The Patriot Post Digest 1-20-2017

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-20-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Jan. 20, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

    Trump’s inauguration brings an end to an error.
    CNN wonders what would happen if Trump and Pence were killed.
    There are plans for cutting the federal government. Let it commence.
    And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“[The president] is the dignified, but accountable magistrate of a free and great people. The tenure of his office, it is true, is not hereditary; nor is it for life: but still it is a tenure of the noblest kind: by being the man of the people, he is invested; by continuing to be the man of the people, his investiture will be voluntarily, and cheerfully, and honourably renewed.” —James Wilson (1791)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

The Opportunity of Trump’s Inauguration1

Today marks the end of an error. As we go to press, Donald Trump is taking the oath of office to serve as the 45th president of the United States, and Barack Obama will retire to a palatial home in DC from which he still plans to cause trouble2. But at least he’ll have no power, and change can really take hold.

We’ve certainly expressed our differences with Trump over the last 18 months, and we stand ready to continue our undaunted advocacy for the Constitution and Rule of Law. But we’re encouraged by Trump’s cabinet picks3 and many of his early plans4. As any American Patriot should do, we hope he’ll succeed in undoing Obama’s disastrous legacy5 on his way to Making America Great Again.

Unfortunately, Trump enters office with record low approval (i.e., virtually no political capital) and a hateful and vigorous opposition, entrenched and ready for battle. Yes, the Democrat base is made up of tender “snowflakes” who can do little except protest or play with Legos6, but Democrats in Congress will give Trump no quarter. And as The Wall Street Journal put it, “No President since Nixon will face a more hostile resistance in the press and permanent bureaucracy.” Indeed, Democrats and their Leftmedia accomplices have spent the last two months doing everything possible to delegitimize Trump — to undermine him before he’s even inaugurated.

The benefit of this starting point is that every small success will improve Trump’s standing with the American people. As he moves to lower taxes and reduce regulation, Americans will begin to feel it — more jobs and more income. As one West Virginia resident put it, “If Trump can do half of what he says he’s going to do and wants to do, the country will be better off.” Emerging from Obama’s eight years of economic malaise should be more than enough to earn Trump some political capital. So as the Trump Era dawns, we see it as morning in America.

The Left’s Sick Assassination Day Dream7

If CNN desires to re-establish any semblance of credibility as a news organization after last week’s fiasco on that fictitious dossier on Donald Trump8, its recent report on the question of presidential succession doesn’t help. CNN ran a story where it introduced the question, “What if an incoming president and his immediate successors were wiped out on day one?” CNN went way beyond the role of high school civics teacher with this despicable clap trap.

Even during its report, CNN seemingly recognized the poor taste of the question, and attempted to justify the inquiry into the presidential succession process by stating that the government’s plan is so unclear that it could lead to uncertainty and create “the potential for chaos.” But if that’s so, then CNN contradicted its own justification for airing the piece as it proceeded to delineate the exact plan the government has established should this worst-case scenario occur.

First, in the history of the nation, there is no historical precedent for even raising this question beyond academic concerns or Hollywood movies. It’s simply not a relevant question. Second, imagine if a major news media organization had raised this same question in 2009 upon the inauguration of Barack Obama. The narrative would have been that those racist conservatives were calling for the assassination of the newly elected president because he was black.

So what’s CNN’s angle here? It may be best to classify this story as CNN voicing its own leftist daydream of “how many Republicans would need to be knocked off before a Democrat would end up as president?” But those are some seriously sour grapes from the Leftmedia.

Top Headlines9

    Another inaugural tradition — prayer — under fire over Donald Trump. (The Washington Times10)

    Trump’s inaugural address banned from classroom. (Lifezette11)

    Senate set to confirm two Trump Cabinet nominees Friday. (The Washington Post12)

    No kidding. Russia fears Trump won’t be such a great deal after all. (Bloomberg13)

    Obama leaves U.S. $9,335,000,000,000 deeper in debt. (CNS News14)

    Obama commutes 330 drug sentences on last day as president — total was more than last 12 presidents combined. (Associated Press15)

    With midnight regulation, Obama Energy Department just outlawed your three-way bulb. (Washington Examiner16)

    Anatomy of a hit job: The New York Times' disgraceful attack on Rick Perry. (National Review17)

    Student group sues after members arrested for handing out copies of Constitution. (The Daily Signal18.)

    NY lawsuits blame social media in terror attacks. (Associated Press19)

    Policy: Obama’s tarnished environmental legacy. (American Action Forum20)

    Policy: Top 10 ways Obama violated the Constitution during his presidency. (Cato Institute21)

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Trump Is Sharpening the Axe22

By Michael Swartz

Budget cuts are something incoming administrations generally promise but seldom deliver. However, the prospect of a Donald Trump administration has put enough fear into the bureaucracy that nearly three of ten federal employees don’t plan on staying23 long enough to see what The Donald will be doing to government. We’ll believe it when we see it. (Not surprisingly, that same survey of government employees revealed that 62% of respondents voted for Hillary Clinton24, compared to just 28% for Trump.)

