The Patriot Post Digest 12-15-2016

________________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 12-15-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

Mid-Day Digest

Dec. 15, 2016

IN TODAY’S EDITION

What’s behind the canceled House intel briefing on the Russian hack?
Obama’s stocking stuffer for Planned Parenthood — protected funding.
Government wants to start “educating” your kids even earlier.
And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” —Bill of Rights (1791)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Doublespeak on the Russian Hack1

An NBC News headline2 reads, “U.S. Officials: Putin Personally Involved in U.S. Election Hack.” According to the story, unnamed U.S. intelligence officials believe with “a high level of confidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is personally responsible for instigating the now-infamous hack attack3 on the DNC. The article continues to cite these “unnamed officials” as if what they’re leaking is gospel truth. Clearly, NBC News has little fear of potentially reporting “fake news.”

On the other hand, a WikiLeaks source claims the Russians had nothing to do with hacking the DNC emails. Instead, the source was a disgruntled Democrat staffer who was disgusted with Clinton and shared the damaging information in a secret deep-throat-style meeting. This also is a rather dubious story that may be aimed at attempting to boosting WikiLeaks' relevance.

In fact, the larger story, which much of the mainstream media has conveniently ignored, is the fact that the directors of National Intelligence canceled a closed-door briefing with the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. This prompted Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) to express his frustration: “It is unacceptable that the Intelligence Community directors would not fulfill the House Intelligence Committee’s request to be briefed tomorrow on the cyber-attacks that occurred during the presidential campaign. The legislative branch is constitutionally vested with oversight responsibility of executive branch agencies, which are obligated to comply with our requests.”

Nunes continued, stating that his committee “is vigorously looking into reports of cyber-attacks during the election campaign, and in particular we want to clarify press reports that the CIA has a new assessment that it has not shared with us. The committee is deeply concerned that intransigence in sharing intelligence with Congress can enable the manipulation of intelligence for political purposes.”

It is indeed puzzling that the nation’s intelligence directors would remain silent while unnamed officials from their agencies relate unsubstantiated reports to the media. Why dodge informing Congress? Why allow for the continued appearance of the intelligence community anonymously meddling in politics through the mass media?

What is known is that there has been no official report stating that the Russians hacked the DNC in order to help elect Donald Trump. There is no evidence of Russian interference in actual voting. And regarding those leaked DNC emails, nothing from them was fabricated — those were genuine and did indeed shed light on Democrat campaign manipulation. It wasn’t the Russians who made Hillary Clinton unlikable; Hillary has only herself to blame for that.

An Obama Claus Stocking Stuffer for Planned Parenthood4

Barack Obama “has cemented his legacy as a champion for women’s health,” crowed Planned Parenthood CEO Cecilia Richards. What makes the chief of the nation’s largest abortion mill so happy? A last-minute Obama regulation aimed at saving Planned Parenthood’s huge federal revenue stream — half a billion dollars from federal taxpayers every year. “The final version of the [HHS] rule,” reports5 The Washington Times, “requires states to distribute dollars from Title X of the Public Health Service Act without taking into account whether recipient clinics perform abortions.” Fourteen states have directed funding away from Planned Parenthood in recent years. Obama’s rule is basically the reverse of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds for abortions. But don’t think for a minute that $500 million in federal funds isn’t helping pay for some abortions.

Richards added, “Now, we continue to fight for our patients' access to care.” Dr. Karen A. Scott, chief medical officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, got the talking points memo, saying, “This rule will strengthen access to essential services like cancer screenings and contraception for some of the most vulnerable patients in this country.” We’ll note again that Planned Parenthood doesn’t own a single mammogram machine, which is what most people think when hearing “women’s health” and “cancer screenings.” Planned Parenthood is deliberately deceptive in this regard. And that’s not even to mention the organization’s efforts to sell harvested organs from aborted babies, for which both House and Senate committees have issued a criminal referral6.

Of course, with Donald Trump and his incoming HHS Secretary Tom Price about to take the helm, Obama’s new rule may not be long for this world. But it’s the opening salvo in the next battle for funding the abortion giant. Republicans will soon control both ends of Pennsylvania Ave. It’s time to make that count.

Top Headlines7

SHOCKER! White House, Clinton tied to PR firm behind Electoral College push. (Daily Caller8.)

