The Patriot Post Digest 8-24-2018

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-24-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Aug. 24, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/57855-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the objects of the government; secondly, a knowledge of the means, by which those objects can be best attained.” —Joseph Story (1833)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/57854-founders-quote-daily

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Despite a bad news week, Trump’s presidency has yielded good results.
Are Trump and Sessions running a strategic script?
More than half of kids live with at least one person on means-tested benefits.
50 states and the freedom to compare.
The danger to the U.S. electrical grid gets some needed attention.
The NFL’s misplaced loyalty — it sure isn’t with fans.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists, and Short Cuts.

IN BRIEF
Reminder: Trump’s a Pretty Good President1

Nate Jackson

This week was dominated by salacious news2 that wasn’t good3 for President Donald Trump. But his presidency has yielded far more good news than bad news, and it’s worth keeping that in mind in spite of the efforts of Democrats and their Leftmedia cohorts to overturn the 2016 election results.

On the economic front, Trump and the Republican Congress passed massive tax cuts4 for the vast majority of Americans — without a single Democrat vote. (In fact, Democrats continue to campaign against you keeping more of your money.) Trump’s record rollback5 of regulations is saving billions of dollars. He exited the economically costly Paris Climate Accord6. Tax cuts and deregulation have jumpstarted the economy (which is bad news for Democrats7) and seeded a record-long bull market8. Even Trump’s tariffs and trade negotiations are a strategic gamble9 to use a good economy to bear the short-term cost for long-term gain.

The Supreme Court (the judiciary in general) is why many voters gave Trump their support in 2016. That’s paid off, with the appointment of Neil Gorsuch10, the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh11, and a record number12 of lower-court judicial picks.

With those court picks and his own administration’s efforts, Trump is rewarding evangelicals’ decision to put aside concerns about his moral character and vote for a man with the right policies. He has done substantial work to restore and support religious liberty13, which is under attack like never before from the Left, as well as protect life14 for the unborn.

Just to check off a few other items, Trump is serious about immigration enforcement15. He’s rebuilding our military16. The Islamic State, which Barack Obama allowed to rise, is now in tatters17 thanks to Trump. He’s holding at bay U.S. adversaries like North Korea18. He’s far too tough on Russia19 for a guy who Democrats insist owes his election to the Kremlin. He nuked Obama’s Iran deal20 and kept a 23-year-old American promise to move the U.S. embassy21 in Israel to Jerusalem.

We certainly exasperate Trump’s diehard fans with our criticism of his character, but we also irritate his detractors (even conservatives) with these regular reminders of how much good he’s accomplishing. That, in a nutshell, is the enigma of the Trump presidency.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57850-reminder-trumps-a-pretty-good-president

Trump’s Sessions Strategy22
Thomas Gallatin

“I put in an attorney general who never took control of the Justice Department. Jeff Sessions never took control of the Justice Department,” President Donald Trump said during a Fox News interview aired on Thursday. During that interview, Trump also pointedly stated, “Jeff Sessions recused himself, which he shouldn’t have done or he should have told me. Even my enemies say that ‘Jeff Sessions should have told you that he was going to recuse himself and then you wouldn’t have put him in.’”

This has been a long-running complaint repeatedly expressed by Trump ever since Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Russian election meddling. But on Thursday, Sessions pushed back: “I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the President’s agenda — one that protects the safety and security and rights of the American people, reduces violent crime, enforces our immigration laws, promotes economic growth, and advances religious liberty.” He then added, “While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.”

This latest flap raises an obvious question: If Trump is so disappointed with Sessions, why has he not fired him? Well, some Republicans think it’s coming. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) opined, “The president’s entitled to an attorney general he has faith in … and I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice.” He added, “Clearly, Attorney General Sessions doesn’t have the confidence of the president.”

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) warned Trump against firing Sessions, while at the same time rebuking his fellow senators who suggest otherwise. Sasse asserted, “It would be a very, very, very bad idea to fire the attorney general because he’s not executing his job as a political hack.”

These two Republican responses may lend some insight into Trump’s strategy of perceived chaos. For better or worse, Trump embraces the adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity. He always acts to keep himself front and center in an effort to get his message out as broadly as possible. Here he’s using Sessions as a foil in order to reinforce his message that there is a deep state seeking to undermine the will of the American people by engaging in a witch hunt into the nonexistent Trump/Russia collusion conspiracy. It’s no secret that much of the Washington establishment has never accepted his election and has been working to see him removed from office.

