The Patriot Post Digest 5-10-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-10-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

May 10, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

At long last, Hillary Clinton got what she wanted — FBI Director James Comey, fired!
Most gun owners still vote Republican, but ever fewer are voting Democrat.
There’s an unusual assault on free speech in Oregon, and it’s not over weddings this time.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“Men of energy of character must have enemies; because there are two sides to every question, and taking one with decision, and acting on it with effect, those who take the other will of course be hostile in proportion as they feel that effect.” —Thomas Jefferson (1817)

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Clinton Cans Comey — Finally1

By Mark Alexander

At long last, Hillary Clinton2 and her Democrat legions3 got what they pleaded for last year — FBI Director James Comey, fired!

Remember when they wanted Comey out — before they didn’t…

Just prior to the 2016 election, Senate Minority Leader-in-waiting Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared, “I do not have confidence in him any longer,” and he labeled Comey’s letter about Hillary Clinton to Congress “appalling.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) declared, “Maybe he’s not in the right job.”

Recall after Clinton lost, then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) protested, “This is not fake news. Intelligence officials are hiding connections to the Russian government. There is no question. Comey knew and deliberately kept this info a secret.”

Most of the Demo rank-and-file followed in lock step. “The FBI director has no credibility,” insisted Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) lamented, “My confidence in the FBI director’s ability to lead this agency has been shaken.”

Fact is, it was Clinton who, by proxy, finally fired Comey. Here’s how:

Firing Comey has certainly been in the works since Donald Trump was elected. However, once the Democrats launched their post-election tin-hat diversionary assertions that Trump and Vladimir Putin conspired to steal the election from Clinton, and their mainstream media public relations outlets propagated that mind-numbing nonsense, if Trump had asked for Comey’s resignation in January, that would have affirmed the Trump-Putin connection in the small Demo-constituency minds.

Of course, there is not even a puff of smoke regarding the “Trump-Putin connection” in the alleged Russian interference with the 2016 election — unless by “interference” they mean that Russian operatives may have hacked Clinton’s illegal and unsecure email server, where she was unlawfully maintaining official and classified communications to hide them from the public record — and they made some of those emails part of the public record…

For the record, if the Russians hacked Clinton’s unsecure communications, and those of the Democrat National Committee, it would have been with the objective of giving a hand up to her Socialist opponent Bernie Sanders, their preferred candidate. The fact that those communications were exposed would be retribution for the Clinton and DNC hacking and bushwacking4 of Sander’s campaign.

But two things happened last week that opened Comey’s exit door.

First would be Hillary Clinton’s very public remarks, once again blaming Comey5 for her election loss: “If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president. It wasn’t a perfect campaign, but I was on the way to winning until a combination of Comey’s letter and Russian WikiLeaks. The reason why I believe we lost were the intervening events in the last 10 days.”

Second would be that Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, to whom Comey directly reported, was just installed at the Department of Justice.

Tuesday, bolstered by Clinton’s blame game, Attorney General Jeff Sessions endorsed a memorandum from Rosenstein6 that Comey should be fired based on his handling of the Clinton investigation last July2 and then again just before the election7.

According to Andrew McCarthy8, a former federal prosecutor and longtime friend of Jim Comey, “The memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to explain Comey’s dismissal Tuesday is well crafted and will make it very difficult for Democrats to attack President Trump’s decision. Rosenstein bases the decision not merely on Comey’s much discussed missteps in the Clinton e-mails investigation — viz., usurping the authority of the attorney general to close the case without prosecution; failing to avail himself of the normal procedures for raising concerns about Attorney General Lynch’s conflict of interest. He goes on specifically to rebuke Comey’s ‘gratuitous’ release of ‘derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal prosecution.’ That ‘subject,’ of course, would be Mrs. Clinton.”

McCarthy notes, “This is exactly the line of attack Democrats have adopted since Clinton lost the election: Conveniently forget how ecstatic they were over Comey’s confident public assessment that the case was not worth charging, and remember only his scathing public description of the evidence — even though both were improper. Significantly, Rosenstein avoids any suggestion that Comey was wrong in concluding Clinton should not be indicted; nor does he in any way imply that Comey’s errors made it impossible to bring a wrongdoer to justice. … Instead, Clinton is portrayed as a victim. This will appeal to Democrats — especially since it will keep alive the fiction that Comey, rather than Clinton herself, is responsible for the Democrats' stunning electoral defeat.”

McCarthy is correct in his assessment of why Comey should have been fired — and indeed, by his then-boss Barack Obama, though that would have appeared like Obama was covering for Clinton (not that the mainstream media would have noticed). But the Demo/MSM alliance will have a field day insisting the firing was to subvert investigations into the alleged Trump-Putin connection.

