The Patriot Post Digest 9-14-2018

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-14-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Sep. 14, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/58262-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever persuasion, religious or political.” —Thomas Jefferson (1801)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/58260-founders-quote-daily

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Democrats release another cynical move to obstruct Kavanaugh.
As Florence makes landfall, the media is busy blaming Trump for Maria.
John Kerry admits to unauthorized diplomacy.
The climate cabal is moving forward with another summit.
Demographic shifts in the West are bringing about more nationalism.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists, and Short Cuts.

IN BRIEF
Feinstein Blows #MeToo Dog Whistle on Kavanaugh1

Thomas Gallatin

In the Democrats’ latest attempt to dupe women voters2 and obstruct3 President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced: “I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision. I have, however, referred the matter to federal investigative authorities.” In other words, I’ve got some really, really bad information about Kavanaugh. I won’t tell you what it is, but trust me, it’s really bad.

The mainstream media dutifully reported that the letter in question was sent to Feinstein by a concerned constituent months ago, and that it purportedly references an incident of sexual misconduct involving Kavanaugh from when he was in high school.

National Review’s David French notes the disingenuous nature of this latest Democrat play, writing4, “Feinstein’s conduct raises multiple questions. If the allegations are serious, why sit on them since July? Also, if the allegations are serious, why refer them to law enforcement just now? And why not ask Kavanaugh about the claims, even in a closed session? While we don’t know the contents of the letter, Feinstein has not behaved like a person in possession of blockbuster revelations. Instead, she’s behaving like a person engaged in a vicious smear.”

The FBI, which investigates every judicial nominee, has declined to initiate a new investigation following this latest gambit by Democrats, which should be a clear indication of just how little credibility this accusation holds.

Kerri Kupec, a White House spokesperson, responded to Feinstein’s political stunt: “Throughout his confirmation process, Judge Kavanaugh has had 65 meetings with senators — including with Sen. Feinstein — [and] sat through over 30 hours of testimony, addressed over 2,000 questions in a public setting and additional questions in a confidential session. Not until the eve of his confirmation has Sen. Feinstein or anyone raised the specter of new ‘information’ about him.”

As we previously noted, Democrats seek to weaponize the Kavanaugh confirmation process as a means for ginning up support from the party’s largest base, women voters. This latest play by Feinstein is a bald-faced attempt to exploit the #MeToo movement for this purpose. It’s also a cynical replay of the “high-tech lynching” Clarence Thomas endured in 1991. Without providing even a single specific allegation, Democrats and their cohorts in the Leftmedia are playing up vague and unsubstantiated innuendo as enough evidence to justify delaying the vote on Kavanaugh until after the midterm elections. It’s one of the most despicable displays of dirty politics seen in quite some time, and that’s saying something given the Democrats’ history of smearing GOP Supreme Court nominees and their nonstop resistance campaign against Trump.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58257-feinstein-blows-number-metoo-dog-whistle-on-kavanaugh

Dissecting Hurricane Maria’s Death-Toll Quarrel5

Jordan Candler

Within mere days of firing the opening salvo6 in the Hurricane Florence blame game by ridiculously accusing President Donald Trump of being “complicit,” The Washington Post is now accusing the president of spinning up a “political storm” by virtue of a “false claim on [the] Puerto Rico hurricane death toll.” What’s that saying again? Oh, right — without double standards, leftists wouldn’t have any.

First, some background. In late August, The Washington Post reported7, “Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico led to a spike in mortality across the U.S. territory, with an estimated 2,975 excess deaths in the six months after the storm made landfall in September 2017, according to a sweeping report from George Washington University.”

But yesterday, Trump dissented, stating: “3000 people did not die in … Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000.” In his view, “This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico.”

That didn’t sit well with the Leftmedia. In response, the Post fumed8, “Trump sought to minimize the deaths of thousands of American citizens while appearing to shirk responsibility for the government’s performance in responding to natural disasters. He also sought refuge as he habitually does in conspiracy theories, claiming that a hidden hand was at work to sabotage him.”

