The Patriot Post Digest 8-30-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-30-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Aug. 30, 2016

THE FOUNDATION

“Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.” —Benjamin Franklin (1771)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Who’s Racist?1

August is on pace to surpass the 1997 single-month record of 79 homicides in Chicago — so far this month there have been 78 homicides. This year to date, Chicago has recorded 487 homicides, compared to 491 for all of last year. The Windy City isn’t alone. Many of our nation’s largest cities have witnessed spikes in the murder rate, a disproportionate number having affected inner city black communities.

In this context, Donald Trump appealed to blacks to reconsider voting for Democrats. “African-American communities have suffered under Democratic control,” he said. “To those I say … what do you have to lose by trying something new, like Trump?” The Donald’s admittedly ham-handed appeal to blacks for their vote brought a quick and predictable response from Hillary Clinton2 accusing Trump of being a “racist” and essentially warning blacks not to think for themselves. That was followed by Black Lives Matter chiming in, basically asserting that no matter what Trump says, he’s a racist.

Interestingly, in a recent interview, New Black Panthers leader Quanell X agreed with Trump, saying that Democrats have “pimped like prostitutes” the black community for votes, but those same Democrats have done little to actually help. In an article3 for The Daily Signal, Kay Coles James argues that using this racist charge effectively closes down people, specifically in the black community, from hearing or even considering what a person so charged has to say. It’s a tool the Left has been using with great effect for years on conservatives anytime they seek to appeal to minority voters.

Instead of truly addressing the real problems the Left’s socialist policies have created and exacerbated in the inner city, Demo-gogues turn and blame the problems on those who have the least to do with them. And Clinton is no different as she continues to double down on those old, failed Leftist policies4, and calls racist anyone who would dare to challenge and point out their hypocrisy and failure. Sadly, it seems that too many within the black community will continue to accept the victimhood narrative preached by Hillary and other leftist leaders who are all too happy to have pawns at their disposal.

Wasting Marine Manpower and Money5

The Marine Corps will begin using gender-neutral job titles and course names in October. Barack Obama’s Navy Secretary, Ray Mabus, who recently announced that a new ship will be named for homosexual activist Harvey Milk6, sent the following directive to Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller: “Please review the position titles throughout the Marine Corps and ensure that they are gender-integrated as well, removing ‘man’ from the titles.” Among the changes, a former “Basic Infantryman” will now be a “Basic Infantry Marine,” and a former “Tank Crewman” will now be an “Armor Marine.”

The Marine Corps is proud to call all of its members, regardless of gender, Marines. So it would seem there is no harm done calling an “Infantryman” an “Infantry Marine.” But the order is yet another waste of man person-power and taxpayer dollars to overhaul and reprint an untold number of doctrinal publications, administrative documents, signs and other such items in order to comply with Obama’s puppet-secretary’s order. The funds required for this policy directive would be much better invested in improving Marine fighting capabilities and morale. This type of waste does not go unnoticed by the Marines it affects.

Of note, the Marine Corps elected to retain the word “man” in several of its historically significant and fundamental terms, including “rifleman” and “mortarman.” But after Defense Secretary Ash Carter refused the Marine Corps' attempts to protect its combat effectiveness by foregoing gender normalization7, it’s only a matter of time until those time-honored terms also collapse under PC pressure for “non-gendered pronouns8.” The Obama administration’s highly publicized agenda betrays its commander in chief’s priorities: political correctness over mission-effectiveness.

It Pays to Be a Liberal9

Wall Street is accused of many things — some legit, some not — but flying under the radar is its alleged watchdog, the federal government, which is actively utilizing an egregious form of blackmail that makes banks' impropriety look like child’s play. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce adviser Andy Koenig makes a startling revelation of the federal government’s forcing large banks to fund leftist fads in the name of “social justice.” Here’s how Koenig describes it10:

“The administration’s multiyear campaign against the banking industry has quietly steered money to organizations and politicians who are working to ensure liberal policy and political victories at every level of government. The conduit for this funding is the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, a coalition of federal and state regulators and prosecutors created in 2012 to ‘identify, investigate, and prosecute instances of wrongdoing’ in the residential mortgage-backed securities market. In conjunction with the Justice Department, the RMBS Working Group has reached multibillion-dollar settlements with essentially every major bank in America.”

Koenig adds, “Combined, the banks must divert well over $11 billion into ‘consumer relief,’ which is supposed to benefit homeowners harmed during the Great Recession. Yet it is unknown how much, if any, of the banks' settlement money will find its way to individual homeowners. Instead, a substantial portion is allocated to private, nonprofit organizations drawn from a federally approved list.” Some of the groups include La Raza, the National Urban League and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition — entities with an obviously leftist bent. The total windfall is unclear, but these and other leftist groups have benefited handsomely off the $11 billion the government has managed to purloin from the nation’s largest banks.

This sounds appalling — and indeed it is — but it’s not without precedent. Consider that something similar happened with Obama’s infamous “stimulus” package. The near-trillion dollar injection of taxpayer funds went almost exclusively toward funding Obama’s leftist cronies. As much flack as banks receive, their indiscretions are nothing compared to what the feds are doing behind the scenes.

Don’t Miss Patriot Humor

Check out Trust Issues11.

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

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Stephen Moore: Our 1 Percent Economy13
Michael Barone: Maybe Borders Aren’t the Worst Invention Ever14
Dennis Prager: On Hillary Clinton as a Model for Young Girls15

For more, visit Right Opinion16.

