The Patriot Post Digest 9-13-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-13-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Sep. 13, 2016

THE FOUNDATION

“Where I know a mind to be ingenuous, and to need only truth to set it to rights, I cannot be passive.” —Thomas Jefferson (1804)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Hillary’s Unhealthy Credibility1

As we reported Sunday, Hillary Clinton was filmed collapsing2 after leaving early from that morning’s 9/11 memorial tribute. The initial explanation released by her campaign was that she had become overheated. Hours later, the narrative changed as Hillary emerged from her daughter’s apartment waving and declaring that she felt great. It was then revealed that Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia by her doctor on Friday, two days prior to her collapse.

Before this latest episode, questions about the status of Hillary’s health had been met by her campaign with accusations of unsubstantiated “conspiracy” theories or with dismissive references to minor dehydration issues. Bill Clinton unhelpfully suggested such dehydration happened “frequently — not frequently, rarely but on more than one occasion.” In any case, what has become increasingly evident is that Clinton, similar to her responses to questions regarding her private email scandal and her involvement in Benghazi, opts for obfuscation rather than transparency every time.

Donald Trump declared that he will release his medical records and that Hillary should follow suit. But yesterday, when Hillary was questioned by CNN’s Anderson Cooper as to why she had not revealed her pneumonia diagnosis sooner, her response was once again to deflect. She said, “Well, I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal.” All her explanation has done is fuel speculations that she is hiding some other more significant health issue. Hillary’s instinct to cover up rather than be open and honest effectively turned a minor news incident into a major campaign problem. As Charles Krauthammer noted, “This is another case of the cover-up being worse than the crime.” And her handling of this latest issue only serves as further evidence that her credibility is what’s truly unhealthy.

NFL Throws the White Flag3

This past weekend, a weekend on which we as a nation remembered4 those who 15 years ago died in the worst terrorist attack America has ever endured, witnessed both displays of respect and foolish insult. Appropriately, many gathered in solemn reflection at the 9/11 memorials at both the Pentagon and World Trade Center. It was a time to reflect upon how suddenly our nation was challenged by evil and changed in response to that challenge. However, there are those who through willful ignorance based on Leftist elitism deem our great nation too flawed to show even the most basic respect and honor. A nation which offers its citizens more rights and opportunity than most other peoples throughout history are privileged to experience.

This ignorant elitism was on display at several NFL football stadiums on Sunday and again Monday night as several players refused to stand for the national anthem, choosing to kneel or raise their fists in protest. This ignorant elitism wasn’t confined to the sidelines, either, but was pushed by even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who when questioned about the appropriateness of players refusing to stand said, “You know, we encourage our players to be respectful. We want them to do this so. But they also have rights. And we have to respect that.” How does one even know what constitutes “respect” from that comment?

Obviously, players are entitled to their various opinions as are all Americans, but the NFL as a private enterprise is fully within its rights to discipline players for conduct it views as inappropriate. A recent example is Goodell’s four-game suspension of Tom Brady for “deflate gate.” Or, if you prefer ironic contrast, the NFL on Sunday stuck to its strict uniform policy and would not allow players to wear shoes that were “patriotic” in design and color as a tribute to the 9/11 fallen.

The bottom line is that the NFL has become so blinded by its growing desire to adhere to leftist ideology that it cannot even recognize the hypocrisy of its own statements.

Occidental Vandalism of 9/11 Memorial5

As the entire nation took time Sunday to remember the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks4, some students at Barack Obama’s alma mater weren’t so patriotic. After the Occidental College Republican Club painstakingly set out 2,997 flags — one for each victim of the attacks — vandals came along and ripped them out of the ground, snapped some in half and tossed them into trash cans. “Today is meant to be a day of respect and remembrance for all the victims and heroes of 9/11,” the group said after creating the display. After the vandalism was discovered, they said, “Not one [flag] was left in the ground. Not only did they destroy the memorial, they put posters and fliers up that shamed the victims of 9/11.” One of those posters read, “R.I.P. the 1,455,590 innocent Iraqis who died during the U.S. invasion for something they didn’t do.” The College Republican Club fixed the display at 1:00 in the morning, and stood guard the remainder of the night.

