THE FOUNDATION
"If there is a form of government, then, whose principle and foundation is virtue, will not every sober man acknowledge it better calculated to promote the general happiness than any other form?" --John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS
Another VA Wait List
According to CBS News, Veteran Paul Rodriguez waits several months before he can see any of his doctors. It's because his hospital, Hines VA Medical Center in Chicago, keeps secret wait lists. Whistleblower Germaine Clarno said doctors keep the lists "to make numbers look better for their own recognition and for bonuses." This is yet another VA hospital to be accused of the practice -- secret waiting lists are becoming the trend. This calls for serious investigation, but don't count on someone like Eric Holder to honor that any time soon. More…Comment | Share
GOP Wobbles on Min. Wage
The Wall Street Journal notes that 2012 presidential contenders Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney have come out in support of raising the minimum wage, and "Sen. Marco Rubio earlier this year suggested a new form of wage subsidies for workers earning under a certain amount, an idea that has gained few adherents." Reihan Salam argues in National Review, "The real case for a minimum wage compromise is not that it's good policy. Rather, it's that conservatives in Congress and in the states have done such a poor job of offering alternatives. That has to change." But a Republican surrender is precisely what Democrats are counting on. No PR debate changes this fact that higher-priced labor means higher-priced products, lower employment and/or less profit margin for growth. Hiking workers' compensation just because the Left has made it an issue isn't good enough. More...Comment | Share
'Democracy Has Been Hacked'
During a pit stop in Chicago, Al Gore, who has raked in millions of dollars through climate scaremongering, declared, "Our democracy has been hacked. The country is utterly and completely paralyzed. Hog-tied." He was referring to Congress' inability to passComment | Share
How to #BringBackOurGirls
At first, the response to the Boko Haram abduction of 200 Nigerian girls was pathetic hashtag diplomacy. Now, the hawks are talking. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States "will make every effort" to #BringBackOurGirls, and for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), that means sending U.S. troops. McCain told The Daily Beast, "If they knew where they were, I certainly would send in U.S. troops to rescue them, in a New York minute I would, without permission of the host country. I wouldn't be waiting for some kind of permission from some guy named Goodluck Jonathan," (the president of Nigeria). World cop to the rescue! Since we're floating ideas, try Congress' power to write letters of Marque and Reprisal (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11), lay a bounty on the heads of Boko Haram, and let private military/security firms handle this one. More...Comment | Share
Student Suspended Over T-Shirt
18-year-old Eagle Scout Chris Borg of Hinsdale Central High School became the latest victim of zero tolerance after receiving a one-day suspension. His egregious crime? He refused to change a t-shirt depicting an AR-15 upon a school official's request. "I decided to go home for the day because I felt it was a infringement of my First Amendment right to freedom of expression," he said during an appeal to the school board. The school's dress code bans apparel "deemed vulgar, inappropriate, unsafe or disruptive to the educational process (e.g., advertising/display of alcohol, drugs, tobacco, sexual innuendo)." The only ones disrupted were the Thought Police. Borg points out, "Pictures of firearms can be found in our history textbooks, but you don't see people freaking out about that." At least not yet. There was a time not too long ago when students brought real firearms and archery equipment to school for classes in firearm safety and marksmanship. More...Comment | Share
For more, visit Right Hooks.
Don't Miss Alexander's Column
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RIGHT ANALYSIS
IRS Targeting Was Washington Directed
Judicial Watch secured the emails through a Freedom of Information Act request. It's not the first time the group has discovered a bombshell -- they reported previous IRS revelations, as well as the Benghazi smoking gun.
