Daily Digest
February 13, 2015
THE FOUNDATION"Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency." --James Madison, Federalist No. 10, 1787TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKSThe Selfie Debate Is OverA recent study at Ohio State University "showed that men who posted more online photos of themselves than others scored higher on measures of narcissism and psychopathy." As Exhibit A, we submit the following:
By the way, he played college frat boy with BuzzFeed on the same day Kayla Mueller was confirmed dead. Stay classy. Comment | Share CNN Talkinghead: 'Our Rights Do Not Come From God'CNN anchor Chris Cuomo debated Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore over rights and marriage, particularly regarding the recent kerfuffle over same-sex marriage in the Heart of Dixie. When Moore explained that marriage is a matter of law and rights that come from God, Cuomo vehemently disagreed. "Our rights do not come from God, your honor, and you know that. They come from man," Cuomo insisted. Later he added, "That's your faith, that's my faith, but that's not our country. Our laws come from collective agreement and compromise." What utter hogwash. As Moore aptly noted, the Declaration of Independence is the law of the land, and it begins, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..." But Cuomo isn't just mistaken. He and his deceased father, Mario, and his brother Andrew, former and current governors of New York, hold a typical leftist view that government and not God creates rights. Therefore, those rights are subject to the whims of politicians because, as Chris Cuomo insisted, "Times change. Definitions change." Such views are dangerous and completely antithetical to the foundation of our country. More...Comment | Share Last Summer, Obama Partied With TerroristsBy what we can gather, the wedding Barack Obama attended last August was the bomb. The wedding between MSNBC anchor Alex Wagner and Sam Kass, a former White House chef, was kept hush-hush -- probably because Obama was there with his pals and members of Weather Underground, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. The Leftmedia rag Gawker, which got the scoop, reports pair, who cavorted with leftist terrorists that bombed federal buildings in the '70s, "were likely invited due to their connection to Kass. Though the nature of their relationship with him is unclear, Kass resided for several years in Chicago, where Ayers and Dohrn live, and appear to have close mutual friends. In 2012, for example, the trio attended the same 22-guest wedding at a San Francisco art gallery." Furthermore, it's unlikely Obama ignored the duo, as he started his 1995 Illinois Senate bid from their house. This is further evidence that Obama considers himself above scrutiny, as he doesn't have a re-election to win. But imagine the resulting 24-hour outrage machine if George W. Bush had a friend who bombed abortion clinics. More...Comment | Share IRS to Give Tax Benefits to IllegalsThe administration that says this year's tax refunds will be delayed has enough time to give tax benefits to illegal immigrants. In a House hearing, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the IRS will start paying refunds to amnestied illegals. Koskinen said, "To be eligible for the earned income tax credit, you have to work. ... To be able to apply for it, you have to have a Social Security number." Barack Obama's executive amnesty gives illegals Social Security numbers, though the Obama administration never estimated the impact of the program. As Koskinen put it, "I haven't talked to the White House about this at all." In response to this admission, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) told Koskinen, "That's just outrageous. If Congress had passed a law doing exactly what the president did, we would have had not only an estimate of the costs, but we would have also been required to propose ways to pay for the programs. This is just another example of the administration operating outside the rule of law." Furthermore, Obama's action muddles the line between citizen and non-citizen, all in a cynical play for more Democrat votes. More...Comment | Share Don't Worry, We Still Have Six Middle East EmbassiesDespite the closure of the U.S. embassy in Yemen, which follows the abandonment of embassies in Syria and Libya, the Obama State Department says not to worry. A reporter asked State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, "Is there a broader concern that you're being -- the U.S. is being run out of town in the Arab world?" Pish posh, she responded: "We certainly don't look at it in that way. I would remind you that we were not the only country that moved our staff out of Yemen last night (so did the UK and France), and we have to take precautions to protect the men and women who are serving on our behalf. There's no question that in each of the countries you've mentioned there's a great bit of volatility, but that's -- the fact is that that's what's happening on the ground. It's not a reflection of the United States and our engagement. It's a reflection of the trouble and challenges happening in these countries." On the contrary, it absolutely is a reflection of Barack Obama's failed foreign policy.Comment | Share For more, visit Right Hooks.