The Post further notes that “Trump has been especially piqued by the replaying of footage of him throwing paper towels into a crowd of relief workers in Puerto Rico two weeks after Maria, an episode that has come to symbolize the president’s lack of empathy in the eyes of his critics.” This gets us to the first point, which is that the Leftmedia exploits every occasion — Hurricane Florence in this case — to rekindle so-called scandals, and Trump’s “imprudence” (perceived or otherwise) will always be to exchange blows. He didn’t succumb when goaded, and now media outlets are capitalizing for political (and advertising) gain. As the Post itself so tellingly opined, “Trump exposed political vulnerabilities for his party eight weeks before the midterm elections — particularly in Florida, where Puerto Rican immigrants make up a prized voting bloc.” No ulterior motives for the Post there, right?

Was Trump’s response inappropriate? Almost certainly. But so was the Leftmedia’s provocation. He wrestled with a pig, got dirty, and the pig liked it. It’s true that the death-toll data needs to be scrutinized9. But as Erick Erickson observes10, “If the media wasn’t trying so hard to always blame Trump, he’d be less defensive.” Moreover, Puerto Rico is piloted by a slew of bungling leftists. Why else would millions of water bottles be needlessly rotting?11 Yet guess which party gets a pass?

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58258-dissecting-hurricane-marias-death-toll-quarrel

Kerry Admits to Secret Nuke Negotiations12

Nate Jackson

If anything was made clear by John Kerry’s recently released autobiography, it’s this observation13 from political analyst Eli Lake: “What John Kerry is most fond of … is John Kerry.” But we already knew that. One thing that displays this haughty self-importance is his habit of taking on foreign-policy negotiations without the authority to do so. From his treasonous negotiations14 with the North Vietnamese in 1971 while still an officer in the U.S. Navy to private negotiations15 with the Palestinians last January, Kerry thinks his foreign policy trumps America’s.

Now, as part of his self-promoting book tour, Kerry admitted to meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif “three or four times” since leaving office, in part to discuss his disastrous nuclear deal16 with the mullahs. These meetings were reported17 in May, but Kerry’s admission confirms them. He said his advice to Iran was simple: Wait out Donald Trump’s presidency. “I think everybody in the world is talking about waiting out President Trump,” he smugly huffed.

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The Patriot Post Digest 9-14-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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Investor’s Business Daily reiterates a point18 we’ve made before:

This is a plain violation of the Logan Act, the 199-year-old law that forbids private American citizens from conducting foreign policy without authorization.

No one has ever been prosecuted under the law, largely because it was never really intended for that. It was meant to send a message to private citizens to butt out when it comes to diplomacy and foreign affairs.

But Kerry’s interference comes as close to being prosecutable under the Logan Act as anything we’ve seen. Not only did he circumvent a lawfully elected government’s official channels, but he did so with the intent of undoing a specific policy, namely the U.S. sanctions on Iran for violating its nuclear agreements.

Democrats certainly went after former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn for supposedly violating the Logan Act, which, admittedly, is what Republican Sen. Tom Cotton called a “stupid, dead-letter law.” All the same, we now only hear crickets from the Demo peanut gallery.

Kerry is a traitor who lied in congressional testimony about his fellow American servicemen after his tour in Vietnam. He should be prosecuted for treason, not just for running afoul of the Logan Act with his talks with the Palestinians and Iranians. Like his former boss, Barack Obama, he’s a globalist first — a man who considers America no better than any other nation. His contempt for our country is contemptible, and it’s high time he paid a real price for it.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58256-kerry-admits-to-secret-nuke-negotiations

Top Headlines19

Hurricane Florence makes landfall as a Category 1 (Fox News20)
With Hurricane Florence bearing down, political ads on the Weather Channel go up (The Resurgent21)
Republicans thwart Democratic request for Kavanaugh documents, schedule confirmation vote (National Review22)
Congress reaches deal to fund government through Dec. 7, preventing shutdown (The Hill23)
Feds collect record individual income taxes through August; still run $898B deficit (CNS News24)
Democrats will impose massive tax hikes if they win Congress (Washington Examiner25)
Paul Manafort will plead guilty, forfeit many assets in special counsel probe (ABC News26)
ObamaCare is still failing at it’s ostensible objective: 29 million still uninsured (The Washington Free Beacon27)
California gives new meaning to “nanny state” with proposed regulations on kids’ meals (Washington Examiner28)
Humor: 50.7 million children now detained in Trump’s facilities — they’re known as public schools (ScrappleFace29)
Policy: Kerry should be prosecuted for illegal Iran meetings (Investor’s Business Daily18)
Policy: Confronting the governance crisis in the Middle East (American Enterprise Institute30)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report31.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58261-friday-top-headlines

