The Patriot Post Digest 12-13-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 12-13-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Dec. 13, 2016

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Democrats' last-ditch attempt to derail Trump’s presidency through the Electoral College.
A very gun-friendly Congress is about to take aim at legislation.
Where is the American Dream after eight years of Obama?
And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.” —Patrick Henry (1778.)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

The Demo ‘Rigged Election’ Coup?1

On Monday, 10 members of the Electoral College led by Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper demanding that the 538 electors be briefed on the accusations of Russian interference in the election2. The letter stated in part, “We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States.” Pelosi also demands that Trump prove “he and his staff and advisers did not accept Russian interference, or otherwise collaborate during the campaign, and conclusive disavowal and repudiation of such collaboration and interference going forward.” Evidently, Ms. Pelosi is not familiar with that fundamental concept in our nation’s judicial system: innocent until proven guilty.

Furthermore, how ironic is it with all the decrying by the Leftmedia over “fake news3” that these vigilantes of truth would so quickly and unquestioningly pander to an unsubstantiated rumor lacking any credible evidence?

In reality, this is a last-ditch effort by Democrats to steal the election for Hillary Clinton. But even when it fails to swing the electors, at least these sore losers will have sowed the seeds of doubt in the minds of the American people as to the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency.

Those who so hunger for power that they’ll desperately seek to undermine the nation’s fair electoral process and the will of the American people over whom they would have authority should never be trusted with real power. By their actions they prove their own corruption.

This isn’t about protecting the nation from the meddling of foreign powers. If it had been, why didn’t Barack Obama act on this concern when it was first voiced months ago? In fact, he and other Democrats spent the last six months belittling any suggestion of a “rigged” election. It’s only now, after a stunning election loss, that they’re suddenly sounding the alarm. And it’s a transparent political play in the guise of concern for national security. January 20th can’t come soon enough.

Gun-Friendly Congress Takes Aim4

When the new Congress arrives in January, “flyover country” can take solace in the fact it will be the most gun-friendly group of legislators in recent memory. President-elect Donald Trump promises to support measures that protect the Second Amendment, and Republicans are moving quickly to promote that agenda by ensuring gun issues don’t fall to the backburner. A major pillar of that effort will presumably come from the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus, which was revived by House Republicans last week.

“According to a statement from the office of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., the congressman will be chairing the third iteration of the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus,” Fox News reports5. “Earlier versions were active from 2004-08 and 2009-13.” Explains Massie, “The recent election results present us with a new opportunity to advance pro-gun legislation and reverse the erosion of the Second Amendment that’s occurred over the last few decades. I look forward to working with the new president and this determined group of conservatives to promote a pro-gun agenda.”

Among other measures, this exponentially increases the odds of passing the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) put back on the table. Republicans, so far to no avail, have fought to get this measure passed, including an effort by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) last year6. But a Trump administration makes it far more likely the GOP can finally pass it and with a presidential signature.

Hudson says, “Our Second Amendment right doesn’t disappear when we cross state lines, and I plan to introduce legislation in the first days of the 115th Congress to guarantee that.” He added, “The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 is a common sense bill to provide law-abiding citizens the right to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits.”

This is welcome news to folks like Shaneen Allen, a Pennsylvania concealed carry permit holder who risked jail simply because her permit, unbeknownst to her, was not welcome in New Jersey. It shouldn’t take a pardon from Gov. Chris Christie7 to clear her name. Hopefully, the GOP and Trump will soon ensure it never comes to that.

Top Headlines8

Trump will hand over control of his businesses interests to his sons prior to inauguration. (The Washington Post9)

Doh! Wisconsin recount ends, Trump adds 162 votes to tally. (Washington Examiner10)

F-35 program “cost is out of control,” Trump Tweets. He’s right. (Fox News11)

From the people’s House to the big house: Ex-Dem Rep. Chaka Fattah gets 10-year sentence. (Washington Examiner12)

Click bait provocateur Alex Jones13 finally finds a conspiracy he can’t get behind. (Washington Examiner14)

American University students retreat to “stress free zone” for cocoa, corn hole during final exams. (Campus Reform15)

Ohio is making assisted suicide a felony. (National Review16)

Policy: The impact of Trump’s “Penny Plan” on federal spending. (The Daily Signal17)

Policy: Key questions about Russia’s alleged hacking (The Daily Signal18.)

