Fire Hydrant of Freedom
Politics, Religion, Science, Culture and Humanities => Politics & Religion => Topic started by: Crafty_Dog on June 17, 2017, 09:14:49 PM
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Let's start keeping a list.
1) The anti-lobbyist EO
2) Rejecting TPP
3) Rollback of Obama's Cuba EO
4) Price reduction on F-35
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5) MS 13 deportations https://nypost.com/2017/06/14/trumps-pledge-to-wipe-out-ms-13-gang-paying-off-in-ny/
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6) VA reform law, enabling the incompetent to get fired
C'mon gents, there's plenty more, please help me list them. All of us should have a handy dandy list for forum/FB battles elsewhere. This thread is for that.
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7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oZpTzTL9cU
Makes me smile every time. Especially professional journalist Martha Raddatz! Strange, I thought she was supposed to be impartial, being a professional journalist and all...
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President Trump Has Now Signed 40 Pieces Of Legislation As He Moves To Enact His Agenda
http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/25/president-trump-has-now-signed-40-pieces-of-legislation-as-he-moves-to-enact-his-agenda/
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8. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/05/09/illegal-border-crossings-drop-immigration-enforcement-trump/101472618/
Si, se puede!
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%AD_se_puede
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9. Travel Ban.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-allows-limited-version-of-trumps-travel-ban-to-take-effect-will-consider-case-in-fall/2017/06/26/97afa314-573e-11e7-b38e-35fd8e0c288f_story.html
A bit early to call this one an accomplishment , , ,
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/16-1436_l6hc.pdf
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Enforced Chemical Weapon Red Line in Syria.
Does it count if he keeps his predecessor's promises? )
Edited to add by Marc:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-mattis-idUSKBN19J1OF
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nato-allies-boost-defense-spending-in-the-wake-of-trump-criticism/2017/06/28/153584de-5a8c-11e7-aa69-3964a7d55207_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.28840093c913
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Looks like Kate's Law bill and the Sanctuary Cities bills are going through.
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Looks like Kate's Law bill and the Sanctuary Cities bills are going through.
If the dems and the republican wing of the dems doesn't manage to scuttle it.
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http://www.newsmax.com/US/bob-dole-trump-trip-g20/2017/07/08/id/800587/
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http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/07/president-trumps-first-six-months-are-historical-with-stock-market-on-fire-and-americans-hopeful-that-america-will-be-great-again/
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Hi Doug,
market up on promises of tax cuts only so far.
we will see if he and the rest of the Repubs can get this done at least.
I am enamored with the whole cast anymore. if they cannot even get real change in our taxes rather some BS cut here rise there and engineering (except for growth ) that is fair for all tax payers then to me there is zero win.
losing patience and any optimism in NJ.........
Speaking of NJ I guess you saw Christie make a single bare hand catch of a foul ball at a Mets game. And everyone booed.......
taxes will go right up next year for sure. Got to pay off the Dem voters and unions etc.
correction : " I am NOT enamored with the cast anyomore"
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Hi Doug,
market up on promises of tax cuts only so far.
we will see if he and the rest of the Repubs can get this done at least.
I am enamored with the whole cast anymore. if they cannot even get real change in our taxes rather some BS cut here rise there and engineering (except for growth ) that is fair for all tax payers then to me there is zero win.
losing patience and any optimism in NJ.........
Speaking of NJ I guess you saw Christie make a single bare hand catch of a foul ball at a Mets game. And everyone booed.......
taxes will go right up next year for sure. Got to pay off the Dem voters and unions etc.
I would get out of NJ.
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http://www.dailywire.com/news/18848/trump-wipes-out-800-more-federal-regulations-joseph-curl?utm_source=dwemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=072117-news&utm_campaign=position5
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https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/trumps-real-personnel-victory-more-conservative-judges?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20%28194%29&CNDID=50142053&spMailingID=11612091&spUserID=MjAxODUyNTc2OTUwS0&spJobID=1220182297&spReportId=MTIyMDE4MjI5NwS2
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Drug Cartels Fuming at New U.S. Policy Screening 100% of Mexican Cargo Trucks
AUGUST 01, 2017
In a major shift from lax Obama-era regulations, the Trump administration is finally allowing customs officers to screen all cargo trucks entering the U.S. from Mexico and sources on both sides of the border tell Judicial Watch Mexican drug cartels are fuming. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is using X-ray technology and other non-intrusive tools to screen 100% of cargo trucks crossing the southern border after eight years of sporadic or random screening permitted under the Obama administration.
“We felt like we were the welcoming committee and not like we were guarding our borders,” said veteran U.S. Customs agent Patricia Cramer, who also serves as president of the Arizona chapter of the agency’s employee union. “The order was to facilitate traffic, not to stop any illegal drugs from entering the country,” Cramer added. “We want to enforce the law. That’s what we signed up for.” Cramer, a canine handler stationed at the Nogales port of entry in Arizona, said illicit drugs are pouring in through the southern border, especially massive quantities of fentanyl, an opioid painkiller that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says is more potent than morphine.
Approximately 471,000 trucks pass through the U.S-Mexico border monthly, according to figures published by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The busiest port of entry is in Laredo, Texas where 167,553 trucks enter the U.S. from Mexico monthly, followed by Otay Mesa in California (76,953), El Paso, Texas (58,913), Hidalgo, Texas (45,355) and Nogales with 29,439. Other busy ports include East Calexico, California (29,173), Brownsville, Texas (16,140) and Eagle Pass, Texas (12,952). Trucks bring in everything from auto parts to appliances, produce and livestock. In fact, a veteran Homeland Security official told Judicial Watch that cattle trucks passed without inspection during the Obama administration because Mexican farmers complained that the security screenings frightened their cows. “Our guys were livid that we were not allowed to check cattle,” the federal official said.
Frontline customs agents stationed along the southern border confirm that trucks containing “legitimate” goods are often used by sophisticated drug cartels to move cargo north. This is hardly surprising since most illegal drugs in the United States come from Mexico, according to the DEA, and Mexican traffickers remain the greatest threat to the United States. They’re classified as Transitional Criminal Organizations (TCOs) by the government and for years they’ve smuggled in enormous quantities of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Last year the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the nonpartisan agency that provides Congress with policy and legal analysis, published a disturbing report outlining how Mexican cartels move record quantities of drugs into the U.S. Because cartels move the drugs through the Southwest border, western states have become part of what’s known as the “heroin transit zone,” according to the CRS.
Federal law enforcement sources tell Judicial Watch Mexican cartels operate like efficient businesses that resort to “other more treacherous routes” when necessary, but driving through a port of entry in a cargo truck is a preferred method of moving drugs. Cartels station shifts of spotters with binoculars in Mexican hills near border checkpoints to determine the level of security screenings. “They know if we’re on the job, the level of screening that we’re conducting,” Cramer said. “The cartels watch us all the time.” Nogales is a favorite for cartel spotters because the U.S. checkpoint sits in a valley surrounded by hills on the Mexican side, where unobstructed views facilitate surveillance. “They see everything,” Cramer said. For years the cartel spotters saw that much of the cargo passing through the checkpoint was waved through, according to agents contacted by Judicial Watch.
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https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/mark-levin-praises-trump-backed-raise-act-outstanding
don't let the partisan hacks, the Jim Acostas who are using phony arguments to bring in more Democrat voters.
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/50681
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http://news.trust.org/item/20170826001249-riciv
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Hearing Aid Breakthrough
Congress opens a key device market to more competition.
Photo: Getty Images
By The Editorial Board
Aug. 25, 2017 6:51 p.m. ET
58 COMMENTS
One reason health care is so expensive is that government rules often distort the price of care. Consider the market for hearing aids, which after decades of regulation will soon be open to competition and innovation that lowers prices for patients.
President Trump recently signed a Food and Drug Administration funding bill that includes a directive for the agency to develop standards for over-the-counter hearing aids. These will be sold like cough medicine or reading glasses, and the new category will cover technology for mild or moderate hearing loss. The idea, put forth by Reps. Joseph Kennedy (D., Mass.), Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) and others enjoyed bipartisan support in both chambers.
Current rules require a prescription for hearing aids, and one result is that many of the more than 30 million Americans with some impairment don’t use the devices. Medicare and most private insurance plans don’t cover the cost, which runs $2,400 on average and often includes fees for adjustment and later evaluations. A patient’s only alternative is to buy a cheap amplifier intended for hearing birds or hunting.
Last year the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine recommended that FDA create a new class of devices that consumers could buy directly, and the bill follows this expert recommendation. The bill repeals an old regulation requiring a medical evaluation before purchasing an aid. FDA will develop standards for safety and quality, as the agency does for all medical devices.
A menagerie of groups on the right say the plan gives the government too much authority over amplifiers, which under current law can’t advertise as products that mitigate hearing loss. But that fear is exaggerated, and in part ginned up. The bill merely directs the government to clarify rules for these devices, and it’s hard to imagine Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price signing off on regulations that come after Uncle Jim’s hunting gear.
The real gripe is that a few hearing-aid manufacturers will lose their current competitive advantage. Six companies, including the Danish company William Demant and the Swiss Sonova , control more than 90% of the market, and Congress’s move allows new firms to jump in and offer lower-cost competition.
All of this will be great for consumers: Medical devices in many cases have lagged behind other electronics. A person can buy a Fitbit , noise canceling headphones from Bose and other sophisticated devices, yet simple products like hearing aids haven’t improved nearly as much, and government interference is one reason. Few will notice this accomplishment by Congress, but it’s a classic example of a market improvement that will expand choice and benefit public health.
Appeared in the August 26, 2017, print edition.
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/22/donald-trump-hits-four-countries-with-visa-sanctio/
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/22/donald-trump-hits-four-countries-with-visa-sanctio/
Long overdue.
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And Dershowitz was right in suggesting that Trump believed Arpaio was the victim of political hit job (of course he was):
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/08/26/trumps-pardon-ex-sheriff-joe-arpaio-was-right-and-courageous-thing-to-do.html
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsmax-Tv/alan-dershowitz-pardon-joe-arpaio-sheriff/2017/08/24/id/809571/
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https://clarionproject.org/trump-promises-youngstown/
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I don't know what to make of Tillerson frankly.
when i hear him on TV like the weekend interview with Chris Wallace he sounds very reasonable but then i read very negative things about how he has not really taken over the State Department and just defers to Obama philes
that many positions are simply still not being filled
perhaps he has too much on his plate
I just am not sure .
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For a nice summary of Trump's ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-out-to-undo-obamas-legacy_us_59aebfe7e4b000a1b65ed2ea?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
:-P
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Sep 14, 2017 | 23:24 GMT
U.S.: Why Trump Blocked a Semiconductor Company Takeover
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U.S. President Donald Trump has stopped a foreign investment into a U.S. company. On Sept. 13, Trump blocked Canyon Bridge Capital Partners' proposed purchase of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation for $1.3 billion, the fourth time a U.S. president has done so. The reason? The trail of Canyon Bridge Capital Partners' financial backing leads directly to the China Reform Fund Management Co., meaning the fund has substantial backing from the Chinese state. By blocking the purchase, Trump is making clear his opposition to Chinese state-led investment in strategic sectors.
Canyon Bridge Capital Partners' attempted takeover faced intense scrutiny since it was announced in November 2016. The deal was filed three times with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the interagency committee that reviews potential purchases of U.S. companies by overseas entities. Canyon Bridge Capital Partners made an appeal to Trump to overrule CFIUS. Although Trump's statement explaining his decision mentioned the potential effects to the U.S. defense supply chain, it focused on China's attempt to acquire U.S. technology. Lattice technology has legitimate defense applications, but the U.S. military is not known to be one of the company's customers. By contrast, CFIUS recommended a planned takeover of German semiconductor company Aixtron — whose products are used in certain military applications — by China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund LP be dropped, citing issues of national security.
We may now be seeing an expanded definition of national security from CFIUS and Trump. Under this expanded definition, it isn't just important to keep other states from gaining control over companies directly involved in military applications. Rather, it's also important to keep companies producing technologies with greater prowess than their overseas competitors out of foreign hands. By keeping China, the world's largest semiconductor market, from purchasing U.S. semiconductor companies, the United States is able to protect its place ahead of China in the chip industry.
The deal's death has implications for the future of similar deals. Other technology sector takeovers are still being reviewed, including one led by Chinese magnate-owned Ant Financial and another by Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, which has already pulled out of a deal in the United States this year. Trump's decision to block the purchase by Canyon Bridge Capital Partners casts a shadow over those deals. That shadow, as well as EU opposition to Chinese investments, could force Chinese companies to distance themselves from state backing in specific takeovers.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/352731-trump-slashes-refugee-admissions-to-45000
https://pamelageller.com/2017/09/donald-trump-cuts-obamas-refugee-target-half-takes-christians-muslims.html/
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http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/354232-trump-administration-eliminates-obamacare-birth-control-mandate
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Obama's (Un)Clean Power Plan Up in Smoke
By Paul Albaugh
Donald Trump's administration is poised to take down another regulation that was hailed by leftists as part of Barack Obama's legacy. Obama's Clean Power Plan (CPP) is the target this time, and when it is repealed in its entirety — and not replaced — it will be another huge win for America.
This isn't just any regulation, either. Recall that the Clean Power Plan was Obama's signature edict — a far-reaching effort to allegedly curb greenhouse gas emissions as part of his war against climate change. This plan directed every state to develop detailed plans to reduce CO2 emissions, primarily from coal-fired plants, with the intended outcome of cutting carbon pollution by one-third from 2005 levels by 2030.
Fortunately, the CPP never made it very far after 27 states vowed to go fight it, which ultimately led to the Supreme Court blocking its implementation. Unfortunately, with Trump's EPA announcing repeal of the CPP, there will likely be more legal challenges ahead — this time from the Left.
Climate alarmists are of course outraged that Trump's EPA would repeal Obama's plan. David Doniger, a senior attorney for climate and clear air at the Natural Resources Defense Council, whined, "We had a Clean Power Plan. What we're getting is a Dirty Power Plan." And former EPA chief Gina McCarthy insisted that the CPP would have brought "major health benefits to families" and that premature deaths would have been reduced by 3,600 per year. It's quite the double standard for leftists to worry about saving lives in the name of climate control when they simultaneously push for the unhampered premature deaths of preborn babies, isn't it?
Aside from the CPP being a very bad deal for American consumers and the energy industry as a whole, Trump's EPA in a statement had this to say: "The EPA proposes to determine that the CPP is not within Congress's grant of authority to the agency under the governing statute. It is not in the interests of the EPA, or in accord with its mission of environmental protection consistent with the rule of law, to expend its resources along the path of implementing a rule, receiving and passing judgment on state plans, or promulgating federal plans in furtherance of a policy that is not within the bounds of our statutory authority."
In other words, Scott Pruitt's EPA determined that the CPP was unconstitutional. The CPP, if implemented, would have enabled the EPA to act outside of its legal limits. What a refreshing statement coming from one of the most burdensome agencies in the country.
The Clean Power Plan was nothing more than a massive power grab by the federal government over the energy industry, primarily coal. It would have imposed rules on all 50 states in violation of the separation of powers.
Aside from being an unconstitutional abuse of power, Obama's Clean Power Play would also impose heavy economic burdens on consumers and would have resulted in many more job losses from the coal industry. The estimated cost of the plan was between $41 billion and $73 billion a year, and all it would have done was purportedly reduce the temperature by an estimated 0.02 degrees. Thus it's certain that the cost of the CPP far outweighed the tenuous benefits. But again, the plan was always about power and control, not saving the planet.
Sure, Trump will be blasted by climate alarmists and their media cohorts. But remember, Trump was a businessman, and he, like most Americans, saw that the Clean Power Plan was not going to be good for America's economy. Further, as Reason's Ronald Bailey notes, "It [CPP] sounds like a big deal but it probably isn't. With or without the CPP, a different force may be pushing the power sector to reduce emissions by nearly that much: low natural gas prices."
Several energy studies have shown that even without the CPP, power sector emissions would drop as much as 26% below 2005 levels. That's if renewable energy subsidies remain in place. Even better, the subsidies should be eliminated because the cost of renewable energy continues to fall, therefore out-competing conventional power production. Low natural gas prices combined with lower renewable energy costs mean less emissions in the future. So, what do leftists have to complain about?
They will of course go on the attack against Trump and accuse him of wanting to destroy the planet. But they will ignore the fact that Obama's plan would have done far more harm than good. Trump's EPA will allow more of the free market to dictate the outcome of energy use and emissions output instead of a top down, government-controlled approach.
In the end, with Trump's plan to repeal the CPP, America wins.
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http://www.dailywire.com/news/22122/trump-breaks-nfl-commissioner-goodell-issues-new-ryan-saavedra?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=062316-news&utm_campaign=benshapiro
https://conservativetribune.com/espn-steven-smith-trumps-anthem/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=AE&utm_campaign=can&utm_content=2017-10-09
https://conservativetribune.com/after-loss-cowboys-president-ultimatum/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=AE&utm_campaign=can&utm_content=2017-10-09
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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/us/politics/trump-unesco-withdrawal.html?emc=edit_na_20171012&nl=breaking-news&nlid=49641193&ref=cta&_r=0
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http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/355123-trump-eases-obamacare-rules-with-executive-order
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The hits keep coming
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http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/raqqa-victory-means-trump-defeated-isis-in-months-after-years-of-excuses-from-obama/
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Just back in from the DB Euro Gathering in Bern, but while I was gone I noticed that the new crown prince in Saudi Arabia came out strongly for a reasonable Islam in Saudi Arabia. I will look to dig up the specifics in the next day or so, but it sure read to me like the Saudis have responded to President Trump's Riyadh speech's challenge to "throw them (the Islamo Fascists) out!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoN4dZHaX6w
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/24/i-will-return-saudi-arabia-moderate-islam-crown-prince
This seems worthy of considerable attention to me. Well done President Trump.
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https://pjmedia.com/spengler/trumps-unsung-success-middle-east/
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http://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/360598-meet-the-powerful-group-behind-trumps-judicial-nominations
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42001038
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The Important Symbolism, but Probable Futility, of the Taylor Force Act
by A.J. Caschetta
The New English Review
November 17, 2017
http://www.meforum.org/7023/important-symbolism-of-taylor-force-act
Taylor Force likely won't be the last American killed as a result of Palestinian terror incitement.
The Taylor Force Act (TFA) passed the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously on Wednesday and is expected to pass the full house with wide bipartisan support. The Taylor Force Act marks a noble and long overdue departure from the "anything goes" attitude toward Palestinian terror incitement of previous administrations, but it's unlikely to have a decisive impact on how the PA operates.
The bill is named for US Army veteran Taylor Force, who was murdered while studying in Israel by Palestinian terrorist Bashar Massalh in March 2016. As it does with all other Palestinian terrorists who die carrying out their attacks, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been making monthly payments to Massalh's family ever since. These funds, from the PA's "Martyr's Fund," are directed through the PLO, which Abbas also controls.
U.S. congressional leaders responded to Force's murder with rare unanimity and determination to put an end to the so-called "pay-to-slay" program and other forms of PA incitement. Sort of.
The Taylor Force Act is designed to trigger a cutoff of US aid to the Palestinians unless the PA takes steps to end terrorism by "individuals under its jurisdictional control," publically condemns and investigates terror attacks, and stops paying monthly stipends to the families of terrorists.
Authority to certify PA compliance with the law's criteria is vested solely in the State Department.
First, authority to certify PA compliance with these three criteria is vested solely in the State Department (in both House and Senate versions), which for years had refused to budge from its traditional depiction of the PA as a force of moderation and peace partner. Fear of the alternatives to PA President Mahmoud Abbas (now in the 12th year of his 4-year term) has led the department to engage in absurd defenses of his regime in the past, and there is no sign of that changing. Indeed, State has already all but certified PA compliance with the first two of the three criteria in its 2016 Country Reports on Terrorism, which commends Abbas's counter-terrorism efforts.
Moreover, the legislation has been watered down to allow some public entities and projects in Palestinian areas to continue receiving US funding on humanitarian grounds regardless of whether the PA is in compliance. Palestinian water projects, childhood vaccination programs and East Jerusalem hospitals are untouchable. "What good is there in punishing women and children for something they did not do?" explained Senate co-sponsor Lindsay Graham in August.
The legislation has been watered down to exempt some public entities and projects from an aid cutoff.
While no one wants Palestinian women and children to go without medical care, vaccinations, or clean water, the history of terrorism funding teaches us that all aid is fungible. With a little imagination, most aid dollars can be construed as benefiting innocent Palestinians somehow or another. The real peril for ordinary Palestinians is a governing apparatus so indifferent to their welfare that it spends over $190 million annually encouraging them to sacrifice their lives.
Like most autocracies, the PA isn't likely to change its ways until its grip on power becomes unsustainable. Nothing short of a total cessation of US funding has much chance of instigating such change.
Palestinian leaders aren't impressed by what they've seen so far. Shortly after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved TFA in August, the Abbas-led PLO Executive Committee issued a blistering statement pledging to continue providing "aid to the families of the martyrs and prisoners," which it called a "national, moral, and humanitarian responsibility towards the occupation's victims."
The TFA is an important first step in divesting from nearly a half-century of failed PLO leadership.
Others will surely step in to make up for any shortfall of funding in the "pay-to-slay" program. During the Second Intifada, Saddam Hussein sent $10,000 checks (later raised to $25,000) to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, and the King of Saudi Arabia held telethons to raise money for them. Perhaps this time around, as Daniel Pipes succinctly tweeted: "#Qatar will pay."
But at least it won't be us subsidizing terrorist blood money. If nothing else, the Taylor Force Act marks an important first step in divesting America from nearly a half-century of failed PLO leadership. That alone makes its passage worth celebrating.
A.J. Caschetta is a Shillman-Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum and a senior lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology
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http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/11/trump-versus-the-administrative-state.php
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-vs-the-deep-regulatory-state-1510952431
(subscr. reqd to get more)
Consider three leading indicators. First, Mr. Trump has appointed regulatory chiefs who are exceptionally well-qualified and are determined reformers. . . Second, the Trump administration is turning back from unilateral lawmaking. Mr. Obama made several aggressive excursions into this dangerous territory. . . Each was justified by legal arguments that administration officials conceded to be novel and that many impartial experts (including those who favored the policies on the merits) regarded as risible. Each ran into strong resistance from the courts.
A third indicator is the introduction of regulatory budgeting, which sounds tedious but is potentially revolutionary...
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second post:
Norks back on Terrorism list.
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http://reason.com/blog/2017/11/20/is-donald-trump-of-all-presidents-devolv?utm_medium=emailWith
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http://www.nationalreview.com/article/454028/donald-trump-accomplishments-thanksgiving?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202017-11-23&utm_term=NR5PM%20Actives
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http://thehill.com/policy/finance/362107-court-sides-with-trump-in-consumer-agency-fight
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As touted endlessly all over cable and network news, China is slashing tariff rates on 187 product categories from an average of 17.3% down to 7.7%.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-24/china-to-slash-import-tariffs-on-consumer-products-from-december
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Draining the DC swamp is a process underway that can't ever be fully achieved but we should celebrate every move in the right direction. Two points here,
1) All the ruckus over state department departures underway is a big sign of progress: http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/30/with-departure-of-top-lawyer-state-department-exodus-continues/ The career state department people especially toward the top are the ones who acquiesced to HRC's private server scandal and helped her to hide her emails and cover up the scandal. They all tend to be liberals and globalists in the negative sense of those terms and they have been putting their agenda ahead of our security.
2) Breaking the Senate Blue Slip Rule: The timing was amazing here. Sen Franken was holding up hearing on Minnesota's Justice David Stras just for swamp-like political reasons, because he could and because he wanted to extract something political in return for supporting a home state nominee who is abundantly qualified. I attribute this to Trump and Trump's watch because he made this great appointment that divided Minnesota's two Dem Senators and because Trump derangement syndrome is what was empowering Franken to be derelict in his duties as Senator to return his 'blue slip' for a perfectly qualified nominee.
It was one day before the Franken scandal broke that the Senate Judiciary committee decided to step over swamp creature Franken and hold hearings on Justice Stras. Observers are comparing Stras in his confirmation hearing to Gorsuch. Good thing because he might soon move from the 8th Circuit appellate court to sitting next to Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. Scott Johnson of Powerline (who brought down Dan Rather) was the light behind the force that made this happen. He wrote a long series of articles challenging the Minneapolis Startribune and other media to expose the travesty that this excellent Trump nomination was being held up by a Senator refusing to faithfully do his job. This week they held hearings; video at this link:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/12/the-new-al-franken-part-three.php
Stras, with great support from both sides of the aisle, is not the liberal activist judge that HRC would have appointed. His nomination and certain confirmation to follow is a tremendous, nation-saving Trump accomplishment, IMHO. Trump killed more than one bird with this stone.
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http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/12/04/donald-trump-shrinks-federal-monuments-in-utah-you-know-best-how-to-take-care-of-your-land/
the greens have turned 1/3 of the west in public ownership
view the amount of land out west designated as government land:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://assets3.bigthink.com/system/tinymce_assets/944/original/federal_lands.jpg?1422311293&imgrefurl=http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/291-federal-lands-in-the-us&h=1592&w=1938&tbnid=UJH8dOdplzrdtM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=195&usg=__Yc2FvMvJH4mS_pqktTiJLWaw24A%3D&vet=10ahUKEwjw-7a91vHXAhUG6RQKHcErC5oQ9QEILjAA..i&docid=Lljtit2IFUsKEM&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjw-7a91vHXAhUG6RQKHcErC5oQ9QEILjAA
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In that we are using this thread as a "for the record resource" it would be far preferable to use a source more reputable than Breitbart.
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http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/12/04/donald-trump-shrinks-federal-monuments-in-utah-you-know-best-how-to-take-care-of-your-land/
the greens have turned 1/3 of the west in public ownership
view the amount of land out west designated as government land:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://assets3.bigthink.com/system/tinymce_assets/944/original/federal_lands.jpg?1422311293&imgrefurl=http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/291-federal-lands-in-the-us&h=1592&w=1938&tbnid=UJH8dOdplzrdtM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=195&usg=__Yc2FvMvJH4mS_pqktTiJLWaw24A%3D&vet=10ahUKEwjw-7a91vHXAhUG6RQKHcErC5oQ9QEILjAA..i&docid=Lljtit2IFUsKEM&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjw-7a91vHXAhUG6RQKHcErC5oQ9QEILjAA
http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/291-federal-lands-in-the-us
Just How Much Land Does the Federal Government Own — and Why?
Over a year ago by FRANK JACOBS
Article Image
The rough beauty of the American West seems as far as you can get from the polished corridors of power in Washington DC. Until you look at the title to the land. The federal government owns large tracts of the western states: from a low of 29.9% in Montana, already more than the national average, up to a whopping 84.5% in Nevada.
This map, depicting the distribution and share of federal land per state, was first published on this blog way back in 2008. Nevertheless, it keeps accumulating comments and hits at a steady pace, and is still frequently shared around. Unlike hundreds of other random maps, this one has become a perennial. That raises an interesting question for map geeks like yours truly: Which nerve, exactly, does this map strike with the Great Online Public?
(https://assets3.bigthink.com/system/tinymce_assets/944/original/federal_lands.jpg?1422311293)
Let's start with the most obvious answer: the map is stunningly effective at bringing home its message. And that message is: Federal land ownership out west is huge.
Few minds will stir when they learn that the US federal government owns a grand total of 640 million acres of land: that figure is so vast that it becomes meaningless [1]. The sum of all that acreage adds up to about 28% of the nation's total surface, 2.27 billion acres. That sounds like a lot, but since it is an average, and because we have nothing to compare it to, that percentage is, to use one of my favorite quotes, “the kind of information they conceal in books” [2].
Both issues – the blandness of averages, the lack of comparison – are eliminated by the map, which presents an immediate, jaw-droppingly clear frame of reference. In the blink of an eye, the contrast between the west and the rest becomes clear.
The clever device delivering that instant insight: 50 icons, each shaped like the particular state they are centered on and sized to reflect the percentage of the federal lands in each particular state.
Back east, but even in the Midwest, those icons – colored red for better contrast – barely amount to a distant mirror of the state they're modelled on. In those parts, the federal share of state territory rarely runs into the double digits. It even stays below 2% for the Top 10 states with the lowest percentage of federally owned land:
The largest splotches of red are all in the 11 westernmost states of the Lower 48. The federal government's enormous share of Alaska is only less obvious because as usual the largest state in the Union is shown in an inset map, at a much larger scale [3].
These red icons look like parasites, about to take over the body of the host. Take a look at poor Nevada, where non-public land is pushed out to a narrow band skirting the state's borders – marginalized, in the most literal sense of the word. Even in most other western states, that ledge is not much wider than a toehold.
The Top 10 list of states with the highest percentage of federally owned land on this map looks like this:
Both because of its enormous total size and its huge percentage of federal lands, Alaska alone represents almost half the government-owned area in the 10 most 'federalised' states combined. The only two western states falling out of the Top 10 are Montana (29.9%) and Washington state (30.3%).
What is all that federal land for? And exactly who is in charge? According to the Congressional Research Service [4], a total area of just under 610 million acres – more than twice the size of Namibia – is administered by no more than 4 federal government agencies:
* The United States Forest Service (USFS), which oversees timber harvesting, recreation, wildlife habitat protection and other sustainable uses on a total of 193 million acres – almost the size of Turkey – mainly designated as National Forests.
* The National Park Service (NPS) conserves lands and resources on 80 million acres – a Norway-sized area – in order to preserve them for the public. Any harvesting or resource removal is generally prohibited.
* the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), managing 248 million acres [5] – an area the size of Egypt – has a multiple-use, sustained-yield mandate, supporting energy development, recreation, grazing, conservation, and other uses.
* the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages 89 million acres – an area slightly bigger than Germany – to conserve and protect animal and plant species.
The first agency is part of the Department of Agriculture, the latter three of the Department of the Interior. The Department of Defense manages an additional 20 million acres – a bit larger than the Czech Republic – as military bases, testing and training grounds, etc.
Back to the map – apart from making its point in such an excellent manner, why is it so popular? The aforementioned Congressional Overview of Federal Land Ownership provides a broad outline of the answer:
“47% of the 11 coterminous western states [is federally owned]. By contrast, the federal government owns only 4% in the other states. This western concentration has contributed to a higher degree of controversy over land ownership and use in that part of the country”.
“Throughout America’s history, federal land laws have reflected two visions: keeping some lands in federal ownership while disposing of others. From the earliest days, there has been conflict between these two visions. During the 19th century, many laws encouraged settlement of the West through federal land disposal. Mostly in the 20th century, emphasis shifted to retention of federal lands.”
That conflict came to a head very publicly last year with the case of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher whose conflict with the Bureau of Land Management over grazing rights led to the federal government impounding his cattle [6].
But the federal government's extra-extra-large involvement in the management of western lands is far more than a conflict about grazing, water, mining, logging and other development. It pits the principle of good stewardship of the land, for the welfare of present and future generations, against one of America's foundational axioms: That government is best which governs least [7].
The former attitude requires a central government to assume authority, restrict access, punish rule-breakers – and increasingly so, since resource depletion is a growing threat.
The latter viewpoint holds government intervention to be the problem, not the solution, and the stated reasons for it – be it conservation or climate change – as convenient cover stories at best.
Two quotes from the story's comments section illustrate the gap between the two extremes:
“It's too late [to take back our country]. Jump ship and buy land in a poor undeveloped country, Start a farm and build a new community.”
“Or we could stop wasting time with this nonsense and get back to the real issues.”
Ultimately, this map reverberates and keeps bouncing around the internet because it touches a divide in American politics and wider society that is about much more than land use. It pits libertarians versus federalists, with the gap between them increasing to such an extent that the former often seem to the latter to be no more than right-wing vigilantes, the latter to the former nothing less than world-government-promoting socialists. Until some middle ground emerges to bridge that divide, this map (and other incendiary devices) will continue to add fuel to the ideological fire.
Many thanks to Jonathan Leblang and Adam Hahn for signaling this map, which appeared as an illustration to ‘Can the West Lead Us To A Better Place?‘, an article in Stanford Magazine, a periodical for and about alumni from that university. Update: the map can be found in higher resolution – and with a long, long comments section – here on Reddit.
Strange Maps #291
Got a strange map? Let me know at strangemaps@gmail.com.
[1] Remember the Joseph Stalin quote: “One death is a tragedy, one million is a statistic”. Not that one acre is a tragedy. But you catch our meaning.
[2] Oliver Platt as Hector Cyr in Lake Placid (1999).
[3] Contrary to intuition, map objects shrunk to fit in with others are shown at a larger, not a smaller scale. See the scales at the bottom: Alaska's 500-mile line is 4 times shorter than the Lower 48's. Meaning (a) that Alaska is shown 4 times smaller than the Lower 48; and (b) that if Alaska's scale would have been as long as the other, it would have measured 2,000 miles – i.e. would measure a larger distance.
[4] Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data
[5] The BLM is also responsible for subsurface mineral resources in areas totaling 700 million acres.
[6] The sentiment is often attributed to Jefferson, but the quote as such is from the opening lines of Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience.
[7] Mr. Bundy refused to pay $1.2 million in grazing fees to the BLM, arguing that the land his cattle uses belongs not to the federal, but the state government. In the spring of last year, BLM officials agreed to leave his property and release his cattle after hundreds of armed supporters showed up at the Bundy ranch. As the Washington Post recently reported, the conflict remains unresolved.
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http://carolineglick.com/trumps-great-gifts-to-israel-and-america/
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https://spectator.org/the-middle-east-peace-process-meme-what-peace-process/
Special Report
The Middle East ‘Peace Process’ Meme: WHAT Peace Process?
DOV FISCHER
December 6, 2017, 1:19 pm
Thank you, President Trump, for again keeping your promise.
Now that he formally has announced that the United States of America fully recognizes Jerusalem as the undisputed capital of the country of Israel, President Donald Trump once again has proven that he is the first American President since Ronald Reagan who actually fulfills campaign promises he made to the American people who elected him. He promised to nominate to the United States Supreme Court a brilliant conservative judicial intellect in the tradition of the late Justice Antonin Scalia — and he named Neil Gorsuch to the High Court. He promised to continue naming impeccable conservative judges to the federal courts, and he continually has been doing so. He promised to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. To tighten the southern border and to begin the process of building a wall to choke off the opioids supply while addressing a broken and corrupted immigration policy.
He promised to roll back taxes to make American businesses competitive with those around the world, while ramping up the economy and laying the foundation for the creation of more jobs. He promised to address the regulatory stranglehold that has choked American energy and commerce. He walked away from the European climate conference and the Trans-Pacific boondoggle. He has confronted NAFTA and ended the nonsense of other multi-lateral global trade plans that always leave America subject to being cheated with little recourse. He is attempting to cut federal funds from Secessionist (“Sanctuary”) cities and “Resistance” states that defy the government of the United States. He has taken demonstrable steps to improve medical care for veterans. Hydraulic fracturing, oil exploration, clean coal development, and the entire gamut of all forms of energy harnessing now are back on the table, as he fulfills his promise to make America more energy-independent and thus less hostage to the fickle designs of tyrannical oil sheikdoms and two-bit dictatorships. He does not bow down to sheiks nor salsa with tyrants.
And now he has fulfilled his promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the country of Israel.
Bill Clinton made that exact same promise, too. But he lied. Then George W. Bush promised the same — and he lied. Then Obama promised the same — If you like your capital, you can keep your capital — and he lied. Each one looked voters squarely in the faces and made the same bold promise, backed fully by Congressional bipartisan approval in a 1995 law that authorized such recognition, yet each knew he never would do it. And then came Donald Trump, uttering the same pledge — but this time honoring his word in his very first year in office. Thus, the promise to move America’s Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has become the Political Rosetta Stone of the Modern Age that deciphers whether a President is a bald-faced liar or can be trusted to do his best to honor and execute the promises that brought him into office.
As the chicken-hearted, yellow-bellied, lily-livered, gutless and spineless leaders of Western Civilization from Western Europe to New Zealand now shake and tremble in the face of a simple truth that they all know — that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel — we may expect to hear the meme interminably day-and-night, until the next television or movie icon’s pants fall, that “This decision now threatens the Middle East ‘Peace Process.’” For the last fifty years, someone in a European capital and in the U.S. State Department has uttered that sentence at least once weekly. If Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston divorce, it will endanger the Middle East peace process. If Megyn Kelly ever gets ratings on NBC, it will endanger the Middle East peace process. If Hillary Clinton admits that she knowingly spoliated those emails and that they had nothing to do with yoga, yogurt, or Chelsea’s wedding, it will endanger the Middle East peace process. If Netflix raises its prices again, it will endanger the Middle East peace process. If Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie divorce, it will endanger the Middle East peace process. If Eli Manning does not start for the New York Giants, or if Colin Kaepernick does start anywhere, it will endanger the Middle East peace process. If Bill Clinton admits that he raped Juanita Broaddrick, it will endanger the Middle East peace process.
So, while other experts debate the meme, let us share a secret: There is no Middle East “peace process” and there has not been a “Middle East peace process” for decades. It is a sham.
