The Patriot Post Digest 1-5-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-5-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Jan. 5, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Schumer’s plan to stump Trump on nominations.
The real story of Chicago’s carnage — leftist policies run amok.
Incredible leftist hypocrisy on the objectification of women.
And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“We have heard of the impious doctrine in the old world, that the people were made for kings, not kings for the people. Is the same doctrine to be revived in the new, in another shape — that the solid happiness of the people is to be sacrificed to the views of political institutions of a different form?” —James Madison (1788.)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Schumer Seeks to Clog the DC Drain1

Donald Trump’s impressive cabinet choices2 have many Democrats so riled they’re planning to attempt everything in their limited power to slow the confirmation process. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has vowed to lead Senate Democrats in an unprecedented manner by seeking to drag out the confirmation hearings of at least eight of Trump’s cabinet nominees to at least March. Schumer stated, “Any attempt by Republicans to have a series of rushed, truncated hearings before Inauguration Day and before the Congress and public have adequate information on all of them is something Democrats will vehemently resist.”

Republicans quickly countered by reminding Democrats of the fact that in 2009 Republicans cooperated with Barack Obama’s cabinet picks, confirming 10 nominees within the first week of his entering office. It’s the long held view of the Senate that an incoming president has the right to pick his own people. Ironically, it was Schumer himself who stated this past November, “We have a moral obligation, even beyond the economy and politics, to avoid gridlock and get the country to work again. We have to get things done.” Except when it comes to Trump’s cabinet, we suppose.

The good news is that thanks to Harry Reid’s instigation of the “nuclear option”3 in 2013, Democrats have no power to deny confirmation and little recourse to slow the process. They are now having to pay for Reid’s power-hungry decision, leaving Schumer to play the role of the “squeaky wheel” in the hopes of pressuring Republicans to concede some of their demands. However, it appears that Republicans are having none of it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s spokeswoman, Antonia Ferrier, stated, “Our committees and chairmen are fully capable of reviewing the incoming cabinet nominations with the same rules and procedures as the same committees did with President Obama’s nominations.”

Unfortunately, Schumer is seemingly prepared to play this game with the Supreme Court, too, where the filibuster is still in play. “If they don’t appoint somebody good, we’re going to oppose them tooth and nail,” Schumer said. And we all know what “good” means: “It’s hard for me to imagine a nominee that Donald Trump would choose that would get Republican support that [Democrats] could support.” Are Republicans prepared to fight?

Needless Bloodshed: Chicago 2016 Edition4

In Chicago, 2016 began and ended on a bloody note. And 2017 is picking up right where 2016 left off. We warned in February5 that the largely “gun free” Windy City’s number of homicides was rising at an alarming, perhaps historic, rate. And while (thankfully) no records ended up being broken, the cumulative number of murders for 2016 was bad enough and definitely far worse than recent years. Officially, 762 lives were needlessly lost on the streets of Chicago last year. This represents “the most in two decades in the city and more than New York and Los Angeles combined,” CBS News reports6 (New York and LA registered 628 homicides). Moreover, “The increase in homicides compared to 2015, when 485 were reported, is the largest spike in 60 years.”

And it only took a few hours for 2017 to ring in additional homicides. As reported7 by the Chicago Tribune, “An argument between two men at an Uptown bar in the early hours of Jan. 1 ended with the two shooting at one another, leaving both dead. Their deaths ushered in the new year, marking the first and second homicides of 2017 and keeping up 2016’s soaring pace of violence.” As a side note, Chicago is not alone when it comes to worsening crime. Just before Christmas, The Wall Street Journal issued a report8 documenting a similar trend all over the nation: “Sixteen of the 20 largest police departments reported a year-over-year rise in homicides as of mid-December. … Nationally, the murder rate rose in 2015 for the first time in nearly a decade, though it remains well below where it stood during the 1990s.”

That last part is somewhat comforting. But what isn’t reassuring is the current trend and the risk our leftist politicians take in bringing us perilously closer to a dark age through fomenting racial grievances on urban poverty plantations9 and waging a war on cops10, all while continuing to disarm law-abiding citizens. Barack Obama will be in his hometown of Chicago Jan. 10 to present his farewell address. His speech will surely be replete with self-praise and adoration for the so-called progress his administration has made. It would be more appropriate if he offered a eulogy for the thousands who have been slain under leftist policies.

