The Patriot Post Digest 4-7-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 4-7-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Apr. 7, 2016

THE FOUNDATION

“Excessive taxation…will carry reason and reflection to every man’s door, and particularly in the hour of election.” —Thomas Jefferson (1798.)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Americans Have to Work 114 Days Just to Pay Taxes1

Most people don’t know how big a bite taxes take out of their paycheck. According to the Tax Foundation2, Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 24 this year. That’s just about the same amount of time Americans had to work last year3 in order to fill the government maw. Tax Freedom Day marks when the whole nation has worked long enough to pay off all federal, state and local taxes — 114 days for a collective 31% tax rate. After that, the fruits of our labor are ours to keep. And statists think they’re being generous to “give” you that much.

The visualization, the Tax Foundation says4, is to help Americans understand the true cost of taxes so they can have an informed discussion about “what we pay for a civilized society,” as the inscription on the IRS building in Washington reads. However, these taxes are used for such things as funding for Planned Parenthood and barrels of pork spending, all while the agency collecting those taxes is targeting nonprofit conservative groups for scrutiny. Government on all levels takes in about $5 trillion in taxes. That’s more than Americans are expected to collectively spend on housing, food and clothing combined this year.

Of course, state taxes are a factor here, and each state celebrates different Tax Freedom Days depending on how far the state is dipping into its residents' pockets. Mississippi residents were free of their tax burden on April 5. Meanwhile, workers in Connecticut will be toiling for their state coffers until May 21. See where your state stacks up on the infographic below.

DOJ Vet Recounts Clinton’s Crimes5

Ronald J. Sievert, a 25-year veteran of the Department of Justice, teaches national security and international law at the George H.W. Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University and the University of Texas School of Law. So his explanation6 of the legal trouble Hillary Clinton faces carries some weight:

Since the beginning of the Clinton email scandal, the nation has been subjected to a political and criminal defense generated smokescreen. The Clinton campaign has attempted to make the public believe that she is not guilty of anything because the information on her very unprotected server was not “marked as classified” or “classified at the time.”

The applicable statute, 18 USC 793, however, does not even once mention the word “classified.” The focus is on “information respecting the national defense” that potentially “could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.” 793 (f) specifically makes it a crime for anyone “entrusted with … any document … or information relating to the national defense … through gross negligence (to permit) the same to be removed from its proper place of custody.” A jury (not a Democrat or Republican political administration) is, of course, the best body to determine gross negligence on the facts of this case.

The courts have held repeatedly that “national defense information” includes closely held military, foreign policy and intelligence information and that evidence that the information is classified is not necessary for a prosecution. Evidence that the information was upon later review found to be classified, however, as is the case with approximately 2,000 Clinton messages, is of course one kind of proof that the information met the test of “national defense information” in the first place.

Naturally, the Leftmedia completely ignores all of this, choosing instead to circle the wagons as if this whole episode were a mere political inconvenience for the inevitable Democrat nominee. Worse, Sievert predicts there will be no indictment from the DOJ, both because it’s run by Democrats and because the department just doesn’t take the tough political cases due to an “institutional fear of losing.” Time will tell.

Ford Moves Jobs South of the Border7

Ford announced this week that it’s investing $1.6 billion in a new factory to build small cars. In Mexico. And then export them to the U.S. Obviously, the timing of the announcement — during a presidential election featuring a lot of anger over trade and manufacturing jobs moving elsewhere — couldn’t have been worse. While it’s outrageous that Ford took a $5.9 billion federal loan8 to build small cars in Michigan only to move that production to Mexico, a significant portion of blame isn’t Ford’s or that of any trade agreement. It’s what Big Labor has ensured will come off the assembly line.

Forbes contributor Dale Buss explains9, “UAW leadership knew very well that the extra financial padding they reached for with their intransigence in contract bargaining last fall was going to reach back and slap them in the keister. That’s because Detroit Three executives communicated very plainly that it would, and because the union nearly explicitly agreed during that season to sacrifice thousands of jobs making small cars in exchange for short-term financial gain and for the guarantee that UAW members would be able to continue making all the high-profit, hot-selling trucks and SUVs that General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler can sell while the good times continue rolling in the American auto market.”