TOP HEADLINES

FBI Report on Clinton Is Going Public17
Hackers Breach State Election Systems18
U.S. Meets Target of 10,000 Syrian ‘Refugees’19
Obama Issues New ObamaCare Rules20

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report21.

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-30-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Higher Education in Disarray, but a Glimmer of Hope22

By James Shott

Higher education today is a mess. Many institutions are involved in an arms race, strongly competing to attract students for the scholarship and student loan money that they bring with them. Institutions are building facilities that are much more fancy, thus more appealing, than ever before. New dorms, sports and fitness centers, student centers, dining facilities — the list goes on.

And the “everybody needs to go to college” craze has put thousands on campuses who aren’t best served by a traditional college degree.

Those who attended college many years before this arms race began endured sparsely appointed dorms and other comparatively plain-Jane facilities, but managed to come out with a solid education. That austere environment isn’t good enough anymore.

A 2014 survey by the University of California Los Angeles showed that there are five times more leftist professors than conservative professors on college faculties these days. The worst aspect of this is that many have taken on the role of proselytizers, forsaking their duty to guide learning and maturation in their subject area in favor of indoctrinating students into the poisonous world of leftist politics, which they now refer to as “progressivism,” since “liberalism” is no longer credible.

Leftist doctrine on the college campus has led to a disintegration of the traditional college atmosphere, where students once were exposed to and challenged by a broad range of ideas. That healthy environment has become an intellectually stultifying experience. Students are now afraid of their own shadows, and ideas differing from the narrow range of acceptable leftist ideology send kids running to hide under the bed in their hotel-like dorm room.

“Trigger warnings” are expected or required to “protect” those who desire only peace and harmony in their environment from “unsuitable” content, and “safe zones,” where students may seek refuge from the rigors of life, are routine.

Now, however, an institution of higher education has decided that it’s time to push back against political correctness. University of Chicago Dean of Students John Ellison warned incoming students in a letter that there is no tolerance for the kind of student demands that have emerged recently. “Our commitment to academic freedom,” wrote Ellison, “means that we do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”

“Members of our community are encouraged to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn, without fear of censorship,” Ellison continued. Noting the importance of civility among and between parties, he stated, “We expect members of our community to be engaged in rigorous debate, discussion, and even disagreement. At times, this may challenge you and even cause discomfort.”

A college education should help prepare people to cope with life, not to fear it. Political correctness is an infection threatening the nation. Getting rid of it on campuses is a big step toward producing young Americans that are educated, grown up and prepared to experience life. And we hope Ellison’s message is heard loud and clear by other administrators around the nation.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Can Religious Liberty and Medical Care Coexist?23 — Obama’s assault on America continues with new rules affecting faith-based hospitals.
The Angry Bird Iowa Professor24 — She believes the school’s mascot has a negative influence on students.
Racism Segment: MSNBC Serves Up Fried Chicken to NAACP25 — Oops! They help Hillary accuse Trump only to commit their own gaffe.
School Reverses American Flag Ban26 — A decision to prohibit flags at football games prompted an uproar.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Stephen Moore: “We got revised GDP numbers from the Commerce Department on Friday and the economy is actually getting worse. The rate of economic growth was slightly less than 1 percent for the first six months of 2016. No wonder almost half of Americans think we are still in a recession. They are personally in recession. … Under Ronald Reagan we had growth rates quarterly of 4, 5 and even 6 percent. Economists in the ‘80s worried about overheating. Too much growth. Now growth is nowhere to be seen — except for those at the very top of the income ladder. The Democrats who keep saying how well the economy is doing seem to be living in an alternate universe. And that’s probably because so many of the left-wing pundits and economists live and work in Washington, D.C., which really is doing just fine. D.C. is booming thanks to the tribute taxpayers from real America send each month to the capital. Three of the five wealthiest counties are around D.C. That tells you everything about who is getting rich off liberal government expansion policies.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)

Upright: “American elites who say that we should learn from other countries almost always mean that we should imitate what they have done. But what we need to learn most of all is not to repeat their mistakes.” —Thomas Sowell

Non Compos Mentis: “During the Olympics in Rio a couple of weeks ago, Army Reserve 2nd Lt. Sam Kendricks was sprinting intently in the middle of his pole vaulting attempt when he heard the national anthem playing. He immediately dropped his pole and stood at attention, a spontaneous expression of heartfelt patriotism that elicited more praise than his eventual bronze medal. Last Thursday, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose not to stand with his teammates during the national anthem. To some, Kendricks embodies traditional All-American Forrest Gump values of patriotism, while Kaepernick represents the entitled brattish behavior of a wealthy athlete ungrateful to a country that has given him so much. In truth, both men, in their own ways, behaved in a highly patriotic manner that should make all Americans proud.” —former NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

That’s sexist! “Make no mistake: the media’s obsession with forcing a Hillary press conference is ALL ABOUT HER GENDER.” —former Clinton adviser Peter Daou

Alpha Jackass: “Why are states like Texas so dead-set against helping the unfortunate, even if the feds are willing to pick up the tab? … A large part of the answer, surely, is the usual one: It’s about race. Medicaid expansion disproportionately benefits nonwhite Americans; so does spending on public health more generally. And opposition to these programs is concentrated in states where voters in local elections don’t like the idea of helping neighbors who don’t look like them.” —Paul Krugman

And last… “There’s a method to [leftist] madness. … Call someone a racist and they’ll no longer be heard. They’ve been accused of racism, after all, so they’re not just contemptible, they’re outside the realm of public discourse. That’s why the noise makers are so busily at work.” —Kay Cole James

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.