The Patriot Post Digest 5-4-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-4-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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Mid-Day Digest

May 4, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

On the National Day of Prayer, Donald Trump moves to protect religious liberty.
Medal of Honor recipient Col. Leo K. Thorsness (USAF Ret.) departed this life Wednesday.
What are pre-existing conditions? And why do Democrats keep lying about it all?
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises. This results not only from the provision that no law shall be made respecting the establishment or free exercise of religion, but from that also which reserves to the States the powers not delegated to the United States. Certainly, no power to prescribe any religious exercise or to assume authority in any religious discipline has been delegated to the General Government. It must then rest with the States.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808.)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Trump Seeks to Protect Religious Freedom1

It’s no coincidence that on this National Day of Prayer2 Donald Trump will be signing an executive order designed to reverse Barack Obama’s stifling of religious freedom. It’s widely anticipated that Trump’s order will also roll back the Johnson Amendment, which forbids tax-exempt organizations such as churches from engaging in political activities. “Politicians and unelected bureaucrats shouldn’t have the power to shut up their critics,” a White House official stated. The president “thinks that’s intolerant and un-American.”

Trump is to be commended for seeking to undo Obama’s abuses. While the Left will claim this opens the door to discrimination of those in the homosexual “community,” the reality is a question of precedent. In other words, whose rights are sovereign? The answer clearly established by the First Amendment is the free exercise of religion. Under Obama there was a push not only to limit religious expression in public, but also to define what was to be “morally” acceptable and force concession. This was not only a violation of religious freedom, it was a violation of free speech. Barring extreme conditions, it is not for the government to dictate what ideas or thoughts regarding religious beliefs are appropriate and acceptable.

Attorney Stuart Lark said of the announcement, “Our country has a long history of protecting religious organizations from laws that substantially burden their ability to act in accordance with their beliefs. These protections foster pluralism and minimize the impact of government action on private religious choices, and in so doing they advance core principles underlying the First Amendment. To the extent the executive order expands these protections, it will be a welcome development for the many diverse faith communities in this country.”

So, on this Day of Prayer, take a moment to thank God for the freedoms we have to freely worship and follow our religious convictions, and for leaders who stand to defend these freedoms.

National Day of Prayer2

Today is the National Day of Prayer3.

In 1775, on the eve of Revolution, the First Continental Congress called for “a day of publick humiliation, fasting, and prayer.” Indeed, our Founders saw a national day of prayer as a fitting observance.

In 1952, Congress established the National Day of Prayer as an annual event by a joint resolution, signed into law by President Harry Truman. The NDP designation (36 U.S.C. § 119) calls for the nation “to turn to God in prayer and meditation.” Each year since its inception, the president has signed a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day.

Prayer is Almighty God’s prerequisite for true hope and change, and our nation needs an abundance of both right now. The Patriot Post’s National Advisory Board and staff invite you to join us, and millions of our countrymen, in prayer for our nation today at 12:00 local time.

Col. Thorsness, Job Well Done Good and Faithful Servant4

Mark Alexander

Col. Leo K. Thorsness (USAF Ret.) earned the Medal of Honor for actions over Vietnam5 on 19 April 1967. Two weeks later, he was shot down and captured, becoming a POW from 1967-1973. He departed this life Wednesday at age 85.

Col. Thorsness, a past president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, was a lifelong Patriot. He was a genuine hero, a humble conservative advocate for family, faith and freedom, and a strong supporter of our Medal of Honor Heritage Center6 in Chattanooga, where the first Medals were awarded to members of Andrew’s Raiders for their actions in 1862.

There have been 3,515 Medals of Honor awarded since the first, for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty,” most awarded posthumously. With Leo’s passing, there are now 74 living recipients.

Col. Thorsness was the author of “Surviving Hell,” a remarkable testament to all Vietnam POWs and the brutality of their incarceration. His years as a captive overlapped with those of several of my friends, including a mentor, Roger Ingvalson7. Closer to home, Leo also wrote “Mike’s Flag8,” the preface to our children’s book, “I’m Your Flag So Please Treat Me Right9.” It should be mandatory reading for every American of any age:

What do you think of when you see a little American flag in front of a grave marker? Let me tell you a story about one little flag. As a fighter pilot on my 93rd mission over North Vietnam, my F-105 was hit by an air-to-air missile and my Electronic Warfare Officer Harold Johnson and I, were forced to eject. After unsuccessful rescue attempts, we were captured by enemy forces and imprisoned in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” for the next six years.

One day in our sixth year of imprisonment, a young Navy pilot named Mike Campbell found a piece of cloth in a gutter. After we collected some other small rags, he worked secretly at night to piece them together into a flag. He made red from ground-up roof tiles and blue from tiny amounts of ink, then used rice glue to paste the colors onto the rags. Using thread from his blanket and a homemade bamboo needle, he sewed the pieces together, adding white fragments for stars.

