The Patriot Post Digest 1-9-2018

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-9-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Jan. 9, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/53341

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Don’t underestimate Oprah’s 2020 chances for a few reasons.
Unions aren’t just in the Left’s pocket, they’re corrupt, too.
Trump’s economic policies have lifted boats for minorities. Will they notice?
Ending temporary status for Salvadorans is a chess move in the game over DACA.
Another gun law “loophole” debunked.
Restoring military readiness is going to take time and money.
Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act. And never suppose that in any possible situation, or under any circumstances, it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing, however slightly so it may appear to you.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)

IN BRIEF

Oprah Could Win1

By Nate Jackson

Oprah Winfrey has never expressed interest in running for public office, and in fact has denied that she’ll ever do so. Yet after her Golden Globes speech Sunday, as we noted yesterday2, the Oprah 2020 bandwagon is in full swing. “It’s up to the people,” said her longtime “partner,” Stedman Graham. “She would absolutely do it.” We focused yesterday on Hollywood’s hypocrisy and cultural destruction, but there’s more there about Oprah’s theoretical presidential bid.

First of all, even into late 2015, many folks dismissed Donald Trump’s campaign because he was a television personality and a flash in the pan. The rest is history, so clearly no one should dismiss out of hand the idea that a celebrity with no governing experience could win.

On that score, The Washington Post featured an “analysis3” this morning blasting conservatives for hypocrisy because they supported inexperienced Trump but criticize unqualified Oprah. The Post’s take includes tweets from people citing Oprah’s — you guessed it — gender and race as the reason conservatives object. What the Post did not mention? That leftists rallied around Hillary Clinton because she was the Most Qualified Candidate in History™, but they will flock to Oprah’s banner should it actually be raised. That’s called team sport politics, and you play the game with the players you’ve got.

And Democrats don’t have very many players after Barack Obama decimated their bench4. That leaves quite the opening for Oprah to exploit.

As for the previous Democrat nominee, Rich Lowry offers the real reason conservatives should take Oprah seriously5: “If Hillary Clinton could deliver a political speech half as effectively as Oprah Winfrey, she might be president today.” Then again, he also argues, she may not wish to “make the plunge” because half the country would hate her and “she’d experience something that she’s never truly had to encounter: negative press.”

She’s already facing criticism for the hypocrisy of her speech Sunday. Not only has she been longtime pals with Harvey Weinstein, but she’s said nothing about the subject of sexual harassment or abuse for decades — at least not like she did Sunday. In fact, Juanita Broaddrick tweeted, “Funny I’ve never heard you mention my name. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Guess not. My rapist was/is your friend, Bill Clinton.”

Forget supposed conservative hypocrisy about Trump’s experience; Democrats own the trademark on hypocrisy. They would happily forget any silence over sexual abuse ever happened if they could follow a candidate who would enthrall female voters6 as Oprah surely could.

Exit quote: “Oprah would always be my first choice” as running mate. —Donald Trump in 1999

Exit link: “Remember, Oprah Winfrey Is Our Premier National Snake Oil Salesman7”

Add Union Reform to 2018 Laundry List8

By Jordan Candler

Democrat power players like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are hardly irresolute when it comes to praising Big Labor. To them, unions are the lifeblood to economic fairness and tranquility. To be fair, in truth and in theory, unions aren’t inherently disingenuous. The problem is that they’ve been hijacked by political activists and workers are stripped of true representation because, ironically, most workers have no voice. Their money is confiscated and used for purposes for which they might object. Moreover, the nature of how unions have evolved means they are also knee-deep in corruption.

The Detroit Free Press took a surprising look at some of this corruption in a Sunday analysis. The piece, titled “Embezzlement plagues union offices around U.S., records show9,” reports that financial fraud was uncovered in roughly 300 union workplaces over the two most recent years. According to the report, the amount of money stolen was a high as $6.5 million in a single instance. Of course, the Free Press cited other entities to make the point that theft occurs anywhere and everywhere, unionized or not. It quotes law professor Peter Henning, who says, “Unions are not unique. Another group hit hard by embezzlement are churches. You can’t train people to be ethical. It’s just access to money.”

Fair enough. But there’s also a huge difference: Unions are leftist fan favorites. Which means they are given the benefit of the doubt over and over and over again because too many lawmakers’ political survival and the Democrat Party in general are dependent on union support. For example, over a six-year span, a whopping $1.1 billion10 was confiscated from union members and handed to leftist activists. No matter what egregious behavior unions engage in, they’ll remain favored tools of Democrats. They have an advantage when it comes to getting away with corruption, just like Harvey Weinstein did in Hollywood. Why? Because the efforts they allegedly support with their money are more important than accountability.