When Bill Clinton was President, only one person got to see him in the White House more often and closer-up than did Monica Lewinsky: Yasser Arafat. Arafat visited the White House more than did any other foreign visitor. With Clinton brutally pressuring Israel’s most ineffective and hapless Prime Minister in its history, Ehud Barak, Arafat was promised virtually everything he always had said he was demanding — but the butcher turned it down anyway and instead launched a civilian war, the so-called “intifada.”
Arafat and his cronies, chief among them Mahmoud Abbas, the current Palestinian Authority dictator who now is entering the thirteenth year of his four-year elected term in office, never wanted a final agreement that would recognize the permanent existence of a non-Muslim, Jewish-majority country in the Middle East. There never was a “Middle East Peace Process.” Rather, it was a “Piece Process”: Fool one American President to get us a piece of the Sinai, the next to get us a piece of the Golan Heights, the next to get a piece of Gaza. There never was a “Peace Process” — and, if one simply pauses to contemplate the reality of the terrain and the demography, the painful conclusion is that a “Two-State Solution” is best when not contemplated. Consider:
Before June 1967, an Arab Muslim polity (Egypt) held Gaza, an Arab Muslim polity (Syria) held the Golan Heights, and an Arab Muslim polity (Jordan) held Judea and Samaria (misnomered the “West Bank”). Yet in 1964, three years before June 1967, the Arab world created the “Palestine Liberation Organization” (PLO). Which “Palestine” did that “organization” set about to “liberate” in 1964? Not Gaza, Golan, and Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”). Jordanian Olympic athletes were not attacked for “occupying the West Bank.” Nor were Egyptian school children for “occupying Gaza.” Nor Syrian civilians for “occupying the Golan.” Rather, all PLO terror attacks, from the PLO’s 1964 founding through June 1967, aimed within pre-June 1967 Israel. That is what the PLO was organized to liberate: the “Palestine” that is Israel. Not Gaza, Golan, nor Judea and Samaria.
(By the way, how fascinating is the term “West Bank”! The Arab world could not assert with a straight face that “Judea and Samaria” belong to the PLO. So they gave it a different name. Only… they had no other name for it because Judea and Samaria never were part of their universe. Read the Torah. Read the Christian Gospels. Read the Encyclopedia Britannica before the 1960s. So, since Judea and Samaria lands are west of the Jordan River, they denominated it the “West Bank.” Anyone who has been there, to cities up and down Judea and Samaria, knows that the region is no river “bank,” not remotely close to the Jordan River. The term is a joke — akin to labeling Jersey City, Bayonne, Secaucus, and Hoboken the “West Bank” because of its immensely closer proximity to the Hudson River or calling the states of Arkansas or Iowa the “West Bank” because of proximity to the Mississippi.
(Yet the mainstream leftist media use the term “West Bank” rather than “Judea and Samaria” because they claim to shun the “Bibilical” name. But they call everywhere else in that region by their Biblical names: Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee, Jericho, Hebron, Negev, Syria, Damascus, Lebanon, Tyre, Nineveh, Sidon, Jordan, Egypt. And Jerusalem… which brings back the fallacy of the “Mideast Peace Process” meme…)
Today more than 200,000 Jews live in the eastern part of Jerusalem and approximately 420,000 Jews live in approximately 150 cities and other communities throughout the rest of Judea and Samaria. The mainstream left media label these cities and communities “settlements.” The Ma’aleh Adumim “settlement” in Judea has approximately 40,000 residents (comparable to New Hampshire’s third largest city, Concord; Vermont’s largest city, Burlington; Cedar Falls, Iowa; Bozeman, Montana; and other such American “settlements”). The “settlement” of Ariel in Samaria has more than 20,000 residents and a full university. The “settlement” of Modi’in Illit has 70,000 residents. The Beitar Illit “settlement” has 52,000 people. Karnei Shomron in Samaria has close to 10,000 residents. The American “settlement” of Malibu is roughly the same size.
No one ever asks this question: Given that every single Arab Muslim polity — ever — has demanded that all Jews be uprooted and removed from East Jerusalem and from the rest of Judea and Samaria as part of any “Middle East Peace Process,” where exactly does that “Peace Process” contemplate re-settling those 620,000 Jews? And how would they do it? Would they refurbish Nazi Germany’s cattle cars, the only previous method used effectively in the last 500-plus years to relocate that many Jews from their homes? And how exactly would they be rounded up — these 620,000 Jews being relocated from the homes they have built and in which they have lived for decades? The Nazis found it effective initially to relocate them into walled ghettoes. But where would the “Middle East Peace Process” have them walled before forcing them onto the cattle cars? Has the “Peace Process” identified suitable ghetto areas for temporarily confining those 620,000 Jews?
And while thinking about it: After these 620,000 Jews are barbed-wired into walled ghettoes, and subsequently prodded onto cattle cars — exactly where will they be transported for a suitable final solution to house them under the “Middle East Peace Process”?
Auschwitz-Birkenau is not available; it currently is in use as a museum and commercial tourist spot. Dachau? Majdanek? Bergen-Belsen? Buchenwald? Treblinka? Sobibor? All fascinating options. Or will Saudi Arabia offer them housing? Presently, Jews and Christians are barred from setting foot in Mecca and Medina, but there is tell that some women now may drive in some places there, often without being stoned. Or Afghanistan? Syria? Iraq?
The earliest “Middle East Peace Process” for twenty years from 1948-1967 included a solution: simply drive the Jews to their deaths in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the solution’s neatness and elegance, the Arab Muslim world changed that meme from “Drive the Jews into the Sea” after the June 1967 war. In time, it became “The Peace Process” — without any thought as to the actual relocation of 620,000 Jews. But, if they are not to be slaughtered — a solution that the intransigent Israeli Likud government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resolutely continues to oppose despite United Nations intractability, as do most other Israeli political parties — what indeed is that part of the “peace process”?
For those who would ask “Well, can’t Israel just absorb 620,000 people into… — it’s tough to finish that sentence. In August 2005, the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon uprooted 8,600 residents living in Gush Katif from the Gaza Strip so that Abbas could have that land as his own — land that rapidly was taken from his corrupt “Palestinian Authority” and that instead became the home base of the Hamas terrorist campaign. More than a decade later, Israel still has been unable to resettle them and get their lives back to normal. They lost their homes, jobs, often families. Thus, relocating and resettling 620,000 Jews is a puzzlement.
One more thing:
Look at the logo of the Hamas terrorists. See that green jagged “dagger” on the center-top? Now look at the logo of the Palestinian Authority’s Al Fatah terrorists. See that same green jagged “dagger” in the middle, partially obstructed by the two superimposed rifles? And now look at the logo of the terrorist Islamic Jihad. See that same jagged “dagger,” only this time in red and in the middle?
One picture is worth a thousand words — yet another meme. That depiction is not a jagged dagger. Rather, it is the map of “Palestine” that Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad all are determined to attain as part of the “Middle East Peace Process.” Thing is, for the uninitiated, that “Palestine” on their mind is not a map of Gaza and the “West Bank.” Rather, that is the exact map of all of Israel, down to Tel Aviv, Haifa, Hadera, Tiberias, Masadah, Eilat, and Ben Gurion Airport. For the Arab Muslim world, “Palestine” is Israel — all of it. Nothing has changed. One need not be fluent in Hebrew nor in Arabic to grasp this, simply capable of looking at four pictures. Want more pictures of more Palestine “Middle East Peace Process” aspirants? Here they are — they all want the same thing as their “Palestine”: all of Israel. That’s all.
The “Middle East Peace Process”? What Peace Process?
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It's strange how the press and polls have never been worse while the accomplishments are building to an almost unprecedented level. It's hard to chronicle them all and they don't necessarily fall in this order.
1) ISIS defeated in it's own Caliphate. We never want to say mission accomplished in a thousand year war, but beating them on their home turf with death to the leadership is no small feat. Shared credit means Trump can actually work with others. Is this no. !? I don't know but imagine the world if the other team won.
2) Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch and a host of other appointees nominated and confirmed. Hopefully the Senate will weed out the bad ones, but the lifetime seating of the good ones is part of what could possibly save the nation from going over the brink of leftism, bankruptcy and failure. Is this no.2? I don't know but imagine the fate of our republic if the other siide had another 4-8 years to pack the Courts.
3) Decertifying Iran and bringing the Kim Jung Un threat to the attention of the nation and the world. Add to that, getting allies to share in the security burden and most recently a commitment to re-energize our own missile defense capabilities. I'm putting some existential accomplishments ahead of economics...
4) Single handed deregulation. He has increased our GDP growth rate by 50-100% just by reversing some of the Obama excess and putting an expectation on future pro-growth policies. Pulled out of the Paris accords. Quietly removed an amazing amount of government over-reach.
5) Tax cuts and reform. This quickly jumps to no.1 IMHO as soon as results exceed promises and doubters begin to eat crow. Stagnation never was the 'new normal'; it was an ugly, anti-American policy choice of hopefully an era gone by.
6) Within the tax bill, repeal of the Obamacare penalty.
7) Within the tax bill, drilling in ANWR. Long overdue and proving Liberals wrong for the past 20 years. Symbolic and real change of direction. Throw Keystone XL pipeline in with this.
8) Net Neutrality: Gone.
9) Illegal Immigration: Down.
10) Moving the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Symbolic, and saves the diplomats commute time to the Israel capital.
11(honorable mention) His supposed 'gaffe' of talking with Taiwan. He put allies, rivals and enemies on notice, under new management!
As I look over my ordering, if fully accomplished, these are all No. 1's!
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agree with most of above but not sure about this:
"9) Illegal Immigration: Down."
some dispute about that . I don't see any illegals packing bags and leaving around here.
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https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/polling-shows-broad-support-for-policies-in-gop-tax-bill
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agree with most of above but not sure about this:
"9) Illegal Immigration: Down."
some dispute about that . I don't see any illegals packing bags and leaving around here.
Not people leaving but the flow inward is down:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/apr/25/donald-trump/illegal-immigration-lowest-17-years-trump-said/
Is illegal immigration the lowest in 17 years, as Trump said?
Overall, we rate Trump’s claim True.
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That could change if the economy begins to roar before improved border security is in place.
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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/year-one-list-81-major-trump-achievements-11-obama-legacy-items-repealed/article/2644159
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-present-for-putin-1513901798?mg=prod/accounts-wsj
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http://dailysignal.com/2017/12/22/how-trump-changed-the-courts-in-2017/?utm_source=TDS_Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MorningBell%22&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTnprNU1tUTBPR1kxTmpBNCIsInQiOiIyU0pZMmtobjdvNlcrY1FpUVkzYmNxMmg2cXhDMGJER0tQb3FxRVFqZlhzcXA0Qzd0UzdJRnZxZCswbzhLd21paVc5cTZLQVJ5bTBwa1RHYUszemRBRUV3NXJkVjhBazlaVXRJdFM4MFZqbkllSkdVcGplR1phanh3SURxOSsraCJ9
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http://www.nationalreview.com/article/454985/taking-trump-seriously-foreign-policy-economy&hl=en&geo=US?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Saturday%202017-12-30&utm_term=NR5PM%20Actives
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-the-trump-era-is-changing-the-federal-bureaucracy/2017/12/30/8d5149c6-daa7-11e7-b859-fb0995360725_story.html?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.ad261e53f153
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Revolution To view this article, Click Here
Brian S. Wesbury, Chief Economist
Robert Stein, Deputy Chief Economist
Date: 1/2/2018
One word that could describe Donald Trump's unexpected ascendancy to the presidency is – "revolt." Revolt against the "establishment." Revolt against the "status quo."
After all, status quo bureaucracies, tax rates, institutions, regulations, and narratives promised prosperity, yet the economy was mired in slow growth and many felt it was hard to get ahead. Reliably blue states tilted red, and the pendulum swung the other way.
Since 1993, the top federal tax rate on US corporations has been 35%, one of the highest in the world. This has forced US companies to expand overseas. Both sides of the political spectrum knew it was a problem, yet nothing was ever done.
Now the rate is 21%, and full expensing of business investment for tax purposes is law. These changes will boost the incentive to invest and operate in the US, leading to more demand for labor, which means lower unemployment and faster wage growth, as well. From an economic perspective, this is a revolution.
But there's more. We're referring to the new limit for state and local tax deductions. That change, combined with a larger standard deduction, will launch an overdue revolution in the policy choices of high tax states as well as the geographical distribution of business activity.
California's top marginal income tax rate is 13.3%. Under the old tax system, tax payers who itemize could deduct their state income taxes from their taxable federal income. So for the highest earners, the effective marginal rate was 8.0%, not 13.3%. [Deducting 39.6% of 13.3% saved them 5.3%. 13.3% minus 5.3% is 8.0%.]
Politicians in California could raise state income tax rates, and up to 39.6% of the cost would be carried by taxpayers in other states. The same goes for New York City residents, where the top income tax rate is roughly 12.7%.
Now taxpayers are limited to $10,000 in state and local tax deductions (with a 37% top federal tax rate). The financial pain of living in high tax states is now exposed. California and New York City - and many other high tax jurisdictions - look a lot less attractive than states like Texas, Florida, and Nevada.
This change may limit the measured income and wealth gap in the US between the rich and poor. California and New York don't just have high taxes, they also have a high cost of living. So, if some high earners in these places leave to take lower pay in places with lower taxes and a lower cost of living, the income and wealth gap would narrow.
But incentives work on all institutions, and policymakers in high-tax states have massive pressure to cut tax rates.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to rule on Janus vs. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Based on a similar case from a few years ago, it's likely the Court will rule that all government workers (state, local and federal) will have a choice to pay union dues, or not. We know from experience that, when given a choice, many workers stop supporting the political activities of unions. This would be another force significantly altering the balance of power.
Whether you agree with these developments or not, the U.S. hasn't seen economic policy changes like this in a long time. The forces that support markets and entrepreneurship over government control are reasserting themselves.
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second post
Trump Gets the U.N. to Cut Spending
The U.S. uses its leverage for once to force budget reforms.
Delegates gather in General Assembly Hall before a vote by the United Nations General Assembly, New York.
Delegates gather in General Assembly Hall before a vote by the United Nations General Assembly, New York. Photo: Albin Lohr-Jones/Zuma Press
By The Editorial Board
Jan. 1, 2018 3:39 p.m. ET
61 COMMENTS
Here’s something more miraculous than Congress spending less money—the United Nations doing it. Yet that’s what happened at the end of 2017 as the 193-nation General Assembly agreed to a 5% spending cut in its new biennial budget after American prodding.
The General Assembly agreed by consensus to shrink the U.N. budget by $286 million, to $5.4 billion, down 5% from the prior budget. The U.N. will save about $50 million by trimming hiring and overhead costs, and another $18 million from cutting the U.N. Department of Management, better known as human resources. The peacekeeping operations budget, which was negotiated separately earlier in 2017, was reduced by $593 million to $7.3 billion, a 7.5% cut.
The General Assembly also agreed to spending reforms, including restrictions on construction projects and an audit of the U.N.’s $60 billion staff pension fund. Starting in 2020, the U.N. will move to annual budgeting, which Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric called “one of the most significant shifts in the programme planning and budgeting process of the Organization since the 1970s,” which says a lot about the U.N.’s accounting systems.
These reductions are hardly draconian. They don’t include cuts to the U.N.’s elevator operators, who cost about $300,000 per year, or trim the budget of the International Court of Justice’s judges and spouses, who travel first class. Committee for Programme and Coordination members, a strategic planning group for bureaucrats, holds a five-week meeting every year in New York City, rather than meet in a cheaper location or via teleconference.
Secretary-General António Guterres has supported the reforms. But none of this would have happened without pressure from the United States. President Trump called out the U.N.’s bloated bureaucracy and “mismanagement” in September, and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley has pressed the case. The U.S. has leverage at the U.N. because it provides 22% of its budget, but credit the Trump Administration for finally using it.
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A schlocky internet ad, does anyone know whether there is any substance to this?
https://pro.oxfordclub.com/p/RXSEN39TO79BRKLTOSAMALIUP/LBRKU107/?h=true
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http://carolineglick.com/trump-kicks-the-palestinian-habit/
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Stratfor Worldview
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Jan 8, 2018 | 21:30 GMT
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U.S.: How Trump Is Addressing Immigration, Without Congress
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Forecast Update
In our 2018 Annual Forecast, Stratfor wrote that a number of factors would keep U.S. President Donald Trump from making his wishes for U.S. immigration policy a reality in 2018, despite his best efforts. Trump has continued to roll back immigration protections — such as temporary protected status for nationals from Haiti, Nicaragua and now El Salvador, but comprehensive reform of the U.S. immigration system will remain elusive.
See 2018 Annual Forecast
The comprehensive immigration overhaul U.S. President Donald Trump desires is still out of reach, but the president continues to make progress restricting immigration through decisions that don't require congressional support. Most recently, on Jan. 8, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security refused to extend temporary protected status (TPS) to around 200,000 Salvadorans residing in the United States. The move ends legal concessions — namely the right to work and reside in the country — granted to Salvadoran recipients of TPS and leaves them vulnerable to deportation after a deadline to depart in September 2019.
TPS is a humanitarian, non-immigrant visa category established by the Immigration Act of 1990. Salvadoran nationals first became eligible for TPS protection during El Salvador's civil war in the 1980s and then again after the country's 2001 earthquake. As a result, many Salvadorans have been in the United States under TPS for decades. The Trump administration's decision to end TPS programs (the Haitian and Nicaraguan designation was allowed to expire and the Honduran one is assumed to be next) is part of a wider move to restrict both legal and illegal immigration. The administration has also enacted various initiatives to increase enforcement of domestic immigration law and has moved to limit immigration through family and employment-based categories by ordering greater scrutiny of visa petitions. Allowing TPS protections to lapse is part of a move to restrict overall immigration and deport as many removable immigrants as possible.
But the administration's attempts to restrict immigration may not last if they are not codified into law. Many of the moves so far enacted by the Trump administration could be rescinded by Trump's successor through executive orders. Because of this, the Trump administration will press for wider immigration reform this year. If Congress joins the White House drive to revamp legal immigration, Trump's policies will have a better chance of outliving his presidency. However, achieving a comprehensive reform of the U.S. immigration system will be politically difficult.
Still, the administration will demand a broad range of reforms. These include a push to move away from granting visas on the basis of family ties and toward a more selective, restrictive system that would base visa grants on professional merit. In addition, the administration will attempt to use an extension of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as a bargaining chip to secure more funding for border security measures, such as hiring more border patrol agents or constructing more barriers. But many of the White House's demands will go unmet. Because Republicans lack a sizable majority in the Senate committed to immigration reform, they will need to compromise to bring some Democrats on board in exchange for votes on spending measures. However, if a major reform effort becomes plausible, it will likely face a backlash in the form of lobbying and lawsuits from private companies that risk losing thousands of employees.
The White House push for a more selective immigration policy is unlikely to bear fruit. Instead, it's more likely that the administration will press on toward finding as many ways as possible to roll back legal protections for documented and undocumented migrants without congressional approval. Meanwhile, it won't give up its attempts this year to obtain more funding for border security or to negotiate and draft legislation to alter the landscape of legal immigration.
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TRUMP ENDS TEMPORARY STAY FOR 250,000 EL SALVADORANS AFTER 2001 EARTHQUAKE
January 8, 2018
Daniel Greenfield
11
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Yes, you read that correctly.
We're talking about people who have been given a blank check to stay in America based on a 2001 earthquake. We might as well extend temporary protected status for all of Italy because of Pompei.
El Salvador suffered a devastating earthquake on January 13, 2001, and experienced two more earthquakes on February 13 and 17, 2001. Based on a thorough review by the Departments of State and Justice, the Attorney General has determined that, due to the environmental disaster and substantial disruption of living conditions caused by the earthquakes, El Salvador is “unable, temporarily, to handle adequately the return” of its nationals.
Accordingly, the Attorney General has determined that conditions in El Salvador warrant the designation of El Salvador under the TPS program. This order will designate El Salvador under the TPS program for an initial period of 18 months.
And eighteen months then became 17 years.
Nationals of El Salvador (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador) who have been “continuously physically present” in the United States since March 9, 2001, and have “continuously resided” in the United States since February 13, 2001, may apply for TPS within the registration period that begins on March 9, 2001 and ends on September 9, 2002.
Now the Trump admin is ending the madness. There's one more extension and then TPS ends in September 2019.
The media doesn't actually explain any of this. Instead it ladles out buckets of sob stories by El Salvadorans who claim that they're "practically" American and that they'll be
immediately murdered if they return to their country. Meanwhile quite a few Americans are being murdered by El Salvadoran gangs like MS-13. But remember TPS was supposed to be temporary. The campaign against it, admits it isn't.
TPS isn't temporary. It's another migration backdoor.
Cue the "It's against American values to send back people to their country after 17 years when we only generously allowed them to stay here for 18 months after an earthquake."
Enough already. There are a whole lot of immigrants who want to come to America. There's a line out the door and around the world. If we're going to be fair about this, we should respect the process. TPS was a scam pulled on the American people. And now the scammers claim it was never temporary to begin with. Ending TPS is about restoring the rule of law and ending the migration lies.
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http://www.nationalreview.com/morning-jolt/455396/chrysler-michigan-announcement-trump-immigration-comments?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=180112_Jolt&utm_term=Jolt
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with minorities with impulsive thoughtless comments:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/455408/donald-trump-haiti-africa-comments-identity-politics-worst
we need a thread with Trump screw ups not just
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with minorities with impulsive thoughtless comments:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/455408/donald-trump-haiti-africa-comments-identity-politics-worst
we need a thread with Trump screw ups not just
Yawn. You mean people who won't vote Republican, won't be voting Republican because of Trump?
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It is amazing to me how so many Republicans can defend Trump's big impulsive mouth.
Never quoted Paul Ryan before but calling Trump's remarks "not helpful" is putting it mildly.
I agree with most of what Jonah says here and most importantly the long term damage Trump does to the Republicans and our way of thinking in general. If found this article to be I agree with the most and he basically reiterates my thoughts:
http://www.nationalreview.com/g-file/455420/trump-shithole-comments-authenticity-misunderstanding
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https://www.city-journal.org/html/crudeness-and-truth-15668.html
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https://www.city-journal.org/html/crudeness-and-truth-15668.html
I spent the last week at CES. After English, Mandarin was the most commonly spoken language.
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http://www.nationalreview.com/article/455411/donald-trump-insanity-accusations-critics?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Saturday%202018-01-13&utm_term=NR5PM%20Actives
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https://www.city-journal.org/html/crudeness-and-truth-15668.html
Like I said, I find it hard to believe the Right's defense of being crude and rude.
Sounds an awful lot like it is "just about sex after all.........."
I thought we used to try to be honorable
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Swearing and crudity in a meeting of politicians?
I'm shocked, absolutely shocked!
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https://www.city-journal.org/html/crudeness-and-truth-15668.html
Like I said, I find it hard to believe the Right's defense of being crude and rude.
Sounds an awful lot like it is "just about sex after all.........."
I thought we used to try to be honorable
Things have moved well past the point of being polite. The left is actively working, and is damn close to utterly destroying America and the western world. F*ck them and their feelings.
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It's strange to see how eager and willing media and people are to say publicly what Trump (allegedly) said privately, NPR, CBS, NYT, etc.
The charge quickly went from vulgarity to racism.
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"Things have moved well past the point of being polite. The left is actively working, and is damn close to utterly destroying America and the western world. F*ck them and their feelings."
True. I am less concerned about the feeling of D - NERo and BRuffalo but I am concerned about feeling of those in the middle
And just insulting whole groups of people like Mexicans and Blacks is making matters worse.
The GOP has no hope of getting any in those groups on our side if we got a big mouth blindly insulting all of them.
I agree with the overall jist of what he says but I really believe the younger generation is being corrupted with all loss of civility
just my 2 cents
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"Things have moved well past the point of being polite. The left is actively working, and is damn close to utterly destroying America and the western world. F*ck them and their feelings."
True. I am less concerned about the feeling of D - NERo and BRuffalo but I am concerned about feeling of those in the middle
And just insulting whole groups of people like Mexicans and Blacks is making matters worse.
The GOP has no hope of getting any in those groups on our side if we got a big mouth blindly insulting all of them.
I agree with the overall jist of what he says but I really believe the younger generation is being corrupted with all loss of civility
just my 2 cents
Calling shithole countries what they are isn't insulting Mexicans and blacks. Illegal aliens aren't here because they like snow.
"You can't deport the Dreamers! Mexico is a....um....."
Civility? The FCC commissioner couldn't attend CES because of death threats from the left. The FCC officials that did attend CES had Close Protection teams due to threats to them. How are Steve Scalice and Rand Paul doing after their recent encounters with leftist civility?
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http://www.dickmorris.com/honoring-dr-king-black-unemployment-lowest-ever-lunch-alert/?utm_source=dmreports&utm_medium=dmreports&utm_campaign=dmreports
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It is just a bill so far, but good to see the President and the Reps remembering this issue:
By Heidi Vogt
Updated Jan. 29, 2018 4:12 p.m. ET
WSJ
WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are moving to stanch the flow of U.S. technology to foreign investors, creating potential problems for a number of American companies that have bet big on partnering with China.
The Senate and House, with the backing of the White House, are working on bipartisan legislation to broaden the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., a multi-agency body that has oversight of deals that could lead to the transfer of sensitive technology to rival countries. The current CFIUS statute doesn’t single out any country, but in recent years, the committee has often been focused on deals involving China.
Currently, CFIUS can recommend the president block foreign entities from buying majority stakes in U.S. companies; the new bill would let the committee make similar recommendations for deals involving minority investments and joint ventures, along with transactions that it determines involve “emerging technologies.”
The scope of the proposed legislation is broad. China requires foreign investors to form ventures with local partners, and Washington law firms say they are receiving a surge in inquiries over what it might mean for the large number of U.S. firms active in China. The country’s huge size has made it a market of interest for companies ranging from auto makers like General Motors Corp. , technology companies like Cisco Systems Inc. or other manufacturers like Caterpillar Inc. —all of which have local ventures in China.
It isn’t clear how broadly the new law would be enforced. For now, the most vocal corporate opponents are a handful of U.S. companies that have determined the new law might crimp business prospects by requiring companies to get the blessing of CFIUS for some joint ventures that involve shared U.S. technology.
IBM Corp. , for instance, last year agreed with China’s Wanda Internet Technology to share the cloud computing technology used in its Watson artificial intelligence system. Behind the strategy is the belief that embedding IBM’s technology in China’s business infrastructure would steer Chinese customers toward IBM as they seek future growth.
Other large U.S. corporations, from General Electric Co. to Microsoft Corp. , see China as a crucial market for similar reasons.
IBM, among others, has said the bill—known as the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act—would hurt U.S. companies’ ability to compete globally. “Foreign competitors that do not face similar regulatory restrictions will seize global market opportunities while American companies are left watching from the sidelines,” IBM’s vice president of government and regulatory affairs, Christopher Padilla, testified at a recent Senate hearing.
Supporters of the bill, who think it could be signed into law later this year, aren’t convinced. “I am concerned that some of the recent witnesses before the House and Senate have major financial conflicts of interest that prohibit an objective evaluation of the security threats we face,” Rep. Robert Pittenger (R., N.C.)—one of the drafters of the bill—said in an email.
“The business models for IBM, Microsoft, and GE, for example, have led to the transfer of military applicable technologies to China that have likely aided the modernization of the Chinese military and intelligence agencies,” said Mr. Pittenger. The bill’s supporters say it complements and strengthens export regulations rather than duplicating them.
Under ReviewThe number of transaction notices that CFIUShas reviewed in recent years.Source: Treasury DepartmentNote: 2017 figure is an estimate of nearly 240.
2010’12’14’16050100150200250
IBM and other opponents, while acknowledging national-security concerns, have suggested existing export controls to counter China rather than expanding the reach of CFIUS. IBM didn’t respond to requests for comment.
In an email, GE said while it supports the idea of changes to CFIUS, “it’s also important that any reform support America’s historical leadership in attracting foreign investment, not duplicate existing and well-established export control regimes, and preserve the ability of American companies to compete globally.” The company declined an interview. Microsoft declined to comment.
Several security experts say China has been sidestepping controls by taking minority stakes in U.S. technology companies or entering joint licensing ventures.
“There’s a very sophisticated and well-organized plan [by China] to acquire the technology and the reality is there are people here who want to sell it,” said William Reinsch, who was the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for export administration under President Bill Clinton.
And for many who have watched China easily avail itself of gaps in the CFIUS review process, the bill is the minimum that can be done in a fight that is likely to get much bigger. CFIUS blocked 10 deals between 2014 and 2016 over national-security concerns; China in recent years has accounted for the largest number of reviewed transactions.
“There’s a big trade war shootout coming up with China that I think, frankly, is overdue,” said Adm. Dennis Blair, co-chair of the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property and a former U.S. director of national intelligence. He said among the key technologies right now are those involving artificial intelligence, data mining and pattern recognition.
How Bill Would Broaden CFIUS’s Reach
Expands CFIUS’s jurisdiction to partnerships where a foreign firm doesn’t have a controlling interest, such as joint ventures, minority investments and licensing deals.
Adds ability to review real-estate purchases or leases near military bases or other sensitive U.S. government properties.
Updates CFIUS’s definition of “critical technologies” to include emerging technologies that could be essential for maintaining U.S. technological advantage over countries that pose threats to national security.
Makes a filing mandatory if the partnership involves a state-owned enterprise.
Expands CFIUS’s ability to revisit earlier transactions.
Specifies national-security factors for CFIUS to consider in its analyses.
Source: Proposed Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017
Supporters point to recent deals that they say deserve greater scrutiny because they give China access to critical technology, such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s 2016 joint venture with China’s Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co., which gave the company access to technology similar to that used by Intel Corp. in its chips. Tianjin Haiguang didn’t respond to requests for comment.
AMD spokesman Drew Prairie said in an email that “some commentators have mischaracterized” the venture and that AMD received a “U.S. government classification confirming that the technology was not restricted for export”—a reference to Commerce Department export controls. As for the CFIUS overhaul bill, Mr. Prairie said AMD supports strengthened security but wants to make sure it doesn’t have “unintended consequences.” Dawning Information Industry Co. , the largest shareholder of Tianjin Haiguang, didn’t respond to an email.
Many businesses are also supportive of the bill, including software maker Oracle Corp. , telecommunications firm Ericsson Inc., steelmaker Nucor Corp. and railroad-car-equipment maker Greenbrier Co s. Many say an expanded CFIUS would set needed ground rules for working with Chinese firms.
Even openly supporting the bill, some companies worry, could expose them to problems—not in the U.S. but in China. They don’t want to be blocked from entering deals in China, or prevented from selling products in its booming economy.
“We’re quiet about our support because of fear of retaliation,” said an executive at a large U.S. technology company.
—Kersten Zhang and Ted Greenwald contributed to this article.
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https://pjmedia.com/trending/make-gitmo-full/
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Craig Huey's Reality Alert
www.ElectionForum.org
Special Report
Media Censorship: 15 Little Known Super Powerful Changes Since Trump Became President that Every Christian Should Know
Hello MARC F.,
It’s hard to believe that Shelly and I were near Donald Trump as he was sworn in as President of the United States…
A lot has happened in one year since then…
There may be lots of things to complain about … and the media is doing a good job reminding us of this daily.
But there is also a lot to be thankful for.
Here are just 15 accomplishments that have stood out since the inauguration of President Trump:
1. Confirmation of great federal judges who are not legislating from the bench – and the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Out of 85 federal judges nominated – not counting the Supreme Court – 28 have been confirmed so far … that’s 33%.
Obstruction of Trump’s judicial appointments and nominations makes the confirmation process slow.
In contrast, the Senate confirmed nearly 70% of Obama’s nominations during the same time period in his first term.
2. Pro-abortion policies halted.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) redefined life as beginning at conception, and the Trump administration cut funding to UN abortion promotion agencies.
• Trump cut U.S. funding to the United Nations Population Fund because it participates in China’s forced abortion policies.
• He reinstated the Mexico City policy which denies aid money to any international non-governmental organization (NGO) that promotes abortion.
• He expanded the scope of the Mexico City policy to include all federal aid, not just funds for family planning.
3. Jerusalem finally recognized as the capital of Israel.
Despite liberal and pro-Palestinian objection and backlash, President Trump kept his campaign promise to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and to announce that the U.S. will move its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This is in compliance with the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama all signed waivers to postpone complying with the 1995 statute, citing national security risks as the excuse.
4. President Trump promised to protect religious freedom and stop government agencies from attacking people of faith.
He appointed Governor Sam Brownback (R-KS) to be Ambassador-at-Large for religious freedom.
He signed an executive order called, “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty” on last year’s National Day of Prayer. The executive order:
• Orders the IRS to us “maximum enforcement discretion” regarding the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits nonprofit organizations from engaging in political speech and activities
• Gives regulatory relief to companies that object to providing the Obamacare mandated contraception coverage in health care
5. Going on the offense – and gaining – in the Culture War.
President Trump has not been afraid to take on the “political correctness police” nor the liberal Hollywood elite, nor the “Fake News Media.”
• He uses tweets and mass political rallies in major cities to communicate directly with the American people, bypassing the liberal spin of the biased news media.
• He issued an executive order that bans executive branch political appointees from becoming lobbyists for at least 5 years after they leave their posts.
• He encouraged Americans to say “Merry Christmas” last December … and to openly celebrate Easter and other Christian holidays.
6. President Trump’s pro-growth economic policies are creating jobs, increasing wages and causing an economic boom.
• Overall economic growth reached 3.2% in the 3rd quarter of 2017 … and was 2.3% for all of 2017.
• Even with the recent market correction, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is still up dramatically since the 2016 election.
• The unemployment rate is at 4.1%, a 17-year low.
• African-American and Hispanic-American unemployment rates are the lowest ever recorded.
• Several large corporations have announced bonus payments to their employees resulting from the reduction in the corporate tax rate incorporated in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017.
• One little-known provision of the TCJA taxes corporate profits held overseas at a one-time rate of 8% to 15.5% … after which the cash can be brought back to the U.S. without further taxation. This is expected to bring back much of the $1.4 trillion in corporate cash held overseas … to be invested in new plants, equipment and jobs in the U.S.
7. Deregulation is the #1 reason for the economic turnaround:
• An executive order was issued that requires two old government regulations to be eliminated for every new one implemented.
• Over 60 federal regulations have since been repealed, saving over $70 billion in costs and resulting in substantial growth in manufacturing jobs.
• Congressional Review Act resolutions were used to unravel 14 of Obama’s regulations enacted during the last 6 months of his administration.
8. ISIS significantly and dramatically crushed.
President Trump has not hesitated to call ISIS what it is: radical Islamic terrorism. He has also lifted Obama’s draconian rules of engagement and has given full decision-making authority to our commanders and troops on the ground to engage the enemy as they see fit. As a result, Mosul and Raqqah in Iraq have been recaptured, along with nearly all of the territory in both Iraq and Syria previously held by ISIS.
9. Getting tough on illegal immigration.
• President Trump signed three separate executive orders to crack down on drug cartels, MS-13 and other international criminal organizations.
• He has fought hard to protect Americans by seeking to increase vetting of Muslim refugees and prevent Islamic terrorists from entering the U.S.
• He ordered the hiring of 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, including 5,000 Border Patrol agents, to restore the rule of law to immigration.
• Illegal border crossings and arrests at the Mexican border have dropped sharply.
10. As promised, President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, which had been entered without the approval of Congress.
Continued participation could have cost the American economy $3 trillion, 6.5 million industrial sector jobs and 3.1 million manufacturing jobs.
11. Putting America first in international treaties and trade agreements.
• President Trump negotiated over $300 billion in trade deals with Saudi Arabia when he visited the Middle East last year.
• China agreed to a $250 trade deal in the U.S.’s favor during Trump’s Asia diplomacy trip … He was the first president allowed into the Forbidden City.
• President Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) because it was a bad deal for the U.S.
• He is renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• After threatening to remove American protections from NATO countries that weren’t paying their pledged dues, those countries promised to pay their dues to NATO.
12. Sparking an energy boom:
• President Trump sped up the permitting and approval process of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) expert terminals, including the Lake Charles LNG terminal in Louisiana.
• He increased U.S. oil exploration by approving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines … creating 42,000 jobs and $2 billion in earnings.
• He removed regulations on the outer continental shelf, allowing for more offshore oil and gas operation.
13. Rebuilding the integrity and efficiency of the Department of Veterans Affairs:
• President Trump has called for an end to long waiting lists for medical care, and for lying about it on the part of VA officials.
• The VA has fired 500 employees, suspended 200 and demoted 33.
• Trump signed legislation that allows our veterans to seek medical care outside the VA system.
14. Standing up to foreign aggression against the U.S.
• Currency manipulation by China.
• Saber-rattling by North Korea dictator Kim Jung-Un.
15. Fighting back against a history of over-designating national lands.
President Trump and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke are working to divest land from federal control … they are freeing up much of the West for private purchase.
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Take a look at Trump's new ambassador to Australia, a fierce, military man who takes strong opposition to China's expansionism in the South China Sea , for example.
http://www.atimes.com/article/trump-dispatches-china-hawk-australia/
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Nice find. This is a good sign.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/14/trump-promotes-opportunity-zones-investors-rebuild/
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-chairman-froze-agencys-approval-of-chicago-stock-exchange-sale-1506635485
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https://clarionproject.org/pressure-pays-trumps-threats-pakistan/
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For Europe, Trump Is a Blessing in Disguise
His policies promote energy independence and balance between France and Germany.