But the other angle may be that Trump is giving his critics within the Republican Party someone to rally behind. This allows these Never-Trumpers to feel comfortable voting Republican in the midterms, but supporting the party’s agenda rather than directly supporting Trump. In a sense it’s a win-win strategy.

Then again, there may be no four-dimensional chess strategy here. It could be that Trump is just spouting off what he thinks, irrespective of what those in the political class consider to be proper or presidential. What’s important to note is that while Trump says things that are off-the-cuff, the decisions he has made as president1 are anything but impulsive or reactionary. If anything, he’s effectively communicating to the American public that he is not beholden to the Washington establishment.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57852-trumps-sessions-strategy

Top Headlines23

U.S. taxpayers are already saving, as administration confirms decision to defund UN Human Rights Office (CNS News24)
Bruce Ohr bypassed DOJ superiors to feed FBI info from Trump dossier author (Washington Examiner25)
Rep. Duncan Hunter pleads not guilty to misusing $250k in campaign funds (National Review26)
Senate rejects Paul’s effort to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding (The Hill27)
Mick Mulvaney’s CFPB reforms pave the way for his successor (Washington Examiner28)
DNC announces “sophisticated” hack was actually just an unauthorized security test (National Review29)
Anti-Trump NSA leaker Reality Winner30 sentenced to more than five years (Fox News31)
Chinese military joining Russians for nuclear war games (The Washington Free Beacon32)
Study says Russian bots are stirring up anti-vaccination online (The Daily Wire33)
Humor: Students excited to see slate of notable speakers who will be disinvited to campus this year (The Onion34)
Policy: The California wildfire and net neutrality: The conversation we should really have (American Enterprise Institute35)
Policy: Millennials may love socialism, but socialism won’t love them back (Investor’s Business Daily36)

For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report37.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57853-friday-top-headlines

TODAY’S MEME

https://patriotpost.us/memes/57848-then-and-now

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union38.

TODAY’S CARTOON

https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/26486

For more of today’s top cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive39.

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Welfare Hits a Sad Milestone41

Brian Mark Weber

House Republicans are pushing for commonsense welfare reform with new work requirements, while Democrats are cuing up a predictable response: accusations of racism, heartlessness, and starving children. Of course, that’s the clear difference between the conservative and progressive approaches to poverty. One seeks to break the cycle and empower individuals, while the other seeks to create the conditions for long-term government dependency.

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-24-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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Here’s the proof: California recently exempted more than 800,000 of its residents from the welfare work requirement, even though the provision is designed for tough economic times. But California’s unemployment rate, at just over 4%, is near a 10-year low.

Charles Fain Lehman writes42 at The Washington Free Beacon, “The consequence of all this is that, in the middle of a booming economy, hundreds of thousands of able-bodied, childless Californians won’t be obliged to work. Many will opt not to.”

Despite what Democrats say, House Republicans don’t want anyone to go hungry, nor do they aim to pull the rug out from under those in genuine need of assistance. The real objective is to change a culture in which people are conditioned to receiving benefits from the government to one in which they can stand on their own two feet.

In fact, in April of this year, President Donald Trump signed43 the Executive Order on Economic Mobility, which required all government assistance programs to undergo a comprehensive review, with the long-term goal of promoting work and self-sufficiency.

Not surprisingly, Democrats oppose the idea. And they’re ready to fight despite their lack of numbers in the House. But if Democrats wanted to reconnect with the concerns of real Americans, they’d listen to their own constituents.

Kristina Rasmussen of the Washington Examiner reports44, “About 82 percent of all likely voters, including an overwhelming 71 percent of Democrats, support requiring able-bodied adults to work in exchange for staying on food stamps. Yet last month, Democrats in the House of Representatives unanimously voted against the farm bill and the proven reforms it contained — including work requirements.”

But what about the impact of entrenched poverty on children?

It’s no wonder that so many young people today are looking at socialism more favorably than capitalism45. For nearly a century, generations of Americans have lived in a society where they’re affected to varying degrees by government assistance. Consequently, they see the federal government’s safety net as an essential part of our society rather than a temporary solution.

And the numbers are growing.

Terrence Jeffrey writes46 at CNS News, “Twenty years ago, in 1998, according to Census Bureau data, only 36.9 percent of Americans under 18 lived in a household receiving means-tested government assistance. In 2008, the percentage broke 40 percent for the first time. In 2013, it broke 50 percent for the first time. America has now seen four straight years — 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 — during which a majority of those under 18 lived in a household taking means-tested benefits.”

