The Patriot Post Digest 9-16-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-16-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Sep. 16, 2016

THE FOUNDATION

“We are, heart and soul, friends to the freedom of the press. It is however, the prostituted companion of liberty, and somehow or other, we know not how, its efficient auxiliary.” —Fisher Ames (1807)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Media Answer Obama’s Call1

Early this week, Barack Obama pinch-hit for Hillary Clinton as she was on bed rest due to her latest health episode, and he called out the media2 for not hitting hard enough against Donald Trump. The response was swift. Lead stories across all major media outlets this morning criticized Trump for his non-response to the question over the old controversy questioning Obama’s place of birth.

The Washington Post lead headline read, “Trump tells Post he is unwilling to say Obama was born in the U.S.” The New York Times headlined, “Donald Trump Again Won’t Acknowledge Obama Was Born in U.S.” And the lead headline from CBS News was, “Trump on ‘birther’ stance: ‘Keep the suspense going.’” The NBC News lead headline says, “Why Donald Trump Can’t Escape His ‘Birther’ Past.” Let’s not leave out ABC News, which headlined, “Trump Promises ‘Big Announcement’ on Whether He Believes Obama Was Born in US.” Even Fox News jumped in the fray: “‘Birther’ Remarks Resurface: Trump, Clinton trade barbs over Obama birth certificate controversy.”

The irony is that the so called “birther” controversy wasn’t actually started by conservatives at all. Instead, it finds its roots with Hillary Clinton’s supporters back in 2008. A 2011 Politico article reported, “At the time, the Democratic presidential primary was slipping away from Hillary Clinton and some of her most passionate supporters grasped for something, anything that would deal a final reversal to Barack Obama.” That “something, anything” was to raise questions regarding Obama’s place of birth. The irony is that she and her Leftmedia supporters are playing this same card again hoping to trip up Trump as he has recently surged in the polls.

The bigger story here is not some old controversy of little real consequence or importance for the current election, but rather the Leftmedia’s Pavlovian response to Obama’s dog whistle. One can bet on the media making every effort to daily produce similar anti-Trump stories through Election Day. And if Trump’s poll numbers continue to rise, the media’s negative onslaught will only intensify.

Last Refugee of a Lame Duck3

Barack Obama is working overtime to implement the last vestiges of fundamental transformation before he departs the White House in January. Unfortunately, Americans are being put in greater danger as a result. The latest example of Obama’s pushing the envelope came this week in announcing an even bigger inflow of “refugees” to America from war-torn corners of the world. According to The Wall Street Journal, “The 110,000 target for 2017 for individuals fleeing persecution and conflict around the world represents a nearly 30% increase over this fiscal year and an almost 60% increase over the 70,000 admitted in 2015.” More specifically, “40,000 refugees would be authorized from the Near East/South Asia, which includes Syria, the most of any region. The second-largest number, 35,000, would come from Africa. A total of 14,000 slots were listed as not allocated.”

As Gary Bauer points out in Obama’s previous decision to welcome 10,000 Syrians to America, “The vast majority of the refugees turned out to be Muslims. But it’s Christians and other minorities who are facing genocide in the Middle East. And U.S. law specifically states that religious minorities are to be granted preference in our refugee policy.” It’s not hard to understand why. The implications for national security are substantial, and Islamists are taking advantage at every opportunity. France is the most befitting example4, but it’s happening here too. Unvetted migrants aren’t merely a security threat either. Last November the Center for Immigration Studies estimated5, “For what it costs to resettle one Middle Eastern refugee in the United States for five years, about 12 refugees can be helped in the Middle East for five years, or 61 refugees can be helped for one year.” Victor Davis Hanson astutely summarizes6 the end result of ignoring these facts: “Obama’s only legacy seems to be that ‘hope and change’ begat ‘make America great again.’”

Intelligence Community Quashed Clinton Probe7

In February, Hillary Clinton ironically wondered8, “Why is there one standard for me and not for everybody else?” That’s an excellent question and one that is ever so pertinent. Recall earlier this summer the FBI said it “did find that hostile foreign actors gained access to the personal email accounts of individuals with whom Clinton was in regular contact, and, in doing so, obtained emails sent to or received by Clinton on her personal account.” Meanwhile, Intelligence Community Directive 732 stipulates9, “Damage assessments shall be conducted when there is an actual or suspected unauthorized disclosure or compromise of classified national intelligence that may cause damage to U.S. national security.”

