The Patriot Post Digest 11-14-2019

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The Patriot Post Digest 11-14-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Nov. 14, 2019

https://patriotpost.us/digests/66793-mid-day-digest-2019-11-14

THE FOUNDATION

“It behooves you, therefore, to think and act for yourself and your people. The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counselors.” —Thomas Jefferson (1775)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/66787-founders-quote-daily-2019-11-14

IN TODAY’S EDITION

How Democrats frame impeachment.1
Why Trump says the U.S. is working with Turkey.2
Daily Features: More Analysis3, Columnists4, Headlines5, Opinion in Brief6, Short Cuts7, Memes8, and Cartoons9.

IN BRIEF

Schiff Frames Impeachment to Frame Trump10

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) framed the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry to frame Donald Trump11 in three questions: “The questions presented by this impeachment inquiry are whether President Trump sought to exploit that ally’s vulnerability and invite Ukraine’s interference in our elections; whether President Trump sought to condition official acts, such as a White House meeting or U.S. military assistance, on Ukraine’s willingness to assist with two political investigations that would help his reelection campaign; and if President Trump did either, whether such an abuse of his power is compatible with the office of the presidency.”

As to the first question regarding inviting Ukraine’s “interference in our elections,” it is clear with the conclusion of Robert Muller’s investigation12 that the Democrat Party13 invited interference into the 2016 election, and it is that interference that was the basis for Trump’s request for Ukraine investigations.

Second, regarding the assertion that there was a “quid pro quo” associated with Trump’s request to investigate corruption, it is the constitutional authority of the president to set foreign policy, and in every case of U.S. relations with a foreign country, especially where aide of any type is concerned, that aide is conditional. Asserting in this case that the condition was to “help his reelection campaign” is a Democrat/deep-state fabrication14 to undermine the next election because they failed to undo the last one. What we’re witnessing is “Coup d'Etat 2.015.” (Oh, and Democrats have stopped referencing “quid pro quo” because they think their constituents are too stupid to know what that means.)

We now know that the Ukrainian government had reopened the Biden corruption probe16 months before the Trump/Zelensky call at the center of the Demo impeachment derby.

We also know that Schiff lied about his association17 with the so-called “whistleblower18,” who, as it turns out, is a Democrat political hack19. And notably, that hack is now, himself, under criminal investigation by the ICIG16 with whom he filed his original trumped-up complaint.

Of course, Democrats refuse to allow testimony20 from that deep-stater, as requested by Republicans, because that would expose Schiff’s collaboration with him and blow up the impeachment effort. And recall that it was his lawyer, Mark Zaid, who publicly declared in 2017, “[The] coup has started. First of many steps. #rebellion. #impeachment will follow ultimately.”

Third, if Democrats are looking for “an abuse of power” that actually rises to the level of an impeachable offense, they should start with the 2018 letter21 signed by Demo Sens. Richard Durbin (IL), Patrick Leahy (VT), and Robert Menendez (NJ) to then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko. In the letter, the Demo trio threatened the totality of U.S./Ukrainian relations if the Ukrainians did not help find some evidence to support the Democrats’ flailing and failing Russia-collusion charade22 to find something worthy of impeaching Trump.

And finally, where were all these impeachment hounds back in 2016, when then-Vice President Joe Biden threatened to cut $1 billion in U.S. Ukrainian loan guarantees if the Ukrainian president did not fire Viktor Shokin, a prosecutor whose investigations were getting dangerously close to Hunter Biden’s23 “business expertise” in return for Ukrainian cash24? (You can read a detailed timeline of those “dealings” here25.)

Let me summarize again what this Demo charade is really about. The objective is to use the Senate impeachment vote exonerating Trump, to defeat a few Republican senators in vulnerable states, retake control of the Senate, and if Trump is reelected, block any further conservative appointments to the Supreme Court.

https://patriotpost.us/alexander/66784-schiff-frames-impeachment-to-frame-trump

Trump Strengthens Relations With Turkey26

In a gesture that lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle argued against, President Donald Trump followed through on his invitation and met with Turkish President Recep Erdogan at the White House on Wednesday. Last Friday, lawmakers sent a letter to Trump stating, “President Erdogan’s decision to invade northern Syria on October 9 has had disastrous consequences for U.S. national security, has led to deep divisions in the NATO alliance, and caused a humanitarian crisis on the ground. Given this situation, we believe that now is a particularly inappropriate time for President Erdogan to visit the United States, and we urge you to rescind this invitation.”