$213,300,000,000: Individual income taxes set record in first 2 months of FY17. (CNS News9)

Tax code compliance costs economy $1 trillion annually. (Washington Free Beacon10)

More than one billion Yahoo user accounts stolen by hackers. Must be the Russians… (Business Insider11)

Labor Secretary Tom Perez for DNC? Some Democrats don’t want a radical Muslim like Keith Ellison. (The Washington Post12)

Fed raises rates, boosts outlook for borrowing costs in 2017. (Bloomberg13)

Iran sanctions renewal becomes law even without Obama’s signature. (Associated Press14)

Obama’s parting shot across USN bow: Tags three more ships with his left-wing baggage. (Defense Department15)

Muslim student who claimed harassment by Trump supporters charged with filing false report. (NBC New York16)

Students rip down portrait of Shakespeare, in favor of a “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” Take that, whitey! (Lifezette17)

Policy: Make Yucca Mountain great again. (Washington Examiner18.)

Policy: Our frackers beat their hackers. (Real Clear World19)

The Bill of Rights20

Today, Dec. 15, is the anniversary of the 1791 ratification of our Bill of Rights21, the first 10 Amendments to our Constitution, and the Rule of Law22 it enshrines.

The Bill of Rights was inspired by three remarkable documents: John Locke’s 1689 thesis, “Two Treatises of Government,” regarding the protection of “property” (in the Latin context, proprius, or one’s own “life, liberty and estate”); in part from the Virginia Declaration of Rights23 authored by George Mason in 1776 as part of that state’s Constitution; and, of course, in part from our Declaration of Independence24 authored by Thomas Jefferson.

Read in context, the Bill of Rights is both an affirmation of innate “unalienable rights25” of man, and a clear proscription upon any central government infringement of those rights. As oft trampled and abused as the Bill of Rights is by those who’ve sworn an oath “to Support and Defend26” our Constitution, most notably “judicial supremacists27,” or the “despotic branch” as Jefferson called the judiciary, Patriots must remain ever vigilant in order to sustain our rights.

Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read The Trump Administration — A Reagan Revival!28. Trump’s nominees rival the conservative pedigrees of those chosen by Ronald Reagan some 35 years ago.

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column by email, update your subscription here29.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Gov’t to Parents: We Need Your Kids Earlier30

By Allyne Caan

When Philadelphia’s Democrat Mayor Jim Kenney took office earlier this year, he made universal pre-K one of his policy priorities. Now, children as young as three can begin their government indoctrination in the City of Brotherly Love.

But, oh Mr. Mayor. How far behind the times you are. Three years old? To truly get ahold of our kids and mold them into tiny state subjects, government must start much earlier.

Not surprisingly, that’s exactly what some are suggesting.

________________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 12-15-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

As The Federalist’s Joy Pullman reports31, a new research paper co-authored by Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman suggests eight weeks old is about the right age to hand children from low-income households or born to unmarried parents over to the government. Eight weeks. It turns out that shipping four-year-olds off to the state for pre-K isn’t quite doing the trick.

Heckman blames the failure on the fact that by the time kids hit pre-K, it’s already too late to affect their language development. This is a predictable cop-out for the abject failure of pre-K programs to deliver the educational utopia promised. In fact, Pullman notes that “the most recent research shows mass early childhood programs have even made more kids hate learning32 and commit more crimes33.”

Even more, the push toward infant indoctrination is a predictable shift in strategy to achieve the true goal of government education: Advancing the philosophy of the state to produce global citizens who fully embrace a humanist ideology devoid of objective truth.

Those who scream “alarmist” at this claim have their heads stuck in the sand or in another bodily crevice. Just consider the move toward “social emotional learning” (SEL) standards34, already in use in several districts across the country, including Atlanta, Austin and Chicago. As if Common Core weren’t disastrous enough, SEL standards measure kids from kindergarten (or one might say as early as eight weeks old if “experts” like Heckman get their way) through high school on “non-cognitive” factors, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Yes, government now wants to psychoanalyze our children and, of course, store this analysis in government databases. What could go wrong?

A lot35, say American Principles Project’s Jane Robbins and pediatrician Dr. Karen Effrem. “Who might want to get their hands on that data? Would a college or employer be interested in whether a particular applicant shows curiosity or ‘grit’? Would a prosecutor like to know if a young suspect lacked ‘relationship skills’ in high school?” In no universe is it sane to invite the government into a child’s psychological development.

Beyond tracking children’s mindsets, SEL gives the government greater ability to shape kids' views on issues ranging from climate change to gender and sexuality. Robbins and Effrem note, for example, that one of SEL’s major financial backers is the NoVo Foundation, whose mission36 includes “changing social attitudes, relationships, and institutions that perpetuate injustice.” Last year, NoVo launched a five-year initiative37 with the Arcus Foundation to “improve the lives of transgender people.”