As Rep. Mike Pompeo reminds us, “FBI Director Comey has made clear that there was highly classified and sensitive information on Secretary Clinton’s personal server.” But according to a new report by The Washington Free Beacon, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence never followed through10 on its requirement to investigate the repercussions of a possible breach of classified intel — a decision that was supported by Director James Clapper. So to paraphrase Hillary’s question once again: Why is there one standard for her and quite another for everybody else?

That’s what guys like disgraced NSA thief and deserter Edward Snowden11 are asking. He recently underscored his hankering for clemency: “Yes, there are laws on the books that say one thing, but that is perhaps why the pardon power exists — for the exceptions, for the things that may seem unlawful in letters on a page but when we look at them morally, when we look at them ethically, when we look at the results, it seems these were necessary things, these were vital things.” In June 2014, Hillary criticized Snowden12 as “a lawbreaker” who “violated his duties that he assumed when he took the job that he had.”

Memo to Secretary Clinton: The exact same charge can be leveled against you and your investigators.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Michael Reagan: Hillary and Bill — The Old Couple13
Mona Charen: Child Care Proposals: Be Like Sweden?14
Charles Krauthammer: Hillary Sharpens, Trump Softens. He’s Rising, She’s Falling.15

For more, visit Right Opinion16.

TOP HEADLINES

Clinton Changes Campaign Walk-Off Song to ‘I Feel Good’17
Clinton-Kaine Book Has Sold Less Than 3,000 Copies18
DHS Accused of Sitting on Damning Border Report19

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report20.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Constitution Day: Losing Touch With Our National Roots21

By Michael Swartz

Saturday marks the 229th anniversary of the completion of our Constitution, which was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation for its approval on Sept. 17, 1787. Over the following months it was ratified by the several states, reaching the required nine when New Hampshire approved it on June 21, 1788. (All 13 colonies ratified it by the middle of 1790; Rhode Island was the last holdout.) Do Americans really know about our rich heritage?

One would think that a nation which cherishes its history and freedom as America does would have a populace that could rattle off these facts in the same manner as they can name the starters on their fantasy football team — but we don’t. Instead, a recent study22 from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, an advocate for improving college education, found that just 18% of liberal arts colleges and universities require even one survey course on American history or government for graduation. (It’s no wonder the study was titled “A Crisis in Civic Education.”) Nor is that course necessarily one that teaches about the founding documents; often it covers various niche topics that reflect the popularity of the subject (such as a history of witchcraft in America) rather than an examination of more weighty topics like the debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-16-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The news is just as bad at the high school level, as only a handful of states23 require any testing in civics before students graduate. In more and more schools, time that was once spent covering the basics of our system of government is lost in teaching to standardized tests that may or may not cover these important subjects. Those students who scream in protest, “I know my rights!” likely have no clue that those rights weren’t originally enumerated in the Constitution but were added as amendments soon afterward — and, even then, not without controversy over whether these rights would be limited by virtue of being enumerated.

It seems quaint in this day and age, but there once was robust debate about whether the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government at the expense of the states. (The Anti-Federalists' warnings were prophetic.) Now the argument is over which political party’s version of Big Government is preferable. Contention over — and advocacy of — limitations to government based on constitutional principles has become a theoretical exercise at best, perhaps in part because few understand the ideas and arguments that were made during the drafting of our government’s founding document.

Our situation is made clear when no less than Rush Limbaugh effectively concedes that the argument over Big Government vs. limited government is over.

In response to a caller24 to his show Wednesday who praised Donald Trump’s Big Government child care plan25, Limbaugh noted: “I think [voters are] going to respond so positively to this, and it’s going to disappoint a lot of people. ‘Oh, my God, do people not even understand the whole concept of Big Government destroying the country?’ They don’t, folks. They don’t look at it the way you and I do in that regard.” Years of enforced neglect of civics education has placed us in this situation where the prospect of a measure of financial security is the tradeoff for Liberty — because maintaining Liberty is just too hard and requires sacrifice and diligence. So when neither major-party candidate campaigns on following the Constitution (or gets basic facts about it wrong) it’s no surprise that so few notice.

