The Patriot Post Digest 5-15-2019

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-15-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
May 15, 2019
https://patriotpost.us/digests/63028-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify.” —Alexander Hamilton (1788)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/63026-founders-quote-daily

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Barr appoints an investigator for the investigators in “Spygate.”1
Alabama hopes to challenge Roe v. Wade with abortion bill.2
Daily Features: More Analysis3, Columnists4, Headlines5, Opinion in Brief6, Short Cuts7, Memes8, and Cartoons9.

IN BRIEF

America Deserves Spygate Answers10

Attorney General William Barr has appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. That’s a good thing, as is the inclusion of the heads of both the CIA (Gina Haspel) and FBI (Christopher Wray), along with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Given that Robert Mueller’s report cleared President Donald Trump of collusion, investigating the investigators is also a very necessary thing. No wonder Democrats are panicking.

Why? Because the considerable resources of the United States intelligence community and federal law-enforcement agencies were turned on the political opponents of those in power before the 2016 election. As Barr put it last month11, “Yes, I think spying did occur.” This is the sort of thing we’d expect from the likes of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, and, of course, Vladimir Putin in Russia. In America, such abuse should raise grave concerns … even if the administration had a good reason for doing so, which it clearly didn’t.

Case in point: In 2007, Charles Stimson, a DOD official in George W. Bush’s administration, criticized the Gitmo Bar12 — a name for the attorneys representing the terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay — and suggested that clients of those firms should make them choose between representing al-Qaida or corporate retainers. He was run out of office for that “offense,” even though the Gitmo Bar provided al-Qaida with far more13 than Jane Fonda gave the North Vietnamese.

Imagine if the Bush administration had turned the FBI on the Gitmo Bar the way Barack Obama’s administration turned the FBI on the Trump campaign. Does anyone think that MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post would be giving those investigators the same deference they demanded on Mueller’s behalf? If you believe that, we at The Patriot Post have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.

We need answers. We needed answers about other problematic actions in the past, like Operation Fast and Furious, the IRS targeting of the Tea Party, and the targeting of journalists Sharyl Attkisson and James Rogan over their reporting, to name a few of Obama’s “non-scandals.” Of course, we never got those answers. All we got were whitewashes.

With the end of the Mueller probe, we now need to know what prompted the FBI’s actions before, during, and after the 2016 election. What evidence was used to justify spying on the opposition party’s presidential campaign? Why did investigators choose the techniques they chose? Were the omissions in the FISA applications honest mistakes, or was something more sinister involved? And what was behind the “unmasking” of American citizens caught up in surveillance?

Many conservatives have been understandably skeptical of the FBI’s conduct. If there were honest mistakes, let’s reveal them and make changes so they’re not repeated. And if there were deliberate abuses, let’s punish those responsible.

After all, it’s worth remembering that Donald Trump’s only “crime” was running against — and defeating — Hillary Clinton for the presidency of the United States.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/63023-america-deserves-spygate-answers


Alabama Hopes to Challenge Roe v. Wade14

Georgia passed a law last week that makes abortion illegal once a baby’s heartbeat is detected in the womb, which is approximately six weeks after conception. On Tuesday, Alabama took it a step further as the state senate approved a bill that essentially bans all abortions except in cases of a mother’s health. It now remains to be seen if Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who has long supported the pro-life position, will sign it into law. Even if she should veto it, the Alabama legislature has the votes to override a veto.

Much of the Leftmedia’s reporting on the laws has been inaccurate at best and is at worst flat-out fake news. For example, reporting on the Georgia law, Business Insider’s headline falsely and ridiculously asserts, “Women could get up to 30 years in prison for having a miscarriage under Georgia’s harsh new abortion law.” Slate is no better, vacuously alleging, “Georgia just criminalized abortion. Women who terminate their pregnancies would receive life in prison.” Glamour also trumpets the same baseless nonsense, writing, “Women who have an abortion in Georgia could be sentenced to life in prison.”

Rich Lowry actually gets to the facts of the law, pointing out15, “The relevant section of Georgia abortion law makes it clear that it applies to third parties, and has been interpreted as such by the Georgia courts. Nor does it call for life imprisonment of anyone.” Likewise, Alabama’s law only holds penalties for those who administer an abortion procedure, making it a felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison.

What everyone seems to see is that these laws are intended to push the issue of abortion back to the Supreme Court with the aim of reexamining the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. As Alabama House Republican Rep. Terri Collins, the bill’s sponsor, stated, “This bill’s purpose is to hopefully get to the Supreme Court and have them revisit the actual decision. … It’s to address the issue that Roe v. Wade was decided on. Is that baby in the womb a person?” Indeed, both Georgia and Alabama endeavor to define a baby in utero as a human being, which might be the legal key to undoing the damage of Roe.

Meanwhile, Democrat objections to reexamining Roe on the grounds that it set unassailable judicial precedent16 holds little historical weight, as past controversial landmark rulings such as Dred Scott v. Sandford or Plessy v. Ferguson were later challenged and rightly overturned. In any case, saving lives is a worthy battle for both Georgia and Alabama.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/63025-alabama-hopes-to-challenge-roe-v-wade

[nChrist]

________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 5-15-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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ON OUR WEBSITE TODAY

Featured Analysis: Leftists Fear SCOTUS Overturning Precedent (Except When They Don’t)16 — Their measure of “correct” rulings is preference, not the Constitution.
Leftmedia Spins ‘Trump Threatening Democracy’ Narrative17 — Democrats cry foul because Trump refuses to go along with their political witch hunt.
Grassroots Perspective: The ‘Democrat Supremacy’ Mystery18 — Ida B. Wells had a price put on her head because she challenged the status quo.
Video: Should Bill Nye Be That Upset?19 — Joe Bastardi talks about Nye’s profane eruption warning about climate change.
Video: An Asian Immigrant Switches to Trump20 — Daily Caller video columnist Lisa Smiley breaks down her top reasons for her vote.

