{"id":97196,"date":"2017-10-20T20:32:12","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T20:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/stop-questioning-each-others-patriotism.html"},"modified":"2017-10-20T20:32:12","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T20:32:12","slug":"stop-questioning-each-others-patriotism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/political\/stop-questioning-each-others-patriotism.html","title":{"rendered":"Stop questioning each other’s patriotism"},"content":{"rendered":"

**Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up\u00a0here<\/a>.**<\/p>\n

On the roster:\u00a0Stop questioning each other\u2019s patriotism – I\u2019ll Tell you What: There\u2019s a hole\u2026 –\u00a0 On taxes, now the hard part –\u00a0Mattis vows results on Niger ambush probe –\u00a0What\u2019s Russian for \u2018do it for the Insta?\u2019
<\/b><\/i>
STOP QUESTIONING EACH OTHER\u2019S PATRIOTISM<\/b>\u00a0

\u201cBut, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.\u201d \u2013\u00a0A. Lincoln<\/b>, Gettysburg, Pa., Nov. 19, 1863<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cJames, earn this… earn it.\u201d \u2013 Capt.\u00a0John Miller<\/b>, a character in the 1998 film \u201cSaving Private Ryan,\u201d in his dying words to Pvt.\u00a0James Ryan<\/b>, the infantryman Miller and most of his unit died to save.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

The history of Christianity is marked by a number of regrettable moments in which human beings sought to measure the devotion of others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through inquisitions, witch trials and all manner of public and private means, those who thought themselves holier than thou wanted to get to the bottom of exactly what thou really believed.<\/p>\n

The conclusion of history has taken Christians mostly back to the beginning, when a group of new believers evidently inquired of their teacher how they would know the quality and quantity of the faith of their fellows. He instructed them simply to \u201cwork out your own salvation with fear and trembling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul<\/b>\u2019s message in modern terms: You have enough to worry about with your own relationship with the Almighty to be worrying about judging the faith of another. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good advice, wherever you hang your spiritual hat. And it also happens to be an important concept when it comes to civic life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Samuel Johnson<\/b>\u2019s saying goes that \u201cpatriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel,\u201d but if you want to find the real scoundrels, look instead for those questioning the patriotism of others.<\/p>\n

Like most kinds of misconduct, the problem here isn\u2019t so much about the individuals involved, but rather what it does do the rest of us. And even a cursory survey of our current discourse will show you how true that is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At whatever point in the past 20 years that it began to be so much more acceptable to accuse your political rivals of dispatriotism \u2013 the Iraq war was probably an inflection point \u2013 our ability to reason together, debate and address major issues has gotten worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Take this week\u2019s spectacle. Does the fight between Rep.\u00a0Fredericka Wilson<\/b>\u00a0and President Trump<\/b>\u00a0do any good for our dialogue? Of course not. Does it help explain how we lost four of our countrymen in Niger? Quite the opposite. Can the dispute ever be definitively resolved? Never.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s little debate over what Trump said to the widow of Staff Sgt.\u00a0La David Johnson<\/b>. What Trump and Wilson are fighting about, now through a growing number of proxies, was what was in Trump\u2019s heart when he made his call of condolence. Talk about a pointless endeavor, and one in which both sides claim the moral high ground by assuming the cynicism of the other.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The same goes for the now weeks-long debate over protests during the national anthem at professional football games. Both sides feel free to claim that their patriotic expressions are of a finer, better nature than those arranged on the opposite side. Science may have found a way to call balls and strikes on a baseball diamond, but it will never be able to measure the qualities of the human spirit.<\/p>\n

At issue in both of these debates, just as it was in similar confrontations during the presidencies of\u00a0George W. Bush\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0Barack Obama<\/b>\u00a0are questions of motive and love of country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Bush and Obama touched on this sentiment in speeches this week, and both are in positions to know from whence they speak. To varying degrees, both employed divisive measures to obtain and maintain power, and both were depicted by their opponent as enemies of the American people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t enough to say that Bush wrongly executed the war in Iraq, it had to be that he lied to start a war for his own profit. It couldn\u2019t just be that Obama misjudged the character of the \u201cArab Spring,\u201d it had to be that he was a fellow traveler of the murderous mobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In all of these disputes, both sides claim to be on the side of our war dead. But we know that\u2019s not so. We know that the finest way to honor those who died in service of the country is to help build and maintain a nation worthy of their sacrifices, and in that way we are all falling down on the job to varying degrees.<\/p>\n