Not every unionized worker wants Big Labor dictating the rules. Not to mention, who wants to be represented by fraudulent unions? A good place to begin changing the status quo would be implementing the Employee Rights Act. As the Washington Examiner editorializes11, “Imagine how much more impressed voters will find it if Republicans reform laws governing unions and workplace representation, which hasn’t been done for three generations.” The Employee Rights Act would instill secret-ballot elections and safeguard personally sensitive information. With more than two-thirds support among Americans, it’s a perfect starter package for helping to avoid cronyism.

Top Headlines12

House Intel Committee has received all docs on Trump dossier from DOJ, FBI (The Daily Caller13)

DOJ official who concealed meetings with Trump dossier figures loses another job title (Fox News14)

Trump administration to end temporary protected status for Salvadoran immigrants (The Washington Free Beacon15)

North, South Korea agree to resolve issues through dialogue (Reuters16)

Regulators reject Perry’s plan to help coal and nuclear plants (Bloomberg17)

Trump cheered at College Football National Championship Game, stands for anthem (RealClearPolitics18.)

Obamas criticized for lavish library plans (Fox News19)

Damore sues Google20, claims tech giant discriminates against white conservative men (Fox News21)

Finally, common sense: Court says a pro-life pregnancy center doesn’t have to promote abortion (Washington Examiner22)

Judge throws out case against Bundys, bars retrial in devastating defeat for federal prosecutors (The Washington Times23)

Policy: Bundy case shows why Americans are right to fear government (The Daily Signal24)

Policy: Working class Americans and the social safety net (American Enterprise Institute25)

For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report26.

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Minorities Benefit From Trump’s Economic Policies27

By Paul Albaugh

If the 2017 jobs scene is any indication of what the year 2018 is going to look like, then America’s economy is going to continue to grow at levels we haven’t seen in over a decade. And despite the Left’s continuing rants about Trump being a racist, the December jobs report tells a completely different story.

Recall that during Trump’s campaign for the presidency, he specifically told black voters his economic agenda would do far more for them than Hillary Clinton’s — or that of any other Democrat candidate in history. In an unscripted portion of a speech given in Dimondale, Michigan, he said, “You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed — what the hell do you have to lose?”

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-9-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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Like every other Republican for a generation, Trump received only 8% of the black vote on Election Day, but based on employment numbers for blacks, at least those 8% can feel vindicated28. In the speech mentioned beforehand, Trump also promised that after his first four years he would win 95% of the black vote during his re-election bid — something that no Republican candidate has done since Reconstruction. Let’s just say that his comment was typical Trumpian boasting, but it’s something that perhaps ought to come true.

So what of the jobs numbers? The Wall Street Journal reported29 that headline unemployment remained at 4.1% with the economy creating 148,000 new jobs. The U-6 number, a better, fuller measure, sits at 8.1% — a far cry better than its high of 17% under Barack Obama. But one figure that really jumped out at economists was the headline rate of unemployment for black Americans, which fell to 6.8%, the lowest it has been since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking employment data in 1972. That’s a 45-year timeframe, and it’s great news as we start 2018.

The Journal further notes, “The black jobless rate fell into the 7%-8% range in 1999-2000, before the dot-com bubble burst, and briefly in 2007 before the financial panic. But it climbed back to as high as 16.8% in 2010 before a long, slow decline as the economy recovered.” But now it’s at 6.8% and the number is likely to go down further once Trump’s economic agenda kicks into full gear.

But wait, there’s more. It turns out that it’s not just black Americans benefiting from the economic gains during Trump’s first year in office. Overall, minorities across the board30 have seen the greatest gains in employment. “Over the past year, the unemployment rate has dropped 17% for Hispanics, 14% for African Americans and 11% for Asians.” Hispanics have seen unemployment drop to record-low levels, standing at 4.9% in December, and Asians have seen unemployment drop to a record low of 2.5%.

So, the question remains, are Trump’s economic policies and ambitions for economic growth really racist as so many leftists claim? Of course not. In fact, Trump’s deregulation and Republican tax cuts benefit everyone.

