The Patriot Post Digest 9-5-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-5-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
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Mid-Day Digest

Sep. 5, 2016

THE FOUNDATION

“If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy.” —Thomas Jefferson (1802)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Happy Labor Day — If You Have a Job1

The headline unemployment rate is at 4.9% after Friday’s jobs report — about where it has been for the last nine months. But, the real unemployment rate, when taking into account Americans who are now chronically unemployed and no longer looking for work, is closer to 10%. The fact is, a record number of Americans are out of the labor force. In a now familiar refrain, jobs growth slowed in August and remains stuck in the same phase it’s been in for the last seven years — stagnant.

Cue Barack Obama’s Labor Day radio address, where even he conceded that “too many working folks still feel left behind by an economy that’s constantly changing.” Actually, they have been “left behind” by Obama and his Democrat Party2 — they have betrayed American workers.

Let’s look at the Democrat record. A year after they took over Congress in 2007, the housing market bubble, previously inflated by easy-lending policies enacted by Bill Clinton a decade earlier, began a rapid deflation. Democrats' answer to government-caused cascading economic crisis of confidence3 was, as always, more government. In 2009 Obama and his Democrat Congress passed a near-trillion dollar “stimulus spending package4” that did nothing to stimulate the economy and everything to grow the size of government, while lining the pockets of leftist constituents and cronies.

Additionally, Democrats passed the so-called “Affordable Care Act5,” which has proven a colossal failure and an huge obstacle to economic growth. So yeah, you could say the economy is “constantly changing,” and the net effect of Obama’s policies have crushed the middle class6.

And as far as working folks feeling left behind, Obama has undermined workers at every turn. He’s pushed for a record number of economically suppressing regulations, a higher minimum wage that will price low-skilled laborers out of the jobs market, and advocated a virtual open borders policy7, which has flooded the market with low-skilled labor. In short, Democrats are bad for business, which means they are bad for labor.

Hillary’s Convenient Memory Loss8

In a holiday weekend news dump late Friday afternoon, the FBI released the memos on its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified material. Nothing about the FBI memos exonerates Clinton — in fact, they only reinforce the fact that Clinton went to great lengths to hide things and lie to the American public. Clinton’s favorite response, uttered an astounding 39 times during the FBI questioning, was “I do not recall.”

When initially questioned in March 2015 about her use of a personal email server, Clinton stated, “I opted for convenience to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the State Department, because I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work and for my personal emails instead of two.” The FBI discovered that Clinton had used no fewer than 13 mobile devices and five iPads. Conveniently for Clinton, the FBI was unable to locate any of the 13 mobile devices and recovered only three of the iPads. At least two phones were destroyed with a hammer. Beyond not being able to check for classified information that may have been housed on those devices, the FBI could not determine if any of those devices had been hacked.

In 2011, a memo was sent under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s name to all State Department employees warning against using personal emails because of “informational security concerns.” When questioned about this memo, Clinton could not recall having sent it.

Clinton claimed to have turned over all State Department-related emails. On top of this she claimed that there was no classified information on her private servers. The FBI discovered “approximately 17,448 unique work-related and personal emails” that had never been previously produced. The FBI also discovered over 100 emails that contained classified information at the time they were sent or received.

In March 2015, Clinton publicly stated, “I’m certainly well aware of the classification requirements and did not send classified material.” The FBI memos reveal that when Hillary was questioned regarding classified markings on several emails, she claimed she didn’t know what the “©” markings meant and that she “speculated it was referencing paragraphs marked in alphabetical order.” How absurdly insulting.

The truth is that Hillary Clinton is simply not trustworthy and has consistently been unwilling to be honest with the American people. One who has been so careless and dishonest as secretary of state now asks for Americans to trust her with the highest office in the land. Hopefully, come November Americans vote “NO.”

Obama Cosigns U.S. to Statist Climate Accord9

During the G-20 Summit over the weekend, the U.S. and China formally latched on to last December’s climate framework10, cobbled together in Paris just weeks after a gruesome and far more crucially important jihad attack11. The pact, which is most certainly a treaty12, signifies one of the most egregious abuses of power ever orchestrated by a president. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states that the president “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur [emphasis added].” But the Obama administration obfuscated this point by insisting the agreement is, in essence, not legally binding.