By Walter Russell Mead
Feb. 19, 2018 2:55 p.m. ET
248 COMMENTS
The Trump administration is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the European Union. While many of the president’s rhetorical statements offend European sensibilities, and while dramatic acts like the withdrawal from the Paris climate accord prompt talk of a “crisis” in trans-Atlantic relations, the actual consequences of the administration’s policies are shoring up Europe’s foundations in surprising ways.
A year ago, fears that an allegedly pro-Russia Trump administration would ditch the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and throw Europe to the wolves had delicate Europeans trembling. These days those fears seem quaint. But few in Europe have yet grasped how anti-Russian and pro-European the Trump foreign policy is at its core.
This is partly because European reflexes, especially German ones, are so often nonstrategic. Fine words and noble resolutions are mistaken for hard facts, and the wrapping paper matters more than the gift.
When many Europeans—and more than a few Americans—hear the word “fracking,” for example, they don’t think of the spear tip of an American energy offensive that limits Russia’s geopolitical ambitions while creating the conditions for renewed European prosperity. And when they hear about American plans to rearm and modernize its nuclear arsenal, they instinctively think about the dangers of American militarism—overlooking Moscow’s hostile military buildup that endangers the European countries closest to Russia.
Energy is the place to begin. The vast American oil and gas resources being unlocked by unconventional (and rapidly improving) techniques like fracking are more than a domestic economic bonanza. They are a key instrument of American foreign policy. These resources will not only deprive Middle Eastern countries of the financial capacity too many have used to underwrite radicalism and terrorism; they force Russia, whose economy is greatly dependent on oil exports, to count the cost of every bullet fired in Ukraine and every mercenary deployed to Syria.
Fracking frustrates Vladimir Putin more than sanctions, and much more than harsh rhetoric at the United Nations. When the price of oil is $150 a barrel and every country in Europe is desperate for energy, Russia casts a long shadow over the EU. When oil is at $60 a barrel and supplies are plentiful, Russian leverage is dramatically diminished.
But there is another way in which fracking helps the EU. The EU is a net importer and consumer of energy; high oil and gas prices dampen European growth. The high monopoly prices that characterized the age of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries acted as a deadening tax on European economic activity. The lower prices delivered in part by fracking amount to a giant tax cut for the European economy, one that is especially welcome in southern European countries like Greece and Italy that are still struggling with the aftermath of the euro crisis.
Environmentalists wince, but Mr. Trump’s pedal-to-the-metal approach to energy production is better calculated to promote growth and cohesion in the eurozone than anything else the U.S. could do, because faster economic growth will reduce the political strains that corrode the legitimacy of EU institutions. If next month’s Italian election results in a pro-Europe government, Brussels should send champagne to the White House.
There’s more. Over time, the Trump administration’s proposed military buildup and nuclear modernization will deter Russian aggression and reduce Moscow’s ability to intimidate its neighbors. A stronger America means a stronger NATO and a more stable eastern Europe. If the U.S. were, as some wish, to reduce military spending while focusing more on Asia, European security would suffer regardless of the number of supportive speeches delivered by American diplomats.
Not everyone in Europe hates the administration. Paris, which traditionally has a less sentimental view of geopolitics than Berlin, sees a historic opportunity. Key Trump policies like promoting European self-reliance in defense, a tougher anti-Iran approach to the Middle East, and an emphasis on military power and security mesh better with French priorities than with German ones. While Berlin wrings its hands over the administration’s evident skepticism about Germany’s values agenda, President Emmanuel Macron hopes to replace a weakened Chancellor Angela Merkel as America’s key European partner.
For the French, even Mr. Trump’s vices have their uses; his unpopularity in Europe and apparent retreat from world leadership create vacuums France can help fill. Here again, the Trump administration may be solving an important European problem. Germany’s growing power and France’s weakness threatened the Franco-German balance to which the EU owes much of its strength.
Mr. Trump is not about to become a European hero, but he offers Europe a historic opportunity.
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https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/269474/boeing-must-produce-iran-air-contract-terror-kenneth-r-timmerman
Question: Will this mean Airbus gets the deal instead?
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/27/trump-emphasizes-team-sports-children-executive-or/?utm_source=FB-ARB&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Chacka_CL:TWT_FR:Traffic_D:180207_CP:Breaking%20News%202018&utm_content=146470021&utm_term=146470021
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Most anti-trust stuff is bogus to me and most market-based companies are not monopoly threats, but in this case Trump has done the right thing IMHO to stop the deal. One keyword is 'hostile' takeover, this is not the company's choice, and the American base of this technology really is of national security importance.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-takes-qualcomm-off-the-market-1520912085
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In the defense spending part of this spending bill, I'm sure one can find a Trump accomplishment.
Overall this looks more like failure, betrayal and being played instead of winning in negotiations.
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In the defense spending part of this spending bill, I'm sure one can find a Trump accomplishment.
Overall this looks more like failure, betrayal and being played instead of winning in negotiations.
It sure was. The only thing that may save Trump now is dem incompetence.
(https://i0.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2018/03/Hans-Gruber-GOP.jpeg)
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I am at variance here.
The Senate Dems were willing to put our country in harm's way to squeeze more money i.e. the filibuster. Our military has been ridden hard for many years now, and serious storm clouds gather on several fronts: Russia, China (South China Sea, perhaps in the context of a trade war) North Korea, Iran, the Middle East, and and and. Sec Def Mattis properly used his respect with President Trump to persuade him to sign the bill.
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I am at variance here.
The Senate Dems were willing to put our country in harm's way to squeeze more money i.e. the filibuster. Our military has been ridden hard for many years now, and serious storm clouds gather on several fronts: Russia, China (South China Sea, perhaps in the context of a trade war) North Korea, Iran, the Middle East, and and and. Sec Def Mattis properly used his respect with President Trump to persuade him to sign the bill.
I wonder how impeachment will factor into that scenario.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/world/europe/trump-russia-diplomats-expulsion.html
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BREAKING NEWS
President Trump secured his first major trade deal: a pact with South Korea. It may have been driven by looming talks with North Korea.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 9:08 PM EST
The deal, which could be formally announced on Wednesday, opens South Korea’s market to American autos by lifting existing limits on manufacturers like Ford Motor and General Motors, extends tariffs for South Korean truck exports and restricts, by nearly a third, the amount of steel that the South can export to the United States. President Trump used his threat of stiff steel and aluminum tariffs as a cudgel to extract the concessions he wanted, helping produce an agreement that had stalled amid disagreements this year.
But winning the deal may have had more to do with the geopolitical realities confronting the United States and South Korea as America embarks on tricky nuclear discussions with North Korea. The United States cannot afford a protracted trade standoff at a moment when it needs the South as an ally.
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:-o
If true
This is extremely astonishing in view of the 99 % NEGATIVE :-o :-o coverage he gets from MSM:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/04/02/rasmussen-donald-trump-hits-50-percent-approval-rating/
Tomorrow however we will see an (emergency) CNN/AP poll that shows his approval at 42 % - just stay tuned!!!
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https://townhall.com/columnists/victordavishanson/2018/04/05/trump-is-cutting-old-gordian-knots-n2467737
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-for-scooter-libby-1523660533?shareToken=st66cded2d2ba3427cb60e8701a4cecdb4&reflink=article_email_share
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-for-scooter-libby-1523660533?shareToken=st66cded2d2ba3427cb60e8701a4cecdb4&reflink=article_email_share
The accusation was meaningless if true but turns out to be totally false. Another person having their good name and reputation destroyed by politics and the criminalizing of political differences.
The target was the VP but he was innocent too. And the 'Special Counsel' knew that from the beginning!
Very strange that G.W. Bush never fully pardoned him though I'm sure Cheney persuasively argued for that.
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http://www.dickmorris.com/sessions-slams-door-6-billion-slush-fund-ultra-left-groups-lunch-alert/?utm_source=dmreports&utm_medium=dmreports&utm_campaign=dmreports
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/26/donald-trump-pull-feds-out-k-12-education/
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/26/donald-trump-pull-feds-out-k-12-education/
So much winning!
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Without being sarcastic, scrapping the bad Iran deal is HUUUUGE!
He stood up to all the other powers around him like our enemy John Kerry and our friend Macron. He sided with Netanyahu - AGAIN - unapologetically. He kept a promise. And he is right on this.
It really completes the circuit of his Presidency before we even hit the 18 month mark.
He pulled out of the Paris Accords.
Pulled out of a bad TPP agreement.
Moved the embassy to Jerusalem.
He called out the N.K. threat, more on that soon.
He called out China on technology theft and trade practices.
He ended the sequester.
He got tax rates cut.
Ended the blue state write-off.
Appointed conservative Justices, one more in about a month.
Obamacare mandate: Gone.
Drilling in ANWR, open.
Energy independence: achieved.
Keystone XL pipeline: Built.
Rolled back CAFE standards and a LOT of over-regulation.
Jump started the US economic growth rate. More on that soon.
Yesterday, it looks like the right R's won their Senate primaries, he most likely just held the Senate at his midterm.
He closed the gap on polling to make the House at least winnable. Pollsters are now calling their own polls outliers.
He is breaking down the racial divide, where suddenly prominent blacks are speaking out against the Leftist hold.
He is tightening border security, more on that soon. Ended DACA? Challenging sanctuary cities and states.
He was first President to embrace gay marriage, break that political wall down next.
Softening the federal stance on marijuana, taking a popular issue away from Dems.
He has turned the Comey-Mueller fiasco into a political gain.
He is governing almost the opposite of what I suspected he would when he entered the race while ALL his past rivals are diminished in stature.
Open agenda items::
We need new progress on health care market reforms that address the affordability crisis and take the issue back from the Left.
Round Two of tax reform. It cannot be left the way it is.
The wall.
One more Supreme Court Justice this summer.
Denuclearization of North Korea.
Contain spending and get the budget under control.
All possible (except the last?). As much as no one likes the guy personally, who else could do all this?
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Contain spending and get the budget under control.
All possible (except the last?). As much as no one likes the guy personally, who else could do all this?
Doug ,
one biggie not mentioned:
nothing on immigration
Democrats are flowing in here like no tomorrow.
As for who else could/would have done it - certainly none of the other dozen Republicans who ran for the ticket.
If something happens to him - then who?
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"If something happens to him - then whom?"
Pence is fine with me. He wouldn't have won in 2016 but is ready now. Then the machine would go after him. True liberal leftists fear him more Trump.
Immigration: He put an end to DACA of some sorts.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/17/politics/donald-trump-daca-blame-the-wall/index.html
He issued travel bans that keep getting intercepted by unconstitutional judges. Called in the national guard. Stopped the refugee flood. He took a new action against Honduras.
https://www.thenation.com/article/trumps-denial-of-tps-to-hondurans-will-break-up-thousands-of-families/
Talked about military dollars for the wall. Screwed by the Congress on funding. But I agree, no accomplishment there yet, but made more progress than others would have achieved. It's with a Dem House of Representatives, but a new funding bill with only 50 Senate votes required needs to be passed by Oct. 1, before the election. With the senior Senator from AZ saying his goodbyes this past week, maybe we get a conservative in there at least temporarily.
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/vbpg5x/john-mccain-is-trying-to-solve-daca-without-funding-trumps-border-wall
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reason I am posting this is because of the 'messenger' : Huff Post.
I was expecting to see some sort of "but" in this . 3 come home incidently while Trump is Prez, "BUT" Trump farted or something to cast a negative light on Trump somehow.
They must have been stumped as this is a positive *lead* article - not even a small box at bottom or page:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/north-korea-prisoners-return-to-us_us_5af3cd0ae4b04d3b2c90712f
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Trump gets 90% negative coverage, and worse no doubt at Huff Post. But he maintains near 50% approval without even being a likable guy. Who wins in that scenario? Trump when he governs well. I'm sure his approval is higher than the MSM. Within the 10% positive coverage and even without giving Trump credit, people know who rattled the cage in North Korea. If Trump sticks to it, I see this ending well for us and all people not owned by the Left will credit him whether it is spoken over media or not.
The denial of Sen. Schumer, Rep. Meeks and whoever else just makes Dems and Left media look petty, and wrong.
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http://www.speroforum.com/a/ICLXUILELI54/83309-Dramatic-drop-of-Muslim-refugees-to-the-United-States?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RQGGJORUTX6&utm_content=ICLXUILELI54&utm_source=news&utm_term=Dramatic+drop+of+Muslim+refugees+to+the+United+States#.WvRrj3rcCmA
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http://thehill.com/latino/387365-trump-close-to-extinguishing-tps-program-for-immigrants?userid=188403
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https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/05/24/trump-issues-commercial-space-policy-directive-on-eve-of-anniversary-of-jfks-space-program-speech/?utm_source=TDS_Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MorningBell%22&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTlRjeU1qZGpNREprT0RkaSIsInQiOiJmWW5UM1llTE0rRTdmVHJLVW5Sd2g5cjFhTG5NM0Z6UkNjaVdXdkFLSkczMit6QW1mbVV3aDl1YjQxdENsRTYzUDFiakRidWU1R1JvSnpOOE1rQlJjR2lpYlNLSTV4NjFwS2VjQ2JZYWNcL3ZVNDcxZmdGckVLMkpsWDZPNWloNncifQ%3D%3D
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https://www.nraila.org/articles/20180525/trump-administration-s-proposed-rulemakings-a-win-win-for-americas-firearms-industry-national-security
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https://www.nraila.org/articles/20180525/trump-administration-s-proposed-rulemakings-a-win-win-for-americas-firearms-industry-national-security
So much winning...
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http://www.capoliticalreview.com/capoliticalnewsandviews/trump-stops-federal-government-subsidies-of-unions-another-win/
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/05/trump-has-eliminated-obama-practice-of-apologizing/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202018-05-28&utm_term=NR5PM%20Actives
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Link copied…
U.S.
How Trump’s Pressure Influenced the NFL to Change Its Anthem Rules
Depositions in Kaepernick’s grievance indicate Donald Trumps’s criticism of player protests prompted league to shift stance
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, in a high-profile Monday night game Sept. 25, knelt with players before the anthem, but they stood when it was played.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, in a high-profile Monday night game Sept. 25, knelt with players before the anthem, but they stood when it was played. Photo: Matt York/Associated Press
By Andrew Beaton
May 30, 2018 9:02 a.m. ET
184 COMMENTS
President Donald Trump didn’t mince words last fall when he explained to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones that he wouldn’t relent in his criticism of NFL players who were kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice.
“This is a very winning, strong issue for me,” Mr. Trump said in a phone call, according to a sworn deposition given by Mr. Jones and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “Tell everybody, you can’t win this one. This one lifts me.”
Mr. Jones was deposed in a grievance filed against the National Football League by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who contends that NFL teams have blackballed him over his anthem protests.
A White House official said that Mr. Trump was advising Mr. Jones on what he believed would be good for the country and good for the sport. “The majority of the American people agree with the president, love our country, love our flag and believe it should be respected,” the official said.
Nearly two years since Mr. Kaepernick’s initial protest, NFL owners last week voted to change league rules: Players on the field for the national anthem are required to stand, or their teams could face repercussions. The overhaul allows players to remain in the locker room for the anthem, which was previously banned, but it also permits teams to punish players that violate the new protocol.
“I brought it out,” Mr. Trump said of the issue in a Fox & Friends interview after the rule change was announced. “I think the people pushed it forward.”
Depositions given by Mr. Jones and other owners indicate that Mr. Trump’s criticism pushed the league to shift its stance. League executives publicly repeated the NFL’s aim to stay out politics. But privately, they made political calculations in response to Mr. Trump’s repeated hammering of the issue.
The controversy over anthem protests had already been raging for a year when Mr. Trump—at a stump speech in Alabama last September—said that if a hypothetical player knelt during the national anthem, his team’s owner should “get that son of a bitch off the field now.” On Twitter , he later encouraged owners to fire those players and suggested a boycott.
“I was totally supportive of [the players] until Trump made his statement,” Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins’ owner and creator of programs advocating for social justice, said in his deposition. Noting that owners’ conversations with Mr. Trump were relayed during a league meeting, he said: “I thought he changed the dialogue.”
Mr. Trump’s stance is a key point in Mr. Kaepernick’s grievance, which was filed last October. It alleges that the league and its 32 teams colluded to keep him unsigned last season because of his political views.
Mr. Kaepernick, who ignited the anthem demonstrations in 2016 to draw attention to racial inequality and other social justice issues, has remained unsigned despite statistics superior to other quarterbacks who have gotten jobs. His grievance argues that Mr. Trump was an “organizing force in the collusion” because of the president’s relationships with various NFL owners, many of whom have backed him with campaign contributions.
When the 2017 season began, only a handful of players were still kneeling. But Mr. Trump’s fiery comments in Alabama—just before the season’s third weekend—changed that. The following Sunday, players knelt en masse to directly rebuke the president.
Many owners took a knee alongside their players. Mr. Jones, in a high-profile Monday night game Sept. 25, knelt with his players before the anthem—but they stood when it was played.
At a stump speech in Alabama last September, Donald Trump said that if a hypothetical player knelt during the national anthem, his team’s owner should ‘get that son of a bitch off the field now.’ Photo: brendan smialowski/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Publicly, the NFL fought back and touted the moment as a display of unity. Commissioner Roger Goodell called Mr. Trump’s comments “divisive.” The league’s chief spokesman, Joe Lockhart, called the president “out of touch” and said, “everyone should know, including the president, that this is what real locker-room talk is.”
Behind the scenes, the kerfuffle rankled a league that was already grappling with declining ratings. Messrs. Ross, Jones and Bob McNair, the owner of the Houston Texans, both said in their depositions that they believed the protests were financially hurting their teams.
Some owners were upset with the comments made by Mr. Lockhart, a former press secretary for President Bill Clinton, who they believed was furthering the feud with the president. Mr. Lockhart, who declined to comment, left the league after the season.
“You cannot piss off a large percentage of your constituency,” Mr. Jones said in his deposition. Regarding Mr. Lockhart, he said: “I was proud to see him go.”
Mr. Jones relayed his conversation with Mr. Trump in a meeting between owners to decide how to handle these protests, according to Mr. Ross’s testimony. Many owners disagreed with the president and his tactics. Mr. McNair, the Texans owner, said he didn’t like the players kneeling, but he thought Mr. Trump’s language was inappropriate. “I wished he hadn’t said it,” Mr. McNair said in his deposition. Representatives for Mr. McNair didn’t respond to requests for comment.
After Mr. Trump’s comments, Mr. Ross met with various Dolphins players several times and asked them to stay off the field in lieu of protesting. Later, “they informed the coach that they couldn’t, in their conscience, stay in the tunnel. They wanted to go out.” Miami’s coach allowed them. And they did.
Mr. Ross said Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, also brought up a conversation with Mr. Trump with the owners. Mr. Kraft told the group he was friends with Mr. Trump, but thought the president was wrong in the way he handled this issue.
Mr. Goodell, the NFL’s commissioner who at the time was at the center of a budding war among the owners over his contract extension, was also influenced by Mr. Trump’s comments, Mr. Ross said in his deposition.
“We continue to abide by the confidentiality provision of the [collective bargaining agreement] and will not comment on the grievance,” an NFL spokesman said.
This off-season brought both new opportunity and scrutiny. The league’s owners had two scheduled meetings, in March and May, to discuss an array of topics, including the anthem. At the same time, a former teammate of Mr. Kaepernick’s who also had taken a knee during the anthem, Eric Reid, was going unsigned.
In May, Mr. Reid filed a collusion grievance against the league, like Mr. Kaepernick. The NFL Players Association also filed a grievance, saying a team violated league rules by asking Mr. Reid about his intentions during the anthem.
Then, when the owners met last week in Atlanta, the host city for next year’s Super Bowl, they changed the rule.
Mr. Jones declined to comment. In his deposition, which was taken before the rule change, he fought back against the idea that Mr. Trump reframed the conversation.
“Let’s [not] give him that much credit,” he said. “But I recognize he’s the president of the United States.”
—Louise Radnofsky contributed to this article.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/390029-trump-to-pardon-dinesh-dsouza?userid=188403
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https://www.westernjournal.com/dick-morris-trump-flushes-out-swamp-with-civil-service-exec-orders/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=deepsix&utm_content=2018-05-31&utm_campaign=can
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second post
https://www.dailywire.com/news/31262/fighting-life-trump-signs-right-try-bill-hank-berrien?utm_medium=email&utm_content=053118-news&utm_campaign=position1
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As he keeps his promises on trade, he risks screwing up his own economic results
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-steel-destruction-1527809177
Trump’s Steel Destruction
By The Editorial Board
He starts a needless trade war with America’s best friends..
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As he keeps his promises on trade, he risks screwing up his own economic results
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-steel-destruction-1527809177
Trump’s Steel Destruction
By The Editorial Board
He starts a needless trade war with America’s best friends..
A serious misstep! Sad!
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A serious misstep! Sad!
Yes. I thought it was supposed to be a negotiating tactic, not a 25% tax on Americans.
I hope he is just as serious with his Fire and Fury threat against North Korea, not just a negotiating tactic.
How can there be no distinction between friend and foe, trade cheaters and trade partners?
Once again, government picks winners and losers in our economy. We already have a party for that.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/06/president-trump-right-to-commute-alice-johnson-sentence/
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Kevin Hassett, Chair of Council of Economic Advisers presents and takes questions.
Take a look at the charts.
Trend line break (upward) on economic growth. Year over year growth will be 3.1 - 3.2% after this quarter ending according to Atlanta Fed.
The difference between black and white and unemployment at an all time low.
Business investment :big trend line break upward.
A good point on trade, paraphrasing: Look at the analysis for US growth if the President succeeds in breaking down trade barriers against our products to levels reciprocal to ours.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?446601-1/sarah-sanders-kevin-hassett-reporters-white-house
households' leverage (liabilities as a % of total assets) fell to a 30-yr low, and households' net worth hit hit a new all-time high in nominal, real, and per capita terms. Total household net worth now exceeds $100 trillion, up almost 50% from pre-2008 highs, whereas liabilities are up only 6% from their Great Recession highs.
http://scottgrannis.blogspot.com/2018/06/household-leverage-hits-30-yr-low-net.html
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https://www.nraila.org/articles/20180622/united-states-holds-the-line-during-discussions-on-the-un-s-gun-control-programme-of-action
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Report: U.S. Stops Palestinian Aid Payments
by IPT News • Jun 25, 2018 at 3:01 pm
https://www.investigativeproject.org/7501/report-us-stops-palestinian-aid-payments
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Report: U.S. Stops Palestinian Aid Payments
by IPT News • Jun 25, 2018 at 3:01 pm
https://www.investigativeproject.org/7501/report-us-stops-palestinian-aid-payments
Long overdue.
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https://www.westernjournal.com/dick-morris-rising-manufacturing-wages-boost-gops-outlook/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=deepsix&utm_content=2018-06-29&utm_campaign=can
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https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/like-it-or-not-trump-is-a-man-of-his-word-20180629-p4zoib.html
Like it or not, Trump is a man of his word
The Sydney Morning Herald
Like it or not, Trump is a man of his word
By Tom Switzer
30 June 2018
Donald Trump continues to break conventions. Whereas typical politicians fail to honour their election pledges, this US President keeps his word. For all the spin and flip-flopping of modern politics, here’s a bloke who practises what he preaches.
The list is long and growing. He pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris climate pact and the Iran nuclear deal. He will move permanently the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He has slashed the US company tax rates and stacked the judiciary with qualified conservatives. He has put a “travel ban” that restricted entry to America from several Muslim nations, which the Supreme Court upheld this week. On July 16, Trump will broker detente with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
Donald Trump has kept the promises he made on the campaign trail.
One can oppose Trump on these issues and much else and still recognise his positions were advertised in the 2016 preview guide. But hatred of Trump runs so deep in some circles that many people cannot see straight.
Even Trump’s diplomatic outreach towards Kim Jong-un was flagged on the campaign trail. In May 2016, he suggested that as president he would welcome direct negotiations with the North Korean dictator. The response, from left to right, was hostile. Appeasement, weak, naive, delusional – all these barbs were hurled at the foreign-policy novice.
And yet, notwithstanding last year’s “fire-and-fury” bombast, Trump has held a high-level summit with the leader of Hermit Kingdom. Although the jury is still out, Pyongyang has released US hostages, halted missile and nuclear tests and signalled a willingness at least to talk about denuclearisation. It’s a far cry from Rocket Man’s provocations a year ago.
Trump’s base is prepared to overlook his character flaws. At one level, this is difficult to stomach, because the rude-and-crude buffoon has debased public discourse time and again.
However, in a polarising culture in which Trump's supporters are denounced as “deplorables”, many ordinary folk stick with the devil they know. And Trump’s enemies only play into his hands.
This week, a restaurant owner in the state of Virginia refused service to Trump’s press secretary, because she did not like her politics. Activists harassed Trump’s homeland security cabinet secretary at her home, shouting “no justice, no sleep".
Meanwhile, America is in a bullish mood. Everything that should be up – growth, confidence – is up. Everything that should be down – jobless rate, inflation – is down.
The upshot is that Trump’s tax-and-deregulation agenda appears to be working, assuming his import tariffs – another election promise to working-class folks displaced by globalisation - don’t disrupt the boom.
On foreign policy, it should be noted that for much of 2017 the establishment had boxed in Trump. The only time he’s received media applause was when he enforced his predecessor’s red line by bombing Syria. These days, Trump is untethered and doing pretty much whatever he wants. He resembles a force of nature.
When John Bolton became national security adviser in April, the conventional wisdom said Trump would adopt a tough and assertive world role, forever flexing Uncle Sam’s muscles. In any case, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis was there, helping uphold the mythical “rules-based international order”.
For the most part, Trump is doing it his way, keeping America out of Middle East quagmires while playing nice with the Kremlin and Kim regime. Although this resonates with a war-weary American public, it is anathema to neo-conservative interventionists and liberal hawks. As America’s leading Russian historian Stephen Cohen tells me: “It seems the Russia-gaters and Trump-phobes would rather impeach Trump than avert nuclear war.”
Bolton, whom I’ve known for more than two decades, is a skilled and practised bureaucratic infighter, but he’s no match for Trump. The Republican hawk tried to sabotage the Singapore summit with Kim and failed. He is now playing kissy face with Vladimir Putin.
So, where does Trump’s foreign policy lead? His tariffs will only increase consumer prices while dampening global growth. But they may also amount to a negotiating tactic to force the Chinese to open up its economy to US imports.
The foreign-policy establishment types say Trump will lead to serious trouble. But these are the same elites who have been wrong about so many issues in the post-Cold War era (NATO expansion, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, China, GFC) that it is hard to place much faith in their judgements. After all, it was their failures that help explain why the man they so despise is now in the White House.
Tom Switzer is executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies and presenter of Between the Lines on ABC’s Radio National.
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The Sydney Morning Herald
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https://taskandpurpose.com/iran-harass-navy-obama-trump-2/
Funny how that works.
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You mean the Ayatollahs did not actually realize Obrock is the Messiah?
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America’s NATO Allies Are Stepping Up
Only three members spent 2% or more of GDP on defense in 2014. This year we expect eight will.
By Jens Stoltenberg
July 8, 2018 2:24 p.m. ET
117 COMMENTS
Brussels, the city I’ve called home since becoming secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2014, is only a couple hours’ drive from some of the 20th century’s bloodiest battlefields.
Many of them, such as Bastogne and Nijmegen Bridge, were the sites of outstanding acts of valor by American soldiers. Europeans will always be grateful for the sacrifices those men made to bring freedom back to our shores.
NATO was created in 1949 to ensure that none of us will ever have to live through another world war. The result of the alliance has been an unprecedented period of peace and security for the citizens of North America and Europe.
The U.S. has had close allies and friends in NATO that no other world power can match. Together, the alliance’s 29 countries represent half the world’s economic and military might.
But for all NATO has achieved, we cannot be complacent. Facing the most complex and dangerous security environment in a generation, we must invest more in our collective defense. In an unpredictable world, we must do what is necessary to keep our nations safe.
All NATO allies understand this. At our 2014 summit, each nation agreed to stop cutting defense budgets, increase expenditures, and move toward spending 2% of their respective gross domestic products on defense within a decade.
That pledge is being kept. After many years of decline, allies have ended the cuts and started to increase national defense spending. Last year NATO allies boosted their defense budgets by a combined 5.2%, the biggest increase, in real terms, in a quarter of a century. Now 2018 will be the fourth consecutive year of rising spending.
In 2014, only three allies—the United States, the United Kingdom and Greece—met the 2% target. This year, we expect that number to rise to eight, adding Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. Furthermore, a majority of allies have plans to meet their 2% commitments by 2024, while the rest are moving in the right direction. There is still a long way to go, but NATO members have turned the corner on defense spending.
President Trump has been outspoken on this issue, and I thanked him for his leadership when we met at the White House in May. The upswing in NATO defense spending over the past year and a half demonstrates that his efforts are making a difference.
NATO’s credibility as an alliance—in each other’s eyes, and in those of our potential adversaries—relies on sharing the defense burden fairly. Ahead of our summit on July 11-12 in Brussels, I have been carrying that message with me every time I meet with allied leaders.
Increased spending is only one part of the equation, however. Allies are also directing that money where it will matter. When NATO leaders signed on to the 2% guideline, they also pledged to put at least 20% of their defense budgets toward major new equipment, such as fighter planes, tanks and warships. Accordingly, NATO countries have added $18 billion in spending on equipment since 2014.
At the same time, NATO forces are doing more—in more places and in more ways—to strengthen our shared security. They’re training Afghanistan’s security forces how to bring stability to their country and create the conditions for peace and reconciliation. That’s why NATO has increased its troop numbers there to 16,000, up from 13,000 last year. Over the past decade, NATO countries have provided more than $2 billion for the Afghan army. At the coming summit, I expect allied leaders to extend their funding beyond 2020.
NATO has also been training Iraqis, and at the coming summit we will launch a new mission to build on those efforts. Hundreds of NATO soldiers will help to train Iraqi forces to secure their country and make sure Islamic State does not return.
From the Balkans to the North Atlantic, from the Black Sea to the Baltic, American and European soldiers, sailors and airmen are working together through NATO to keep our nations safe. They do so because we have common interests, history and values, and because the ties that bind us run deep.
That’s why NATO allies invoked Article 5, our mutual-defense clause, after 9/11—the first and only time we have done so. It’s why hundreds of thousands of European and Canadian troops have served shoulder-to-shoulder with Americans soldiers in Afghanistan. More than 1,000 of them have made the ultimate sacrifice.
It’s no secret that there are differences among NATO countries on serious issues such as trade, climate change and the Iran nuclear deal. But we have always managed to overcome our differences before. Two world wars and a Cold War have taught a simple yet powerful lesson: United, we are stronger and safer.
Mr. Stoltenberg is the secretary-general of NATO.
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Before we hear the selection, it is an accomplishment for Trump just to be making the nomination instead of Hillary. We already know with some certainty this is a great nominee; trumps list was a key part of the last election.
He won the election and so far has avoided impeachment. No small task with the large team of motivated prosecutors trying to take you down.
On the other side of it, doesn't it say with some certainty that Mueller has nothing on Trump Russia collusion or else he wouldn't be sitting still with no announcements whatsoever while Trump shapes the court for a generation. If Mueller had evidence of a high crime on Trump, time was of the essence.
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Trump kept his word and has taken this most important responsibility more seriously than many of his Republican successors including Reagan:
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0707.html
Trump not only picked the best constitutionalist he could find, he set the table with his announcement appropriately explaining how important this decision is and these principles are. Now we'll see how the Senate does.
Take a moment and watch this, 17 minutes that frames the argument:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/07/09/watch_live_president_trump_announces_supreme_court_nominee.html
Then listen to the deranged call this fine man a radical and a zealot, lol.
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/10/trump-pardons-ranchers-whose-arrests-led-to-armed-occupation-wildlife-refuge.html
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/10/trump-pardons-ranchers-whose-arrests-led-to-armed-occupation-wildlife-refuge.html
WSJ Editorial supports Trump's decision. It was land management, not arson.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-worthy-pardon-for-the-hammonds-1531265670
A Worthy Pardon for the Hammonds
Trump corrects a federal injustice against two Oregon ranchers.
By The Editorial Board, July 10, 2018
The pardon power has its most compelling use when correcting a government injustice. President Trump used his authority on Tuesday for precisely such a purpose in pardoning Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son Steven.
In 2011 the federal government charged the two Oregon ranchers with arson and destruction of federal property for having done nothing more than utilize the same fire-management tools that the government routinely employs.
------------------------------
My question, why does the federal government own all that land? If a logical person or entity had more land than they could effectively manage and more debt than they can manage, they would do what?
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Damn I love this man sometimes!
https://www.facebook.com/Breitbart/videos/10161422998655354/?hc_ref=ARTGP1pKhpkGjZCDtpPr9spwDLVV06IYg9vOCt-kBrvPZI4i2abcfylgPeatgc5IMOI
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Damn I love this man sometimes!
https://www.facebook.com/Breitbart/videos/10161422998655354/?hc_ref=ARTGP1pKhpkGjZCDtpPr9spwDLVV06IYg9vOCt-kBrvPZI4i2abcfylgPeatgc5IMOI
Fcuk yeah!
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http://www.dickmorris.com/massive-drop-in-minority-unemployment-lunch-alert/?utm_source=dmreports&utm_medium=dmreports&utm_campaign=dmreports
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https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/u-s-co2-levels-drop-again/
Credit fracking.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUN36UG8JaQ&feature=youtu.be
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http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/398116-trump-ramps-up-scrutiny-of-legal-immigrants?userid=188403
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" WTF:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/398116-trump-ramps-up-scrutiny-of-legal-immigrants?userid=188403"
as usual his timing is impeccable :cry:
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/07/trump-administration-targets-prescription-drug-costs/
With regards to rebates negotiated by Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) it is my understand from a review of this in one of the medical journals (I don't remember which one - probably JAMA)
that these negotiations are all done in secrete between the pharm companies the the pharm benefits managers and the all the so called rebates is taken by the PBMs and no given to consumers.
The article did not necessarily state the negotiations are bad but there is zero transparency . It is all done behind scenes and the public and consumers are all kept in the dark.
So if these negotiations must not really be on the up and up.
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Not that long ago I despised Donald Trump, disagreed with his foreign policy among many other things. Giving credit where credit is due, Trump said he would appoint great people to the highest positions. Mike Pompeo may be the best Secretary of State we have had in my lifetime.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?448677-1/secretary-pompeo-testifies-russia-north-korea-summits
3 hours of testimony. He has a backbone , knows his stuff and is headed in the right direction.
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Agree on Pompeo. I'm a big fan.
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"Mike Pompeo may be the best Secretary of State we have had in my lifetime."
don't think so ; that distinction belongs to Hillary with Madeline Albright a close second :roll:
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"Mike Pompeo may be the best Secretary of State we have had in my lifetime."
don't think so ; that distinction belongs to Hillary with Madeline Albright a close second :roll:
Don't forget Lurch.
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2018/07/27/roaring-gdp-climbs-by-4-percent-under-trump-n2504385
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President Trump more than doubled the economic growth rate of the largest economy in the history of the world.
Memorize the Obama numbers:
1.48% Average growth rate for two full terms, 8 years
1.5% Final year growth
http://dogbrothers.com/phpBB2/index.php?topic=1467.msg108471#msg108471
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https://gellerreport.com/2018/08/donald-trump-germany-iran.html/
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The link of a story I just posted on political economics should go in Trump accomplishments also, it's loaded with facts and data.
http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/401055-obamas-economist-grasps-at-straws-trying-to-devalue-trumps-impact
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https://reason.com/blog/2018/08/15/trump-picks-record-number-of-new-judges
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http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nazi-guard-deported-20180821-story.html
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Did you see the post from the presumed Jewish guy named Friedman who said the Nazi criminal just deported must have been a plant to make Trump look good!
Like I said for years , the liberal American Jews are no longer Jews. They are Democrats.
No better example then this.
They disgust me. Sorry but just how I feel.
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http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/404532-the-hidden-benefits-of-the-us-mexico-trade-deal
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https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/09/01/dual-purposed-trump-doctrine-squeeze-3-continues-pentagon-cancels-financial-aid-to-pakistan/
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https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/09/01/dual-purposed-trump-doctrine-squeeze-3-continues-pentagon-cancels-financial-aid-to-pakistan/
So much winning !
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/shutting-down-the-plo-1536622407?mod=e2fb
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/shutting-down-the-plo-1536622407?mod=e2fb
And I am not getting tired of all this winning!
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I mentioned yesterday in the media thread that the Woodward book alleging chaos in process in the Trump White House does not account for their success in policy. Steven Moore does my work for me here spelling out some of those successes and further answering the charge that Trump's boom is a continuation of Obama's non recovery.
"Trump is riding an Obama wave. Sure. And Tony Eason is responsible for Tom Brady's Hall of Fame performances."
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/09/11/give_trump_the_nobel_prize_for_economics_138035.html
"We now have the lowest number of American workers on unemployment insurance since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, the biggest manufacturing boom in 14 years, the lowest black unemployment rate ever recorded, and an economy that is growing at 4.4 percent this quarter, on top of 4.2 percent growth last quarter."
