Daily Digest for Monday
January 20, 2014
THE FOUNDATION
"The foundation on which
all [constitutions] are built is the natural equality of man, the denial
of every preeminence but that annexed to legal office, and particularly
the denial of a preeminence by birth." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to
George Washington, 1784
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
"I have a dream that one
day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:
'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal.' ... I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character. ... And if America is to be a great
nation this must become true." --Martin Luther King Jr.
Regardless of one's opinion about King's proper place in history
(given the historical account of his sometimes-lacking personal
integrity and character), his letter from a Birmingham jail is well worth reading.TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKSIran Hostage AnniversaryBarack Obama's fumbling foreign policy has emboldened the enemies of Liberty around the world, especially in Iran, where Obama has, in effect, made our foreign policy hostage to Iran's nuclear ambitions. As Obama prepares for his State of the Union rhetoric, it's worth noting an incident on this date that clearly contrasts weakness and strength. On Jan. 20, 1981, as Ronald Reagan was completing his 20‑minute inaugural address, Iran released into U.S. custody 52 American hostages who had spent the last 444 days of Jimmy Carter's "presidency" in captivity.A False Choice With IranThe Obama administration released some details of the latest deal with Iran, and we yet again warn that the agreement is far too generous to the Iranians. President Hasan Rouhani boasted that "world powers surrendered to [Iran's] will." Meanwhile, a new sanctions bill is working its way through the Senate despite administration warnings that it would push the nation toward war with Iran. The Wall Street Journal concludes, however, "So Americans are supposed to believe that the only choice is between war and whatever Mr. Obama negotiates. But the far more likely path to war is a bad deal that induces Israel to strike and drives the Saudis and Turks to get their own bomb. Mr. Obama's opposition to the Senate sanctions bill shows how much it is needed."Cuomo's Unwelcome MatDemocrat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had some strong words of unwelcome for conservatives in his state: "[T]hese extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay ... they have no place in the state of New York, because that's not who New Yorkers are." Cuomo self-identifies as "Catholic" but promotes abortion and same-sex "marriage." As for "pro-assault weapon," he took an oath to "support and defend" the Constitution, but he needs a refresher on what's in it.Weinstein's Anti-Gun Movie
Anti-gun movie producer
Harvey Weinstein is planning a "big movie" that he says will make the
National Rifle Association "wish they weren't alive." Only if members
waste two hours of their lives going to see the movie, that is. Pathetic
as Weinstein's smack talk is, Sen. Ted Cruz had just the right
response: "The Hollywood liberal elites, they have their view of
things." The trouble is, Cruz added, "left-wing propaganda films"
generally flop at the box office. And in the final analysis, "We have a
right to protect ourselves, it's protected in the Constitution. And even
if liberal Hollywood types want to take it away, it isn't going
anywhere."
One ObamaCare Fire Put Out
In December, we warned
that volunteer fire departments may close if not granted a waiver to
ObamaCare's requirement that health insurance be provided for people who
work more than 30 hours. Well, the Treasury Department has granted an
exemption for volunteer firefighters, emergency workers and paramedics.
So, for now at least, that small fire has been extinguished. Now if only
we could put out the rest of the ObamaCare blaze.
For more, visit Right Hooks.
RIGHT ANALYSISToken NSA Reforms Coming
With the controversy over
the NSA's mass surveillance programs still simmering, Barack Obama did
what he always does: He gave a speech. In Friday's remarks, the
president tried to straddle the fence, saying, "I believe it is
important that the capability that this program is designed to meet is
preserved. Having said that, I believe critics are right to point out
that without proper safeguards, this type of program could be used to
yield more information about our private lives, and open the door to
more intrusive, bulk-collection programs. I am therefore ordering a
transition that will end the Section 215 bulk metadata program as it
currently exists, and establish a mechanism that preserves the
capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk
meta-data."
Obama didn't specify who would keep that metadata or where it would
be kept, leaving those minor details for Attorney General Eric Holder
and the intelligence community to determine by March 28. But the data
collection and analysis will continue -- the data just won't be
kept at the NSA's giant storage facility. Will all the data then be
transferred to a federal contractor like the one that built
Healthcare.gov? If so, that clearly doesn't improve the situation.
