The Patriot Post Digest 12-23-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 12-23-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Dec. 23, 2016

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Editor’s Note: This is our final edition of 2016. We’ll return on January 3. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
A few years back, we coined the perfect term for a politically correct holiday season. Don’t miss out!
Obama throws a bone to Muslims on his way out the door.
2016 brings a new hope, and a lesson about where hope comes from.
And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“How many observe Christ’s birth-day! How few, his precepts! O! ‘tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.” —Benjamin Franklin (1743)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Happy Christmahanakwamadanice!1

Years ago, The Patriot Post coined “Christmahanakwamadanice” to encompass Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan and Solstice. That was in response, albeit ludicrously so, to the fashionable PC crowd’s demands for “inclusive” greetings. They insist the word “Christmas” is too ethnocentric for corporate use, and that it would violate the phony “Wall of Separation” should a government employee accidentally utter it.

Needless to say, in The Patriot Post’s humble shop, it’s still “Merry Christmas” and it’ll stay that way so long as we’re able to draw breath. However, for you politically challenged, we offer this alternative greeting.

Season’s Greetings from the legal department

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

And a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2017, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only “AMERICA” in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

For Obama, It’s Muslims First, Safety Last2

The National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) — designed to keep tabs on foreign visitors who occupy countries with Islamist ties — is no more3. It’s all thanks to Barack Obama’s plan to hamstring the president-elect. According to The Washington Free Beacon, “The registry … was implemented after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but has been dormant since 2011.”

There is fierce debate, particularly among civil liberty activists, regarding the constitutionality and effectiveness of the system. Yet one thing is clear: This move, as usual, wreaks of politics. Obama had eight years to end the system, but he waited until a month before he vacates the White House to get rid of it. The timing obviously suggests Obama is scoring political points against Trump, and he’s doing so amid a plethora of headlines just this week about Islamic terrorism around the globe, including Berlin.

Ironically, DHS calls NSEERS “redundant, ineffective, and provided no increase in security.” That may or may not be true, but it can’t be any worse than Obama’s idea to relocate unvetted refugees to America. According to Gary Bauer4, “He has dramatically accelerated the influx of refugees from the Middle East, bringing in more than 23,000 in recent weeks.” He adds, “Some politicians say that Angela Merkel has the blood of the Berlin victims on her hands. I would add that Obama’s hands are not clean either. He was among the most high-profile supporters of her open border policies, which allowed more than 1 million refugees into Germany.”

That’s because it was politically advantageous, just like it is to trash NSEERS. Obama can pretend5 all he wants to be protecting Muslims from unfair subjugation. But that doesn’t hide an ugly truth: He owns many of the problems we face from terrorism today. At least Republicans promote safety first.

Top Headlines6

Donald Trump says he wants to “greatly strengthen and expand” U.S. nuclear capability, a radical break from U.S. foreign policy. (The Washington Post7)

Ivanka Trump and her children harassed for flying coach. The man and his “husband” were ejected from the aircraft. (Washington Free Beacon8.)

United States adds new migrant — both legal and illegal — every 29 seconds. (Lifezette9)

States won by Trump have highest ObamaCare enrollment. (ABC News10)

Obama blames Rush and Fox News for a negative “fictional” representation of himself. No, Obama, they just helped Americans see the real you. (The Washington Times11)

Berlin terror suspect killed by police in Italy. (Bloomberg12)

Putin to Democrats: You lost, get over it. Indeed. (The Washington Post13)

Russia tests anti-satellite weapon; U.S. intelligence monitors threat to GPS network. (The Washington Times14)

Policy: The Art of the Arctic Deal. (Manhattan Institute15)

Policy: How Trump can repeal and replace DACA. (The Weekly Standard16)

Thanks, Santa! Watch this military dad surprise his little girls for Christmas. (Today17)

Six of our favorite holiday military homecoming surprises. (Sounds Like Nashville18.)

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
2016: A Rebirth of Hope19

By Michael Swartz

Let’s face it: Over its first 10 months, 2016 didn’t have a whole lot going for it. We lost a few beloved Americans, endured a number of tragedies both here and abroad, and — first and foremost — suffered through a political campaign that turned out to be between two major-party candidates with record disapproval ratings. But a funny thing happened after November 8: Most Americans felt more positive again.

It’s understandable to be skeptical regarding this assertion given the need of Millennial snowflakes to seek out safe spaces for rebuilding their self-esteem20 with coloring books and Play-Doh in the wake of the election. Or when James Fallows, an author and former speechwriter for Jimmy Carter, now calls the election of Donald Trump21 “the most grievous blow that the American idea has suffered in my lifetime.”

And who could forget First Lady Michelle Obama, who famously opined eight years ago, “For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback.” On her way out the door she’s singing a different tune, telling Oprah Winfrey22, “See, now we’re feeling what not having hope feels like, you know.” Honestly, we think it has less to do with the fact Mrs. Obama won’t be able to spend another $5 million in taxpayer money23 to enjoy the holidays in sunny Hawaii and more to do with being forced to watch her husband’s legacy dismantled24 by the president-elect who lost the aggregate popular vote by 2.5 million. The Left assumed they’d thought of everything, but it was that pesky Electoral College that tripped them up25 and demolished their “firewall.”

