The Patriot Post Digest 1-11-2017

________________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 1-11-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

Mid-Day Digest

Jan. 11, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Obama’s final paean to himself: A phony call for unity after eight years of division.
Correcting the record on the “intelligence” dump on Trump.
There’s a reason small businesses have an optimistic outlook.
And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life.” —George Washington (1783)

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Farewell, Obama — and Not Soon Enough1

His record of division completely undermines his phony call for unity.

By Nate Jackson

How appropriate that Barack Obama would give his farewell speech in Chicago. The Windy City has suffered for generations under one-party Democrat hegemony, leaving nothing but an urban poverty plantation2 suffering horrific murder rates3 and despicable “hate crimes”4 against a mentally disabled white man. Naturally, Obama didn’t mention any of that as he gave his last great paean to himself before leaving office next week.

It wasn’t for lack of time, either, given that his 53-minute address was longer than George W. Bush’s, Bill Clinton’s and Ronald Reagan’s … combined. And while the other three gave their speeches from the White House, Obama packed out a public venue for the party. He certainly does think an awful lot of himself.

Naturally, he spent much of his time reciting all the great things he accomplished. It was Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet, “How Do I Love Thee?” — to Obama, from Obama.

For example, while discussing homeland security, the way he parsed his record would make even Bill Clinton blush: “No foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years.” He’s made this outrageous claim before, so it was no surprise. But of course, he’s dismissing Islamic State-inspired jihadi attacks in Fort Hood, Boston, Chattanooga, San Bernardino and Orlando, just to name a few. And he neglected to mention that he created the Islamic State5 and the ensuing humanitarian crisis6 because of his stubbornly disastrous withdrawal from the Middle East. His record is one of deadly failure.

But the big takeaway was simple: His theme was to promote “unity,” all while reciting and fomenting discord.

Among other things, he did it with a sly use of vocabulary that emphasizes leftist goals. He used the word “republic” once — and that is what our nation still is — but he repeated “democracy” and is variants no less than 25 times. “We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union,” Obama opined. “This is the great gift our Founders gave us.”

In 1814, John Adams wrote, “Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” Does that sound like our Founders wanted to give that “great gift”?

No, they warned against democracy precisely because of the demagoguery that would ensue from craven men like Barack Obama.

Obama also waxed eloquent about how we should “strive together,” “embrace all” and “restore the sense of common purpose,” because, he admonished, “for all our outward differences, we are all in this together” and “we rise or fall as one.”

That’s all well and good, but he then proceeded to divide Americans via the typical leftist template: rich and poor, men and women, black and white, etc. Indeed, he declared, “race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.”

We’ll give him some credit for quoting the immortal but fictitious Atticus Finch, who said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Obama challenged all of us to feel some empathy for the struggles other Americans and immigrants face.

He’s right, but it was also one of his most obnoxious “do as I say, not as I do” moments. Obama and his ilk have showed nothing but contempt for the people he accused of “bitterly clinging” to their worldview. Or, as one prominent wealthy liberal called us commoners, “irredeemable … deplorables7.”

He declared, “I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans,” but he made no mention of the Christians facing hateful discrimination from the Rainbow Mafia here at home, or, worse, deadly persecution from Muslims abroad.

In that light, it’s no wonder his caution that we not “allow our political dialogue to become … so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are not just misguided, but somehow malevolent” rings so hollow. If ever there was a reason for Donald Trump’s rise, it’s that Democrats treat so many Americans as not just misguided but malevolent8.

That’s especially true when Democrats speak of Republicans. As The Daily Signal’s Fred Lucas notes, “He once accused Republicans of having a plan to create ‘dirtier air, dirtier water,’ for instance, and said Republican opponents of the Iran nuclear deal found ‘common cause’ with hardliners in the Islamic regime.”

Even last night, Obama called our elected representatives in Congress “dysfunctional,” which is something most conservatives might concede, albeit with a different definition. Obama means that Republicans are bound to “rigid extremes” and won’t pass leftist legislation. A better definition of “dysfunctional” would be Obama himself, if the meaning is consistently losing Supreme Court cases regarding executive overreach.