Trump’s controversial decision to pull a small number of U.S. troops out of northern Syria, allowing for Turkish forces to move in against Kurdish forces (U.S. allies) in the region, brought condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans. A temporary ceasefire ending the bloodshed was agreed to following Vice President Mike Pence’s meeting with Turkish leadership — a meeting that also resulted in lifting the economic sanctions Trump had imposed. All in all, Trump’s poor explanation for his complicated decision opened him up for plenty of legitimate criticism.

That said, Trump clearly has a more developed strategy27 behind what publicly appeared to many as little more than a sudden decision aimed at fulfilling a campaign promise of getting our troops out of the Middle East. That fact is demonstrated by the successful U.S. Special Forces mission to take out ISIS founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi28 — a mission that required the use of Turkish airspace.

Furthermore, Trump correctly realizes that the greatest threat to our national security is a nuclear-capable Iran, and U.S. bases in Turkey are essential to preventing this from occurring. This reality has been made all the more clear with Iran’s recent announcement that it is ramping up efforts to enrich uranium in defiance of the nuclear deal it never followed in the first place. So, now is not the time to heighten tensions with our NATO ally.

Trump is clearly a big believer in “Bucks over Bombs.” He sees dollar diplomacy as the best way to convince Erdogan that it’s in his best interests to work with the U.S. This explains Trump’s comments following the White House meeting: “Frankly, we’re going to be expanding our trade relationship very significantly.” Using the promise of mutual economic opportunity, Trump hopes to develop a better relationship with Erdogan in order to counter Russian efforts to draw Turkey away from NATO and the U.S.

On a final note, Trump was also able to secure a promise from Erdogan to stop persecuting minority religious groups, especially Christians. “We’ll see that their sanctuaries are getting revived and their churches will be reconstructed so that they can go back and start praying again,” Erdogan declared. But as the saying goes, talk is cheap, especially with a dictator like Erdogan. We’ll have to wait and see if he actually follows through.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/66788-trump-strengthens-relations-with-turkey

ON OUR WEBSITE TODAY

Featured Analysis: RIP, GOP?29 — Is demography destiny for Republicans? A look at trends in Virginia are worrisome.
Student Journalists Cave to ‘Woke’ Mob30 — The Daily Northwestern apologies for covering protesters at Jeff Sessions’s speech.
American Spirit: Young Sisters Raise $5K for Thanksgiving Meals for Needy Families31 — Three years running, the sisters do bake sales, a lemonade stand, and a GoFundMe campaign.
Video: ‘Monumentally Evil’ Impeachment Hearings32 — Watch this as your pre-game show for — or in lieu of — the House hearings.
Video: Gun Control and Tyranny33 — “A government banning guns before becoming tyrannical is a pretty relevant example…”

Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

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The Patriot Post Digest 11-14-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
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Read We Are Surging Across the Demo Divide34. Black conservatives are the Democrats’ archenemies.

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TOP NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

WHO’D A THUNK IT? Heat but no light: First public impeachment hearing a dud (Washington Examiner37)

SO SERIOUS: NBCNews.com swoons over drag queen at impeachment circus hearings (NewsBusters38)

REHEARING REJECTED: U.S. appeals court again backs House request for Trump tax documents (Reuters39)

NO CONFIDENCE: Ex-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announces Democrat presidential bid (Associated Press40)

“UNCONSTITUTIONAL BIDDING”: Federal government can’t just allow 3D gunmaking software to proliferate without a license, federal judge declares (Reason41)

BIG BROTHER: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders pitch Green New Deal bill for public housing (The Washington Post42)

CLOSING IN: China holding “in-depth” talks with U.S. on interim trade deal (Reuters43)