Now, consider that NoVo hopes SEL35 will “play a significant role in shifting our culture of systemic inequality and violence toward a new ethos.” Did you catch that? NoVo wants SEL to help change cultural views. It’s hardly a stretch to realize this includes views on so-called “LGBT” issues. As Robbins and Effrem write, “Might a student’s ‘relationship skills’ be deemed deficient if, in keeping with the influence of his family and faith, he rejects the LGBT agenda such as same-sex marriage and normalization of gender dysphoria?” Indeed, one sample lesson38 given by an SEL partner39 urges students to “take action toward transgender equity.”

Where are the parents in all this? Not interfering, if the government has its way.

Parents may think school standards are purely academic, but they would be dead wrong. Communist Dictator Vladimir Lenin wasn’t kidding when he said, “Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.”

Leftists want your kids from Day One to plant their seeds. And far too many parents are handing their children over without a second thought.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Cyber-Hacking Hypocrisy40 — U.S. defense hasn’t been stellar on Obama’s watch. Now he’s upset.
Obama EPA Digs for Strife in Fracking Farewell41 — An agency that couldn’t find evidence of contamination suddenly discovers problems.
Obama’s Aleppo Legacy42 — Aleppo’s fall to Assad’s forces typifies Obama’s failed Middle East policy.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Victor Davis Hanson: Has Trump Nominated Too Many Military Leaders — or Not Enough?43
Veronique de Rugy: Will the Ex-Im Bank Enable Boeing’s Deal With Iran?44
Tony Perkins: Planned Parenthood Gets Criminal Referral6

For more, visit Right Opinion45.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Victor Davis Hanson: “The chief complaint about Trump’s appointments is that too many generals will mean too great a likelihood of war. Historical evidence points to the opposite conclusion. Generals were not the proverbial ‘best and brightest’ who argued for military intervention in Vietnam, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, or the bombing of Libya in 2011. … Traditionally, retired generals and flag officers have no desire to see their own troops killed in what they see as optional wars abroad. Their occasional harangues about building up military power are predicated on notions of peace-through-strength deterrence: The more powerful the military is perceived abroad, the less likely it will be need to be used. Far more worrisome is the tired presidential custom of relying on ex-senators and politicians with law degrees to fill important executive positions despite their lack of outside-the-Beltway administrative experience. … We are currently nearing $20 trillion in national debt, stagnating under nonexistent economic growth and near-zero interest rates, and suffering from record labor nonparticipation rates. We are seeing a failed health care system, a discredited IRS and VA, and the worst racial relations in half a century. Generals did not compile that record. Lawyers and lifetime Washington politicians did.”

SHORT CUTS

Upright: “Russia’s interference ought to be investigated… Clinton’s supporters, meanwhile, can’t be faulted for regretting the choices that an electoral majority of their fellow citizens made. But the voters had access to the information they needed to put the leaks about the Democrats in context, their choice was made freely, their choices were tabulated accurately, and the result is being decided in the standard way. Like it or not, Trump was elected legitimately.” —Ramesh Ponnuru

Demo-gogues: “I think this is as big a deal as Watergate, as 9/11. I think [electors] should have a 9/11-type commission. I know that Dianne Feinstein and Ben Cardin and others are calling for that. I think it’s a step in the right direction. This is a scandal that has been uncovered.” —Harry Reid

Village Idiots: “[There’s] indication that [Trump] was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he … had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent’s campaign. That’s why he was encouraging them to keep doing it.” —Josh Earnest

From the purveyor of fake news: “In 2016, the prevalence of political fact abuse … gave rise to a spreading of fake news with unprecedented impunity. … Because of its powerful symbolism in an election year filled with rampant and outrageous lying — PolitiFact is naming Fake News the 2016 ‘winner.’” —PolitiFact

Now they tell us: “If we believe that public schools will always be the bedrock of American democracy and opportunity — as I do — we should welcome good public charter schools as laboratories for innovation that can benefit all of education.” —Secretary of Education John King

Friendly fire: “Clearly, whatever the leadership of the Democratic Party has been doing over the last many years has failed.” —Bernie Sanders

And last… “Republican electors are reportedly being harassed 24 hours a day by left-wing fanatics. The harassment includes death threats that has left some of them fearful for themselves and their families. Sounds like hate crimes to me. Where is the Justice Department?” —Gary Bauer

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.