The Patriot Post Digest 9-15-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-15-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Sep. 15, 2017 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/51318

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Harvard University wanted to honor traitor Bradley Manning. It backfired.
Berkeley’s campus fascists couldn’t stop a Jew from speaking freely.
Civics ignorance presents an enormous threat to our Constitution.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy.” —Samuel Adams (1779)

IN BRIEF

Harvard Reverses After Bradley Backlash1

Early this morning, Douglas Elmendorf, dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School, rescinded2 the visiting fellow invitation previously given to Bradley (a.k.a. “Chelsea”) Manning. Saying that it was a “mistake,” Elmendorf also stated, “We are withdrawing the invitation to her [sic] to serve as a Visiting Fellow — and the perceived honor that it implies to some people — while maintaining the invitation for her [sic] to spend a day at the Kennedy School and speak in the Forum.” He continued, “I apologize to her [sic] and to the many concerned people from whom I have heard today for not recognizing upfront the full implications of our original invitation. This decision now is not intended as a compromise between competing interest groups but as the correct way for the Kennedy School to emphasize its longstanding approach to visiting speakers while recognizing that the title of Visiting Fellow implies a certain recognition.”

Harvard’s reversal comes one day after former acting CIA Director Michael Morell resigned his non-resident senior fellow position at the Ivy League school in protest over the university’s announcement on Wednesday that it had invited Manning to be its “first transgender Fellow” this fall semester. Morell wrote, “Unfortunately, I cannot be part of an organization — that honors a convicted felon and leaker of classified information.” Morell wasn’t the only Harvard affiliate to offer protest, either. Current CIA Director Mike Pompeo declined an invitation to speak at the university, issuing the following statement:

After much deliberation in the wake of Harvard’s announcement of American traitor Chelsea [sic] Manning as a visiting fellow at the Institute of Politics, my conscience and duty to the men and women at the Central Intelligence Agency will not permit me to betray their trust by appearing to support Harvard’s decision with my appearance at tonight’s event.

Clearly, Harvard’s initial decision to invite Manning was intended as a means of celebrating the school’s transgender “wokeness3” — the hip new word for being socially conscious. Never mind the fact that Manning is a traitor4 whose actions endangered the lives of countless individuals and undermined the security of this nation. This is a classic example of an organization so committed to an ideology that it has become blind to truth and reality. Were Manning merely a straight man who’d betrayed his country, Harvard wouldn’t have given him the time of day. And this is an Ivy League school, supposedly home to some of America’s brightest minds. Harvard should be ashamed of itself for this egregious display of anti-American bigotry.

‘Anti-Fascist’ Fascists Fail to Stop Jewish Speech at Berkeley5

As we noted earlier this week, the University of California-Berkeley was ramping up security6 in anticipation of “antifa7” (read: fascist) violence at a speech by conservative writer Ben Shapiro. In a statement last week, the school declared, “No one should be made to feel threatened or harassed simply because of who they are or for what they believe.” Of course, the university was not referring to conservative speakers but to snowflake students. The statement prefaced that declaration with this: “We are deeply concerned about the impact some speakers may have on individuals’ sense of safety and belonging.” In fact, “support services are being offered and encouraged.” That means counseling for students “offended” by the mere presence of a differing viewpoint. Or maybe the school wants to help fascists who hate Jews like Shapiro.

Well, thanks to riot police on hand, six buildings shut down, a perimeter of blockades, checks of all ticketholders and an estimated $600,000 spent on security, Shapiro was actually allowed to speak without much incident8 Thursday night. How astounding that such is the cost of free speech at a public university in America.

In other Berkeley news, the university was just awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Park Service to compile historical information intended to “honor the legacy” of the Black Panther Party. Yes, that would be the racist and Marxist revolutionary group that the FBI describes9 as having “advocated the use of violence and guerilla tactics to overthrow the U.S. government.” According to the funding announcement, the “cooperative research project … is anchored in historical methods, visual culture, and the preservation of sites and voices.” Who’s in charge at the Park Service? Michael Reynolds, one of Barack Obama’s many holdovers.

With this kind of garbage passing for “higher education” at these bastions of leftist indoctrination and intolerance, is it any wonder that enrollments and budgets are falling short10?