In short, there was no getting the statist-empowering accord through Congress. So Obama rewrote the rules and altogether circumvented Congress instead. As John Kerry himself explained, “I would love to have a legally binding agreement. But the situation in the U.S. is such that legally binding with respect to finance is a killer for the agreement.” The subterfuge is even lost on the media. As ABC News reported, “Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping ratified a sweeping agreement to curb carbon emissions, accelerating the path toward implementation of the 200-nation accord that the world leaders hope to achieve by the end of the year.” But how can Obama ratify something that’s not a treaty? Sadly, the media either doesn’t know or, worse, doesn’t care.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-China political conflict revealed itself in a disparaging way at the G-20 gathering. According to USA Today, “Tensions over protocol began almost as soon as Air Force One touched down in Hangzhou on Saturday. No mobile staircase was prepared for the U.S. president to exit the front door of the plane, forcing him to leave via the lower back door, which has its own stairs. He also was the only national leader not to be provided with red carpet on arrival.” Obama, of course, brushed aside the embarrassing optics, insisting it was much ado about nothing. But China, which is bitter over U.S. opposition to its encroachments in the South China Sea, was clearly sending a message. Ironically, the same snub will apply to said climate deal. China has no intention of actually following the letter of the law.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Peggy Noonan: Can Anxiety Beat Depression in November?13
Rich Lowry: Yes, America First14
Burt Prelutsky: The Way Things Are15

For more, visit Right Opinion16.

TOP HEADLINES

North Korea Fires Three Ballistic Missiles During G20 Summit17
Kerry Fails to Secure Syria Deal18
GOP to Reprimand Dems Over Guns Sit-In19
Police Union Threatens 49ers Boycott20

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report21.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
A Gutless RNC Abides Leftist Debate Moderators22

By Arnold Ahlert

Early last month, we recounted23 that the “non-partisan” Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) managed to select consistently leftist debate moderators in every presidential debate from 1980 through 2012. Last Friday, the CPD released the list of moderators24 for the upcoming 2016 debates. No doubt to the consternation of millions of Americans, the CPD’s “streak” remains very much alive:

First presidential debate:
Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News
Monday, September 26, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY

Vice presidential debate:
Elaine Quijano, Anchor, CBSN and Correspondent, CBS News
Tuesday, October 4, Longwood University, Farmville, VA

Second presidential debate (town meeting):
Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and Co-Anchor of “This Week,” ABC
Anderson Cooper, Anchor, CNN
Sunday, October 9, Washington University in St. Louis, MO

Third presidential debate:
Chris Wallace, Anchor, Fox News Sunday
Wednesday, October 19, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV

Lester Holt is probably the most even-handed member of the group, but he is reportedly a Democrat25. Even if one assumes that info is unreliable, he was rather effusive26 describing Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, calling it a “powerful arc embracing hope and optimism, a passionate endorsement of Hillary Rodham Clinton and at times an artful takedown of Donald Trump, [and] a call for Americans to participate in democracy.”

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-5-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
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NBC itself is even more problematic. In 2015, the network partnered27 with TargetSmart, a firm founded in 2006 by Democrat operatives Jeff Ferguson and Paula Kowalczuk “to perform non-partisan analysis, research voting habits, and identify voting trends at the state and local levels,” NBC stated in a press release. As the firm itself announced in 2014, it was hired by the Democratic National Committee “to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot and across the nation.”

In other words, NBC knew TargetSmart’s primary objective a year before hiring the firm — and proceeded anyway.

Even that wasn’t enough. In 2015 NBC also pumped28 an astonishing $400 million into hard-left “news” outlets BuzzFeed and Vox.

Elaine Quijano is a relative newcomer to the scene, but she gave a bit more insight into her political leanings in 2014, when she insisted global warming “would submerge tunnels and subways here in Manhattan and parts of Queens and Brooklyn,” and “also put the entire city of Miami Beach and much of South Florida underwater.”

Martha Raddatz had Obama as a guest29 at her wedding to now ex-husband Julius Genachowski, who was Obama’s former FCC chairman. Her “unbiased” opinion of Hillary Clinton? “Let’s face it, Hillary is cool,” she stated30 in 2012. “Trending. From the dancing and drinking photos during her trip to Colombia, to the iconic shot of the secretary texting on her C-17.”

One might be inclined to wonder what Raddatz currently thinks about Clinton’s texting. We do know in June she read31 a Trump tweet on air that asked how the FBI could possibly not “recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton” to which she inadvertently added the word “crooked” before Hillary.

We also know that ABC scrubbed the word from its video going forward. Perhaps that’s because, as American Spectator columnist Matt Norcross wrote32 last February, “Disney-ABC Television Group chief Ben Sherwood wants to impose a radical-left agenda on their cable and broadcast networks, and according to that plan, they are making great progress.”

CNN’s Anderson Cooper’s “bona fides” include lying33 about Trump and Muslims and getting busted34 for it by the equally left-wing Washington Post; promoting35 a misleading fact check about the Clinton Foundation that referenced a positive review by Charity Watch, while omitting unfavorable reviews by other review organizations; and engaging36 in a contentious interview about LGBT issues with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi following the Orlando massacre, aided and abetted by CNN leaving a critical exchange between the two on the cutting room floor.

