The Patriot Post Digest 2-29-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-29-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Daily Digest

Feb. 29, 2016

THE FOUNDATION

“He whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” —Thomas Paine 1776

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Navy SEAL to Receive Medal of Honor Today1

Navy SEAL Edward Byers wears a St. Michael the Archangel patch on his back. Before going into battle, the Roman Catholic always prays to the angel that leads God’s army in the book of Revelation for protection, drawing strength to be away from his wife and daughter. It was a prayer he most likely prayed before he ran through a darkened Afghan doorway where he knew a host of Taliban lay waiting. It was the night of Dec. 8, 20122, and SEAL Team Six had hiked four hours to get to this one-room hut, a place the U.S. military believed the Taliban was keeping captured U.S. citizen Dr. Dilip Joseph. Moments before, a Taliban guard discovered the rescue party as it was 25 meters away. As Petty Officer 1st Class Nicholas Checque dived through the six layers of blankets that made up the hut’s door, he was cut down by AK-47 fire. Byers followed, shot a man aiming a rifle at him, and tackled another man who was scrambling for a weapon in the corner. After realizing that he did not have Joseph, Byers fought the man, then jumped on top of Joseph, using his body as a shield while pinning a Taliban fighter to the wall by one hand. The rescue was successful.

It is for this action that the White House3 is awarding Byers the Medal of Honor at a ceremony today. He is the first member of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group to receive the nation’s highest medal for valor, and the first member of the Navy still living to receive the commendation since the Vietnam War. And as a member of the Special Forces, it’s difficult for him. “I’ve lived my entire career a very private life,” Byers said. “We don’t talk about what we do, and this honor carries with it some obligations that I need to carry out. You know, you follow those through. But, I plan to continue doing my job as normal and to continue being a SEAL. It’s something I love and grew up wanting to be.” That is the true mark of a hero: a willingness to pay the ultimate sacrifice, but the humility to do it again and again.

Trump Wants to Silence Dissent4

Just like a dictator of a third-world country, Donald Trump can’t stand anyone criticizing him. That’s why on Friday, Trump told his cheering acolytes that he wants to rewrite the nation’s libel laws so he can sue newspapers and journalists he thinks are unfair. “One of the things I’m gonna do if I win,” Trump said5, “is I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles we can sue them and win lots of money. We’ll open up those libel laws so that when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when The Washington Post … writes a hit piece we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they are totally protected.”

Trump knows a thing or two about suing journalists for libel. He lost a libel lawsuit in 2011 after a journalist wrote Trump was only worth $250 million6, not the billions the reality TV personality claimed. All of Trump’s money and all of Trump’s men couldn’t prevail against a lone book author because the statement couldn’t be proved false. In other words, truth is the defense against a libel lawsuit. This is a principle established at the dawn of our nation’s founding when a colonial governor attempted to shut down a newspaper published by John Peter Zenger in 1734. The jury ruled that a statement cannot be libelous if it’s true. But reality isn’t where Trump wants to be right now.

Furthermore, Trump’s “reasoning” that the media is unfair and that’s a reason for suing them for everything they’ve got does not take into account the state of newspapers during the start of our nation. As Hot Air’s Taylor Millard points out7, newspapers then were wildly partisan, championed agendas and were set up by the powerful to attack other papers. (So sort of like today.) “Balance” and “fairness” wasn’t in the vocabulary of those early journalists, yet that is the environment that gave birth to the First Amendment and its protections we have today — an environment Trump cannot tolerate.

In other Trump news, he was endorsed by Chris Christie Friday8 and Sen. Jeff Sessions Saturday9 — the first, a craven play for political influence by a man determined to get back at those who cost him the race; and the second, a sign that perception of Trump’s strength on immigration trumps the fact10 that he hired illegals for “jobs Americans won’t do.”

Meanwhile, Trump refused three times11 to reject the endorsement of former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, saying, “I don’t know anything about” him. That’s a lie. He certainly knew about Duke in 2000, when he left the Reform Party because of him. Now that Trump’s trying to win the Republican nomination, however, he can’t be bothered to stand for principle until he’s hectored about it. After blaming a “bad earpiece” in the first interview, he finally did “disavow” Duke.