In other words, there is disunity, but Obama created it by pushing the most far-left agenda this nation has ever seen, all while abusing power and slandering his political opponents.

You see, when Obama calls for unity, it’s only under his banner of statism and politically correct intolerance. Americans have largely rejected that banner. Obama’s legacy includes Democrats losing control of the House and Senate, the White House, and state legislatures and governorships nationwide.

Come to think of it, maybe he fostered unity after all.

Editor’s note: Stay tuned for Mark Alexander’s more thorough rebuttal of Obama’s final address later this afternoon.

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Sandbagging Trump With ‘Dirt’9

The story of Russian hacking10 of Democrat email systems has now added yet another chapter with the latest claims of Moscow having obtained dirt on Donald Trump as well. Last week, both Barack Obama and Trump were briefed by the intelligence community with a classified report that included unsubstantiated allegations that Russian intelligence had obtained compromising material on both Hillary Clinton and Trump. The narrative now being developed by the Leftmedia is that this “kompromat” — a Russian espionage term for blackmail material — could be used to coerce whoever occupies the White House, namely Trump.

Perpetuating the story, CNN reported that Trump’s campaign had apparently colluded with Russia based upon an unsubstantiated dossier. This was followed by BuzzFeed releasing the dubious 35-page dossier, which it claimed contained the damning information on the Russian-Trump relationship. Russia denied the allegations, stating that the report was an “absolute fabrication” designed to damage U.S.-Russian relations. And Trump tweeted last night, “FAKE NEWS — A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!”

So what’s going on here? Well, it’s clear that the Democrats would like nothing more than to delegitimize Trump for their own political gain. It also aids Democrats in their quest to sink Rex Tillerson’s secretary of state confirmation due to his business ties with Russia. And like Pavlovian dogs, the mainstream media has responded to the call from the Left to attack Trump, hence the unsubstantiated allegations now being passed off as legitimate journalism.

In the end, what may be most troubling is the manner in which U.S. intelligence agencies have handled these highly political allegations. Leaked information about unsubstantiated allegations to the media from unnamed sources within the intelligence community smells like a dangerous politicization of government agencies. Those agencies, for the sake of the public’s trust and the nation’s security, need to maintain an uncompromising standard of commitment to abstaining from any form of political pandering.

________________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 1-11-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

A New Era of Small Business Optimism11

The frustration that has disincentivized entrepreneurs is finally fading away. Citing statistics gathered by the National Federation of Independent Business, Bloomberg reports12, “Optimism among America’s small businesses soared in December by the most since 1980 as expectations about the economy’s prospects improved dramatically in the aftermath of the presidential election.” NFIB president Juanita Duggan believes that “small business is ready for a breakout, and that can only mean very good things for the U.S. economy. Business owners are feeling better about taking risks and making investments.”

That’s what eight years of socialist economic policies will do. It would be premature to assume job creation will experience eye-popping gains under Donald Trump. But what we can surmise with a high degree of certainty is that it can’t be any worse than the last eight years. Creating a company is risky in any environment, but over the last few decades entrepreneurs were accustomed to having a decent shot at starting and growing a competitive business. That changed under Barack Obama — not only has starting a business been next to impossible, but industries as a whole have suffered. What’s needed is less regulation13. That’s a principle career politicians like Bernie Sanders fundamentally don’t understand.

For example, this week the Socialist senator was challenged14 by a small business owner who explained, “We keep getting kicked in the teeth by this administration. It’s regulation after regulation and tax after tax.” He then asked, “Why is this administration so against the business owner?” According to Sanders, “I don’t think this administration, the Obama administration you’re referring to, is so against the business.”

He then launched into a diatribe against wealthy businessmen and corporations, whose supposedly lenient tax rates are really what stifle economic growth, along with a defense of onerous regulations on things like air and water that have nothing to do with the actual business of most companies. The small business owner put it best when he shot back, “You haven’t lived until you’ve put a payroll on your credit card. This is the reality of the backbone of this country.” Let’s hope the optimism of Trump’s presidency ushers in an era of new risk-takers who understand this distinction and learn from it.

