The Patriot Post Digest 3-15-2018

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The Patriot Post Digest 3-15-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Mar. 15, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/54765-mid-day-digest

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Students across America walked out of their schools, using free speech to protest gun rights.
The FBI’s Andrew McCabe should be fired, say internal DOJ investigators.
The Supreme Court may settle whether memorial crosses are “unconstitutional.”
What progressives deem to be proper and improper expressions of identity politics…
Yes, abstinence education is beneficial and worth promoting.
Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” —John Adams (1770)

IN BRIEF

The Adolescent 2nd Amendment Puppet Protests1

In a display of just how dumbed down American students’ civic awareness has become, thousands of students across America walked out of their schools Wednesday, using their First Amendment rights to protest against Second Amendment rights. The Leftmedia coverage has been fawning, to say the least. These kids are viewed with reverence as sages possessing moral authority that cannot be questioned. By contrast, little attention is given to the students who did not walk out, or gathered to show support for our constitutional rights. Spurred on by leftists, however, student protesters are being used as pawns2 in a play designed to shame conservative lawmakers for not creating more laws to limit the Second Amendment3.

A string of Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders, addressed the crowd of students in DC, which speaks volumes about the political agenda. But remember: Democrats don’t care about children4 unless they can serve the leftist agenda.

Not that students are admitting it. “It’s not Republican or Democrat; it’s about keeping people safe,” said a 16-year-old student from Manhattan. “We know what we want from our society: to have less guns and, at some point, no guns at all.”

There you go — safe spaces and gun confiscation5. Unfortunately for this naive young lady, those two are mutually exclusive. Liberty isn’t defended with a smart phone and poster-board sign.

In related news, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered all armed officers removed6 from New York City schools. You know, because he cares about kids.

Capitulating to the misguided and ill-informed sentiments of a youthful mob is not how wise legislation is enacted — never mind how constitutional rights are defended. Rather it is often the means by which nefarious individuals manipulate the masses in designed efforts to promote their own totalitarian agendas.

Some footnotes.

First, some inconvenient stats7, including that violent crime is down and has been for decades, and there is not an epidemic of school shootings8.

Second, the House voted 407-10 Wednesday to pass the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018. According to9 The Washington Free Beacon, “The bill would provide new grants to train law enforcement and school personnel on the warning signs for school violence and how to intervene to prevent that violence. It would also provide grants for anonymous alert systems as well as funding for advanced door locks, further cooperation between schools and local law enforcement, and funding for crisis intervention teams.”

Third, there have been no marches protesting the slaughter of innocent men, women and children worldwide by radical Islamists — by whatever deadly means they use. That includes the 49 murdered by a jihadi10 in Orlando in 2016, as well as the Florida 13-year-old stabbed to death by a radicalized11 17-year-old classmate just this week.

FBI Recommends Lying McCabe Be Fired12

By Thomas Gallatin

Four days ahead of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s planned official retirement, the FBI’s disciplinary office has recommended that he be fired, which would preclude him from receiving retirement benefits. (When he “stepped down13” in January he took early leave, so he is still employed at the bureau.) The decision on whether to follow through on the recommendation to fire McCabe now rests with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. A Justice Department spokeswoman explained, “The Department follows a prescribed process by which an employee may be terminated. That process includes recommendations from career employees and no termination decision is final until the conclusion of that process. We have no personnel announcements at this time.”

According to reports, the impetus behind the recommendation has to do with McCabe’s handling of the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails14 — specifically, as The Washington Post reports, “for allowing two high-ranking bureau officials to sit down with the Wall Street Journal as the news outlet prepared a report in 2016 on an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s family foundation, then misleading the inspector general’s team about his actions.” In other words, McCabe lied when questioned by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

So we have at least part of the answer to the question of why McCabe suddenly stepped down early, even after FBI Director Christopher Wray had previously resisted pressure from President Donald Trump to remove him. But was this the only reason for the FBI’s disciplinary office’s recommendation? For a 21-year veteran of the agency, this explanation for recommending McCabe’s termination and ensuing loss of pension appears harsh. Is there more to it? Is McCabe a convenient fall guy for a greater corruption scandal15 within Barack Obama’s Justice Department? He was almost unquestionably a key player in it16.

Horowitz is also investigating allegations of misconduct by former FBI Director James Comey, specifically regarding his handling of the Clinton investigation. It will be interesting to learn what Horowitz finds.

Finally, it’s now up to Sessions to decide McCabe’s fate. Clearly, Trump, who has long called for McCabe’s removal, would feel the decision is merited, but will Sessions, who is himself rumored to be high on Trump’s list for replacement, placate the president’s desires? In so doing, would he save his own job?

Top Headlines17

Trump administration announces Russian sanctions over election interference and cyber attacks (Washington Examiner18.)