-----
[Doug] FYI, the growth rate was 1.6% during President Obama's last year in office and averaged 1.5% over his two term presidency. Doubling and tripling the growth rate of the world's largest economy in history is a BFD.
https://www-cbsnews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/u-s-economic-growth-slowed-in-2016-to-1-9/?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQECAFYAQ%3D%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fu-s-economic-growth-slowed-in-2016-to-1-9%2F
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-instincts-triumph-on-trade-1538433226
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-instincts-triumph-on-trade-1538433226
So much winning!
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https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/29/politics/president-trump-legislation/index.html
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https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article219869925.html
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https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article219869925.html
Fcuk yeah!
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/11/senate-confirms-15-trump-judicial-nominees/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=20171227&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=morning&bt_ee=XNTYiEOjc%2B5RnidFkn1bAfP%2FlzHYN4JIO9WoklW6FVw%2F6HwDwYTuPTLltei3nqy8&bt_ts=1539340782955
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second post
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/10/12/Trump-signs-Save-Our-Seas-Act-to-boost-clean-up-efforts-in-worlds-oceans/6911539318914/
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https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article219869925.html
Fcuk yeah!
Another quote:
"It is almost disorienting to see such competent people in power, working on our behalf."
Don't wait for blue slips returned to confirm. Feinstein and Harris both demonstrated they don't give a rip about accurately interpreting the Constitution.
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Washington’s Silent War against Hezbollah in Latin America
by Joseph M. Humire
The Hill
October 08, 2018
https://www.meforum.org/articles/2018/washington-s-silent-war-against-hezbollah-in-latin
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s1595?utm_source=Middle+East+Forum&utm_campaign=08d7be444a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_10_12_03_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_086cfd423c-08d7be444a-33691909&goal=0_086cfd423c-08d7be444a-33691909
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https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-signs-bill-ensures-music-streaming-services-pay/story?id=58440865
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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45386278?fbclid=IwAR1XCbAY03VHg6sFlgNyLZ2rCvnPrBTX6kTiyLRXCZ1IeROMOZ69-KRYHWQ
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-is-worlds-most-competitive-economy-for-first-time-in-a-decade-1539727213?fbclid=IwAR3azj2hPkGRLSAZ3pYclBJcfTFv0WggNdna9GLrskOCq3I98e578WaH5O0
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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45386278?fbclid=IwAR1XCbAY03VHg6sFlgNyLZ2rCvnPrBTX6kTiyLRXCZ1IeROMOZ69-KRYHWQ
Release the doctor. Stop supporting our enemies. Make peace with India. De-nuc. Then ask for aid.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/trumps-list-289-accomplishments-in-just-20-months-relentless-promise-keeping
The list:
Economic Growth
4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.
For the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3 percent over the calendar year.
Jobs
4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
Unemployment claims at 50 year low
African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.
American Income
Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.
American Optimism
Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.
American Business
Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.
Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record highs.
Dow hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one year.
Deregulation
Achieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.
Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.
Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.
Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.
Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.
Tax Cuts
Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.
9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.
Worker Development
Established a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.
Employers have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.
Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs.
Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.
Domestic Infrastructure
Proposed infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.
Executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects.
Federal agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects.
Rural prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand broadband access in rural areas.
Health Care
Signed an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American households Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.
Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.
Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.
Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.
FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion.
Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse price increases.
Expanded short-term, limited-duration health plans.
Let more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to their employees.
Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.
Signed legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as the “death panels.”
USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across 41 states
Proposed Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in violation of the law.
Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry.
HHS formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom.
Overturned Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from defunding certain abortion facilities.
Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.
Combating Opioids
Chaired meeting the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the worldwide drug problem with international leaders.
Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.
$6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
DEA conducted a surge in April 2018 that arrested 28 medical professions and revoked 147 registrations for prescribing too many opioids.
Brought the “Prescribed to Death” memorial to President’s Park near the White House, helping raise awareness about the human toll of the opioid crisis.
Helped reduce high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent in 2017.
Opioid Summit on the administration-wide efforts to combat the opioid crisis.
Launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction.
Created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.
Led two National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in 2017 and 2018, collecting a record number of expired and unneeded prescription drugs each time.
$485 million targeted grants in FY 2017 to help areas hit hardest by the opioid crisis.
Signed INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids before they reach our communities.
DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
Declared the opioid crisis a Nationwide Public Health Emergency in October 2017.
Law and Order
More U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed in the first year in office than ever.
Confirmed more than two dozen U. S. Circuit Court judges.
Followed through on the promise to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will adhere to the Constitution
Nominated and confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who commit crimes against law enforcement officers.
Launched an evaluation of grant programs to make sure they prioritize the protection and safety of law enforcement officers.
Established a task force to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities across Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.
Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.
Violent crime decreased in 2017 according to FBI statistics.
$137 million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program to preserve jobs, increase community policing capacities, and support crime prevention efforts.
Enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods to help reduce violent crime.
Signed legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or facilitate prostitution.
Created an interagency task force working around the clock to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent human trafficking.
Conducted Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84 children and arresting 120 human traffickers.
Encouraged federal prosecutors to use the death penalty when possible in the fight against the trafficking of deadly drugs.
New rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.
Border Security and Immigration
Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.
Trade
Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.
Energy
Presidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete construction.
Opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.
Coal exports up over 60 percent in 2017.
Rolled back the “stream protection rule” to prevent it from harming America’s coal industry.
Cancelled Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan and proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule as a replacement.
Withdrew from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs by 2040.
U.S. oil production has achieved its highest level in American history
United States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.
U.S. has become a net natural gas exporter for the first time in six decades.
Action to expedite the identification and extraction of critical minerals that are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity.
Took action to reform National Ambient Air Quality Standards, benefitting American manufacturers.
Rescinded Obama’s hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the industry $32 million per year.
Proposed an expansion of offshore drilling as part of an all-of-the above energy strategy
Held a lease sale for offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2018.
Got EU to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.
Issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Foreign Policy
Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.
Defense
Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
$700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
Released an America first National Security Strategy.
Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
Every member state has increased defense spending.
Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.
Veterans affairs
Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.
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I noticed this reference to UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
"Haley shocked the country last week when she announced she would be resigning..."
The nation was also shocked when Rex Tillerson resigned, General McMaster, Reince Priebus and the guy who picked out the judicial appointments. Funny I never noticed the same people giving credit to the high quality of those appointments when they were made or still serving.
Is the shock of each one leaving evidence of what great appointments they were?
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U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.7 percent from 2016 levels, according to the EPA.
Emissions on a per-capita basis hit a 67-year low last year, federal data shows, and supporters are touting EPA’s data as proof Trump’s agenda is working.
EPA’s new data comes on news that, globally, greenhouse gas emissions are set to rise to historic highs by the end of the year
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/data-shows-decrease-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-during-trumps-first-year-office
https://dailycaller.com/2018/10/17/co2-emissions-plummet-trump/?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=engagement
De-regulation was the main first year policy and 'pollution' goes down.
Who bleepin' knew!
(What reduces CO2 emissions? Fracking. Nuclear even more so except we did not expand that yet.)
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http://click1.news.thehill.com/ViewMessage.do?m=pdhhdlyq&r=hmqvmmsnb&s=tbpjsdwfplltdtlbvppjjpwrlwlggcpfdmr&q=1539957600&a=view
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Trump’s California Water Relief
A much-needed review to allow more storage and less waste.
23 Comments
By The Editorial Board
Oct. 19, 2018 7:17 p.m. ET
Donald Trump ran as a champion of the forgotten man, and few have been forgotten more by the political class than California’s parched farmers. On Friday the President made good on a campaign promise to deliver more water to more people.
California has an arid climate in the best of times. Yet tens of billions of gallons of water each year are wasted because of restrictions on pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that are intended to protect fish including smelt and chinook salmon.
One problem is that California lacks storage capacity in the north to capture the abundant precipitation that falls in the mountains during wet years, such as 2017. Runoff then rushes into rivers that dump into the delta rather than flowing south or into reservoirs for storage for the dry years.
The other major problem is federal regulations, known as biological opinions, that limit the rate at which water in the delta can be pumped to the south of the state. During storm surges, most water is flushed out to San Francisco Bay. In August 59,300 acre feet of water were wasted—enough to sustain 474,000 Californians for a year—and more than one million acre feet may flow out to sea during wet months.
These restrictions are intended to prevent smelt from getting ensnared in the pumps and to maintain a pH balance suitable for fish. Nonetheless fish populations have continued to decline, which some biologists attribute to predatory species like the striped bass and wastewater.
In 2010 federal Judge Oliver Wanger scored the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for “sloppy science and unidirectional prescriptions that ignore California’s water needs.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals largely concurred with Judge Wanger’s assessment but concluded that pumping restrictions were necessary to “counteract the uncertainties” of the government’s analysis.
Enter President Trump, who has ordered the Departments of Commerce and Interior by 2019 to review their sloppy science and revise the fish biological opinions. His Friday executive order also directs the agencies to streamline regulatory reviews for western water projects.
A major water storage and delivery project hasn’t been completed in California’s north for decades. A project to raise the height of the Shasta Dam to store more water was stuck in regulatory purgatory for three decades, but the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has finally unclogged the regulatory pipe and plans to award a construction contract next year.
The President’s reprieve couldn’t come at a better time since California regulators this summer proposed again to sharply restrict water deliveries to farms. The state also enacted legislation making water rationing limits permanent. These include limiting indoor use to 55 gallons per day per person and restrictive rules for farm water management.
Most Californians may not like President Trump, but his water decision is another case in which his willingness to challenge political shibboleths will help average people.
Appeared in the October 20, 2018, print edition.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-nominates-openly-gay-conservative-federal-appeals-court-n920831?fbclid=IwAR0-ahnQx9zfkiGUeZg82foSTNy1ukEIumXOfFJaJj-3IxHgbeHhJ4mbbQA
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/23/donald-trump-scores-wins-over-russia-economy-natio/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=20171227&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=morning&bt_ee=10t9PAtYk3xeXQ2BOyc4%2FScJZM33Y9JbV%2FiiB44h0ByPPZgTBTE5gKkbcdYeX22o&bt_ts=1540377577186
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http://time.com/4652703/president-trump-lobbying-ban/?fbclid=IwAR2fGbGM-sziyLxl84xVTxLAQlJb9EwR1S8rpJW-rShwCveMxsUbXqLe0N4
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second post
https://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-scrap-obama-redefinition-biological-sex-gender-identity-title-ix-law-228112/?fbclid=IwAR3P_x8VzdQ5oafBxgF80XE8-kuI689Otu_mt8apWobpLtpfqiD6cmC32B0
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https://www.conservativereview.com/news/report-mattis-to-send-800-military-troops-to-u-s-border-as-migrant-caravan-shrinks/
caravan numbers down?
seems to depend on who is "reporting"
I thought the Left would be thrilled about this prior to the election but now many are saying the last thing they want is a caravan showing up before the election .
The polls must have suggested this is a net loser for the Left not winner I guess.
If this is stopped this is an achievement by Trump.
Unlike anyone prior.
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penis= male, vagina= female
It's definitional. And they think conservatives deny science! A healthy fetus is a live human and a cock indicates male. It's elementary, Sherlock.
Male who wants his penis removed is a ... screwed up male. This is like a parody of liberal educators validating the wrong answers of their students, taken to the unimaginable extreme!
If it costs the taxpayer and the health care system more than $100,000 per gender reassignment surgery, isn't it fair and just that we add a small tax credit to Form 1040 for eligible taxpayers who kept their gender identity unchanged during the year?
Trump gets it right and whole bunch of taxpayer paid PhD's in the subject get it wrong.
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https://www.conservativereview.com/news/trump-honors-black-civil-war-troops-with-his-very-first-national-monument/
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The law of unintended consequences? The reality of governmental interference in the market?
https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/did-scott-walker-and-donald-trump-deal-away-the-governors-race-to-foxconn?mbid=nl_Daily%20110418&CNDID=50142053&utm_source=nl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20110418&utm_content=&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=Daily%20110418&hasha=52f016547a40edbdd6de69b8a7728bbf&hashb=e02b3c0e6e0f3888e0288d6e52a57eccde1bfd75&spMailingID=14558953&spUserID=MjAxODUyNTc2OTUwS0&spJobID=1520291898&spReportId=MTUyMDI5MTg5OAS2
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The law of unintended consequences? The reality of governmental interference in the market?
https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/did-scott-walker-and-donald-trump-deal-away-the-governors-race-to-foxconn?mbid=nl_Daily%20110418&CNDID=50142053&utm_source=nl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20110418&utm_content=&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=Daily%20110418&hasha=52f016547a40edbdd6de69b8a7728bbf&hashb=e02b3c0e6e0f3888e0288d6e52a57eccde1bfd75&spMailingID=14558953&spUserID=MjAxODUyNTc2OTUwS0&spJobID=1520291898&spReportId=MTUyMDI5MTg5OAS2
I don't trust the Hew Yorker, but from the facts presented, this is crony governmentism at its worst. Republicans enacting Democratic Socialist policies, a blatant violation of equal treatment under the law. It is not free enterprise or capitalism to have government put up the money. There is no such thing as a big government conservatism.
As to how it would help Scott Walker's challenger, Democrats make much worse deals of this type.
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http://www.aei.org/publication/the-dual-goals-of-the-trump-administrations-new-attack-on-chinese-intellectual-property-theft/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWVRRMFpEQTFNemd4WXprMyIsInQiOiJyWHRqemx1bXN1XC9BVGwyTTFNR3M0TVVaT2x4cjVhKzhQZUhNOXo3Q1I1MEFcL2hoNStUaGJqbE9JQUxpTWl1cnJVODRHQmFXN2gxenp3V1wvYzRTdFZsVlRKOHNaM1JQM0xjYlwvVStLVjg0R0VTTm81bmxjZk1YMUNQWHdzaHdvSjEifQ%3D%3D
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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/doj-and-dhs-issue-new-asylum-rule?fbclid=IwAR0VGOPQbOlhtnpcoY8MF-7PfwERtpLB_L2SKfwblsCoKk7J9PT_IH_UXMI
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New asylum rule noted in CDs post
Why did not Jeff Sessions do this 2 yrs ago?
Sounds straigth forward to me.
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new asylum rules for only 90 days !
may l have at best a modest effect:
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/asylum-immigration-rules-change/
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Only 90 days?!?
Why is that?!?
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Ready to screw up Syria today, and now back to the positives:
Trump administration aims to toughen work requirements for food stamp recipients
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-administration-aims-to-toughen-work-requirements-for-food-stamps-recipients/2018/12/20/cf687136-03e6-11e9-b6a9-0aa5c2fcc9e4_story.html?utm_term=.8cc5773e6f2c
The Trump administration unveiled a plan Thursday to force hundreds of thousands more Americans to hold jobs if they want to keep receiving food stamps, pursuing through executive powers what it could not achieve in Congress.
The country’s food assistance program, which is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, already requires most adults without dependents to work if they collect food stamps for more than three months in a three-year period. But USDA regulations allow states to waive the requirement in areas with unemployment rates that are at least 20 percent greater than the national rate.
The USDA is now proposing that states could waive the requirement only in areas where unemployment is above 7 percent. The current national unemployment rate stands at 3.7 percent.
Approximately 2.8 million able-bodied recipients without children or an ailing person in their care were not working in 2016, according to the USDA’s latest numbers. Roughly 755,000 live in areas that stand to lose the waivers.
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Let's see if this materializes.
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https://nypost.com/2018/12/19/white-house-announces-new-sanctions-against-russia/
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced fresh sanctions against Russian agents and companies Wednesday to punish the country for its “continued disregard for international norms.”
The move was intended to smack Russia for cyberattacks, interfering in the 2016 US election and the attempted assassination of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK in March.
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Trump's Campaign Promises: Where His To-Do List Stands
The Big Picture
________________________________________
U.S. President Donald Trump is heading into the midway point of his term with many of his 2016 campaign promises left undone. As the recent announcement about the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Syria shows, Trump is willing to buck the counsel of many of his advisers to fulfill those pledges. And as his focus turns to the 2020 election, he will likely push to honor those that are incomplete.
________________________________________
2019 Annual ForecastThe U.S. and the Balance of Power
President Donald Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, announced suddenly on Dec. 19, fulfills one of his 2016 campaign promises. As he looks toward the 2020 election, the president is clearly trying to make good on as many of those pledges as possible. Aside from the Syria move, Trump has started the process for leaving the Paris Agreement on climate change, departed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations, withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal and placed tariffs on a large number of Chinese goods. But many of his vows involving his signature foreign policy agenda and other geopolitically important items have yet to be fulfilled. Trump is likely to become more aggressive in trying to achieve some or all of them so he can campaign on additional achievements through 2019 and 2020. Here are updates on some of the promises that Stratfor believes are the most likely to see action.
U.S. Troop Drawdown in Afghanistan
In August 2017, Trump announced that the United States would increase its troop presence in Afghanistan, but he also said that the decision went against his instincts.
Since then, periodic reports have indicated that he had been looking for way to cut troops there, and now he has ordered the withdrawal of about 7,000 service members, or about half of the U.S. contingent. A serious drawdown of U.S. forces will further encourage the Taliban. The militant group may decide to press its advantage at the negotiating table or to simply wait out the U.S. military, but the troop cut will certainly allow it to maintain its momentum in the conflict. In addition, Pakistan, Iran, China and even Russia will feel forced to increase their involvement there.
Is Iraq Next?
Beyond Afghanistan, there are an additional 5,000 U.S. troops who could be pulled out of Iraq. But while the Islamic State's capabilities to control territory have been significantly degraded, it remains an active terrorist threat, much as in Syria. Islamic State ambushes, bombings and assassinations remain possible in much of western and in parts of northern Iraq. Of the 20,000 to 30,000 Islamic State members believed to be left in Iraq and Syria, about half are thought to be in Iraq. U.S. troops are key in supporting Iraqi security forces and Kurdish forces in operations against the group. Just as in Syria, a U.S. troop withdrawal could allow the Islamic State to regroup. Moreover, Iran would gain a freer hand in influencing Iraqi politics, especially at the national level, which is dominated by Iraq's Shiite population.
European Defense and Car Tariffs
During the presidential campaign, Trump criticized Germany's massive current accounts trade surplus and suggested that the euro was abnormally cheap. He also denounced Berlin's relatively low military spending. While his threat to pull out of NATO's collective protection clause has not materialized, he still demands that Germany, and others, up their defense budgets. However, the main threat to the European Union is higher tariffs on its exports to the United States. Germany is the main EU manufacturer of automobiles, and the United States is its main customer outside of Europe, meaning that Germany has a lot to lose if the White House imposes higher tariffs. The European Union reached a trade truce with the United States during the summer, but that agreement is hanging by a thread. The White House is likely to demand that agriculture be included in any free trade agreement with the bloc, but France and others are likely to oppose that position, which would increase the chances of higher tariffs on European-made cars.
Trump's Trade War With China
China dominated Trump's 2016 campaign rhetoric, and measures to correct what he sees as its unfair trade practices dominated his policy toward Beijing throughout 2018. As part of Washington's priority shift to deal with a rising peer competitor, the White House launched three rounds of tariffs on roughly $250 billion worth of Chinese goods. Now the United States and China are locked in a negotiations cease-fire until March 1. The prospects for a quick and easy trade deal are dim, because the United States is demanding significant concessions on Chinese industrial policy. But as the U.S. stock market wanes, the negotiations may get kicked further down the road.
Paralyzing the WTO's Dispute System
Trump also campaigned heavily against the World Trade Organization and China's inclusion in the body, threatening to pull the United States out of the organization.
Because of the legal limits on a president's authority to do so, a U.S. withdrawal hasn't happened yet. But his administration will risk grinding the body's dispute mechanism to a halt next year. The United States has been blocking new appointments to the Appellate Body, which functions as the WTO appeals court. If the United States doesn't approve new members by Dec. 10, 2019, the appeals body will no longer be able to hear cases. This possibility has led the organization's other members to try to jump-start reform efforts to appease the United States. But it's unclear whether that can be done: The core issue is China's involvement. For Trump leaving the WTO may not be possible, but destroying its adjudication process might be the next best thing.
Troubled Waters Ahead for USMCA
Trump's renegotiation of NAFTA has been one of his signature achievements in foreign policy so far, but the process is not complete because the U.S. Congress still needs to sign off on the revamped United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Democrats are set to take control of the House of Representatives and are demanding that some of their key demands, such as on labor standards and climate, be included in the implementing legislation. Trump has also said that he will announce his intent to withdraw from NAFTA as he submits the USMCA for approval, potentially setting up a showdown with incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The Elusive Israeli-Palestinian Deal
Trump has been touting a "deal of the century" to bring peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but that is unlikely to happen in 2019. Instead, to demonstrate his personal and much-touted commitment to Israel, Trump and his supporters in Congress may push more seriously for an official U.S. recognition of Israel's annexation of Syria's Golan Heights. Mimicking the strategy of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, such an action would be designed to remove a hurdle from Israel's path for recognition regionally. But in doing so, it would imply that the United States might recognize other border changes around the world that were made through the use of military force. That change would set a precedent questioning one of the taboos of international relations, which has been in place since 1945.
U.S. Infrastructure and a Border Wall
On the campaign trail, Trump presented a $1 trillion plan to build up U.S. infrastructure. Two years later, the proposal has been downsized, and little progress has been made on implementation. But the president has pledged to work with the Democrats in a bipartisan way to improve the nation's infrastructure. The plan could be one of his biggest domestic pushes in 2019, especially if the House blocks his other marquee legislative proposals. Nevertheless, it won't be an easy process because Democrats will want to include climate change initiatives. And Trump has been adamant that without funding for his wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, there will be no cooperation on infrastructure.
What's Next on Iran?
Trump also campaigned heavily against the Iran nuclear deal and has already pulled the United States out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as it is officially known. But he also noted that he would be willing to sign a new deal with Iran if it were better and that he hoped to peel back the Islamic republic's regional influence. With U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, one of the moderating voices in Trump's White House, on his way out, the prospects for a more hawkish Iran policy could grow. Given Trump's wariness about expensive, messy Middle Eastern wars, this change is unlikely to mean a full-blown conflict with Iran. But the United States — and especially allies Israel and Saudi Arabia — could be more aggressive and launch a limited airstrike should Iran take a significant provocative action against the United States or a regional ally. Sanctions will also be ratcheting up this year, but the potential for new talks with Iran are negligible, given that the demands of many of Trump's hawkish advisers are tantamount to regime change.
Don't Forget North Korea
In the run-up to the 2016 election, candidate Trump criticized his predecessor's policy of not engaging with North Korea at the top levels and said he would be willing to meet with leader Kim Jong Un directly. As the North Korean nuclear and missile programs advanced in 2017, Trump's administration focused on building up credibility behind its threat to strike North Korea. Perhaps taking the U.S. threat seriously or perhaps seeing opportunity in Trump's maverick dealmaker persona, North Korea shifted gears in late 2017, focusing on outreach to the United States and South Korea. And, in June 2018, Trump made good on his long-expressed willingness to meet with Kim. At the moment, the nuclear threat is on the back burner but by no means off the table. And, with the president's term ending in January 2021 and campaigning for a second term occupying a chunk of that time, a promised "deal" will be difficult to manage.
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https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/01/02/trumps-new-asylum-policy-will-help-block-illegal-immigration/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTVRJNVlqTXlaVEU0TkRkaSIsInQiOiJTQ0swcUkxaEpcL2E0N0VYMitRODB4cW1ibzMwSEt3Y2hmOStKK0crZmJwaVlKTnBIelwvQU5BN3FmSGY2bTY1VjljWWRkYzVEaWtZcDJEVzhUWTlyS1BqR3pDWmxJZFdzQmtvNDNKdGc0cUJMWHQzNVwvemlBajRGYTYzcGJVUW5SZCJ9
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second post
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/01/03/actually_2018_was_a_pretty_good_year_139064.html
Actually, 2018 Was a Pretty Good Year
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By Victor Davis Hanson
January 03, 2019
Photo/Andrew Harnik
The year 2018 will be deplored by pundits as a bad year of more unpredictable Donald Trump, headlined by wild stock market gyrations, the melodramas of the Robert Mueller investigation and the musical-chair tenures of officials in the Trump administration.
The government is still shut down. Talk of impeachment by the newly Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is in the air. Seemingly every day there are sensational breakthroughs, scandals and bombshells that race through social media and the Internet -- only to be forgotten by the next day.
In truth, aside from the Washington hysterias, 2018 was a most successful year for Americans.
In December, the United States reached a staggering level of oil production, pumping some 11.6 million barrels per day. For the first time since 1973, America is now the world's largest oil producer
Since Trump took office, the U.S. has increased its oil production by nearly 3 million barrels per day, largely as the result of fewer regulations, more federal leasing, and the
continuing brilliance of American frackers and horizontal drillers. It appears that there is still far more oil beneath U.S. soil than has ever been taken out. American production could even soar higher in the months ahead. In addition, the United States remains the largest producer of natural gas and the second-greatest producer of coal. The scary old energy-related phraseology of the last half-century -- "energy crisis," "peak oil," "oil embargo" -- no longer exists. Near-total energy self-sufficiency means the U.S. is no longer strategically leveraged by the Middle East, forced to pay exorbitant political prices to guarantee access to imported oil, or threatened by gasoline prices of $4 to $5 a gallon.
The American economy grew by 4.2 percent in the second quarter of 2018, and by 3.4 percent in the third quarter. American GDP is nearly $1.7 trillion larger than in January 2017, and nearly $8 trillion larger than the GDP of China. For all the talk of the Chinese juggernaut, three Chinese workers produce about 60 percent of the goods and services produced by one American worker.
In 2018, unemployment fell to a near-record peacetime low of 3.7 percent. That's the lowest U.S. unemployment rate since 1969. Black unemployment hit an all-time low in 2018. For the first time in memory, employers are seeking out entry-level workers rather than vice versa.
The poverty rate is also near a historic low, and household income increased. There are about 8 million fewer Americans living below the poverty line than there were eight years ago. Since January 2017, more than 3 million Americans have gone off so-called food stamps.
Abroad, lots of bad things that were supposed to happen simply did not.
After withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, the U.S. exceeded the annual percentage of carbon reductions of most countries that are part of the agreement.
North Korea and the U.S. did not go to war. Instead, North Korea has stopped its provocative nuclear testing and its launching of ballistic missiles over the territory of its neighbors.
Despite all the Trump bluster, NATO and NAFTA did not quite implode. Rather, allies and partners agreed to renegotiate past commitments and agreements on terms more favorable to the U.S.
The United States -- and increasingly most of the world -- is at last addressing the systematic commercial cheating, technological appropriation, overt espionage, intellectual-property theft, cyber intrusions and mercantilism of the Chinese government.
The Middle East is still chaotic, but it is a mess that is now far less important to the U.S. for a variety of reasons. Energy-wise, America is not dependent on oil imports from corrupt Gulf monarchies or hostile Islamic states. Strategy-wise, the new fault lines are not Arab and Islamic cultures versus Israel or the United States. Instead, it is internecine strife within the Islamic world, mostly with Iran and its Shiite satellites opposing the Sunni Arab monarchies and more moderate Middle Eastern regimes.
For all the pro- and anti-Trump invective and media hysteria, the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation circus, and the bitter midterm elections, the U.S. was relatively calm in 2018 compared with the rest of the world. There was none of the mass rioting, demonstrations and street violence that occurred recently in France, and none of the existential and unsolvable divides over globalization and Brexit that we saw in Europe
Europe's three most powerful leaders -- Angela Merkel or Germany, Emmanuel Macron of France and Theresa May of the United Kingdom -- have worse approval ratings than the embattled Donald Trump.
In sum, the more media pundits claimed that America was on the brink of disaster in 2018, the more Americans became prosperous and secure.
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Russia: Procurement Plans Reflect the Military's Modernization Struggles
(Stratfor)
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The Big Picture
Russia, along with China, is locked in a great power competition with the United States. In keeping with its goal of protecting domestic and foreign interests, Moscow must overhaul its military capability — gradually replacing out-of-date Soviet-era weapons systems with modern equipment. Low oil prices and Western sanctions, however, are complicating the Kremlin's task.
See 2019 Annual Forecast
See Eurasia section of the 2019 Annual Forecast
See Echoes of the Cold War
What Happened
Russia will shell out billions of dollars on military hardware this year, but when it comes to defense spending, the devil is in the details. On Jan. 15, the country's Defense Ministry announced that it would spend 1.44 trillion rubles ($21.5 billion) on military procurement in 2019 as part of a larger program to modernize outdated equipment within the armed forces. Given the expenditure, Moscow claims that the share of new equipment in the Russian military is expected to reach 67 percent, just 3 percent short of its stated goal for 2020. The predicted numbers, however, may not reflect reality.
Why It Matters
The 1.44 trillion ruble allocation actually represents a significant drop in expected annual procurement — the government initially planned to spend twice that amount as part of a 2011-2020 modernization drive. Faced with plummeting oil prices, though, Russia had little choice but to slash its defense budget starting in 2017, when it cut expenditures for the ministry by 5 percent.
The lack of funds has forced Russia's military planners to make some hard decisions on where to allocate the Defense Ministry's precious rubles as part of coordinated efforts to modernize the country's large number of outdated, Soviet-era weapons systems. So far, the Russian military's overwhelming priority — its nuclear forces — have received the lion's share of attention in terms of modernization, with 82 percent of the fleet's equipment now up to date. Likewise, the air force has also benefited from the ministry's largesse, attaining a modernization rate of 74 percent. Straggling further behind, however, are the navy and the land forces, which boast modernization rates of 55 and 46 percent, respectively.
In the longer term, the Kremlin is expected to begin gradually increasing its defense budget in 2020 — though not at a rate that would permit an immediate return to pre-2017 levels.
Background
After years of decline, Russia has been striving to rebuild its military power, but the fall in oil prices, as well as the punishing sanctions that the West imposed on the country over the Ukraine crisis, has hindered the Kremlin's efforts. And even if Russian officials claim they are on track in their modernization program, the figures for the 2019 budget suggest that military planners will have to make those 1.44 trillion rubles go a long way if they are to attain the Kremlin's goals.
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They had their GDP cut in half and oil is tanking again. It's about time the squeeze hits their adventurism.
Trump should buy Siberia.
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Where is it codified or in the Constitution it has to be in front of belligerent mob in Congress?
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/pelosi-to-trump-you-can-just-give-us-the-state-of-the-union-address-in-writing/
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Where is it codified or in the Constitution it has to be in front of belligerent mob in Congress?
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/pelosi-to-trump-you-can-just-give-us-the-state-of-the-union-address-in-writing/
He should just tweet it, full of the usual insults aimed at Nanzi and her mob.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-launches-global-effort-end-criminalization-homosexuality-n973081?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&fbclid=IwAR1DhYqDHeCuuY3HY04DPcC7ZuczQA0_ugQDp_Y-iECUgBHkKasCFFUFxew
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=305-erOr3jk
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https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-classicist-who-sees-donald-trump-as-a-tragic-hero
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https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/irate-woman-smiles-attacking-man-maga-hat-ice-learns-illegal-sends-cavalry/?utm_source=push&utm_medium=westernjournalism&utm_content=2019-02-27&utm_campaign=manualpost
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https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/irate-woman-smiles-attacking-man-maga-hat-ice-learns-illegal-sends-cavalry/?utm_source=push&utm_medium=westernjournalism&utm_content=2019-02-27&utm_campaign=manualpost
True, she would already have a US Passport as part of HRC's mega-amnesty/DNC voter registration program.
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This is HUGE. Not done yet, so it's a little early to put this in the Trump Accomplishment thread, but this is a process and it would not even be under discussion if anyone else had won the last Presidential election.
(From China-US thread)
China to make forced technology transfer illegal as Beijing tries to woo back foreign investors
Issue a key demand made by US President Donald Trump as part of the ongoing US-China trade war
China expected to pass new foreign investment law next week during National People’s Congress
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/2188885/china-make-forced-technology-transfer-illegal-beijing-tries
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Indeed.
Of course there is the theory of the paper work and the reality of what actually is done. We shall see, but yes this is a big deal.
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Indeed.
Of course there is the theory of the paper work and the reality of what actually is done. We shall see, but yes this is a big deal.
I think ending the forced technology transfer is enforceable but the intellectual property theft, not a part of this, will be much harder to enforce.
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"I think ending the forced technology transfer is enforceable but the intellectual property theft, not a part of this, will be much harder to enforce."
wait I thought the overseas flood of tech workers is so good for us.
but then again I am sure this has nothing to do with the stealing of intellect.
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https://freebeacon.com/national-security/trump-administration-approves-sale-of-f-16s-to-taiwan/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=28ea3d70f8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_03_14_09_54_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-28ea3d70f8-45632137&fbclid=IwAR3OmeUBlxat_5wRs6SJfHyIYEaHOEF6UkqluiEnmjGt4tab0fN3lRm9-ZE
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It's a start.
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/trump-administration-approves-sale-of-f-16s-to-taiwan/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=28ea3d70f8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_03_14_09_54_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-28ea3d70f8-45632137&fbclid=IwAR3OmeUBlxat_5wRs6SJfHyIYEaHOEF6UkqluiEnmjGt4tab0fN3lRm9-ZE
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It will be noted in msm so fast it will be like hearing the list of medicine side effects read so fast no one can make it out in the big para ads:
https://www.westernjournal.com/president-trump-quietly-signs-largest-wilderness-preservation-bill-decade/
of course who is going to build anything in the desert anyway
took drive through Death Valley
cool place to drive through especially as the sun starts to go down with plenty of water, but I wouldn't want to play at the golf course
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I’m sure it’s racist, or something Putin wanted him to do...
It will be noted in msm so fast it will be like hearing the list of medicine side effects read so fast no one can make it out in the big para ads:
https://www.westernjournal.com/president-trump-quietly-signs-largest-wilderness-preservation-bill-decade/
of course who is going to build anything in the desert anyway
took drive through Death Valley
cool place to drive through especially as the sun starts to go down with plenty of water, but I wouldn't want to play at the golf course
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-signs-executive-order-to-promote-free-speech-on-college-campuses?fbclid=IwAR1uXx4S_vBgfHng4escorxcXnbVDGry658easFf75FOjfVVv11ul-JWiqk
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https://www.theblaze.com/science/trump-federal-emp-attack-prep?utm_content=buffer2a5fa&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=glennbeck&fbclid=IwAR2WnIWE1I0ZVIiCftCCGXKRNR_CoqI08kN2dQk3ymdlWyzcmgvoQUkEU5o
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https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/04/01/us-stops-f-35-fighter-jet-parts-delivery-to-turkey/?fbclid=IwAR3rt522Zx0n260RKZa83Cuh6rRFSlzZY9KGYpGmZo71pJQpgCeO2cZHMT8
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https://inhomelandsecurity.com/executive-order-emp-preparedness/?fbclid=IwAR0nJUeNlWLJ05zbnrE6N4F_0boW-U_NV5wyPrmY8XCXiVITT5fwV9qudwM
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1 Negotiating and renegotiating better international trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
2 Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
3 Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
4 More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
5 Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
6 Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
7 Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
8 Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
9 Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
10 Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
11 Established National Council for the America Worker to train workers
12 Signed Perkins CTE reauthorization, authorizing $1B for states to fund vocational and career education programs
13 Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.
14 Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research
and improve treatments.
15 Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.
16 FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion
17 Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce
they will freeze or reverse price increases.
18 Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.
19 Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.
20 Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities. $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
21 Created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.
22 Signed INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids before they reach our communities.
23 DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
24 Presidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
25 Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete construction.
26 Opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.
27 His policies and pro-business attitude have led to serious tangible increases in growth
28 SIgned banning administration officials from ever lobbying the U.S. on behalf of a foreign government and imposing a separate five-year ban on other lobbying
29 Economy generated of four million new jobs since taking office
30 Unemployment claims at 50 year low
31 Rolled back Dodd Frank provisions
32 Rolled back Obama’s Waters of the US law
33 Signed legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or facilitate prostitution.
34 Conducted Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84 children and arresting 120 human traffickers.
35 New rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.
36 Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
37 Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
38 Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime
39 New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
40 Signed law creating national historic park for Martin Luther King Jr.
41 Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS. All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
42 Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
43 Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
44 Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
45 New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
46 Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
47 Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
48 Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
49 VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system
50 The White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, which will coordinate efforts across the entire federal government to deliver jobs, investment, and growth in underprivileged areas
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/62665-trump-pulls-us-signature-from-un-arms-trade-treaty?fbclid=IwAR0w7EYayC9Ft1ob_VzmEg9uNdf_EVC5cdJs_tepgoLxOqdEn9yMOOqwnkI
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/us/politics/trump-muslim-brotherhood.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&fbclid=IwAR2qTWw1hj8q6CF1S2AD9YcxZybT4z0neyW2XvjNi-mB_KVID7D4OJJt_F4
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/may/9/donald-trump-judicial-nominees-us-appeals-courts-c/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=20171227&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=morning&bt_ee=RMw5647GIW%2B51kV2Q05n1ENBDSnQeDrCua5gIsuYC60lEyzvrLHy2mzQ1uM5HKsA&bt_ts=1557490974017
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second post
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/443156-pentagon-approves-transfer-of-15b-to-trump-border-wall-from-afghan-forces
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second post
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/443156-pentagon-approves-transfer-of-15b-to-trump-border-wall-from-afghan-forces
Darn! So close to victory, until Trump built the wall!