Look for presidential candidates of both parties — particularly Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump — to make hay of this decision, and not without reason. Indeed, Trump already called it an “absolute disgrace” and promised, “These ridiculous, job-crushing transactions will not happen when I am president.” It would certainly be interesting if he ended up pulling a substantial number of UAW votes his way. After all, union bosses are doing their best for Hillary Clinton while sacrificing the people they’re supposed to represent.

Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read 2016 — The Math That Matters Most10, a reminder that this election is not a four-year decision but a quarter-century one.

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column by email, update your subscription here11.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Cal Thomas: Whose Morality?12
Victor Davis Hanson: The Politicization of the English Language13
Veronique de Rugy: The Coming Illegality of Acting Legally14

For more, visit Right Opinion15.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
The Decline and Fall of Common Core?16

By Allyne Caan

To the understandable relief of countless children and even more parents, Common Core may not remain so common. The grand scheme of centralized education that hijacked classrooms nationwide to align instruction and ideology with Big Brother isn’t passing the test. And while reports of Common Core’s demise might be premature — government programs are the closest things to eternal life on earth — America’s short-lived love affair with the program is quickly coming to an end.

One year before Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were finalized in 201017, 46 states formally endorsed18 the effort. Not because they thought the still-unknown national standards would lead to an educational rebirth but because billions in Race to the Top Bottom federal grant money was tied to states' willingness to comply with Washington’s agenda.

Fast forward a few years, and states began to tell Washington bureaucrats exactly where they could put their standards. In 2014, Indiana, one of the earliest to sign on to Common Core, became the first state to ditch19 the standards. All told, dozens of states20 have either pulled out completely or scaled back participation. After Massachusetts abandoned the standardized tests late last year, even The New York Times admitted21 that “what was once bipartisan consensus around national standards has collapsed into acrimony.”

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The Patriot Post Digest 4-7-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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And it’s little wonder. As The Federalist’s Joy Pullman notes22, “Common Core has by now not only failed academically, it has failed operationally.” For one thing, it seems ObamaCare isn’t the only government fiasco plagued by computer glitches. Last year, major glitches across states wreaked havoc23 on CCSS testing.

Then there’s academic achievement — or the lack thereof. The federal government promised CCSS would improve educational outcomes. Former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said24 in 2010, “millions of U.S. schoolchildren, parents, and teachers will know, for the first time, if students truly are on-track for colleges and careers.”

Then, again, if you want to keep your doctor…

Well, as Pullman writes, a recent report from the Brookings Institution found “American children are receiving objectively worse academic instruction because of Common Core,” and “Common Core has done nothing to help children learn more overall.” Specifically, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), which is widely accepted as the measurement of student achievement over time, has not shown any significant impact from Common Core over the past six years.

Imagine that. Another government program failing. Unthinkable.

Furthermore, Ze'ev Wurman, former U.S. Department of Education Senior Policy Advisor under George W. Bush, notes, “All the data we have — from ACT/SAT, through AP course taking, through early enrollment in algebra that was the hallmark of U.S. improvement in the last two decades, and to the NAEP scores — all point one way: down. I couldn’t find a single piece of objective educational data that looks improved or at least hopeful.”

Any teacher who has tried to tell a child why 7+7=14 but only by way of 1025 would agree.

Maybe that’s why this year, just 20 states plus Washington, DC, plan to use Common Core standardized tests — a far cry from the 46 that signed on with such enthusiasm.

And even in states still drinking the CCSS Kool-Aid, not all parents and students are on board. In New York, for example, last year approximately 20% of students opted out of the standardized tests26. This year, the number may be even higher. In Allendale Elementary School outside of Buffalo, a whopping 87% opted out. On Long Island, nearly 50% of students said no to the tests.

Parents and students aren’t the only ones fed up with Common Core. Teachers have also had enough. One teacher even posted an apology27 to students for the harm Common Core inflicts.

If there is one bright spot, it’s that Common Core is so disastrous that it’s inspired many parents to reclaim control over their children’s education. More and more parents are turning to homeschooling28, and many cite Common Core as the reason.