Nikki Haley issues warning about potential Russian attack on U.S. (The Daily Wire19)

Trump names Reagan adviser Larry Kudlow his top economic adviser, replacing Gary Cohn (CNBC20)

Trump takes aim at next tariff target: China (The Wall Street Journal21)

Top DNC lawyer personally condemns Louis Farrakhan but committee remains silent (The Washington Free Beacon22)

“God bless you” listed among anti-Muslim “microaggressions” (National Review23)

Senate passes rollback of banking rules enacted after Democrat policy failures24 caused the 2008 financial crisis (Roll Call25)

Rand Paul vows to block Trump’s nominees to run State26 and CIA27 (Washington Examiner28.)

Feds fund trans plays, cowboy poetry, “social justice” theater (The Washington Free Beacon29)

Not humor: Planned Parenthood workers breathe sigh of relief as anti-violence protesters march right on by their office (The Babylon Bee30)

Policy: Chemical weapons are back, thanks to Russia (City Journal31)

Policy: California’s bullet train to fiscal oblivion (Investor’s Business Daily32)

For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report33.

FEATURED ANALYSIS
No More Crosses?34

By Caroline C. Lewis

Imagine Arlington Cemetery with no crosses. Imagine the word “God” sandblasted from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Imagine Biblical verses removed from the U.S. Capitol. This is the world the radical atheists want. This is the world they almost have.

First Liberty Institute35, the nation’s largest legal organization dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom, is currently appealing a case to the Supreme Court so this doesn’t happen.

Here’s how it began. In 1925, Gold Star36 families and the American Legion (the largest veterans service organization in the U.S.) built the 40-foot-tall Bladensburg Veteran’s Memorial, also known as the “Peace Cross,” in memory of the 49 men of Prince George’s County, Maryland, who died in World War I. The names of the 49 deceased veterans and the words “Courage,” “Valor,” “Endurance” and “Devotion” appear on the monument.

The cross stood as a peaceful memorial to the fallen veterans until February 2014, when the American Humanist Association (AHA) claimed that the monument unconstitutionally violated the Establishment Clause because of its public ownership and demanded that it be demolished, altered or removed. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled in favor of the monument’s constitutionality citing the cross as a military symbol for sacrifice, courage and remembrance. However, in December 2015, the AHA appealed the decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the memorial was unconstitutional. On March 1, 2018, the Fourth Circuit denied the en banc37 rehearing, leaving an appeal to the Supreme Court as the final option.

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The Patriot Post Digest 3-15-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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Hiram Sasser, chief counsel for First Liberty, notes, “If [the Fourth Circuit] decision stands, other memorials, including those in nearby Arlington Cemetery, will be targeted for destruction as well.” If the decision from the Fourth Circuit stands, and the Supreme Court refuses to hear the appeal case, it would mean that all crosses on public property are “unconstitutional.”

The case rests on whether the Establishment Clause — the first sentence of the First Amendment38, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” — prohibits the public display of crosses.

The establishment of a religion means having an official, government-sponsored religion. Some have also interpreted the Establishment Clause as meaning government “neutrality.” According to the American Humanist Association’s website39, the Establishment Clause also prohibits the government from “entangling itself in religious matters without a religiously neutral reason.” Government ought to be “neutral” toward religion and not favor one over the other. But a big difference exists between “neutrality” and “hostility.”

While the AHA claims “Good Without A God,” as its motto, is it fair or tolerant to force that belief on everyone else? Radical atheism does not say, “I believe in nothing, and you can believe in God if you want.” Rather, it says, “I believe in nothing and it is my right to not see, hear or experience anything about God anywhere.” Whether it is “No, you can’t pray40,” or “No, you can’t put a Bible verse41 there,” or “No, I don’t want to see a cross” — even if it’s in the middle of the desert42 — the radical atheists do not seek to live in mutual tolerance. They cannot rest until they have converted all of society into a religiously sterile culture. Our legal system should not bow down to this dogmatic, anti-tolerant behavior as the “neutral” option. Rather, radical atheists should practice the tolerance they demand from others.

Following their Fourth Circuit win, AHA Senior Counsel Monica Miller, who argued the case, stated43, “This is a big win not only for separation of church and state, but for all non-Christian veterans who are excluded from an enormous Christian cross war memorial.”

But how many of the fallen men were actually atheists? The families of the fallen soldiers decided on that particular shape to remember their fallen sons, brothers and husbands. Would it not dishonor their choice to remove or destroy it? If, in fact, the non-Christian veterans feel excluded, why do they not build their own non-cross memorial?