Maybe that’s all why Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a real conservative, announced over the weekend that he will not vote for Trump if he’s the nominee. He won’t be the last.

Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Mark Alexander is going to publish a special column later today regarding Donald Trump’s tax returns, so stay tuned.

We’ll send our normal Monday Humor edition tomorrow, instead.

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column or Patriot Humor by email, update your subscription here12.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Who Speaks for Us?13

By Arnold Ahlert

If there’s one thing the current election cycle has made clear, it’s the reality that millions of Americans feel utterly disenfranchised. Their anger and frustration are driven by the daunting realization that neither political party represents their interests. This despicable status quo begs the simplest question, one every candidate running for elective office in 2016 should be forced to answer: Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation where there is a clear understanding of right and wrong, not one dominated by the “anything goes” cultural sewage churned out on a regular basis by Hollywood and the mainstream media. Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation that puts Americans first — one with definable, enforceable borders and one where Rule of Law is paramount — not one that gratifies the desires of millions of illegals and their cadre of elitist supporters aiming to fundamentally transform our national character, using cheap votes and cheap labor to do so. Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation where we no longer cater to the lowest common denominator of human behavior to accommodate “root causes,” the “soft bigotry of low expectations,” or a multiculturalist mishmash that excuses misogyny, anti-Semitism, and racism under the rubric of “celebrating our differences.” Who speaks for us?

We want to live a nation with an educational system that teaches children how to think, not what to think. A system where ideological indoctrination social promotion, grade inflation, worthless diplomas, “creative” math, and the generalized dumbing-down of vulnerable children is tossed on the ash heap of history. Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation where merit and excellence matter, not one where millions of “snowflakes” have been cushioned by trigger warnings, micro-aggressions, speech codes and helicopter parents who believe everyone should get a trophy just for showing up. A nation where the content of one’s character is far more important than the color of one’s skin, one’s gender, one’s sexual orientation, or one’s membership in a particular grievance group. Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation where the Constitution is defended for what it actually says, not what some people would like it to mean because a “living” interpretation of the document accommodates their agenda, political correctness or the latest trend. Who speaks for us?

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-29-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

We want to live in a nation where we don’t burden our children and grandchildren with unconscionable levels of debt that will destroy their standard of living, one where able-bodied people are expected to work for a living, and one where the free-market capitalism that rewards ambition, risk-taking and talent isn’t subsumed by a government-controlled crony-capitalist oligarchy that stifles competition and picks winners and losers. Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation with the strongest military in the world, not one debased by social engineering. A military that only sends men and women into harm’s way when our national security is threatened, and one that utterly rejects such nonsense as “winning hearts and minds,” restrictive and dangerous Rules of Engagement, and politically correct warfare that elevates concerns for collateral damage above the lives of American soldiers. A military with only one objective in mind when it becomes necessary to put the nation’s blood and treasure at risk: unambiguous victory. Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation where states' rights are once again paramount, where 50 separate constituencies would be given maximum freedom to innovate, to compete, and do anything else to improve the lives of their citizens without the interfering heavy hand of the District of Columbia. A nation where people intuitively understand government operates best from the local level outwards, not the federal level inward. Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation where we treat our allies like the friends they are, and our enemies with the suspicion they have earned. A nation where foreign policy is grounded in reality, not faculty-lounge-inspired wishful thinking. A nation that will no longer send foreign aid to people who hate us, based on the dubious assertion we can buy their loyalty and admiration. Who speaks for us?

We want to live in a nation where we celebrate our exceptionalism, not identify only by our shortcomings. Those who insist otherwise should be asked to explain why people all over the world are beating a path to our shores. Who speaks for us?

As the opening of the Constitution states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”

“We the people” is us, not a bunch of self-interested politicians and their well-connected benefactors. A “more perfect” union is an aspiration. We must not allow our pursuit of that perfection to be the enemy of our goodness. Same goes for establishing justice and insuring domestic tranquility.

As for the next two items, it’s important to note the critical distinction between providing for the common defense and promoting the general welfare. It is the government’s constitutionally mandated duty to provide protection for the nation. It is not the government’s duty to provide for the peoples' welfare, but rather to promote the conditions that allow a free people to provide for their own welfare, that of their families and those Americans who are truly in need.