Unfortunately, children who grow up in an environment where their parents don’t work, and their friends’ parents don’t work, come to see this as a normal state of affairs. Single-parent homes make it even harder for these children to learn how to make it on their own.

Jeffrey adds, “The Census Bureau data indicate that people living in intact families are less likely to be on government assistance than people living in broken families. Nonetheless, the government-dependency rate is still high for intact families that have children under 18.”

The Resurgent’s David Thornton notes47, “Out-of-wedlock births have risen alongside the increased government assistance. For women under 30, more than half of all births now occur outside of marriage. To some extent, government assistance has replaced a spouse’s income in these single-parent families.”

An entitlement culture might not be so hopeless if our elected leaders would seek ways to lift people out of poverty — or at least try to break the cycle of dependency on government programs.

But these are politicians, after all, and government dependency is their electoral lifeblood. Why empower your supporters economically when you can promise them a handout at the ballot box?

And that’s one of the reasons why House Democrats are demonizing Republicans’ efforts to introduce a simple work ethic to welfare. Is it too much to ask that people receiving benefits make a concerted effort to find work and become independent?

Democrats think so, and if they take back the House in November, welfare reform will come to a sudden halt — and another generation of Americans will be at risk of becoming wards of the state.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57845-welfare-hits-a-sad-milestone

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

50 States and the Freedom to Compare48 — A review of the Cato Institute’s invaluable report card for Liberty among the states.
The Danger to U.S. Electrical Grid Gets Needed Awareness49 — While no defense mechanism is ironclad, Americans should take some solace.
The NFL’s Misplaced Loyalty50 — The league has a long history of enforcing behavior rules for players, so why not for anthem protesters?
Humor Video: Bad Lip Reading at the White House51 — A little fun reimagining what Sanders might actually want to say to the White House press corps.

OPINION IN BRIEF

David Limbaugh: “Democrats figure that if they can’t yet get enough impeachment traction from the Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort cases, they’ll at least be able to delay Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. … For all their cacophony, the Democrats’ obstructionist ploy against Kavanaugh won’t work. As an unnamed GOP strategist correctly observed, ‘this isn’t going anywhere. It’s just the latest in a series of spaghetti-on-the-wall tactics that fall flat and make them look silly. … This actually makes things even more difficult for red-state Democrats and further energizes the Republican base.’ That’s exactly right. Trump voters know that Democrats were never going to give Kavanaugh a fair hearing and that they will continue trying to delegitimize Trump’s presidency and his lawful exercise of presidential powers. I’m betting the voters recognize this as just another chapter in the Democrats’ ongoing effort to overturn the election by any means and disenfranchise them. May it backfire right in their faces.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “Truth is the most valuable thing we have, so I try to conserve it.” —Mark Twain

Dezinformatsiya: “Liberal cable news outlets evidently had their own fairy tale ending in mind when former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations: impeachment. On Wednesday, CNN and MSNBC reporters, anchors, and paid contributors used the word an absurd 222 times in 18 hours.” —Newsbusters

Belly laugh of the week: “I have a following in the country that’s unsurpassed by anybody, unless they’re running for president.” —Nancy Pelosi

Non Compos Mentis: “If you start arming teachers — there are black and brown students … who are being disciplined more than their white counterparts — you could then start seeing statistics where potentially black students are getting shot or in accidents when their teachers are trying to shoot or do gun safety measures.” —MSNBC contributor Yamiche Alcindor

The end is nigh: “Our children’s lives are on the line. Not a single elected official, Democrat OR Republican, should accept money from fossil fuel corporations. Americans are dying because of a government too coward to save the planet. It’s wrong. And we will need a Green New Deal to survive.” —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The BIG Lie: “#AbolishICE means not having an agency that incarcerates children and sexually assaults women with impunity. It does not mean abolish deportation.” —Ocasio-Cortez

Alpha Jackass: “[Mollie Tibbetts’ illegal immigrant killer] was just a part of the community. An all-American boy working really hard.” —attorney Allan Richards

And last… “‘Don’t blame all illegal immigrants for the heinous crimes of one,’ said the folks who blame everyone in the NRA for acts committed by people not in it.” —Twitter satirist @hale_razor

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57849-friday-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