“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” –Thomas Jefferson (1808)

As our longtime readers know well, your Patriot Post team works tirelessly to “Support and Defend” Liberty. Because we operate on a very tight budget, both in terms of manpower and financial resources, our content and quality would suffer if we were short-staffed for many weeks throughout the year to provide individual leave time. Thus, as our team needs a break from the rigors of relentless publishing deadlines, we pause our operations for a week in August to provide R&R time with our families.

However, a few of us remain on station to keep watch, and always being one of those, I wanted to share a few observations about events this past week.

Unless you’ve been marooned on a Pacific island for the last 10 days, you’ve likely been deluged with mainstream media hysterics about the domestic political hatefest between anarcho-fascists and anarcho-socialists in the otherwise idyllic town of Charlottesville, Virginia.

In the wake of that event, I noted, in the same 24-hour period as the Charlottesville riot, there were nine people killed on the streets of Chicago – just an average Saturday night. (Indeed, this past weekend there were even more assaults, but since those black lives don’t matter as political fodder for the Demo/Leftmedia propaganda machine, it’s unlikely you heard about that.)

Of course, Democrats and their Leftmedia outlets portrayed the “counter-protestors” as all-American youngsters doing their civic duty to oppose hate. But these anarchists, currently operating under the antifa banner, are the epitome of haters – and they are in much larger numbers than the fringe racist elements.

Despite the Leftist howls about Donald Trump’s condemnation of both the hate factions, one of the nation’s most noted liberal protagonists, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, says that the Left should not embrace those trying to “tear down America.”

Dershowitz implores his fellow Democrats: “Do not glorify the violent people who are now tearing down the statues. Many of these people, not all of them, many of these people are trying to tear down America. Antifa is a radical, anti-America, anti-free market, communist, socialist, hard-left sensorial organization… They use violence. Just because they are opposed to fascism and to some of these monuments, should not make them heroes of the liberals. … Doing what Stalin did, just erasing history and rewriting it to serve current purposes does pose a danger. And it poses a danger of education malpractice. I’m a liberal, and I think it’s the obligation of liberals to speak out against the hard-left radicals, just like it’s the obligation of conservatives to speak out against the extremism of the hard right.”

Regarding education malpractice, another Harvard professor, Harry Lewis, former dean of student life, has filed a motion to protect students’ “right of free association” on the Harvard campus, insisting that the university not “discipline, penalize, or otherwise sanction students for joining, or affiliating with, any lawful organization, political party, or social, political, or other affinity group.”

Indeed, as Dershowitz noted, the catalyst for that Virginia hate-confab was, ostensibly, the removal of a historic statue of one of that state’s first sons, Robert E. Lee – the Left’s latest Stalinist stab at rewriting American history.

Before defacing and tearing down statues became the latest Leftist fad, Virginia’s carpet-bagging Clintonista, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-NY), characterized the Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson statues on Richmond’s Monument Avenue as “parts of our heritage.” After Charlottesville, McAuliffe re-characterized them as “flash points for hatred, division and violence.”

Of course, it’s McAuliffe and his ilk who are the “flash points for hatred, division and violence.”

Speaking of “New Yorkers,” the latest Leftist to jump on the race-bait freight train is New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Apparently, he’s found some Lee and Jackson statues to remove from the Empire State. Perhaps he should pick up a history book – New York is named for one of the most notorious slave traders in history, the Duke of York. Better tear down that Big Apple, Andy.

And speaking of race baiters, it turns out that Barack Obama, who has stoked the fires of racial hatred for the last eight years, is the direct maternal descendant of slave owners. (Oops.) Hard to erase that history, though references to Obama’s family ties to slavery are sparse because, again, that doesn’t fit neatly with the Left’s race-bait political narrative. (You certainly won’t hear CNN’s Anderson Cooper mentioning Obama’s sordid family history, lest Obama might remind Cooper, the son of heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, that his family also owned slaves! Of course, CNN has enslaved a lot of public opinion as well!)

Of course, the Democrat Party, founded by slave-owner Andrew Jackson, still promotes the statist policies which have enslaved mostly poor black folks on urban poverty plantations for generations – more than were ever enslaved on Democrat agricultural plantations – and they are dying equally violent deaths.