Policy: How should the president-elect uphold Rule of Law? (Competitive Enterprise Institute19)

Don’t Miss Patriot Humor

Check out An Historic Occasion20.

If you’d like to receive Patriot Humor by email, update your subscription here21.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
The American Dream Needs a Comeback22

By Paul Albaugh

Most Americans and many people seeking to become citizens of the United States are familiar with the phrase “the American Dream.” Many people have achieved it. Others have failed and some haven’t been able to experience even a glimpse of this dream due to a variety of circumstances. One of those “circumstances” is eight years of Barack Obama and his failed economic policies. So as he heads for the exit, it’s worth considering just how much help is needed for the American Dream.

The American Dream is collapsing for young adults (a.k.a. Millennials). A new study23 conducted by Raj Chetty of Stanford University along with economists and sociologists from Harvard and the University of California Berkeley uses the term “absolute mobility” to equate to the American Dream. In other words, do young people make more than their parents did?

The study reveals that only half of the children born in America after 1980 grew up to earn more than their parents did after adjusting for inflation. At first glance those numbers might not seem so surprising. But when compared with 1940, when 92% of children were able to earn more than their parents, it really puts things into perspective as to what kind of shape the American economy is in.

Perhaps even more interesting is the researchers' conclusion — that rising income inequality has eroded the ability of children to grow up and earn more than their parents. Yes, you read that right. The “real” bogeyman here is a favorite of leftists everywhere.

For children born in the 1980s, the researchers say the bottom 10% of wage earners have seen their mobility decline the least. Children of those in the top 10% will have a difficult time earning more than their parents did, but children of those in the middle class will have the most difficulty.

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The Patriot Post Digest 12-13-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The researchers' idea of fixing this income inequality is, of course, by redistributing wealth. That’s right — more of the same failed Obama policies.

Obama’s guise of “Hope and Change” resulted in despair and stagnation. Despite Obama’s and his media cohorts blubbering that the economy has recovered and is surging forward, facts and reality indicate otherwise.

A new analysis conducted24 by senior Gallup economists completely contradicts Obama’s delusional remarks. They state, “There is no recovery. Since 2007, U.S. GDP per capita growth has been 1%. The Great Recession may be over, but America is dangerously running on empty.” Granted, when Obama took office the economy was not doing well at all, but after many promises and nearly $1 trillion in “stimulus” spending, we are left with the worst economic recovery — if we can even call it a “recovery” — since World War II.

Gallup’s report further notes, “Learning has stagnated. Fewer new businesses are being launched. More workers are involuntarily stuck in part-time jobs or out of the labor force entirely.” Among other things, Americans' general health conditions are declining. In addition, total national spending on housing, education, and health care has increased significantly from 25% of income in 1980 to 36% last year with no appreciable gains and improvements.

The report also declares that the “deterioration in large, vital sectors of the economy is far from inevitable, but rather an entirely reversible outcome that can be linked to specific policies, rules and regulations that have arisen and accumulated after decades of weak political leadership — often at the state and local levels — and lobbying by interest groups.”

But wait — Obama repeatedly claims that under his administration 800,000 manufacturing jobs were created. Wrong. Even the Leftmedia flagship Washington Post fact checked this assertion as wrong25.

No doubt, the election of Donald Trump provides many Americans a new sense of hope at being able to achieve the American Dream. For that to happen, Trump must set out to repeal Obama’s damaging economic policies.

As for the rising income inequality that’s supposedly causing the American Dream to vanish, people need to be reminded that the promise of America is equal opportunity, not equal results.

National Review’s David French points to other reasons that the American Dream is dying, most of which are cultural issues that We the People, not the government, need to rectify. French highlights26 that most prosperous people have intact families who “delay childbearing until after marriage, complete their educations, get married, and stay married.” On the other hand, many poor families “have children out of wedlock, struggle to finish school, and divorce or remain unmarried at much greater rates.”

