The Patriot Post Digest 7-5-2018

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The Patriot Post Digest 7-5-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Jul. 5, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/56954-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“We should never despair, our situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new exertions and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times.” —George Washington (1777)

IN TODAY’S EDITION

The two parties’ visions couldn’t be a starker contrast.
Facebook’s censorship strikes even the Declaration of Independence.
Dear Millennials: Don’t conform to what that label is supposed to mean.
Trump understands the history of the U.S.-North Korean debate.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

IN BRIEF
Contrasting Party Visions — Hope vs. Despair1

Nate Jackson

Just ahead of Independence Day2, we noted a Gallup poll3 revealing the chasm between Democrats and Republicans in terms of patriotism. Then the two political parties’ leaders proceeded to vividly illustrate the point.

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez marked Independence Day with a dour statement painting a dismal picture of America. “As we celebrate our nation’s independence, we recognize that America’s founding promise remains out of reach for too many families,” he complained. “Too many members of our society are still struggling to find a good-paying job or get the health care they need. Too many women, LGBTQ Americans, people of color, and people with disabilities still face inequality and injustice across our society. Everywhere we look, our most fundamental values are under attack.”

On that last count, he focused on the Supreme Court, which, after Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement4, President Donald Trump has the chance to shape. Because of recent Court decisions, Perez implies, workers’ rights, Muslims’ rights and women’s rights are all “under threat like never before.” And, he says, don’t forget all those children at the border5.

For patriotic Americans, on the other hand, we’re encouraged by the Supreme Court upholding the Constitution and Rule of Law, however narrowly6. We’re heartened by soaring consumer confidence7, rising small business optimism8 and record wage increases9 to go along with record-low unemployment. We anticipate10 another good jobs report tomorrow.

In the Left’s alternate reality, Perez is busy whining that jobs aren’t “good-paying,” and leftists like Bill Maher are explicitly hoping for recession11 just to spite Trump.

As for Trump? He hosted the White House’s annual Independence Day picnic for military families. “Thank you for keeping America safe, strong, proud, mighty and free,” he said. “Our freedom only exists because there are brave Americans willing to give their lives to defend it and defend our great country,” he continued. “American Liberty has been earned through the blood, sweat and sacrifice of American patriots.”

Indeed, it isn’t the people who divide us, tear down our traditions and usurp our Liberty who make this nation great; it is Patriots who love our country enough to sacrifice for it. Quite a contrast.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/56948-contrasting-party-visions-hope-vs-despair

Unpatriotic Facebook Blocks Declaration of Independence12

Thomas Gallatin

In its ongoing attempts to crack down on “fake news,” Facebook has only proved what many conservatives have repeatedly warned: It’s catering to leftist bias in order to limit conservative content. Some recent incidents expose this reality.

In a buildup to our nation’s annual celebration of Independence Day2, a community newspaper, The Liberty County Vindicator, had been posting on Facebook portions of the Declaration of Independence13 for eight straight days. On the ninth day, the Vindicator’s scheduled excerpt was not posted by the social media site because it had been flagged as “racist” “hate speech.” The Vindicator received an automated notice stating that the scheduled post “goes against our standards on hate speech.”

The excerpt in question from the Declaration’s “Bill of Particulars” against King George III reads, “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” It was Thomas Jefferson’s reference to “Indian Savages” that triggered the “hate speech” designation.

Casey Stinnett, the Vindicator’s managing editor, responded to the absurd censorship in a subsequent post and noted that his newspaper wanted “a means of contacting Facebook for an explanation or an opportunity to appeal the post’s removal, but it does not appear the folks at Facebook want anyone contacting them. Or, at least, they do not make it easy.” Fortunately, following his post, Facebook apologized to the Vindicator and posted the Declaration’s excerpt.

But Facebook’s facepalm-worthy behavior on patriotism didn’t end with the Vindicator fiasco. On Monday, the Wes Cook band released a video for its song “I Stand for the Flag.” The band planned to use Facebook’s paid promotion tools to promote its video, which was initially accepted by Facebook only to later be rejected with the excuse given that the video was “political content.” But late Tuesday, Facebook changed its decision again, stating, “We recently announced anyone running ads about political or other major national issues must include a ‘paid for’ label. After looking again, we determined that this ad doesn’t need that label. While this is a new policy, and while we won’t ever be perfect, we think knowing who is behind an ad is important, and we’ll continue to work on improving as we roll it out.” Another “oops” statement from Facebook that once again smacks of leftist bias.

