The Patriot Post Digest 8-1-2018

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-1-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Aug. 1, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/57483-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections.” —John Adams (1797)

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Worried about election integrity? Try voter ID.
3D guns — targeting free speech in the name of gun control.
Comedy is dead, and leftists murdered it.
The truth about wildfires has little to do with climate change.
Facebook tackles leftist agitprop.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists, and Short Cuts.

IN BRIEF
Dems Worry About Election Integrity, Oppose Voter ID1

Thomas Gallatin

President Donald Trump declared at a Tuesday rally in Florida, “If you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card. You need ID.” Cue the Leftmedia fact-check freak out. Headlines across the nation reacted similarly to the Chicago Tribune’s, which read, “Trump at rally makes false claim on photo IDs for groceries2.” But if you buy, for instance, a six-pack of beer with your groceries, Trump is spot on. Intentionally missing the point of Trump’s broadly accurate remarks, the mainstream media saw an opportunity to dismiss outright Trump’s clear message: The best and most practical way to defend the integrity of U.S. elections is through voter ID laws.

Democrats and the Leftmedia have been sounding the alarm over threats to the integrity of our nation’s elections ever since Trump won the presidency “colluded with Russia to steal the election.” Specifically, they point to Russian meddling that involved posting disinformation on social media sites and hacking Hillary Clinton’s and the DNC’s emails, neither of which was proven to have changed a single vote. And yet for years Democrats have fought every effort to actually protect the integrity of elections by screaming racism every time voter ID legislation is proposed.

In fact, as Trump pointed out, Democrats are the ones actively seeking to destroy the integrity of elections by seeking to register noncitizens3 to the voter rolls. In San Francisco, Russian national Elizaveta Shuvalova found out that she had been added to the voter rolls back in 2012 even though she did not become a U.S. citizen until 2017. Upon finding out that her name was on the voter rolls, Shuvalova said, “I’ve never registered for anything in my entire life. This is news to me.” Yet the San Francisco County voter log shows that in 2012 Shuvalova was registered as a Democrat4.

So while Democrats and the mainstream media label Trump a liar and bemoan5 his supposed lack of effort to secure America’s elections, the real issue here is that Democrats obstruct voter ID laws, the most practical and cost-effective way to actually secure the integrity of our nation’s elections, while advocating for registering noncitizens to vote. That’s blatant hypocrisy.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57480-dems-worry-about-election-integrity-oppose-voter-id

Targeting Free Speech in the Name of Gun Control6
Harold Hutchison

The state of New Jersey has long been hostile to Second Amendment rights. Now, though, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is trying to silence the voice of a pro-Second Amendment organization by crying “public nuisance7.” In fact, several states have sued to block8 the release of blueprints for 3D-printed guns, and a judge has agreed9. The decision would be dangerous if it weren’t so laughable.

Here’s the deal: In June, Defense Distributed was able to force a settlement10 with the U.S. State Department following a five-year court battle. It started in 2013 when that company released the computer files to make a single-shot .380 ACP pistol that could be produced by a 3D printer. That pistol was called the Liberator. In two days, more than 100,000 copies of the design were downloaded, and the plans were posted on at least 4,000 other sites.

The Obama administration’s State Department took legal action11 to try and shut it down — in essence, threatening prosecution for violating arms-trafficking laws. But it was closing the barn door after the horses had made their getaway. Furthermore, other designs are emerging, as this incomplete list on Wikipedia12 shows.

To date, there has been no evidence that a 3D-printed gun has been misused to commit a crime. In fact, there are laws already on the books that make using a firearm — any firearm — in a crime an offense with serious jail time. 3D guns are not “undetectable” as Leftmedia reports lament, as there is a 1988 law outlawing such guns. And building your own firearm at home has been legal since our nation’s founding.

But that hasn’t stopped these states from trying to muzzle a pro-Second Amendment voice. We aren’t ever surprised about this sort of thing coming from the Left, which, more now than ever, is willing to use the power of the government to silence political opponents. Even the once-formidable free-speech defenders at the ACLU are choosing to be silent13 and, thus, complicit in that trend.

The public nuisance claim is particularly pernicious when we look at the Second Amendment. In the late 1990s, big-city mayors teamed up with trial lawyers to use the threat of massive legal fees to try to get firearms manufacturers to limit what they produced, even as supporters of the Second Amendment were winning legislative battles across the country.

This latest threat, though, is a slippery slope. Today, it may be Defense Distributed, but given Andrew Cuomo’s actions14 in New York, would we see other forms of pro-Second Amendment advocacy targeted as a “public nuisance”? We wish this wasn’t a viable worry, but the actions of some hard-left state attorneys general in recent years (not to mention Lois Lerner and the IRS scandal) indicate that it is.

