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« on: September 29, 2016, 04:59:47 PM » |
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________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 9-26-2016 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription ________________________________________
Mid-Day Digest
Sep. 26, 2016
THE FOUNDATION
“It is proper you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our Government… Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever persuasion, religious or political.” —Thomas Jefferson (1801)
TOP RIGHT HOOKS
‘Hillary Coverup Operation’1
In March 2015, not long after news first broke of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server while serving as secretary of state, Barack Obama was asked in an interview when he first learned of her practice. Obama responded, “Uh, the same time everybody else learned it — through news reports.” Last October, Obama answered another interview question — “Did you know about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server?” — with a terse, “No.” Fast forward to the latest Friday afternoon news dump. The FBI released another 189 pages of Clinton investigation notes, which reveal that during Hillary’s time as secretary of state Obama had emailed her private account under a pseudonym. Clearly, Obama’s earlier assertions of ignorance were blatant lies. He not only knew, but covered up his knowledge at the time — or at least tried to keep his own hands clean.
Speaking of cover-ups, also contained within the FBI notes released on Friday was a reference made by an IT contractor managing Clinton’s private server, who labeled a work ticket “Hillary coverup operation.” If that doesn’t perfectly sum up the whole fiasco, we don’t know what does. When CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook about this damning reference, Mook deflected by stating that the FBI had cleared Hillary of any wrongdoing. When pressed, Mook turned and blamed Republicans for “selectively leaking information.” A strange response given that it was the FBI that released this information late on a Friday afternoon.
On a final note, we also learned that the Justice Department granted immunity deals to three of Clinton’s closest advisers in exchange for information. The question is, why were immunity deals needed if the FBI concluded that no criminal activity occurred? Logically, one would assume that if immunity were offered to someone, it would have been needed in order to prosecute someone else of an even greater crime. Yet Clinton walked.
This all is smelling like a much larger cover-up that may now even have connections to the White House. The tech company, the attorney general, the FBI director and the president were all complicit in covering for Clinton. “Hillary coverup operation,” indeed.
Cruz’s Tepid Endorsement2
On Friday, Ted Cruz finally (gingerly) threw his support behind Donald Trump. Cruz posted on Facebook, “After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but Cruz has come a long way. The news was greeted by a combination of dismay and relief. There were those “Never Trump” Cruz supporters who were angered by the news, feeling that Cruz had sold out to the Republican establishment3. And there were those Republicans relieved that the deepening party rift exposed during the nomination process was at least somewhat mended.
But it seems that Cruz’s decision to support Trump may have been motivated more by consideration for his own political future than any sudden sense of party loyalty. As much as Cruz billed himself as the anti-establishment guy, warnings from the RNC’s Reince Priebus to those who didn’t support Trump coupled with the tightening polls were enough to cause Cruz to blink. At July’s convention4, Cruz was betting that Trump’s political stock would inevitably fall, propelling his own “I told you so” position politically. Now that Trump’s made it a close race, Cruz finds himself in the awkward position of having to play politics the same as all “establishment” politicians.
One bright spot in this for Cruz is that he was perhaps able to convince Trump to add Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) to the updated list of proposed Supreme Court justices. As a Cruz spokesman said, “Trump’s willingness and decisive action to release a list of conservative jurists, particularly including Mike Lee, with the promise to choose from that list, was a top factor in Cruz’s ultimate decision.” The remaining question is, will this help Trump more in 2016, or Cruz in 2018 and 2020?
Sporting Double Standards5
Although many Americans find it highly offensive that San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand6 for our national anthem (to protest “a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” in his own words), neither the NFL nor the 49ers have administered any sort of punishment or remedial action for his political speech. Yes, he has an individual right to political expression, despite the leftist strawman that anyone’s arguing otherwise. But whether Kaepernick should face consequences is up to the NFL, a private venture with the right to deal with its representatives as it sees fit.
Kaepernick’s protests are spreading, too. In one example yesterday, four Washington Redskins players raised “black power fists” during the national anthem. (Are we the only ones who find it highly ironic that black Redskins7 players are making racial gestures?) And high school and college teams across the country are making similarly disrespectful gestures during the national anthem.
But American professional sports organizations and their billionaire leftist owners proved, once again, that they have unmitigated double standards regarding free expression, and accept such expression only when they agree with it. The Seattle Mariners suspended backup catcher Steve Clevenger on Friday for the remainder of the 2016 season after he sent a social media message about the rioting in Charlotte. Clevenger tweeted: “[Black Lives Matter] is pathetic once again! Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals.” He added, “Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black officer haha [expletive] cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the anthem!” Whether you think Clevenger should be punished or not, he too has an individual right to political expression.
There is ample evidence of a double standard in professional sports, as recently demonstrated by the fact that then-St. Louis Rams players could take the field in the faux “hands up, don’t shoot8” posture, while the Dallas Cowboys were not allowed to apply helmet stickers showing solidarity with Dallas police9 after the assassination of five officers there. Likewise, the offensive actions of a black man (Kaepernick) are heralded as “courageous,” while the offensive actions of a white man (Clevenger) resulted in suspension without pay. Where is sports media outcry in defense of Clevenger’s right to speak freely? Clearly, the “right to free speech” that the pundits and talking heads champion at ESPN does not apply to everyone. Indeed, it wasn’t all that long ago that ESPN fired Curt Schilling10 for expressing a political opinion…
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
Gary Welton: A Memo to Washington: Don’t Box in Our Freedom11 Peggy Noonan: The Year of the Reticent Voter12 Imprimis: Restoring America’s Economic Mobility13
For more, visit Right Opinion14.
TOP HEADLINES
Russia Accused of ‘Barbarism’ in Syria15 Charlotte Releases Videos of Police Shooting16 Washington Shooter Is Turkish Immigrant17
For more, visit Patriot Headline Report18.
FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS The IRS: Still Weaponized Against Conservatives19
By Arnold Ahlert
While Americans remained distracted by the presidential election, the rioting in Charlotte and the terror attacks in New York and New Jersey, some equally important news remained below the radar: IRS Commissioner John Koskinen’s impeachment hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Important because while elections, riots and terror are transient events, IRS power — and the agency’s apparent willingness to abuse it — remains a constant threat to the republic.
During his testimony last Wednesday, Koskinen’s demeanor was in sharp contrast to the arrogance20 he demonstrated when he appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in 2014. Perhaps that’s because he was forced to admit he made false statements two years ago. “Some of my testimony later proved mistaken,” he stated.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) wasn’t buying it and questioned21 the Commissioner’s earlier assertion that “every email” of former Exempt Organizations Division director Lois Lerner had been preserved.
“What did you mean by every email?” Gowdy asked.
“I meant that every email that the IRS had that I knew of had been preserved,” Koskinen stated. “That was my honest belief.”
“Well why didn’t you say that?” Gowdy asked.
“Well, if I knew then what I know now, I would have testified differently,” Koskinen answered. “But at the time, I testified honestly about what I knew and what I’d been told. Nobody regrets more than I do that in some ways this case has been the case that keeps on giving with more information coming out. I wish that all the information had been put out to begin with.”
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