As for CNN itself, its bias has been so transparent for so long, millions of Americans refer to it as the Clinton News Network. That would be the same CNN owned by Time Warner — Clinton’s eighth largest37 career campaign donor.

On the other hand, Republicans and conservatives can at least take heart in the selection of Fox News Anchor Chris Wallace, right? Wrong. On Oct. 11, 2006, The Washington Post reported38 that Wallace was a registered Democrat — and had been “for more than two decades.”

The CPD was supposed to announce its selections in August. But they held off until now because of the “unprecedented challenge” it faced to select moderators who are “as immune as possible” to bias accusations. “Trump made it more challenging than ever,” Fox 59 reported39.

It wasn’t Trump who selected an embarrassingly biased Candy Crowley for the 2012 debate. And there’s nothing remotely unprecedented about a reliably spineless RNC acquiescing to this leftist deck-stacking — for the tenth debate session in a row.

Fox also noted the CPD’s efforts were “complicated” by the reality that “Clinton has been a public figure for 30 years and has developed unique relationships with certain journalists.”

Like relationships with ABC Anchor George Stephanopoulos and the dozens40 of media organizations who made contributions to the Clinton Foundation totaling millions of dollars? How about a media stacked41 with relatives and former Clinton and Obama administration officials? Or one so in the tank for Clinton, New York Times columnist James Rutenbeg insisted42 the media have to “throw out the textbook American journalism” — as in objectivity — when it comes to covering Trump?

“Who is going to moderate these debates and how good are the Republicans going to be this time around?” asked43 Media Research Center President Brent Bozell the day before the announcement. Leftists and irredeemably gutless, Brent. Just like always.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Harry Reid Threatens Going Nuclear44 — A Democrat Senate majority might eliminate filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.
Leftists Redefine ‘Illegal’45 — The term “illegal immigrants” is “very incendiary.”
The EpiPen Conundrum46 — A large backlog of drugs waiting approval from the FDA is primary culprit.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Peggy Noonan: “We’re used to attributing everything by default to Mr. Trump — what’s he done now? But maybe the fact of Trump isn’t driving things, but the central fact of Hillary. It is a fact we all know so well that we factor it in and forget it. It is that people view her as both untruthful and untrustworthy. A Fox News poll out [last] week said an astounding 74% of respondents said they believe Mrs. Clinton would do anything to be president (68% said the same of Mr. Trump). A Washington Post/ABC News poll also [last] week showed Mrs. Clinton’s image at an all-time low. Among registered voters, 59% view her unfavorably (60% view Mr. Trump unfavorably). The Post: ‘If it weren’t for Trump, in fact, Clinton would be the most unpopular major-party presidential nominee in modern American history.’ Think of that, in someone well known to Americans for 25 years. … Mrs. Clinton is depression: You know exactly who she is, what trouble she brings — she always brings that sack full of scandal — and she won’t make anything better. Mr. Trump is anxiety: If you back him you know you’re throwing the long ball, a real Hail Mary pass to the casino developer and reality TV star who may or may not know how to catch the ball when catching the ball means everything. … We’re raising Clintons and Trumps and it doesn’t bode well.”

SHORT CUTS

The Gipper: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

The BIG lie: “What these notes demonstrate is … why the FBI chose not to go forward with any additional proceeding. [Clinton] did make a mistake, and she made it by deciding she wanted to use one device rather than multiple devices.” —Tim Kaine (“The FBI released files from its investigation into Clinton’s private email server on Friday, and among the findings was there were 13 different mobile devices associated with Clinton’s two numbers that could have been used to send and receive emails on her system.” —Washington Free Beacon)

Blame shifting: “There were emails that contained classified information that had been improperly marked. So when [Clinton] received the email, the material that was classified — which is supposed to be flagged and identified as classified — in many instances was improperly labeled.” —Tim Kaine (Wrong again — much of it was marked, and besides, she had the authority to decide classification.)

For the record: “What’s evident from all of the revelations over the last several weeks is that Hillary Clinton operated in such a way to keep her emails, and particularly her interactions while secretary of state, with the Clinton Foundation out of the public reach, out of public accountability. I think it all truly does disqualify her from serving as president of the United States. … [Hillary Clinton is] the most dishonest candidate for president of the United States since Richard Nixon.” —Mike Pence

And last… “The FBI documents should be seen as a preview of how Mrs. Clinton would govern as President, with the same get-away-with-anything entitlement that always follows the Clintons. She’s lucky she’s running for President because anyone else would have been indicted.” —The Wall Street Journal

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.