By the way, the fact that Obama attended Occidental is conspicuously absent from the Washington Post’s coverage, though the paper does mention Republican Jack Kemp as a notable alum. They’re not called the Leftmedia for nothing.

Don’t Miss Patriot Humor

Check out Hillary’s Health Issues6.

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BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Stephen Moore: Want Prosperity? Follow the Red State Model8
Rich Lowry: The Clinton Diagnosis — Chronic Secrecy and Dishonesty9
Dennis Prager: How Is the Godless West Working Out?10

For more, visit Right Opinion11.

TOP HEADLINES

FBI Official Given Subpoena Over Clinton Server12
Obama’s Border Plan Collapses in Texas Amid New Surge13
NCAA Takes College Championships Out of North Carolina14

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report15.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Trump’s Putin Praise in Perspective16

By Paul Albaugh

Donald Trump once again managed to confuse a pretty straightforward issue in his comments in the recent “commander in chief forum17.” Trump restated his previous adoration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, “Well, he does have an 82% approval rating.” Furthermore, he said, “It’s a very different system and I don’t happen to like the system. But certainly, in that system, he’s been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.”

In a sense, Trump has a point. In fact, Rep. Steve King probably explains it best, highlighting18 that Putin has been able to stoke the fires in his own country and has brought forth a surge in Russian nationalism. Putin is doing what he thinks will make Russia the great power it once was, and Trump appreciates it.

Trump’s running mate Mike Pence also defended Trump’s statement, asserting, “It’s inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country.”

To be clear, we agree that Obama has been a terrible leader for America. But to be equally clear, Putin is an evil man who has spent his time in office advancing his version of Russia’s interests at all costs. Putin kills journalists and political opponents who disagree with him. He essentially has all of Russia under his thumb, which may very well be why his “approval” rating is so high. Moscow’s propaganda machine is at full force and Russians are once again literally frightened to be considered dissident.

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-13-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Recall that Putin wants to regain Soviet-style control over Eastern Europe and has made gains in doing so. He annexed Crimea and invaded Ukraine. He also supports19 Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, is on good terms with Iran (to whom, it’s worth noting, Obama has freely given billions of dollars), and generally has been undermining U.S interests abroad for years (as has Obama). Putin’s goons are the main suspects in the hacking of the DNC’s emails20. Putin is a former KGB agent, and, as the saying goes, you can take the man out of the KGB, but you can’t take the KGB out of the man.

The bottom line is that Putin is a fascist strongman, so it is troubling that Trump would heap so much praise upon him — even as bad as Obama has been for America. Compare and contrast, but don’t praise.

The Washington Examiner’s Philip Klein sums up21 the flawed moral equivalency argument nicely:

“Trump is dismissing actions Putin took threatening neighbors and working against U.S. interests by essentially saying, well, Obama has done a lot of things that were just as bad. This is exactly the type of moral equivalency that conservatives spent decades fighting against — when those on the far left tried to portray the U.S. and Soviet Union as morally the same, or slam U.S. as being the real terrorists in the Middle East. Imagine the reaction on the right if, in 2008, candidate Obama said Hugo Chavez was a great leader, and when confronted with his human rights violations, said, ‘Well you could say the same about what George Bush did in Iraq.’

"This is very important. Trump is not merely saying that Putin has been more effectively advancing his nation’s interests than Obama, but he’s saying that none of the evil actions he’s taking have been any worse than Obama. And that is reprehensible and indefensible. And nobody on the right should be defending him.”

Trump is missing out on a golden opportunity to point to the reason why Putin has brought back a Russian resurgence. It’s in part a result of the failure of the Obama administration to recognize the geopolitical threat that Russia is to American interests and global stability. It was Obama and the Leftmedia who in 2012 scoffed22 at then presidential candidate Mitt Romney for stating that Russia was our greatest geopolitical foe.

