The Patriot Post Digest 1-31-2019

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-31-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Jan. 31, 2019

https://patriotpost.us/digests/60896-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” —Thomas Jefferson (1809)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/60895-founders-quote-daily

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Destroying all limits on abortion “rights” is the ultimate goal for Democrats.1
It’s tax-filing season, which is going to be great news for millions of Americans.2
Daily Features: More Analysis3, Columnists4, Headlines5, Memes6, Cartoons7, Opinion in Brief8, and Short Cuts9.

IN BRIEF

The Macabre Leftist Culture of Death10

Thomas Gallatin

Back in the middle of the 20th century, the Democrat Party began to embrace an aggressively secular worldview that expunged the notion of Divine authority over humanity and replaced it with humanism. The fallout from this seismic political and ethical shift has resulted in the two distinct attributes seen in today’s Democrat Party: First, an oversized, always-expanding view of the role and authority of government, and second, the devaluation of Liberty and individual rights. The great irony of secular humanism is that it results in the dehumanization of the individual.

Nowhere is the flawed nature of the Democrats’ secularist, dehumanizing ethic more exposed than in their recent legislative efforts to legalize abortion carte blanche. Last week, Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had the One World Trade Center spire lit up in pink to celebrate the state passing11 its dubiously named Reproductive Health Act, which now allows for legal abortions up until birth as well as removing abortion from the criminal code. Cuomo declared it to be a “historic victory for New Yorkers and our progressive values.” New York now joins seven other states12 that have no gestational limits on abortion.

On Wednesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam revealed just how widespread this ethical rot is within the Democrat Party. Seeking to defend his support for the Repeal Act, a bill defeated the day before that would have removed all state restrictions on abortion, Northam argued, “If a mother is in labor … the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physician and mother.”

Northam’s shocking comments brought severe rebukes from several Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio, who stated, “I never thought I would see the day America had government officials who openly support legal infanticide.” Sen. Ben Sasse was more incensed, exclaiming, “This is morally repugnant. … In just a few years pro-abortion zealots went from ‘safe, legal, and rare’ to ‘keep the newborns comfortable while the doctor debates infanticide.’ I don’t care what party you’re from — if you can’t say that its wrong to leave babies to die after birth, get the hell out of public office.”

Now the Democrat-controlled state of Rhode Island is running to the front of the pro-infanticide line, with Democrat Gov. Gina Raimondo pledging to sign legislation13 that would make abortion legal after viability to “preserve … health.”

From a political-tactics perspective, Democrat-controlled states are engaging in these legislative actions due to their fear that the Supreme Court may overturn14 Roe v. Wade. However, delusional leftists who think they’re living in “The Handmaid’s Tale”15 are intentionally misrepresenting the impact of such a ruling, which would simply hand legislative authority back to individual states. They’re taking advantage of the population’s misunderstanding to garner votes while at the same time pushing for unlimited abortion.

The lust for power even to the point of advocating for the killing of babies is beyond despicable.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/60893-the-macabre-leftist-culture-of-death

Democrats Cut Jobs, Republicans Cut Taxes16

Nate Jackson

Last July, DNC Chief Tom Perez made an election pitch based on despair17: “Too many members of our society are still struggling to find a good-paying job.” His assessment was quite the contrast to a little place we like to call “reality,” where unemployment is at record lows and wages are up due to competition for talent. The only ones taking away jobs are Democrats imposing unrealistic minimum wages in blue states and cities. Dems are hoping for recession18, after all. A month into 2019 and three months removed from the Democrats’ win in the House, where do things stand?

One example of leftist policy is a report on Barack Obama’s crackdown on franchising as a favor to his Big Labor pals. “A report put out by the International Franchise Association and a Chamber of Commerce found that the Obama administration provoked an ‘existential threat’ to the franchise model in which small business owners operate under the umbrella of a national corporate brand,” reports19 The Washington Free Beacon. (Think McDonald’s and other fast-food chains.) “The Obama administration departed from decades of precedent when the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB] held that parent companies could be held liable for labor violations committed by franchisees. The report estimated that the new joint employer standard set curtailed expansion in the industry, leading to between 142,000 and 376,000 lost job opportunities — a 2.55 to 5 percent reduction in the workforce.” It also put a $33 billion dent in the economy each year since 2015. Thanks Obama.

The damage was already done, but at least the NLRB under Donald Trump has begun unwinding that regulation.

On the Republican side, 2017 saw the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — without a single Democrat vote. This week marked the beginning of tax-filing season for 2018 income, which means millions of Americans will be reminded just how much money they’re saving. While most of the attention was focused on corporate rate cuts, and while no tax law benefits everyone, Ryan Ellis, president of the Center for a Free Economy, reminds us20 “the biggest part of the tax cut by far was tax cuts for individuals.”

He explains, “To start with, tax rates for families were cut across the board — for everyone. The top rate of 39.6 percent was reduced to 37 percent. The tax rates underneath went down, too. The most common middle class marginal tax rates of 15 and 25 percent were reduced to 12 and 24 percent, respectively. The marriage penalty was eliminated in all but the top tax bracket.” Furthermore, because the standard deduction was substantially raised, nearly 30 million fewer families will waste time tracking down receipts for itemized deductions — saving both time and money by going for the standard deduction. And the child tax credit doubled to $2,000 per child.

Ellis also notes, “A median income family of four with two kids makes about $80,000 per year. Their income tax burden was reduced from about $4,600 to about $2,300, a 50 percent cut in income tax. A single parent with two kids making $60,000 per year got an even bigger tax cut, seeing her taxes reduced from $3,000 to $800. Even an individual making $35,000 got in on the fun — his taxes are cut from $3,200 to $2,600.”

Maybe the mainstream media should spend a little more time reporting that good news instead of attacking Catholic boys.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/60889-democrats-cut-jobs-republicans-cut-taxes

ON OUR WEBSITE TODAY

Featured Analysis: Voter Fraud — Accuracy or Advocacy?21 — The real story about the 95,000 noncitizen voters discovered on the rolls in Texas.
Video: Yes, Immigrants Should Assimilate Into American Culture22 — Tom Brokaw apologized after saying Hispanic immigrants should better assimilate.