RNC Kicks Off Monday With Theme of Making America Safe Again

Townhall.com ^ | April 18, 2016 | Leah Barkoukis

[Kaslin]

GOP convention organizers unveiled the schedule for the Republican National Convention on Sunday amid tensions from violence at home and terrorism and instability abroad. Thus, Monday’s theme, “Make America Safe Again,” is particularly timely.

“From attacks on our own soil and overseas to the tragedy in Benghazi, the policies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have left us vulnerable,” the program announcement reads. “Our immigration system is broken, leaving our country open to security threats and the negative consequences of illegal immigration. A Donald Trump administration will listen to and learn from our nation’s heroes who have put themselves in harm’s way and pursue a national security strategy and foreign policy that will strengthen our military and make America safe again.”

Here’s a look at Monday’s speakers:

Willie Robertson, CEO of Duck Commander and Buck Commander, star of Duck Dynasty 
Governor Rick Perry, Former Governor of Texas
Marcus Luttrell, U.S. Navy SEAL
Scott Baio, Actor and Television Producer 
Pat Smith, Mother of Benghazi victim, Sean Smith 
Mark Geist, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Fought in Battle of Benghazi 
John Tiegen, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Fought in Battle of Benghazi 
Kent Terry and Kelly Terry-Willis, The Brian Terry Foundation
Antonio Sabato, Jr., Actor 
Mary Ann Mendoza, Immigration Reform Advocate 
Sabine Durden, Immigration Reform Advocate 
Jamiel Shaw, Immigration Reform Advocate 
U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (TX-10)
David Clarke, Sheriff of Milwaukee County 
U.S. Representative Sean Duffy (WI-7) 
Rachel Campos Duffy, The LIBRE Initiative 
Darryl Glenn, El Paso County Commissioner 
U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) 
Karen Vaughn, Mother of fallen U.S. Navy SEAL
U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) 
Rudy Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York City
Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, U.S. Army (ret.)
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) 
Jason Beardsley, Concerned Veterans for America 
U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke (MT)

"The plan for the Trump campaign for this convention is to help the American people understand more about Donald Trump the man, not just the candidate they see on the campaign trail," Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort said on Sunday during a news conference.

"This is a Trump convention," he added, noting the Trump will make several appearances during the convention.

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The biggest worry here is that the “Military-Industrial-Intelligence-Police Complex” will once again try to “improve security” by further oppressing Americans, not our enemies.

The disaster of the Patriot Act was that while it was sold as an anti-terrorism measure, only a tiny fraction of it is actually used *against* terrorists. The vast, overwhelming majority has been used against good American citizens, taking away freedom after freedom, stripping us of our constitutional protections and privacy, and otherwise negating over 200 years of prohibitions against government intrusion and abuse.

The Patriot Act was not alone in this. Many other authoritarian or even increasingly totalitarian abuses have been building up for decades now.

Ironically, while there are of course strong objections to these laws just enriching the “Military-Industrial-Intelligence-Police Complex”, by far the greatest problem is that they not only *aren’t* being used enough against our foreign enemies, but they are so *inefficient* that they waste both time and resources on utterly worthless data gathering and mindless trivia.

Not too long ago, there was outrage at the creation of a giant intelligence center in Utah. It was condemned for the stupid amounts of intrusive information it was collecting. But the obvious problem was ignored.

It is just a data cesspit. Information goes there where it is just archived, unused. It is as valueless as numbering and micro-engraving every grain of sand on a beach. Why?

Because we can, and it’s not *our* money. And, oh yes, “Otherwise the Terrorists Win®”, “Global Warming®”, and “It’s for the children®”.

Endless billions of dollars thrown down a giant rat hole, while we are at war with murderous, savage primitives.