The Left, of course, will hear none of this and will continue to paint Trump as a racist while Democrats who run America’s cities push destructive socialist policies that left our economy stagnant for nearly a decade. Democrats are hoping the policies that have kept minorities on urban poverty plantations31 for years will prevail, and you can bet that they and their Leftmedia allies will do everything imaginable to undermine Trump’s successes.

Leftists can’t stand that his economic agenda is producing positive results for Americans. They can’t stand that there is economic optimism among most Americans that we haven’t seen in over a decade. And they really can’t fathom how a man who has been slammed by the media for the past year as being a sexist, racist, bigoted and, most recently, “mentally unfit32” for office has somehow managed to produce more positive results for Americans in his first year of office than his predecessor did in eight years. Their socialist, utopian dreams have been shattered, and frankly, that’s making America great, again.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Ending TPS for Salvadorans Is More Than It Appears37 — Trump is making a chess move that has to do with Democrats, DACA and the border wall.
Restoring Military Readiness Will Take Time and Money38 — The branches are struggling with old equipment and too few, too mediocre recruits. Can Trump fix it?
Online Gun Purchasing Loophole Debunked39 — A recent GAO study is unable to find any evidence of illegal gun purchases made via legitimate websites.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Rich Lowry: Yes, Take Oprah Seriously5
Tony Perkins: Pure Politics: Abstinence Crowd Cheers Report40
James Shott: Who Is More Unstable? Trump, or His Critics?41
Stephen Moore: Who Are You Calling a Moron?42
Todd Starnes: Patriotic Teens Brave Frigid Weather to Shovel Snow From War Memorials43
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion44.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Tony Perkins: “According to the CDC’s new nationwide report, the number of high school students who said they’ve ever had sex dropped from 47 percent in 2005 to 41 percent in 2015. The good news is even better for African-American students, who showed improvements across the board, followed by Hispanics who practiced more abstinence in three of the four grades. … According to our friends at Ascend, most young people support saving sex for marriage. Most of them don’t like the idea of casual sex, want to wait, or wish they’d waited longer. When the CDC released its latest numbers on teen sex, researchers were stumped. Most people just assumed kids were having sex. And maybe that’s part of the problem. We’re so busy teaching about birth control that we don’t even bother with self-control. Somewhere along the way, it became assumed, not discouraged, that teenagers would have sex. And as a result, we have an entire area of teen education accelerates the risks instead of curbing them. Think about the other behaviors that can devastate a young person’s life. We don’t tell kids to drink less. We tell them not to drink, period. The same with smoking. We don’t hand them filters assuming that they’ll light up anyway. We challenge them not to. Most teenagers want to be challenged to stay pure too. Unfortunately, there just aren’t enough people teaching them how. Maybe parents are too embarrassed to talk about sex or think their kids aren’t listening. Well, I’ve got news for you — they are.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave.” —George Berkeley (1685-1753)

Upright: “There’s only one thing worse than trying to criminalize political differences and that’s trying to psychiatrize them. These psychiatrists … are trying to diagnose without having even met [Trump]. That’s what they did in Russia. I represented dissidents who they locked up in mental hospitals. That’s what they did in China. That’s what they did in apartheid South Africa. How dare liberals, people on the Left, try to undo democracy by accusing a president of being mentally ill without any basis.” —Alan Dershowitz

Foes, you’ve been warned: “I don’t have concerns. I create them.” —James Mattis

Elitist Bubble update: “I had friends that went to Paris over the holiday. … And they said they were just viscerally embarrassed to be Americans. They said it was the first time that it was sort of chilling. They didn’t even want to share where they were from.” —MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski

Delusions of grandeur? “It’s incredibly frustrating to think to yourself, ‘Wow, if this guy were not in the race, we’d win this thing.’ And I absolutely believe if Trump had not gotten into the race, I think we would have won.” —Chris Christie

Alpha Jackass: “The bigoted world view that Bannon pushed remains at the [White House]. White supremacists still have the ear of Trump and are shaping national policy through their hate-filled lenses. Yes, that means Stephen Miller, who must be removed.” —Nancy Pelosi

Non Compos Mentis: “My evidence is the book. Read the book. If it makes sense to you, if it strikes a cord, if it rings true, it is true.” —Michael Wolff when asked by MSNBS to produce evidence proving the disputed claims in his book are true

And last… “2016: Hillary’s health is totally off-limits despite evidence of a blood clot in her brain, ‘pneumonia,’ and tendency to crumple. 2018: Trump’s health is fair game because he says things we don’t like, and tweets a lot.” —Twitter satirist @hale_razor

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. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher