The Patriot Post Digest 8-31-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-31-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Aug. 31, 2017 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/51038

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Economic growth is up thanks to Trump’s policies, while the media hides it.
Palin’s defamation suit against the New York Times fails, though she had a good case.
Where has our courage gone as a culture? Beaten down by politically correct fascists.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“There exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity.” —George Washington (1789)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Impressive Economic Growth Steadily Continues1

The Commerce Department released its revised figures for U.S. gross domestic product in the second quarter, and there’s good news — GDP grew not 2.7% but 3.0%. In other words, the U.S. economy is growing faster than was initially thought, and Donald Trump’s ambitious target of 3.0% annual growth for 2017 is closer than many had believed legitimately possible. Now some economists are estimating that third-quarter growth could be has high as 3.4%, based on early job numbers from August. There is a word of caution here, as Hurricane Harvey’s devastation of Houston, America’s fourth largest city, is bound to produce a negative hit to the U.S. economy. But even so, many experts believe it will be minimal and short-lived.

Trump’s greatest contribution to the economy has been his focused Washington deregulation crusade2. It has saved Americans billions of dollars and has freed businesses from mountains of over-reaching, economically stifling regulations. But is this growth sustainable? This is where congressional action is needed in the form of tax reform.

Thus, on Wednesday, Trump kicked off his tax-reform push in a speech in Missouri by pressing Congress. Trump said, “This is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for everyday, hard-working Americans. And I am fully committed to working with Congress to get this job done. And I don’t want to be disappointed by Congress. Do you understand me?” He pushed for Democrats and Republicans to work together, stating, “What could possibly be more bipartisan than allowing Americans to keep more of what they earn and creating an environment for real job and wage growth in the country that we love so much?” Well, it would counteract Democrats’ class warfare strategy, for one thing.

On a final note, the good economic news was buried by The Washington Post on page 16 in “the digest” without even a headline. Evidently for the Post, good economic news in the era of Trump must die in darkness.

Judge Tosses Palin’s Defamation Suit Against NYT3

Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed Sarah Palin’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday. Rakoff explained his decision, stating, “Each and every item of alleged support for plaintiff’s [Palin’s] claim of actual malice consists either of gross supposition or of evidence so weak that, even together, these items cannot support the high degree of particularized proof that must be provided before plaintiff can be said to have adequately alleged clear and convincing evidence of actual malice.”

Recall that Palin brought the suit against the Times over its editorial this summer recycling4 the paper’s six-year-old and long-since debunked conclusion that the Tucson psychopath who in 2011 shot Rep. Gabby Giffords and 17 others, killing six people, was inspired by “crosshairs” on a map on Palin’s website. The Times wrote the piece in June following the attack5 of the crazed leftist on Republican congressmen at a baseball practice. It was a particularly shoddy piece of reporting that relied on accusations that had been thoroughly debunked years ago.

Yet while it’s clear the Times has no love for Palin, the First Amendment sets a high bar for public figures who seek to hold the press or individuals accountable for defamatory speech. As Rakoff stated, Palin needed to prove that the Times intentionally acted with “actual malice.” Instead, the judge determined that the Times’ actions amounted to a failure of due diligence resulting in negligent reporting rather than intentional malice. Knowing the Times, we’d heartily disagree, but attributing motive legally is rightfully a high bar. While the Times has been found innocent of malice, the paper certainly did not come out of this whole thing looking good. What does it say about quality control at The New York Times that it failed to do even basic homework before running a factually vacuous story? But seeing as it’s the Times, we would say it’s par for the course.

It’s obvious to us that the Times fallaciously referenced Palin in order to deflect any criticism of its negative reporting on Republicans prior to the crazed leftist’s attack on congressional Republicans. Palin had a good case in our estimation, but it’s hard to imagine a country in which public figures could more easily sue the press for unfavorable coverage. Truthfully, it’s a good thing that protections of First Amendment rights are set so high.

Top Headlines6

Neighbors helping neighbors in Texas — a snapshot of Americans united. (The Stream7)

Harvey death toll surpasses 30; more fatalities expected. (Associated Press8.)