There were many examples of collateral fallout from the protests, which serve to illuminate the absurdity of both hateful factions.

Haters are outing other haters across the nation, who are then being fired from their jobs. That would include two burrito makers in our neighboring city of Chattanooga, where a self-described “communist and anarchist” (yes, a bi-polar oxymoron) outed a coworker who she claims is a Nazi sympathizer.

And then there is the case of poor Robert Lee. No not that Robert Lee, but an Asian-American ESPN sportscaster by the same name, who was pulled from the announcer lineup for an upcoming UVA v William and Mary football game because of…his offensive name! Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) protests, “If this isn’t the same Lee that led the Confederate Army, ESPN needs to reverse this idiocy.” (Memo to Larsen: It’s probably not “the same Lee,” and it’s race-bait idiocy by you and other Democrats that led to this Extremely Stupid Political Nonsense (ESPN)!) So, will the anarcho-fascists show up to protest the removal of Robert Lee? Will the anarcho-socialists show up in battle black and start a riot?

Before moving on from the “historical revision” topic, longtime friend of The Patriot and distinguished George Mason University professor Walter E. Williams has issued erudite warnings about the consequences of historical ignorance here and here, including the removal of historic markers to Confederate generals and the rewriting of American history. I highly commend the reading of his essays on this subject.

Stay tuned – the traveling circus of haters will move on to other cities, where Leftists will not only rage against small bands of other racists but also target police officers as they chant “cops and Klan go hand in hand…”

The other dominant news this week was President Donald Trump’s plan to more aggressively prosecute a murderous gang of foreign haters, the Jihadi terrorists in Afghanistan. (By the way, Muhammad was also a slave owner.)

Speaking to the nation Monday, Trump sounded downright presidential, saying, “I arrived at three fundamental conclusions about America’s core interests in Afghanistan.”

“First,” he said, “Our nation must seek an honorable and enduring outcome worthy of the tremendous sacrifices that have been made.” And indeed we should.

Second, he insisted, “The consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable. A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists – including ISIS and al-Qaeda – would instantly fill … We cannot repeat in Afghanistan the mistake our leaders made in Iraq.”

That was a reference to the fact that Obama’s re-election campaign retreat from Iraq in 2012, after all the blood and treasure our nation sacrificed there. This craven and disastrous decision directly resulted in the rise of the Islamic State and the epic humanitarian crisis which defines BO’s foreign policy legacy, and that of Hillary Clinton, his co-conspirator in plowing the field for the emergence of ISIL.

Finally, Mr. Trump concluded, “The security threats we face in Afghanistan and the broader region are immense. Today, 20 U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan – the highest concentration in any region of the world.”

Of the example our esteemed military personnel set for American unity, Mr. Trump offered this assessment: “By following the heroic example of those who fought to preserve our republic, we can find the inspiration our country needs to unify, to heal, and to remain one nation under God. The men and women of our military operate as one team, with one shared mission, and one shared sense of purpose. … They transcend every line of race, ethnicity, creed, and color to serve together – and sacrifice together – in perfect cohesion. … They’re all part of the same family; it’s called the American family. … Loyalty to our nation demands loyalty to one another. Love for America requires love for all its people. When we open our hearts to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. … The young men and women we send to fight our wars abroad deserve to return to a country that is not at war with itself at home. We cannot remain a force for peace in the world if we are not at peace with each other.”

If the president holds to this Reaganesque standard for his remarks, his conservative agenda might have a chance of succeeding.

On a final note, while our Patriot staff is on leave, there are two business issues I want to bring to your attention.

First, we’ve been provided a “Liberty Pace Car” to sell to support The Patriot. This vehicle is among the fastest production cars in the world – an American made Dodge Viper ACR – and I invite you to review the race car specs. I would appreciate your help to find a buyer! (Inquiries, please email [email protected])

Second, in the most recent printing of our “Patriot’s Primer on American Liberty,” there was a minor printing layout error, although all the original content is present. Though the printer reprinted these correctly for us, we now have a large quantity of Primers with that layout error, which we would like to give to you for distribution. We are offering these for the cost of shipping only so place your order here – first come, first served until we are sold out. (If you are regional and want to pick up a large quantity, send an email to [email protected])

As always, thank you for supporting our Mission of Service to America’s Military Patriots and their families.