One morning he whispered from the back of our cell, “Hey gang, look here,” and proudly held up that tattered American flag, waving it as if in a breeze. We all snapped to attention and saluted — with tears in our eyes.

A week later, the guards were searching our cells and found Mike’s flag. That night they pulled him out of the cell and, for his simple gesture of patriotism, they tortured him. At daylight they pushed what was left of Mike back through the cell door.

Today, whenever I see our flag, I think of Mike and the morning he first waved that tattered emblem of our great nation. It was then, thousands of miles from home, imprisoned by a brutal enemy, that he courageously demonstrated the liberty it represents, and that is what I see in every American flag.

Leo is survived by his devoted wife and lifelong sweetheart, Gaylee, and their family. After Leo was shot down, DoD would not tell Gaylee for some time if he was alive or dead. She led the charge to ensure that the families of all POWs would never again be left in the dark about the fate of their loved ones. Col. Thorsness will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Clear skies and tailwinds, Colonel.

Top Headlines10

House to vote Thursday on ObamaCare repeal. (The Hill11)

House passes $1 trillion government funding bill. (ABC News12)

Susan Rice refuses to testify in Senate probe of Russian influence on 2016 election. (The Washington Times13)

Last remaining insurer for most of Iowa may drop out of ObamaCare. (Washington Examiner14)

Aetna will exit ObamaCare markets in Virginia in 2018. (CNBC15)

Puerto Rico files for biggest ever U.S. local government bankruptcy. (Bloomberg16)

Trump agenda’s Achilles heel: 129 judicial vacancies. (LifeZette17)

DHS uncovered more than 60 cross-border tunnels along Mexican border used for smuggling. (The Washington Free Beacon18.)

While the Left ignores voter fraud, more evidence mounts to prove them wrong. (The Daily Signal19)

Three in custody, others sought after two Chicago police officers shot in Back of the Yards. (Chicago Tribune20)

Policy: Loose talk about gasoline taxes. (Washington Times21)

Policy: The real problem with school voucher programs. (Washington Examiner22)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report23.
Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read Liberty, Endowed by Our Creator and Assured by the Second Amendment24. “The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end.” —Donald Trump

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

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
The Existing Lies About Pre-Existing Conditions26

By Allyne Caan

Say “pre-existing condition” lately and leftists will launch into their predetermined narrative that conservatives want to throw sick Americans to the curb. Sadly, too many Americans are predisposed to believe unfounded rhetoric, so they prejudge the issue and end up with a preponderance of baseless opinions.

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-4-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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In the interest of truth (not to mention as a service to the sanity of anyone who has to answer accusations of wishing uninsured purgatory on infirm people), here is the reality.

While the guarantee of coverage for those with pre-existing conditions was central to ObamaCare’s promises, Obama and his allies duped Americans by greatly exaggerating the “crisis” — an oft-used tactic of the Left. As Forbes writer Avik Roy explains27, before ObamaCare (ah, remember those days?), 90% of Americans with health insurance were already enrolled in plans that required coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions. These included employer-based plans and government plans like Medicare, Medicaid and the VA. The rest — those buying insurance on the individual market — could technically be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

However, only a fraction of these individual market customers actually were denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. “We know this,” Roy writes, “because of an Obamacare program called the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan28, or PCIP. PCIP was designed … as a bridge until Obamacare’s insurance regulations took effect. … Americans could sign up for heavily subsidized coverage under PCIP if they had documented proof that they had been denied coverage by an insurance company and had a pre-existing condition. … Enrollment in PCIP peaked in February 2013 at 114,95929.”

In short, claims that without ObamaCare over 120 million could be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions30 were flat-out lies. It wasn’t even 120 thousand. But this is Obamacare we’re talking about, so lies were par for the course.

Still, even these 115,000 wouldn’t be forgotten in the GOP House bill. Here’s why:

Assertions that the health care bill being debated in the House would allow states to get a waiver from ObamaCare’s pre-existing coverage mandate — and as a result let insurance companies send sick customers out to sea with no lifeboat — are (not surprisingly) hyperbolic. More accurately, as Ramesh Ponnuru explains31, the proposed waiver would let states avoid ObamaCare’s regulations on pre-existing conditions “only for people who do not maintain insurance coverage.” In other words, those with pre-existing conditions who have coverage under ObamaCare or elsewhere would be protected from being denied coverage.

Additionally, the House bill makes maintaining coverage easier through tax credits for those purchasing insurance on the individual market. (While ObamaCare offered tax credits based on income, the House bill bases the credits on age.)

That’s not all. As the Wall Street Journal notes32, “States can only receive a waiver if they avail themselves of the bill’s $100 billion fund to set up high-risk pools. These state-based programs, which were run in 35 states until they were pre-empted by ObamaCare, subsidize coverage for older and sicker patients. This helps these individuals and keeps coverage cheaper for everyone else.”

In other words, in states that get a waiver, if individuals with pre-existing conditions for some reason did not maintain continuous coverage under Obamacare or do not use tax credits to purchase insurance on the individual market, they would still have access to high-risk pools.

This is hardly tossing sick Americans to the curb.

Still, so emotionally rich and fact-depleted is the debate over pre-existing conditions that moderate Republicans threatened to reject the House bill over the issue. One of those moderates, Fred Upton of Michigan, proposed an amendment as a bargaining tool for his support — and that of other moderates. His plan would give $8 billion over five years33 to help individuals with pre-existing conditions pay insurance premiums. It’s window dressing that could end up increasing prices, but at least the moderates “care.”

Without a doubt, rhetoric, not realty, is driving this proposed funding boost — particularly given the protections already offered those with pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen all too often, facts are simply nuisances to those who would rather tax, spend and regulate based on lies than create the free-market environment proven throughout history to benefit more people the world over than any other government system.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

An Unhinged Left Doubles Down34 — Long used to congratulating themselves for their inclusiveness and tolerance, leftists are revealed as utter frauds.
Key Revelations From Comey’s Latest Testimony35 — The FBI director revealed new details to Congress about the Clinton email scandal, and explained his decisions.
Baltimore Mayor Implores FBI for Solutions to Murder Wave36 — The outreach could create some interesting long-term implications for the city and the Democrat Party.
Colbert’s Classless Comedy37 — The late-night host went way overboard in placing politics over comedy with his vulgar insults aimed at Trump.
Transgenders vs. Homosexuals38 — They’re both undermining and rejecting nature and science from the National Park Service to the bathroom.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Rich Lowry: On ObamaCare, Republicans Vastly Over-Promised39
R. Emmett Tyrrell: Campus High Jinks and the First Amendment40
Larry Elder: Parents: Prepare Your College Kids for Left-Wing Campus Bias41

For more, visit Right Opinion42.

OPINION IN BRIEF

R. Emmett Tyrrell: “Things on campus began to change by the 1970s and 1980s. Then, the students who were radicals in the 1960s began to become junior faculty, and then senior faculty. Along with them came the feminists, the racialists and the lecturers on even more extreme brands of esotery. As a result, if there is an old-fashioned liberal on campus today, that liberal is the campus conservative. The rest are radicals and dispensers of New Age nonsense. The climate on campus now is somewhat an admixture of communist Cuba and kindergarten. One could sense it all coming by reading the radical thinkers whose books were espoused in the 1960s by the New Left students, soon to be junior faculty and now retiring senior faculty after utterly trivializing their institutions. … This mixture of the infantile and the authoritarian is all over college campuses today. Just last month at the ivy-covered Wellesley College, a bull appeared in the student newspaper explaining that ‘hostility may be warranted’ toward those who are ‘given the resources to learn’ yet ‘refuse to adapt their beliefs.’ That sounds like what the North Vietnamese called ‘reeducation camp.’”

SHORT CUTS

For the record: “The U.S. takes in 1 million legal immigrants per year, more legal immigrants than any other country in the world. … We can pretty much dismiss anyone claiming that America is a ‘xenophobic’ country or doesn’t welcome immigrants. Someone making that assertion wants to argue feelings instead of numbers because they don’t like doing math.” —Jim Geraghty

Braying Jenny: “It’s a dangerous time for the First Amendment and the free press in this country. At the same time, we’re oddly influential with the guy who wants to kill us.” —Rachel Maddow

Infighting Unity! “This is the Democratic Party. This is not a rubber-stamp party. … Most of … my family, extended family, are not pro-choice. You think I’m kicking them out of the Democratic Party?” —Nancy Pelosi

Belly laugh of the week: “I look more at the public record of someone like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. And their public record is pristine. They both fought back against the big banks and their practices and I have every confidence in the service they both provided.” —Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Friendly fire: “Jim Comey didn’t tell [Hillary Clinton] not to campaign in Wisconsin after the convention. Jim Comey didn’t say, ‘Don’t put any resources into Michigan until the final week of the campaign.’ And one of the things that hindered her in the campaign was a sense that she never fully was willing to take responsibility for her mistakes, particularly that server. … It takes a lot of work to lose to Donald Trump, let me tell you. He was the least popular presidential candidate to win in the history of polling, and so it wasn’t just the Comey letter. The fact that she was in a position to lose because of the Comey letter is something that deserves some introspection.” —David Axelrod

And last… “Democratic complaints about Comey’s conduct are absurd. He did her (and her team) an immense favor. ‘Regular’ folks would have faced prison. Instead, Hillary and her confidants face the speaking circuit. Justice has not been done.” —David French

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.