Cultivated ignorance26 isn’t the only problem — malevolent destruction is rampant. Even federal judges now have no compunction in arguing that the Constitution is obsolete27 and “does not speak to today.” And Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2012 said, “I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012.”

Indeed, the never-ending journey to Liberty is difficult, made more so by the frequent and quickening steps we take in the other direction. It’s heartening to know, however, that it only took what Samuel Adams called an “irate, tireless minority” to lead a revolution against a tyrannical leader and then realize that a new system of government was in order to maintain that Liberty purchased with blood and sacrifice.

We in our humble shop aren’t just sitting on the sidelines lamenting the good old days, either — we carry our Founders' torch. Through our Essential Liberty Project, we’ve distributed more than one million Constitution guides, frequently to schools so that we pass the flame of Liberty to the next generation. We have an extensive collection of historic documents online28, including the Federalist Papers29 in their entirety.

And since 199630, we’ve been bringing a constitutional perspective to our unique coverage of news, policy and opinion. Our profoundest thanks to all of you who have made that possible31.

Throughout American history we have had times of religious revival, and in those instances we also seem to gain an appreciation of the natural law our founding documents are based on — including the self-evident truth that certain rights are endowed by our Creator. As Patriots continue to strive for a more perfect Union and secure the blessings of Liberty, we pray that the next revival comes not just in a religious sense, but with a renewed thirst for Liberty that can only be quenched by closely hewing to our founding documents.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Getting the War on Terror Back on Track32 — What will it take to recover from Obama’s disaster?
Both Clinton and Trump Are Wrong on Child Care25 — Government mandates and other involvement with only increase costs.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Michael Reagan: “Hillary’s public stumble at the 9/11 memorial ceremonies last weekend forced her to do what she, Bill and the entire Clinton Mob do better than any modern political operation in modern history — lie. They could have come out and said Hillary had pneumonia but she thought the 9/11 ceremony was so important she tried to tough it out. She could have been a hero. Instead they did what first comes naturally to the Clintons. They hid from the public and started lying. … The mainstream news media didn’t discover Hillary’s latest lies. They didn’t even capture her stumbling collapse into her SUV. Maybe they’ll do better next time, but don’t count on it. WikiLeaks and the Russian hackers are doing the dirty work the media won’t do. Now we’re outsourcing our journalism. The true state of Hillary’s health is a serious issue and her people can’t be trusted to provide us with the truth. But in her basket of deplorable acts, where do you put this one?”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” —Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968.)

For the record: “Hillary has been stumbling badly in the presidential race, in part over questions about the Clinton Foundation. So what are the Clintons doing? Throwing a big Clinton Foundation birthday party for Bill33.” —Rich Lowry

Belly laugh of the week, Part I: “I think I’ve worked very, very hard to be more transparent than not just my opponent, but in a comparison to anybody’s who’s run.” —Hillary Clinton

Belly laugh of the week, Part II: “For five years, [Donald Trump] has led the birther movement to delegitimize our first black president. His campaign was founded on this outrageous lie. There is no erasing it in history.” —Hillary Clinton (You mean he can’t wipe it with a cloth or something?)

Non Compos Mentis: “When it comes to public service, I’m better at the service part than the public part.” —Hillary Clinton

Science or silence? “The debate on science and the debate on politics as far as climate change is concerned is over. Still, the Republican Party, they are not convinced. There should be no political consideration on this. There should be no room for politics to get involved.” —UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Priorities: “[John Kerry] has elevated the profile of climate change, ocean protection to the point where we have conversations about this not just in the Oval Office, but in the Situation Room.” —Barack Obama

And last… “We are encouraged to emulate the enlightened policies of Sweden, where paid family leave is very generous. … The progressive utopias of Scandinavia (or here, as it seems we’re headed in the same direction) can fiddle with subsidies and bonuses all they want, but they will continue to bash their heads against a fundamental reality: Women enjoy being with their babies and will choose to spend their time that way if they possibly can. Fathers make irreplaceable contributions to child rearing, but not in the form of nursing infants. There, was that so hard?” —Mona Charen

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.