When it comes right down to it, in their zeal to restrict Second Amendment rights, leftists are now placing a huge target on the First Amendment. This is a development that should frighten all Americans, no matter where they stand on gun control.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57451-targeting-free-speech-in-the-name-of-gun-control

Top Headlines15

Wages, benefits grow at fastest rate in nearly a decade (National Review16)
Trump calls on Jeff Sessions to end Russia probe “right now” (Washington Examiner17)
Senate GOP, Dems reach deal to move major domestic spending bill (The Hill18)
Kelly agrees to remain chief of staff through 2020 at Trump’s request (The Wall Street Journal19)
Trump administration deals another blow to ObamaCare, removes ban on short term health insurance plans (National Review20)
Pentagon to start creating Space Force21 — even before Congress approves it (Defense One22)
ICE official has to explain to Democrat senator that illegal aliens break the law (The Daily Wire23)
EPA: Key air pollutants drop 73% since 1970 (The Daily Signal24)
Oh, well okay then! “Medicare for All25” could cost $32 trillion but may also save $2 trillion (ABC News26)
Humor: Ginsburg: “I am mentally fit enough to serve through the end of President Eisenhower’s term” (The Babylon Bee27)
Policy: The 3D-gun debate: separating truth from fiction (National Review28)
Policy: Memo to Trump: Listen to Larry Kudlow and fix the unfair capital gains tax (Investor’s Business Daily29)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report30.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57482-wednesday-top-headlines

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Comedy Is Dead, and Leftists Murdered It34

Louis DeBroux

American leftists are miserable, truly unhappy people.

Everything, it seems, offends them. Marriage and the nuclear family (father, mother, children), the basic unit of all civilizations for millennia, the Left now considers anachronistic, oppressive, and patriarchal. Leftists oppose the free market, which has lifted more people out of poverty than anything else in human history. They hate individual liberty (because bureaucrats can order our lives better than we can), the rich (except rich progressives), the NFL (not because social justice warriors are protesting the anthem but because the sport is too violent, and there aren’t enough minority coaches and owners), steak, school choice, low taxes, the Constitution, plastic straws, country music, Israel, non-coastal Americans…

…and laughter.

Yes, even comedy, which once brought together Americans of all stripes by highlighting the common struggles and absurdities of life in a humorous way, has come under the angry glare of the American Left. There is no aspect of life or culture remaining that leftists aren’t offended by.

This is leading to the death of comedy35.

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-1-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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Late-night talk shows were once a welcome distraction from the stresses of life for millions of Americans, but no more. Late-night comedians have become self-righteous moralizers, raging against President Donald Trump as a modern-day American Hitler, while excoriating his supporters as either ignorant rubes or willing accomplices to Trump’s “crimes.” From Jimmy Kimmel’s ObamaCare cry-fests36 to Stephen Colbert’s vile and graphic anti-Trump shtick, everywhere you turn leftist comedians are trying to out-scold each other over who can hate Trump, Republicans, conservatives, and Christians the most.

In fact, comedy is being replaced by a form of anti-comedy, as personified by an Australian “comedian” named Hannah Gadsby, creator of “Nanette,” a stage show where Gadsby delves into her own experience with “gender and sexual trauma,” and how women and the LGBT crowd are mistreated and silenced. She lashes out at men — all men — for enabling such abuse. The New York Times calls the show “comedy-destroying.” It’s meant as a compliment.

Comedians no longer find common ground all Americans can relate to. Instead, they actively denigrate half the population to the vitriolic glee of the other half.

Of course, not all comedians have followed that path. Many have just given up37. Jerry Seinfeld, the undisputed King of Comedy for a generation, quit stand-up comedy because progressives have sucked all of the joy out of it. Instead, Seinfeld is working on the 10th season of a show called “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee,” which is exactly what it sounds like. He avoids political pot-stirring, and just talks humorously about life. He stopped performing on college campuses because today’s young “adults” can’t listen to comedy without getting enraged and offended. Black comedian Chris Rock, known for his no-holds-barred, edgy comedy, stopped performing on college campuses for the same reason.

And in an era when so-called liberals get their “news” from leftist comedians, they have lost the ability to identify hyperbole and satire. Recently, such “objective” journalistic outlets as The Washington Post, ABC News, NBC News, and Google News ran supposed news headlines highlighting attacks on President Trump38 by late-night talk show hosts. And this is news why? It’s not news, of course, but it allows the MSM another way to attack Trump.

