The Patriot Post Digest 2-27-2018

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-27-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Feb. 27, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/54418-mid-day-digest

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Dems’ gun-grabbing efforts are nothing new, but this one goes further than most.
By severing ties with the NRA, companies are boycotting their own customers.
The Supreme Courts deferred action on DACA changes very little.
China’s Xi Jingping makes a critical move to grab power for life.
Steel tariffs could undermine America’s oil-production boom.
Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” —Cesare Beccaria

IN BRIEF

Dems: Hey, Let’s Ban All Semi-Automatics1

By Thomas Gallatin

Democrats have always hated the Second Amendment. When they were the party of slavery and Jim Crow, they invented gun control to keep firearms out of the hands of blacks2. Over the past few decades, as Democrats have increasingly moved hard left, the party’s position on the Second Amendment has become less about race than an ever-growing vitriolic anti-gun animosity. Once again, exploiting the recent Parkland atrocity3, Democrats are going all-in by declaring themselves the party for “banning guns.”

On Monday, 156 House Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced their latest anti-gun measure. The legislation, dressed up with the faulty language of “assault weapons” and “weapons of war,” was marketed as “sensible policy.” Of course, Democrat “common sense” is a non sequitur4. In introducing the bill, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) insisted, “Assault weapons were made for one purpose. They are designed to kill as many people as possible in a short amount of time. They do not belong in our communities.”

While Democrats’ gun-grabbing efforts are nothing new5, this bill, far from being “sensible,” would essentially ban all semi-automatic firearms. The Washington Examiner reports6, “The bill prohibits the ‘sale, transfer, production, and importation’ of semi-automatic rifles and pistols that can hold a detachable magazine, as well as semi-automatic rifles with a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds. Additionally, the legislation bans the sale, transfer, production, and importation of semi-automatic shotguns with features such as a pistol grip or detachable stock, and ammunition feeding devices that can hold more than 10 rounds.”

Democrats and their cohorts in the mainstream media seek to demonize7 firearms and individual gun ownership rights, banking on the further polarization of the issue helping their election chances come November. Democrats know their bill won’t see any vote, but they aim to make “sensible gun control” an election issue for their campaign. And should another mass attack occur at another school or similar “gun-free zone” before the November elections, Democrats will be quick to point out how they are the only ones serious about “solving” the problem. However, the issue is so polarizing that it may prove to backfire against Democrats, as many Americans see this for what it is — a direct attack on Americans’ constitutional rights. Needless to say, it appears that Democrats are eager to take the political gamble.

The Supreme Court’s Deferred Action for ‘Dreamers’8

Back in September, President Donald Trump moved to rescind9 Barack Obama’s unconstitutional order to bypass Congress and enact the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump even gave Congress six months to act, while negotiating with Democrats on immigration reform that included legalizing so-called “Dreamers,” the illegal alien children affected by DACA. Instead, Democrats shut down the government last month over it — a battle they lost10. Democrats don’t want a deal, they want a campaign issue, though they’re overplaying their hand11.

Meanwhile, legal challenges have continued. On Monday, the Supreme Court declined the Justice Department’s request to intervene, leaving the issue to be decided by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which previously blocked Trump’s March 5 deadline for ending DACA. That means the 700,000 people in the program can continue applying for work-permit renewals indefinitely, though no new applicants must be accepted. Legally, Trump has an open and shut case — except for the judicial despots occupying the Ninth Circuit. Without a deadline, however, even congressional Republicans have little motivation to settle the matter with an actual bill.

The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro aptly sums up12 where things stand: “So, what’s changed? Not much. The media will be able to claim that Trump lost in court; Trump will be able to avoid beginning deportations, and blame the courts for it. While the media champion this ruling as a loss for Trump, on a political level, Trump didn’t lose anything at all.”

In related news, it appears Democrat Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf committed a federal felony13 by warning illegal aliens in her city of upcoming ICE raids. Let’s see if she faces any consequences.

Top Headlines14

Broward sheriff received at least 45 calls about Florida shooter’s family, not 23 (Washington Examiner15)

Study: TV gun violence on PG, TV-14 shows increased since Newtown shooting (CNS News16)

Media, gun control groups exaggerate NRA donations to Republicans (The Washington Free Beacon17)

Georgia Republicans refuse to restore Delta tax breaks over company’s dumping the NRA (The Resurgent18.)

Lawsuit: 100,000 noncitizen registered to vote in Pennsylvania (The Washington Times19)

USDA: 35,891 retailers engaged in food stamp fraud (CNS News20)

Six key exchanges from major union case at the Supreme Court (The Daily Signal21)

Twenty states sue federal government, seeking end to ObamaCare (Reuters22)

Elizabeth Warren’s stealth campaign to overcome her “Pocahontas” problem (Hot Air23)

Humor: Trump awards self Medal of Honor for hypothetically saving everyone during school shooting (Duffel Blog24)

Policy: The real problem with federal spending remains entitlements (City Journal25)

Policy: Want to help students? Let’s change how we subsidize education (Manhattan Institute26)

For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report27.

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Marketing on the Blood of Innocents7

By Nate Jackson

The horrific mass murder at Marjory Stoneman High School3 in Parkland, Florida, almost two weeks ago elicited the same calls for gun control that we expect after every such incident. Leftists rush to blame the tool and law-abiding citizens instead of the cultural cesspool28 they themselves have cultivated. The National Rifle Association is always a leftist target, though this time the rate of fire has increased, and it’s yielding some results that will affect NRA members.

Dozens of companies offer partnership discounts to the NRA’s five million members — and many of those companies are caving to leftist pressure by cutting those ties. Allied Van Lines, Avis Budget Group, Chubb, Delta Air Lines, Enterprise (including Alamo and National Car Rental), First National Bank of Omaha, Hertz, Metlife, North American Van Lines, Paramount Rx, SimpliSafe, Starkey Hearing, Symantec, TrueCare and United Continental all announced within the last few days that they are discontinuing NRA discount or affiliate programs. More may follow in the near future. On the other hand, FedEx announced29 it will not succumb to the #Resistance … albeit while calling for a ban on semi-automatic rifles30.

Make no mistake: These companies think they’re serving their own bottom line.

For perspective, here’s list of companies31 that have no trouble donating to Planned Parenthood, which kills more than 300,000 children every year.

As for the NRA, the panicked herd of companies stampeding for the exits was spooked by an organized leftist campaign of hate. These anti-gun activists and their fired up base of social media screamers want to pin responsibility for the blood of children on the NRA, its members, politicians who are on its side, and any company that has any relationship to the nearly 150-year-old firearms organization.

“Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA,” First National Bank of Omaha said. “As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card.”

Translation: They got an earful from angry people who either have an anti-gun agenda or don’t know what else to do with their rage over the deaths of 17 innocent people in Florida.

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-27-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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But these companies are going to get some “customer feedback” from millions of NRA members as a result.

Georgia lawmakers are taking on Delta, refusing to restore18 the air line’s special tax breaks so long as it maintains its anti-NRA stance.

The NRA defended itself with a statement: “Since the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, a number of companies have decided to sever their relationship with the NRA, in an effort to punish our members who are doctors, farmers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, nurses, shop owners and school teachers that live in every American community. Let it be absolutely clear. The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world.”

That statement hints at the reason this boycott is different from most. Boycotts are, of course, as American as the original Boston Tea Party32. But most boycotts are grassroots efforts to change what people perceive as a company’s bad decisions. Conservatives, for example, boycotted Target after the retail giant changed its bathroom policy to allow a man to use the little girls’ room, so long as he says he’s a woman.

This purge of the NRA is different, however, because these companies are essentially boycotting their customers. When companies shoot down these discount programs, they are telling NRA members to shop elsewhere. In a free market, that is their right. It’s also our right to tell them to take a hike; we will shop elsewhere.

The NRA isn’t blameless in contributing to the current climate of Outrage™. As columnist Jonah Goldberg put it33, “The NRA, not content with its public-policy and constitutional victories over the last decade, has taken to fomenting rage and resentment against ‘elites’ and the media with all the precision of an unmanned fire hose.”

But many of us in our humble shop are lifetime NRA members34 and we wholeheartedly support its mission to defend the Second Amendment.

No NRA member has committed mass murder — not at a school, a church or anywhere else. In fact, NRA members are often the ones who respond heroically35 to those atrocities. “Gun-free zones” are attacked by sociopathic killers who are generally fatherless, heavily medicated and simply bent on evil to make a name for themselves. They are not the kind of law-abiding Patriots who make up the ranks of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. So this boycott makes no sense.

Never mind the facts, though. As the NRA said in its statement, “The law-abiding members of the NRA had nothing at all to do with the failure of that school’s security preparedness, the failure of America’s mental health system, the failure of the National Instant Check System or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement36. Despite that, some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice.”

The leftist outrage machine isn’t about making Americans safer or securing our Liberty. It is indeed shameful cowardice. Don’t stand for it.

A couple of footnotes:

Guns don’t commit crimes on their own. If you doubt that, just check out the 2ndVote Gun Cam37.

If Republicans should stop taking money from the NRA17, which advocates a constitutional right, then Democrats should certainly stop taking money from Hollywood, which fills our culture and young minds with increasingly violent content.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Next in a Long Line of Chinese Dictators42 — Xi Jingping is seeking to make himself president for life, and the implications are huge.
How Steel Tariffs Would Hurt Oil Production43 — The U.S. benefits from an oil boom, but that could be hampered by the wrong protectionist policies.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Dennis Prager: Why the Left Opposes Arming Teachers44
Rich Lowry: The Broward County Sheriff Is Everything That’s Wrong With American Authority45
Cal Thomas: Deterrence Can Work46
Stephen Moore: How Environmentalists Keep Heating Bills High47
Tony Perkins: For Dems, a Conflict of Centrist48
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion49.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Dennis Prager: “Fighting evil is the Left’s Achilles heel. As I have repeatedly noted, the Left fights little evils, or even non-evils, rather than great evils. With regard to fighting communism in the 20th century and today fighting radical Islamic terror and Islamist treatment of women, the Stalinist North Korean regime, the Holocaust-denying and Holocaust-planning theocracy of Iran, the Syrian mass murderers and the violent crime in America, the Left is either silent or appeasing. And, of course, it works constantly to weaken the American military, the world’s greatest force against evil. But the Left does direct its fighting spirit against Confederate statues, schools with the name of slave owners (including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson), carbon emissions, income inequality, ‘microaggressions,’ ‘white privilege,’ any limitation on abortion, Columbus Day, ‘Islamophobia,’ Israeli settlements, ‘Russian collusion’ and the like. Against these minimal or nonexistent evils, the Left is ferocious. That is why the Left opposes enabling some teachers and other adults in schools to carry arms in order to possibly stop a mass murderer: The Left doesn’t fight evil; it fights those who do. Just as the Left hated anti-communists, hates opponents of Islamism and hates Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (far more than the Iranian ayatollahs), it hates those who wish to see teachers and others voluntarily armed take down the murderers of our children.”

SHORT CUTS

For the record: “In recent years a member of Sheriff [Scott] Israel’s team has been busy briefing Florida mosques on active shooter situations. His advice to the mosque members: ‘Arm yourselves.’ So Sheriff Israel and his team think mosque attendees should arm themselves but public school employees should not.” —Gary Bauer

Missing the forest for the trees: “My rifle [in the Army] was very similar to the AR-15-style semiautomatic weapon used to kill students, teachers and a coach I knew at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where I once lived. … I cannot support the primary weapon I used to defend our people being used to kill children I swore to defend.” —Florida Rep. Brian Mast

Executive blowhard: “I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon. I think most of the people in this room would’ve done that too. Because I know most of you. But the way [the Florida sheriff’s deputies] performed was really a disgrace.” —Donald Trump

Keep dreaming: “I say it is time to get ready for impeachment. I cannot wait and I’m counting on special counsel [Robert] Mueller to connect the dots. I believe he’s getting closer to discovering what Americans were and are involved in collusion with the Russians.” —Rep. Maxine Waters

Do as I say, not as I do: “America has been corrupted from a democracy of voters and values to one of dollars and donors. Republicans have openly invited this, but Democrats too often have let the downward spiral continue.” —Tom Steyer50, a Democrat dollars-and-donors stalwart

Village Idiots: “I’ve always thought that it was a good idea to stay out of politics. Twenty-five percent of America identifies as liberal and I need more than 25% of America to go see my movies. It’s not wise, career-speaking, to talk about politics.” —actress Jennifer Lawrence, who warned that Trump’s election would be “the end of the world” and recently declared she’s taking a year off of acting to save America51

And last… “Here’s what bothers me about David Hogg more than anything else — there are multiple students from that high school who were victims who completely disagree with Hogg. But Hogg is the one getting all the attention telling much of the media what it wants to hear.” —Erick Erickson

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