The Patriot Post Digest 5-30-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-30-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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Mid-Day Digest

May 30, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

When Angela Merkel makes pronouncements, treat it like Barack Obama talking.
The media’s latest target is Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Same story, different day.
There’s plenty to appreciate about Trump’s budget proposal.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, (I conjure you to believe me fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government.” —George Washington (1796)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Merkel Bemoans U.S. Leadership Under Trump1

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a campaign stop upon returning from the recent G7 Summit in Brussels, and she took the opportunity to fire a shot at the U.S. Last week, President Donald Trump called out European countries2 for failing to live up to their agreed upon military spending commitments in support of NATO, and he also refused to commit to the Paris climate change deal signed by Barack Obama. Thus, Merkel declared, “The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. I’ve experienced that in the last few days. We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands.”

First, it’s important to note the context of her statement. Merkel is in the midst of what has been a rather contentious campaign season. Her audience was a crowd of fervent supporters whose opinions of Trump are akin to those on the American Left. Therefore, she’s clearly playing to the crowd as well as expressing her own frustration with Trump.

Second, Merkel is a globalist like Obama. Just last week, Obama tag-teamed with the German chancellor to promote his Obama Foundation, which is basically an organization dedicated to the promotion of globalism. In essence, Merkel is Europe’s Obama, as both share the same views on policy.

Third, Trump has effectively communicated that the U.S. will reassert its leadership role in both NATO and the rest of the world. No more of Obama’s dismally failed “leading from behind” nonsense. In fact, it’s ironic that Merkel’s allegation of Europeans being left to fend for themselves ignores the fact that such abandonment is exactly what has been occurring for the past eight years. Now that Trump steps up to reassert American leadership — in a direction not congruent with Merkel’s political views — there is the veiled implication of betrayal.

But the betrayal lies not with Trump calling out European leaders. Looking at Europe during Merkel’s time at the helm of the continent’s most powerful country, it’s not difficult to understand why so many Europeans are turning to populist political movements. Their leaders have failed to prioritize national sovereignty and the rights of citizens over foreigners. So while our mainstream media frets over Trump’s effect on relations with Germany, the real takeaway is that he’s ruffling the right feathers.

New Media Target: Jared Kushner3

Not a day goes by that some Leftmedia outlet doesn’t run a hit piece on Donald Trump’s administration, usually in conjunction to supposed “collusion” with Russia. “Jared Kushner represents new front in Trump’s Russia tangle,” screams The Washington Post headline. The trouble is there’s often a shred — if only a shred — of substance to the charges, which makes them harder to rebut. This time it’s the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who’s in the media’s crosshairs.

Kushner, a 36-year-old real estate investor and developer, is one of Trump’s senior advisers — and one of the furthest left, at that. He has no particular expertise that suits him to his West Wing role, other than being related to the president. And the trouble evidently started even before Trump’s inauguration.

National Review’s Andrew McCarthy writes4, “[Kushner] has no national-security or diplomatic experience, however, but was nonetheless chosen to represent the then-president-elect at a Trump Tower meeting with Russia’s ambassador the United States. That would be Sergey Kislyak, a wily Soviet-apparatchik-turned-Putin-operative, who has been at the game of picking America’s pocket for longer than Kushner has been alive. Retired general Michael Flynn, who was slated to become Trump’s national-security adviser, was also at the meeting. On the agenda was the establishment of a back channel for Trump-administration dealings with the Kremlin. In particular, according to the New York Times, the Trump transition team wanted Flynn to have access to a Russian counterpart to discuss Syria and other issues of mutual interest.”

Moreover, Kushner reportedly discussed (whether it was his proposal or the Russians' is unclear) channeling communications through Russian diplomatic facilities in the U.S. In other words, Russian intelligence could have access to those conversations but American intelligence would not.

Back channels aren’t unusual in and of themselves, and neither is working with a geopolitical foe like Russia on areas of mutual interest. But the reported handling of it is colossally naïve — if the reports are true. After all, it’s worth emphasizing that The New York Times and The Washington Post continue to depend upon anonymous sources, and the Times couldn’t confirm the Post’s report.

A couple of questions: If Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia, why was setting up a back channel in December even necessary? It doesn’t appear to have been successful in any case. And why does the media obsess over this story about a meeting known to the FBI for months when Kushner is not the subject of any investigation? With nothing illegal alleged against a guy who’s not being investigated, what’s all the fuss about? We’ll say it again: The media’s Resistance™ is a strategic part of the mission to delegitimize Trump and derail his agenda. All the better when the mark is Trump’s family.

Top Headlines5

President Trump honors fallen soldiers, gives Memorial Day Address at Arlington National Cemetery. (Fox News6)

Trump’s communications director Mike Dubke has resigned. (ABC News7)

While other controversies rage, work on border wall moves forward. (Washington Examiner8.)

The possible reasons big corporations are so eager for Trump to break his promise on Paris climate deal. (The Daily Signal9)

Thousands drop off food stamp rolls in Georgia after state implements work requirements. (Breitbart10)

California single-payer health11 bill passes out of committee … without any explanation of funding it. (The Sacramento Bee12)

Bin Laden’s son steps into father’s shoes as al-Qaida attempts a comeback. (Chicago Tribune13)

Manuel Noriega, former Panama dictator, dead at 83. (Fox News14)

Soon, social media sites will decide what “real news” is. (The Daily Wire15)

UCLA students say “free speech is under attack” and a conservative professor is the target. (Los Angeles Daily News16)

Policy: Campus double standards mean free speech laws are just a start. (National Review17)

Policy: Trump’s food stamp reform would close the trap of dependency. (The Daily Signal18.)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report19.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Trump’s Budget Positives20

By James Shott

President Donald Trump released his first budget proposal21 last week, while Trump was on his first overseas trip22 visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican and NATO. Trump’s $4.1 trillion budget plan is titled “A New Foundation for American Greatness.”

Predictably, upon its release Democrats burst forth to condemn the budget. A couple of congressional Democrats eagerly, and with as much flourish as they could muster, termed the proposal “dead on arrival” which, like so much of what they say, is much ado about nothing. Every budget proposal from every president is “dead on arrival,” the word “proposal” being the operative word. A president’s proposal is merely his desired starting point.

Since you can’t change the channel without seeing the negative coverage of everything Trump says or does, this article will summarize the positive elements of the proposal.

First, House Speaker Paul Ryan said in support of the budget plan, “We can finally turn the page on the Obama era of bloated budgets that never balance.” Furthermore, he said, “President Trump has proven his commitment to fiscal responsibility with a budget that … prioritizes American taxpayers over bureaucrats in Washington.”

Regarding budgeted income redistribution, White House budget Director Mick Mulvaney notes, “There’s not a single thing [cut] from Social Security or Medicare. Why? Because that’s what [President Trump] promised.” However, other programs such as Medicaid and food stamps will see cuts — which, of course, has leftists screaming about Trump supposedly robbing the poor23.

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-30-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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“We look at spending differently,” Mulvaney explained. “We are not going to measure compassion by the number of programs or [the number of] people on them.” How refreshing after eight years of being told the only good thing in the world is a government handout.

Trump’s proposal focuses on national defense areas by boosting spending on the military and border security. Focusing on national defense through restoring the military and tightening our borders are badly needed corrections to critical failures and strategic objectives of Barack Obama’s administration. The last eight years saw serious weakening of the military and policies that encouraged illegal entry into the country.

While Obama foolishly reduced the size and strength of all military forces, the Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano wrote two years ago24, “[The] most neglected of all U.S. national security elements are our strategic forces. Here, President Obama has reined in development and deployment of ballistic missile defenses,” and “cut all advanced missile defense programs designed to keep the United States ahead of the ballistic missile threat in the future.” And, “to curry favor with Russia, he pulled the plug on planned missile defense installations in Poland and the Czech Republic, simultaneously alienating those allies while displaying weakness to Moscow.”

The plan addresses the dangerously high national debt of nearly $20 trillion. It takes a fiscally responsible approach aimed at beginning the process of reducing the large annual deficits to zero in 10 years, and perhaps produce a relatively small surplus by 2027.

While this year’s deficit will be a little higher than last year’s, the initiatives contained in the plan will turn the habit of annual deficits around, if they are successful. Trump depends upon producing growth in our economy. Although many economists say his goals are too optimistic, that doesn’t mean his proposals won’t free the economy to grow more than it did over the last eight years.

Trump’s budget depends on major modifications to the tax system. His plans include reducing individual income tax brackets25 from seven to three with rates of 10%, 25% and 35%, and eliminating many tax breaks to balance the loss of income to the Treasury from lower tax rates. His corporate tax rate cuts26 likewise would lay a foundation for growth.

Lower rates are a good thing; they leave taxpayers with more spendable dollars, which increases consumer spending and spurs economic activity that produces jobs. New jobs produce additional taxpayers and increase tax collections. It’s so simple it’s no wonder leftists have such a hard time understanding it.