RIGHT ANALYSISGOP Still Stymied by Democrat Filibuster
GOP congressmen originally called for passing a budget for the Department of Homeland Security that stripped out funding for immigration enforcement. The House passed its version of the bill last month with 10 Republicans joining all but two Democrats in opposition. The legislation is now mired in the Senate, where the GOP has failed to reach cloture three times. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will try again -- perhaps three more times. But there is virtually no possibility they can pick up the Democrat votes needed to overcome the filibuster before the Feb. 27 deadline for funding, and the Senate adjourned Thursday for a 10-day recess. That's why some House Republicans want the Senate to deploy the nuclear option and eliminate the filibuster so they can pass the bill. Not that such a move would win Obama's signature. And few, if any, Senate Republicans support such a move, which they decried when Harry Reid did it for non-Supreme Court nominations. Before calling for more cloture votes, McConnell began looking to House Speaker John Boehner to fix the situation. "We can't get on it, we can't offer amendments to it," McConnell lamented. "And the next step is obviously up to the House." House Republicans see things differently. "I think the speaker's position is that the House has already acted. It's time for the Senate to act," said Rep. Tom Price (R-GA). That's putting it mildly. Boehner himself was far more colorful, saying, "The House has done its job. Why don't you go ask the Senate Democrats when they are going to get off their a-- and do something?" The House GOP opposes restoring immigration funding to the bill. They appear motivated to challenge Obama's abuse of power -- as he clearly overstepped his constitutional authority when he made changes to immigration policy. Senate Republicans, however, are more interested in getting a DHS funding bill passed. Talk of considering some Democrat concessions has been circulating, but Democrats feel the wind at their backs and they're likely to accept nothing less than a fully funded bill. If appropriations run out, the DHS won't be able to perform some of its functions -- an unwelcome situation in a time of heightened terrorist activity. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) said, "If there is a successful attack during a DHS shutdown -- we should build a number of coffins outside each Democratic office and say, 'You are responsible for these dead Americans.'" But what's far more likely to happen is the Leftmedia and the public will blame Republicans. No matter the circumstances, no matter who's in the majority, the Leftmedia does its job effectively in turning public opinion against the GOP. Hence, the bickering going back and forth between House and Senate Republicans is unfortunate. To be at loggerheads on strategy this early into their majority doesn't instill confidence in Republicans' ability to lead. But the truth is, Obama will veto any bill that doesn't preserve his amnesty. Republicans need to use that to their political advantage by putting the focus on Obama's unconstitutional actions, even if they're unable to stop him. Inability to overcome the Democrat filibuster is something the 54 Senate Republicans will either have to get used to or find a strategy to surmount. They need to get things ironed out or their majority will be a short one. And the White House will grow further from reach as well. Comment | Share Closer to Capitulation on Iranian Nukes
There are serious concerns about this prospective deal. Speaking from the left side of the aisle, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) worried such a pact could be enacted without the Senate's approval and warned, "[T]he end result [of these negotiations] is more likely to be a North Korean situation." Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, criticized the talks in remarks before the Senate Armed Forces Committee. "Nuclear talks with Iran began as an international effort, buttressed by six UN resolutions, to deny Iran the capability to develop a military nuclear option," he recounted. "They are now an essentially bilateral negotiation over the scope of that capability through an agreement that sets a hypothetical limit of one year on an assumed breakout. The impact of this approach will be to move from preventing proliferation to managing it." In short, Obama has conceded the main point as he's led from behind. Yet Obama has come up with a new excuse for allowing Iran to get its way. He's now sufficiently blinded by Islamophilia as to take Iran's supreme leader at his word that "it would be contrary to their faith" for Iran to build a nuclear weapon. That nonsense fits well with the narrative he's still trying to sell about Islam being the Religion of