Of course, the Demo/MSM9 has already decided Harvey is the result of “climate change10.” (The Washington Free Beacon11)

Trump’s tax reform plan can create millions of new jobs. (The Daily Signal12)

Americans spend more on taxes than food and clothing combined. (CNS News13)

Denmark lowers taxes to increase employment. (Bloomberg14)

Southern Poverty Law Center15 transfers millions in cash to offshore entities (The Washington Free Beacon16)

Wasserman Schultz IT staffer banned from House network months ago still has active account. (The Daily Signal17)

Federal judge temporarily blocks Texas law cracking down on sanctuary cities. (Paywall — The Wall Street Journal18.)

Dianne Feinstein calls for “patience” on Donald Trump. (The Washington Times19)

Policy: The U.S. tax system needs fundamental reform. (Republican National Committee20)

Policy: Disaster management has come a long way since Katrina. (City Journal21)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report22.
Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read Hate Profiteering: The SPLC Hate Hustlers15. “SPLC is a completely ersatz, phony leftwing lobbying group posing as a human rights organization.” —Tucker Carlson

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column by email, update your subscription here23.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Rediscovering Courage24

By Arnold Ahlert

“When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion.” —Eric Hoffer

Today, there is little doubt that cowardice — more often than not couched as a “reasonable” response to the demands of hateful, hysterical leftists — is not only respectable but very much in fashion.

In Memphis, the Orpheum Theater announced25 it will end a 34-year-old tradition of “Gone With the Wind” summertime screenings due to “specific inquiries from patrons.” In a statement, the theater company explained, “As an organization whose stated mission is to ‘entertain, educate and enlighten the communities it serves’, the Orpheum cannot show a film that is insensitive to a large segment of its local population.”

The hyper-sensitive local population to which the theater refers are ostensibly black Americans, who comprise approximately 64% of Memphis’ total population. Yet like most things progressive, the narrative doesn’t align with reality: A 2014 YouGov survey taken on the 75th anniversary of the picture revealed26 that 73% of black Americans rated the movie as great, very good or good. Nonetheless, Orpheum Theatre Group president Brett Batterson insisted the move was “about the Orpheum wanting to be inclusive and welcoming to all of Memphis.”

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-31-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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Both Batterson and a large majority of the theater’s board members are white, and all of them apparently miss the searing irony: Their insufferably paternalistic presumption that they know what’s best for black Americans resembles that of antebellum slave masters. Moreover their exhortations of inclusivity and welcomeness are nothing more than fashionable cowardice.

They are joined — or is that topped — by the cowards at California’s San Domenico School, who have decided their 167-year-old existence as a Dominican Catholic institution needed an “update” requiring the removal27 of approximately 162 Catholic icons and statues. The head of San Domenico’s board of trustees, Amy Skewes-Cox, again issued boilerplate progressive bromides to justify censorship. “If you walk on the campus and the first thing you confront is three or four statues of St. Dominic or St. Francis, it could be alienating for that other religion, and we didn’t want to further that feeling.”

She further stated28 the removals had nothing to do with the frenzy surrounding the removal of Confederate statues, or the rioting in Charlottesville, insisting the issues are “totally different” and have “absolutely no connection other than it is change, and people have a hard time with change.”

Change? Capitulation to political correctness is more like it. “In our time here,” explains29 the mother of one of the school’s students, “the word ‘Catholic’ has been removed from the mission statement30, sacraments were removed from the curriculum, the lower school curriculum was changed to world religions, the logo and colors were changed to be ‘less Catholic,’ and the uniform was changed to be less Catholic.”

The statues? “Pitched in the basement,” according to the parent of a former student. Catholic values clearly expressed in the Apostle’s Creed31? Pitched into oblivion by people too cowardly to stand up for their own faith.

Another group of cowards familiar to most Americans is the collection of self-aggrandizing Hollywood hacks who remained at last Sunday’s 2017 MTV Video Music Awards despite rapper YG’s song “FDT” (F—k Donald Trump) being played32 during the commercial breaks. One need only imagine the stampede that would have ensued had Barack Obama been subjected to anything remotely resembling the same treatment. Cowards are people who only respect the presidency — or the county itself — when “one of theirs” occupies the Oval Office.

That goes double for a society so afraid it won’t even prevent its children from being indoctrinated. Thus when a teacher at Sacramento’s Rocklin Academy Gateway staged33 a “transition ceremony” for a student in her kindergarten class — one that consisted of initially introducing him to his fellow kindergarteners as a boy, and then having him change into a dress and calling him by his new female name — it becomes infuriating when parents who contacted Fox News “asked that their identities remain anonymous in fear of retribution by folks in the community who disagree with them,” Fox reported34.

“What’s happening at Rocklin Academy is an example of how schools have become indoctrination grounds for the LGBT agenda,” writes35 Todd Starnes. “And the only way to stop the indoctrination is for moms and dads to take a stand.”

Not just moms and dads. Every American who’s sick and tired of having the progressive agenda rammed down their throats while they quietly acquiesce, ever fearful of consequences that only invite more boldness by those more than willing to destroy the nation itself, as long as they get to rule over what remains.

Even some conservatives miss the point. “Maybe if we grasp that, instead of getting hysterical over it, we can see why the loss of Robert E. Lee shouldn’t threaten Thomas Jefferson,” asserts36 National Review’s Andrew McCarthy.

But it does, and one is left to wonder how many outrages must be endured before such conservatives realize an incrementalist Left’s appetite for power and control is never satiated?

It’s time for decent Americans to fight back, using that same kind of incrementalism. Skip a Hollywood movie or concert. Pass on an NFL game, or stop patronizing progressive corporations that consider37 themselves the nation’s moral arbiters. Cancel a newspaper or cable company subscription.

No one has to do everything. But Americans should understand that small individual efforts make a collectively big difference. As progressives like to say, it’s time to live “woke.”

Let’s make courage fashionable again.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Right to Die or Will to Live38 — Examining euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is a delicate exercise but critical for culture.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Larry Elder: Confederate Monuments: The Problem With Politically Correct History39
Ann Coulter: Why the Media Are in a Never-Ending Hunt for Right-Wing Violence40
Victor Davis Hanson: Innocent Words (and Names) Are Under Attack41
Joe Bastardi: Hurricane Harvey: Nothing That We Didn’t Know42

For more, visit Right Opinion43.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Robert Steven Ingebo44: “I believe that the Democratic Party has unwittingly endangered itself with the constant repetition of its victimization narrative. It maintains that President Trump and the Republican Party are a group of wealthy capitalists tied to extremely wealthy shareholders of multinational companies and Wall Street banks, all having the same goal of increasing the oppression and victimization of minorities through institutional racism and economic inequality in order to achieve an ever-greater accumulation of wealth and power. Overplaying the victim card could eventually lead many of the Democratic minority voters, including the Millennials and others, to the conclusion that their party is involved in the same capitalistic system of institutional racism and white privilege the Democratic politicians are accusing the Republican Party of maintaining. If these voters reach the conclusion that they are being victimized by their own party, it’s possible that they could reject it altogether. If that were to occur, the Democratic Party would cease to be a viable, mainstream political party.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “Our society — unlike most in the world — presupposes that freedom and liberty are in a frame of reference that makes the individual, not government, the keeper of his tastes, beliefs, and ideas; that is the philosophy of the First Amendment; and it is this article of faith that sets us apart from most nations in the world.” —William O. Douglas (1898-1980)

Upright: “In totalitarian societies, cities change their names regularly. Statues go up and are torn down. Words, as the historian Thucydides warned 2,400 years ago, habitually change their meanings to reflect passing political orthodoxy — and thugs, commissars and brownshirts oversee the charade. For an antidote to these statue-smashers and name-changers, Americans seek just one honest public official who dares to say ‘no more’ — and arrests rather than appeases those who destroy public property, or shames those who ruin people through guilt by association.” —Victor Davis Hanson

Non Compos Mentis: “Banning individuals from serving based on gender identity is shameful and wrong — and it makes America less safe.” —Sen. Elizabeth “Identifies as Native American” Warren

Wrong prescription: “The Confederate flag represents some evil, represents secession and slavery and sedition and segregation. The Confederate flag must come down. The statues must come down. Electoral college must come down. We want a one person, one vote democracy.” —Jesse Jackson

Friendly fire: “Antifa activists’ deeds hardly promote the moral clarity necessary to isolate right-wing hate groups. Over time, such violence only benefits the very forces antifa purports to oppose. In terms of objective political impact, the group is badly misnamed: ‘Profa’ would be more accurate.” —Washington Post editorial board

And last… “It’s remarkable in retrospect how much people freaked out about the Tea Party, which had no organized violence to speak of.” —Washington Free Beacon’s Alex Griswold

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.