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Patriot Headlines | Grassroots Commentary Daily Digest
January 13, 2016
THE FOUNDATION"Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men." —John Adams, 1776TOP RIGHT HOOKSWhen the Orator Heckles
What makes the tone even more obnoxious was that he eventually got around to lecturing us about political disagreements in general. "It's one of the few regrets of my presidency that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better," he lamented, as if he was an innocent bystander. Of course, he has done more to foment rancor and suspicion than any other president in history. And then there was his parade of straw-men. For example, we don't keep America secure by "either isolating ourselves or trying to nation-build everywhere there's a problem," he said, outlining two positions held by exactly no one. His way, he tells us, is really the only enlightened one. One final observation: Are we the only ones who noticed how very ticked off Michelle Obama looked throughout the speech? Is the woman ever happy? Footnote: Stay tuned for Mark Alexander's rebuttal of the address later this afternoon. Comment | Share Iran Humiliates Obama, AgainTen U.S. Navy personnel aboard two small boats were detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) on Tuesday after at least one of their boats reportedly had mechanical trouble near Farsi Island in the northern Persian Gulf. A Fifth Fleet spokesman confirmed on Wednesday the IRGCN had released all 10 sailors, who are safely aboard USS Anzio. The IRGCN also returned the two small boats, which were manned by other U.S. sailors and are en route to Bahrain.Taking U.S. Navy personnel captive is consistent with Iran's pattern of hostility to the U.S. under Obama's weak leadership. But the Iranian regime is focused on getting the recent nuclear deal implemented (and $150 billion in sanctions relief flowing), and Iran doubtless wanted to avoid a repeat of 2007, when local IRGCN forces took 15 British sailors and marines captive at gunpoint and held them for two weeks. U.S. military analysts believe that incident was instigated by a local commander with no prior approval from higher authorities, and that the Iranian regime was caught by surprise in a very dangerous standoff not of its own design. This time the Iranian regime apparently exercised its authority over the IRGCN and prevented another major incident. But was there concern in the Obama administration? Was there even a minute when the administration was rethinking the Iran nuclear deal? After all, Iran has been busy the last few weeks, test firing ballistic missiles contrary to international treaties, test firing other missiles downrange of U.S. ships, and now, in the words of Sen. Tom Cotton, "humiliating Barack Obama" on the night of his State of the Union Address. Last night, Obama, knowing full well that 10 sailors were being treated with "Islamic compassion" by their Iranian captors, kept to his rosy script for his speech. "There is a smarter approach," he said, "a patient and disciplined strategy that uses every element of our national power. ... That's why we built a global coalition, with sanctions and principled diplomacy, to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. And as we speak, Iran has rolled back its nuclear program, shipped out its uranium stockpile, and the world has avoided another war." No mention whatsoever of the captured Americans from the commander in chief. Comment | Share Who's 'Peddling Fiction' About the Economy?At last night's State of the Union Address, Barack Obama crowed about his track record with the economy. Jobs have been increasing, he said, and because of that, everything is on the up and up. "Let me start with the economy and a basic fact," Obama said. "The United States of America, right now, has the strongest, most durable economy in the world. We're in the middle of the longest streak of private-sector job creation in history. ... Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction."Yes, every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases that jobs report and the headlining numbers — how many jobs added, the unemployment rate — look good. But Obama is painting with too broad a brush when he says his naysayers are describing a fictional reality. The numbers deeper in those reports tell a more ominous story. As Fortune demonstrates, wages under Obama's administration have basically stagnated. Personal debt held by Americans has increased by about $1 trillion. Meanwhile, fewer Americans are buying homes. And as for those increased employment numbers, it is undercut by the fact that the overall percentage of Americans in the workforce is hovering around record lows. As a hallmark of his economy, Obama said last night more Americans work in the solar industry than coal. Of course — this is because the Obama administration has decimated the coal industry through regulation, as the second largest coal company filed for bankruptcy and West Virginia struggles with staggering unemployment numbers. The chief executive's divisive rhetoric on the economy isn't helping, either. But here's some good news: America's economy is durable. It will move past the Obama era. Comment | Share FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSISOpportunity Is Key to Fighting PovertyBy Lewis Morris