Peace™, but history has repeatedly shown just the opposite -- Obama's ridiculous lecture about the Crusades notwithstanding. The U.S. has eased sanctions against Iran, while the mullahs kept working on their nuclear program under the guise of peaceful use. It won't be long before sanctions are gone and Iran has its nuclear bomb. Kissinger fretted that other Middle East nations could then engage in a nuclear arms race. It's not inconceivable that Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey could quickly follow Iran. If Iran has nukes, these nations will reason it's in their own security interests to obtain them in order to balance their regional foe. Nor should we forget the effect this would have on Israel, which is calling the nuclear deal with Iran "bad and dangerous." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned us before about Iran, saying, "Iran is not your ally. Iran is not your friend. Iran is your enemy. It's not your partner. Iran is committed to the destruction of Israel." (He could have added the part about the "Death to America" chants that are a staple of Friday prayers in Tehran.) Netanyahu has allies in Congress, where the sentiment to expand sanctions against Iran is much stronger. In the past, Israel has threatened to go it alone in destroying Iran's nuclear program, and it may yet come to that. We'll see what the Israeli leader says when he addresses Congress in March. Regardless, by continually appeasing this rogue regime, Barack Obama has further destabilized the situation and once again shown his reverse Midas touch in world affairs. Comment | Share For more, visit Right Analysis.
TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
 OPINION IN BRIEFMark Twain (1835-1910): "Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example."Columnist Charles Krauthammer: "Russia pushes deep into eastern Ukraine. The Islamic State burns to death a Jordanian pilot. Iran extends its hegemony over four Arab capitals -- Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad and now Sanaa. And America watches. Obama calls the policy 'strategic patience.' That’s a synonym for 'inaction,' made to sound profoundly 'strategic.' Take Russia. The only news out of Obama’s one-hour press conference with Angela Merkel this week was that he still can’t make up his mind whether to supply Ukraine with defensive weapons. The Russians have sent in T-80 tanks and Grad rocket launchers. We’ve sent in humanitarian aid that includes blankets, MREs and psychological counselors. How complementary: The counselors do grief therapy for those on the receiving end of the T-80 tank fire. ... America was once the arsenal of democracy, notes Elliott Abrams. We are now its linen closet. ... The line between the Washington prayer breakfast and the Ukrainian grief counselors is direct and causal. Once you’ve discounted your own moral authority, once you’ve undermined your own country’s moral self-confidence, you cannot lead. If, during the very week Islamic supremacists achieve 'peak barbarism' with the immolation of a helpless prisoner, you cannot take them on without apologizing for sins committed a thousand years ago, you have prepared the ground for strategic paralysis. All that’s left is to call it strategic patience." Comment | Share Columnist Jonah Goldberg: "At an event in London on trade policy, Scott Walker was asked about evolution. ... As my National Review colleague Kevin Williamson notes, 'Everybody wants to know what Scott Walker and Sarah Palin think about evolution, but almost nobody is asking what Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama think about homeopathy, acupuncture, aromatherapy and the like.' Even though such remedies have been given elevated legitimacy under the Affordable Care Act. Presidents have become avatars in the culture war being fought across the Internet and the airwaves, and nothing gives secular liberal journalists more of a buzz than exposing the alleged backwardness of those they consider backward. It’s a cultural wedge issue used by the very people who claim they hate cultural wedge issues. ... When Barack Obama was asked when life begins, he responded that such questions are above his pay grade, even though a president is in fact paid to make myriad decisions which hinge on precisely that question. But liberal politicians are allowed such dodges precisely because liberal journalists know what the politician really believes." Comment | Share Comedian Conan O'Brien: "NBC has suspended Brian Williams for six months without pay. Williams said he’s not worried, because soon his veteran’s benefits will kick in." Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis! 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. |
Friday, February 13, 2015
THE PATRIOT POST 02/13/2015
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