The Front Page Cover
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The Need to Define 'Winning' in Afghanistan
by Todd Johnson
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The Unhinged Left Still Can't Stomach Trump
by James Shott: “Poor Donald, he can’t help it. He was born to do things wrong!”
A president’s true effect on his country can’t be fully and accurately assessed until some time after his term ends. But looking at Donald Trump’s record so far indicates his effect will be almost 100% negative — at least if you believe obnoxiously biased media coverage and the estimates of his Democrat and leftist enemies.
Sure, he’s been in office for only seven months, but all that really means is that his negative record is ultimately going to be absolutely YUGE and unparalleled! Right? Right? How could so many American voters have been so wrong last November?
Trump is a man who has become famous only because his father gave him money, right? Daddy, we are told, provided gifts of $1 million or maybe $100 million. Detractors say that’s why he’s now worth $3.5 billion, according to Forbes, only 35 times the highest reported level of help of $100 million. What’s special about that? Surely any or all of the rest of us could have done that well?
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) saw this coming and wisely wanted to save the country all this pain by impeaching Trump before he was even sworn in as president. Perhaps she was in such a hurry because she wanted get it done before her trial for ethics violations begins. And some of her patriotic Democrat comrades are still working toward that end. Bless their hearts!
And CNN “reporter” Jim Acosta — who has benefitted from his own journalistic failures since Trump made him famous by noticing and publicizing them — acted on an assumption. Immediately upon hearing the dire predictions of catastrophe of Hurricane Harvey advancing on the Texas coast, Acosta apparently assumed Trump was watching baseball rather than acting in advance of the storm to deal with the developing crisis. He tweeted at Trump with the question, “What is your administration doing about the hurricane to keep Texans safe?” By then, Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had already talked by phone and the federal government was already acting, and Abbott has praised the federal response. Oops!
No doubt Al Gore will soon publish another book or make another movie with withering criticism of Donald’s exit from the Paris Climate Accord, that “doctrine with no teeth,” which Gore will swear could have turned the storm to the south, sparing America altogether.
Sure, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a hero to many Arizonans for his unwavering enforcement of federal immigration laws the federal government refused to enforce. The feds’ abdication meant great harm and discomfort to the people of Sen. RINO-John McCain’s home state. But how could Donald dare to pardon the man before he was even sentenced for the misdemeanor charges he was found guilty of — by a judge, not a jury — and robbing that judge of the pleasure of punishing a man she convicted during a witch hunt?
Shouldn’t a president’s powers of pardon and commutation be reserved for people convicted of serious federal crimes, as Bill liar-Clinton did on his last day in office for 140 such criminals, some of whom were his relatives and friends? Or, for releasing 1,500 federal prisoners and Gitmo detainees, as Barack liar-nObama did over eight years?
Even some so-called Republicans, like the aforementioned RINO-John McCain, are critical of Trump. RINO-McCain said the timing was bad and especially so because “Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for” doing the job the federal government refused to do to protect Sen. RINO-McCain’s Arizona constituents.
With these acts Trump has joined the ranks of previous presidents, doing things their enemies dislike. Remember liar-nObama’s “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,” bragging on the “Affordable” Care Act, or “The police acted stupidly” trying to protect personal property, or when he curtsied to Muslim leaders upon meeting them?
Many people do not like Donald Trump, a condition he readily contributes to by some actions, but also because he doesn’t do things the way they expect a president to do them. However, being different isn’t necessarily being wrong. Remember, in 1532 it was a certainty that the Earth was the center of all things. But Nicholaus Copernicus revived an ancient theory saying the sun was actually the center and Earth revolved around it. According to the existing beliefs, he was wrong. But he wasn’t.
Many in the media and the public take Trump’s words literally without thinking about what he was trying to communicate. Yes, that may be hard work, but reporting accurately is also hard work, and reporters and talkingheads need to step up their game. Of course, Trump should do a better job of ensuring his words convey their intended meaning; but the media must remember that their job is to convey the true message, the intended message, and leave their petty, adolescent feelings aside.