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Here's one you didn't hear about:
Executive Order Could Avert Next Major Energy Crisis
By Matthew Kandrach
April 15, 2019
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2019/04/15/executive_order_could_avert_next_major_energy_crisis_110424.html
natural gas is in great demand for electricity production. But serious supply problems have developed from a shortage of gas due to a failure to overturn moratoriums on the construction of new pipelines.
The most sensible approach would be for the Administration to issue an executive order that would open the door for more natural gas pipelines.
----------------------------------
Trump rescues NY from its self-inflicted natural-gas shortage
How’s this for unexpected irony: As New York pols move to choke their own economy by nixing new natural-gas supplies, President Trump is racing to the rescue.
Trump last week signed two executive orders to help ease the way for new oil and gas pipelines and other energy projects. One, seemingly aimed squarely at New York, requires the Environmental Protection Agency to look for ways to make it harder for states to use the Clean Water Act to block pipelines.
https://nypost.com/2019/04/16/trump-rescues-ny-from-its-self-inflicted-natural-gas-shortage/
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2018/10/16/the-trump-manufacturing-jobs-boom-10-times-obamas-over-21-months/?fbclid=IwAR2G1LsZQq9AHOPLB6d0h7N0xK4BH6G9hagJfrvj73QWBstG55YpHKAvhOg#6743ffe45850
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2018/10/16/the-trump-manufacturing-jobs-boom-10-times-obamas-over-21-months/?fbclid=IwAR2G1LsZQq9AHOPLB6d0h7N0xK4BH6G9hagJfrvj73QWBstG55YpHKAvhOg#6743ffe45850
"In the first 21 months of the Trump presidency, nonfarm employment grew by a seasonally adjusted 2.6%. In the same period, manufacturing employment grew by 3.1%, reversing the trend under Obama when overall employment grew faster than employment in the manufacturing sector.
Comparing the last 21 months of the Obama administration with the first 21 months of Trump’s, shows that under Trump’s watch, more than 10 times the number of manufacturing jobs were added."
(https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fchuckdevore%2Ffiles%2F2018%2F10%2FManufacturing-jobs1-1200x675.jpg)
What say Biden and Mayor Pete to this? boilerplate, Leftist economics answers and policies can't explain it.
What was Trump going to do, wave a magic wand? They said it was impossible. Those jobs aren't coming back.
From our political Economics thread you might recall that Bill Clinton had two Presidencies, one as a traditional liberal where he raised tax rates and tried to socialize healthcare and one where he worked with Gingrich and the new Republican House and Senate and cut capital gains tax rates and "ended welfare as we know it." Result: Wages grew 8 times faster after he changed course. That is not an "unnecessary tax cut for the very wealthiest" you deniers of economic science and real data.
https://dogbrothers.com/phpBB2/index.php?topic=1467.msg98177#msg98177
Real wages grew at 6.5 percent rate after the Bill Clinton-Newt Gingrich capital gains tax rate cuts compared with 0.8 percent growth rate after the Bill Clinton tax rate hikes of 1993."
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/03/tax-cuts-not-the-clinton-tax-hike-produced-the-1990s-boom
The contrast between Obama and Trump on policies and results proves it again, cf. this manufacturing jobs report.
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ttt
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ttt
Fighting for the citizenship question deserves a mention here.IMO. More to come on that.
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Agreed he has fought for it, but that is not yet an accomplishment/promise kept. Let's see where it goes from here.
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https://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2019/06/29/the-economic-benefits-of-reducing-the-regulatory-burden/
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From opinion piece on CNN :-o
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/10/opinions/trump-administration-crucial-step-organ-donation-roth-segal/index.html
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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tape-shows-donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-discussing-women-1992-party-n1030686
Darn! I lived in poor man's Palm Beach (West Palm Bch) literally across the intercoastal waterway from Mar a Lago which we could see from window.
I NEVER got invited to cheerleader parties !
:cry:
As for Trump's association with Epstein Morning jerks wife flunks again making this non issue into a scandal.
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2 million people entered or re-entered the workforce.
Income inequality decreased.
Inflation is low.
Markets are at record highs.
Source: Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week.
Sounds more like a Trump reelection speech.
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This would not have happened under Baraq or the Dowager Empress!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/state-department-takes-indirect-shot-at-ilhan-omar-rashida-tlaib-in-recent-policy-revision?utm_content=buffer738e0&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=fb-glennbeck&fbclid=IwAR29b1MGeFQR6gZF7X5LyPCmS4puGXfPp9Eed2BYa5uu_V2t2V6h615nJwc
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/list-trumps-17-immigration-fixes-that-are-cutting-illegal-crossings
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX75gWGAcMQ
VDH : Trump =
Alan Ladd, Gary Cooper, Yul Brynner, Winston Churchill........... :-o 8-)
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Border apprehensions plunge as Trump administration hails Mexico pact
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-apprehensions-plunge-as-administration-hails-mexico-pact
Immigration officials apprehended just over 64,000 migrants at the southern border in August – a dramatic drop that the Trump administration is presenting as a sign its diplomatic engagement with Mexico and other countries is having positive effects on the ground.
The 64,006 migrants apprehended or deemed inadmissible represents a 22 percent drop from July, when 82,055 were apprehended, and a 56 percent drop from the peak of the crisis in May, when more than 144,000 migrants were caught or deemed inadmissible.
Meanwhile, the number of caravans has also dropped. In May, 48 caravans of migrants were recorded coming to the U.S. In August, the tally was six. Border Patrol now has fewer than 5,000 migrants in custody, down from 19,000 at the peak in the spring.
The Trump administration says that while the numbers are still at crisis level, the numbers show the extent to which Trump policies -- such as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) that keep migrants in Mexico as their asylum cases are heard -- are working and that countries south of the border are taking action to stop the flows in response to pressure from the U.S.
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The Bureau of Economic Analysis on July 30 published its annual revisions to personal income data. Following meager growth in employee compensation of 2.7 percent in 2016 and 2.9 percent in 2015 [under Obama], the revisions show significant increases of 4.5 percent in 2017 and 5 percent in 2018 [under Trump]. To put those numbers in context, in President Donald Trump’s first two years, employee compensation increased by $672 billion more than it did during President Barack Obama’s last two, for a whopping 42 percent improvement. In June, wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 5.4 percent, with inflation at 1.4 percent, well below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
Thanks to a U.S. economic surge over the past two years fueled by Trump’s tax cuts and deregulation, Americans’ incomes have increased dramatically, while costs — reflected in the low inflation rate — have gone up quite modestly.
https://www.timesonline.com/opinion/20190821/andy-puzder-sen-warren-is-real-economic-threat
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In defense of Trump's opponents, Obama set the bar awfully low for wage growth.
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New US Census data shows smallest ever pay gap between working men and women
By Brianna Holt & Dan KopfSeptember 12, 2019
Ever since women have been in the work force, they’ve been paid less than men. But now, data suggests the pay gap may finally be closing. According to newly-released data from the US Census, the difference in income between full-time working men and women fell to an all-time low in 2018.
...
difference is the smallest since the US Census started collecting these numbers in 1960.
https://qz.com/1707619/new-us-census-data-show-smallest-ever-gap-between-working-men-and-women/
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Judicial Make-Up Call
With two more Trump nominees, Patrick Bumatay and Lawrence VanDyke, this isn’t Obama’s Ninth Circuit
By The Editorial Board
Sept. 20, 2019 6:53 pm ET
Daniel Bress in Washington D.C., May 22. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Zuma Press
The White House keeps nominating talented lawyers to fill judicial vacancies, and on Friday it included an important make-up call in selecting Patrick Bumatay for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Readers may recall that the White House first nominated Mr. Bumatay in the last Congress but failed to renominate him earlier this year after complaints from California’s Democratic Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris. The new White House counsel team thought it might win some greater cooperation from the Democrats by listening to their concerns about Mr. Bumatay.
What Did Donald Trump Tell Ukraine's President?
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The White House instead nominated Daniel Bress for the Ninth Circuit, but the Senators opposed him too. Judge Bress was confirmed in any case. The White House then nominated Mr. Bumatay for a district-court position, but the Senators opposed him for that seat as well.
The White House has now given up hope for judicial comity and nominated Mr. Bumatay again for the Ninth Circuit. The 41-year-old Filipino-American is currently a federal prosecutor in San Diego. He has also worked at the Justice Department as a counselor to the Attorney General on criminal issues, as well as the Office of Legal Policy. By all accounts he is a top-notch legal mind and constitutional originalist.
On Friday the White House also nominated Lawrence VanDyke, the former solicitor general of Nevada, for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. VanDyke has worked in private practice at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and clerked for Judge Janice Rogers Brown on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
President Trump continues to remake the federal judiciary, having recently passed the milestone of 150 confirmed nominees. The Senate has confirmed 43 appellate nominees since Inauguration Day, with eight more pending.
Even the liberal Ninth Circuit is getting a makeover. After this week Mr. Trump will have nominated 10 of its 29 judges. Kudos to the White House counsel’s office for correcting its January mistake on Mr. Bumatay.
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Thanks to Trump, 7 million have quit food stamps
September 24, 2019
Source: NY Times front page headline, just kidding, Washington Examiner opinion section:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/thanks-to-trump-7-million-have-quit-food-stamps
According to recently released government data, exactly 36,029,506 Americans (18,230,968 households) are currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Although it may seem as though a rather large number of Americans receive government subsidies for their groceries, the current SNAP figure should be celebrated.
Why? Because in 2016, the last year of the Obama administration, 42,972,692 Americans (21,232,456 households) received SNAP.
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That is roughly a 20% (18.6%) decrease in poverty.
Who knew? Who cares??
Why doesn't federal social spending decrease proportionally?
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Thanks to Trump, 7 million have quit food stamps
September 24, 2019
Source: NY Times front page headline, just kidding, Washington Examiner opinion section:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/thanks-to-trump-7-million-have-quit-food-stamps
According to recently released government data, exactly 36,029,506 Americans (18,230,968 households) are currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Although it may seem as though a rather large number of Americans receive government subsidies for their groceries, the current SNAP figure should be celebrated.
Why? Because in 2016, the last year of the Obama administration, 42,972,692 Americans (21,232,456 households) received SNAP.
-----------------------------------------------------
That is roughly a 20% (18.6%) decrease in poverty.
Who knew? Who cares??
Why doesn't federal social spending decrease proportionally?
Because federal agencies can only grow.
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obviously this will not be in the MSM:
https://patriotpost.us/articles/65726-trump-inks-new-trade-deal-with-japan-2019-09-26
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obviously this will not be in the MSM:
https://patriotpost.us/articles/65726-trump-inks-new-trade-deal-with-japan-2019-09-26
I was typing while you posted that. )
Tues on the forum:
"We need to resolve our trade issues with the rest of the world and have our allies join the fight against China until it is won."
Wed: Trump and Japan Prime Minister Abe announced a new trade deal.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49834705
US and Japan agree on initial trade deal
Under the deal, over 90% of US food and agricultural products going into Japan will either be free of any duty or receive preferential tariff access, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
Japan will reduce tariffs on products such as fresh and frozen beef and pork, and will immediately eliminate them for certain nuts, fruits and vegetables.
In return, the US will either remove or lower duties on some $40 million of agricultural imports from Japan, including cut flowers, green tea and soy sauce.
According a transcript published by the White House., Mr Abe said there would be a "very wonderful, positive impact on the global economy".
The US and Japan have also agreed on preferential treatment for certain digital products. They will prohibit any duties being imposed on digital products such as videos, music and e-books and will ensure data can be freely transferred across borders.
----------------------------------------
This makes completion of a larger deal with Japan more likely and makes completion of a deal with China more likely.
The threat of larger tariffs on Japanese autos is what motivated them to open their market.
I don't like the use of tariffs in this way but no other way has worked.
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I was typing while you posted that. )
great minds think alike.
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/05/trump_administration_forces_china_to_sell_the_port_of_long_beach.html?fbclid=IwAR3YovcatEkFAYJ6mS5fz-Cqx0yC8zzKRnxujhOG2zrH0KF8dg4ezd3-6I0#.XYV4kQtit9Y.facebook
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/05/trump_administration_forces_china_to_sell_the_port_of_long_beach.html?fbclid=IwAR3YovcatEkFAYJ6mS5fz-Cqx0yC8zzKRnxujhOG2zrH0KF8dg4ezd3-6I0#.XYV4kQtit9Y.facebook
Wow! Winning.
I heard a friend who is selling his company that imports from China mention that the new tariffs are optional. Chinese sellers off to declare less than value on the documents and each business has to deal with the moral, legal and practical aspects of that. Having the ports or Chinese imports Chinese-owned doesn't help enforcement of that. Trump is one step ahead of them - again.
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https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rebecca-grant-icymi-trumps-week-of-wins-on-iran-immigration-and-religious-freedom?fbclid=IwAR27Xx5FtQ1pgHo7uyfjd-QGsCYooa55CMG08jaU_DvKqLAXtHLElXtNR8g
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http://www.stephenwbrowne.com/2019/10/trumps-speech-at-the-un/?fbclid=IwAR1ocZAMGwSzBJ-lbT6bWI8uXex7R1djL_Pjc79wjl26SqoPWk3JaTAcWHg
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http://www.stephenwbrowne.com/2019/10/trumps-speech-at-the-un/?fbclid=IwAR1ocZAMGwSzBJ-lbT6bWI8uXex7R1djL_Pjc79wjl26SqoPWk3JaTAcWHg
Isn't this OUR Stephen Browne? )
https://dogbrothers.com/phpBB2/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=100532
This is very well written and I agree with him on every point.
https://dogbrothers.com/phpBB2/index.php?topic=2551.msg119602#msg119602
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Yes it is. We regularly engage with each other on our FB pages and have spoken on the phone.
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of course we here at DB forum have been woke for over 20 yrs to this but at least now there is even MSM and political notice of the gigantic problem ignored since Herbert Bush:
https://www.richmond.com/opinion/columnists/victor-davis-hanson-column-how-china-woke-america/article_f9b9c8ae-5d0b-5a31-b398-0071f3e4c992.html
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The Bureau of Economic Analysis on July 30 published its annual revisions to personal income data. Following meager growth in employee compensation of 2.7 percent in 2016 and 2.9 percent in 2015, the revisions show significant increases of 4.5 percent in 2017 and 5 percent in 2018. To put those numbers in context, in President Donald Trump’s first two years, employee compensation increased by $672 billion more than it did during President Barack Obama’s last two, for a whopping 42 percent improvement.
https://www.timesonline.com/opinion/20190821/andy-puzder-sen-warren-is-real-economic-threat
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Lowest unemployment rate in 50 years!
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/jobs-report---september-2019.html
September unemployment rate falls to 3.5%, a 50-year low, as payrolls rise by 136,000
Unemployment rate for Hispanics and African Americans Hispanics is the lowest ever.
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/66025-make-government-transparency-great-again-2019-10-10?mailing_id=4581&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.4581&utm_campaign=digest&utm_content=body
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Income inequality down. Income up more for low and middle income workers than during his predecessor.
-----
Last week’s Census: Worker earnings increased by 3.4% while the poverty rate declined 0.5 percentage points to 11.8%, the lowest level since 2001. Benefit rolls are shrinking as low-income workers earn more.
According to the Census Bureau, the number of full-time, year-round workers increased by 2.3 million in 2018, and employment gains were biggest among minority female-led households. The share of workers in female-led households who worked full-time year-round increased by 4.2 percentage points among blacks and 3.6 percentage points among Hispanics.
As a result, real median earnings for female households with no spouse present jumped 7.6% last year. The poverty rate among female households declined 2.7 percentage points for blacks, four percentage points for Hispanics and 7.1 percentage points for their children.
[Remember this the next time Senator Kamala Harris complains that Mr. Trump’s policies are harming women and minorities.]
The jobless rate for black women last month fell to a historic low of 4.4% and neared a nadir for Hispanic women at 4.2%.
Income gains are being distributed more evenly. The share of households making less than $35,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars has fallen 1.2 percentage points since 2016 while those earning between $50,000 and $150,000 and more than $200,000 have both increased by 0.8 percentage points.
Real median incomes increased in households between the ages of 15 to 24 and 25 to 34 by 9.1% and 5%, respectively.
Faster growth and tight labor markets of the Trump years are finally lifting incomes for folks at the bottom after the slow-growth Obama years.
- WSJ Editorial, Sept 20, 2019, "The Real Cure for Inequality"
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/466538-diplomats-describe-all-time-low-in-morale-at-state-under-trump
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/466538-diplomats-describe-all-time-low-in-morale-at-state-under-trump
Morale in the swamp is at all time low. This President has an "unconventional" style, different world view, and a different way of negotiating than any of his predecessors. That doesn't mean the old way was right; the old way is what got us in this situation in each trouble spot around the world. Like what is taught in 'Disruptive Innovation', you probably need new people with a different mindset to carry out a changed mission. It's very unlikely the existing staff can adapt. Maybe 75,000 employees aren't all needed if the mission changed and what their doing now, as reported, is complain, resist and wait for leadership to change.
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https://www.amgreatness.com/2019/10/20/why-do-they-hate-him-so/?fbclid=IwAR3_vLwvamJ5cScjcip5RoOaEuzifJEjDnyFBIlhh9z2gg3cZgkac4oXJ48
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157 judges confirmed, so far.
Source, Trump, Google, Wikipedia.
It is hard to be conservative and to be neutral on that subject come election day, given the choice of some ultra-liberal taking on that role.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/berlin-rejected-reagan-statue-but-trump-administration-found-way-to-make-it-happen
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/berlin-rejected-reagan-statue-but-trump-administration-found-way-to-make-it-happen
Germany and Obama never thought to put a statue of Reagan in the city where this one American President changed the world?
Good to see you put it under Trump Accomplishments.
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https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/steve-moore-trump-economy-is-really-experiencing-a-middle-class-boom-this-data-doesnt-lie?fbclid=IwAR1s2rfhKSv4nFKqTJtO8VWydaVdv6DLu9FjGAYsxnVCWUevcWUqDBuOxH4
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Trump Administration Releases Transparency Rule in Hospital Pricing
Plans to propose similar requirement for insurers; legal challenges are likely
Prices charged for health-care procedures such as magnetic-resonance imaging vary widely. PHOTO: KEITH SRAKOCIC/ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Stephanie Armour
Updated Nov. 15, 2019 2:52 pm ET
Hospitals and insurers would be forced to disclose their secret negotiated rates for the first time under a far-reaching plan released Friday by the Trump administration.
Administration officials said the final rule will compel hospitals in 2021 to publicize the rates they negotiate with individual insurers for all services, including drugs, supplies, facility fees and care by doctors who work for the facility.
The administration proposed extending the disclosure requirement to the $670 billion health-insurance industry. Insurance companies and group health plans that cover employees would have to disclose negotiated rates, as well as previously paid rates for out-of-network treatment, in file formats that are computer-searchable, officials said.
The insurers, including Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. , would have to provide a transparency tool to give cost information to consumers in advance, senior administration officials said.
The requirements are more far-reaching than many industry leaders had expected and could upend commercial health-care markets, which are rife with complex systems of hidden charges and secret discounts. The price-disclosure initiative has become a cornerstone of the president’s 2020 re-election health strategy, despite threats of legal action from the industry.
“Right now, there is too much arbitrage in the system,” a senior administration official said in an interview Thursday with The Wall Street Journal. “There are a ton of vested interests who will oppose this. We expect to get sued. We’re really goring people’s oxes.”
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
How could information from insurers and hospitals be helpful to you if this plan goes into effect? Join the conversation below.
Hospitals and insurers typically treat specific prices for medical services as closely held secrets, with contracts between the insurers and hospital systems generally bound by confidentiality agreements. Policy makers, employers and patients are often unable to see clearly which hospital systems and doctor practices are driving high costs.
The proposal covering insurers is the newest part of the price-disclosure initiative, and it would include the private-employer market, where about 158 million people get their health insurance. Insurers and group health plans would have to put the negotiated rates into a file that third-party developers could incorporate into shopping tools.
Insurers would also have to create a web-based tool for beneficiaries that discloses the list price, the negotiated rate, cost sharing and the amount left on a plan deductible, as well as allowable out-of-network rates, officials said. There will be a 60-day public comment period on the proposal.
The requirements for the negotiated-rate file could cost insurers an estimated $200 million to build based on projections in the proposal.
Other costs include an estimated $64 million to $161 million for three years to implement and maintain posting about cost sharing.
The proposal also states that “price transparency may have the opposite effect because in some markets where pricing is very transparent, pricing can narrow and average costs can increase.”
Studies show consumers are often required to pay more out of pocket when they don’t have the price information they need to comparison shop. Employer health-plan deductibles are outpacing wage growth and have risen to an average $1,655 for a single plan, according to a September survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Workers on average pay $6,015 toward the cost of their coverage.
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Drug pricing is complicated and secretive. WSJ explains how the flow of money, drugs and rebates behind the scenes may drive up the price of prescription medicine for consumers. Illustration: Mallory Brangan
On the final rule covering hospitals, facilities will have two obligations. First, they will have to provide insurer-specific negotiated rates in a computer-readable file.
Second, hospitals will have to post negotiated charges online for 300 specific services for which patients typically shop around. Seventy of those services, including vaginal birth, colonoscopy and joint-replacement surgery, are stipulated in the rule, according to senior administration officials. Hospitals can select the other 230 services they post online.
Hospitals face fines of up to $300 a day if they don’t comply with sharing negotiated rates.
The requirements would cost hospitals more than $23 million annually in 2016 dollars, according to an estimate in the rule. Annual costs range from $38.7 million to $39.4 million in 2019 dollars.
Taken together, the price-disclosure initiatives could reshape the $3.5 trillion health-care industry.
Prices charged for health care vary widely depending on whether a provider is in or out of the patient’s insurance network and on the insurer’s undisclosed price agreements with hospitals. A magnetic resonance image of the lower back costs $141 at an imaging center in Jefferson, La., but $7,646 at a hospital in Torrance, Calif., according to data from Clear Health Costs, which publishes information on health costs.
Hospitals, insurers and others in the industry have spent the past nine months since the idea was floated by the White House denouncing the proposal and gearing up for a pitched legal battle.
The industry is also likely to argue in any legal challenge that negotiated rates are proprietary and include confidential contractual agreements. Industry groups have also said the proposal runs counter to the First Amendment.
Pharmaceutical companies prevailed with a similar argument when the Trump administration said they had to disclose list prices for drugs in television ads. A federal judge in July ruled that the requirement overstepped regulatory authority.
“It’s actually worse than we expected,” said Tom Nickels, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association. “They have additional requirements. It’s additional data that I don’t know is particularly helpful for consumers.”
If rates are public, health-care companies say, some hospital systems might push for payment rates that match their crosstown rivals’.
MORE ON HEALTH POLICY
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Proponents of the proposal argue it would bring costs down. Out-of-network doctors could try to compete with in-network negotiated rates. Health systems that charge higher negotiated rates could lose business if they don’t match competitors’ rates or justify the reasons for their steeper costs. And employers could press their insurers to include hospitals with lower negotiated rates in their networks.
Employers and patients are often unable to see which hospital systems and doctor’s offices are driving prices upward. Some health-care economists argue that the secrecy is a factor in why the U.S. spends more per resident on health care than any other developed nation.
The administration’s vision is to arm patients with information needed to make health-care decisions much like shopping for other consumer services. Rates potentially could be posted on public websites, where consumers would check the negotiated price of a service before they pick a provider.
The White House push on price disclosure comes as President Trump seeks to close the gap with Democrats, who hold an advantage on health care in public polling.
“You’ll see some results that are incredible in terms of costs coming down,” Mr. Trump said Friday, adding, “We’re taking on the insurance companies and the special interests.”
Mr. Trump has stated that under his health-care plan, Americans will get better care at a lower cost than they currently pay. About three in 10 adults are very or somewhat confident that the president will deliver on his promise, while 62% say they aren’t too confident or not at all confident, according to an October poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The White House is prepared to defend the rule and the proposal covering insurers from lawsuits, a senior administration official said. Officials said authority for the requirements stems from the Public Health Service Act.
“You’ll be able to negotiate all over the place,” Mr. Trump said in an October speech in Florida. “And you’ll be able to pick everything you want, from the hospital to the doctor. And it’s going to save you a tremendous amount of money.”
Write to Stephanie Armour at stephanie.armour@wsj.com
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second post
https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-democrat-senator-trump-deserves-credit-for-letting-u-s-punch-back-at-russia-unlike-past-presidents
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Of note, ISIS has been slow to name their third in command.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/middle-east/syria/confirmed-isis-no-2-is-killed-in-northern-syria/2019/10/29/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-isis-leader-dead-killed-in-us-raid-in-syria-2019-10-27/
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"Of note, ISIS has been slow to name their third in command."
Heh heh.
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"Of note, ISIS has been slow to name their third in command."
Heh heh.
Hat tip for that line goes to 'Week in Pictures' accumulated at Powerlineblog:
https://i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-10-at-8.18.06-PM.png?w=1004&ssl=1
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/11/the-week-in-pictures-hearsay-edition.php
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"Of note, ISIS has been slow to name their third in command."
Heh heh.
Yeah, but mean tweets. MEAN TWEETS.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/report-illegal-immigration-drops-to-normal-levels-trump-can-take-the-credit
--------------------------------
Now round up and remove the last batch that lied, cheated and stole their way into our once sovereign nation.
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That no future President will ever break:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/02/us/politics/trump-twitter-presidency.html
It is like Cy Young's all time major league baseball win record
will never be broken.
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https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/11/while-you-were-watching-gordon-sondland-trump-flipped-the-11th-circuit/
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That no future President will ever break:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/02/us/politics/trump-twitter-presidency.html
It is like Cy Young's all time major league baseball win record
will never be broken.
ccp, My favorite baseball trivia question, who is the losingest pitcher in history (most career losses)? [also Cy Young, also will never be broken]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_career_losses_leaders
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https://www.statesman.com/news/20191116/trump-to-tour-apple-manufacturing-plant-in-austin
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-farm-deals-with-south-korea-and-japan-to-limit-china-trade-war-retaliation_3156340.html?utm_source=Epoch+Times+Newsletters&utm_campaign=71f100df26-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_11_26_01_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4fba358ecf-71f100df26-239065853
This thread keeps growing.
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https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/11/26/how-trumps-sunshine-rules-will-boost-transparency-in-health-care-prices/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-trumps-sunshine-rules-will-boost-transparency-in-health-care-prices?utm_source=TDS_Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MorningBell&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTWpneE1qRXhNVE5oTkRNeiIsInQiOiJBTVlDMmQyV0NxN0NMaVpSdkJUQ3oxMjNHUFBEdWFiVnAxUTBuNHUyMjFZTDBuQjZ0SE9YMTRZMkJvck4rM3lmc3kyM2RDMzdTalFXdDNzbXEzTTZvY3kzZXJ1ckQzZEhQdTJQMlRFZ1N5MzhEbXg2aFd4Z2x3VGcyaElWbjljeSJ9
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-economic-club-new-york-new-york-ny/
...
Back in 2016, before I took office, the Congressional Budget Office projected that fewer than 2 million jobs would be created by this time in 2019. Instead, my administration has created nearly 7 million jobs, and going up rapidly. We beat predictions — (applause) — thank you. We beat predictions more than three times the highest estimate that I saw during the campaign. Nobody thought it was even possible to get close to a 7 million number. Two million was maxed out, if you were lucky and if you did a great job.
Unemployment has recently achieved the lowest rate in 51 years. African American unemployment, Hispanic American unemployment, and Asian American unemployment, have all reached the lowest rates in history. Women’s unemployment, the best numbers in 71 years. We expect that that number of 71 years — which isn’t good compared to the other numbers, is it? But women also will soon be “historic,” we think.
Blue-collar jobs are leading the way in our middle class boom. We’ve added 25,000 mining jobs, 128,000 energy jobs, and 1.2 million manufacturing and construction jobs. And manufacturing was supposed to be dead in our country. You would need, according to a past administration representative at the highest level of that past administration — you would need a magic wand to bring back manufacturing jobs. Well, we brought them back, and we brought them back to over 600,000 manufacturing jobs as of today. (Applause.) And those are very important jobs.
Nearly 7 million people have been lifted off, very importantly, food stamps. Seven million people off of food stamps. And we’re getting Americans off of welfare and back into the workforce. Nearly 2.5 million Americans have risen out of poverty. That’s a record. The rate of African American and Hispanic American families in poverty has plummeted to the lowest level ever recorded, by far.
Since my election, the S&P 500 is up over 45 percent, the Dow Jones is up over 50 percent, and the NASDAQ is up 60 percent
...
we’ve added nearly $10 trillion of new value to our economy.
...
Last year, GDP growth matched the fastest rate in more than a decade, and it was the best of the G7 countries by far. By far. (Applause.)
Perhaps most importantly — after years of stagnation and decline — American wages, salaries, and incomes are rising very fast. Median household income is now at the highest level in the history of our country. (Applause.)
The average median income under President Bush rose only $400 over an eight-year period. Under President Obama, it rose $975 over an eight-year period. And under my administration, it rose $5,000 over slightly more than just two and a half years. That’s a big difference.
...
in addition to the $5,000 (wages up), we have to add $2,200 for the tax cuts — average tax cuts — and $2,000 to $3,000 for regulatory and energy cuts. So that would be a total of almost $10,000 (income gain) versus $400 (Bush) and versus $975 (Obama).
...
highest number of people working in our country in the history of our country. Almost 160 million people.
...
If we take back the House in 2020 and retain the Senate and the White House, you will see things that even ... you will be surprised to see. We have tremendous economic potential.
- He gets it that these other elections are tied to his success
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https://tennesseestar.com/2019/12/02/ahead-of-summit-nato-agrees-to-re-balance-nations-contributions-slash-the-u-s-share/
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Hopefully Trump will go down in history as the first to be impeached then re elected !
and maybe get 2 more Supremes on the Bench 8-) :wink:
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Hopefully Trump will go down in history as the first to be impeached then re elected !
and maybe get 2 more Supremes on the Bench 8-) :wink:
Yes.
Pelosi sounded terrible this morning. Made no new point except that the criminality is "uncontested". Famous person NOT reading the forum! As soon as they vote impeachment, this goes to the Senate and Pelosi et al lose control of it.
I have to think they will stop this at some point but everything they are doing indicates otherwise. This is a move by Pelosi to further divide the country - and divide the swing districts. How does that help them? They take the constitution SO seriously, well except for the second amendment, the electoral college, the 1st amendment, the 4th, the 9th, the constraints on power, etc.
We basically know the articles of impeachment from the committee report posted here yesterday. Nothing new has transpired.
Additional comments from yesterday:
Heavy use of the word "infer", "we must infer" , "the inference is ... ". Infer whatever you want; the trial will focus on evidence.
Prof Pamela Karlan said a couple of things yesterday that expose her derangement [and two others just offered agreement]. One was that since Trump was only a reality show host said [he might not have known any better when he said [joked] that Russia should release the emails if they have them. [I can't find a complete transcript yet.]
https://www.rev.com/blog/house-judiciary-committee-impeachment-hearing-transcript-day-1
Karlan would be sitting in Kavanaugh's chair on the Supreme Court if not for Trump. Mark her demise down as a trump accomplishment.
Secondly, she criticized 13 year old Barron Trump's name and later non-apology apologized. I don't know if she and her partner have children whose names we an rip on national television, but we wouldn't. Her hatred for Trump was unhidden throughout.
They kept misstating facts to make their case, using partial quotes or non-quotes. They were answering the question, if what Schiff made up happened, should you impeach.
How many times did they say, “I would like you to do us a favor though..." without saying what followed it, and say it was purely a personal favor? What did follow that? "... because our country has been through a lot". In his own words, Trump was asking a favor for "our country". All the rest is "inference" of the deranged.
On their side, this testimony of experts gives cover to all kool-aid drinking Democrats to believe that moving forward with impeachment at this time is the right thing to do no matter the consequences. But since this matter is political, the consequences are paramount.
Prof Jonathon Turley had to declare his own distaste for Trump in order to establish credibility and it was quite effective.
This process is benefiting candidate Joe Biden, the subject of the corruption investigation. The candidates have unwritten no-attack agreements, especially the weaker candidates against the eventual nominee. If a Democrat now attacks Biden for his corruption during this process, they are helping Trump, the ultimate political sin. That gives him a free pass through Super Tuesday.
The other part helping Biden is that a Senate trial removes half the field from the campaign stump. The Democratic Party is now stuck in Washington defending this unfair attack on Biden while Biden is free to travel anywhere and say anything he wants. [What could possibly go wrong with that?]
(https://i1.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-17-at-5.28.01-PM.png?w=700&ssl=1)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDNRxK_t-Ew
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https://reason.com/2017/11/20/is-donald-trump-of-all-presidents-devolv/?fbclid=IwAR3vQm9a94LNKcr1DHpWnj29GMBc2aIw-kHbPtd8YHtdwxGuItJBHDUEKDc
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https://www.theblaze.com/news/xiyue_wang_princeton_student_iran_freed?utm_content=buffere4726&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=fb-theblaze&fbclid=IwAR3DRTWTYjeDKUM83_E2d2t8sK5OFjDsw_ge55Az8OBfOw9RMqavdABYoQM
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/trump-calls-for-world-bank-to-stop-loaning-to-china?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=sttw&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Twitter&fbclid=IwAR00ViCRwecI_G2cheMpMSf6K0MmLRaV1hBmK4CmqzHHXe4gnfIbk_3wEvQ#Echobox=1575693420
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second post
https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-big-health-care-win-113000560.html?soc_src=community&soc_trk=fb
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https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/9/20962980/trump-supreme-court-federal-judges
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https://www.npr.org/2017/01/20/510680463/donald-trumps-been-saying-the-same-thing-for-30-years?fbclid=IwAR0RsWfCj3sM4Nn_tzfyNbqnNCkaSWG2SARjxFjlXS-GlW7mtsZzFLe7ikk
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second post
https://m.thebl.com/video/us-trade-deal-passes-japan-parliament-trumps-victory-for-american-farmers/
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https://www.lifenews.com/2019/12/11/trump-ends-liberal-domination-of-9th-circuit-appeals-court-as-senate-confirms-lawrence-vandyke/
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" .https://www.lifenews.com/2019/12/11/trump-ends-liberal-domination-of-9th-circuit-appeals-court-as-senate-confirms-lawrence-vandyke/"
now I understand why the libs on cable yesterday were wringing their hands about the "damage" . Trump caused to the courts and how it could take a loooong time to "undue"
the fretting libs:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/9/20962980/trump-supreme-court-federal-judges
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well maybe not, but Mark Levin calls him the first Jewish President:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/11/mark-levin-donald-trump-the-first-jewish-president-of-the-united-states/
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/actually-the-nato-summit-was-a-success
First off, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backed away from a previous threat to block improved NATO support for the Baltic states and Poland. Until Wednesday, Erdogan had been holding out on this unless the alliance recognized the Kurdish YPG group in Syria — an ad hoc ally against the Islamic State in the recent war — as a terrorist organization. Instead, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda observed that the Baltic states and Poland had met with Erdogan and received his support. This is a positive development which suggests that Turkey might reconsider its increasing deference to Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader, after all, will be unhappy with Erdogan for backing NATO's Baltic security strategy.
Moreover, agreement on that security strategy is a big deal in and of itself. The primary threat to NATO's security envelope is a potential Russian blitzkrieg combined arms offensive into the Baltics or through Belarus into Poland. With the 29-member alliance now unified in upgrading its support to those nations — all of which responsibly meet the NATO defense spending target of 2% of GDP — Russia faces a new deterrent. This is not to say a Russian attack is likely, simply that its possibility demands a commensurate counterforce.
Another success is the continued agreement from allies to increase defense spending. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg served as Trump's allies here, pushing other members to meet that 2% target sooner. And in a noteworthy development, the Trump administration took a more conciliatory tone here. The Washington Post reports that Trump "did not threaten other countries in the same way he had done in previous NATO meetings, according to five NATO diplomats and policymakers ..."
This is good news. While Trump is absolutely right to publicly pressure allies to spend more on defense, and has won significant spending increases as a result of this pressure, only Russia benefits where the United States is seen to question NATO's Article Five mutual defense clause. By avoiding that, Trump can leave this summit fairly claiming that he has advanced the need for greater burden sharing, but he has done so in the context of strengthening NATO's unity, not of making threats against allies.
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https://www.lifenews.com/2019/12/04/senate-confirms-pro-life-trump-nominee-sarah-pitlyk-as-federal-judge/
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https://710wor.iheart.com/featured/mark-simone/content/2019-12-15-the-new-updated-list-of-the-trump-administration-accomplishments/#.XfkIfBpe1OQ.facebook
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https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/19/senate-approves-trumps-first-black-female-judge-nominee/2703482001/
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/us/politics/trump-animal-cruelty-bill.html
Nov 25, 2019
https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/president-trump-signs-bill-making-animal-cruelty-federal-67315683
Animal rights activists will now be jumping on the Trump bandwagon?