To borrow a phrase from the 1987 classic “Princess Bride,” Common Core may still only be “mostly dead,” but in this case, there’s no true love around to revive it.

MORE ORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE

ANALYSIS: Drunken Immigration Policy29
Using Aliens' Money as Leverage for ‘The Wall’30
Witch Hunt Against Pro-Lifer David Daleiden Continues31
And the ‘Hypocrite of the Year Award’ Goes To…32
Major Doctor Shortage Looms33
Sanders Alienates Democrats in Recent Interview34

TOP HEADLINES

Government Is Coming for Your IRA35
N. Korea Reportedly Has Miniaturized Mid-Range Nuke Warheads36
Sanders Says Clinton Is Not Qualified to Be President37

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report38

OPINION IN BRIEF

Cal Thomas: “Moral relativism has contributed to a host of societal and relational problems few wish to acknowledge. To do so would force people to admit their ‘standard,’ which in reality is no standard at all, isn’t working. And such an acknowledgement could lead to what theologians call repentance, a turning away from the old and embracing the new, which is not new, but old, tried and proven best. President Obama may be the most pro-abortion president America has ever had. He has done little to reduce their number, which near 60 million in the U.S. since 1973. By what standard is his position ‘moral’? The president used to be against same-sex marriage, now he’s for it. Was he moral when he opposed it, or is he moral now that he supports it? And what is his standard, because these positions are contradictory? Is the president being moral when he allows mostly Muslim refugees from Syria into the country, but permits few Syrian Christians to enter? He says he’s a Christian. Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to protect Christians first, since they are the ones being targeted by Islamic fundamentalists for death, forced marriages and sexual slavery? … Who will rescue us from this moral quagmire? It won’t be anyone running for president. These things bubble up from the human heart; they do not trickle down from Washington.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.” —Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988.)

Nailing the Left: “Does the president of the United States have the power to unilaterally tell millions of individuals who are violating federal law that he will not enforce that law against them now, that they may continue to violate that law in the future and that he will take action that makes them eligible for federal benefit programs for which they are not currently eligible due to their unlawful status? Through Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, President Barack Obama is telling the Supreme Court exactly this right now.” —Terence Jeffrey39

For the record: “PayPal gets the hypocrite of the year award [for opposing North Carolina’s bathroom bill40]! … PayPal operates in countries including Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Yemen for Pete’s sake. Just last month PayPal announced they would be expanding in Cuba, a country in which homosexuals and transgender people have been imprisoned, tortured, and executed. PayPal only agreed to come to Charlotte in the first place after holding out for millions in corporate incentives. And under the current law that they are so strongly protesting, PayPal could have chosen their own corporate bathroom policies.” —Franklin Graham

Spin machine: “We’ve had two enormously successful Democratic administrations: Clinton and Obama. We’ve had a disastrous Republican administration in the middle of all this. The Republican Party is cracking up right in front of our eyes. So about 40% of the Democratic Party’s answer to this is, ‘Hey, let’s nominate someone who isn’t even a Democrat.’ It utterly makes no sense to me.” —Clintonista James Carville on Socialist Bernie Sanders

Lecturing: “Look, I think it’s exciting to be, in effect, protesting. I remember I did that a long time ago when I was in my 20s, and I totally get the attraction of this.” —Grandma Hillary Clinton (And, like the old “Scooby Doo” villains, she’d get away with it, too, if it weren’t for you lousy kids!)

Alphas Jackass: “Discrimination is not a New York value. We believe our diversity is our greatest strength, and we will continue to reject the politics of division and exclusion. This Mississippi law is a sad, hateful injustice against the LGBT community, and I will not allow any non-essential official travel to that state until it is repealed.” —New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (“Cuomo will soon run out of places, other than Communist Cuba, to send state workers to, at this rate.” —Susan Wright)

Late-night humor: “More than 11.5 million documents called the ‘Panama Papers’ just leaked, and they link Vladimir Putin to $2 billion held in secret offshore accounts. If confirmed, it could be the LEAST bad thing Putin’s ever done.” —Jimmy Fallon

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.