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The Patriot Post Digest 12-23-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Yet once you get away from the East and West coasts, tune out the mainstream media, and re-introduce yourself to the “flyover country” forgotten by everyone except candidate Donald Trump over the last decade or so, you’ll find there is now a lot of optimism. Despite the fact they had little in common with him, people in the heartland seemed to believe Trump had their best interests at heart — even if they were reticent to admit it. Somewhere in the last eight years, these common folk figured out that the outgoing president — a man for whom they are now practically counting the hours until he leaves — wasn’t doing as he pledged, which was to maintain their hope and deliver the change they sought, even when they grudgingly gave him a second chance. Instead, Barack Obama had his own bright ideas, which they realized in retrospect weren’t so bright after all.

So these last two months of 2016 have been a minuscule “era of good feelings26,” with the Dow Jones reaching new heights, GDP growth and the unemployment rate declining — including a significant burst of hiring in the construction industry27 that’s a harbinger of better times ahead. As one observer put it28, the incoming Trump team “wants to, and probably will, shift the environment from one that makes profit makers villains with limited power to one that makes them heroes with significant power.” Suddenly it’s cool to have pride in America, and to root for it to be great once again.

We shouldn’t forget, though, that America has put its hope in a president many times before only to be disappointed and disheartened. It’s way too easy to use Barack Obama or Jimmy Carter as examples of this, as neither of them addressed, let alone solved, an existing national disillusionment with the economy or with politics in general. But we can’t forget that it took Ronald Reagan, who most of us remember fondly for his time in office, many months to hit his stride, too. In his first midterm election, which was conducted at the tail end of a sharp recession that hit months after Reagan took office, the GOP lost 26 House seats, leaving them with just 166 vs. 269 for the Democrats. So even this Trump bubble could burst in time, too.

Yet if there’s one thing a lot of these forgotten Americans who make up the population of backwater towns like Salisbury, Meridian, Minot, or (the aptly-named) Defiance have in common, it’s a faith in something larger than a mere man — especially a politician.

This Christmas season comes as a good reminder and invitation to, as a nation, renew our faith in and relationship with our Creator, just as His Son was born on Christmas29 to reconcile lost sinners with God. That renewal — not one election cycle — will bring true hope.

So, from all of us in our humble shop, Merry Christmas!

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Who Will Speak for Yasmin?30 — False reports of hate crimes shouldn’t mask the real problem of Muslim “honor” crimes.
Obama Prevented Legislation He Now Calls For31 — Tom Cotton says Obama killed an effort to prevent Russian cyberattacks.
Trump’s Communications and Counsel32 — He picks his campaign manager for a role, and taps his press secretary.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Charles Krauthammer: Aleppo and American Decline33
David Limbaugh: Democrats Care About Their Power, Not About Russian Hacking34
Jonah Goldberg: Media Guilty of Double Standard on Terror Attacks35

For more, visit Right Opinion36.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Charles Krauthammer: “Obama has never appreciated that the role of a superpower in a local conflict is not necessarily to intervene on the ground, but to deter a rival global power from stepping in and altering the course of the war. That’s what we did during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Moscow threatened to send troops to support Egypt and President Nixon countered by raising America’s nuclear alert status to Defcon 3. Russia stood down. Less dramatically but just as effectively, American threats of retaliation are what kept West Germany, South Korea and Taiwan free and independent through half a century of Cold War. It’s called deterrence. Yet Obama never had the credibility to deter anything or anyone. In the end, the world’s greatest power was reduced to bitter speeches at the U.N. 'Are you truly incapable of shame?’ thundered U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power at the butchers of Aleppo. As if we don’t know the answer. Indeed the shame is on us for terminal naïveté, sending our secretary of state chasing the Russians to negotiate one humiliating pretend cease-fire after another.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “You say that freedom of utterance is not for time of stress, and I reply with the sad truth that only in time of stress is freedom of utterance in danger. … Only when free utterance is suppressed is it needed, and when it is needed it is most vital to justice.” —William Allen White (1868-1944)

Upright: “It’s time the media applied at least the same level of skepticism that they reserve for real terror attacks to fake hate crimes. Why? First, because their job is to report the facts. Second, because if they’re really concerned about not alienating or radicalizing American Muslims, they shouldn’t hype the propaganda efforts of the idiots who are doing exactly that.” —Jonah Goldberg

Parting shot: “I believe one of the failures of Democratic Party has been the Democratic National Committee. The DNC has been worthless. … So I would hope that they would choose a chair of the Democratic Party who is a full-time person. Not someone like we had with that congresswoman from Florida, who was a full-time congresswoman and a part-time chair of the DNC.” —Harry Reid

Sore losers: “Democrats are losing on every front and looking for people to blame everywhere. They need to learn to lose with dignity.” —Vladimir Putin

Fake News: “Usually [critics are] responding to this character that they’re seeing on TV called Barack Obama, or to the office of the presidency and the White House and what that represents. And so you don’t take it personally. You understand that if people are angry that somehow the government is failing, then they are going to look to the guy who represents government. And that applies, by the way, even to some of the folks who are now Trump supporters. They’re responding to a fictional character named Barack Obama who they see on Fox News or who they hear about through Rush Limbaugh.” —Barack Obama

Friendly fire: “I don’t think [Hillary Clinton] ever really figured it out. … She thought she had no choice but to run. That, as the first woman who had an opportunity to win the presidency, I think it was a real burden on her.” —Joe Biden

Late-night humor: “Amazon’s home assistance device, ‘The echo,’ is already sold out until after the holidays. In the meantime, if you want to yell at something to turn off the lights or music in your house, just try your kids.” —Jimmy Fallon

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.