Daily Digest for Thursday
February 6, 2014
THE FOUNDATION
"It will be remembered, that a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is solemnly enjoined by most of the state constitutions, and particularly by our own, as a necessary safeguard against the danger of degeneracy, to which republics are liable, as well as other governments, though in a less degree than others." --James Madison, Report of the Virginia ResolutionsRonald Reagan's Birthday
February 6, 2014, marks the 103rd anniversary of President Ronald Wilson Reagan's birthday, or as he would have phrased it, the 64th anniversary of his 39th birthday.Either way, we are grateful beyond measure for his great service to our country, the shining City on a Hill, and his steadfast devotion to Essential Liberty.
In honor of his birthday, we remember "The Speech" -- his 1964 address that vaulted him to national prominence: "The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing. ... You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right, there is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream -- the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order -- or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism."
For more, visit our remembrance.
TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS
Leftism's Central Tenet
"The [UnAffordable Care] Act creates a disincentive for people to work," CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf told Congress Wednesday. Furthermore, he said, that reduced labor participation "is the central factor in slowing economic growth." Elmendorf's testimony came just a day after the CBO's bombshell report on the detrimental economic effects of ObamaCare. In short, the law's subsidies create an incentive for people to reduce work hours or avoid full-time jobs that would move their income out of subsidy range. For some, earning $1 more could cost up to $20,000 more for insurance. The administration still insists this isn't a bug; it's a feature. Jay Carney says now families can "make a decision about how they will work, and if they will work." All while the people who do work subsidize the people who choose not to. Ain't socialism grand?Minimum Truth
Organizing for Action, Barack Obama's permanent campaign arm, released a new ad exhorting Congress to raise the federal minimum wage. The effort is front and center in Obama's "year of action" as he pushes class warfare ahead of the 2014 elections. The new 30-second spot shows working Americans in various walks of life to gain sympathy for mandated higher wages. Unfortunately, one of the hard-working "Americans" is actually a British subject riding to work on the London Overground -- a fact made obvious by the map visible above her shoulder. But what of it? The administration's entire narrative is already a work of fiction.IRS Chief Apologizes
New IRS Commissioner John Koskinen did the unthinkable: He apologized for his agency's targeting of Tea Party groups. It's "intolerable," he said, and "It won't happen going forward." Furthermore, "to the extent that people suffered accordingly, I apologize for that." His apology is all fine and good, but it doesn't fix the problem or hold anyone accountable for hindering the Tea Party to the extent that the legitimacy of Barack Obama's re-election is called into question. And besides, Obama told us just Sunday that there was "not even a smidgen of corruption" at the IRS. The sad thing isn't even that he lied again, it's that low-info voters still believe him.Help With Executive Orders
Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee says that the new Congressional Full Employment Caucus "will be answering the call of all of America" by ensuring they "give President Obama a number of executive orders that he can sign." Doing so "should be our number one agenda," she said. We're pretty sure of two things: First, Obama won't have any trouble coming up with his own executive orders, and second, having some members of Congress to openly write his executive orders for him sure is a bizarre way to bypass the legislative process.School Officials and Gun Signs
It's come to this: "One of my biggest concerns as a principal is safety and security," said one Chicago school principal. "It is bothersome to have to post a sticker of a gun that says, ‘Hey, folks, leave your guns at home.'" That's right, this principal is complaining about even a picture of a gun. A new Illinois state law requires posting 4-by-6-inch stickers at building entrances where carrying a gun is forbidden. "I would have appreciated something more subtle, yet still recognizable -- a logo, perhaps, not a gun," the principal added. "You can't look at this [sticker] and not think about Sandy Hook." Indeed, Sandy Hook was also a so-called "gun-free zone."For more, visit Right Hooks.
Don't Miss Alexander's Column
Read Liberty Is Colorblind, on the real immigration debate.If you'd like to receive Alexander's Column by email, update your subscription here.
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RIGHT ANALYSIS
Politicians Endanger Military Readiness
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| USS Ronald Reagan |
Compounding the top line cuts, the White House and Congress ignore the Pentagon's requests and place scoring political points ahead of operational requirements, particularly when it comes to weapons procurement. From buying tanks the Army says it doesn't need to keeping planes the Air Force says it can't afford, politicians' pursuit of self interest over national interest puts strategic priorities, and ultimately our national security, at risk.