Meanwhile, if one’s post is flagged, one can’t appeal directly to Facebook but rather to the very “fact-checkers” whose biased assessment resulted in censoring the content in the first place. It’s the foxes guarding the hen house, and that’s exactly the way Facebook wants it. That’s because it’s a means for Mark Zuckerberg and company to indirectly limit conservative content on Facebook while avoiding having to answer for it.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/56950-unpatriotic-facebook-blocks-declaration-of-independence

Top Headlines14

How ironic: Trump protester shuts down Liberty Island (National Review15)
AG Jeff Sessions rescinds 24 more Obama-era “guidance documents” that circumvented rule-making process (CNS News16)
DNC Chief Tom Perez: socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez17 “the future of our party” (Breitbart18)
Senate Democrats stall Trump nominees at record rate compared to predecessors (The Daily Signal19)
As Trump weighs options, Mike Pence meets with Supreme Court contenders (Washington Examiner20)
Mueller taps more prosecutors to help with growing Trump probe (Bloomberg21)
Democrat introduces bill to abolish ICE22, says agency is “ripping at the moral fabric of our nation” (Fox News Insider23)
College graduates feel less patriotic than non-college graduates (The College Fix24)
Your tax dollars at work: Feds blow up dummies on Mall to warn against celebrating the Fourth with fireworks, sparklers (The Washington Free Beacon25)
Humor: The Bee explains: A brief history of America (The Babylon Bee26)
Policy: Clearing up misconceptions about health savings accounts (Hoover Institution27)
Policy: Eliminating identity politics from the U.S. Census (The Heritage Foundation28)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report29.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/56953-thursday-top-headlines

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

56926 56933 56941 56938 56906

For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion32.

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Don’t Conform to the Millennial Label33

Caroline C. Lewis

Whether it’s avocado toast, selfies or socialism, Millennials always seem to be in the news. But what exactly is a Millennial? While the media tend to portray Millennials as a fixed age group, not all researchers agree on exact parameters. Pew Research, for example, defines Millennials34 as those born between 1982 and 1996, while researchers William Strauss and Neil Howe define them35 as those born between 1982 and 2004. Different still, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation defines Millennials36 as those born between 1980 and 1999. But it’s not just years of birth that distinguish these individuals.

A generation’s unique coming-of-age experiences certainly shed light on certain trends. For example, members of the “GI” or “Greatest Generation” all grew up during the Great Depression and then fought World War II, which shaped their perspectives and gave them (for the most part) common cause, common patriotism and shared values of duty, honor and country.

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The Patriot Post 7-5-2018
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However, tracing generational patterns differs significantly from the current exploitation of the Millennial generation, which ascribes to Millennials specific political values, moral (or lack of moral) priorities and a narcissistic philosophy of life. As if just because you happened to be born in the 1980s and 90s, you must have certain beliefs and values. As if the stars aligned for your birth and, according to your generational horoscope, you must be a socialist. Such assumptions about Millennials deny a person’s individual ability to think for himself or herself.

Consider the many articles that instruct employers on how to “help” their Millennial employees, whose generation-specific perspectives purportedly clash with their own. Ponder the policy consultants who teach candidates how to “reach the Millennials.” Or branding specialists who design marketing schemes “for Millennials.” No equivalent exists for members of Gen X, Boomers or the Silent Generation. No one says, “I can help you sell a vacuum cleaner to a Gen Xer” or “I can win the Silent Generation voting bloc for you.”

Why?

The answer lies in the numbers. According to37 Pew Research, in 2019, the number of Millennials will surpass the number of Baby Boomers. This means that they will comprise the largest number of product-purchasing adults. It also means that they will comprise the largest number of voting adults.

Creating (and marketing) a specific value-system would be a useful tool to control a group of people, would it not? After all, it’s worked for Democrats with minorities and women.

Having a specific (albeit dictated) value system feeds a person’s natural desire for community and acceptance. So Millennials who do not participate in the “Millennial values” scheme are made to feel different and unaccepted by their age group. The use of social pressure reinforces the value-system, preordained by the media and popular culture.

Consider a recent internet ad: “Best Places to Live for Millennials.” Implication: If you don’t like living in these types of places, you’re a loser. Marketing this way causes a person to rethink his or her own thoughts and opinions to conform with what “everybody my age” is doing.

On a lifestyle level, consider a church-attending male who doesn’t sleep with his girlfriend. Rather than being praised by his peers for having standards, he is made to feel odd. Consider the conservative female who has traditional values of family and femininity. She is made to feel old-fashioned, out-of-touch and an traitor to her sex and her generation. Thus, promoting the Millennial label as a value-system creates ideological conformity through social pressure. This is a genius strategy if you want to win elections, raise money or sell products because it controls how members of an entire generation think of themselves and their place in the world.