Notably, in Trump’s letter of dismissal to Comey, he wrote: “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau. It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission.”

Despite tying Comey’s dismissal to Clinton’s claims, the DemoDrama “Nixonian memo” protests were instant.

“This is Nixonian!” protested Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) declared that Trump fired Comey “in the midst of one of the most critical national security investigations in the history of our country — one that implicates senior officials in the Trump campaign and administration. This is nothing less than Nixonian.”

Oh the horrors!

Thus begins a massive spin cycle to try and keep the Russian narrative alive.

But any Democrat or MSM talkinghead who mentions Trump and Russia in the same sentence is nothing more than a pandering dezinformatsiya propagandist. Clearly and demonstrably, while their socialist icon Barack Obama had a long history of ties to radical communist mentors and Marxist benefactors9, Trump does not.

And a final note: There have been 11 FBI directors in its history. Only one other was fired — its fourth director, former federal judge William Sessions. He was fired by Bill Clinton in 1993, and it is no small irony that Comey’s firing now is in part directly related to Bill Clinton’s nefarious meeting with Obama’s former AG, Loretta Lynch10 at the height of the Department of Justice investigation into Hillary Clinton.

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

America’s Growing ‘Gun Gap’11

A new study12 out of the University of Kansas confirms what many have anecdotally known — a majority of gun owners vote Republican. What may be news, however, is the growing “gun gap.” That term is a reference to the disparity in the percentage of gun owners who identify with either Democrat or Republican parties. The study found that while the percentage of gun owners who vote Republican since 1973 has remained relatively constant, the number of gun owners voting Democrat has dropped significantly.

Over the last three presidential elections the gap has grown, with the highest disparity seen in 2012 — a 30 percentage-point difference. And for three consecutive presidential elections the Republican candidate has seen the percentage of gun owner votes garnered steadily increase, with 62% of gun owners voting for Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, gun ownership among Democrats and Independents has been steadily dropping, primarily due to leftists' campaign to negatively stigmatize gun ownership, as well as their outright demonization of those, such as the NRA13, who fight to protect Americans' Second Amendment rights.

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-10-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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However, as lawlessness and crime increase, especially in large Democrat-run urban poverty plantations14, more individuals will appreciate the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in recognizing the right of every citizen to have the power to arm and protect themselves against threats, whether it be from criminals or tyrants. In fact, firearms instructors around the country are reporting an increase in the number of black women seeking firearms training15 for self-defense. That notwithstanding, so long as Democrats continue to fight against Second Amendment rights, one can expect to see the gun gap only increase.

Oregon and Speech Control16

An interesting story comes out of Oregon that highlights yet again the importance of protecting our First Amendment rights. Mats Jarlstrom immigrated to the U.S. from Sweden in 1992, where he had worked as an electronics engineer. Fast-forward to April 2013, when his wife received a ticket for having run a red light — an infraction caught by a traffic camera. While the Jarlstroms paid the fine, Mats had a question sparked by both curiosity and concerns over safety.

Jarlstrom decided to look into the formula created in 1959 used to calculate the length of time traffic lights lit up yellow before switching to red. Through his research he determined that the timeframe for yellow to red did not rightly account for the length of time needed for a car to slow down enough to safely navigate a right-hand turn at an intersection. Jarlstrom said, “Currently, people are getting tickets for running red lights because they’re slowing down when they’re making turns. It’s a safety issue because any time we run a red light, we’re in the intersection for the wrong reason, and there is cross traffic, and especially pedestrians are in danger.”

Jarlstrom decided to make his findings public. He shared them with local media, the sheriff’s department, policymakers and the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying. What happened next was not anything Jarlstrom expected. The state board alerted him that they were opening up an investigation for his having used the title “electronics engineer” and his statement “I’m an engineer.” After two years, the board concluded its investigation and fined him $500. The reason given was that he was not a licensed engineer in the state of Oregon.

This episode exposes one of the dangers of government cronyism. Fining an individual for expressing an opinion on a subject merely because he does not have a state-authorized license violates freedom of speech. Moreover, Jarlstrom does indeed have an engineering degree, so it’s not as if he’s unfamiliar with the science. But even if he didn’t have that degree, what right does the government have to essentially punish someone for speaking their mind?

Sam Gedge, a lawyer from the Institute for Justice, has taken Jarlstrom’s case and is challenging the state board’s ruling. Gedge called the case a “classic First Amendment issue,” stating, “The government can’t punish people for expressing their concerns. The government can’t take words and redefine them and then punish people for using them in a way the government doesn’t like.”