The place to begin and end on questions of the qualities and quantities of faith and love is usually within the confines of one\u2019s own heart, with a little humility if not fear and trembling.<\/p>\n

THE RULEBOOK: TRUE DAT
<\/b>\u201cBut what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Alexander Hamilton<\/i><\/b>\u00a0or\u00a0James Madison<\/b>, Federalist No. 51<\/a>
<\/i>
TIME OUT: SLEEPING GIANT
<\/b>Time:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cShortly after World War I\u00a0broke out in 1914, two French artists could already predict that the conflict would take place on a scale unlike anything ever seen at that point. \u2026shortly before the\u00a0armistice\u00a0in 1918, more than 100 French artists \u2014 mostly older men who were not able to fight themselves \u2014 had worked on it. Dubbed\u00a0Panth\u00e9on de la Guerre<\/i>, the painting measured a whopping 402 feet around and 45 feet tall, and depicted approximately 6,000 heroes of the Allied war effort. It was billed as the world\u2019s largest painting. \u2026 After the painting was initially displayed in a dedicated structure in Paris, it went on tour. At the Chicago World\u2019s Fair in 1933, a special building was constructed to display the massive mural. \u2026it wound up by 1940 sitting in a crate outside a Baltimore warehouse, forgotten. A local restaurateur named\u00a0William H. Haussner<\/b>\u00a0\u2026 purchased the painting at an auction for $3,400.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flag on the play? –<\/b>\u00a0Email us at
HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM<\/a>\u00a0with your tips, comments or questions.<\/p>\n

SCOREBOARD<\/b>
Trump net job-approval rating:\u00a0-20.8 points
<\/b>Change from one week ago:\u00a0down 0.2 points<\/b><\/p>\n

[President Trump\u2019s score is determined by subtracting his average job disapproval rating in<\/i>\u00a0the five most recent, methodologically sound public polls from his average approval rating, calculated in the same fashion.<\/i>]<\/p>\n

I\u2019LL TELL YOU WHAT: THERE\u2019S A HOLE\u2026
<\/b>The duo are together in person! This week\u00a0Dana Perino<\/b>\u00a0joins\u00a0Chris Stirewalt\u00a0<\/b>in Washington D.C. to talk budget reconciliation, taxation and Dana\u2019s bag of food (please recycle). And is the hole in the bucket or at the bottom of the sea? Plus, Chris plays a game of \u201cName That Presidential Resume.\u201d\u00a0LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

ON TAXES, NOW THE HARD PART\u00a0
<\/b>Business Insider:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cThe House now has to approve the Senate budget. The resolution adopted Thursday\u00a0included key concessions to House conservatives\u00a0that should avoid a conference committee in which the Senate and House would have to hash out any differences in the two budgets.\u00a0Greg Valliere<\/b>, chief global strategist at Horizon Investments, said avoiding a conference\u00a0would be a significant\u00a0step since it would be so time consuming. \u2026 By simply agreeing to the Senate deal, House Republicans would fast-track the tax reform process.\u00a0Rep.\u00a0Kevin Brady<\/b>, the chair of the House Ways and Means committee that will oversee the tax reform legislation, said he plans to debut the bill sometime in early November.\u00a0\u2026 At the same time, the Senate Finance Committee will likely work on their own version of a tax bill that will have to appease\u00a0all sides of their slim 52-seat majority. Already, a handful of senators have expressed misgivings about various aspects of the tax bill.\u201d