Besides protecting animals, this IMO gives the Feds an earlier shot at some future mass murderers who sometimes let their psychosis show first in cruelty to animals.
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House passes the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, one of President Donald Trump’s economic and political priorities, in an overwhelming 385-41 vote. Thirty-eight Democrats opposed it. The trade pact now heads to the Senate, which is expected to ratify it next year.
One more time, that was 385-41. [Right in the aftermath of impeachment. I guess they want to be seen in their districts as working with this President on his popular agenda.]
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Almost all Republicans (97%) say economic conditions are good right now, as do 75% of independents and 62% of Democrats. - Latest CNN poll
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/26/donald-trump-pull-feds-out-k-12-education/
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/26/donald-trump-pull-feds-out-k-12-education/
Yes!
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https://taskandpurpose.com/trump-enlisted-troops-afghanistan?utm_content=bufferc1c8d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/9/20962980/trump-supreme-court-federal-judges
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Rank-and-File Workers Get Bigger Raises
Short supply of labor, minimum-wage rises and increased poaching have helped lift wages for lower-income workers
At Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, the company president says wages increased 8% in 2019. PHOTO: MOOYAH
By Eric Morath and Jeffrey Sparshott
Dec. 27, 2019 5:30 am ET
Wages for rank-and-file workers are rising at the quickest pace in more than a decade, even faster than for bosses, a sign that the labor market has tightened sufficiently to convey bigger increases to lower-paid employees.
Gains for those workers have accelerated much of this year, a time when the unemployment rate fell to a half-century low. A short supply of workers, increased poaching and minimum-wage increases have helped those nearer to the bottom of the pay scale.
Pay Gap
Median change in hourly wages from a yearearlier
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Note: 12-month moving average
%
RECESSION
Lowest 25%of earners
Highest 25%of earners
2000
’05
’10
’15
’20
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Highest 25%of earnersxMay 2019x3.2%
Pay for the bottom 25% of wage earners rose 4.5% in November from a year earlier, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Wages for the top 25% of earners rose 2.9%. Similarly, the Atlanta Fed found wages for low-skilled workers have accelerated since early 2018, and last month matched the pace of high-skill workers for the first time since 2010.
“A strong labor market makes the bargaining power of lower-paid workers more like the labor market higher-wage workers experience during good times and bad,” Nick Bunker, economist with job search site Indeed.com, said.
Labor Department data paint a similar picture. Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in the private sector were up 3.7% in November from a year earlier—stronger than the 3.1% advance for all employees—implying managers and other nonproduction workers saw a 1.6% wage increase in the past year. The department doesn’t produce separate management pay figures.
Nonsupervisory workers earned an average of $23.83 an hour in November according to the Labor Department; managers earned about twice that rate.
Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a restaurant chain based in Plano, Texas, with 75 U.S. locations, is among the places that has lifted starting wages to fill positions.
“The effective labor pool is smaller than what it has been in the past,” said Tony Darden, Mooyah’s president. “As you look to bring on folks, ultimately higher wages are used to attract them.”
Wage Gains
Average hourly earnings of private-sectorworkers, change from a year earlier
Source: Labor Department, The Wall Street Journal
Note: Seasonally adjusted, 3-month average;supervisory wages inferred from other available data
%
RECESSION
Production and nonsupervisoryemployees
Supervisory and nonproduction
All
2008
’10
’12
’14
’16
’18
0
1
2
3
4
5
Mooyah is competing for workers with other restaurants, grocery stores, and service providers such as salons. He said the company increased wages 8% in 2019, with much of that flowing to entry-level workers. As a result managers, such as shift supervisors, are seeing less of a premium over their subordinates, Mr. Darden added.
Low-skilled workers are typically the easiest to replace, and thus struggle to command higher wages at most points in the economic cycle. When workers are in short supply, they can benefit more because there may be dozens of nearby opportunities offering slightly more money.
“There’s been more job hopping and firms are having a hard time finding employees,” said Michael Horrigan, president of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. He was previously associate commissioner with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While hourly pay for nonmanagers is growing, average hours worked a week have declined this year. Employers may offer higher wages to attract workers but keep hours in check to control labor costs, Mr. Horrigan said.
The labor market for skilled workers is always tighter, but it hasn’t improved as substantially in recent years. The unemployment rate for high school dropouts fell to 5.3% last month from 7.8% three years earlier. The rate for college grads is down to 2% from 2.4% in November 2016, and is slightly elevated relative to the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Skill Difference
Median change in hourly wages from a yearearlier
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Note: 12-month moving average
%
RECESSION
High skill
Low skill
Mid skill
2000
’05
’10
’15
’20
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Higher-paid workers are more likely to have access to perks, including retirement contributions, vacation leave and subsidized child care—benefits in addition to pay that can keep workers from changing jobs. Many lower-paying jobs at retailers and restaurants don’t offer such perks, and workers may jump between those jobs for a few quarters an hour.
Managerial pay appeared to be held back by smaller production bonuses—such as continuing incentives to reach sales targets or deliver on output goals at a factory—said Bank of America economist Alex Lin. The wage figure excluded most benefits and one-time bonuses and stock options.
“Management pay is more sensitive to microcycles in the economy,” he said. “Other workers are more tied to the labor market, which has remained healthy.”
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Have your wages changed in the last year? How so? Join the conversation below.
Another factor supporting the lowest-paid workers is a wave of minimum-wage increases. Twenty-nine states have increased minimum wages above the federal level, and 21 of those will lift the level again in 2020. For example, the minimum wage will increase 12.5% in Washington state, to $13.50 an hour.
“When I heard about that extra $1.50 an hour, I was excited,” said Brian Hoorn of Bellingham, Wash., who earns the minimum wage at Ross Dress for Less. The 28-year-old runs the cash register, aids in fitting rooms and arranges merchandise. He received several pay raises at retail jobs in recent years as the minimum wage rose.
Pay is also increasing for low-skilled work in states such as Georgia, where the minimum wage remains at the federal level of $7.25 an hour.
Eric Watson, owner of an Express Employment Professionals office in Atlanta, said he has advised clients to offer higher wages for warehouse and entry-level manufacturing jobs. The going rate for a warehouse worker in Atlanta is close to $15 an hour, up from $12 two years ago, he said. Some clients raised pay twice in the past year.
“They realize they’re losing their talent to their neighbors,” Mr. Watson said. “Another company will call and offer the worker 50 cents more an hour—and they’ll leave immediately.”
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https://video.foxnews.com/v/6118576945001#sp=show-clips
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It's a good list if you add the things at the end that didn't make the top ten. He had a good year - that opponents try to cover up with impeachment.
A whole bunch of different economic accomplishments make up just the first item.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 10 best things Trump has done in 2019
https://www.timesonline.com/opinion/20191229/10-best-things-trump-has-done-in-2019
by Marc A. Thiessen, The Washington Post
Posted Dec 29, 2019
WASHINGTON — In his third year in office, President Trump continued to deliver an extraordinary list of accomplishments. Today, I offer my annual list of the 10 best things Trump did this year (my next column will list the 10 worst):
10. He continued to deliver for the forgotten Americans. Unemployment is at record lows; this year the number of job openings outnumbered the unemployed workers to fill them by the widest gap ever; wages are rising, and low-wage workers are experiencing the fastest pay increases. Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they are better off financially since Trump took office.
9. He implemented tighter work requirement for food stamps. With unemployment at historic lows, there is no reason more people should not be earning their success through productive work. The rules apply only to able-bodied, childless adults. When we require people to work for public assistance, we not only help meet their material needs but also help them achieve the dignity and pride that come with being a contributing member of our community. Work is a blessing, not a punishment.
8. He has got NATO allies to cough up more money for our collective security. Allies have increased defense spending by $130 billion since 2016. And the White House reports almost twice as many allies are meeting their commitment to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense today than before Trump arrived.
7. He stood with the people of Hong Kong. He warned China not to use violence to suppress pro-democracy protests and signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Hong Kong people marched with American flags and sang our national anthem in gratitude.
6. His withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is delivering China and North Korea a strategic setback. The United States is now testing new, previously banned intermediate-range missiles. These weapons will allow us to compete with China’s massive investment in these capabilities, and also provide a fallback in the likely case negotiations with North Korea fail — obviating the need for temporary deployments of U.S. carrier battle groups and allowing us to put North Korea permanently in our crosshairs.
5. His “maximum pressure” campaign is crippling Iran. Iran’s economy is contracting, inflation is spiraling and the regime has been forced to cut funding for its terrorist proxies, including Hezbollah and Hamas, the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). And now the Iranian people are engaged in the largest popular uprising since the 1979 revolution.
4. His tariff threats forced Mexico to crack down on illegal immigration. Mexico is for the first time in recent history enforcing its own immigration laws — sending thousands of National Guard forces to its southern border to stop caravans of Central American migrants. Plus, Congress is poised to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement, which would not have been possible without the threat of tariffs.
3. He delivered the biggest blow to Planned Parenthood in three decades. Thanks to Trump’s Protect Life Rule that prohibits Title X family planning funds from going to any clinic that performs on-site abortions — Planned Parenthood announced this year that it is leaving the Title X program barring a court victory.
2. He ordered the operation that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It was a high-risk mission that required U.S. forces to fly hundreds of miles into terrorist-controlled territory.
1. He has continued to appoint conservative judges at a record pace. The Senate recently confirmed Trump’s 50th pick for the federal circuit courts of appeal, which have final say over about 60,000 cases a year. In three years, Trump has appointed just five fewer circuit court judges than Obama appointed in eight years. And he has flipped three of these courts from liberal to conservative majorities, giving conservatives the majority in seven out of 13.
There are many other significant achievements that did not make the Top 10. Despite an inexcusable 55-day delay, he gave Ukraine the lethal aid that the Obama-Biden administration refused to deliver. He secured the release of additional American citizens held abroad. He launched cyberattacks on Iran, approved a major arms sale to Taiwan, imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials over Beijing’s oppression of the Uighurs, and refused to make major concessions to North Korea.
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/trump-administration-accomplishments/
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/476437-trump-signs-bill-to-eliminate-rape-kit-testing-backlog
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/04/donald-trumps-immigration-judges-boost-deportation-numbers/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=todays_hottest_stories&utm_campaign=20200104
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The number of families caught crossing illegally went from 84,486 in May to a mere 9,000 in November.
As the El Paso Times put it, “the policy has proved to be a virtual wall.”
https://issuesinsights.com/2020/01/06/trump-is-quietly-winning-bigly-at-the-border/
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https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/09/20/about-a-mile-of-new-wall-built-each-day-along-mexico-border-pentagon-says/
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https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/first-time-26-years-u-150735277.html
"First time in 26 years" - What?? Never happened in the Obama years, when the economy was "already healthy"?
"Americans in every U.S. metropolitan area experienced economic prosperity in 2018, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis."
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https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/first-time-26-years-u-150735277.html
"First time in 26 years" - What?? Never happened in the Obama years, when the economy was "already healthy"?
"Americans in every U.S. metropolitan area experienced economic prosperity in 2018, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis."
Not fair. The economy is racist.
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(https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/e21/files/figure1-e21-01132020.png)
https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/e21/files/figure1-e21-01132020.png
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Measuring-Prescription-Drug-Prices-A-Primer-on-the-CPI-Prescription-Drug-Index.pdf
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Deregulating-Health-Insurance-Markets-FINAL.pdf
I hope this graph fits on the page. See the far right side where price plunge.
With the average household spending about $2,700 annually on prescriptions—including the taxes they pay to support government programs purchasing prescriptions—that is an annual savings of $270 per household.
https://caseymulligan.blogspot.com/
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Accomplishments:
1. Acquittal - That wasn't a certainty with what Chair Schiff called the drip drip drip. He now beat the whole Russia and Ukraine charges. Any guess what the next charges will be?
2. I'm not a believer in 'trade deficits', but it's down and he promised that.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-trade-deficit-narrows-in-2019-for-first-time-in-six-years-idUSKBN1ZZ1WP
3. Need to go through SOTU fact checking and post all valid claims coming out of the speech. What did Pelosi call it, "A Manifesto of Mistruths"? I don't think so.
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Below I have excerpted and separated accomplishments listed in the State of the Union. I would like to go through them one by one for link and fact check but the list is soooo long.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/full-text-of-president-trumps-2020-state-of-the-union-speech-11580873281
...
From the instant I took office, I moved rapidly to revive the United States economy -- slashing a record number of job-killing regulations, enacting historic and record-setting tax cuts, and fighting for fair and reciprocal trade agreements. Our agenda is relentlessly pro-worker, pro-family, pro-growth, and, most of all, pro-American. We are advancing with unbridled optimism and lifting high our citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed. [All true.]
...
Since my election, we have created 7 million new jobs -- 5 million more than Government experts projected during the previous administration.
...
The unemployment rate is the lowest in over half a century.
...
Incredibly, the average unemployment rate under my Administration is lower than any administration in the history of our country. If we had not reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration, the world would not now be witness to America’s great economic success.
...
The unemployment rates for African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Asian-Americans have reached the lowest levels in history. African-American youth unemployment has reached an all-time low.
...
African-American poverty has declined to the lowest rate ever recorded.
...
The unemployment rate for women reached the lowest level in almost 70 years -- and last year, women filled 72 percent of all new jobs added.
...
The veterans’ unemployment rate dropped to a record low.
...
The unemployment rate for disabled Americans has reached an all-time low.
...
Workers without a high school diploma have achieved the lowest unemployment rate recorded in United States history.
...
A record number of young Americans are now employed.
...
Under the last administration, more than 10 million people were added to the food stamp rolls. Under my Administration, 7 million Americans have come off of food stamps, and 10 million people have been lifted off of welfare.
...
In 8 years under the last administration, over 300,000 working-age people dropped out of the workforce. In just 3 years of my Administration, 3.5 million working-age people have joined the workforce.
...
Since my election, the net worth of the bottom half of wage-earners has increased by 47 percent -- 3 times faster than the increase for the top 1 percent. After decades of flat and falling incomes, wages are rising fast -- and, wonderfully, they are rising fastest for low-income workers, who have seen a 16 percent pay-increase since my election. This is a blue collar boom.
...
Real median household income is now at the highest level ever recorded!
...
Since my election, United States stock markets have soared 70 percent, adding more than $12 trillion to our Nation’s wealth, transcending anything anyone believed was possible -- this, as other countries are not doing well. Consumer confidence has reached amazing new heights.
...
All of those millions of people with 401(k)s and pensions are doing far better than they have ever done before with increases of 60, 70, 80, 90, and even 100 percent.
...
Jobs and investment are pouring into 9,000 previously-neglected neighborhoods thanks to Opportunity Zones, a plan spearheaded by Senator Tim Scott as part of our great Republican tax cuts. In other words, wealthy people and companies are pouring money into poor neighborhoods or areas that have not seen investment in many decades, creating jobs, energy, and excitement. This is the first time that these deserving communities have seen anything like this. It is all working!
...
Our roaring economy has, for the first time ever, given many former prisoners the ability to get a great job and a fresh start. This second chance at life is made possible because we passed landmark Criminal Justice Reform into law. Everybody said that Criminal Justice Reform could not be done, but I got it done, and the people in this room got it done.
...
Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far. With the tremendous progress we have made over the past 3 years, America is now energy independent, and energy jobs, like so many elements of our country, are at a record high. We are doing numbers that no one would have thought possible just 3 years ago.
...
we are restoring our Nation’s manufacturing might, even though predictions were that this could never be done. After losing 60,000 factories under the previous two administrations, America has now gained 12,000 new factories under my Administration with thousands upon thousands of plants and factories being planned or built. We have created over half a million new manufacturing jobs. Companies are not leaving; they are coming back. Everybody wants to be where the action is, and the United States of America is, indeed, where the action is.
...
One of the single biggest promises I made to the American people was to replace the disastrous NAFTA trade deal. In fact, unfair trade is perhaps the single biggest reason that I decided to run for President. Following NAFTA’s adoption, our Nation lost one in four manufacturing jobs. Many politicians came and went, pledging to change or replace NAFTA -- only to do absolutely nothing. But unlike so many who came before me, I keep my promises. Six days ago, I replaced NAFTA and signed the brand new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) into law.
The USMCA will create nearly 100,000 new high-paying American auto jobs, and massively boost exports for our farmers, ranchers, and factory workers. It will also bring trade with Mexico and Canada to a much higher degree, but also to a much greater level of fairness and reciprocity. This is the first major trade deal in many years to earn the strong backing of America’s labor unions.
...
I also promised our citizens that I would impose tariffs to confront China’s massive theft of American jobs. Our strategy worked. Days ago, we signed the groundbreaking new agreement with China that will defend our workers, protect our intellectual property, bring billions of dollars into our treasury, and open vast new markets for products made and grown right here in the United States of America. For decades, China has taken advantage of the United States, now we have changed that but, at the same time, we have perhaps the best relationship we have ever had with China, including with President Xi. They respect what we have done because, quite frankly, they could never believe what they were able to get away with year after year, decade after decade
...
As we restore American leadership throughout the world, we are once again standing up for freedom in our hemisphere. That is why my Administration reversed the failing policies of the previous administration on Cuba. We are supporting the hopes of Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to restore democracy. The United States is leading a 59-nation diplomatic coalition against the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, a tyrant who brutalizes his people. But Maduro’s grip of tyranny will be smashed and broken. Here this evening is a man who carries with him the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of all Venezuelans. Joining us in the gallery is the true and legitimate President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó. Mr. President, please take this message back to your homeland. All Americans are united with the Venezuelan people in their righteous struggle for freedom! Socialism destroys nations. But always remember, freedom unifies the soul.
...
To safeguard American Liberty, we have invested a record-breaking $2.2 trillion in the United States Military. We have purchased the finest planes, missiles, rockets, ships, and every other form of military equipment -- all made in the United States of America.
...
I have raised contributions from the other NATO members by more than $400 billion, and the number of allies meeting their minimum obligations has more than doubled.
...
we created a new branch of the United States Armed Forces, the Space Force.
...
Pass the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act -- because no parent should be forced to send their child to a failing government school.
...
My Administration is determined to give our citizens the opportunities they need regardless of age or background. Through our Pledge to American Workers, over 400 companies will also provide new jobs and education opportunities to almost 15 million Americans.
...
Tonight, I ask the Congress to support our students and back my plan to offer vocational and technical education in every single high school in America.
...
To expand equal opportunity, I am also proud that we achieved record and permanent funding for our Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
...
Before I took office, health insurance premiums had more than doubled in just 5 years. I moved quickly to provide affordable alternatives. Our new plans are up to 60 percent less expensive.
...
I have also made an ironclad pledge to American families: We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions -- that is a guarantee.
...
I signed an Executive Order requiring price transparency. Many experts believe that transparency, which will go into full effect at the beginning of next year, will be even bigger than healthcare reform. It will save families massive amounts of money for substantially better care.
...
a long, tall, and very powerful wall is being built. We have now completed over 100 miles and will have over 500 miles fully completed by early next year.
...
My Administration is also taking on the big pharmaceutical companies. We have approved a record number of affordable generic drugs, and medicines are being approved by the FDA at a faster clip than ever before. I was pleased to announce last year that, for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs actually went down.
...
And working together, the Congress can reduce drug prices substantially from current levels. I have been speaking to Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and others in the Congress in order to get something on drug pricing done, and done properly. I am calling for bipartisan legislation that achieves the goal of dramatically lowering prescription drug prices. Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law without delay.
...
With unyielding commitment, we are curbing the opioid epidemic -- drug overdose deaths declined for the first time in nearly 30 years. Among the States hardest hit, Ohio is down 22 percent, Pennsylvania is down 18 percent, Wisconsin is down 10 percent -- and we will not quit until we have beaten the opioid epidemic once and for all.
...
We have launched ambitious new initiatives to substantially improve care for Americans with kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, and those struggling with mental health challenges. And because the Congress funded my request, we are pursuing new cures for childhood cancer, and we will eradicate the AIDS epidemic in America by the end of the decade.
...
Ellie reminds us that every child is a miracle of life. Thanks to modern medical wonders, 50 percent of very premature babies delivered at the hospital where Ellie was born now survive. Our goal should be to ensure that every baby has the best chance to thrive and grow just like Ellie. That is why I am asking the Congress to provide an additional $50 million to fund neo-natal research for America’s youngest patients. That is also why I am calling upon the Members of Congress here tonight to pass legislation finally banning the late-term abortion of babies.
...
As we support America’s moms and dads, I was recently proud to sign the law providing new parents in the Federal workforce paid family leave, serving as a model for the rest of the country. Now, I call on the Congress to pass the bipartisan Advancing Support for Working Families Act, extending family leave to mothers and fathers all across the Nation.
...
Forty million American families have an average $2,200 extra thanks to our child tax credit. I have also overseen historic funding increases for high-quality child care, enabling 17 States to serve more children, many of which have reduced or eliminated their waitlists altogether. And I sent the Congress a plan with a vision to further expand access to high-quality childcare and urge you to act immediately.
...
Last year, our brave ICE officers arrested more than 120,000 criminal aliens charged with nearly 10,000 burglaries, 5,000 sexual assaults, 45,000 violent assaults, and 2,000 murders.
...
Senator Thom Tillis has introduced legislation to allow Americans like Jody to sue Sanctuary Cities and States when a loved one is hurt or killed as a result of these deadly policies. I ask the Congress to pass the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act immediately. The United States of America should be a sanctuary for law-abiding Americans -- not criminal aliens!
...
In the last 3 years, ICE has arrested over 5,000 wicked human traffickers -- and I have signed 9 pieces of legislation to stamp out the menace of human trafficking, domestically and around the globe.
...
Before I came into office, if you showed up illegally on our southern border and were arrested, you were simply released and allowed into our country, never to be seen again. My Administration has ended Catch-and-Release. If you come illegally, you will now be promptly removed. We entered into historic cooperation agreements with the Governments of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. As a result of our unprecedented efforts, illegal crossings are down 75 percent since May -- dropping 8 straight months in a row. And as the wall goes up, drug seizures rise, and border crossings go down.
...
Last year, I traveled to the border in Texas and met Chief Patrol Agent Raul Ortiz. Over the last 24 months, Agent Ortiz and his team have seized more than 200,000 pounds of poisonous narcotics, arrested more than 3,000 human smugglers, and rescued more than 2,000 migrants. Days ago, Agent Ortiz was promoted to Deputy Chief of Border Patrol -- and he joins us tonight. Chief Ortiz: Please stand -- a grateful Nation thanks you and all the heroes of Border Patrol.
...
we are working on legislation to replace our outdated and randomized immigration system with one based on merit, welcoming those who follow the rules, contribute to our economy, support themselves financially, and uphold our values.
...
we have confirmed a record number of 187 new Federal judges to uphold our Constitution as written.
...
This includes two brilliant new Supreme Court Justices, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh.
...
My Administration is also defending religious liberty, and that includes the Constitutional right to pray in public schools.
...
I will always protect your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
...
Last week, I announced a groundbreaking plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
...
Three years ago, the barbarians of ISIS held over 20,000 square miles of territory in Iraq and Syria. Today, the ISIS territorial caliphate has been 100 percent destroyed, and the founder and leader of ISIS -- the bloodthirsty killer Al‑Baghdadi -- is dead!
...
last month, at my direction, the United States Military executed a flawless precision strike that killed Soleimani and terminated his evil reign of terror forever.
...
we are working to end America’s wars in the Middle East.
...
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China to cut tariffs in half on $75 billion of U.S. goods
Feb 6, 2020
https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/C22F364C-4898-11EA-8EAD-08678493A360
Winning.
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https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-the-trump-administration-uses-the-hidden-weapons-of-immigration-law?source=EDT_NYR_EDIT_NEWSLETTER_0_imagenewsletter_Daily_ZZ&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_021320&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9d3fa3f92a40469e2d85c&cndid=50142053&esrc=&mbid=&utm_term=TNY_Daily
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https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-the-trump-administration-uses-the-hidden-weapons-of-immigration-law?source=EDT_NYR_EDIT_NEWSLETTER_0_imagenewsletter_Daily_ZZ&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_021320&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9d3fa3f92a40469e2d85c&cndid=50142053&esrc=&mbid=&utm_term=TNY_Daily
Wow, the hidden weapons of actually enforcing the laws and acting in America's best interests. Just horrific.
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His competitors are only proposing to reduce emissions by killing economic growth.
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“The United States saw the largest decline in energy-related CO2 emissions in 2019 on a country basis -- a fall of 140 [million tons], or 2.9%, to 4.8 gigatons],” the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed in a report Tuesday.
https://www.iea.org/articles/global-co2-emissions-in-2019
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This is with fracking. We haven't even started with new nuclear.
Greta is holding the US and Trump up to the world as a model how to get this done. (?)
How much lower would global emissions be if China and India were as clean as the US?
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/alveda-king-justice-reform-angela-stanton-donald-trump/2020/02/19/id/954848/
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/02/23/white-house-drug-prices-dropped-11-percent-under-trump/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=todays_hottest_stories&utm_campaign=20200223
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https://pcmdnews.com/trump-frees-native-american-woman-serving-20-years-for-marijuana-in-latest-pardon/
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/court-rules-trump-admin-can-withhold-federal-grants-to-nyc-seven-states-over-sanctuary-policies/
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/feb/29/crickets-green-groups-trump-makes-us-global-leader/
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https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/11/white-house-executive-order-buy-american-coronavirus-medical-supply-chain-china/
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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/project-python-mexican-drug-cartel-us-arrest-a9398116.html?amp
https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2020/03/11/dea-led-operation-nets-more-600-arrests-targeting-cartel-jalisco-nueva-4
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Time permitting over the self lockdown period, let's work on some summary lists from this thread to be prepared for when the rare, persuadable, somewhere in the middle voter asks you 'what good has he done?' Not what do we like about what he has done, but what should almost American like about what he has done? Of the 500+ biggest accomplishments so far, what are the top three, top ten, top twenty...
My thoughts at the moment on this:
Most clear of all, he boldly took on the largest threat of our time (before coronoavirus), the cheating, stealing (and militarizing) of China.
He strengthened our economy before taking on China, making success in that brinkmanship possible.
He achieved twice the economic growth rate and economic strength of his predecessor and of economic competitor EU, led us to the strongest US economy ever before the unforeseen foreign viral black swan event hit the world, putting us in the strongest position possible to survive it. [As we watch Bernie and Biden debate how they would have taken the roughly same actions as Trump only better in this crisis, they would have had us taking these major economic hits from a position of relative weakness compared to where we are now.]
Trump led the defeat of the ISIS caliphate that his predecessor enabled. He avoided a new engagement in Syria, killed the world's leading terrorists, shrunk the threat of North Korea, and is currently bringing the US home from Afghanistan.
Reduced carbon dioxide emissions more than any other country in the world. Without collapsing our economy in the process. While the others babbled, he actually led the saving of the planet.
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https://amgreatness.com/2020/03/15/america-in-a-new-upside-down-world/
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/69374-trump-campaign-refutes-false-narrative-on-his-covid-19-response?mailing_id=4935&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.4935&utm_campaign=digest&utm_content=body
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Famous people reading the forum, following our advice:
And the support for it is bipartisan!
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3077192/donald-trump-signs-taipei-act-support-taiwans-international
President Donald Trump signed the TAIPEI Act, a bill expressing Washington’s support for Taiwan in strengthening its relationships with countries around the world.
The legislation, formally titled the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act, was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives on March 4. The Senate bill, which was approved unanimously in October, then had to be reconciled with the House’s version before going to Trump to be signed into law.
The act – written by Senator Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, and Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware – says the US should support Taiwan in strengthening its alliances around the world amid increased Chinese pressure and what Coons called “bullying tactics” by Beijing.
“The United States should use every tool to support Taiwan’s standing on the international stage,” Gardner said in a joint announcement with Coons. “This bipartisan legislation demands a whole-of-government approach to ramp up our support for Taiwan, and will send a strong message to nations that there will be consequences for supporting Chinese actions that undermine Taiwan.”
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Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware
first time I rea anything about this guy which did make me wince
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https://gunowners.org/breaking-goa-and-goc-thank-the-trump-administration-for-designating-firearms-industry-as-essential/?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=na-alert-2020-03-28
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https://www.militarytimes.com/news/coronavirus/2020/04/01/540-additional-troops-to-deploy-to-us-mexico-border-over-covid-19-concerns/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Army%20-%20Daily%20News%20Roundup
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/04/former-cia-station-chief-dni-richard-grenell-bringing-much-needed-efficiency-to-bloated-intel-community/
A friend wise in these things comments "Hoffman actually knows the business, and I love that he’s calling Brennan out."
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https://freebeacon.com/national-security/trump-admin-moves-to-revoke-chinas-authority-to-provide-telecom-service-in-u-s/
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As of Sept 2018,
Trump Administration Accomplishments
Almost 4 million jobs created since election.
More Americans are now employed than ever recorded before in our history.
We have created more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since my election.
Manufacturing jobs growing at the fastest rate in more than THREE DECADES.
Economic growth last quarter hit 4.2 percent.
New unemployment claims recently hit a 49-year low.
Median household income has hit highest level ever recorded.
African-American unemployment has recently achieved the lowest rate ever recorded.
Hispanic-American unemployment is at the lowest rate ever recorded.
Asian-American unemployment recently achieved the lowest rate ever recorded.
Women’s unemployment recently reached the lowest rate in 65 years.
Youth unemployment has recently hit the lowest rate in nearly half a century.
Lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for Americans without a high school diploma.
Under my Administration, veterans’ unemployment recently reached its lowest rate in nearly 20 years.
Almost 3.9 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps since the election.
The Pledge to America’s Workers has resulted in employers committing to train more than 4 million Americans. We are committed to VOCATIONAL education.
95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future—the highest ever.
Retail sales surged last month, up another 6 percent over last year.
Signed the biggest package of tax cuts and reforms in history. After tax cuts, over $300 billion poured back in to the U.S. in the first quarter alone.
As a result of our tax bill, small businesses will have the lowest top marginal tax rate in more than 80 years.
Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.
Opened ANWR and approved Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines.
Record number of regulations eliminated.
Enacted regulatory relief for community banks and credit unions.
Obamacare individual mandate penalty GONE.
My Administration is providing more affordable healthcare options for Americans through association health plans and short-term duration plans.
Last month, the FDA approved more affordable generic drugs than ever before in history. And thanks to our efforts, many drug companies are freezing or reversing planned price increases.
We reformed the Medicare program to stop hospitals from overcharging low-income seniors on their drugs—saving seniors hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone.
Signed Right-To-Try legislation.
Secured $6 billion in NEW funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
We have reduced high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent during my first year in office.
Signed VA Choice Act and VA Accountability Act, expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
Increased our coal exports by 60 percent; U.S. oil production recently reached all-time high.
United States is a net natural gas exporter for the first time since 1957.
Withdrew the United States from the job-killing Paris Climate Accord.
Cancelled the illegal, anti-coal, so-called Clean Power Plan.
Secured record $700 billion in military funding; $716 billion next year.
NATO allies are spending $69 billion more on defense since 2016.
Process has begun to make the Space Force the 6th branch of the Armed Forces.
Confirmed more circuit court judges than any other new administration.
Confirmed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Withdrew from the horrible, one-sided Iran Deal.
Moved U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Protecting Americans from terrorists with the Travel Ban, upheld by Supreme Court.
Issued Executive Order to keep open Guantanamo Bay.
Concluded a historic U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal to replace NAFTA. And negotiations with Canada are underway as we speak.
Reached a breakthrough agreement with the E.U. to increase U.S. exports.
Imposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to protect our national security.
Imposed tariffs on China in response to China’s forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and their chronically abusive trade practices.
Net exports are on track to increase by $59 billion this year.
Improved vetting and screening for refugees, and switched focus to overseas resettlement.
We have begun BUILDING THE WALL. Republicans want STRONG BORDERS and NO CRIME. Democrats want OPEN BORDERS which equals MASSIVE CRIME.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/trump-administration-accomplishments/
Economic Growth
4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.
For the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3 percent over the calendar year.
Jobs
4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
Unemployment claims at 50 year low
African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.
American Income
Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.
American Optimism
Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.
American Business
Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.
Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record highs.
Dow hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one year.
Deregulation
Achieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.
Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.
Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.
Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.
Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.
Tax Cuts
Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.
9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.
Worker Development
Established a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.
Employers have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.
Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs.
Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.
Domestic Infrastructure
Proposed infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.
Executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects.
Federal agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects.
Rural prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand broadband access in rural areas.
Health Care
Signed an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American households Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.
Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.
Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.
Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.
FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion.
Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse price increases.
Expanded short-term, limited-duration health plans.
Let more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to their employees.
Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.
Signed legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as the “death panels.”
USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across 41 states
Proposed Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in violation of the law.
Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry.
HHS formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom.
Overturned Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from defunding certain abortion facilities.
Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.
Combating Opioids
Chaired meeting the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the worldwide drug problem with international leaders.
Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.
$6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
DEA conducted a surge in April 2018 that arrested 28 medical professions and revoked 147 registrations for prescribing too many opioids.
Brought the “Prescribed to Death” memorial to President’s Park near the White House, helping raise awareness about the human toll of the opioid crisis.
Helped reduce high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent in 2017.
Opioid Summit on the administration-wide efforts to combat the opioid crisis.
Launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction.
Created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.
Led two National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in 2017 and 2018, collecting a record number of expired and unneeded prescription drugs each time.
$485 million targeted grants in FY 2017 to help areas hit hardest by the opioid crisis.
Signed INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids before they reach our communities.
DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
Declared the opioid crisis a Nationwide Public Health Emergency in October 2017.
Law and Order
More U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed in the first year in office than ever.
Confirmed more than two dozen U. S. Circuit Court judges.
Followed through on the promise to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will adhere to the Constitution
Nominated and confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who commit crimes against law enforcement officers.
Launched an evaluation of grant programs to make sure they prioritize the protection and safety of law enforcement officers.
Established a task force to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities across Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.
Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.
Violent crime decreased in 2017 according to FBI statistics.
$137 million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program to preserve jobs, increase community policing capacities, and support crime prevention efforts.
Enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods to help reduce violent crime.
Signed legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or facilitate prostitution.
Created an interagency task force working around the clock to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent human trafficking.
Conducted Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84 children and arresting 120 human traffickers.
Encouraged federal prosecutors to use the death penalty when possible in the fight against the trafficking of deadly drugs.
New rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.
Border Security and Immigration
Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.
More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.
Trade
Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.
Energy
Presidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete construction.
Opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.
Coal exports up over 60 percent in 2017.
Rolled back the “stream protection rule” to prevent it from harming America’s coal industry.
Cancelled Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan and proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule as a replacement.
Withdrew from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs by 2040.
U.S. oil production has achieved its highest level in American history
United States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.
U.S. has become a net natural gas exporter for the first time in six decades.
Action to expedite the identification and extraction of critical minerals that are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity.
Took action to reform National Ambient Air Quality Standards, benefitting American manufacturers.
Rescinded Obama’s hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the industry $32 million per year.
Proposed an expansion of offshore drilling as part of an all-of-the above energy strategy
Held a lease sale for offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2018.
Got EU to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.
Issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Foreign Policy
Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.
Defense
Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
$700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
Released an America first National Security Strategy.
Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
Every member state has increased defense spending.
Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.
Veterans affairs
Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans
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8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
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of sorts
https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2020/04/27/donald-trump-jr-father-scaling-back-coronavirus-press-briefings-cant-win-establishment-media/
better late than never.
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ditch the post above
I though since coming from Don Jr it might actually be true
today again Donald answering questions for Jim Acosta
We can only hope Biden crashes ....
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By: Geopolitical Futures
Huawei on life support? On Friday, the Trump administration moved forward with a long-awaited measure requiring even non-U.S. chip manufacturers using U.S. chipmaking equipment, intellectual property or design software to apply for a license before shipping microchips to Chinese tech giants like Huawei. This effectively forces Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. – the world’s dominant chipmaker – to choose between the U.S. and Chinese tech sectors. For now, at least, it’s choosing the U.S. The firm, which produces some 90 percent of the world’s most advanced microchips and which last week announced early stage plans to build a factory in the U.S. – has reportedly halted new orders from Huawei. One risk of this move for the U.S. is that it inadvertently accelerates development of a homegrown Chinese competitor. So it’s worth noting that China’s own top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., on Friday announced that it had received $2.25 billion in financing from a pair of state-owned funds. But the firm is believed to be several years away from being able to replace what industry leaders like TSMC provide. Thus Huawei’s startling admission this morning: Its survival is at stake.
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If the virus is his fault, are not the health improvements his credit?
