The Patriot Post ~
THE FOUNDATION
“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.” –John Adams, A Defense of the American Constitutions, 1787
TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS
Making the Hard Sell
“Do you have Barack’s back?” That was the subject line of an email from Michelle Obama celebrating ObamaCare’s four-year anniversary Sunday. Since its launch, she bragged, “millions of people have signed up for quality, affordable health care.” Never mind that the White House won’t verify premium payment (actual enrollment) or that “quality” and “affordable” are not two words most folks associate with health insurance any more. In fact, that’s just the point. Four years ago and still today, Barack doesn’t have your back.
Seeking Single-Payer
Nancy Pelosi remains the champion of ObamaCare – er, excuse us, the Affordable Care Act – defending the law at every opportunity. She did, however, admit that it didn’t go as far in the “progressive” big government direction as she wanted. “I’m very proud of our members,” she said. “[A]ny bill that is passed is not perfect. I wanted single-payer, I wanted a public option. You know, I have some changes I would make myself. But as the implementation takes place, as we see improvements that can be made to any compromise, which the bill was, we will do that.” It remains to be seen how much Democrats will use the failure of ObamaCare to argue that they should have gone further. Pelosi’s comments certainly indicate it won’t be long.
Carter’s Lament
You never call. You never write. What’s going on? Such was the complaint coming from Jimmy Carter when asked if Barack Obama ever seeks his advice. “Unfortunately, the answer is no,” Carter lamented. “President Obama doesn’t, but previous presidents have called on me and the Carter Center to take action.” Carter thinks the lack of communication has to do with differing approaches in the Middle East. But, he says of his successor, “I don’t have any criticism of him.” We can help with that. As far as asking Carter’s advice, we very much doubt he could make matters any worse.
The Other Second Amendment
Seventh-graders at Grant Middle School in Springfield, Illinois, recently received a workbook including some lessons on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. But what they’re learning serves the Left’s agenda and – surprise – it’s just propaganda. On the page dealing with the Second Amendment, the book explains, “This amendment states that people have the right to certain weapons, providing that they register them and they have not been in prison. The founding fathers included this amendment to prevent the United States from acting like the British who had tried to take weapons away from the colonists.” On the contrary, the Second Amendment’s plain language says nothing about “certain weapons” or registration. What’s ironic is that registration almost always leads to confiscation, which the lesson notes the British tried to do. What should be confiscated is that workbook.
Obama’s Expensive Junkets
Time spent on extraneous international junkets are becoming about as common for Barack Obama as golf outings. According to the National Taxpayer Union Foundation (NTUF), Breitbart reports, “After five years in the White House, Obama has taken 31 trips for a total of 119 days abroad,” good for first place. George W. Bush was close with 116 days after five years as president, as was Bill Clinton at 113 days. Additionally, “taxpayers are on the hook for about $228,288 per Air Force One flight hour in 2013, a 27 percent increase from the previously confirmed cost of $179,750 per,” making Obama the most expensive president as well. Of course, this comes out of taxpayers’ wallets, many of whom continue to suffer through Obama’s anemic economic recovery. Far too many of these taxpayers were also duped by Obama’s faux promises to curtail wasteful spending and tackle the federal deficit.
For more, visit Right Hooks.
RIGHT ANALYSIS
Wisconsin Success Story
Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed into law today a $541 million tax cut returning $406 million to state technical colleges to reduce their property taxes. Another $98 million will go to low-income taxpayers, reducing the state’s lowest bracket from 4.4% to 4%. Walker first proposed the rate cuts in January, and the last procedural hurdle for passage was cleared this past week when the state Assembly passed the bill 61-35. That was fast.
The bill’s passage barely rated 10 lines in The New York Times, which chose to bury the story deep inside the paper’s A-section. Leftmedia outlets have done all they can to keep the Wisconsin success story out of the headlines as well. Walker, who survived a truly vicious recall effort after taking on the state’s unions a couple years ago, has been behind a drive that has improved the state’s economy, brought accountability to the school system, and pushed the unemployment rate down to 6.1%, its lowest since 2008. A recent poll reports that 95% of business owners in the state are optimistic about the future of the economy in Wisconsin.
The story of Wisconsin’s recovery is one that Republicans around the country need to follow. Media outlets that care about reporting the facts should take heed as well. Walker’s success has come despite the attempts of leftists to block his efforts at every turn with increasingly despicable methods. From shirking their legislative duties to preventing a vote on Walker’s reforms to bussing in union thugs during the recall effort so as to shut down the capitol, Democrats have been merciless in their attempts to prevent the pro-business, small-government model from succeeding. They are particularly set on blocking it in the state that birthed the “progressive” movement a century ago.
Meanwhile, Walker’s Democrat opponent, Mary Burke, is using her own underhanded tactics in an attempt to unseat the governor. She released an ad claiming that the state’s unemployment rate is rising, and when she was called out on the blatant falsehood, she offered no regrets, saying in effect that the ends justify the lies. She will have a tough time convincing voters that Wisconsin is in need of new leadership, so expect the lies and mischaracterizations to keep on coming. That’s the one tool that leftists know how to wield.
Money Isn’t the Problem With Education
Our children’s education has been a national concern practically since the nation’s founding. Over the last 40 years or so, that encouragement has taken the form of upward spiraling educational spending, much of which was needed to pay for thousands of new school employees. But the more we’ve spent, the more results have stayed the same.
Read the rest of the story here.
For more, visit Right Analysis.
TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
Arnold Ahlert: Selfie Society
Ken Blackwell & Bob Morrison: Back in the USSR?
Jeff Jacoby: Public-Sector Pensions Eating Taxpayers Alive
George Will: A Half-Century in Denial
Burt Prelutsky: Republicans Against Democrats
For more, visit Right Opinion.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Columnist Burt Prelutsky: “Obama, through his sock puppet Chuck Hagel, is calling for budgetary cuts to the Pentagon so that we’ll have a leaner, more flexible and efficient, military. So why is it that he simultaneously insists on a fatter, more sedentary and wasteful federal government? What rationale is there for cutting the Army down to 440,000 while constantly increasing the number of federal bureaucrats, a number that currently stands at just under three million? I mean, who are these civil service palookas prepared to fight? Besides the Tea Party and other conservative groups, that is. When Obama and the Democrats display such favoritism towards federal bureaucrats, it all comes down to their acknowledging on which side their ballots are buttered.”
The Gipper: “There is no question that we have failed to live up to the dreams of the founding fathers many times and in many places. Sometimes we do better than others. But all in all, the one thing we must be on guard against is thinking that because of this, the system has failed. The system has not failed. Some human beings have failed the system.”
Columnist Jeff Jacoby: “[H]ow much is a full-career public employee pension worth in dollars and cents? In the average state, those lifetime retirement benefits – again, not including health coverage – have a present value worth $768,940. In many states, they’re worth even more – $848,735 in Massachusetts, for example, and more than $1.3 million in Nevada. For the average career government employee retiring today, pension benefits will equal 87 percent of their final salary. Those benefits are eating taxpayers alive, as the pension bomb ticks ever louder.”
Comedian Argus Hamilton: “Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg made a personal call to President Obama in the Oval Office to complain about the NSA secretly monitoring people’s social media sites. He’s very upset about the U.S. government spying on citizens. Without a clear profit motive, it’s just un-American.”
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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