"One key email string from July 2012 confirms that IRS Tea Party scrutiny was directed from Washington, DC," Judicial Watch reports. "On July 6, 2010, Holly Paz (the former Director of the IRS Rulings and Agreements Division and current Manager of Exempt Organizations Guidance) asks IRS lawyer Steven Grodnitzky 'to let Cindy and Sharon know how we have been handling Tea Party applications in the last few months.' Cindy Thomas is the former director of the IRS Exempt Organizations office in Cincinnati and Sharon Camarillo was a Senior Manager in their Los Angeles office. Grodnitzky, a top lawyer in the Exempt Organization Technical unit (EOT) in Washington, DC, responds:
'EOT is working the Tea party applications in coordination with Cincy. We are developing a few applications here in DC and providing copies of our development letters with the agent to use as examples in the development of their cases. Chip Hull [another lawyer in IRS headquarters] is working these cases in EOT and working with the agent in Cincy, so any communication should include him as well. Because the Tea party applications are the subject of an SCR [Sensitive Case Report], we cannot resolve any of the cases without coordinating with Rob [Choi, then-Director of Rulings and Agreements in the IRS's DC, headquarters].'"Not only that, but Democrats in Congress were involved. Judicial Watch reports, "A series of letters between Senator Levin (D-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations, and top IRS officials throughout 2012 discuss how to target conservative groups the senator claimed were 'engaged in political activities.'" Levin demanded scrutiny for conservative groups like Club for Growth, Americans for Tax Reform, the 60 Plus Association and the Susan B. Anthony List.
Last week, Congress held retired IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt for her refusal to answer any questions about her sizeable role in the scrutiny. But it's doubtful she or anyone else involved in this scandal will face any real consequences.
As with Benghazi, Fast and Furious, and every other scandal of this administration, their primary goal has been to cover it up and then treat it as old news when facts confront them. As commentator Charles Krauthammer put it, "This a major abuse of power. They covered up for two years and now they say, 'Hey, dude, two-year-old story.' So it's old news. Let's see if the mainstream media will treat it as old news or what it really is -- new news of misleading America and covering it up." We think the answer on that last part is obvious. How high does the scandal go? We still don't and may never know.
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36,000 Illegal Alien Criminals Receive 'Get Out of Jail Free' Card
Read the rest of the story here.
Harry Reid's Tombstone for Keystone
Read the rest of the story here.
For more, visit Right Analysis.
TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
- Victor Davis Hanson: Modern World Is Still Premodern in Many Ways
- Arnold Ahlert: A New Level of Illegal Immigration Chaos
- Ann Coulter: Death Penalty Opponents, Have I Got a Deal for You!
- Cal Thomas: Free Speech Not So Free When Discussing Gay Rights
- Rebecca Hagelin: Winning Back Freedom
OPINION IN BRIEF
Author George Orwell (1903-1950): "To see what is in front of one's nose requires a constant struggle."Historian Victor Davis Hanson: "Americans go into a frenzy about insensitive language or politically incorrect behavior by some celebrities and public figures -- L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the 'Duck Dynasty' TV family, celebrity chef Paula Deen, former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, and Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy. But if we are postmodern and sensitive, what do we say or do about premodern racists with nuclear weapons, like the North Koreans? A recent article from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency suggested that President Obama 'does not even have the basic appearances of a human being. ... It would be perfect for Obama to live with a group of monkeys in the world's largest African natural zoo and lick the bread crumbs thrown by spectators.' How does the West deal with a mentality like that, originating from a country armed with nuclear weapons? Pyongyang owns no television show that we can boycott, no sports team that we can root against. What do we do in the face of 19th-century evil that is unapologetic, has lethal weapons at its disposal and uses savage rhetoric to goad us? Twitter it to death?"
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Columnist Cal Thomas: "After the Broncos cut [Tim] Tebow, haters took to the comment page of The Huffington Post: 'Awwwww. I bet this makes the Baby Jesus weep. Tim should have prayed more.' 'Hey Tim, are you getting the message now? Nothing fails like prayer.' 'We're all going to h–l and we're excited about it. Don't be jealous.' 'Where is your God now, Tebow?' NFL players who joined in the mockery were not fined, disciplined or forced into education training camp. Such is the cultural double standard between the way Michael Sam is being treated and the experience of Tim Tebow. But what should one expect these days when anything goes, except for free speech critical of the LGBT crowd?"
Fred Thompson: "The EPA Inspector General reported that an EPA official spent up to six hours a day on the taxpayer dime looking at pornography. I'm more worried by what he was doing the other 2 hours."
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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