Top Headlines11

Record firearm sales in 2016 — good for the Republic! (Washington Free Beacon12)

Trump to tap Wall Street lawyer, Jay Clayton, to head SEC. (The Washington Post13)

Senate advances budget resolution with ObamaCare repeal. (Roll Call14)

Preparing to build the wall? Trump team seeks agency records on border barriers, surveillance. (Reuters15)

Assange claims Russia not WikiLeaks source despite Intel claims. (Fox News16)

Six New Year resolutions that are a must. (Daily Signal17)

Marine Corps assigns first female infantry to battalion. (Marine Corps Times18.)

U.S. fines TransUnion, Equifax for deceit over credit scores. (Reuters19)

Shock (not): CNN least trusted among likely voters. (Washington Examiner20)

Seattle voters get $100 of their own money back in “Democracy Vouchers.” (NBC Seattle21)

Policy: Two strategic energy pivots for the new administration. (Manhattan Institute22)

Policy: How to curtail the UN’s power. (Daily Signal23)

Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read 2017: With Gratitude, Renewed Purpose and Enthusiasm24. There was much more in 2016 for which to be grateful than I anticipated!

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column by email, update your subscription here25.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
‘Progressives’ Wage the Real War on Women26

By Allyne Caan

In preparation for Inauguration Day, the Left is resurrecting its “war on women” propaganda. Not that it’s been dormant long, mind you. But they’ve scheduled a demonstration27 in Washington the day after Donald Trump’s swearing in with the message that “women’s rights are human rights.”

It’s an ironic approach, really. For years, Democrats have claimed the mantle of the “party of women,” culminating in the nomination of the Most Accomplished Woman in History™ for president. Yet it’s beyond hypocritical for the party to claim such “pro-women” bona fides when it supports coercing women into killing their unborn babies while denying them all the facts, tells women they should vote based on their sex not their brains28, and pushes a candidate who attempted to break that phantom “glass ceiling” only by standing on the desk her husband used for different ends.

Still, they do, despite continued evidence from leftist leaders and supporters alike that respecting and advancing women is merely a front for objectifying them.

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-5-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

Consider, for example, leftist pop star Ariana Grande’s recent complaint over a fan’s sexist comments. Apparently recovered from crying at Trump’s election29, Grande was out with her boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, when a male fan allegedly told Miller, “Ariana is sexy as hell, man. … I see you hitting that!” (That’s a euphemism for sexual conquest.) USA Today reports30 Grande said the encounter left her feeling “sick and objectified.”

As any such ungentlemanly behavior should.

Yet Grande’s own music and music videos invite men to “hit that,” and then some. What’s more, Miller — whom we would imagine Grande thinks “respects” her — raps lyrics so sexually explicit and obscene it’s amazing anything said on the street would faze Grande at all.

As the always erudite Thomas Sowell put it in his final “Random Thoughts” column31, “The word ‘risqué’ would be almost impossible to explain to young people, in a world where gross vulgarity is widespread and widely accepted.”

Still, Grande is one of many on the Left who scream foul at the “objectification” of women while perpetrating the very injustice she supposedly rejects.

Barack Obama is another.

Remember, when he said, “Beyoncé could not be a better role model for my girls because she carries herself with such class and poise and has so much talent.” Surely he wasn’t referring to her song lyrics32 that are far too graphic to reprint here. And the way Beyoncé conducts herself on stage should not be what any father wants for his daughter.

Yet, the Black Panthers wanna-be herself once wrote33, “We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect.” Yup, respect Bill Clinton style. Obama seemed to agree.

The Left’s abhorrent treatment of women goes beyond just exploitation by powerful men like Clinton and the Kennedy clan, or even the raunchy behavior and performance and shameless attire of Beyoncé and Grande. Leftist policies and tactics do as much if not more to objectify women.

Need proof?

After Hillary Clinton’s loss, rabid feminist Lena Dunham, who recently confessed34 she’s never had an abortion but wishes she had, dried her tears (yes, she also cried) then lashed out that “white women, so unable to see the unity of the female identity, so unable to look past their violent privilege, and so inoculated with hate for themselves, showed up to the polls for [Trump].”