Ryan holds the line on taxes for top earners –<\/b>\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>: \u201cHouse Speaker Paul Ryan<\/b> said Friday that Republicans will include a fourth income tax bracket in their tax-overhaul plan so that top earners \u2018do not see a big rate cut.\u2019 \u2018This is about the people, about half of which in this country are living paycheck to paycheck, and giving them a break on their taxes,\u2019 Ryan said on \u2018CBS This Morning.\u2019 The speaker said he disagreed with White House economic adviser\u00a0Gary Cohn<\/b>\u2019s statement that he can\u2019t guarantee some middle-class Americans won\u2019t pay more taxes under the plan. The tax framework Republicans issued last month called for collapsing the current seven income tax brackets into three —\u00a012 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent — while leaving open the possibility of a fourth rate for the highest earners. He said it hasn\u2019t been decided if the fourth bracket will remain at the current top rate of 39.6 percent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul drops opposition, \u2018all in\u2019 for tax cuts –\u00a0<\/b>Reuters<\/a>: \u201cRepublican Senator Rand Paul <\/b>on Friday appeared to back the Trump administration\u2019s sweeping tax cut plan, saying he was \u2018all in\u2019 for massive tax cuts even as the Senate passed a key budget measure without his support one day earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donors create warning ads to GOP senators on tax reform –\u00a0<\/b>Roll Call:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cTexas billionaires\u00a0John<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Laura Arnold<\/b>\u00a0are bankrolling a new lobbying effort aimed at leading lawmakers away from the temptation of a tax overhaul that would increase deficits.\u00a0Citizens for Responsible Tax Reform launched print advertisements targeting Republicans in 20 states Thursday, including Kentucky, the home of Senate Majority Leader\u00a0Mitch McConnell<\/b>\u00a0and Sen.\u00a0Rand Paul<\/b>. The group plans additional television and online ad buys as Congress and the White House debate an overhaul of the nation\u2019s tax code, spokesman\u00a0Blake Gober<\/b>\u00a0said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could Congress cap 401(k) contributions at $2,400? –<\/b>\u00a0Wall Street Journal:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cProposals floating around Washington to cap the amount that Americans can contribute before taxes to 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are unsettling professionals in the retirement industry. Republicans are looking for ways to generate revenue to support broad reductions in individual tax rates. One idea is to limit the amount of pretax money households can sock away for retirement saving. Such a move would likely generate significant political blowback but it hasn\u2019t been explicitly ruled out, stirring worry among industry lobbyists.\u201d<\/p>\n

MATTIS VOWS RESULTS ON NIGER AMBUSH PROBE
<\/b>Politico:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cIn the face of growing scrutiny, Defense Secretary\u00a0Jim Mattis<\/b>\u00a0on Thursday said the type of attack that killed four U.S. troops in Niger earlier this month was \u2018considered unlikely\u2019 and pledged to release the findings of a Pentagon investigation \u2018as rapidly\u2019 as possible. \u2018I would just tell you that in this specific case contact was considered unlikely,\u2019 Mattis said of the ambush against members of the Army’s 3rd Special Forces Group, which is advising local anti-terror units in the region. \u2018But there’s a reason we have U.S. Army soldiers there and not the Peace Corps, because we carry guns and so it’s a reality,\u2019 he added. \u2018It\u2019s part of the danger that our troops face in these counterterror campaigns.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

McCain threatens subpoena –\u00a0<\/b>WaPo<\/a>: \u201cThe Senate\u2019s top Republican on military matters threatened Thursday to subpoena the Trump administration if officials are not more forthcoming about the Niger attack that left four American service members dead \u2014 just one of the steps lawmakers are taking to insist that Congress be read in on military operations before tragedies occur. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman\u00a0John McCain<\/b>\u00a0(R-Ariz.) is pushing the Trump administration to brief key members of Congress about the existence of ongoing operations \u2014 something he said the Obama administration was far better about doing than the Trump team. \u2018There\u2019s a mind-set over there that they\u2019re a unicameral government,\u2019 McCain said on Thursday\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