Moreover, the proposed reforms only cover collected telephone metadata,
not emails, texts, financial information or any other data collected by
the federal government.Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a prominent critic of the NSA's programs, quickly fired back, "I think what I heard was if you like your privacy, you can keep it." Paul's comment strikes at the most fundamental issue here, and that is one of trust. Obama has not earned our trust in any way, shape or form, making the NSA's collection of data on every single American more than disturbing. As Investor's Business Daily adds, "The real problem is that our government can't admit that Islamofascist extremists are the threat -- and should be the exclusive focus of concern." That would be politically incorrect. Rotten to the Common Core
Once upon a time, parents,
local school boards, and states determined classroom curriculum. Those
days are quickly disappearing. Misnamed "state standards," the federal
Common Core curriculum guidance is an attempt to further nationalize
education. Forty-five states plus DC have embraced Common Core, although
as George Will notes,
they have done so in exchange for stimulus funds or waivers from
federal regulations -- federal arm-twisting at its best. Even worse,
some states adopted Common Core
almost immediately after the June 2, 2010 release of the standards,
leaving little to no time to evaluate their efficacy. Another case of
"passing" something to find out what's in it.
Of course, the problem with
Common Core is that such an effort ignores the fact that under the
Tenth Amendment, education is a power "not delegated" to the federal
government and, therefore, belongs solely to the states or the people.
But the federal government has been ignoring the Tenth Amendment for a
long time.
Aside from constitutional
questions, federal involvement has largely degraded public education. As
Will highlights, "Fifty years of increasing Washington inputs into K-12
education has coincided with disappointing cognitive outputs from
schools." Indeed, despite massive increases in federal education
spending, student achievement has not kept pace.
In the end, Common Core simply represents another example of the Left's
attempt to centralize everything. Thankfully, some states are starting
to realize the danger of bowing to Uncle Sam and are reconsidering
Common Core's implementation. Armed with the Constitution, these states
are taking on one of its greatest foes: the U.S. government.
For more, visit Right Analysis.
TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
 OPINION IN BRIEF
Columnist Peggy Noonan:
"There's an increasing sense in our political life that in both parties
politicians call themselves public servants but act like bosses who
think the voters work for them. Physicians who routinely help the needy
and the uninsured do not call themselves servants. They get to be called
the 1%. Politicians who jerk around doctors, nurses and health systems
call themselves servants, when of course they look more like little
kings and queens instructing the grudging peasants in how to arrange
their affairs. What's most striking is that in a crisis, you don't
expect business as usual. You expect something better from leaders, you
expect them to try to meet the moment. ... Someday history will write of
our era, and to history the biggest scandal will be the thing we all
accepted in our leaders, chronic and endemic selfishness. History will
be hard on us for that."
Columnist John C. Goodman:
"If inequality is a bad thing, there must be victims. Yet if penniless
immigrants come to our shore, knowing that their arrival makes the
distribution of income more unequal than it was and knowing that they
will be at the bottom of the income ladder initially, then it's hard to
argue they are being victimized. ... [T]hink about how your life is
richer and more fulfilling and enjoyable because of the 2%. If you could
take a magic wand and remove the 2% who are the best football players,
how enjoyable would Sunday's TV football games be? Would you watch at
all if the players on the field were all of 'average' ability? ... Not
everyone with a high IQ is a high flyer. In fact the vast majority are
not. But all the great scientific discoveries and all the great
innovations came from people out there on the right tail. Without them,
life for you and me today would be little different than it was in
medieval times."
Ronald Reagan: "We hear
much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special
interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional
boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political
party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol
our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep
our homes, and heal us when we are sick -- professionals,
industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers. They
are, in short, 'We the people,' this breed called Americans."
Columnist Burt Prelutsky:
"Some people have suggested that before undergoing surgery, one should
always get a second opinion. That's never made sense to me. What if the
first guy says you should have an operation and the second guy says you
shouldn't? Do you then go to a third guy to break the tie? Or does it
make more sense to just flip a coin? Actually, under ObamaCare, you'll
be lucky if you can find three doctors. Heck, under Obama, you'll be
lucky if you have three coins."
Comedian Conan O'Brien: "In
a new interview that just came out, First Lady Michelle Obama said she
might consider getting plastic surgery. The First Lady said if Barack's
popularity keeps dropping, I do not want to be recognized."
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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Monday, January 20, 2014
THE PATRIOT POST 01/20/2014
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