To the Left, women aren’t independent, thoughtful human beings free to choose Trump, Clinton, or any other candidate. They’re mere objects — vote tallies — who by nature of the “unity of the female identity” must toe the XX chromosome line.

That’s objectification.

And young girls are fair game for leftist objectification too. That’s why Planned Parenthood, which gets half a billion in taxpayer dollars each year, has repeatedly ignored reporting statutory rape. After all, women — and young teenage girls — are mere objects, good only for the abortion income they generate.

And yet, Planned Parenthood reps will be at the “war on women” Washington demonstration, along with other leftists who fly the flag of women’s rights but routinely strip women of dignity, choice and even basic legal protection against sexual predators.

To be sure, the Left doesn’t hold a monopoly on exploiting women, but they take the prize for hypocrisy on this front. So the next time you hear liberals whine about the objectification of women, remember, the loudest critic is oftentimes the chief offender.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Europe in Crisis: Compassion Can’t Stop Islamist Terror35 — Germany’s migrant policy provides a stark warning for America.
Obama Gladly Takes Another Unearned Medal36 — Defense Secretary Carter awards his boss for defending the nation.
White Man Beaten by Blacks on Facebook Live37 — The suspects could be heard yelling, “F— Donald Trump, f— white people.” No mention of it being a “hate crime” by the Leftmedia.
Trump, Lighthizer, Ford and Free Trade38 — His trade representative and dealings with U.S. automakers in the spotlight.
A Look Back at Obama’s ‘Scandal-Free’ Administration39 — The most transparent, ethically immersed administration in history? Not exactly.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Victor Davis Hanson: Why the Anti-Israeli Sentiment?40
Cal Thomas: Chicago Carnage: What Can Be Done?41
R. Emmett Tyrrell: Obama’s Legacy Follows His Shadow42

For more, visit Right Opinion43.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Victor Davis Hanson: “Partly, the piling on Israel is due to American leverage over Israel as a recipient of U.S. aid. As a benefactor, the Obama administration expects that Israel must match U.S. generosity with obeisance. Yet the U.S. rarely gives similar ‘how dare you’ lectures to less liberal recipients of American aid, such as the Palestinians for their lack of free elections. Partly, the cause of global hostility toward Israel is jealousy. If Israel were mired in Venezuela-like chaos, few nations would care. Instead, the image of a proud, successful, Westernized nation as an atoll in a sea of self-inflicted misery is grating to many. And the astounding success of Israel bothers so many failed states that the entire world takes notice. But partly, the source of anti-Israelism is ancient anti-Semitism. If Israelis were Egyptians administering Gaza or Jordanians running the West Bank (as during the 1960s), no one would care. The world’s problem is that Israelis are Jews. Thus, Israel earns negative scrutiny that is never extended commensurately to others. Obama and his diplomatic team should have known all this. Perhaps they do, but they simply do not care.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “It does not require many words to speak the truth.” —Chief Joseph (1840-1904)

Food for thought: “In the biographical movie ‘Hacksaw Ridge,’ a World War II medic, Private Desmond Doss, a pacifist, refused to carry a rifle. In the midst of the carnage, during the Battle of Okinawa, Doss carried wounded soldiers and rappelled them down a cliff face to safety then treated them alongside the medics. He was awarded a Medal of Honor for saving scores of lives. If, however, after the war, Pvt. Doss had opened an office with a shingle saying ‘Doss’ trauma unit,‘ authorities would have thrown him in jail for practicing medicine without a license. His skills were good enough for the soldiers on the battlefield, but not good enough for civilians when Doss returned stateside.” —Larry Elder

Braying Jenny: “If you’re a senior, you know almost half of Medicaid is about long-term health care. Do you want grandma living in the guest room? You repeal the Affordable Care Act.” —Nancy Pelosi (Once upon a time, it WAS the family, not the government, that took care of people…)

Is that a threat? “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday to get back at you. So, even for a practical, supposedly hard-nosed businessman, [Trump] is being really dumb to do this.” —Chuck Schumer

And last… “Barack Obama will leave office after eight years of strutting even while sitting down, preening even while standing up, swanking while playing 18 holes. Yet he remains the first president in American history to cast no shadow.” —R. Emmett Tyrrell

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.