The Federalist Daily Briefing for 02/12/2018

Your daily update of new content from The Federalist Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray Is this email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser](. February 12, 2018 [If The FBI Started Investigating Trump In July 2016, The Clinton Campaign Was Behind It]( By Willis L. Krumholz Democrats and media are trying to deflect from the House memo by saying the Russia investigation really started in July 2016. That argument doesn’t work in their favor. [Full article]( [NYT Misconstrues Fifth Circuit Appointee’s Record On Wrongful Murder Conviction]( By Margot Cleveland Kyle Duncan had nothing to do with John Thompson’s criminal case. Duncan also had nothing to do with the prosecutors who withheld evidence from Thompson’s attorneys. [Full article]( [Our National Debt And Government Spending Are A Moral Abomination]( By Nathanael Blake Parents and grandparents who otherwise work hard to help their kids have no compunction about burdening them with endless budget deficits resulting in a crushing national debt. [Full article]( [By Accepting Communist-Chosen Bishops, Pope Francis Betrays Chinese Christians]( By Helen Raleigh On this particular Ash Wednesday, millions of Catholic faithful in mainland China have an extra reason to pray for God’s mercy: their earthly leader, Pope Francis, has betrayed them. [Full article]( [While U.S. Feminists Tout The Hijab As A Symbol Of Freedom, Iranian Women Are Jailed For Not Wearing It]( By Kelsey Harkness A hijab can only be a symbol of freedom if women have the freedom to choose whether to wear it. For some bizarre reason, U.S. feminists don’t see that. [Full article]( [Canada’s Justin Trudeau Corrects Constituent: It’s Not ‘Mankind,’ It’s ‘Peoplekind’]( By Paul Rowan Brian Justin Trudeau visibly recoiled when a woman asked him a question that included the word ‘mankind’ at a townhall last week in Edmonton, Alberta. [Full article]( [Why It’s Perfect That Ash Wednesday Falls On Valentine’s Day This Year]( By Cheryl Magness Is this a problem for Christian churches that celebrate Ash Wednesday, calling attention away from a solemn liturgical observance to a lighthearted, sometimes silly secular holiday? No. [Full article]( [In ‘Black Panther,’ Wakanda Is A Trumpian Fever Dream]( By Ellie Bufkin If you forget that Wakanda is supposed to be in East Africa, it starts to sound an awful lot like a Trumpian fantasy land. [Full article]( [Know These Signs Of Domestic Abuse So You Can Help Yourself And Others]( By Holly Scheer While we can’t know the truth about Rob Porter, this is an opportunity to examine how abuse can hide in plain sight and how to help someone in an abusive relationship. [Full article]( [Watch Bill Murray Savage Identity Politics: ‘Think About What Is Common To All Of Us’]( By Bre Payton In an interview with CNBC on Friday, comedian Bill Murray said it's harder to be funny in a society being increasingly fragmented by identity politics. [Full article]( [While Mainstream Media Applauds North Korea, Mike Pence Throws Some Shade]( By Nicole Russell U.S. Vice President Mike Pence refused to stand during the ‘unified Koreas’ opening march at the Olympics Friday. The rest of the world should have followed suit. [Full article]( [We Must Still Keep Teaching Our Boys They Must Never Hit Girls]( By David Marcus In an age where gender roles are in question, the prohibition against boys hitting girls is more important than ever. [Full article]( [Media Busy Fangirling The Sister Of Brutal North Korean Dictator]( By Bre Payton Kim Yo Jong's brother is starving his own people to develop nuclear weapons he's threatening to use, but you might not know that about her based on these headlines. [Full article]( FISCAL CONSERVATISM IS DEAD IN A DITCH conservatism is easy when it doesn’t count for anything. It’s easy to oppose budget deals when you’re in the minority. It’s easy to point out that massive deficits are a burden on future generations when your perspective is irrelevant. And it’s easy to make the case against massive spending increases when you know those increases will happen anyway, and the government will remain open and churning along despite your principled objections. But when you run the House, the Senate, and the White House, that’s when fiscal conservatism is difficult and presents hard choices, because it’s always easier in this modern era to borrow and spend money you don’t have than it is to hold to budget caps and artificial restrictions. And the Republican Party, the Party of Trump, is not about hard choices. Read more of The Transom by signing up for a [free trial]( today. [follow on Twitter]( | [friend on Facebook]( | [forward to a friend]( Copyright © 2018 The Federalist, All rights reserved. You are receiving this e-mail because you opted in to receive e-mail updates from TheFederalist.com. Our mailing address is: The Federalist 8647 Richmond Highway Suite 618Alexandria, VA 22309 [Add us to your address book](//thefederalist.us7.list-manage.com/vcard?u=4a863c819bceae0e9989e096f&id=cfcb868ceb) [unsubscribe from this list]( | [update subscription preferences]( | [view email in browser](