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Daily Digest for Tuesday June 17, 2014  THE FOUNDATION "Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual, and slavery must ensue." --John Witherspoon, The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men, 1776 TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS 275 Troops to Iraq Days after saying America would not be putting boots back on the ground in Iraq, Barack Obama announced the deployment of 275 troops to Baghdad to secure the U.S. embassy and presumably play an advisory role for Iraqi security personnel. This "unbelievably small, limited kind of effort," to borrow from John Kerry, may set the stage for U.S. airstrikes with the aid of ground surveillance. According to one American official, the Obama administration is "open to engaging the Iranians," however it "will not include military coordination or strategic determination about Iraq's future over the heads of the Iraqi people." Meanwhile, "Syrian and Iraqi terrorist forces obtained significant numbers of tanks, trucks, and U.S.-origin Humvees in recent military operations in Iraq and those arms are being shipped to al Qaeda rebels in Syria," reports The Washington Free Beacon. Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Bill Speaks contends, "[It's] really a matter for the Iraqi government to speak to publicly... It is their equipment." In other words, what difference, at this point, does it make? More... 37 Whistleblowers For years, staff in the VA hospitals spoke up about the wait times, but the administration silenced the whistleblowers. Now the Office of Special Council, a federal department that protects whistleblowers, is investigating 37 instances in which the VA potentially muzzled staff raising concerns about the system. The New York Times reported how VA hospital administrators at an Alaskan hospital placed one of their urologists on administrative leave and ordered security to escort her out of the hospital when she said the wait lists amounted to medical fraud in 2008. But Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan Gibson denied the wait-time scandal warranted any firings to clean house. "This idea that, 'Let's fire everybody, let's pull everybody's bonus away' -- that's a bunch of crap," he said. Firing incompetent and dishonest employees is a bunch of crap? And yet the VA found it worthy to punish the whistleblowers. Something's amiss. More... Down to a Science Children from Central America crossing the U.S. border apparently misunderstand America's immigration laws, thinking they can stay here because of a "new law," according to Hot Air's Allahpundit. Despite misunderstandings, Obama's immigration policies and plans are making their rounds south of the border, and parents are sending their children north. But never fear, the glib-tongued Joe Biden is taking a trip to inform the South American people and head off the hoard. When they cross the border, The Blaze reports, the children say they are fleeing gang violence. And that's suspicious according to Border Patrol agent Albert Spratte: "It's something they're all saying and it's obvious that it is well-rehearsed and it is a consistent story. We can't even get them to answer their name before they tell us the gangs were the reason they fled their country." With the path into America down to a science, we have a name for illegal immigration. It's called organized crime. More... Looking a Gift Gun in the Mouth Gun control groups are wetting themselves in excitement over the new decision the Supreme Court handed down on gun purchases. In 2009, Bruce Abramski Jr. bought a handgun for his uncle because, as a former police officer, he could get a discount on the Glock 19. When Abramski was later arrested on suspicion he robbed a bank, law enforcement accused him of being a straw purchaser because his uncle wrote him a $400 check specifically for the Glock. SCOTUS, in a 5-4 decision, said the laws on buying firearms for another applied to Abramksi, but clarified the decision didn't apply to guns purchased as gifts. Dan Gross, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence said, "This is a very big and very positive decision that will save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people." But Gross's words do not constitute legal advice -- and that disclaimer applies to our analysis, too. The court case looked at a narrow set of circumstances, unlike what the Brady Center would like everyone to think. They seek to end gun rights in America, to stop youth being welcomed to adulthood with firearms of their own, and to bar husbands buying pistols for their wives so they can defend themselves. Thankfully, the Court didn't do that. More... Boxer Fights Against Guns Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is proud of her gun control efforts. "In response to the Isla Vista murders," she writes in a form letter to constituents, "Senator Feinstein and I introduced S.2445, The Pause for Safety Act of 2014," which does all sorts of things to supposedly prevent violence-prone individuals from obtaining firearms. "Congress must act now to stop the epidemic of gun violence in our country," she concludes. Restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens is not the way to do that, but Boxer is undeterred. In fact, she's more gung-ho than ever. "Be assured that I will never, never give up until this fight is won." Neither will we. For more, visit Right Hooks. Did You Know…? The Patriot Post's Digest represents a collaborative effort of contributors and editors who bring their passion and expertise from all walks of life. We spend each week refining our publication to ensure an accurate and penetrating analysis of news, policy and opinion before passing it to our highly capable technical staff for publication. Since 1996, our readers have come to expect nothing less. While most volunteer their time and effort, and the rest receive only a modest salary, we do have substantial overhead for technical service, office space, legal expenses and so forth. If you find today's Digest interesting, inspiring or informative, we humbly ask that you consider donating to The Patriot Post's Independence Day Campaign with a secure online donation. Or, if you prefer to support us by mail, please send your contribution with our printable donor form. Thank you!
Nate Jackson
Managing Editor Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
The Patriot Post Editorial Team RIGHT ANALYSIS The Dog Ate Lois Lerner's Homework The latest twist in the investigation of former IRS official Lois Lerner and the IRS's persecution of tax-exempt Tea Party groups took another troubling turn Friday when the agency claimed Lerner's emails went missing. We're supposed to believe a mysterious computer crash wiped out the vast majority of Lerner's emails covering the period in question -- January 2009 to April 2011 -- while not affecting stored communications for any other time frame, or for any other member of her division, or in the agency as a whole. The odds of such a misfortune taking place without the aid of corrupt individuals looking to obstruct justice are virtually impossible. Remember when Richard Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods, accidently deleted 18 minutes of Oval Office tapes related to the Watergate scandal? Nobody believe that was accidental, either. And as Fox News analyst Charles Krauthammer reminds us, "[T]he second article of impeachment for Richard Nixon was the abuse of the IRS to pursue political enemies. This is a high crime. This is not a triviality." IT professionals repeat the mantra "email is forever." That's particularly the case in any large organization like a corporation or a government agency. Norman Cillo, a former program manager for Microsoft, told The Blaze that government email servers have built-in redundancies, and there is always more than one server in operation. Each server has swappable disk drives that can be removed if they fail, and all email servers use tape backups that can be referred to if the server and the disk drives crash all at once. Even if Lerner's own computer crashed, it would have no effect on the emails she has sent or received because the emails would be stored on the server, not on her computer. And if it was the server that crashed, why were only Lerner's emails affected, and not any of those sent or received by thousands of other IRS employees? Even then, Cillo explained, the emails could be retrieved because there are backup systems that prevent them from being lost forever, unless someone deliberately flushed them out of the system. Darrell Issa, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman and head of the IRS tax-exempt investigation, was incredulous. "Do they really expect the American people to believe that, after having withheld these emails for a year, they're just now realizing the most critical time period is missing?" No wonder the announcement was buried in an unrelated letter from the IRS to two senators. The loss of Lerner's emails further complicates an investigation already stymied by lack of cooperation from the IRS and foot dragging by the Justice Department. Attorney General Eric Holder has done nothing to move the investigation forward, and under questioning from the House committee, acting deputy U.S. AG David O'Neil admitted having no idea how many prosecutors were working on the case. Now the case moves along a tangent, because investigators have to deal with "missing" emails. This new level of the investigation should focus on the procedures the IRS uses to secure its data. What was the timeline for the supposed crash, its discovery, and the handling of the data that was lost? Who is in charge of the servers and the data recovery? Why did the required redundancies fail to restore lost data? This is textbook obfuscation by the IRS, and by the Obama White House in general. The media sycophants who run interference for the president are quick to point out that rogue elements in the IRS are responsible, not Obama. When we look at the long list of this administration's scandals, according to this logic, we are left to assume rogue elements exist in the IRS, the ATF, the State Department, the NSA, Veterans Affairs, the EPA, the Justice Department and so on. With so many corrupt individuals in all these executive-level agencies, at what point does Obama ultimately become responsible? Or when does he admit maybe big government isn't always the answer? Andrew McCarthy of National Review points out presidential accountability was a very specific element written into the Constitution. One leader of the executive branch, a president, rather than a committee, is vested with a lot of power. "The president is responsible for all the officials and agencies delegated to wield the power the Constitution vests only in him," McCarthy writes. Our president seems to think he remains above responsibility and, even more laughably, above reproach. In his 2009 Arizona State University commencement address, Obama noted that the university had denied him an honorary degree and "joked" that "President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS." His joke is less funny than ever. Trivializing Sexual Assault Sexual assault is reportedly running rampant on America's college campuses. But the statistics may be as questionable as the craven behavior of college co-eds. (The same is almost surely true in the military.) Just don't question the sacred status of victims -- the risk is a verbal lynching. Read the rest here. For more, visit Right Analysis. TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS For more, visit Right Opinion. 
OPINION IN BRIEF Galileo Galilei (1564-1642): "In questions of science the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." Columnist Cal Thomas: "The administration and much of the media try to separate 'fanatical Muslims' from 'peaceful' ones, but the distinction is meaningless when the fanatics have the weapons and are willing to die for their cause. This war for the future of the planet is not over and is unlikely to be for generations to come. While it's true we can't be the policemen of the world, we can be its prisoners in a world ruled by Islamic fundamentalists. If Western nations don't combine to use their moral, monetary, religious, intelligence and, yes, military power to stop this onslaught against freedom, we will lose it and never get it back. Withdrawal from this war is a policy of surrender. What we need is a unified approach to fighting Islamic extremism by us and other allied nations. What we need is a policy that works." Political analyst Michael Barone: "Barack Obama seems to be following the polls, yet more and more voters express disapproval of his foreign policy -- 50 percent in a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, with only 41 percent approving, a new low in that survey. This is a reversal of the public response during Obama's first term. Then his job approval on foreign policy was usually higher than his job approval generally. So what gives? Obama has seemingly given the public what it wants -- including the death of Osama bin Laden. And yet the public is dissatisfied. Which is an illustration of how public opinion polls can be misleading guides for public officials. Poll respondents tell interviewers (or recorded voices on the phone) what they would like at that moment." Humorist Frank J. Fleming: "Sounds like the only responsible thing to do now is fire everyone in the IRS just to be on the safe side. I didn't mean to be a white male." 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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