As for the blessings of Liberty, the implication is clear: There is a higher power from which those blessings are secured and it does not emanate from Washington, state legislatures or local governments. As Thomas Jefferson so eloquently explained in the Declaration of Independence, all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” There are millions of Americans who cherish that wisdom, even as they still understand it is the ultimate foundation of the greatest nation ever devised by man.

Who speaks for us?

MORE ORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE

ANALYSIS: Pandering Still Works for Democrats14
Christie’s Endorsement of Trump Is an About-Face8
Random Trump-ness15
Mizzou Fires Anti-Speech Communications Professor16
Judge Rules No Right to Film Cops, Appeal Coming17
VA IG Stalling on Wait Time Scandal18
Low Oil Prices Devastate Saudi Arabia’s Economy19
More and More Abortion Clinics Closing Their Doors20

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Rebecca Hagelin: Meet Donald Trump: The King of Sleaze21
George Will: The Albatross of a Trump Endorsement22
Jeff Jacoby: If the Supreme Court Had Term Limits, Confirmations Wouldn’t Be So Bloody23

For more, visit Right Opinion24.

TOP HEADLINES

Cruz, Rubio Release Tax Filings to ‘Pressure’ Trump25
Taxpayer Breach Much Larger Than Originally Reported26
Ex-Girlfriend Provided Guns to Kansas Shooter, Who Was Convicted Felon27

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report28

OPINION IN BRIEF

Rebecca Hagelin: “It’s no wonder that Donald Trump still supports and extols the virtues of Planned Parenthood, the organization that betrays women and girls at the most vulnerable time in their lives; the organization that encourages our teen daughters to be sexually active; the organization that is now notorious for selling baby body parts. It is the very philosophy of Planned Parenthood that Donald Trump uses to justify his decadent lifestyle choices. To both, women are largely sexual objects and men are allowed to treat them that way. … Rest assured, the truth about Trump will [eventually] be headlines and the fantasy war on women will become a credible narrative. And whichever liberal, socialist Democratic candidate is nominated will easily be elected President of the United States. Worse still, every Evangelical leader who cozied up to Mr. Trump and was seduced into supporting him will be embarrassed and shamed, and the body of Christ will suffer. I’ve spent much of my adult life fighting pornography because it is evil, because it victimizes and degrades women and destroys men and families. It is beyond tragic that so many of my Republican and Christian brothers and sisters have forgotten that it is the moral fiber of a country that determines its ultimate destiny. If the GOP disregards moral, principled leaders in favor of one who promises only great riches, then we deserve neither. Yes, Donald Trump promises to ‘Make America Great Again.’ What he and his supporters fail to realize is that America will never be great again if we are not first good again.”

SHORT CUTS

The Gipper: “Government is like a baby. It is an alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”

For the record: “We are about to learn much about Republican officeholders who are now deciding whether to come to terms with Trump, and with the shattering of their party as a vessel of conservatism. Trump’s collaborators, like the remarkably plastic Chris Christie (‘I don’t think [Trump’s] temperament is suited for [the presidency]’), will find that nothing will redeem the reputations they will ruin by placing their opportunism in the service of his demagogic cynicism and anti-constitutional authoritarianism.” —George Will

Belly laugh of the week: “I am not a natural politician, like Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. … I invest a lot of energy and a lot of my own emotion into what I do, and I think sometimes instead of that being as easy to understand as I would like it to be, it sometimes is a little bit nerve-wracking.” —Hillary Clinton

Race bait: “I think many people would like to see an African American on the Supreme Court. We don’t really need to go into Clarence Thomas' background or his behavior on the Court, but I think to have an African-American voice that has definitely not been there since Thurgood Marshall would really be an incredible contribution to our country.” —Rep. Karen Bass

The BIG lie: “Anyone who says we’re not absolutely better off today than we were seven years ago, they’re not leveling with you. They’re not telling the truth.” —Barack Obama

NEWSFLASH: “He’s not supposed to be doing that.” —John Kerry remarking on Ibrahim al-Qosi, an ex-Gitmo prisoner who escaped captivity in Sudan to foment jihad

And last… “Hillary confused the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence. When one has never read either, what difference does it make?” —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.