Reporters and media outlets are charged with accurately, objectively and fairly informing the public. Report what happens, good, bad and ugly, and let the people decide how to respond. Americans don’t need reporters to tell them what to think.
America’s future is far more important than the hurt feelings and emotional upheavals of Trump’s enemies. ~The Patriot Post
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Pro-Illegal Democrat JUDGE Usurps Texans,
BLOCKS TEXAS Sanctuary City LAW
by rickwells.us
{rickwells.us} ~ Another Democrat appointed so-called judge has injected himself into and obstructed the orderly exercise of authority by the Chief Executive and the legislature, this time on the state level, in Texas... US District Court Judge Orlando Luis Garcia has temporarily blocked most of Texas’ tough new “sanctuary cities” law which passed the legislature elected by the people and was signed by the governor, also elected by the people. Even in Texas the authoritarian globalist Democrats usurp the will of the people and rule by fiat. Among other measures, the law allows police to inquire about a person’s citizenship status, and if they’re not, their immigration status and permission to be in the United States during routine traffic stops. That would provide a means to fight back against the invasion, so naturally the leftists activated their puppet to put a stop to it...With Harvey in Texas, this liberal Judges makes his move. http://rickwells.us/pro-illegal-democrat-judge-usurps-texans-blocks-texas-sanctuary-city-law/
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Petition demands FBI release Hillary's email records
by Alicia Powe
{wnd.com} ~ The American public is being asked to tell the Trump administration it wants the details about liar-Hillary Clinton’s email scandal to be made public... The petition on the White House website is a response to the FBI’s rejection of an open-records request by a lawyer seeking to have the former secretary of state punished for perjury. The FBI claims it doesn’t need to release all of the details because of “a lack of public interest.” The petition states points out that FBI records section chief David M. Hardy told investigator Ty Clevenger that he did not sufficiently demonstrate that the public’s interest in disclosing liar-Clinton’s FBI records “outweighed her personal privacy interests.”... http://www.wnd.com/2017/08/petition-demands-fbi-release-hillarys-email-records/
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Charlottesville false narrative crushed by DHS warning
by Mark J. Fitzgibbons
{americanthinker.com} ~ Governor Terry McAuliffe’s efforts to evade responsibility for the shocking violence at Charlottesville just got even more implausible. He and local authorities were warned, and yet allowed, if not forced... the two violence-prone parties into such close proximity that violence was a near certainty. The Department of Homeland Security issued a confidential warning to law enforcement authorities three days before the deadly Aug. 12 Charlottesville protest rally, saying that an escalating series of clashes had created a powder keg that would likely make the event “among the most violent to date” between white supremacists and anarchists... http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/08/charlottesville_false_narrative_crushed_by_dhs_warning.html
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Linda Sarsour’s Hurricane Harvey Scam
by Pamela Geller
{pamelageller.com} ~ Another day, another Sarsour scam. This is but another in a long line of Sarsour scams to fleece the infidel... Not one cent of the money Linda Sarsour is raising will be donated to people who have lost their cars, possessions, and even their entire homes. “Instead it’ll be poured straight into the pockets of activists such as Sarsour as they continue their political posturing, dividing the country over race and ‘inequality.’” Sarsour recently requested donations for the Harvey Hurricane Relief Fund, which, on its face, sounds innocuous enough. But it turns out that this fund is, in fact, a thinly veiled front for leftist community organizing. From the fund’s website... https://pamelageller.com/2017/08/sarsour-hurricane-harvey-scam.html/.
