over the next 10 years, which would represent a 47% increase in the overall burden. That defies logic and approaches insanity.

Sanders claims he wants to make the rich pay their proverbial fair share, but a look at his menu of tax hikes shows they’re being served to Americans rich, poor and everywhere in between. As the Washington Examiner reports26, Sanders' taxes include a business health care premium tax ($6.3 trillion), an end to tax breaks for employer health insurance ($3.1 trillion), an individual health care premium tax ($2.1 trillion), an increase in marginal income tax rates ($1.1 trillion), a payroll tax hike ($319 billion), a death tax hike ($243 billion), and an energy tax on oil companies ($135 billion). And that’s just a partial list.

Despite Sanders' rhetoric, his taxes would hit regular workers, business owners, energy consumers (higher costs are always passed to consumers), and just about everyone else. Thanks to his death tax, even dying won’t rescue you from Bernie’s tax grab. Of course, as the Examiner notes, Sanders revenue estimates are highly questionable. Were he to succeed in completely dismantling the economy by taxing into oblivion everything that moves and then taxing corpses to boot, it’s unlikely he’d be able to squeeze 19 cents out of economically parched Americans, let alone $19 trillion.

Still, Sanders is plowing ahead with his open attempt to sell America on his brand of socialism. As The Wall Street Journal notes27, his frankness is winning over some Democrat voters. Indeed, few can deny Sanders has shifted the Democrat primary debate decidedly left. Despite Hillary’s surname, the Democrats have fallen a long way from Bill “The Era of Big Government Is Over” Clinton.

And with Clinton looking more like the challenger in this primary race and less like the party’s favored daughter, it’s not entirely impossible that Democrats will pin their party logo to a red hammer-and-sickle flag. It would at least finally be truth in advertising.

MORE ORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE

ANALYSIS: Low Oil Prices Have a Downside14
The Elusive Search for 3% Growth28
ATF Still Needs to Answer for Fast and Furious29
Cruz Hits Trump Over Reagan Claim30
$75 Million for Unusable Building31

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Cal Thomas: Dollars for Hostages32
George Will: China’s Flawed Ascent33
Jim DeMint: Why Senators Should Want to Preserve the Filibuster34
Ken Blackwell: The March for Life and Fighting for the Unborn35

For more, visit Right Opinion36.

TOP HEADLINES

Democrats Block Refugee Screening Bill37
Ferguson Effect: Murders Increase 6.2%38
Search Ends for 12 Marines Killed in Hawaii Helicopter Crashes39

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report40

OPINION IN BRIEF

Cal Thomas: “Every American should be glad that American hostages have been freed by the tyrannical Iranian regime and are being reunited with family, friends and co-workers. Less satisfying is the return of Iran’s $400 million trust fund … along with its diplomatic relations with the U.S. (plus what President Obama ludicrously called ‘appropriate interest’ of $1.3 billion), all returned to what the U.S. State Department branded the world’s ‘preeminent sponsor of terrorism.’ Expecting Iran to use this windfall for purposes other than terrorism would be like expecting a kidnapper to donate the ransom money to a children’s hospital. … What a contrast to Iran’s 1981 release of 52 American hostages, all held for 444 days. It came on the day of President Ronald Reagan’s Inauguration, an obvious indictment of the Carter administration’s weakness. Commentators at the time said they thought the Ayatollah Khomeini believed Reagan was a ‘cowboy’ and might actually drop a nuclear bomb on Iran if the Americans were not freed. That and Reagan’s subsequent hardline approach to the Soviet Union came to be known as ‘peace through strength.’ The American left’s approach might be characterized as ‘war through weakness.’ This time around, in addition to the money, Tehran receives clemency for seven Iranians indicted or imprisoned in the U.S. for sanctions violations. Clemency is certainly within a president’s authority, though official U.S. policy over several administrations has been that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists … only terrorist regimes, apparently.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” —William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Upright: “While exchange enrollment is well-below expectations, about 13 million more people are enrolled in Medicaid in 2015 than in 2013. That anyone would be proud of throwing more people into Medicaid has never made any sense to me. The best that can be said about Medicaid is that it gives poor people something they didn’t have before. However, it’s hardly the best way to give the poorest in America better health outcomes.” —Veronique de Rugy

Alpha Jackass: “[Ted Cruz is] worse than Hillary when you think about it.” —Donald Trump

It’s a conspiracy! “Two months ago, there was a Politico report that directly challenged the finding of this inspector general [investigating Hillary Clinton’s email scandal], and I don’t think he liked that very much. So I think that he put two Republican senators up to sending him a letter so that he would have an excuse to resurface41 the same allegations he made back in the summer that have been discredited.” —Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon

Belly laugh of the week: “We have a lot of candidates who [are] like the ‘Prince of Darkness.’ I consider myself the ‘Prince of Light and Hope’ and I don’t spend all my time getting people riled up about how bad everything is.” —John Kasich (So who was that gotcha8ed off guy at the GOP debates?)

The BIG Lie: “I have complete confidence that the common sense [gun control] steps announced by the president are lawful. They are consistent with the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court and the laws passed by Congress.” —Attorney General Loretta Lynch

Friendly fire: “We need a more progressive tax code — not confiscatory policy. Not socialism. A tax code.” —Joe Biden (But how are Sanders' proposals any different from Obama’s policies?)

Late-night humor: “Amazon has begun revealing details about its upcoming drone delivery program, such as drones adapted specifically to the climate of the city they are in. For example, the Chicago drone will be equipped to handle cold weather, the Seattle drone will be waterproof, and the Detroit drone will be on fire.” —Seth Meyers

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.