It is a self-destructive cycle. The more hateful the attacks on the president and average Americans by late-night comedians, the more viewers they lose39. The more viewers they lose, the more hateful they become in their anti-Trump invective in order to maximize ratings among the remaining, increasingly radical-Left viewership.

As sad as this development is, it’s also dangerous. More and more, young progressives are becoming incapable of facing setbacks, disappointments, and dealing civilly with those of opposing viewpoints. They require safe spaces and “trigger warnings” in order to be protected from “microaggressions” and other leftist boogeymen. They cheer physical violence against political opponents.

The more they indulge this radical infantilism40, the more incapable they become of dealing with everyday life.

A recent study by three Harvard University psychologists found, “Trigger warnings may inadvertently undermine some aspects of emotional resilience. … This finding could have significant implications in the context of ongoing cultural debates about the power of language in reinforcing perceived oppression. That is, if we are telling students that words are akin to violence and can cause harm, and then giving them trigger warnings to compound that message, we risk increasing immediate anxiety responses rather than decreasing them.”

This type of emotional crippling has become so pervasive that a new sub-specialty has arisen in the psychiatric field; namely, treatment of “Trump Anxiety Disorder41,” in which the patient fears the world ending as a result of the presidency of Donald J. Trump. That’s an odd thing to fear when the economy is finally thriving and life is generally good in America.

Yet many leftists genuinely fear an economic collapse, the death of free speech, nuclear war with North Korea, and other doomsday scenarios, despite no realistic justification.

And that’s just not funny.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57464-comedy-is-dead-and-leftists-murdered-it

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

The Truth About Wildfires42 — The media’s emotional narrative is about climate change instead of a more accurate picture.
Facebook Tackles Leftist Agitprop43 — Believe it or not, Facebook made a move this week that conservatives might cheer.
Video: The End of Tipping?44 — Celebrities, union activists, and politicians demand a higher minimum wage for restaurant workers.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Gary Bauer: “Believe it or not, illegal immigrants are now suing the federal government over the treatment they received in our detention facilities. And, no, this has nothing to do with the controversial policy of family separation. We are told that these migrants suffered incredible hardships to get here. That they left countries where they feared being murdered by brutal gangs. That they trekked thousands of miles in fear of being raped. That they endured hunger and extreme thirst. Yet the moment they cross our border they suddenly turn into the equivalent of whiny college snowflakes. According to the lawsuit, migrants complained that their soup was cold, that the shelters were chilly, or that they only got two burritos a day. While some allegations are more serious, one illegal immigrant complained about her gluten allergy. Are we now required to provide gluten-free meals to illegal immigrants? Will we be required to provide Halal meals to some portion of the thousands of people crossing our borders from nations designated as ‘state sponsors of terrorism’? Millions of Americans in their 60s and 70s have moving stories of a parent or grandparent who arrived on the shores of this country fleeing persecution and strife. They came not carrying the flag of the country they were from but desperately wanting to wave the flag of this country. They came to a country without food stamps or welfare. And it would never have crossed their grateful minds to complain that the food was cold! Sarah Huckabee Sanders can’t eat dinner in a Virginia restaurant, but illegal immigrants have a right to gluten-free burritos?!”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The minute you read something that you can’t understand, you can almost be sure it was drawn up by a lawyer.” —Will Rogers (1879-1935)

For the record: “This week, Charles Blahous of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University released a study25 taking a look at the cost of [Bernie] Sanders’ preferred [Medicare for All] program. The total: $32.6 trillion over 10 years. Over that same period, our total federal spending is projected at $56 trillion — and we’re already racking up debt like there’s no tomorrow on that budget. That means that we could double our taxes at every level and still not come close to covering Sanders’ program. Sanders responded to this unfortunate news by attacking the study, blaming the nefarious Koch brothers for sponsoring Blahous’ basic math. There’s only one problem: The Urban Institute, a left-leaning outlet, estimated the cost at $32 trillion. So this isn’t a right-left problem. It’s a basic math problem. Sanders doesn’t understand basic math. Or, more accurately, he doesn’t care about it.” —Ben Shapiro

Non Compos Mentis: “The solution to America’s immigration problems is open borders, under which the United States imposes no immigration restrictions at all. If the U.S. adopts this policy, the benefits will far outweigh the costs.” —Cato Institute’s Jeffrey Miron

Braying jackass: “Surely as we’re here today, nothing’s going to happen from his administration. We’re going to have to pass legislation [against 3D guns6]. Because they are just enslaved by the NRA.” —Chuck Schumer

And last… “Why are we so worried about 3D guns? Aren’t 2D guns even easier to conceal?” —Frank Fleming

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57465-wednesday-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