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/06/03/COVID-19-pandemic-causes-42-drop-in-ER-visits-nationwide/9661591200598/?sl=6
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Daily Memo:
U.S. boosts scrutiny of Chinese firms. The U.S. is taking steps to remove many Chinese firms from U.S. stock exchanges. On Thursday, the White House gave U.S. financial regulators two months to come up with recommendations for how to handle Chinese firms that refuse to comply with U.S. transparency requirements. Per Chinese law, Chinese firms listed on overseas exchanges effectively can’t comply; they’re required to hold their audit papers in China and forbidden from allowing foreign regulators to inspect them. For years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been pushing Beijing to change its stance. But since so many high-profile Chinese firms are either state-owned or closely linked to the Chinese government or military, Beijing is loath to budge. While the high-profile Chinese companies Beijing wants to protect face a low risk of collapse, many of the listed companies are obscure, often-fraudulent operations that have teamed up with unscrupulous U.S. investment firms to exploit loopholes in U.S. securities regulations. And there’s a staggering amount of money tied up in these listings – upward of $1 trillion, by some estimates, or around 3.3 percent of U.S. equity market valuation – so a lack of compliance with accounting rules poses a systemic risk to the U.S. equity markets. As a result, last month, the U.S. Senate approved legislation that would de-list companies if they defy U.S. audit regulations for three consecutive years. And U.S. exchanges are making their own moves. NASDAQ has unveiled tighter restrictions on IPOs and suspended trading of China’s Luckin Coffee for a month on grounds (pun intended) that it had inflated revenues by more than $300 million. An inability to raise capital on U.S. exchanges is a problem for Chinese firms and thus the Chinese economy. But unless other foreign exchanges follow the U.S. lead on the matter, don’t expect Beijing to back down.
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https://www.newsmax.com/draft-stories/policereform-trump-vanjones/2020/06/16/id/972504/
of course those on MSNBC and the rest of CNN with scowling faces
and calls for "its not enough" and just " window dressing" etc
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https://www.judicialwatch.org/corruption-chronicles/u-s-medical-research-agency-fires-dozens-of-scientists-with-financial-ties-to-china/?utm_source=deployer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=corruption+chronicles&utm_term=members&utm_content=20200617230150
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I've been following this issue here on this page and on my forum for quite some time-- thank you President Trump and AG Barr for generating some real movement!
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Justice Department Proposes Limiting Internet Companies’ Protections
Action follows President Trump’s executive order seeking to weaken broad immunity enjoyed by Facebook, Twitter and other platforms
President Trump’s administration is involved in a continuing clash with technology giants
Updated June 17, 2020 5:01 pm ET
WASHINGTON—The Justice Department proposed a rollback of legal protections that online platforms have enjoyed for more than two decades, in an effort to make tech companies more responsible in how they police their content.
The department’s changes, unveiled Wednesday, are designed to spur online platforms to be more aggressive in addressing illicit and harmful conduct on their sites, and to be fairer and more consistent in their decisions to take down content they find objectionable.
The department said the time was ripe to realign tech-company legal immunity “with the realities of the modern internet.”
“Several online platforms have transformed into some of the nation’s largest and most valuable companies, and today’s online services bear little resemblance to the rudimentary offerings in 1996,” when the legal protections were first granted, the department said.
The proposal would have to be adopted by a divided Congress, and it could be difficult to get such a complicated, controversial plan enacted in an election year.
Still, the move represents an escalation in the continuing clash between the White House and big tech firms such as Twitter Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit and Facebook Inc.
Last month, President Trump signed an executive order that sought to target the legal protections of social-media companies, responding to concerns among some conservatives about alleged online censorship by the platforms. The executive order aimed to limit legal immunity for social-media companies when they are deemed to unfairly curb users’ speech, for instance by deleting their posts or suspending their accounts. The administration, however, can’t impose many of these changes unilaterally.
The Justice Department’s proposed changes address the type of speech concerns raised by Mr. Trump, but they extend more broadly, seeking to strip civil immunity afforded to tech companies in a range of other circumstances if online platforms are complicit in unlawful behavior taking place on their networks.
The proposal, for instance, would remove legal protections when platforms facilitate or solicit third-party content or activity that violates federal criminal law, such as online scams and trafficking in illicit or counterfeit drugs.
Facebook and Twitter have taken different stances on moderating President Trump on their platforms. It's the latest controversy in an ongoing debate about the responsibility tech companies have in policing speech online.
Internet companies would lose immunity if they have knowledge that unlawful conduct is taking place on their platforms or show reckless disregard for how users are behaving on their sites. Without those legal protections, tech companies could be exposed to claims for monetary damages from people allegedly harmed by online fraud and other illegal activity.
The department also wouldn’t confer immunity to platforms in instances involving online child exploitation and sexual abuse, terrorism or cyberstalking. Those carve-outs are needed to curtail immunity for internet companies to allow victims to seek redress, the department said.
Attorney General William Barr has repeatedly voiced concerns about online-platform immunity, citing, for example, a terrorism case in which courts ruled that Facebook wasn’t civilly liable because its algorithms allegedly matched the Hamas organization with people that supported its cause.
The Justice Department is also seeking to make clear that tech platforms don’t have immunity in civil-enforcement actions brought by the federal government, and can’t use immunity as a defense against antitrust claims that they removed content for anticompetitive reasons.
Twitter and Facebook representatives on Wednesday reiterated their past statements in support of longstanding legal protections.
Twitter last month said removing the protections would threaten the future of online speech and internet freedoms. Facebook has said that cutting platform immunity would restrict more speech online “by exposing companies to potential liability for everything that billions of people around the world say.”
The sweeping protections now enjoyed by tech companies were established by Congress in the internet’s early days, through a provision known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Under that law, tech platforms are generally not legally liable for actions of their users, except in relatively narrow circumstances. Internet platforms also are given broad ability to police their sites as they see fit under the current law.
Those protections would be scaled back in significant ways under the Justice Department’s proposal, which seeks, in essence, to prevent platforms from taking down content without offering reasonable rules and explanations—and following them consistently. It also would make platforms more responsible for third-party content in other areas such as online commerce.
Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Social Media (May 29)
The proposal’s restrictions on platforms’ content-moderation practices would be extensive.
For instance, the department is proposing to strike from federal law a provision that allows platforms to delete content that they merely deem to be objectionable.
The proposal also would give some teeth to an existing “good-faith” standard that platforms are supposed to use in their content-moderation decisions. The aim would be to require platforms to adhere to their terms of service, as well as their public claims about their practices. Platforms also would have to provide reasonable explanations of their decisions.
Digital platforms have historically made decisions independently about how to police content, covering topics ranging from election interference to harassment. On Wednesday, the first industry group devoted to such issues, the Trust and Safety Professional Association, was launched with funding from Facebook, Google, Twitter and other big tech companies. “These issues are front and center during these fraught times,” the organization’s founders said in a statement.
The Internet Association, a trade group of leading online companies, warned: “The threat of litigation for every content moderation decision would hamper IA member companies’ ability to set and enforce community guidelines and quickly respond to new challenges in order to make their services safe, enjoyable places for Americans.”
Section 230’s broad protections have drawn increasing criticism from both the right and the left in recent years, and some lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, have begun weighing rollbacks. A bipartisan group of senators currently is pushing legislation encouraging internet companies to take special steps to block online child sexual exploitation to qualify for full protection.
But the new proposal seems unlikely to break an election-year logjam in Congress over how to proceed. Inaction is being fueled in part by concerns among some lawmakers that going too far with reforms could push tech companies to further tighten restrictions on speech and content, or, alternatively, retreat from sensible policing standards.
The politics of the debate also are heated. While some Democrats support changes to the law, they also question the Trump administration’s aims.
“I’ve certainly been one of Congress’ loudest critics of Section 230, but I have no interest in being an agent of Bill Barr’s speech police,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) said.
Some administration critics believe its recent actions on Section 230 are aimed at discouraging big tech companies from seeking to restrict online activities of the president and his allies during the 2020 campaign.
Republicans cheered Wednesday’s proposal as long overdue.
“I’m glad to see Attorney General Barr taking action to roll back Section 230 immunity,” Rep. Doug Collins (R., Ga.) said on Twitter. “Google—along with every other big tech company—shouldn’t be allowed to get away with content filtering or censorship.”
Mr. Trump’s executive order last month focused on encouraging more action to curb Section 230 by federal regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. It also seeks to convene a working group of state attorneys general to look into complaints by users.
As expected, the order was quickly challenged in federal court by an online-rights group; that challenge remains pending.
On Wednesday, Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, a self-described skeptic of Mr. Trump’s executive order, urged Republicans to bring their proposals forward quickly, so affected companies don’t find themselves facing uncertainty during campaign season.
“Let us be clear with the American public about what, if any, real-world impact the executive order has, and let us avoid an upcoming election season in which the government can use a pending proceeding to intimidate private parties,” he said in remarks at an industry think-tank webinar.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com and John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com
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https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/china-warns-us-of-consequences-after-donald-trump-signs-uighur-human-rights-act-2248064
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/federal-court-upholds-trump-admin-rule-requiring-hospitals-to-disclose-negotiated-prices_3400367.html?ref=brief_News&__sta=vhg.qblkmhbwphzxphzemdsbg%7CHYJ&__stm_medium=email&__stm_source=smartech
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https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/four-men-charged-federal-court-attempting-tear-down-statue-andrew-jackson-lafayette?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=13065
https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/27/trump-monument-executive-order-federal-grants-chopping-block-local-governments/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=13065
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https://www.nraila.org/articles/20200629/trump-hits-judicial-milestone?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ila_alert
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second post
https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-posts-wanted-posters-seeking-people-allegedly-involved-in-destroying-statues_3404656.html?ref=brief_BreakingNews&__sta=vhg.qblkmhbwphzxphzemdsbg%7CJTJ&__stm_medium=email&__stm_source=smartech
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The North American Trade Dividend
The revised U.S.-Mexico-Canada pact will help post-Covid recovery and lure jobs back from China.
By H.R. McMaster and Pablo Tortolero
July 6, 2020 6:58 pm ET
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement took effect last week, and U.S. business and political leaders should be racing to take advantage of its benefits. The deal will hasten economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Even more important, it will counteract the Chinese Communist Party’s aggression.
The reduction of trade barriers among the USMCA’s parties will strengthen U.S., Mexican and Canadian supply chains, returning manufacturing jobs to North America from China. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic exposed how North America had become too dependent on China for medical equipment and drugs, Beijing’s campaign of intimidation and censorship was already hurting international companies.
The pressure China inflicted on the National Basketball Association last year after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey voiced support for Hong Kong protesters is one of countless Communist Party demands that companies abandon liberal values, forgo criticism, and provide at least tacit support for the repression of the Chinese people. Implementing the USMCA provides an opportunity to minimize North American companies’ exposure to the party’s coercive power.
The U.S., Mexico and Canada must undertake the economic recovery together. Economists predict a post-Covid-19 economic recession of about 6% to 8% of gross domestic product for the U.S. and Canada. Mexico’s recession is projected to be even deeper, between 8% and 10% of GDP, due in part to a weak economic stimulus package. If the Mexican economy, which relies heavily on currently distressed sectors like tourism, manufacturing and oil, lags behind the U.S. and Canada, consumers and workers in all three countries will suffer.
In Michigan alone, the sudden rupture of deeply interconnected supply chains in automobiles helped lead to the loss of more than a million jobs in less than two months. Exports from Michigan to Mexico amount to more than $10 billion a year. In contrast to trade with China, this trade with Mexico is characterized by much greater shared production. The percentage of American content in most Mexican exports to the U.S. is between 20% and 40%, while U.S. content in imports from China is approximately 4%.
A joint North American recovery will require diplomatic as well as economic therapies. U.S. and Canadian diplomats must convince the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that the expansion of North American trade is essential. Even before the pandemic, Mr. López Obrador’s populist policies and distrust of corporations were depressing Mexico’s economy.
More than 40% of Mexicans live in poverty, yet the Mexican government announced abrupt cancellations of potentially lucrative projects, most notably a partially built Mexico City airport in 2018. In addition to lost jobs, government disruptions of that sort depress investor confidence.
After the virus struck, Mr. López Obrador’s odd mix of fiscal restraint and distrust of business led him to pursue a policy of austerity rather than fiscal stimulus. In June Mexico fell off consulting firm AT Kearney’s list of the top 25 destinations for foreign investment.
But as the economy worsens—another 8% of Mexicans may fall below the poverty line this year—leaders may be ready to try a new cure. An overwhelming majority of Mexicans consider economic hardship to be the greatest challenge facing the country. Treatment could take the form of a U.S.-sponsored fiscal recovery plan for Mexico, using existing credit quotas at international institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as well as increased capital financing from the Inter-American Development Bank. In particular, Mexico should take advantage of its access to the IMF’s flexible credit line, which allows countries with strong economic fundamentals and policy track records to obtain assistance before they face a full-blown crisis.
U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials should align guidance for economic reopening with the implementation of the USMCA’s new rules-of-origin provisions. That would accelerate the reactivation of value chains in critical industries.
Public and private leaders who are already working together to satisfy demand for Covid-related essential products should shift discussions to a long-term vision for adapting North American economies to the post-Covid world. High-level forums, such as the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will help identify opportunities for investment and joint ventures.
One discussion topic should be how to build resilient supply chains that reduce the corporate and national-security risk from Chinese espionage and unfair trade practices. Local business-to-business relationships play an important role. North American business organizations can help drive the near-term reactivation of regional production hubs and identify long-term ventures to capitalize on the repatriation of production to the region. All should work together to speed USMCA’s implementation in key industries such as automobile and pharmaceutical manufacturing, aerospace and energy.
Improved economic cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico shouldn’t be difficult. The countries share deep social and cultural ties strengthened by more than two decades of growing economic integration. When President Trump hosts Mr. López Obrador at the White House this week, the two leaders should discuss implementing the USMCA in a way that will accelerate the economic recovery and alter critical supply chains, protecting trade from the whims of an increasingly aggressive Chinese Communist Party.
The people of North America, while recognizing that their democracies are works in progress, should be proud of their ability to demand reform, exercise their rights to freedom of expression, and live free under the rule of law rather than under fear of an authoritarian regime. Citizens should demand that their leaders uphold the principles of free trade, realize the gains associated with reciprocal market access, and ramp up an engine of production in our own hemisphere through the USMCA.
Lt. Gen. McMaster, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and a retired Army officer, served as White House national security adviser, 2017-18. Mr. Tortolero, a Fulbright Scholar, recently received a master’s in international policy from Stanford.
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https://nypost.com/2020/07/06/us-increasing-naval-presence-in-south-china-sea-as-check-on-china/
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Trump’s New Chant: Build the Road
Fixing environmental reviews will pay real dividends for years.
By The Editorial Board
July 16, 2020 7:17 pm ET
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President Donald Trump speaks during an event about regulatory reform on the South Lawn of the White House on July 16.
PHOTO: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
President Trump often gets itchy to sign some giant public-works spending bill. Here’s a much better gift to America: The White House on Wednesday finished its renovations to the process for environmental reviews. This might sound as dry as old cement, but it’ll help big projects get built for years to come—that is, if President Joe Biden doesn’t use an expedited procedure next year to undo it.
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A 1970 law called the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, mandates an environmental study if a major project involves federal funding or permitting. In 1981 the expectation by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was that even for “large complex energy projects,” the whole review process “would require only about 12 months.”
Today that seems heavenly. In recent years the average review involving an environmental impact statement took 4.5 years, and the final document ran to 661 pages, before appendixes. In a quarter of cases, the process burned at least six years and 748 pages. Those timelines don’t necessarily count any subsequent lawsuits over whether the NEPA review was faulty. One sadly spectacular outlier was a 12-mile highway expansion in Denver that took 13 years to get through environmental review.
The Trump Administration’s reforms, which are the first comprehensive update to NEPA rules since 1978, establish presumptive limits. A full environmental impact statement, the new rules say, should take no more than two years and 300 pages. An environmental assessment, which is less intensive, should max out at a year and 75 pages. Going longer will require written permission by “a senior agency official.”
The CEQ estimates that federal agencies complete about 175 impact statements each year, plus 10,000 assessments. Do the math, and in a decade the Trump Administration’s rules could literally cut thousands of years of cumulative delay, speeding everything from interstate highways to gas pipelines to subway lines.
How Long Does an Environmental Impact Statement Take? Completion time for1,276 proposals, 2010-18
Source: The Council on Environmental Quality
Note: EIS completion time in years, from notice of intent to record of decision
YEARS
25th Percentile2.2 years
75th Percentile6.0 years
Average4.5 years
Median3.5 years
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17+
0
50
100
150
200
250
Projects 300
How Long Is an Environmental Impact Statement? Page counts, withoutappendixes, for 656 proposals, 2013-18
Source: The Council on Environmental Quality
100 or under
up to 200
up to 300
up to 400
up to 500
up to 600
up to 700
up to 800
up to 900
up to 1,000
up to 1,100
up to 1,200
up to 1,300
up to 1,400
up to 1,500
up to 1,600
up to 1,700
up to 1,800
up to 1,900
up to 2,000
2,000+
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Prolonged delays have real costs: They raise the price of building, cause projects to be abandoned, keep drivers wasting gasoline in snaillike traffic, and so forth. Making environmental reviews succinct will be better for informing citizens, since a focused 100-page study is more likely to be read than a flabby 700-page one.
The Trump rule removes language about “cumulative” effects and says that purported environmental consequences “should generally not be considered if they are remote in time, geographically remote, or the product of a lengthy causal chain.” NEPA isn’t intended to assess whether a natural-gas pipeline in the Midwest might cause flooding in Florida in 2100. Impact statements must now include the estimated cost to prepare them, which the CEQ says in the past hasn’t been “routinely tracked.”
If Democrats sweep Washington in November, the danger is that they might overturn this using the Congressional Review Act. That fast-track process requires only a simple majority, bypassing the Senate filibuster. Under the CRA, the 2021 Congress will be able to nix regulations promulgated during this year’s final 60 legislative days. The precise “lookback” window isn’t certain until the adjournment gavel is slammed, but it’s probably here already. Maybe Mr. Trump should switch his 2020 rally chant from “Build the Wall” to “Build the Road.”
No amount of administrative rule-making can bulldoze the legal bog where America’s builders get mired. NEPA, the CEQ emphasizes, is “a procedural statute,” and the Trump Administration’s rules don’t “alter any substantive environmental law or regulation.” That said, these will be much better procedures if they prevent another 13-year study of a 12-mile road.
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Daily Caller
Biggest news of the day...
TIMES OF LONDON REPORTS... NO EVIDENCE OF STUDENT TO TEACHER TRANSMISSION ON ENTIRE PLANET... JORDAN SCHACHTEL: "Too dangerous"? There is no record of a student EVER transmitting the coronavirus to a teacher
With dozens of countries in the process of [...] having already launched full school re-openings (the United States is lagging tragically behind on this front), a renowned scientist has made it clear that the threat to teachers is overblown, if not nonexistent.
Mark Woolhouse, the infectious disease expert, told The Times of London: “One thing we have learnt is that children are certainly, in the 5 to 15 brackets from school to early years, minimally involved in the epidemiology of this virus. “They are probably less susceptible and vanishingly unlikely to end up in hospital or to die from it.
Prof Woolhouse adds: “There is increasing evidence that they rarely transmit. For example, it is extremely difficult to find any instance anywhere in the world as a single example of a child transmitting to a teacher in school. There may have been one in Australia but it is incredibly rare.”
Woolhouse said digging up the fact that children did not transmit the coronavirus was a “very hard won” endeavor.
“We had to go into full lockdown while we accumulated this information. It is absolutely vital that we use this information in managing whatever happens in the future, so that we can target whatever measures we take much better at where they are needed. For example, most governments in Europe now recognise that stopping children playing outside was not needed, and most governments will probably now say that going to school as normal is safe. We can use that information in the future.”
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/72340-illegal-aliens-and-the-2020-census-2020-07-22?mailing_id=5210&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.5210&utm_campaign=digest&utm_content=body
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at 10:42
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEQrLcRoQMw&feature=share
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Trump Helps the Environment by Enraging Environmentalists
His plan to reform NEPA would speed replacement of old, dirty projects with cleaner new ones.
By Richard A. Epstein
July 30, 2020 6:50 pm ET
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Train cars carrying coal roll into an unloading facility in Newport News, Va, May 22, 2014.
PHOTO: PATRICK SEMANSKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Trump administration recently published the first comprehensive revision of federal regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970. Environmental groups predictably denounced the initiative. Among its many detractors, the Wilderness Society insists that these regulations will “essentially gut” NEPA by putting “polluters in charge of environment protection.” This objection wholly overlooks NEPA’s deeply dysfunctional features.
From its inception in 1970, NEPA had two basic objectives: first, to require all new projects to receive a thorough and transparent vetting of potential environmental risks; second, to expand democratic participation in the review process via public hearings.
Five decades later, it is clear that NEPA has achieved neither. The most obvious sign of institutional distress is the long time—4.5 years on average—to complete the elaborate environmental impact statement before work can commence. Today’s NEPA behemoth is far from its 1970 origins, which is why the Trump administration’s update is overdue.
Environmentalist critics work on the flawed assumption that the longer the review period, the greater the environmental protection. But that’s untrue for the large majority of important projects. As I detail in a report for ConservAmerica, these new projects typically replace older, more dangerous projects and use superior technologies unavailable generations ago. When NEPA review delays a state-of-the-art pipeline, for instance, that requires greater shipment of fossil fuels by rail and truck, which is far more likely to cause major spills with extensive collateral damage.
As drafted, NEPA requires the government agency in charge of a review to consider “every significant aspect of environmental impact,” a clear impossibility for complex multibillion-dollar projects. Typically the truncation of that open-ended inquiry leads officials to become preoccupied with small defects and overlook the major improvements in both consumer welfare and environmental safety that new roads, bridges, airports and other projects promise.
Ostensibly, the report released in July by the Trump administration is concerned only with NEPA’s extensive procedural provisions. It contains many useful proposals on how to coordinate and streamline a cumbersome process often divided haphazardly among multiple agencies. One set of needed changes is strict timelines and page limits on environmental impact statements to speed up and focus the review process.
But by far the most important proposal is to soften the devastating consequences that flow from any asserted NEPA violation. Courts have wrongly created a strong presumption that any deviation from NEPA’s exacting requirements, however trivial, requires that the permit be denied. The endless rounds of NEPA reviews led to the abandonment of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline this month before construction could begin, and to shutting down for the flimsiest of reasons the Dakota Access Pipeline after three years of successful operation.
NEPA rules also deviate from sound judicial practice. An injunction is appropriate only when a plaintiff can show irreparable harm, which can’t be demonstrated solely by showing that the project developer does not yet have in place a perfect plan for containing oil spills that are unlikely to occur in the first place. Ironically, NEPA’s laborious process undercuts the statutory objective of making informed public decisions. Trying to decide everything at the initial stage of review requires speculation and invites errors in judgment. A far more sensible process would allow work to begin while these details are ironed out through project upgrades, backed by public and private inspections, strong liability protections and extensive insurance policies. These sensible precautions would sharply cut down both the frequency and severity of adverse environmental impacts.
As drafted, NEPA was intended to invite all segments of the public to submit comments to improve decision making. But in 1971, in Calvert Cliffs’ Coordinating Committee v. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia invited a flood of new litigation by holding that any disappointed party may challenge an agency approval in federal court. Even if the bulk of informed opinion supports a new project, an extreme outlier can sue to stop it. NEPA includes no provision establishing a private right of action, but the practice has become so ingrained that it can’t be undone by regulation.
Congress should act to stop the hijacking of the permit process to block the use of fossil fuels throughout the economy. Informed, democratic decision making requires consistent environmental regulation, not a patchwork of dubious judicial decisions that turn NEPA into a legal swamp that now must be drained.
Mr. Epstein is a law professor at New York University, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago.
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Trump’s Mideast Breakthrough
The Israel-UAE accord discredits Obama’s regional vision.
By The Editorial Board
Aug. 13, 2020 7:19 pm ET
The city hall in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv is lit up in the colors of the United Arab Emirates national flag on Aug. 13.
PHOTO: JACK GUEZ/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
President Trump’s Mideast strategy has been to strongly back Israel, support the Gulf monarchies, and press back hard against Iranian imperialism. His liberal critics insisted this would lead to catastrophe that never came, and on Thursday it delivered a diplomatic achievement: The United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed to normalize relations, making the UAE the first Arab League country to recognize the Jewish state in 20 years.
The agreement is worth celebrating on its own terms but it also holds lessons for U.S. foreign policy. On regional strategy, this shows the benefit of the U.S. standing by its historic allies in the Middle East. President Obama shunned Israel and the Gulf states and sought to normalize Iran. His nuclear deal, an economic boon to Tehran, was a means to that end. But Iran does not want to be normalized. It’s a revolutionary regime that wants to disrupt the non-Shiite countries, spread its military influence from Syria to Lebanon to Yemen, and destroy Israel.
Mr. Trump’s pivot from Iran reassured Israel and the Gulf states and put the U.S. in a position to broker agreements. Israel and the UAE have worked together covertly, but the agreement will allow deeper economic ties and strengthen regional checks on Iranian power. UAE’s move could also spur Bahrain and possibly Oman to seek the benefits, in Jerusalem and Washington, from closer Israel ties. For decades Israel was treated as a pariah state in the Middle East, but that era may be ending.
As for the Israel-Palestine question, as part of the deal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to call off annexation of parts of the West Bank. Public support in Israel for annexation was shaky. It was also opposed by the military establishment and would have carried diplomatic costs. With the UAE deal, Mr. Netanyahu can avoid annexation while protecting against criticism from his right.
The UAE can say it blocked annexation and protected the Palestinian cause. But the fact that annexation was a bargaining chip at all shows how the balance of power in the Israel-Palestine conflict has shifted in Israel’s favor. Arab states would previously have demanded far greater concessions in exchange for recognition. But the Iran threat, plus the Palestinians’ long-running rejectionism, has made that issue less important to Arab states.
Recall that mandarins of Obama foreign policy said moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem would cause an Arab backlash. In fact, it is being followed by some of the closest Arab-U.S.-Israeli cooperation on record. Larger strategic realities in the Middle East are more important and are driving this change.
One question is whether a Joe Biden Administration would grasp this, or whether it would follow the Obama model of retrenchment against Iran plus browbeating Israelis for their supposed moral failings. The Biden campaign praised the deal while Ben Rhodes, an architect of Obama Administration policy, blasted it for “the total exclusion of Palestinians.”
Yet the coterie of anti-Israel and Iran-friendly Democratic foreign-policy hands may soon find their influence reduced. The UAE deal strengthens the anti-Iran coalition and withdraws an excuse—annexation—that the left could use to attack Israel. Whoever wins in November, the breakthrough leaves the U.S. in a better position in the Middle East.
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https://www.vox.com/2020/9/5/21423969/trump-federal-antiracism-training-critical-race-theory-white-privilege
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https://www.vox.com/2020/9/5/21423969/trump-federal-antiracism-training-critical-race-theory-white-privilege
Why use Vox as a source? It's extra-stupid leftist propaganda.
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It was the first thing that crossed my radar screen.
Here's this:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/M-20-34.pdf
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize-for-role-in-brokering-israel-uae-deal
A member of the Norwegian Parliament nominated President Trump for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Christian Tybring-Gjedde, who leads Norway's NATO delegation, told Fox News that Trump's role in brokering peace negotiations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was a singular achievement.
"For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees,” Tybring-Gjedde said.
Tybring-Gjedde told the Nobel Committee in his nomination that the deal could precipitate several other peace deals between Israel and other countries in the region. He called the negotiation a "game changer" for the Middle East.
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"As it is expected other Middle Eastern countries will follow in the footsteps of the UAE, this agreement could be a game changer that will turn the Middle East into a region of cooperation and prosperity,” he wrote.
Tybring-Gjedde also cited other foreign policy decisions made by the Trump administration in his nomination, including his work in Pakistan, North Korea, and South Korea. He also noted that Trump has been working to minimize the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan as part of his larger effort to avoid new wars.
"Indeed, Trump has broken a 39-year-old streak of American Presidents either starting a war or bringing the United States into an international armed conflict. The last president to avoid doing so was Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter,” Tybring-Gjedde wrote.
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https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2020/09/09/trump-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize-for-historic-peace-agreement-n910036
while important his accomplishment is nothing like what Greta has achieved.
interesting some Nobel committee members admit giving it the history's greatest human being was a mistake; perhaps obama people who were against it are superstitious and feel it jinxed him.
conservatives always knew it was an undeserved sham.
PS
any one care to wager on whether he will win it or not. :wink:
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https://americanmilitarynews.com/2020/09/trump-announces-historic-israel-bahrain-peace-deal-that-normalizes-relations-between-the-two/?utm_source=breaking_email&utm_campaign=breaking_mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Master+List&utm_campaign=03a9b92d7a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_11_06_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9c4ef113e0-03a9b92d7a-61658629&mc_cid=03a9b92d7a
https://israelunwired.com/serbia-kosovo-peace/
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https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-09-26/amy-coney-barrett-deserves-to-be-on-the-supreme-court
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Yes. Along those lines, The R's problem over the years is they won't fight back. The party of Bush, Dole, Bush, McCain, Romney did not fight back. This nominee is worth fighting for - and they will. This Court and these principles are worth fighting for.
Look how quickly two or three in question got on board. A party transformed. A Trump accomplishment.
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Chip wars. We’ve been closely following the U.S. efforts to put the hard squeeze on Chinese telecom giant Huawei by denying it access to advanced U.S. semiconductors, as well as any microchips manufactured elsewhere with U.S. technology. The U.S. is now taking aim at China’s ability to source microchips indigenously. China’s largest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co., is considered a generation or two behind global rivals like the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., but the U.S. is keen to make sure it never catches up (something that would deprive the U.S. of one of the few sources of commercial leverage it has over China). Washington reportedly imposed on Friday new export controls targeting SMIC to make it more difficult for the firm to import vital semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Such equipment is the Chinese tech industry’s Achilles’ heel, because it’s extremely advanced and hard to copy, as well as difficult to stockpile. So whereas Huawei has been able to give itself (and its U.S. suppliers, which rely heavily on sales to the company) some breathing space by hoarding microchips before U.S. sanctions kicked in earlier this month, SMIC is believed to be in dire straits.
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the Census Bureau reported that real median household income grew to $68,703 in 2019, an impressive 6.8% increase over 2018. It was the largest one-year increase in median income on record going back to 1967. It was also 45 percent more growth in a single year ($4,379) than Obama/Biden produced in their entire 8 years in office ($3,021
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p60-270.pdf
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/trump-economy-mainstream-media-andy-puzder
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-to-ship-150-million-ccp-virus-tests-to-reopen-schools-economies_3517766.html?utm_source=morningbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2020-09-28
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-administration-publishes-rule-barring-communist-party-members-from-entry_3524700.html?ref=brief_News&utm_source=morningbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16621/trump-china-huawei
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Census win in Trump's favor.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1316124724473344003 (https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1316124724473344003)
Trump's judges are kicking ass now!
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https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyt-experts-confident-pandemic-to-be-over-far-sooner-than-expected-trump-efforts-working-with-remarkable-efficiency
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This seems like a good thread for this:
https://sharylattkisson.com/2020/10/50-media-mistakes-in-the-trump-era-the-definitive-list/
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Confirmation is another step but Trump did his job naming the best nominee. No small feat.
The political benefit of Trump picking a great nominee may take a moment to set in.
Three great nominees. How does that happen? Who will Joe pick? He won't say.
Highlight film again:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1316065770389098497/USQnfQvZ?format=jpg&name=medium)
Tough interview. She nailed it.
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Sudan is 97% Muslim.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan
Paraphrasing former Pres Obama, 'How ya gonna do it, with a magic wand?'
BTW, isn't Jared Kushner spearheading these peace agreements? Democrats thought he was so unqualified. We needed, they lectured us, a career public servant who thinks exactly like everyone that came before him to attempt the same thing over and over and hope for this different result.
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16679/us-leader-middle-east
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Already mentioned by ya.
The big line from opponents is how Trump treats our allies. Who are our allies? Includes India and Taiwan, I hope.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-usa-defence-idUSKBN27B1QY
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https://www.conservativereview.com/seal-team-six-makes-dramatic-high-risk-rescue-of-american-held-hostage-in-nigeria-2648573043.html
on CNN they announce mostly white American soldiers murder 6 black men, all unarmed.
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https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-seizes-largest-ever-haul-iranian-missiles-oil-enough-large-military-force?utm_campaign=&utm_content=Zerohedge%3A+The+Durden+Dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=zh_newsletter
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https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-seizes-largest-ever-haul-iranian-missiles-oil-enough-large-military-force?utm_campaign=&utm_content=Zerohedge%3A+The+Durden+Dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=zh_newsletter
I thought we could only surrender and give them pallets of cash...
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NEVER said is Trump
has a whopping third most in history with ~68 mill
just short of Brocks second term but many more than Brock 1 st time and Hillary
and he may still yet wind up with more than Brock 2 @ ~ 69 mill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_candidates_by_number_of_votes_received
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Most fraudulent votes!
NEVER said is Trump
has a whopping third most in history with ~68 mill
just short of Brocks second term but many more than Brock 1 st time and Hillary
and he may still yet wind up with more than Brock 2 @ ~ 69 mill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_candidates_by_number_of_votes_received
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https://amgreatness.com/2020/11/15/the-trump-ct-scanner/
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https://amgreatness.com/2020/11/15/the-trump-ct-scanner/
Another home run for VDH. And he didn't even get to the UN, NATO and the WHO.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/nov/17/dhs-moves-block-illegal-immigrants-awaiting-deport/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=1B7L1oTYUCEJ4wiCRuWfEstZbyT6fNvCLs7Vyj5MxhQLnPFaP56629tKWXz4tqXv&bt_ts=1605642082529
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does it matter?
they will work anyway, no?
millions already doing it , no?
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https://www.dailywire.com/news/historic-netanyahu-meets-saudi-prince-in-saudi-arabia-reports-say
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https://www.dailywire.com/news/historic-netanyahu-meets-saudi-prince-in-saudi-arabia-reports-say
Yes. Another Trump accomplishment. (Too little. Too late.)
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https://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2020/11/27/a-historic-presidency-n2580706
I am not as confident this will remain though
if the swamp has its way though
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https://dailycaller.com/2020/12/05/trump-executive-order-investment-firms-aid-chinese-military-china-policy/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2360&pnespid=h.FtqqlYAAuN4zD6dVS.UpHqIZOuE4FhjqmtfwPU
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Morocco recognizes Israel!
=========================
Beneath the surface:
The Risks of the U.S. Recognizing Morocco’s Control of Western Sahara
Emily Hawthorne
Emily Hawthorne
Middle East and North Africa Analyst, Stratfor
5 MINS READ
Dec 11, 2020 | 22:30 GMT
American supporters of Morocco’s “Autonomy Plan” for Western Sahara take part in a demonstration in front of the White House in Washington D.C. on Nov. 27, 2010.
Moroccan Americans demonstrate in support of Morocco’s “Autonomy Plan” for Western Sahara in front of the White House in Washington D.C. on Nov. 27, 2010.
(JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)
HIGHLIGHTS
If upheld by the next U.S. administration, Washington’s move to recognize Moroccan control over the disputed Western Sahara region would mark a major diplomatic feat for Rabat, though it will risk inflaming tensions both at home and with Morocco’s African neighbors. The White House and the Moroccan royal court confirmed Dec. 10 that Israel and Morocco have decided to establish full diplomatic relations. As part of the normalization deal, the United States said it will also recognize Morocco’s “full sovereignty” over Western Sahara. These concurrent agreements suggest that Washington promised its recognition in exchange for Rabat normalizing its ties with Israel. Should U.S. President-elect Joe Biden follow through on this pledge by establishing a U.S. consulate in the disputed territory, it would be a huge boost to Morocco’s diplomatic strategy of claiming de facto sovereignty over the territory, as Washington’s global influence far exceeds that of the African and Middle...
If upheld by the next U.S. administration, Washington’s move to recognize Moroccan control over the disputed Western Sahara region would mark a major diplomatic feat for Rabat, though it will risk inflaming tensions both at home and with Morocco’s African neighbors. The White House and the Moroccan royal court confirmed on Dec. 10 that Israel and Morocco have decided to establish full diplomatic relations. As part of the normalization deal, the United States said it will also recognize Morocco’s “full sovereignty” over Western Sahara. These concurrent agreements suggest that Washington promised its recognition in exchange for Rabat normalizing its ties with Israel. Should U.S. President-elect Joe Biden follow through on this pledge by establishing a U.S. consulate in the disputed territory, it would be a huge boost to Morocco’s diplomatic strategy of claiming de facto sovereignty over the territory, as Washington’s global influence far exceeds that of the African and Middle Eastern countries who have recently opened consulates in Western Sahara.
Rabat has lobbied for broader recognition of its sovereignty claims in Western Sahara for decades.
Morocco claims control of roughly 80% of the disputed territory, which is rich in phosphates, fish and potential oil and gas reserves. The remaining territory is controlled by the Algeria-backed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and militant group, Polisario Front.
Moroccans largely welcome more external support to their country’s sovereignty claims over Western Sahara, though the quid pro quo of Israeli normalization will carry the risk of domestic backlash. The direct flights and deeper commercial ties with Israel will generate economic benefits that are bound to prove popular among the Moroccan public. But many Moroccans fear that a new relationship with Israel could translate to Rabat abandoning its push for Palestinian statehood. To help defuse this tension, the Moroccan king has made it clear that the new agreement has not changed the government’s official pro-Palestinian position. Such reassurances will be critical in keeping Moroccans from questioning how quickly their government’s pan-Arab and pan-Islamic values are shifting.
Moroccan King Mohammed VI held a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Dec. 10, the same day Israeli normalization was announced, assuring the Palestinian leader that Morocco still wants full statehood for the Palestinian territories.