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

The Stealth Agenda of Climate Cronyism35 — The issue of climate change is more about influence, money, and power than about science.
American Demographics Are Changing Big Time36 — Immigration was a huge issue in 2016, and population trends signify why it’s remains one.
California’s 100% Clean-Energy Scheme37 — By 2045, the Golden State aims to get all of its electricity from carbon-free sources.
PC Police Suppress Another Scientific Study38 — Apparently, saying men and women are different is something leftist academics can’t tolerate.
Video: Media Can Hardly Contain Excitement at Obama’s Return39 — He broke his months-long silence to rebuke Trump. Media folks are awfully excited.

OPINION IN BRIEF

David Limbaugh: “It’s no small irony that one of the major factors driving Trump supporters’ steadfast loyalty is the arrogance and outrageousness of the left. They expect support for Trump to evaporate because he supposedly exhibits the very type of extremism and unhinged conduct they display themselves — every single day. Pot, kettle, my friends. They might have a plausible theory if Trump’s hard-core supporters constituted a smaller fraction of Republicans, but they are literally arguing that almost all Republicans are delusional and cult-like — that they put party above the national interest. How likely is it that 90 percent of Republicans became insane overnight? That the ever-bumbling Trump (according to the liberal media narrative) cast a captivating spell on them from which they can’t escape? Nope. The truth is that Republicans are witnessing how radical the Democratic Party has become and that these leftist policies were greatly damaging America. With their reasoning powers fully engaged, Republicans recognize that Trump is fighting to preserve the America they love, and that on a policy level at least, he is making major strides toward reversing Obama’s destructive course. While Democrats plead that they want to remove Trump because of his reputedly appalling manners and values, their real motive is to oust him because he has been so effective in thwarting their America-crushing juggernaut.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “When government — in pursuit of good intentions — tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player.” —Milton Friedman

Upright: “We’re addicted to our belief in the primal power of our politicians. Once we believe that Trump is either the Great Satan or the Great God, it’s no wonder that fringe actors on either side are willing to take extreme measures to harm or ‘protect’ him. The only solution: We must realize that the president is merely a constitutional officer bound by the checks and balances of his role. And we must stop attributing to politics control over our lives that politics does not truly exert.” —Ben Shapiro

For the record I: “There are dozens of documents that support the fact that Peter Strzok and Lisa Page had ongoing relationships with multiple reporters, and that they were feeding them information to spin a narrative. It’s not legal… They are denying it, and we have the proof.” —Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC)

For the record II: “The dossier was a big lie. What they did is, they said, ‘It’s a big lie. The more people we can get to talk about the dossier, the more likely it is they will believe the lie.’ So that’s why they had the leak strategy — to support a document that was the basis of everything.” —Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)

Village Idiots: “I think it’s possible [that Donald Trump is America’s final president], absolutely. I think that we have someone in the White House who has no respect for the rule of law, who dislikes democracy by an incredible degree, which doesn’t make him really any that much different from other billionaires or CEOs, because their businesses are not democracies. They rule by fiat.” —filmmaker Michael Moore

A blind squirrel finds a nut: “The [Justice Antonin Scalia] vote was unanimous. Every Democrat and every Republican voted for him. But that’s the way it should be, instead of what it’s become, which is a highly partisan show. … I wish I could wave a magic wand and have it go back to … the way it was.” —Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

And last… “If you can’t debate hard issues honestly, with honor, with integrity, how do we keep a civil society?” —Justice Clarence Thomas on the Democrat ridicule of Brett Kavanaugh

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58255-friday-short-cuts

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Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher