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Daily Digest for Tuesday June 10, 2014  THE FOUNDATION "A judiciary independent of a king or executive alone, is a good thing; but independence of the will of the nation is a solecism, at least in a republican government." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to Thomas Ritchie, 1820 TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS Gibson 'Mad as Hell' The ghost of former Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki rose up to provide some hard facts on the VA hospital wait time scandal. Before resigning May 30, Shinseki called for an audit of the health care system. That investigation found more than 100,000 veterans -- nearly double the wounded Americans in the War on Terror -- waited for health care in the VA system. Shinseki's temporary replacement, Sloan Gibson, said the audit "shows the extent of the systemic problems we face, problems that demand immediate actions. It is our duty and our privilege to provide veterans the care they have earned through their service and sacrifice. As the president has said, as Secretary Shinseki said, and as I stated plainly last week, we must work together to fix the unacceptable, systemic problems in accessing VA health care." In other words, Gibson is saying he's "mad as hell." Like his predecessor, what he's proposing won't fix the systemic problems in the government-run VA hospitals. More… 'Gentlemen' Won't Return to Battle Marie Harf, a deputy State Department spokesperson, isn't helping the administration's case. In fact, her performance is eerily reminiscent of a "Saturday Night Live" spoof of the administration. She told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell yesterday that the Taliban Five released for Bowe Bergdahl are "gentlemen" who wouldn't return to the fight against America. "Under this administration," she explained, "we've put in very stringent processes to determine that we can sufficiently mitigate the risk that the terrorists, the possibility that these gentlemen will go back to the battlefield." In other remarks at a press conference, Harf dismissed the idea again: "Let's say the worst case scenario -- these five guys do return [to the battlefield]. In no way would that substantially change the Taliban's order of battle on the ground. That's just not, um, even logical." What's not logical is to think five dangerous jihadis were a good trade for an alleged Army deserter. Killers Are No 'Right-Wingers' A young married couple in Las Vegas went on a murderous spree over the weekend, killing two police officers and another man (who confronted them with a concealed weapon) before killing themselves. The Leftmedia were quick to highlight supposed "right-wing, militia-type" political motives of the killers, because the pair used the word "Patriot" in their online rants, loved guns, claimed to have participated in the rally at Cliven Bundy's ranch and draped their victims in a Gadsden flag. Oddly, however, the couple also left a swastika on the bodies of the dead officers. Talk about mixed messages -- Nazis were socialists. That critical point will be lost on those who've been wrongly taught Nazis were "right-wingers." But let's be clear: Random killing of innocents isn't right- or left-wing. It's simply deranged and evil. More... IRS Broke the Law It looks like former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner didn't let a few tax laws get in the way of her crusade against the people who dare speak against Barack Obama. Call us old fashioned, but if you're going to investigate someone -- even if you are targeting them unfairly -- it seems like you should at least follow the laws if you are going to accuse the targets of breaking them, instead of abusing power. But abuse power Lerner did. Evidently, the IRS gave the FBI a database that was supposed to be kept confidential. Darrell Issa (R-CA) wrote a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen saying, "This revelation that the IRS sent 1.1 million pages of nonprofit tax-return data -- including confidential taxpayer information -- to the FBI confirms suspicions that the IRS worked with the Justice Department to facilitate the potential investigation of nonprofit groups engaged in lawful political speech." Gee, we heard the Obama administration was the most transparent in history, but we suppose Obama's lackeys meant that only amongst themselves. More... ObamaCare Fines Target Poor In 2016, the Congressional Budget Office expects four million people will pay the ObamaCare tax fine for not buying health insurance. A quarter of those people are poor -- 200,000 people below the poverty line and 800,000 low-income earners. This is exactly the kind of situation a fresh-faced Barack Obama said he wanted to avoid in 2008. "You can have a situation, which we are seeing right now in the state of Massachusetts, where people are being fined for not having purchased health care, but choose to accept the fine because they still can't afford it even with the subsidies," Obama said in a debate with Hillary Clinton. "They are then worse off -- they then have no health care and are paying a fine above and beyond that." Obama went on to say the insurance companies would be happy for ObamaCare because it forced people to buy from them. Funny that ObamaCare embodies everything he opposed then. More... For more, visit Right Hooks. Don't Miss Patriot Humor Here's yesterday's edition, Five for One? If you'd like to receive Patriot Humor by email, update your subscription here. RIGHT ANALYSIS Hillary's 'Hard Choices' Make Her Unfit for Command Hillary Clinton kicked off a book tour for "Hard Choices" Monday, timed to set up her possible presidential run in 2016. She says she'll make that "hard choice" by the end of the year. The book is a review of her time as Barack Obama's first secretary of state, all without really laying out much in the way of principles. But that's the Clinton way -- public persona over all. In reality, her book and her tour vividly illustrate why she's unfit for command. As part of her tour, Clinton gave an interview with ABC's Dianne Sawyer, who surprisingly asked a few tough questions that clearly made Clinton squirm. For example, Sawyer wanted to know why the Clintons earn so much money for every speech -- reportedly $200,000 per appearance for Hillary, and as much as $750,000 for Bill. Clinton's response was that she and Bill know what it's like to struggle to make ends meet. "[W]e came out of the White House not only dead broke but in debt," she lamented. "We had no money when we got there and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea's education -- you know, it was not easy." Maybe if they had just one multi-million-dollar house, Chelsea's education might have been more feasible. But then again, Hillary had to buy a home in New York in order to run for Senate. Unbelievably, Clinton also complained that they "had to make double the money because of, obviously, taxes." Those high Clinton tax rates are a real pain, no? Maybe not, as Bill explained in April, "Hillary and I and some of our friends in this audience who live in New York probably pay the highest aggregate tax rates in America, and I thank God every April 15th that I'm able to do it." Sawyer also asked, "Do you think Americans will understand [charging] five times the median income in this country for one speech?" Clinton's answer was pathetic: "Let me put it this way: I thought making speeches for money was a much better thing than getting connected with any one group or company, as so many people who leave public life do." According to CNN, the Clintons have done quite well gabbing for gold: "Bill Clinton made more than $9.2 million in speaking fees in 2001 and more than $9.5 million in 2002. They paid off their legal fees by 2004. A CNN analysis of the family's financial records in early 2013 showed that Bill Clinton had earned $106 million from paid speeches since leaving the presidency behind. In 2012 alone, he earned $17 million in fees." Hillary has raked in $5 million since leaving her post at the State Department. But boy did they "struggle" to make ends meet. Hillary also didn't mention that in December 2000 she received an $8 million advance for her first book, "Living History" -- a near record advance. She received $14 million for "Hard Choices." If that's "dead broke," maybe her new book should've been titled "Hard Times." Hillary later said, "Let me just clarify that I fully appreciate how hard life is for so many Americans today. I want to use the talents and resources I have to make sure people get the same chances." Class warfare is one of the Democrats' favorite sledge hammers, and Clinton wields it as well as any. That's why they made Mitt Romney's wealth an issue in 2012. But if Romney's income is fair game, so is Hillary's, and she's clearly stayed out of touch with the average American. The second facet of her tour and record is, of course, Benghazi. On that horrible incident, her book again blames the YouTube video while she insists, "I will not be part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans. It's just plain wrong, and it's unworthy of our great country. Those who insist on politicizing the tragedy will have to do so without me." There would be no dead Americans if Clinton and Obama weren't playing politics. They managed to undermine U.S. foreign-policy around the world. Though she admits, "I certainly would give anything on earth if this had not happened," she's also steadfast in her own defense, saying the whole kerfuffle is "more of a reason to run" than not to. Performing verbal gymnastics, she added, "I take responsibility, but I was not making security decisions. What I did was give very direct instructions that the people who have the expertise and experience in security. I'm not equipped to sit and look at blueprints, to determine where the blast walls need to be or where the reinforcements need to be. That's why we hire people who have that expertise." Fox News analyst Tucker Carlson rejoined with a paraphrase of what she really said: "I take full personal responsibility for this, which is why the people I hired are at fault." Clinton's book also claimed, "[T]here were Marines stationed at our embassy in Tripoli." That's not true -- at least not until after the attack in Benghazi. One would think Clinton would be more careful with the details surrounding Benghazi, but perhaps her poor memory is a result of her serious head injury. Or maybe she thought, "What difference, at this point, does it make?" The answer to that question is Clinton's responsibility. She and her State Department chose to have minimal security in a dangerous nation (Libya) and the results were catastrophic. In short, whether it's her hypocritical lifestyle or her dereliction of duty, Hillary Clinton is unfit for higher office and should stick to bilking people for her empty speeches. Student Loans for Votes Barack Obama announced changes to the government's "Pay As You Earn" college debt plan this week, broadening the eligibility requirements and reducing payments for student loan recipients. The current plan caps monthly student loan payments at 10% of discretionary income for borrowers who took out new loans after October 2007. Obama's changes would extend the loan repayment cap to anyone repaying student loans. Any debt remaining after 20 years would be forgiven, and those working in the government or nonprofit sector would have their debt forgiven after 10 years. Taxpayers will be on the hook to pick up the balance. Read the rest here. For more, visit Right Analysis. TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS For more, visit Right Opinion. 
OPINION IN BRIEF Edmund Burke (1729-1797): "It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do." Columnist Thomas Sowell: "'Innocent until proven guilty' is a good rule in a court of law, which has the power to deprive a defendant of liberty or life. But it is mindless and dangerous nonsense to apply that standard outside that context -- especially when choosing a President of the United States, who holds in his hands the liberty and lives of millions of Americans. People who are disappointed with Barack Obama have no right to be. It is they whom others have a right to be disappointed with. Instead of taking their role as citizens seriously, they chose to vote on the basis of racial symbolism, glib rhetoric and wishful thinking. Moreover, many are already talking about choosing the next President of the United States on the basis of demographic symbolism... We may yet become the first nation to die from a terminal case of frivolity. Other great nations in history have been threatened by barbarians at the gates. We may be the first to be threatened by self-indulgent silliness inside the gates." Columnist Mona Charen: "Speaking to a large crowd assembled to mark the 25th anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death, 'Supreme Leader' Ali Khamenei declared his continuing belief that America is the Great Satan. 'Battle and jihad are endless,' he said. 'This battle will only end when the society can get rid of the oppressors' front with America at the head of it, which has expanded its claws on human mind, body and thought.' Arrayed behind the cleric was a banner reading, 'America cannot do a damn thing!' If you're wondering what Khamenei meant by that ... Khamenei was good enough to explain: 'They have renounced the idea of any military actions.' Khamenei was responding directly to the president's West Point speech in which he signaled American reluctance to use military force. ... When former President Ronald Reagan appointed Jeane Kirkpatrick as U.S. envoy to the U.N., he gave these marching orders: 'You're taking off that big sign that we used to wear that said, "Kick Me."' It's back." Humorist Frank J. Fleming: "Obama had no significant achievements as a senator. Hillary has no significant achievements as a senator AND secretary of state. #Upgrade" 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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