TRUMP PUSHES BACK ON BANNON
<\/b>Politico:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cPresident Donald Trump<\/b> called three Republican senators this week and expressed support for their 2018 re-election bids, aligning with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the senator\u2019s intra-party feud with\u00a0Steve Bannon<\/b>. Trump dialed GOP Sens.\u00a0John Barrasso<\/b>\u00a0of Wyoming,\u00a0Deb Fischer<\/b>\u00a0of Nebraska and\u00a0Roger Wicker <\/b>of Mississippi, according to five people familiar with the calls. He promised to help the three senators against any insurgent challengers, one of these people said, and said he hoped they would be reelected.\u00a0The calls are expected to eventually be followed by formal endorsements, GOP senators said.\u00a0<\/b>Wicker,\u00a0<\/b>Barrasso and Fischer declined to comment on private discussions with the president. Wicker wasn\u2019t available for comment. Bannon has criticized both Fischer and Barrasso and has told people he would like state Sen. Chris McDaniel to beat Wicker. \u2026 A White House spokesman didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment, and a representative for Bannon declined to comment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bannon\u2019s \u2018open revolt\u2019 includes primaries for Dem-held seats –\u00a0<\/b>Real Clear Politics:<\/a>\u201cFormer White House chief strategist\u00a0Steve Bannon\u00a0is increasingly expanding his proclaimed \u201cseason of war\u201d against establishment Senate Republicans to include primary races in states with Democratic incumbents, hoping to sway GOP challengers toward his nationalist\/populist movement and against Majority Leader\u00a0Mitch McConnell. \u2026 \u2018It\u2019s an open revolt, and it should be,\u2019 Bannon said, later adding, \u2018We\u2019re building a grassroots army. It\u2019s going to be their money versus your muscle.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Williamson: \u2018Unity Is Overrated\u2019<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0National Review<\/a>: \u201cAll this talk of \u2018unity\u2019 \u2014 by which Bannon et al. mean obedience to a mere politician \u2014 is creepy. It is also distinctly un-American, as indeed is the alt-right at large, which turns its eyes not to Plymouth Rock or Philadelphia but to nationalist figures and fascist movements in Europe. \u2018Support the president!\u2019 has become a moral imperative for some Republicans, who have descended into the classical error of conflating loyalty to the nation and loyalty to its political leader. That isn\u2019t patriotism \u2014 it is cultism, and a creed of serfdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enten: \u2018Calm down about those Virginia polls, folks\u2019 –\u00a0<\/b>Five Thirty Eight:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cSo what the heck is going on in the Virginia governor\u2019s race? Nothing. The split between the Monmouth and Quinnipiac results is big, but it\u2019s not unnatural. In fact, it\u2019s a sign that pollsters are doing their job. Polling averages work best when pollsters are working independently. You have different pollsters using different methods and making different estimates of the electorate, and you get a more accurate picture of the race by averaging their results together than by looking at any individual poll.\u201d<\/p>\n

REPORT: TRUMP GOT PERSONAL IN N.Y. PROSECUTOR PICKS
<\/b>Politico<\/a>: \u201cPresident Donald Trump has personally interviewed at least two potential candidates for U.S. attorney positions in New York, according to two sources familiar with the matter \u2014 a move that critics say raises questions about whether they can be sufficiently independent from the president. Trump has interviewed\u00a0Geoffrey Berman<\/b>, who is currently at the law firm Greenberg Traurig for the job of U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and\u00a0Ed McNally<\/b>\u00a0of the firm Kasowitz Benson Torres for the Eastern District post, according to the sources.\u00a0It was unclear when the discussions took place. Trump has not announced nominees for those positions. Neither Berman nor McNally responded to calls or emails requesting comment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meet the frontrunner to replace Janet Yellen –\u00a0<\/b>Politico:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cFederal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell<\/b>\u00a0is the leading candidate to become the chair of the U.S. central bank after President Donald Trump concluded a series of meetings with five finalists Thursday, three administration officials said. The officials cautioned that Trump, who met with current Chair\u00a0Janet Yellen<\/b>\u00a0for about half an hour on Thursday, has not made a final decision. Powell, known as Jay, has been heavily favored by Treasury Secretary\u00a0Steven Mnuchin<\/b>, who is leading the Fed chair search for Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cornyn blockades Trump appointee over hurricane relief –\u00a0<\/b>Axios:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cTexas Sen.\u00a0John Cornyn<\/b>\u00a0is frustrating both administration officials and conservative movement leaders by holding up the confirmation of\u00a0Russ Vought<\/b>\u00a0to be\u00a0Mick Mulvaney<\/b>\u2019s right hand man at the Office of Management and Budget. Cornyn \u2026 has made it clear that Vought will be held up until he gets more funding for Texas\u2019 hurricane relief, according to three sources close to the situation. It\u2019s unclear how Cornyn has phrased his demand or how much extra money, exactly, he\u2019s asking for, but his message has been heard loud and clear by top Trump administration officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

LYNCH TALKS TO HOUSE INTEL ABOUT CLINTON PROBE\u00a0<\/b>
Fox News:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cFormer Attorney General\u00a0Loretta Lynch<\/b>\u00a0met with members of the House Intelligence Committee on Friday as part of the probe looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Lynch is one of several former Obama officials who have been called to Congress for closed-door questioning over the Russia accusations. But sources close to the investigation told Fox News that questions over her infamous tarmac meeting with President\u00a0Bill Clinton<\/b>\u00a0also may have been on the agenda. That June 27, 2016 meeting with Clinton on an airport tarmac in Phoenix raised questions about whether Lynch \u2013 or the Justice Department \u2013 could be impartial in the\u00a0Hillary Clinton <\/b>email investigation. Days after the tarmac meeting, then-FBI director\u00a0James Comey <\/b>called Hillary Clinton\u2019s actions \u2018extremely careless\u2019 but did not seek criminal charges. Lynch ignored three questions from Fox News\u2019\u00a0Catherine Herridge<\/b>\u00a0Friday morning on Capitol Hill, in reference to those issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

