nChrist
|
 |
« on: March 08, 2017, 06:16:37 PM » |
|
________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 3-7-2017 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription ________________________________________
Mid-Day Digest
Mar. 7, 2017
IN TODAY’S EDITION
GOP unveils ObamaCare replacement. Don’t underestimate the strategic challenges. Trump’s new travel ban is sturdier and still has leftists miffed. What’s the story with the Trump wiretapping allegations? Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.
THE FOUNDATION
“In planning, forming, and arranging laws, deliberation is always becoming, and always useful.” —James Wilson (1791)
TOP RIGHT HOOKS
Diffusing the ObamaCare Time Bomb1
On Monday, House Republicans released an ObamaCare repeal and replacement bill. The legislation would end the most objectionable aspect of Barack Obama’s law, the insurance mandate and accompanying tax penalties, and replace it with a new tax credit program designed to incentivize individuals to purchase health insurance. Essentially, it removes the stick approach in favor of the carrot. The bill is by no means a comprehensive replacement of ObamaCare, nor is it everything conservatives ever hoped for, but it is a first step. Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, “Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster — is imploding fast!”
The GOP has been wrestling for weeks2 now over how to repeal and replace ObamaCare. The truth is that it is incredibly difficult to reverse entitlements and subsidies once they have been established. Like it or not, ObamaCare was the beachhead successfully establishing a new entitlement, even though in the short term it was costly for Democrats. The precedent is now set, and a sizable portion of Americans now expect federal government involvement in supporting their health care needs. As Phil Klein of the Washington Examiner writes3, “Liberals … have won the central philosophical argument, and Republicans are reduced to fighting over the mechanics.”
For Trump and the Republicans to be successful in reversing ObamaCare, they will need to be willing to work toward dismantling it via a piecemeal approach versus a completely comprehensive and decisive new law. Conservatives are right to object that the new GOP bill essentially leaves much of ObamaCare in place, but in order to be successful in the long run, short gains need to be embraced. A war is not won in one battle, and the all-or-nothing approach more often than not amounts to nothing. Republicans will need to compromise to get this done — not with Democrats dug into their anti-Trump obstructionist battle trenches, but with each other.
Trump’s Travel Ban, Take Two4
After a legal ruse caused the demise of Donald Trump’s original travel ban on the nations of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, the president on Monday signed off on an improved executive order that contains some specific modifications. The original travel ban was heavily criticized on the Left, and the order is almost universally acknowledged to have been hastily and poorly rolled out. However, the ban was not inherently unconstitutional5. The most questionable part of the ban was the inclusion of legal residents. In the new executive order, there are no prohibitions on green card holders.
The countries affected are the same, less one nation — Iraq. As the Associated Press explains6, “The White House dropped Iraq from the list of targeted countries following pressure from the Pentagon and State Department, which noted Iraq’s role in fighting the Islamic State group.” According to The Washington Times, some additional details include7:
“Visitors now will be banned for 90 days from six Muslim-majority countries on the list: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
"During the ban, the administration plans to develop an extreme vetting program for all foreign visitors to the U.S., including a biometric entry/exit system to identify who is arriving and departing the country.
"It also removed the original order’s exemptions for religious minorities, namely Christians, from the targeted countries, and it eliminated a permanent ban on refugees from Syria. …
"The 90-day ban on visitors and the 120-day halt to refugee resettlement this time will phase in over a 10-day period, taking full effect March 16.”
Don’t expect any of this to appease leftists, though. Chuck Schumer called it “mean-spirited and un-American.” Democrats are fundamentally and irrationally opposed to any restrictions Trump makes to border policies, even when he’s doing his best to compromise. On the whole, the last version was constitutionally sound. And there is literally nothing in this executive order the courts can justifiably render unsound or unconstitutional. It is a temporary ban, after all. And for those judges who do find fault, you can be sure they’re engaging in political gamesmanship.
Top Headlines8
300 refugees subject of FBI terror investigations. (Fox News9)
Police chief to illegal aliens: “Your immigration status is completely irrelevant.” (CNS News10)
District of Columbia councilwoman holds meeting teaching illegal immigrants how to resist ICE. (The Daily Signal11)
WikiLeaks publishes thousands of purported CIA documents. (Associated Press12)
CIA, DOJ sued over leaks of classified wiretaps on former NSA Flynn. (The Washington Free Beacon13)
“A Day Without a Woman” ignites backlash over left-wing agenda, school closures. (The Washington Times14)
University language guide deems “homosexual” and “housewife” to be offensive terms. (National Review15)
Noted social sciences expert blocked from speaking by leftists mob. (The Washington Post16)
Women’s studies has changed over the years — and it’s more popular than ever. (USA Today College17)
Humor: Protesting the Protesters — the brutal truth! (Chad Prather Video18.)
Policy: Stop proof-texting refugee policy with misapplied Bible verses. (The Federalist19)
Policy: The Feds have transformed Title IX into an enemy of common sense. (The Heartland Institute20)
For more, visit Patriot Headline Report21. Don’t Miss Patriot Humor
Check out Red Herring22.
If you’d like to receive Patriot Humor by email, update your subscription here23.
FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS Wiretapping Trump: Did Obama Lie and Spy?24
By Paul Albaugh
The state of politics in the Washington Swamp is in absolute disarray. The deceit, cover-ups, scandals and illegal activity amongst government officials both former and current really seem to be the norm these days. And while the Leftmedia scramble to find new stories to discredit President Donald Trump, the American public is becoming more disgusted by the actions of the people who are supposed to be serving us.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted out several statements accusing Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump and his associates at some point during his presidential campaign. Of course, as we noted yesterday25 the Leftmedia were quick to jump all over Trump for presenting no evidence to support his wiretapping claim and for accusing a former president of doing something so egregious.
“Unsubstantiated,” “baseless” and “no evidence” are the Leftmedia buzzwords to try and convince the American public that the Obama administration did no wrong. Except he was citing that same Leftmedia. For instance, in January, The New York Times reported about an intelligence investigation into Trump. Was he wiretapped? We don’t know.
Interestingly, the media slap these labels upon Trump with regard to wiretapping, yet the same media across a multitude of networks have no qualms about telling everyone that the Russians hacked the 2016 election, helped Trump get elected and that Trump welcomed their support.
Without evidence.
Conveniently, it seems that every time Trump does something positive — such as give an impressive speech26 or hold to one of his campaign promises — the Leftmedia attempt to halt his momentum27 by bringing up Russian involvement with the election.
It’s not only the media. Shortly after Trump’s wiretapping tweets, FBI director James Comey on Sunday requested28 that the Justice Department publicly rebuke Trump’s surveillance claims. It’s strange that the head of the FBI would make such an extraordinary request to discredit the president — unless the wiretapping did occur and there were many people within the Obama administration who knew about it.
|