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-20-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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And it’s no wonder that fiscal conservatives are salivating at this thought. Imagine the liberal horror25 at the thought of a federal government that no longer funds the often scatological and pornographic byproducts of the National Endowment for the Arts and its sister National Endowment for the Humanities. Imagine their angst at the prospect of privatizing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (Hint: it’s already started26.)

“Insiders” expect overall budget cuts of 10% and staff cuts to 20%, numbers they say would “rock Washington27.” Steep cuts are also expected in several departments, most specifically Energy and Commerce, but also in Justice, State and Transportation. Even the Defense Department could be affected in the area of procurement.

Of course, these cuts would also curtail the boom times in the capital regions of Maryland and Virginia, where government-addled cities and counties surrounding the District — many of them boasting the highest median incomes28 in the country — will have to get by with fewer cars on their taxpayer-funded gravy train. What this means, of course, is that headlines about homelessness and unemployment and the stagnant economy will be back in style again after an eight-year absence. And the elite media won’t have to stray too far to find those sob stories — which sure beats having to report from rural areas in the South or rundown parts of the Rust Belt.

Seriously, though, a 10% budget cut would net a savings of about $400 billion, but that only brings us back to the spending levels of the leanest Obama budget (or the most bloated one ever submitted by George W. Bush, in 2008.). It’s worth noting that so far in this century, through the years of Bush and Obama, our federal budget has just about doubled from $2 trillion to $4 trillion — and there’s no indication that Trump wants to make the sort of spending cuts that would require significant entitlement reform.

Yet, to quote the old axiom, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. There’s enough low-hanging budget fruit to satisfy those who wish to see spending cuts for years to come, so just getting the trend in the right direction will be a “yuuuge” accomplishment from the incoming president. Could it be that the era of Big Government is once again truly over?

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

    Obama’s Tattered Legacy of Fecklessness and Corruption5 — A look back at the last eight years now that they’re over.
    Sanders Trashes American Charity29 — “No, we are not a compassionate society,” he fumes. EPA Nominee Pruitt: Climate Change Is No Hoax, But…30 — He offers reasonable responses to the challenges leveled by climate alarmists.
    University Gives Kids Juice Boxes, Legos to Deal With Inauguration6 — These poor little snowflakes need some comfort.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

    Tony Perkins: Great Expectations for Life as Page Turns in Washington31
    David Harsanyi: The Democrats' Fight Against School Choice Is Immoral32
    David Limbaugh: Obama’s Inexcusable Commutation33

For more, visit Right Opinion34.

OPINION IN BRIEF

David Harsanyi: “There’s something perverse about an ideology that views the disposing of an unborn child in the third trimester of pregnancy as an indisputable right but the desire of parents to choose a school for their kids as zealotry. … Democrats often tell us that racism is one of the most pressing problems in America. And yet, few things have hurt African-Americans more over the past 40 years than inner-city public school systems. … Teachers unions are the only organizations in America that openly support segregated schools. In districts across the country — even ones in cities with some form of limited movement for kids — poor parents, typically those who are black or Hispanic, are forced to enroll their kids in underperforming schools when there are good ones nearby, sometimes just blocks away. … As many Americans surely know, rich and middle-class Americans already have school choice. In most places, the whiter the neighborhood, the better the school system; and the better the school system, the higher the prices of homes, making it impossible for those who aren’t wealthy to escape substandard schools. (Rural schools also often suffer.) This is the status quo Warren, Murphy and Murray hope to preserve.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.” —William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

For the record: “Are the liberals who deny Trump’s legitimacy saying that they will not treat laws signed by him or regulations promulgated by his appointees as valid? Will they stop paying taxes to the federal government that they believe he illegitimately heads? Will they ignore Supreme Court decisions whenever his appointees were decisive to the outcome? Will Representative Lewis be filing a motion to impeach Trump? Anyone who truly believes that Trump holds his power illegitimately would at least have to consider such steps. But if anyone who is questioning his legitimacy is prepared to follow their premises to such conclusions, I haven’t heard of it.” —Ramesh Ponnuru

Political futures: “I think in my mind I know who it is. I think you’re going to be very, very excited.” —Donald Trump on his Supreme Court pick — the very reason so many Americans voted for him

Braying Jenny: “[Trump’s] actually doing us a great service, because we have gone as low as we can go. We can only go up from here, so what are we going to do? We have two choices, destruction and creation. I chose creation.” —Madonna

And last… “For over 200 years, this nation has been peacefully transferring power from one president to the next. We don’t reflect enough on how odd that is historically. And if it doesn’t give you goose bumps, you need to pause, and we need to re-learn some history together, because this isn’t the way it used to be done.” —Sen. Ben Sasse

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.