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« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2017, 06:49:15 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 1-21-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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PFC Manning, as you recall, is the gender-dysphoric former Army intelligence analyst who was convicted by courts martial in 2013 of treasonous acts of espionage. Manning funneled almost 750,000 classified documents28 to WikiLeaks, and on conviction, received a light 35-year sentence with a dishonorable discharge to follow. Manning’s espionage, which at the time he intimated was to impress his “partner,” ranks near the top of the most treacherous acts of treason in U.S. history. Obama’s commutation allows Manning to walk with an honorable discharge less than four years after sentencing — and this after Manning’s prosecutors already acquiesced to pressure not to seek the death penalty for treason.
In September 2016, the ACLU, representing one of Manning’s numerous gender confusion cases against the military, announced that the Army would grant his request for “gender reassignment” surgery. Obama will no doubt attempt to justify Manning’s commutation by insisting he is a “victim,” and confining a transgendered “woman” to an all-male prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is cruel and unusual punishment. Manning, like so many transgendered individuals, did attempt suicide29, after all.
But make no mistake — Obama’s commutation is much more than constituent appeasement. It is a middle finger in the face of an American constituency with whom he has the lowest rating — American Patriots in uniform. Only 15%30 of American military personnel, who have taken a blood oath “to Support and Defend31” our Constitution, approve of their commander in chief.
They will bear the burden of Obama’s ill-advised political retreat from Iraq32, which gave rise to the Islamic State33 and an epic humanitarian crisis34.
Few insults are more repulsive to the military community than the commutation of an unquestionably deserved sentence (albeit a light one) for Manning, especially when compared to Obama’s forced resignation and prosecution of former CIA Director, Gen. David Petraeus, for discussing minor classified matters with his military biographer. Petraeus pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.
Of course, Obama also defended Hillary Clinton’s security breaches uncovered during the Benghazi investigation35. Clearly he only seeks “justice” when it promotes his agenda and protects his friends.
The commutation of Manning’s sentence, the most recent and arguably most unjustified of Obama’s 1,385 commutations (504 of which were life sentences), provides a clear perspective into Barack Obama’s anti-American ideology36. (For the record, George W. Bush approved only 11 commutations.)
Speaker Paul Ryan poignantly notes, “Obama now leaves in place a dangerous precedent that those who compromise our national security won’t be held accountable for their crimes.” Sen. John McCain added, “It is a … fitting commentary on Obama’s failed national security policies that he would commute the sentence of an individual [who] endangered the lives of American troops, diplomats, and intelligence sources.”
Manning’s commutation, following the Defense Department’s implementation of a myriad of gender disorientation policies, is yet another military morale buster. It cuts deep for service personnel who quietly and humbly do their job day in and day out, even if they disagree with the commander in chief’s motives. But after more than 2,500 combat-theater deaths37 and thousands more casualties under Obama’s watch, while he has devoted more time and energy to championing gender-neutral bathrooms on military installations, should we expect anything less?
If Manning’s commutation is any sign of what lies in store for the next 48 hours, our men and women in uniform are praying that Friday gets here quickly.
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
Leftists Throw Temper Tantrum Over Trump Inauguration38 — They’re taking their ball and going home.
Clinton Foundation Donations Dry Up After Hillary’s Loss39 — One primary fundraising tool goes caput.
Abortion’s Dwindling Numbers40 — Not since Roe v. Wade has the number of abortions been so low.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
Rich Lowry: The Shameful War on Betsy DeVos41
Michelle Malkin: Sponsors of Anarchy42
Walter Williams: International Trade Thuggery43
For more, visit Right Opinion44.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Jonah Goldberg: “The presidency has become ill-suited to the task of unifying the country, because the presidency has become the biggest prize and totem in the culture war. Like the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants in England, if one side controls the throne, it is seen as an insult and threat to the other. And whoever holds the throne is seen as a kind of personal Protector of the Realm. The political parties have been utterly complicit in the process. Exploiting social media and other technologies, Republicans and Democrats shape their messages around the assumption that they — and they alone — have legitimate ownership of America’s authentic best self. That’s why whichever party is out of power promises to ‘take back America’ — as if the other side were foreign invaders.”
SHORT CUTS
Insight: “It was not the tycoons of big business, it was not the working classes, it was the intellectuals who reversed the trend toward political freedom and revived the doctrines of the absolute State, of totalitarian government rule, of the government’s right to control the lives of the citizens in any manner it pleases. This time, it was not in the name of the ‘divine right of kings,’ but in the name of the divine right of the masses. The basic principle was the same: the right to enforce at the point of a gun the moral doctrines of whoever happens to seize control of the machinery of government.” —Ayn Rand (1905-1982)
Upright: “The controversy over the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education has been, if nothing else, clarifying. We now know that working to give poor kids more educational opportunities is considered a disqualifying offense for the Left.” —Rich Lowry
For the record: “No matter how troubled [Bradley] Manning is (and he’s certainly troubled), he breached faith with his brothers in arms. Armies depend on bonds of trust, and he knowingly and intentionally placed lives in danger by indiscriminately placing our nation’s secrets in the public domain. He risked American lives. He risked allied lives. It’s not that long ago that actions like Manning’s would merit execution, and he should be grateful that he merely received a 35-year sentence. Instead … the Obama administration treats him more like a messed-up kid than a soldier who betrayed his nation.” —Iraq veteran David French
Hyper hypocrisy: “There’s no question that the outcome of this election was affected by Russian interference with the campaign.” —former DNC Chief Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose hacked email revealed she worked to undermine Bernie Sanders' campaign — so she knows a thing or two about interference
Belly laugh of the week: “I don’t like tweeting. I have other things I could be doing.” —Donald Trump
Self-advice: “There have been visible signs of disrespect for [Obama]. And I’ve always said if you don’t respect the man, respect the position.” —John Lewis, January 2016
And last… “Democrats have to come to grips with the fact that they stopped speaking for most Americans over the past eight years, and started lecturing at Americans instead.” —Ed Morrissey
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. |