Top Headlines15

FBI’s Comey says Republican data also hacked by Russians. (The Wall Street Journal16)

Trump picks VA official David Shulkin as agency chief. (ABC News17)

Hillary used corporate cronies to finance State Dept. pavilion named after herself. (Dick Morris18.)

Navy sailor invokes Hillary Clinton defense in bid for clemency over classified photos. We all knew this was bound to happen. (The Washington Times19)

Republicans disagree on timing of ObamaCare repeal and replace. (Bloomberg20)

Fort Lauderdale airport killer converted to Islam, identified as Aashiq Hammad years before attack. (Judicial Watch21)

Racist Charleston killer sentenced to death. (Fox News22)

Georgetown professor says whites should keep “individual reparations account.” (CNS News23)

Volkswagen expecting $4.3B criminal, civil settlement after evading emissions testing. (USA Today24)

More climate alarmism: “Without action, say goodbye to polar bears.” (The Washington Post25) Wrong — that’s “sensationalized nonsense26.”

The science is settled: Conservatives really are better looking, research says. (The Washington Post27)

Policy: Would more infrastructure spending really stimulate the economy? (Mercatus Center28.)

Policy: Child-care and paid-leave policies that work for working parents. (National Review29)

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Restore Justice, Confirm Jeff Sessions30 — Day One of his Senate hearings had plenty of fireworks.
MTV Writer Slams Sessions' Granddaughter31 — You can often tell the measure of a man by his words and deeds.
A Housing Crash Redux?32 — Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Obama Claims Momentum Over Energy Reality33 — He presents an perspective on his clean energy programs based solely on ideology.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Terence Jeffrey: Why Left Opposes Sessions: He’s Right; They’re Wrong34
Star Parker: Christian Persecution in America35
Walter Williams: The Black Community and Crime36

For more, visit Right Opinion37.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Walter Williams: “Politicians who call for law and order are often viewed negatively, but poor people are the most dependent on law and order. In the face of high crime or social disorder, wealthier people can afford to purchase alarm systems, buy guard dogs, hire guards and, if things get too bad, move to a gated community. These options are not available to poor people. The only protection they have is an orderly society. Ultimately, the solution to high crime rests with black people. Given the current political environment, it doesn’t pay a black or white politician to take those steps necessary to crack down on lawlessness in black communities.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “Tell me what are the prevailing sentiments that occupy the minds of your young peoples, and I will tell you what is to be the character of the next generation.” —Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

Dezinformatsiya: “The viral video of a beating and knife attack in Chicago suggests the assault had racial overtones. CBS’s Dean Reynolds tells us the victim is described as a mentally challenged teenager. In the video he is choked and repeatedly called the n-word. His clothes are slashed and he is terrorized with a knife. His alleged captors repeatedly reference Donald Trump. Police are holding four people in connection with the attack.” —CBS Radio (All “true,” but you wouldn’t know it was four blacks who attacked a white man by that maliciously deceitful description.)

The BIG Lie: “President Obama never retreated from his red line. He never changed his mind about his readiness to bomb [Bashar al-] Assad to make it clear you don’t use chemical weapons. Never! … I will readily acknowledge that this notion that the president didn’t follow through took hold and it has cost us, and I acknowledge, yes, it became a perception that became a sort of diplomatic reality. And it fed this notion that the administration wasn’t there to support its ally, but it’s just not accurate.” —John Kerry

Non Compos Mentis: “I think that [Barack Obama’s] economic record alone … will put him in the top 10 presidents in U.S. history.” —MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow

Race bait: “A black man in America cannot be as braggadocios about his presidency and his accomplishments and get away with it and not be seen as arrogant. … That said, his accomplishments speak for themselves. … This is a sense a Third Reconstruction, the election of Barack Obama. This is a slave republic that elected a black man to be president of the United States in less than 400 years of its history.” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid

And last… “Obama’s farewell setting looks like a U2 stage with a cheering crowd, dim lights. All Reagan needed was the Oval Office.” —Stephen Miller

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.