Furthermore, it was none other than Hillary Clinton who miserably failed at her much-ballyhooed “reset” of relations with Russia. It was Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation who asked his Hillary’s State Department for clearance to meet with Russian oligarchs23. And it was Hillary who facilitated a lucrative uranium deal for Moscow.

Trump needs to focus on defeating Hillary Clinton, and making these kinds of statements only enables her to turn the tables and argue that Putin wants a Trump presidency but fears a Clinton one. Nothing could be further from the truth. In addition, Trump needs to be more focused on Liberty, pointing to America’s past leaders who have guided us to greatness. If Trump wants to make America great again, he should look there, not to Vladimir Putin.

In any case, the real story here is Clinton’s failure and corruption as secretary of state and Obama’s malfeasance as president. It was the weakness of their leadership that has enabled Russia and Putin to get to where they are today. Trump’s praise for Putin is dumbfounding, but it also pales in comparison to the Clintons' pay-to-play behavior with the Russians or Obama’s “Make America Not-So-Great” policy.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Syria Deal — Obama’s Trojan Horse?19 — Neither Assad nor Putin can be trusted.
The Wildly Outrageous Costs of Pharmaceuticals24 — Thank the FDA, ObamaCare and regulation in general for much of the problem.
Lesson From Wells Fargo25 — Capitalism is far from perfect, but it’s still vastly preferable to other systems.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Stephen Moore: “Almost 1,000 people on net have been leaving high-tax states for low-tax states. This is more than 3 million people a year voting with their feet against liberalism. It isn’t quite the same as the exodus after World War II from East Germany to West Germany, but the same phenomenon is in place. As Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas, loves to point out (and Census data confirm), the Lone Star state (with no income tax) created more jobs from 2007-14 than the other 49 states combined. If you think big government and high taxes are a path to prosperity, how in the world do you explain that one? Even with the oil recession, Texas is still doing fine. No wonder Clinton is having a hard time convincing voters that her model for rebuilding the economy will work. It hasn’t worked anywhere in the country. Even California lost 1 million residents due to internal migration from 2005-14.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom.” —Justice William O. Douglas (1898-1980)

For the record: “‘They are irredeemable’ is a strange thing for a professed Christian to say about anybody. Theology aside, it is a shocking thing for someone who aspires to the powers of the presidency to say about fellow Americans, even if she rightly thinks they hold deplorable views. But according to Mrs. Clinton, ‘thankfully they are not America.’ They are voting in an American election, which means by definition they are Americans. People beat up on Trump a while back for proposing an ‘ideological test’ for naturalization. Here is Mrs. Clinton putting forth an ideological test for people who are already American citizens.” —James Taranto

Alpha Jackass: “The response that the U.S. administration had to [9/11] … expanded [the jihad threat] to a wider space. In particular, Iraq. And even though France … rightly refused to join the intervention which it even condemned, it has still been a victim of the consequences of the chaos it caused.” —French President Francois Hollande

The BIG lie: “This administration has prided itself and made transparency in government a genuine priority and [Obama] believes the American people were well served by that.” —Josh Earnest (“People who asked for records under the law received censored files or nothing in 77 percent of requests, [which is] a record.” —Associated Press, March 2016)

Non Compos Mentis: “I must advise the Clinton campaign to perform toxicologic analysis of Ms. Clinton’s blood. It is possible she is being poisoned. … I do not trust Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump. With those two all things are possible.” —Bennet Omalu, the NFL’s concussion doctor

And last… “Given [Hillary’s] history of rampant, craven, deep, broad, sustained, overarching, continuous, relentless dishonesty about practically every aspect of her personal and public lives, is it really so implausible that she’d lie about her health? No. She’d lie about her health even if there were nothing to lie about, just to keep in practice.” —Kevin Williamson

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.