CONSEQUENCES: Trump administration proposes employment restrictions for asylum seekers who enter U.S. illegally (National Review44)

CHILDREN EXPLOITED: More than 600 children “recycled” by migrant smugglers at border (The Washington Times45)

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: FBI’s “lone wolf” report says domestic terrorists are rarely isolated (NBC News46)

POLICY: How LGBTQ education is gaining in tax-funded schools, from pre-K on up (RealClearInvestigations47)

POLICY: A new faith emerges: The religion of climatism (Commentary48)

HUMOR: Capitol Building to be decorated as giant circus tent for duration of impeachment hearings (The Babylon Bee49)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights50.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/66785-thursday-top-news-executive-summary-2019-11-14

OPINION IN BRIEF

Parissa Sedghi: “When a few close friends told me what happened at their back-to-school night in suburban Maryland, I almost didn’t believe them. Parents gathered in their first-graders’ classroom, excited to figure out which artwork on the wall belonged to their child. Instead, they received a lecture. They were curtly notified that math and English would be taking a back seat this year. The school’s new top priority: social and emotional learning. I was floored. Since when are math and English considered ‘second-tier priorities’? Since when did parents begin delegating the development of their children’s personalities and values to the public school system? … No wonder teachers are having a hard time squeezing math and English lessons into the school day. Our public schools are not preparing America’s rising generation of professionals and innovators. Instead, they are grooming the next generation of Democratic voters. … Teachers are tasked with preparing our children for the future, but parents are responsible to hold these school districts accountable and keep them honest and transparent. We need to take a stand. Public schools are beholden to the taxpayers who fund them, not the other way around.”

SHORT CUTS

Upright: “Conservative opposition to increased immigration isn’t driven by fears of demographic change. It’s driven by fear of ideological change. And that fear of ideological change is actually driven by Democrats’ radicalism — and their overt suggestion that demographic change will provide the fodder for that radicalism. … In essence, the Democrats have decided that rather than expanding the application of American principles to new groups, they prefer to fundamentally change the definition of American principles and utilize immigration policy to facilitate that change. No wonder conservatives have responded by calling for immigration restrictions.” —Ben Shapiro

Political futures: “The danger of promising that the rich can pay for everything is multifaceted. First, it’s not true. Second, you don’t have to be a student of public choice theory to understand that the more Washington behaves as if it’s true, the more the wealthy will intervene in our politics. And third, the more citizens believe that a small group of undeserving wealthy people are denying them nice things, the uglier our politics will become.” —Jonah Goldberg

Observations: “It is the president, not the bureaucracy, who was elected by the American people. That puts him — not the National Security Council, the State Department, the intelligence community, the military, and their assorted subject-matter experts — in charge of making policy. If we’re to remain a constitutional republic, that’s how it has to stay.” —Andrew McCarthy

For the record: “The question Democrats won’t answer: Should the top 1% pay half of all income taxes? Two-thirds? Three-fourths? Where does their ‘fair share’ end? If Democrats sweep the 2020 election, we are sure to find out.” —The Wall Street Journal

Big admission: “We also need to move quite quickly because we’re talking about the potential compromise of the 2020 elections. And so this is not just about something that has occurred; this is about preventing a potentially disastrous outcome from occurring next year.” —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The BIG Lie: “I do not know the identity of the whistleblower, and I’m going to make sure that identity is protected.” —Adam Schiff, whose staff coordinated with the whistleblower17

Yes, there are stupid questions: “If this is not impeachable conduct, what is?” —Adam Schiff (If this is impeachable conduct, what ISN’T?)

Ecofascism: “Believe in climate change as though it’s a religion.” —Sen. Mazie Hirono

And last… “No one’s mind is going to be changed on impeachment. Settle it at the ballot box where voters can accuse each other of stealing the election instead of accusing Congress of stealing the election.” —Erick Erickson

https://patriotpost.us/articles/66781-thursday-short-cuts-2019-11-14

TODAY’S MEME

https://patriotpost.us/memes/66673-the-final-straw-2019-11-14

For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union51.

TODAY’S CARTOON

https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/27964

For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive52.

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