RINO-MCCAIN Returning To LECTURE,
Berate TRUMP Over TRANSGENDERS On NDAA
by rickwells.us
{rickwells.us} ~ RINO-John McCain isn’t doing the American people or President Trump any favors by returning to the Senate immediately following his chemotherapy treatments for cancer... That’s probably what motivates him. He’s only got a limited amount of time to stick it to President Trump and “those racist, small-minded rednecks” who voted for him. His days of trading influence for money and power are drawing to a close – time is critical. Politico reports that RINO-McCain will return to Washington next week, providing the Senate GOP with its full complement of 52 votes. With RINO-McCain there’s no certainty that he’ll be voting Republican, as he proved with his vote against replacing liar-nObamacare. He’s just as much returning as the Democrats’ 49th vote... http://rickwells.us/mccain-returning-lecture-berate-trump-transgenders-ndaa/.
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The Need to Define 'Winning' in Afghanistan
by Todd Johnson: Last week, in a packed Conmy Hall at Joint Base Myer-Henderson, President Donald Trump made his long-awaited announcement about the United States’ future role in Afghanistan.
After hearing Trump’s remarks, we’re heartened by a few of his comments. First, it was good to finally hear Trump acknowledge that making life and death decisions about national security issues as president is a lot different than following his instincts as a private citizen. While some may see this as a low bar to clear, it is still significant to note because it shows Trump publicly acknowledging the gravity of the office he holds.
Second, he made a clear distinction about separating his administration from his predecessor when he articulated that his national security team will be focused on implementing a conditions-based approach rather than a strict timeline. This significant deviation from the previous administration is a positive first step in sending a message to the Afghan government, as well as to the governments of Pakistan, Iran and Russia, that America is committed to fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida, now and in the future.
However, after ruminating on his speech the next day and examining the transcripts, we recalled the lyrics to “We Won’t Get Fooled Again,” penned by Pete Townshend of The Who. The last two lines of that song, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” perfectly encapsulates Trump’s failure, much like Barack liar-nObama, to set the strategic context of America’s future involvement in Afghanistan.
As we wrote a few weeks ago, the purpose of war is to serve national-interest objectives and Trump failed to articulate that in his speech. He said, “Our troops will fight to win. We will fight to win.” But what does that mean?
Many years ago, the famed military theorist Carl von Clausewitz wrote, “We see, therefore, that war is not merely an act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse carried on with other means.” In other words, wars are meant to further political goals, not just kill bad guys.
When President Trump says we aren’t nation-building, he is missing the point of our presence in the region. In order for any country to function, it must have institutions that cater to the needs of the populace. The reason why any state becomes a safe haven for terrorists, from Somalia to Yemen to Afghanistan, is because of the central government’s inability to serve the people. Like it or not, by committing more American troops to Afghanistan, Trump is implicitly nation-building.
Which made Trump’s conspicuous omission in his speech about the role of his State Department in Afghanistan more troubling. While he did state, “A fundamental pillar of our new strategy is the integration of all instruments of American power: diplomatic, economic and military,” he never elaborated about how his administration will fuse these efforts into one cohesive strategy.
And that is a major problem with Trump’s speech, and by extension, his policy for the region. There are no clear-cut objectives. That ambiguity may serve to keep jihadis off balance, but it doesn’t help our nation commit to win.
While Trump talks about “winning,” his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is saying that U.S. efforts are “intended to put pressure on the Taliban to have the Taliban understand you will not win a battlefield victory.” Yet he added, “We may not win one, but neither will you.” Talk about mixed messages.
If President Trump wants to be serious about American efforts in Afghanistan and South Asia, he needs to oversee a series of measures that should be a combination of pragmatism and resolve.
He and his team need to make a case about why we need to stay involved in the region. They need to explain to the American people, and the rest of the world, why the United States is committed to this fight and why it’s in our best interests to continue pouring blood and treasure into this part of the world.
As America begins its 16th year of war in Afghanistan this fall, it’s time to reflect upon what has been accomplished and what still needs to be achieved. President Trump has the chance to make a difference but only time will tell if he is serious about committing the vast resources and leadership needed to achieve success on the ground. ~The Patriot Post
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