U.S. support to Morocco’s claims in Western Sahara will further stoke simmering, low-level conflict with Algeria and the Polisario Front it supports. For decades, the United Nations has promised a self-determination referendum to the Sahrawi people who inhabit the region. Morocco has also proposed autonomy for the Sahrawi in exchange for recognizing the full territory as Moroccan. Outright U.S. support to Morocco’s side makes it all the more unlikely this delayed referendum will take place. This will, in turn, pressure the Polisario Front, the SADR and their Algerian backers to use political and military means to slow such inroads. The potential establishment of a U.S. consulate, in particular, would deeply upset Algeria, which would likely raise the issue in diplomatic channels such as the African Union, United Nations and Arab League. A U.S. consulate could also prompt Algiers to supply more arms and material support to the Polisario Front to help the group pressure Morocco against further encroachment.
The Polisario Front has grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of meaningful peace talks since 2008 and what it sees as continued Moroccan encroachment in Western Sahara.
In November, the Polisario Front announced it had decided to stop abiding by the 1991 cease-fire agreement, which has since prompted a recent surge of unusual violence in areas near the region’s buffer zone.
Morocco and the Polisario Front both proposed different autonomy plans in 2007, the last time serious negotiations took place. Morocco’s autonomy plan has gained the support of the United States and France.
Many African countries have strongly signaled they don’t want Morocco to gain Western Sahara without the U.N. referendum process, suggesting a weak reception to Rabat’s push to diversify its ties in Africa. Morocco has built out deeper commercial relationships and investments across sub-Saharan Africa following Rabat’s 2017 reentry into the African Union. This diversification strategy has reduced Morocco’s economic dependence on Europe, which remains its primary export market.
The European Union is by far Morocco's largest trade partner, with an estimated 65% of Moroccan exports going to the bloc according to the most EU recent data.
The African nations that have so far established consulates in Western Sahara include Burkina Faso, Comoros and Zambia. While important to Morocco’s overall sovereignty push, these countries are smaller and less powerful, and thus cannot serve as significant alternative export markets to Europe.
Senegal, Ghana and the Ivory Coast have lent increasing amounts of diplomatic support to Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara. But other major West African nations, such as Mali, remain opposed to legitimizing Moroccan sovereignty in the territory, while Mauritania upholds what it calls a position of “positive neutrality.”
Morocco left the African Union in 1984 after the bloc voiced its support for Western Sahara’s independence and admitted the SADR.
Rabat’s policy path will also depend on a continuation of U.S. support from the incoming Biden administration, whose actions will also influence what is likely to be a tepid EU reaction. Washington’s ability to influence the actions of other powerful Moroccan partners will also make the endurance of the U.S. recognition all the more important. France and Spain are the key European trading partners who would probably demonstrate a greater willingness to accept Morocco's strategy. However, the European Union’s overall refusal to recognize Moroccan sovereignty because of the bloc’s support for the U.N. referendum over Western Sahara will likely continue to impact overall Moroccan trade across Europe.
The European Court of Justice has ruled numerous times in recent years against Morocco profiting fully off of goods produced in Western Sahara.
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https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-legacy-peace-opinion-1554928?fbclid=IwAR2Z_MWuiQ6E5aV_NmNiqdH2vCwBXbvt5eBewPf6wN9FZjA8HuHujZ0LkBA
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https://dailycaller.com/2020/12/18/donald-trump-nominates-charlie-kirk-1776-commission-advisory/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2680&pnespid=j7ZotvJDXFCNe_HmQayrSnZ8Ru1O9aOYxZbahwfJ
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/76556-trumps-legacy-foreign-policy-achievement-2020-12-18?mailing_id=5537&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.5537&utm_campaign=digest&utm_content=body
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https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/09/25/on-the-record-the-u-s-administrations-actions-on-russia/?fbclid=IwAR1v3nByDUqTL-aDbrhQ4j6l_kDdO2nRyO3FHM1xjO-GqhIBsHXg48gd-Mc
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/dec/22/donald-trump-names-top-allies-arts-scholarship-pos/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=e6PWqyaQh68mrv0WhEOKuys%2BAHWUIC3yO8AgER6qvcLkA3py53S2UNAnBSwgp3hi&bt_ts=1608672841932
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second post
With the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, a light has appeared in the darkness. A hard winter lies ahead, but this pandemic will soon be over.
How can this be happening only 10 months after the first Covid death in the U.S., rather than the 10 years it took to develop a vaccine for measles? Nine months ago, Anthony Fauci stated unambiguously: “It will take at least a year and a half to have a vaccine we can use.” The public-health community dismissed that as a fantasy. A co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, Paul Offit, noted: “When Dr. Fauci said 12 to 18 months, I thought that was ridiculously optimistic.” A New York Times vaccine timeline went further, declaring: “The grim truth behind this rosy forecast is that a vaccine probably won’t arrive any time soon.”
Opinion: Potomac Watch
Trump Demands More Covid Money
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Those naysayers have been proved wrong and it’s worth considering why. Let me invite the reader to answer a short quiz. When in the months ahead you are vaccinated, to whom should you be most thankful for making this possible?
• The initiative forwarded by the United Nations, Group of 20, World Health Organization and COVAX—an affiliate of WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations—that called for “a ‘people’s vaccine’ available and affordable for everyone, everywhere,” in the words of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres ?
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• Foundations and donors, including the consortium led by the Gates Foundation that established the CEPI (the “alliance to finance and coordinate the development of new vaccines”) at Davos, Switzerland, in 2017?
• Leaders of federal agencies, including the directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the health and human services secretary and the assistant secretary for health?
• The hundreds of medical and public health schools, their associated research labs and hospitals, and the tens of thousands of epidemiologists, virologists and other experts who have been talking endlessly about this plague?
• President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, led by Moncef Slaoui —a controversial former head of vaccine development at the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which has delivered more vaccines than any other company in the world—which gave billions of taxpayer dollars to biotech and pharmaceutical companies to speed vaccine development and manufacture doses in advance in case a vaccine proved effective?
• Private, profit-seeking corporations including Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Novavax and their counterparts?
Failure is an orphan; victory has a hundred fathers. In this case, success is certain to have thousands of paternity claimants. Many of those listed above will credibly claim to have contributed. But if this were a court of law allocating liability for damage done by a medicine, rather than a grateful public offering thanks, which of the actors would be held most responsible? Assuming all other claimants had done precisely what they did in this case—except for one—what is the likelihood that vaccines would be available today?
The answer is as clear as it will be uncomfortable to some readers. Had the WHO and Gates Foundation not existed, there would have been little difference in the availability of the vaccine. Had all of the departments and agencies in the U.S. government been on autopilot, this miraculous development would never have happened. This bureaucracy—including the CDC, FDA and HHS—was unable to provide a coronavirus test for several months after South Korea, Singapore and others were conducting extensive testing under their public-health responses.
Universities are rightly claiming to have built the foundations of knowledge without which other researchers couldn’t have sequenced the virus’s genome or developed mRNA delivery systems necessary to Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines. But holding the pre-Covid base of knowledge constant, these scholarly researchers could have slept through the pandemic and it would have made little difference.
There are clearly only two primary causes behind the Covid-19 vaccine. The first was the capitalist system, which facilitated competition between private, profit-seeking biotech and pharmaceutical companies to produce a lifesaving product.
Like charities, universities, government agencies and pretty much everyone else, these organizations want to do good. But companies like Germany-based BioNTech, its Boston-based competitor Moderna, and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer have also been racing for a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. There would be no Covid-19 vaccine today had there been no venture capitalists prepared to invest before a product or profit was visible, no corporate leadership willing to double down with the companies’ own money in the spring to fund a crash effort to produce a vaccine by year-end, and no researchers pursuing a dream about mRNA as an unprecedented route for vaccines.
Second is Operation Warp Speed. Had Mr. Trump not created the initiative, appointed as its leader a man who knows the vaccine development world, and given him license to spend $10 billion outside normal contracting procedures, Covid-19 vaccines would still be only works in progress. Even after they were finally approved, the vaccines’ distribution could have been long delayed. Imagine a world in which Mr. Trump had not appointed as deputy head of the operation a general who knows logistics and had the authority to write contracts with FedEx and UPS to book space on their airplanes and in their network of distribution centers.
So as Americans now look forward to getting vaccinated and resuming our normal lives, we should pause to give thanks to a remarkable group of scientists and entrepreneurs whose capitalism-fed competitive drive pushed them to venture into the unknown—for fortune and fame. And to a deeply flawed, often dysfunctional disrupter in chief who in this case certainly did a good thing.
Mr. Allison, a professor of government at Harvard, is author of “Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?” (2017)
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16900/germany-russia-nord-stream-pipeline
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-administration-strengthens-order-banning-us-investment-in-chinese-military-companies_3635625.html?utm_source=morningbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2020-12-29
Apparently related to this:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/california-pension-fund-china-investments?fbclid=IwAR2c-GIBu0YDrsxl3BxB7L2B6XvKOKj3vlpEkvJVnv_WKxukbgFk8CuA9cE
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/12/29/gallup-after-12-year-run-obama-falls-to-trump-as-most-admired-man/
Lebron James - LOL
I was thinking Kareem Abdul Jabbar............... :-P
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https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/supreme-court-vacates-lower-court-rulings-related-trump-admin-apportionment
as always on the cases with important political implications the libs ALWAYS find a way to argue for the Democwats
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Soon the question will be which accomplishments are lasting and what is his legacy.
The main legacy of the Trump administration will be the losing of the White House, House AND Senate if Republicans do not win at least one of these two seats in Georgia. Why can't they stay focused on this crucial contest? God help us.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-turns-tide-on-huawei-ending-ccps-5g-master-plan_3636682.html?utm_source=morningbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2020-12-30
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Democrats hate vouchers so much that they restricted states from using education funds in the $900 billion Covid relief bill to help struggling families during the pandemic send their kids to private schools. All the more credit to President Trump for opening the door for at least some school-choice relief.
The Covid-19 relief bill sets aside $2.75 billion for private K-12 schools on top of some $54.3 billion for public schools. The catch is that none of the private-school funds can be used for vouchers that go directly to families. States can use the funds to support prep schools attended by the children of Members of Congress, but not to help low-income kids attend those schools.
Democrats, er, unions, were angry after several Republican governors used their small pot of discretionary education money from the Cares Act to help low- and middle-income families struggling to afford private-school tuition. So they fought to stop governors from doing so again. Republicans surrendered because they didn’t want to hold up the bill.
On Monday Mr. Trump signed an executive order that helps remedy the injustice by allowing states and local agencies to draw from $1.7 billion in federal funds from the separate Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program to “provide emergency learning scholarships to disadvantaged families for use by any child without access to in-person learning.”
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States are supposed to allocate the grant money to groups that help low-income folks with employment, education and housing, among other things. Mr. Trump’s order says recipients can also use the grant funds for scholarships to assist families with private-school tuition and other education costs.
The executive order cites a June McKinsey study projecting that Hispanic, black and low-income students would lose 9.2, 10.3 and 12.4 months of learning, respectively, if in-person classes didn’t fully resume before January 2021. It also found that the average K-12 student in the U.S. could lose $61,000 to $82,000 in lifetime earnings in that scenario.
Joe Biden could reverse Mr. Trump’s order, but he’ll have to explain why he wants to keep low-income families from in-person education that public schools refuse to provide despite getting tens of billions more in relief.
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"Democrats, er, unions, were angry after several Republican governors used their small pot of discretionary education money from the Cares Act to help low- and middle-income families struggling to afford private-school tuition. So they fought to stop governors from doing so again. Republicans surrendered because they didn’t want to hold up the bill."
Even FDR said government unions are a bad idea
ridiculous how much power they wield over us and their marriage to ONE party
what a scam
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"Democrats, er, unions, were angry after several Republican governors used their small pot of discretionary education money from the Cares Act to help low- and middle-income families struggling to afford private-school tuition. So they fought to stop governors from doing so again. Republicans surrendered because they didn’t want to hold up the bill."
Even FDR said government unions are a bad idea
ridiculous how much power they wield over us and their marriage to ONE party
what a scam
Government (public sector) unions are a bad idea.
When you think of the times and places where unions once made sense, the logic was that the 'evil capitalist' had too much power over the people (because he employed them and hardly anyone else did). Think of a town where one company employs 90% of the workforce. Where does that happen anymore? Maybe in Washington DC with the federal government. In the public sector union situation the 'evil capitalists' are the voters who allegedly run the public sector, meaning the will of the people. The public sector union serves to remove the will of the people from the center of the equation. Besides that that's wrong, it defines which side of the political spectrum you are on. Democrats want the will of the people removed as far as possible from real decision making.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9116483/Trump-signs-order-banning-transactions-eight-Chinese-apps-including-Alipay.html
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It is more than I thought:
https://www.google.com/search?source=univ&tbm=isch&q=map+of+border+wall&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir7Mb0hJnuAhVAF1kFHbgqD_0QjJkEegQIAxAB&biw=1440&bih=732#imgrc=SAQnG41X1ak24M
Very impressive on the wall.
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/10B6B/production/_93895486_us_mexico_border_wall.png)
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The U.S. Adds Chinese Oil Giant CNOOC to Its Export Blacklist
4 MINS READ
Jan 14, 2021 | 21:50 GMT
HIGHLIGHTS
The U.S. Commerce Department added the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to its entity list on Jan. 14, effectively cutting off China’s third-largest oil company from U.S. exports. The move highlights the South China Sea’s importance to U.S. strategy, which will likely continue -- though not necessarily expand -- under U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. The Trump administration has significantly increased pressure on CNOOC in recent months, beginning in December when it added CNOOC to a separate U.S. Pentagon list of companies that are either owned by or controlled by the Chinese military, which will force certain U.S. investors to divest from CNOOC’s shares by mid-November. Just hours before the Commerce Department’s announcement, the S&P Dow Jones announced it was removing CNOOC from impacted indices to comply with a Jan. 13 presidential order banning U.S. investment into designated Chinese military-linked companies. As a result, major U.S. exchanges will likely delist...
The U.S. Commerce Department added the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to its entity list on Jan. 14, effectively cutting off China’s third-largest oil company from U.S. exports. The move highlights the South China Sea’s importance to U.S. strategy, which will likely continue — though not necessarily expand — under U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. The Trump administration has significantly increased pressure on CNOOC in recent months, beginning in December when it added CNOOC to a separate U.S. Pentagon list of companies that are either owned by or controlled by the Chinese military, which will force certain U.S. investors to divest from CNOOC’s shares by mid-November. Just hours before the Commerce Department’s announcement, the S&P Dow Jones announced it was removing CNOOC from impacted indices to comply with a Jan. 13 presidential order banning U.S. investment into designated Chinese military-linked companies. As a result, major U.S. exchanges will likely delist the company in the coming days and weeks.
Targeting CNOOC, historically the most technocratic of China’s major state-owned oil companies, indicates the rising U.S. attention on China’s assertive posture in the South China Sea. As China’s main offshore operator, CNOOC has been central to China’s drilling campaign in the region, which has encroached on disputed waters for years. The Commerce Department’s press release specifically cited CNOOC’s role in supporting Beijing’s efforts in the South China Sea, with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross saying that the company bullied countries like Vietnam on the behalf of China’s People’s Liberation Army.
In 2012, CNOOC kicked off an accelerated drilling campaign in disputed waters claimed by Vietnam and Japan. Since then, the company has been involved in a number of escalations in the South China Sea, with Beijing using the company’s exploration activities as a way to effectively implement control over maritime territory.
The inclusion of CNOOC on the entity list will significantly cut off the company’s access to U.S. technology, which is pervasive throughout the energy sector. It will also damage CNOOC’s reliability as a partner in its overseas operations. The immediate impact of the new designation will be limited to CNOOC itself since none of its subsidiaries were added to the entity list. The biggest implications will be related to the company’s domestic offshore operations, as CNOOC will now have to find alternatives to the U.S. suppliers and technology being used in those operations. Although CNOOC’s overseas subsidiaries will not be directly affected, companies exporting to the subsidiaries and consortiums will now also need to conduct enhanced due diligence in order to ensure that exports – including deemed exports of technology – do not trigger U.S. restrictions by eventually falling into the hands of the parent company. The scaling up of the U.S. pressure campaign against CNOOC will also damage both the company and all of its subsidiaries’ global reputation, meaning international oil companies may be less willing to partner with CNOOC in future projects.
CNOOC claims to be active in over 40 countries, and is particularly active in Africa, Asia and Latin America. CNOOC is also a major partner in burgeoning oil producers Guyana and Uganda. Through a subsidiary, CNOOC also has acreage in the United States as well.
The Biden administration is unlikely to expand the ban to CNOOC’s international subsidiaries for fear of blowback from the company’s global partners, such as U.S.-based ExxonMobil. But a full removal of CNOOC from the list is also unlikely due to the political consequences of appearing weak on China and CNOOC’s expansive actions in the South China Sea.
The ultimate scope of the export ban is unclear as the United States could still approve any export licenses requested by CNOOC. But the impact of Huawei’s inclusion on the entity list has shown just how effective Washington’s export bans can be when U.S. technology is essential to the blacklisted company’s business operations. According to the semiconductor market researcher TrendForce, Huawei’s share of the global smartphone market is expected to shrink to just 4% in 2021. Before the most extensive U.S. restrictions went into place in mid-2020, Huawei was the world's top smartphone maker.
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TTT
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TTT - ???
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I was asked again yesterday why I [still] support Trump. I never supported Trump. I support most of these policies and results. I oppose the race to undo them.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/01/19/text-read-the-complete-text-of-president-trumps-farewell-address/
Excerpt with accomplishments:
We passed the largest package of tax cuts and reforms in American history. We slashed more job-killing regulations than any administration had ever done before. We fixed our broken trade deals, withdrew from the horrible Trans-Pacific Partnership and the impossible Paris Climate Accord, renegotiated the one-sided South Korea deal, and we replaced NAFTA with the groundbreaking USMCA — that’s Mexico and Canada — a deal that’s worked out very, very well.
Also, and very importantly, we imposed historic and monumental tariffs on China; made a great new deal with China. But before the ink was even dry, we and the whole world got hit with the China virus. Our trade relationship was rapidly changing, billions and billions of dollars were pouring into the U.S., but the virus forced us to go in a different direction.
The whole world suffered, but America outperformed other countries economically because of our incredible economy and the economy that we built. Without the foundations and footings, it wouldn’t have worked out this way. We wouldn’t have some of the best numbers we’ve ever had.
We also unlocked our energy resources and became the world’s number-one producer of oil and natural gas by far. Powered by these policies, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world. We reignited America’s job creation and achieved record-low unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, women — almost everyone.
Incomes soared, wages boomed, the American Dream was restored, and millions were lifted from poverty in just a few short years. It was a miracle. The stock market set one record after another, with 148 stock market highs during this short period of time, and boosted the retirements and pensions of hardworking citizens all across our nation. 401(k)s are at a level they’ve never been at before. We’ve never seen numbers like we’ve seen, and that’s before the pandemic and after the pandemic.
We rebuilt the American manufacturing base, opened up thousands of new factories, and brought back the beautiful phrase: “Made in the USA.”
To make life better for working families, we doubled the child tax credit and signed the largest-ever expansion of funding for childcare and development. We joined with the private sector to secure commitments to train more than 16 million American workers for the jobs of tomorrow.
When our nation was hit with the terrible pandemic, we produced not one, but two vaccines with record-breaking speed, and more will quickly follow. They said it couldn’t be done but we did it. They call it a “medical miracle,” and that’s what they’re calling it right now: a “medical miracle.”
We did in nine months.
We grieve for every life lost, and we pledge in their memory to wipe out this horrible pandemic once and for all.
When the virus took its brutal toll on the world’s economy, we launched the fastest economic recovery our country has ever seen. We passed nearly $4 trillion in economic relief, saved or supported over 50 million jobs, and slashed the unemployment rate in half. These are numbers that our country has never seen before.
We created choice and transparency in healthcare, stood up to big pharma in so many ways, but especially in our effort to get favored-nations clauses added, which will give us the lowest prescription drug prices anywhere in the world.
We passed VA Choice, VA Accountability, Right to Try, and landmark criminal justice reform.
We confirmed three new justices of the United States Supreme Court. We appointed nearly 300 federal judges to interpret our Constitution as written.
For years, the American people pleaded with Washington to finally secure the nation’s borders. I am pleased to say we answered that plea and achieved the most secure border in U.S. history. We have given our brave border agents and heroic ICE officers the tools they need to do their jobs better than they have ever done before, and to enforce our laws and keep America safe.
We proudly leave the next administration with the strongest and most robust border security measures ever put into place. This includes historic agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, along with more than 450 miles of powerful new wall.
We restored American strength at home and American leadership abroad. The world respects us again. Please don’t lose that respect.
We reclaimed our sovereignty by standing up for America at the United Nations and withdrawing from the one-sided global deals that never served our interests. And NATO countries are now paying hundreds of billions of dollars more than when I arrived just a few years ago. It was very unfair. We were paying the cost for the world. Now the world is helping us.
And perhaps most importantly of all, with nearly $3 trillion, we fully rebuilt the American military — all made in the USA. We launched the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces in 75 years: the Space Force. And last spring, I stood at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and watched as American astronauts returned to space on American rockets for the first time in many, many years.
We revitalized our alliances and rallied the nations of the world to stand up to China like never before.
We obliterated the ISIS caliphate and ended the wretched life of its founder and leader, al Baghdadi. We stood up to the oppressive Iranian regime and killed the world’s top terrorist, Iranian butcher Qasem Soleimani.
We recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
As a result of our bold diplomacy and principled realism, we achieved a series of historic peace deals in the Middle East. Nobody believed it could happen. The Abraham Accords opened the doors to a future of peace and harmony, not violence and bloodshed. It is the dawn of a new Middle East, and we are bringing our soldiers home.
I am especially proud to be the first President in decades who has started no new wars.
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answer could be :
"Biden and Harris"
as simple as that
we will be begging for Trump back very soon
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/76556-trumps-legacy-foreign-policy-achievement-2020-12-18?mailing_id=5588&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.5588&utm_campaign=digest&utm_content=body
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/77117-trumps-legacy-domestic-policy-achievement-2021-01-19?mailing_id=5588&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.5588&utm_campaign=digest&utm_content=body
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I'd say he is not a fan , , ,
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/01/witless-ape-rides-helicopter/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202021-01-20&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart
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Sadly ,
he does have a point
we lost the Wh to a total old dud who was a loser for decades and a black supremacist whose claim to fame is wearing sneakers and blowing Wille Brown .
we lost seats in the Senate and thus control to the black supremacist who with the upmost humiliation to us will cast deciding votes when Joe Manchin caves as he almost alway does.
We did pick up a few in congress after losing big 2 yr ago so we are still minority there after the Trump backlash here in '18.
We on this board sound the bugle : " Trumps accomplishments. !! " Even give his a thread.
Which except for judgeships will all be turned back within the next 2 yrs
so what the f..k good are they now?
OTOH
yet, he was the virtually the ONLY ONE who heard us (except for few others)
in the end he lost it all to establishment , elites , swamps and corporate media complex
So now we are back at square one and soon to be minus one
And now we have the above elites trying to crush us as fast as possible now - not the slow bleed from a thousand cuts
but now trying to cut our throats with one death blow
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We need someone new. - Not Trump ! I don't know who it will be ...
The only thing I know for sure is it won't be Kevin Williamson
OR any other never trumper
We continue to get our asses kicked
and China laughs
And Bloomberg Zuckerberg Bezos Page continue to laugh their way to the bank.
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I'd say he is not a fan , , ,
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/01/witless-ape-rides-helicopter/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202021-01-20&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart
I thought Kevin Williamson was once good, real good.
"Third Lady: Melania Trump departs the scene the most unpopular presidential wife in recorded statistical history."
What a jerk. What did SHE do wrong?
Unemployment is up? Anyone heard of coronavirus or blue state lockdowns? 400,000 dead Americans? What was the right number? Universal, eternal life. Didn't stand up to China? Seriously? He had staredown with them, nearly bankrupted them before China-flu.
Real facts mixed with bs and twisted to make his scorched earth point. And what IS his point. Evan McMullen should have been President? Hillary??
Call Trump an ape? That is sub-Trump. People pay subscriptions for that?
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You need to wrap your head around the fact that there is NO winning national elections anymore.
Sadly ,
he does have a point
we lost the Wh to a total old dud who was a loser for decades and a black supremacist whose claim to fame is wearing sneakers and blowing Wille Brown .
we lost seats in the Senate and thus control to the black supremacist who with the upmost humiliation to us will cast deciding votes when Joe Manchin caves as he almost alway does.
We did pick up a few in congress after losing big 2 yr ago so we are still minority there after the Trump backlash here in '18.
We on this board sound the bugle : " Trumps accomplishments. !! " Even give his a thread.
Which except for judgeships will all be turned back within the next 2 yrs
so what the f..k good are they now?
OTOH
yet, he was the virtually the ONLY ONE who heard us (except for few others)
in the end he lost it all to establishment , elites , swamps and corporate media complex
So now we are back at square one and soon to be minus one
And now we have the above elites trying to crush us as fast as possible now - not the slow bleed from a thousand cuts
but now trying to cut our throats with one death blow
-------
We need someone new. - Not Trump ! I don't know who it will be ...
The only thing I know for sure is it won't be Kevin Williamson
OR any other never trumper
We continue to get our asses kicked
and China laughs
And Bloomberg Zuckerberg Bezos Page continue to laugh their way to the bank.
-
You need to wrap your head around the fact that there is NO winning national elections anymore.
For another view... Winning hearts and minds still matters. Putting forward better policies, better candidates, better messaging and better results still matters. Margin of victory or loss matters. Winning the middle when the left goes too far Left still matters. Setting the record straight for both parties accomplishments matters. Answering and calling out the bullsh*t of writings like this ape article still matters.
Our elections including Legislature, House, Senate, President are mostly state (and local) contests - with national consequences. Like community organizers Barack and Stacey, act locally.
Winning the Supreme Court seats of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett did not help the vote fraud case but it does matter going forward, especially in comparison of with who would hold those seats if the Left chose them.
A 50-50 split with many factors against us is not the point where we quit. Documenting Trump accomplishments before the pandemic is part of the fight.
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Donald Trump had an economic record that will be remembered
BY STEPHEN MOORE, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 01/20/21
Donald Trump had an economic record that will be remembered
From the article: "...the successes in Trump’s first three years before the pandemic flattened the economy. The unemployment rate hit a low of 3.5 percent, which was near the lowest in half a century. The inflation rate fell to 1 percent, which was actually below the level the Fed targets. This has kept interest rates on mortgages, car loans and business loans down to their lowest levels in modern times.
The percentage of Americans who fell below the poverty line declined to its lowest level in recorded history in 2019. The wealth of American households, including their stocks, their savings and their homes, ranches and businesses, rose to their highest level in American history. According to the Census Bureau, median household income rose to above $65,000, up by more than $5,000 in three years. This was almost double the gain of the previous 12 years.
Perhaps most impressively, almost all of these gains were most pronounced for minorities, notably Blacks and Hispanics. Liberals are now countering this record by complaining that Trump is the first president in modern times to lose jobs in four years. This is, quite obviously, a result of the once-in-a-century pandemic, and unless the left blames Trump for the virus, the real issue is how well has the economy rebounded?
The unemployment rate was expected to be 8 percent to 10 percent, according to projections by CBO, the Federal Reserve and most Wall Street “experts.” Instead it has fallen to 6.7 percent from 13 percent in just six months. The growth rate hit an all-time quarterly high of 33.3 percent in the third quarter of 2020 and the latest estimate is for growth of 8 percent to 9 percent for the just-ended 4th quarter.
No wonder, at the end of the Trump presidency, almost six of ten Americans said they were better off than four years ago, even with the pandemic. Contrary to the “economic crisis” that President Biden says he has inherited, most experts expect the great American engine of economic growth to roar back to life in 2021 with 6 percent GDP growth. Why? Because of the vaccine that will save potentially hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States and millions around the globe. Oh, yeah, that was Operation Warp Speed. Another wildly successful Trump program.
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[Former] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote the book and it's free to read on his archived twitter feed.
Go back to Jan 1 and read 19 days or \trump administration accomplishments and history in Mike Pompeo's twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/SecPompeo
One LONG slide show of things no one else is going to tell you.
------------------------
Mike Pompeo should be the frontrunner in 2024.
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[Former] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote the book and it's free to read on his archived twitter feed.
Go back to Jan 1 and read 19 days or \trump administration accomplishments and history in Mike Pompeo's twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/SecPompeo
One LONG slide show of things no one else is going to tell you.
------------------------
Mike Pompeo should be the frontrunner in 2024.
How will he poll with the masses of former illegal aliens turned registered dems? How will he fare with the dem cities vote fraud machines?
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"How will he poll with the masses of former illegal aliens turned registered dems? How will he fare with the dem cities vote fraud machines?"
I get the pessimism but Republicans have won half the Pres elections in my adult life and need to pick the best one they can either way. Not Dole, McCain or Romney in their 2024 versions.
Losing is one of the risks in picking a nominee, but what if he or she wins? We want it to be someone who will lead effectively in the right direction, which won't likely happen with a lot of them. Pompeo knows the score.
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"How will he poll with the masses of former illegal aliens turned registered dems? How will he fare with the dem cities vote fraud machines?"
I get the pessimism but Republicans have won half the Pres elections in my adult life and need to pick the best one they can either way. Not Dole, McCain or Romney in their 2024 versions.
Losing is one of the risks in picking a nominee, but what if he or she wins? We want it to be someone who will lead effectively in the right direction, which won't likely happen with a lot of them. Pompeo knows the score.
"I get the pessimism but Republicans have won half the Pres elections in my adult life "
That country doesn't exist anymore.
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https://patriotpost.us/alexander/77325-the-trump-presidency-a-one-term-postmortem-2021-01-27?mailing_id=5603&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.5603&utm_campaign=alexander&utm_content=header.default&fbclid=IwAR2xCae2k8JyCshJuyQZwSl_RK2KKGeHD_pSq16ADXEwbLY-VLgR4yXPeUY
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Why Operation Warp Speed Worked
The successful vaccine program followed the model of U.S. mobilization in World War II.
By Arthur Herman
Feb. 1, 2021 6:28 pm ET
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Gen. Gustave F. Perna during am Operation Warp Speed press briefing in Washington, Nov. 19, 2020.
PHOTO: CHRIS KLEPONIS/ZUMA PRESS
Every day new questions and criticisms arise about Operation Warp Speed, the public-private vaccine development initiative launched by presidential order in May 2020. Most of that criticism focuses on the distribution bottlenecks that have developed in different states, as Americans are impatient with the slow pace of the rollout. Jen Psaki, President Biden’s press secretary, has claimed to see an “urgent need to address failures of the Trump team approach to vaccine distribution.” Some in the new administration even want to rename the program.
Nearly all these claims rest on a misunderstanding both of Operation Warp Speed’s mission and its nature as a government program. While President Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and others dubbed the original project MP2, or Manhattan Project 2, after the crash effort to build an atomic bomb, Operation Warp Speed’s leadership borrowed a more practical model: the industrial mobilization during World War II that produced the so-called Arsenal of Democracy.
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That model can still push the vaccine rollout over the finish line. Governors and other state officials in particular need to realize the federal government is operating in the wake of a health-care version of Pearl Harbor, and adjust their operations accordingly.
From the beginning the principal mission of Operation Warp Speed was the development, manufacturing, and distribution—i.e., shipping—of coronavirus vaccines. To date, the program has managed to produce and deliver about 50 million vaccine doses—all made in the U.S.—with hundreds of millions more on the way. It also had 97,000 certified receivers distributing the vaccine across the U.S.
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It is the most remarkable achievement in modern medicine, made possible by following the model of the World War II mobilization effort. That model rests on three principles.
First, set a clear target and a firm deadline. Operation Warp Speed’s goal was 20 million vaccine doses by December 2020. Aiming at that target enabled the program’s leaders, Gen. Gustave Perna and Dr. Moncef Slaoui (who resigned last month at the Biden administration’s request but will stay on as a consultant), to focus everyone in Operation Warp Speed on achieving a single result.
Second, mobilize the best pharmaceutical and drug manufacturing companies to hit the target, so that private industry invests its energy and productivity in the plan. During World War II, the big automotive and electrical companies became the driving engine of the mobilization effort, though many had never before produced arms or weapons.
In Operation Warp Speed’s case, the vaccine effort went from a single manufacturing facility in the U.S. to a network of facilities where the country’s drug companies could pool efforts to develop and manufacture vaccines. What traditional health-care experts thought of as a laboratory process became an industrial process—with prodigious results. Companies like FedEx and UPS were pressed into service to deliver the finished product.
Third, maintain government oversight from start to finish. The Commerce, Defense, and Health and Human Services departments invoked the Defense Production Act 18 times to prioritize materials and supplies for Operation Warp Speed, and get government contracts for vaccine development and manufacturing to the head of the line. The use of federal authority to guide but not micromanage the private economy’s efforts was key to producing victory in World War II and to creating the Covid vaccine in record time.
In the U.S. federal system, however, state governments can’t be steamrolled by Washington. The Arsenal of Democracy was able to ship its goods to two all-powerful federal agencies, the War and Navy departments, which knew how to get those weapons to the soldiers, sailors and airmen who would use them. There’s no corresponding federal agency in this case.
About 50 million vaccination doses have been made and shipped, but only half have been administered, while fewer than six million people have received second doses. While some states have dealt with the crisis well, many have found the process of getting shots into arms overwhelming.
It isn’t too late to turn things around, if governors start using the World War II model. One step would be appointing their National Guard adjutants general as vaccine czars with clear authority to override state agency procedures and coordinate with federal leadership.
A second step would be to set a statewide target for inoculation aimed at twice the number of inoculations in half the time recommended by state health-care bureaucrats and experts. An urgent deadline can focus minds and trigger innovative thinking in ways that can transform the effort.
Another step would be to turn major businesses with large distribution networks into links in a logistical chain that can put as much vaccine as Operation Warp Speed can supply into as many arms as need it. With some 97,000 approved distribution centers already on the books there are plenty of opportunities for speeding up dispersal as part of an all-state government effort.
Some states are doing so. West Virginia has distributed nearly 90% of its first vaccine shot supply. But much more can be done in every state by combining planning with authority and imagination—and relying on guidance from the Arsenal of Democracy model.
There’s still plenty to be done on manufacturing. The Novavax and Johnson & Johnson vaccines look promising and could be available this spring. One could argue that Moderna and Pfizer should focus now on making booster shots for the South African strain. The original architects of the World War II mobilization model would see all these issues as opportunities not obstacles. Thanks to Operation Warp Speed, America has established clear leadership in vaccine manufacturing. It is now poised to do the same for getting that vaccine to every American, starting with those who need it most.
Mr. Herman is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and author of “Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II.”
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American governments, federal and state, have made many mistakes in the Covid-19 pandemic. But the great success—the saving grace—was making a financial bet in collaboration with private American industry on the development of vaccines. That effort is now letting the country see the possibility of a return to relatively normal life as early as the spring.
President Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. should have enough vaccine supply for every American adult by the end of May. Last week the Food and Drug Administration finally approved Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, and this week J&J struck a deal with Merck to manufacture the single-shot J&J vaccine as well. With the Moderna and Pfizer shots already going into more than a million American arms each week, thousands of lives will be saved.
It’s important to appreciate what an achievement this is. Critics scoffed when President Trump set a target of having a vaccine approved by the end of 2020, and Kamala Harris suggested she might not take a shot recommended by the Trump Administration.
The Biden-Harris Administration has now changed to full-throated encouragement—though not before continuing to trash the Trump efforts. White House aides have suggested that they inherited little vaccine supply and no plan for distribution. Both claims are false.
The supply was ramping up fast, and while there were distribution glitches at first, the real problem has been the last mile of distribution controlled by states. Governors like New York’s Andrew Cuomo tried to satisfy political constituencies that wanted early access to vaccines, adding complexity and bureaucracy that confused the public.
Mr. Biden made the same mistake Tuesday, asking states to give priority to educators (read: teachers unions), school staffers and child-care workers. That is arbitrary and unfair. A 30-year-old teacher who may still work remotely until September is at far less risk than a 50-year-old FedEx driver who interacts with customers all day. The fairest, least political distribution standard is age.
The Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed also contracted most of the vaccine supply for production before approval by the FDA: 200 million doses each of Pfizer and Moderna, and 100 million of J&J. No one knew which technology would be approved first, if at all, so the government wisely bet on several. This was the best money the feds spent in the pandemic. Mr. Biden ought to give the vaccine credit where it is due—to U.S. drug companies and Operation Warp Speed.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/21/china-military-buildup-be-revealed-national-geospa/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=Mz8XywI1%2FxDkAF02tlA%2F0MHuUOsUa1LqIcmMUnFOWHxnj6NfZWgWdfl7b838rYeQ&bt_ts=1616377060749
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https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/10/11/trump-was-only-u-s-president-to-make-major-funding-cuts-to-palestinians-over-terror/
Trump Was Only U.S. President to Make Major Funding Cuts to Palestinians over Terror
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Trump's accomplishments and promises kept germane to what's happening today. Imagine what he could have accomplished if the Deep State hadn't sought to subvert him at every turn:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1765567857922863446.html?utm_campaign=topunroll