Six GOP presidential hopefuls joined the discussion, including Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Mike Huckabee. They were joined by Gov. Nikki Haley and Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute. Current 2016 frontrunners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz spent the weekend on the campaign trail instead, but they missed a substantive discussion and an opportunity to show some empathy for the plight of millions of Americans. The GOP needs to prove to voters this year that it has not only the ability, but also the willingness to find solutions to the ongoing poverty problem in America. As Rubio stated at the event, "We have an outmoded, outdated government ... and a Big Government Left that is more interested in protecting the status quo than in modernizing our policies to address the challenges of the 21st century." Since Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty in 1964 and established his "Great Society," the federal government has spent over $22 trillion in entitlements and grants for programs that have made little to no progress. And in all that time, poverty has never been driven below 10% of the population. As we begin the final year of Barack Obama's term in office, one in seven Americans lives in poverty. There are a record 46 million people on food stamps, 14.5 million more than when he took office in 2009. Nearly 70% of the federal budget is currently being consumed by government income-redistribution programs, and close to 50% of Americans reside in a household that is receiving that assistance. This is not progress; this is regression — a rolling back of the hard fought economic gains that American industry created over decades. Government agencies dominated by the Left give away money and prizes to minorities and the poor for the sole purpose of winning votes. There is never an attempt made to actually lift people out of poverty. In fact, it is better for Democrat office holders if the poor are kept right where they are. For if the poor are no longer poor and beholden to the government, then what reason do they have to vote for Democrats? As Benjamin Franklin once said, "I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." It will take more than convincing the poor that they are indentured servants on the Democrats' poverty plantation. Republicans have to offer concrete solutions and pierce the stereotype that they are unmoved by the plight of the poor. Ryan put forth a plan in 2014 that would create federally funded opportunity grants that states could use to distribute aid to citizens as they saw fit. This plan combined 11 current entitlement streams and offered a flexible and equitable means of aid to the poor that was also accountable and measurable. Ryan's plan was much maligned, but it was a start. And the confab last weekend in South Carolina was another step in the same direction. It continues the conversation that needs to be had about what to do about poverty in America. It takes into account all the various sources of poverty, and looks for a solution that lifts all people out of poverty rather than by making everyone equally poor. Comment | Share
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 OPINION IN BRIEFJohn Stossel: "In the commercial that President Obama released prior to his final State of the Union address, Obama said he would tell Congress how 'optimistic' he is about America's future. ... I'm cautiously optimistic about the future, too, if only because our last 200 years have shown that despite politicians' attacks on open markets and individual freedom, people keep getting richer and living longer. When Obama talks about the America we are creating together, it would be more honest if he congratulated Americans for all the progress we make despite government fighting us at every turn — with taxes and regulations and booming debt that lowers the value of each dollar. Of course, presidents want to be remembered positively, and Obama's cheerleaders are eager to put a happy spin on things in his final year in office. ... Leftists can credit Obama with policy successes because Obama often outmaneuvered Republicans and got bills he wanted. Unfortunately, the left rarely looks closely at whether those bills really made Americans better off. ... That's the whole problem. Politicians unleash programs — the more complicated the better — and then take credit later for anything good that happens, blaming the bad things on their political opponents. ... I'm optimistic about America, too — but not because we 'come together' and function as a single union. I'm optimistic because in most areas of life, we're still free to make our own decisions."Comment | Share SHORT CUTSInsight: "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." —C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)Alpha Jackass: "Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You will be pretty lonely because you'll be debating our military, most of America's business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it's a problem and intend to solve it." —Barack Obama The BIG Lie: "Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead. They call us. ... Now, as someone who begins every day with an intelligence briefing, I know this is a dangerous time. But that's not primarily because of some looming superpower out there, and it's certainly not because of diminished American strength." —Barack Obama State of the Union rebuttals: "If everything were as great as [Obama] said it was, two-thirds of the American people wouldn't say the country is on the wrong track." —House Speaker Paul Ryan "This was Obama's Al Bundy speech, the lowly shoes salesman desperately trying to get everyone to remember that time he scored four touchdowns in the one game." —Steve Green "Cut through the rhetoric and the message was the same as ever: If you agree with me, you're reasonable. It was all so tediously familiar and grating I couldn't wait for it to end (much like Obama's presidency)." —Jonah Goldberg "This was less a State of the Union than it was a state of denial. ... [T]he fact that [Ayatollah] Khamenei feels that he is able to seize our ships and seize our sailors indicates the incredible weakness of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy and the fact that bullies and tyrants across the world are not afraid of this president and don't respect this president." —Ted Cruz Late-night humor: "Over the weekend, Bernie Sanders said that if he's elected, he plans to spend $1 trillion to fight unemployment. When asked what they would do with that kind of money, unemployed people said, 'Retire!'" —Jimmy Fallon Comment | Share Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis! Managing Editor Nate Jackson 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. |
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
THE PATRIOT POST 01/13/2016
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