Top Headlines11

NoKo sociopath Kim Jong-un12 launched another missile over Japan, deepening regional tension (Reuters13)

Ryan dismisses rumored DACA deal between Trump and Democrats (The Washington Post14)

Did Susan Rice lie about unmasking, again? (National Review15)

FBI reversal: Bureau will release more Clinton investigation docs (The Washington Times16)

Obama’s “Rich and Famous17” luxury travel costs now $105,662,975 (Judicial Watch18.)

London Underground blast is terror “incident” (BBC19)

Russia, China playing major role in keeping Venezuela afloat (The Washington Free Beacon20)

California legislature passes bill to punish elder-care workers who don’t use trans pronouns (The Federalist21)

Equifax had patch 2 months before hack and didn’t install it, security group says (USA Today22)

Humor: UC Berkeley “opposing view” alarms blaring as conservative speaker arrives on campus (The Babylon Bee23)

Policy: Who pays for the Arms Trade Treaty? You do. (The Daily Signal24)

Policy: Life is getting better for the average American (American Enterprise Institute25)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report26.

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Civics Ignorance Is Enormous Threat to Constitution27

By Brian Mark Weber

During a year in which national politics has dominated the 24-hour news cycle, one might think Americans are more in touch with the Constitution than ever before. But the reality is just the opposite. As we approach the 230th anniversary of the ratification of our Constitution on Sept. 17, we should consider mourning the document’s demise as much as celebrating its relevance after so many years.

Brace yourselves: The numbers aren’t pretty.

According28 to the Annenberg Public Policy Center, “Only 26 percent of respondents can name the three branches of government, the same result as last year. People who identified themselves as conservatives were significantly more likely to name all three branches correctly than liberals and moderates. The 26 percent total was down significantly from APPC’s first survey on this question, in 2011, when 38 percent could name all three. In the current survey, 33 percent could not name any of the three branches, the same as in 2011.”

You might say it’s not a big problem if citizens aren’t able to identify the three branches of government as long as they’re aware of their basic rights. After all, we’ve witnessed plenty of protests across the country in recent years made up of disgruntled and badly parented youth7 demanding their rights, so they must know what’s in the Constitution, right?

Unfortunately, when it comes to the rights enshrined in the Constitution, the numbers are even worse. As the APPC poll reveals28, “Nearly half of those surveyed (48 percent) say that freedom of speech is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. But, unprompted, 37 percent could not name any First Amendment rights. And far fewer people could name the other First Amendment rights: 15 percent of respondents say freedom of religion; 14 percent say freedom of the press; 10 percent say the right of assembly; and only 3 percent say the right to petition the government.” Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Nearly 40% of all Americans surveyed couldn’t name a single right in the First Amendment.

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-15-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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We don’t need a citizenry made up of constitutional experts, but how can we expect voters to make informed decisions if they know next to nothing about our system of government or their rights under the Constitution? How can we as Americans ever hope to protect our cherished rights if we don’t even know what they are?

Rather than keeping an eye on those in power and making sure that they’re protecting our Constitution, we’re blind to what’s happening in the halls of whatever that branch is that makes laws. One of the consequences of our hyper-political mindset is that those who do know what’s in our Constitution often take advantage of the masses by proposing ideas that are clearly in violation of that same document.

We’d like to think that our middle schools, high schools, and even colleges and universities are providing students with at least a basic understanding of our government and Constitution. Educating young citizens is perhaps the most critical part of ensuring that future generations will be ready to protect and defend our nation’s ideals and principles.

The problem is that many schools either don’t teach civics, or teach it the wrong way, or teach it in a politicized manner. Compounding this, universities today are more interested in turning students into political activists than knowledgeable citizens who value the ideals upon which our country was founded. As a result, Americans have a lot to say about “rights” that their teachers and professors have conjured up, but they know nothing about the rights in the Constitution.

But let’s not put all of this on our education system. During turbulent times in our nation’s past, we took solace in knowing that those in power were there to defend our sacred documents. Not today. In 2012, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “I would not look to the U.S. Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012.”

And in 2014, Barack Obama told the United Nations General Assembly that “on issue after issue, we cannot rely on a rulebook written for a different century,” a clear allusion to the Constitution that leftists believe is outdated and places too many restrictions on government power.