As French notes, kids who come from broken families experience trauma and “government can’t fix trauma. Government can’t make a man and woman stay together.” In economic terms, what does all of this mean? French says, “In real terms, it means that our nation is changing. We’re producing a generation of poor and working-class young people who are less equipped to take advantage of economic opportunity and a generation of upper-middle-class kids who are fully prepared to enjoy the fruits of the world’s most potent and innovative economy.”

So despite Obama’s eight years, the American Dream is still achievable — even for those born in the 1980s or later. But it will be achievable only if we strive to focus on our own families and teach our children how to become productive, upstanding citizens and to take nothing for granted.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Trump’s Cabinet Picks Confound the Left27 — Real world competence doesn’t compute for statists.
Putting Energy in the Energy Department28 — Trump taps Rick Perry to forge ahead.
A Solid Interior Choice29 — Trump’s pick for heading the Interior Department makes sense.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Tony Perkins: Conservatives Drill Down on Exxon’s Tillerson30
Gary Bauer: The Left Blames Russia31
Stephen Moore: This Christmas, We Need the Gift of Humility32

For more, visit Right Opinion33.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Tony Perkins: “To hear that Donald Trump [is] appointing a man who not only led the charge to open the Boy Scouts to gay troop leaders but whose company directly gives to Planned Parenthood is upsetting at best. FRC knows [Rex] Tillerson all too well, having worked for years to put the brakes on his reckless agenda for a scouting organization that was already dealing with staggering numbers of sexual abuse cases. … Russia is just one hurdle Tillerson will face in his confirmation hearings with Senate Republicans. He’s also supported the carbon tax and, like President-elect Trump, has never held political or diplomatic office. For groups like FRC, who are tired of the State Department being used as a weapon in the global war on values, the problems run much deeper. The agency already has an image problem after almost a decade of failing to respect the traditions and beliefs of other countries. The last thing Americans need is a leader who would continue to advocate (however subtly) the leftist social policy of the Obama years.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “Newspaper editors separate the wheat from the chaff — and print the chaff.” —Adlai E. Stevenson (1900-1965)

Upright: “It is … reality, not an expression of misogyny, that men see the objects of their sexual desire as sexual objects. But this is too painful for feminists and other leftists. And it violates feminist theory, which says that men and women are essentially the same, and seeing a woman as a sexual object is misogyny. Therefore, this reality is rejected.” —Dennis Prager

For the record: “The White House’s outrage over alleged Russian influence in the election is ironic given all that the Obama administration did to interfere in Israel’s election and defeat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Political operatives connected to Obama’s campaign went to Israel to register Palestinian Muslim voters. And the State Department funded anti-Netanyahu campaign efforts because Bibi Netanyahu confronted Obama on a variety of issues, including the sellout to Iran.” —Gary Bauer

Non Compos Mentis: “We are no longer a sovereign nation, we are no longer a democracy, we are no longer a free people. We are the victims of a bloodless coup — so far — engineered by Russia with the traitorous indifference of the Republican Party.” —Keith Olbermann

Braying Jackass: “The Kennedy and King assassinations and the 9/11 attacks were crimes and tragedies. The wars in Vietnam and Iraq were disastrous mistakes. But the country recovered. For a democratic process to elevate a man expressing total disregard for democratic norms and institutions is worse.” —James Fallows, speechwriter for Jimmy Carter, on why electing Donald Trump is just the worst

Demo-gogues: “What is it about the state of our democracy where the leaks of what were frankly not very interesting emails [of Hillary Clinton’s], that didn’t have any explosive information in them, ended up being an obsession? And the fact that the Russians were doing this was not an obsession?” —Barack Obama

Braying Jenny: “Do we have to wait until the hammer and sickle is on the American flag before we stand up to this guy?” —The View’s Joy Behar, who also says Trump “has to step down before the inauguration”

And last… “Wisdom is knowing what you don’t know, which for all of us, especially the so-called experts, is a lot. This Christmas is a good time to remember that the only person who was ever flawless was hung from a cross.” —Stephen Moore

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.