TOP NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TRUMP JR. ARRANGES FOR PANEL INTERVIEW: “Donald Trump Jr. agreed on Tuesday to comply with the Republican Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Richard Burr’s (R., N.C.) subpoena-backed demand that he sit for a private interview with members of the panel… Trump Jr. has reportedly agreed to speak to lawmakers about a limited range of topics for between two and four hours sometime in mid June.” (National Review22)
MUELLER-REPORT POLITICKING: “More than 20 House Democrats will stage a marathon public reading of the entire redacted Mueller report beginning Thursday at noon, and likely ending in the early morning hours of Friday.” (The Washington Post23)
CHRISTOPHER STEELE’S DISINFORMATION: “[Christopher] Steele, a former British intelligence officer, produced [a] 35-page dossier for the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton campaign that contained at least 12 charges of Trump-Russia conspiracies. A review by The Washington Times, comparing the dossier with special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, found none was substantiated and most were debunked.” (The Washington Times24)
MIDDLE EAST PRECAUTIONS: “Washington ordered the departure of non-emergency government employees from Iraq on Wednesday, after repeated U.S. expressions of concern about threats from Iranian-backed forces.” (Reuters25)
BIRTH-RATE BUGABOO: “America’s baby bust isn’t over. The nation’s birth rates last year reached record lows for women in their teens and 20s, a government report shows, leading to the fewest babies in 32 years.” (Associated Press26)
BLUE-CITY DEBT: “America’s 10 largest cities, largely Democrat strongholds, are drowning in municipal debt, according to a new report from government watchdog Truth in Accounting. … The two cities with the highest burden: Chicago and New York City; Chicago’s combined taxpayer burden: $119,110; New York City’s combined taxpayer burden: $85,600.” (Fox News27)
POLICY: Fund infrastructure by popping the inflation tax (Washington Examiner28)
POLICY: The expanding China-Russia defense partnership (Hudson Institute29)
HUMOR: Twitter bans official AOC account after mistaking it for satire (The Babylon Bee30)
For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights31.

The Patriot Post is certified ad-free, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also be pay-walled.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/63024-wednesday-top-news-executive-summary


OPINION IN BRIEF

Gary Bauer: “Saudi officials reported that two oil pumping stations west of Riyadh were attacked by "explosive-laden drones.” Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The stations are critical to an east-west pipeline that has the capacity to transport 5 million barrels of oil a day. Saudi officials said they shut down the pipeline in order to assess and repair the damage. These drone attacks come on the heels of four oil tankers being sabotaged near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. Initial intelligence reports indicate that Iran is also responsible for those attacks. When the Obama Administration was colluding with Iran, it sent the mullahs more than one billion dollars as a sign of good faith. The Iranian regime dedicated the funds to bolstering its military. The drones used to attack the Saudi pumping stations were likely paid for with our tax dollars.“


SHORT CUTS

For the record: "For the first time in quite a few years, the U.S. government is standing up to China’s authoritarian regime. China has been a bad actor for a long time — stealing intellectual property, engaging in unfair trade practices, bullying its East Asian neighbors. The markets are skittish about the current trade impasse, but I think most Americans understand that trade is the lever we can use to deter Chinese misdeeds.” —John Hinderaker

Good question: “In 2013 then-Vice President Joe Biden went to China. His son, Hunter, went with him and returned home with a billion dollar business deal. Now Joe Biden has gone soft on China while claiming to speak for working class Americans. Is China now stalling in the trade talks in the hope that they will be negotiating with ‘Uncle Joe’ in 2021?” —Gary Bauer

Food for thought: “It’s always amusing to get a lecture about the interests of women from representatives of an industry that produced and shielded so many predatory creeps for so long, but Hollywood hasn’t let its own sins stop its nonstop hectoring of everyone else.” —Rich Lowry

May it be so: “The tide is turning. People are finally waking up to the horrors of abortion. They are finally seeing that the pro-abortion side has no arguments, no case. I think we are on the verge of something. The pro-death minions are afraid. They should be.” —Matt Walsh

The BIG Lie: “Nowadays, there is more regulation over toy guns than real ones.” —Cory Booker (“[The gun] industry is the most heavily regulated industry in the country. No other industry is regulated at the federal, state, and local level to the extent our industry is regulated, which include design and performance standards.” —National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman Mark Oliva)

Braying Jenny: “Fox News has invited me to do a town hall, but I’m turning them down. … Fox News is a hate-for-profit racket that gives a megaphone to racists and conspiracists. … It’s all about dragging in ad money — big ad money.” —Elizabeth Warren, who immediately fundraised off of her snide remarks

And last… “Feminists: take what you’re feeling about GA’s & AL’s abortion laws, multiply it by a million, and then you’ll understand a fragment of what pro-lifers felt when we watched New York celebrate legalizing abortion through 9 months.” —Allie Beth Stuckey

https://patriotpost.us/articles/63022-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