It seems that year after year we predict the demise of the Constitution, but as its anniversary approaches, perhaps we should look for a glimmer of hope. There are new initiatives29 springing up around the country that encourage the teaching of civics and require students to pass a civics examination.

Over the years, we in our humble shop have distributed more than one million pocket Constitutions30 toward the end of educating our fellow citizens.

And just this year, President Donald Trump appointed a constitutionalist to the Supreme Court in Neil Gorsuch, and there may be more to follow in the coming years. But a more constructionist Supreme Court is just a start; we have to prepare a new generation to stand up for the Constitution not only in government but also throughout society.

While the recent downward trend in knowledge about our Constitution is troubling, we cannot surrender our solemn obligation to support and defend a document whose ideas have blessed us for 230 years. As our Founders overcame great obstacles in ratifying the Constitution, we too must remain steadfast in educating our citizenry. Only then can we support and defend the framework of our republican system of government and our precious natural rights.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Time for Single-Payer Health Care? Nope31 — Bernie Sanders once warned it would “bankrupt the nation.” Now he’s proposing to do it.
Hillary ‘I Won’ Clinton32 — The serial second place winner says that, contrary to the results, “I won.” Memo to Hillary: That’s not “What Happened.”
Dem IT Scandal Takes a Clintonesque Turn33 — The Awans were re-routing information and falsifying evidence. And Wasserman Schultz knows something.
Dems Ignoring Their Menendez Problem34 — Senate Democrats are in danger of losing another seat — even before the 2018 midterm.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Davis Harsanyi: Yes, Hillary, the Media Did Help Trump Win. So Did You.35
Erick Erickson: The More Important Things36
Michael Reagan: Why NFL Games Are Unwatchable37
Mona Charen: Do Conservatives Take Rape Seriously?38

For more, visit Right Opinion39.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Michael Reagan: “‘National Football League TV ratings down 13 percent in Week 1.’ ‘NFL ratings in free fall.’ Those headlines don’t surprise me one bit. But the NFL’s rapidly declining popularity has nothing to do with televising too many games a week, too many commercials, too much violence or too many mediocre teams. It has everything to do with politics — liberal politics. … On Sunday, Monday and Thursday the first thing you see when you tune in to a pro game are players taking a knee during the ‘National Anthem’ because of some political reason. I don’t care what the quarterback, the head coach or the owner of the team thinks or tweets about politics, the president or the Steven King movie ‘It.’ All I care is, ‘Are you going to win or lose? Can you pass, catch the ball or coach? Will the game be a good one?’ You wonder why so many people are so angry about politics these days? It’s because they can’t get away from it — not even for three hours on a Sunday afternoon for a dumb football game.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” —Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Upright: “[Leftist protesters] don’t wanna hear an alternative point of view on American university campuses, and they’re prepared to use violence to stop this from happening. They are gonna start protesting teachers. This is really going to spread. This is a very serious problem and it has to be stopped now at Berkeley, the home of the free speech movement. You can’t have ‘free speech for me but not for thee,’ which is the way many Berkeley professors and students want it.” —Alan Dershowitz

For the record: “The major media outlets, the Clinton campaign and the liberal punditry all got what they wanted: Trump. The problem was they also got Clinton. The media did cover the FBI investigation into Clinton’s emails and server. ‘It was a dumb mistake,’ Clinton now says. ‘I think it was a dumber scandal, but it hurt.’ This kind of attitude speaks to the entitlement she carried around with her.” —David Harsanyi

Dezinformatsiya: “[Government health care] works well in the UK or France or Canada or other countries. You get sick, you don’t have to worry about health insurance. You go to the doctor, you go to the doctor of your choice and you get treated. If it works well in all these other major industrialized countries, why wouldn’t it work well here?” —CNN’s Wolf Blitzer

Hindsight isn’t always 20/20: “If we expanded Medicaid [to] everybody … we would be spending such an astronomical sum of money that, you know, we would bankrupt the nation.” —Bernie Sanders in 1987

Good luck with that: “I think it [the Electoral College] needs to be eliminated. I’d like to see us move beyond it.” —Hillary Clinton

Delusions of grandeur: “I will say no.” —Hillary Clinton when asked, “Did you make enough mistakes yourself to lose the election?”

And last… “If Hillary Clinton was such a strong woman … why is she playing the victim?” —Tucker Carlson

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.