Then again, Oregon is the state that fined the bakers17 who declined to cater a same-sex wedding. That bakery closed — silenced by the power of the state. In that context, a little red light dispute isn’t all that surprising.

Top Headlines18

Trump set to meet with Russia’s top diplomat at White House. (Fox News19)

ACLU lawyer: Trump’s travel ban might be constitutional if ordered by Hillary Clinton. (Hot Air20)

Trump’s immigration enforcement helps slow illegal border crossings by 76%. (The Washington Times21)

Los Angeles resolution makes public schools sanctuaries from ICE. (Fox News22)

Mexico now world’s deadliest conflict zone after Syria. (Bloomberg23)

Chicago logs its 200th homicide of the year. (Chicago Tribune24)

Black professor at Texas A&M University: When is it OK to kill whites? (The American Conservative25)

Connecticut health insurance request average premium rate hikes as high as 52%. (The Washington Free Beacon26)

Vet says he nearly operated on himself when VA wouldn’t pay medical bill. (Fox Boston27)

Satire: ISIS flag added to “coexist” stickers. (The Babylon Bee28.)

Policy: Liberals pining for (single-payer) universal Medicaid-for-all. (Townhall29)

Policy: The feminization of everything fails our boys. (National Review30)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report31.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

With AHCA, Americans Must Choose Between Socialism and Liberty32 — Is America on the road to socialized health care? Perhaps — because Democrats have changed the terms of debate.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Star Parker: A RyanCare Fix for Medicaid33
Byron York: Spending Bill, Not ObamaCare, Reveals Deep GOP Division34
Ben Shapiro: Racism Is Only Racism if It Comes From Groups the Left Hates35

For more, visit Right Opinion36.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Star Parker: “University of Michigan economist and blogger Mark Perry points out that from 1998 to 2016, the overall consumer price index increased by 47.2 percent. But over the same period, prices for medical services went up 100.5 percent and for hospital services 176.6 percent. Why did health care costs increase two to three times more than everything else? Because hardly anyone pays their own bills. There is no market discipline. Health care markets are distorted from top to bottom by government, regulations and bureaucrats. Nothing is more personal than health care; sadly, in no marketplace are individuals less in control of their own selves. Insurance companies and government decides what you can and can’t buy and what you pay in this totally regulated and bureaucratized business. Perry notes that from 1960 to 2016, the percent of all health care expenditures that were paid by third parties — insurance companies or the government — went from 52.4 percent to 89.5 percent. Perry also notes that prices for the 20 most popular cosmetic medical procedures — various cosmetic surgeries, liposuction, Botox injections, etc. — went up just 32 percent from 1998 to 2016, less than the rate of inflation. Why? Cosmetic procedures are mostly elective. Individuals pay the bill, not a third party. … Those on the Left and those making money off the current program are not interested that we are going bankrupt.”

SHORT CUTS

For the record: “Those who are convinced that Trump is building a dictatorship will assume that [FBI Director James] Comey was fired because he got too close to finding the ‘smoking gun’ that allegedly links Trump to Russia. Those for whom Trump can do no wrong will assume that the president is merely ‘draining the swamp.’ Everyone else will fall somewhere in the middle.” —Charles C.W. Cooke

Braying Jackass: “[Trump fired Comey] in the midst of one of the most critical national security investigations in the history of our country — one that implicates senior officials in the Trump campaign and administration. This is nothing less than Nixonian.” —Sen. Pat Leahy

Political futures: “[Hillary Clinton] could still make a go of it [in 2020], but it would probably be much more difficult to win the nomination, and she would risk embarrassing herself. It is bad enough that she is the woman who lost to Trump. The 2020 cycle will likely include several female Democratic candidates not named Clinton. Imagine if Hillary also became the woman who lost to the woman who really broke the presidential glass ceiling.” —Peter Spiliakos

Lecturer in chief: “You get the politicians you deserve. And if you don’t vote and you don’t participate and you don’t pay attention, then you’ll get policies that don’t reflect your interests.” —Barack Obama

Non Compos Mentis: “What made me understand leadership was when I could see somebody who thought they didn’t have a voice, thought they didn’t have influence or didn’t have power, and teach them how to speak up on the things that were affecting their lives.” —Barack Obama, who still has the delusional idea that he’s a “leader”

Alpha Jackass: “I think that Jeff Sessions is very dangerous. I think he’s a racist, and I think that he absolutely believes that it’s his job to keep minorities in their place.” —Maxine Waters

Late-night humor: “According to a new report, Senator Bernie Sanders’s wife Jane Sanders is being investigated by the FBI for alleged bank fraud. Even worse, her husband is being investigated by his local deli for alleged Splenda theft. ‘These should be free!’” —Seth Meyers

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.