PLAY-BY-PLAY<\/b>\u00a0
First look at prototypes of trump\u2019s border wall<\/i>\u00a0–\u00a0Fox News<\/a><\/p>\n

Officials scramble to create opioid plan<\/i>\u00a0–\u00a0Politico<\/a><\/p>\n

Several Trump nominees working without senate approval<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0Politico<\/a>
\u00a0
Senate introduces bipartisan bill to help prevent Western wildfires<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0AP<\/a><\/p>\n

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY<\/b>
This Sunday,\u00a0Dana Perino\u00a0<\/b>guest anchors for Mr. Sunday. She will sit down with Senate Majority Leader\u00a0Mitch McConnell<\/b>, White House Press Secretary\u00a0Sarah Sanders<\/b>\u00a0and Attorney General of California\u00a0Xavier Becerra<\/b>. Watch \u201cFox News Sunday with\u00a0Chris Wallace<\/b>.\u201d\u00a0Check local listings<\/a>\u00a0for broadcast times in your area.<\/p>\n

#mediabuzz<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Host\u00a0Howard\u00a0Kurtz<\/b>\u00a0has the latest take on\u00a0the week\u2019s media coverage. Watch #mediabuzz Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n

AUDIBLE: THE MORE YOU KNOW\u2026
<\/b>\u201cSome said it was unbecoming of a public figure and that his comments were offensive. Well, thank God he\u2019s learned his lesson.\u201d \u2013\u00a0House Speaker\u00a0Paul Ryan<\/b>\u00a0at the annual\u00a0Al Smith <\/b>charity dinner in New York, joking about the response to now-President Trump\u2019s sharp-elbowed gags at the event in 2016.<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>

<\/i>FROM THE BLEACHERS
<\/i><\/b>\u201cChris, there\u2019s a vast difference between a state having a Republican governor and it\u2019s being \u2018governed\u2019 by Republicans. That\u2019s certainly not the case here in Illinois where Republican Governor\u00a0Bruce Rauner<\/b>\u00a0has faced Democratic legislative majorities for all of his incumbency and Democratic super-majorities for much of it. The real governor of Illinois is House Speaker\u00a0Mike Madigan<\/b>, the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in the entire 241 year history of the United States. He\u2019s been the Speaker for all but two years since 1983; he\u2019s the chairman of the state Democratic Party; and as a special bonus his daughter, Lisa, has been the Illinois Attorney General for the past fourteen years, during which she\u2019s taken very little interest in prosecuting the state\u2019s pervasive political corruption.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Bob Foys<\/i><\/b>, Chicago<\/i><\/p>\n

[Ed. note: Duly noted, Mr. Foys! Being a Republican in a Democrat-controlled state isn\u2019t the same thing as having a cooperative legislature, but, I would point out that Gov.\u00a0Charlie Baker\u00a0<\/b>in Massachusetts and Gov.\u00a0Larry Hogan<\/b>\u00a0in Maryland have had considerably more success despite similar partisan obstacles. I have begun to wonder whether Illinois can really make it. My father and many generations before him came from the southern end of the state, a very different place in the world from your hometown. I understand that finding political balance between Chicago and the rest of the state has created unique tensions throughout Illinois\u2019 history. But it seems now that something is fundamentally broken and that after 20 years of scandal, mismanagement and declining governance, if the Land of Lincoln is going to have to face even more serious consequences before voters are willing to break the cycle of regional political violence.<\/i>]<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cSince \u2018We need to follow Fox News\u2019 concern trolling advice post haste!\u2019 was said by no Democrat ever, making the lede in today\u2019s Halftime Report dead weight space filler, is now the time to talk about gun control?\u00a0Following Las Vegas you criticized\u00a0Hillary Clinton<\/b>\u00a0for seeking to bring the national discussion to gun control at that time. Time has now passed, and you obviously have nothing of any value to add to the national conversation today, so why didn\u2019t you write about your views on gun control instead of saying absolutely nothing about VA?\u00a0And when you do start talking about gun control, since I\u2019m oh so sure you\u2019re just waiting for exactly the right moment to broach the subject, and not trying desperately to avoid a debate you can\u2019t win, can you please explain how 2A guarantees Americans\u2019 rights to \u2018have\u2019 guns without using any form of the word \u2018own\u2019 or \u2018ownership\u2019 in the actual language.
People own guns, but the military (militia) keeps and bears arms, how \u2018bout that, a subtle but undeniable distinction!\u00a0In all fairness, I do want to thank you for always being an accurate barometer of what morons are thinking – reading your columns, I get to learn things I never knew about dotards.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Andy Link<\/i><\/b>, North Hollywood, Calif.<\/i><\/p>\n