Although the demand for aircraft carriers has rarely been stronger, the politicians' re-election driven budget decisions will preclude maintaining the number recommended by most strategic analysts. As then-acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning noted, "This will entail a budget with cuts that none of us likes and each of these cuts will have a constituency both in [the Pentagon] and on Capitol Hill. If something's restored to the budget we present to the Hill, something else will have to go." Given the way Barack Obama flaunts the Constitution on domestic issues, it shouldn't come as a big surprise that he ignores the Heritage Foundations' warning that he "should remember his constitutional responsibility as commander-in-chief."
Resurrecting the Old Voting Rights Act
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But the same people who time after time demanded re-authorization of the VRA despite clear improvements in the states, with the latest being a 25-year extension passed in 2006, aren't taking the SCOTUS decision lying down. Joined by Republican James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, Democrat Rep. John Conyers of Michigan introduced the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 in the House while Sen. Pat Leahy and two other Democrats introduced a companion Senate bill.
This bill would have the effect of restoring four states (Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas) to their former status of requiring pre-clearance. All four currently have Republican governors and their electoral votes have gone Republican for some time, which to the Left is likely proof enough of blatant racism therein.
Moreover, there is a trap in the bill that could subject additional states to the wrath of the VRA. In Section 3 of (S.1945) there is a provision that determines a state has "persistent, extremely low minority turnout" which is written broadly enough that many states could qualify -- well, as long as they're "red" states. The Leahy bill also burdens states and larger municipalities with regulation on polling place resources, ostensibly to prevent those in minority areas from having to wait in long lines to vote -- this would be a new section of the existing VRA.
The Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 represents a change in operating procedure from the Left. Normally they rely on the courts to write the laws they desire after legislation they don't like is passed. In this case they're trying to circumvent the will of the Supreme Court as they seek to turn back the clock to 1965.
For more, visit Right Analysis.
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TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
- Ann Coulter: A Bridge Too Far-Fetched
- Arnold Ahlert: ObamaCare: 'Liberating' the Workers
- Jonah Goldberg: Think Power Inequality
- Jeff Jacoby: The Bay State's Model of Health Care 'Reform': Wait for It
- Victor Davis Hanson: A Tale of Two Droughts
OPINION IN BRIEF
FRC's Tony Perkins: "In one of the most damning assessments of ObamaCare yet, CBO blames the law for killing as many as two million full-time jobs by 2017 ... and as many as 2.5 million in the next 10 years. ... [I]t also predicts that a big chunk of Americans will just drop out of the labor force altogether -- choosing not to work so that they can qualify for the government's generous health care subsidies. ... Of course, the White House ... insists that millions of unmotivated Americans aren't necessarily a bad thing. ... The editors of National Review don't think so. After all, '...We could, in theory, simply have the federal government deliver checks to every household and allow each and every one to follow his bliss as he sees fit, but the shelves of the grocery story soon would be empty. The depth of the ObamaCare crater in the labor force isn't some abstract unemployment rate, but the lost value of the work those Americans would have done.'"Columnist Arnold Ahlert: "The idea that people are 'better off' due to increased dependency on government is the essence of progressivism. ... This is about giving some Americans more choices at the expense of other Americans who are being forced to underwrite their fellow Americans' insurance subsidies. As the CBO report mentions, if such underwriting comes in the form of increased taxes, there will be two parent families forced to work a little more and see their children a little less. Some Americans will be forced to retire later, rather than sooner. ... The Obama administration, Democrats and their media allies apparently believe such dependency is, as the New York Times puts it, 'liberating.' Perhaps it is, as long as one ignores the reality that, more often than not, it is achieved by kicking one's dignity, decency and ambition to the curb."
Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BC): "All bad precedents began as justifiable measures."
Ann Coulter: "There isn't a wall high enough to stop illegal immigrants from sneaking across the border when the reward waiting on the other side is free health care, jobs, driver's licenses and college tuition subsidized by American taxpayers."
Fred Thompson: "In an effort to go green, Hamburg, Germany is studying ways to eliminate cars by 2034. Easy. Put Obama in charge of regulating your oil industry."
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team
Join us 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.
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