Further, while the AHA argues that the cross represents a sectarian, exclusionary religious symbol, the cross also represents military heroism. Some of the highest military honors include crosses44 such as the Distinguished Service Cross, the Air Force Cross, the Navy Cross, and others granted for exemplary military service. The cross also stands as an internationally recognized symbol of bravery and sacrifice as exemplified in the Victoria Cross45 in England and the Croix de Guerre46 (Cross of War) in France.

The cross also represents a memorial. These men lost their lives in a foreign war on foreign soil. While some of their bodies were later repatriated, many were buried overseas. For several families, the “Peace Cross” stood as the only place where grieving families could pay honor to their loved ones.

Michael Carvin, lead counsel for The American Legion and partner at Jones Day, notes, “This memorial has stood in honor of local veterans for almost 100 years and is lawful under the First Amendment. To remove it would be a tremendous dishonor to the local men who gave their lives during the Great War.”

The case also has bipartisan support. Eight Republican and Democrat members of Congress joined in support of the memorial by filing an amicus brief47 with the Fourth Circuit Court.

Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of First Liberty, states, “Memorials are living reminders of our country’s history and the cost of war. How will we remember the fallen or teach the next generation about service and sacrifice if we start bulldozing veterans memorials and cemeteries across America? We will continue our work to overturn this decision and defend the memory of those who preserved freedom.”

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Identity Politics Insanity50 — Perhaps nothing offers greater insight into the progressive mindset than what its adherents deem proper and improper expressions of identity politics.
Yes, Abstinence Is Beneficial and Worth Promoting51 — Despite what the Guttmacher Institute insists, sexual abstinence is important to teach if we want to put America back on track.
Video: Corker Discusses Pompeo, Taxes, Sanctuary Cities52 — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman addresses some critical issues.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Gary Bauer: Scores of GOP House Seats Could Be Vulnerable53
Ann Coulter: Secret Debate Tip for GOP54
Larry Elder: Dem Pundit: ‘Paying Off a Porn Star Is Presidential?’55
Cal Thomas: Apocalypse Now?56
Victor Davis Hanson: Lessons From Germany’s ‘Spring Offensive’ 100 Years Later57
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion58.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Investor’s Business Daily32: “California’s bullet train project, also known as Jerry Brown’s Folly, has turned into a fiscal nightmare for the Golden State. … The original promise, made in a proposition voted on in 2008, called for the entire ‘high-speed’ rail system to be built at a cost of just $37 billion and to be finished by 2020. … Just last week, the state’s rail authority announced that the system will now cost $77.3 billion, 20% more than the $64 billion estimated a mere two years ago. And, oh yes, instead of being done in 2029, it will be done in 2033. But they also admitted that costs might soar to $98 billion. … And the ticket costs they now estimate will be $93 a pop, not $55. Big difference. … The idea that the ‘high-speed’ trains, which by the way will never achieve true bullet-train speeds of over 100 miles per hour, will carry 120,000 passengers a day is a total fantasy with no basis — none — in any statistical reality. … Aside from the cost, that area is riddled with seismically active fault lines, which will make any attempt at building a lengthy tunnel dangerous at best. The San Andreas Fault — due, seismologists say, for an 8.0 or even higher quake — is right in the area they would have to tunnel. Here’s the bad part: Everyone involved in the project knew from the very first the cost would be astronomical, but ignored it. … But don’t worry: The Democrats in this one-party state will find a scapegoat, as they always have, when the bills come due. They’ll blame the Republicans.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “Our own heart, and not other men’s opinions, form our true honor.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

For the record: “At the height of the socialistic world in 1980, 44.3 percent of the world lived in extreme poverty. By 2017, that number was around nine percent. Nearly every nation on earth that has turned away from collectivist economic policies and embraced market-based capitalism has seen the lives of their people improve dramatically.” —David Harsanyi

Re: The Left: “[Hillary Clinton] ran one of the worst campaigns ever. … Honestly, I have to tell you: It’s one thing to lose to President Obama. It’s entirely another thing to pull off losing to President Trump. And you have to come up with a better excuse than this59.” —Meghan McCain

Friendly fire: “[Clinton’s] argument doesn’t hold water. Whether you say black people voted for Obama because he’s black, or women voted for a woman because she’s a woman, I think everyone just needs to stop talking. I don’t know why she was answering these questions.” —Whoopi Goldberg

Braying Jenny: “The NRA has held Congress hostage for years now. These young people1 have shown up to spring us free; to say you’re not here to do the work of the gun lobby, you’re here to do the work of the American people. I believe they will lead us. They are making a huge difference in our democracy.” —Sen. Elizabeth Warren

And last… “School walkouts show two of the Left’s worst tendencies: the rejection of any boundaries on political activism (kids should be off-limits), and identity politics. Gun control debate never had an identity politics angle. Now it does, in the form of 7th graders.” —Noah Pollak

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