Because of this perceived “value system,” Millennials have been transformed into both a grievance group and a voting bloc. Reenforced by the public narrative, many Millennials believe themselves to be victims of student loan debt, victims of parents who didn’t teach them proper “adulting” or victims of a society that doesn’t understand how to meet their self-esteem needs. Additionally, public opinion expects Millennials, as a voting bloc, to support38 big government, social programs, massive debt and wealth redistribution.

However, the expected Millennial value system denies one basic thing: People have the freedom to think for themselves. Pushing a generational ideological agenda strips people of being able to have their own thoughts and opinions. In short, the Millennial value system stands as an oppressive form of thought conformity that leverages social pressure to achieve generational groupthink. As such, the fabricated Millennial value system could actually qualify as a social construct.

This fabricated social construct seeks to deny independent thinking and to exploit both the buying and voting choices of an entire generation. It’s time for Millennials to think for themselves, to reject labels and to oppose generational groupthink. Rather than be a grievance group defined by socialist leanings, student debt and narcissism, Millennials need to have the courage to think independently, to pursue honest dialogue and to reject the bankrupt ideas the purveyors of identity politics expect them to believe.

This article does not necessarily reflect the generational groupthink widely considered as “Millennial values.” Rather, it was written by a non-conforming, independent thinker who happens to have been born in the 1980s.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/56947-problems-with-the-millennial-label

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Trump Understands U.S.-North Korea History39 — John Bolton puts to bed any suggestion that North Korea can pull the wool over Trump’s eyes.
Video: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness40 — This Fourth of July, when you watch the fireworks, think about the Declaration of Independence.
Video: Are College Students Proud to Be American?41 — Campus Reform hits the streets of New York to ask young people their opinion.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Victor Davis Hanson42: “In reaction to the sudden loss of political power, Democrats would have been wise to run to the center, as did Bill Clinton, who all but ended the era of the Reagan Republicans. They could have dropped their obsession with identity politics and instead attempted to win over blue-collar voters with more inclusive class appeals rather than racial appeals. Instead, Democrats have endlessly replayed the 2016 election. In Groundhog Day fashion, Hillary Clinton repeatedly offered tired excuses for her loss. To progressives, Trump became not an opponent to be beaten with a better agenda but an evil to be destroyed. Moderate Democrats were written off as dense; left-wing fringe elements were praised as clever. Voters in 2016 bristled at redistribution, open borders, bigger government and higher taxes, but progressives are now promising those voters even more of what they didn’t want. Furious over the sudden and unexpected loss of power, enraged progressives have so far done almost everything to lose even more of it. And that paradox only leads to more furor.”

SHORT CUTS

For the record: “Trump’s approval among Republicans is at a near-record 87%, comparable to the levels of support for George W. Bush in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Think about that: The Left’s attacks on Trump have had the same rallying effect for GOP voters as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.” —Marc A. Thiessen

Non Compos Mentis: “A reminder this Fourth of July: it was eight immigrants who signed the Declaration of Independence. Happy Independence Day.” —Sen. Kamala Harris (D-2020) (Yes, LEGAL immigrants…)

Braying Jenny: “To every country on the 4th of July. We’re sorry about our president. He doesn’t reflect all of our views — and we hope you know that the majority of us are ashamed. We will rally each other and come back to the world one step at a time.” —Chelsea Handler

That’s a bleak future: “I have three kids. Two of them are daughters. One just graduated college, one … is in college, and they were both texting me about their excitement over [socialist] Alexandria [Ocasio-Cortez] because she really — she represents the future of our party.” —DNC Chairman Tom Perez

Missing the forest for the trees: “On abortion, as well as same-sex marriage, a conservative court on social issues would lag behind the American people, a majority of whom hold a non-absolutist position on abortion rights, even if many wouldn’t object to some reasonable restrictions, according to the Pew Research Center. … What new justice would want to be that man or woman, who forevermore would be credited with upending settled law and causing massive societal upheaval?” —Kathleen Parker (For Rule of Law judicial stalwarts, this isn’t a popularity contest. Their only prerogative is about defending the Constitution.)

Braying Jenny: “Give me a break! What is more uncivil and cruel than taking children away? It should be met with resolve and strength. And if some of that comes across as a little uncivil, well, children’s lives are at stake; their futures are at stake.” —Hillary Clinton condoning the Left’s vitriol

And last… “Patriotism in America means loving limited government. It is that simple. You love that America has a constitutionally limited government, or you do not love America.” —Jesse Kelly

https://patriotpost.us/articles/56951-thursday-short-cuts

Join our editors and staff 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