Big-government types believe cuts in federal spending are always a bad thing. But cuts can be made without hurting people who truly need the government payments they receive.

The Trump proposal cuts almost $3.6 trillion from an array of benefit programs, domestic agencies and war spending over the coming decade, including Medicaid, student loan subsidies, food stamps, and the highway formula for the states. And yet, “We are not kicking anybody off any program who needs it,” said Mulvaney, who explained that the proposal doesn’t cut Medicaid, just grows it more slowly over 10 years.

Cutting “waste, fraud and abuse” is a favorite trope of politicians from both sides of the political aisle. But that doesn’t much such waste is a fantasy. Rather, it accounts for billions of dollars of federal spending annually that accomplish nothing.

GovTechWorks.com reports27 on federal estimates: “Improper payments account for about 5 cents of every Medicaid dollar … or about $29.1 billion of the $547.7 billion program in 2015 alone,” through intentional deception or misrepresentation; inappropriate use of services and resources; and practices inconsistent with sound fiscal, business or medical practices.

And that’s just one federal program. Ending or reducing those problems will go a long way to counter spending cuts.

Those who believe the federal government cannot spend less and accomplish just as much good are living in Fantasy Land. Too many people automatically believe the scare mongering of those who profit politically from supporting high levels of spending. While Trump’s budget is far from perfect, it does lay out some steps that would get the nation going in the right direction. The ball is now in Congress’s court.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Islamic Terrorists and Their Progressive Enablers28 — Radical Islam is a death cult, and progressive ideology is a suicide cult. Blending the two is obviously deadly.
Chicago’s Great Population Purge29 — What happens when gang violence, high homicide rates and statism mix? You get a great population exodus.
Farmer Fined For Plowing His Own Field30 — Once again, onerous and unnecessary regulations work to limit rather than protect individual freedoms.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Ken Blackwell: Maxine Waters: The Left’s Best Against Donald Trump?31
Stephen Moore: No, Trump Didn’t Cause ObamaCare to Fail32
Cal Thomas: Terrorism’s ‘Groundhog Day’ Scenario33
George Will: How to Restore American Self-Reliance34

For more, visit Right Opinion35.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Stephen Moore: “It is true that many of the insurers say one reason they are leaving the exchanges is because of ‘uncertainty’ about what will happen with the insurance market next year. But Hillary Clinton would have been facing the same crisis. It is the height of anti-Trump derangement to say that Trump caused that uncertainty. How in the world can you blame the growth of a cancerous tumor on the doctor who is brought in to treat it? Republicans have to do a much better job of explaining their plan and providing Americans better and cheaper options. But liberals have to get over themselves and acknowledge that Obamacare is long beyond fixable. … By the end of the year we could have nearly half the country without insurers if this spiral continues. What we have here is the domestic policy equivalent of the Bay of Pigs. And make no mistake about it: This calamity is Obama’s legacy, not Trump’s.”

SHORT CUTS

The Gipper: “Freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we — in a less final, less heroic way — be willing to give of ourselves.”

Upright: “I encourage you to continue to practice the discipline of self-control. There’s an old proverb that says, ‘Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.’ I truly believe that commanding others first begins with being able to command yourself. Discipline is the foundation of leadership.” —Mike Pence at the Naval Academy

Braying Jenny: “Look, we have an advocacy press on the Right that has done a really good job for the last 25 years. They have a mission. They use the rights given to them under the First Amendment to advocate a set of policies that are in their interests, their commercial, corporate, religious interests. Because the advocacy media occupies the Right, and the center needs to be focused on providing as accurate information as possible. Not both-sides-ism and not false equivalency.” —Hillary Clinton

Lack of self-awareness 101: “[America’s fragmented media and modern communications technology] make it easier than ever to splinter ourselves into echo chambers. We can shut out contrary voices, avoid ever questioning our basic assumptions. Extreme views are given powerful microphones.” —Hillary Clinton … via a powerful microphone at an all-women’s college graduation

A blind squirrel finds a nut: “There is also an anti-intellectualism on the Left. An attitude of self-righteousness that says we are so pure, we are so morally superior; we cannot bear to hear an idea with which we disagree. Liberals think they are tolerant but often they aren’t. … American universities today seemed committed to every type of diversity except intellectual diversity.” —Leftmedia talkinghead Fareed Zakaria

Fear itself: “Nothing. I keep other people awake at night.” —Defense Secretary James “Mad Dog” Mattis responding to a question about what keeps him awake at night

And last… “A lot of talk about ‘privilege,’ but we need more talk about duty and what we can do to honor what were given by the sacrifice of others.” —Frank Fleming

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.