[Ed. note: Gracious sakes, Mr. Link! I will have to take you at your word about regularly reading these notes, but I will have to point out that you have not been paying very close attention. Not only did we discuss the issues you mentioned at length in the aftermath of the shooting, but had quite robust debates with readers about the purpose of the Second Amendment. These have been among the most edifying, thoughtful conversations we have had. And as for Clinton being bad at politics, I would think that even her staunchest defenders would have to acknowledge at this point that she has struggled to capitalize on her advantages and only too often failed to take appropriate steps to control for her disadvantages. But I think the thing I find most troubling about the mindset expressed in your note is that you are reading for an \u201caccurate barometer for what morons are thinking.\u201d Hey, you\u2019re free to spend your time however you like. But I would submit you would be advantaged by taking a more humane view of your fellow Americans. We certainly welcome your readership, but I hope that you are able to look beyond partisan labels and think about the country as a whole, rather than a collection of your intellectual inferiors. Plus, a person who spends his time hate reading might be intelligent, but surely not wise.<\/i>]<\/p>\n

Share your color commentary:<\/b>\u00a0Email us at\u00a0
HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM<\/a>\u00a0and please make sure to include your name and hometown.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S RUSSIAN FOR \u2018DO IT FOR THE INSTA?\u2019\u00a0
<\/b>The Telegraph [U.K.]<\/a>: \u201cIf you can\u2019t actually afford to fly on a private jet, then a company in Russia will help you fake it instead. Moscow-based company, the Private Jet Studio, has created a unique business by renting out a private jet for Instagram photoshoots, but there\u2019s a catch. Russians can experience what stepping onto a luxury private jet feels like, however they won\u2019t actually be travelling anywhere, with the plane remaining firmly on the ground during the experience. But that hasn\u2019t stopped people from paying to rent out the Gulfstream 65 aeroplane to capture photos for Instagram bragging. A two-hour shoot with a professional photographer costs [$244] or [$191] without. A videographer is also available for [$435]. Photos posted on the company\u2019s Instagram account show customers pretending to be thousands of feet in the air by looking longingly out of the plane\u2019s windows.\u201d
<\/b>
Chris Stirewalt\u00a0<\/i><\/b>is the politics editor for Fox News.\u00a0Brianna McClelland<\/b>\u00a0contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up\u00a0<\/i>here<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Chris Stirewalt joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in July of 2010 and serves as politics editor based in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he authors the daily Fox News Halftime Report political news note and co-hosts the hit podcast, Perino Stirewalt: I’ll Tell You What. He also is the host of Power Play, a feature video series on FoxNews.com. Stirewalt makes frequent appearances on network programs, including America\u2019s Newsroom, Special Report with Bret Baier and Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. He also provides expert political analysis for FNC\u2019s coverage of state, congressional and presidential elections.<\/p>\n

Article source: http:\/\/feeds.foxnews.com\/~r\/foxnews\/politics\/~3\/VxLgoc9qqtQ\/stop-questioning-each-others-patriotism.html<\/a>\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

**Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up\u00a0here.** On the roster:\u00a0Stop questioning each other\u2019s patriotism – I\u2019ll Tell you What: There\u2019s a hole\u2026 –\u00a0 On taxes, now the hard part –\u00a0Mattis vows results on Niger ambush probe –\u00a0What\u2019s Russian for \u2018do it for the Insta?\u2019STOP QUESTIONING EACH OTHER\u2019S PATRIOTISM\u00a0 \u201cBut, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-97196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-political","tag-political"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97196\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}