22 thoughts on “News/Politics 9-7-19”

  1. This should be an interesting watch.

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/09/no-safe-spaces-documentary-announces-release-date-gets-into-ratings-battle-with-mpaa/

    “No Safe Spaces Documentary Announces Release Date, Gets into Ratings Battle with MPAA

    The film features interviews from multiple academics and celebrities across the political spectrum including Ben Shapiro, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Alan Dershowitz, Cornel West, Van Jones, and Tim Allen all speaking on the issue of free speech.”

    “Dennis Prager and Adam Carolla’s long in production documentary No Safe Spaces will finally be coming to theaters this fall.

    On October 25th, the film will be released although it’s not clear whether this is a limited or wide release. The announcement on Facebook mentioned “Details and cities to follow” which could mean the film will be touring in a limited release although we’ll know for sure when tickets go on sale.

    The film started production in 2017 and is said to cover the widespread phenomena of conservative and moderate speakers being chased off of college campuses by far-left anti-free speech protesters. The film features interviews from multiple academics and celebrities across the political spectrum including Ben Shapiro, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Alan Dershowitz, Cornel West, Van Jones, and Tim Allen all speaking on the issue of free speech.

    Unfortunately, the release is dealing with a minor setback. The MPAA has given the documentary a rating of PG-13 against the wishes of the filmmakers who were hoping for a PG rating.”

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  2. The Trade War Is Smart Geopolitics

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/09/us-china-trade-war-smart-geopolitics/

    “The president’s China tariffs may inflict short-term pain on American consumers, but it’s a small price to pay to combat an existential threat to the U.S.
    When President Trump first took office, American tariffs on Chinese imports stood at 3.1 percent, little more than a barnacle on the hull of a $600 billion trading relationship. After the latest round of tariffs took effect on Sunday, that number stood at 21.2 percent, and if the next round is implemented on schedule, it will soon reach 30 percent. Economists and business leaders used to nervously reassure themselves that China tariffs were a temporary negotiating tactic to get President Xi to make concessions in a future trade agreement, but the truth is emerging that trade war is the new normal. The Trump administration has ceased talk of soybean-purchase agreements and begun talk of “decoupling.”

    Trump’s decision to change our posture toward China from free trade to trade war is one of the most significant policy shifts in recent American history — and one of the most misunderstood.

    Free-trade advocates tend to think of tariffs as misbegotten economic policy, intended to give the American economy a leg up by protecting domestic businesses from Chinese competition. They point to data indicating that tariffs are injuring the American economy more than they are helping it, notably by increasing prices. Americans for Tax Reform has protested that China tariffs “harm American companies and consumers who rely on low-priced products to run their businesses and budget their households.” The George W. Bush Institute has claimed that when consumers have to pay more for products, “the nation is less prosperous.” Thomas Donohue, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, announced his opposition to trade war with China by noting that tariffs are “taxes paid for by American families and American businesses.”

    Donohue is right that tariffs are a tax on American businesses, consumers, and investment. But we should be happy to pay taxes toward a worthwhile end. Indeed, if the end is important enough, and a tax helps us achieve it, paying could be a patriotic duty. The Chinese call this “eating bitterness.”

    Few ends are more important than economic growth, but the free traders err in assuming that a China trade policy that fails to immediately deliver more of it is bad, because one more-important end is geopolitical survival. The true value of the trade war lies in preventing American businesses from aiding the rise of an adversary.”

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  3. The left is all about diversity.

    Except diversity of thought.

    https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2019/09/06/cnn-drops-politico-reporter-contributor-shes-named-editor-conservative-news-site/

    “Golly, you would think CNN would be psyched to have Eliana Johnson under contract given the circumstances of her recent hire. As the incoming editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon, she’s the first woman to oversee a prominent conservative news outlet. She’s a seasoned reporter after stints at National Review and Politico too, with plenty of sources by dint of her time on the White House beat. And she’s just 35. She’s going places.

    Respected journalist + young female success story + ideological diversity for a network often slammed as too liberal = easy decision to keep her on as a contributor after she takes over at the Beacon, one would think.

    Unless the “ideological diversity” part is a problem?

    Eliana Johnson, a leading White House reporter for Politico, will not have her contract renewed for her CNN political analyst role after she accepted a new job running the neoconservative Washington Free Beacon.

    CNN confirmed her existing contract is due to expire in November and that the network does not plan to renew it, saying the decision is being made because she will no longer be a White House reporter specifically…

    Other high-profile reporters have maintained contracts at the network as they’ve changed beats or news outlets — Ryan Lizza, a CNN political analyst, has been at the network since he was a Washington correspondent at the New Yorker, and then as he moved from being chief political correspondent at Esquire to chief Washington correspondent at Politico.

    She won’t be reporting directly on the White House herself — but she’ll be overseeing people who do. Doubtless she’ll also leverage her own sources as necessary to supplement the Beacon’s reporting. That is, there’s no reason to think Johnson’s awareness of what’s going on in the administration will diminish in her new role. If anything, it might improve. And although the Beacon might not be as prestigious in Washington as Politico is, the role of editor carries a bit more prestige than the role of reporter does.”

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  4. Thoughts?

    “How to Honor Foster Parents”

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/09/foster-care-parents-need-more-encouragement-support/

    “We need a culture change to encourage and support foster families to give children the stability — and love — they need.

    The opioid crisis has made for a foster-care crisis, too, and the child-welfare systems in many states are not conducive to recruiting and retaining foster families. What can be done to attract “the right families” to foster care and keep them? “What would really motivate these foster parents? More money? Or, a modicum of respect from the child welfare system?”

    These are questions Naomi Schaefer Riley explores in a new report published by the American Enterprise Institute, “Honor Your (Foster) Mothers and Fathers.” She talks about the paper and her research on foster care and adoption in this interview.

    Kathryn Jean Lopez: Whenever the topic of foster parenting comes up, one tends to hear responses like, “It takes a special kind of person” and “Too many people abuse the system.” Is “Honor Your (Foster) Mothers and Fathers” more than a policy paper? Perhaps a plea to nurture a culture that is more conducive to helping children in foster care to get the loving care that they need?

    Naomi Schaefer Riley: It is not uncommon to hear people refer to foster parents as “saints.” And why not? These are people who take total strangers, often with clear emotional and behavioral problems, into their homes and treat them as if they were family. But in truth there are tens of thousands of Americans who do foster care every year.

    Why are there not more? One reason is certainly the culture. We live in a culture where everyone is trying to raise the perfect child. We live in a culture where everyone is responsible for their own nuclear family. The kind of support network that’s necessary to care for a child with greater needs is often not there.

    Despite all that, I think more people would do foster care if our government agencies didn’t treat them so badly. What is it like to do foster care? The people I interview say it has brought them the greatest joy and the deepest sadness. It’s also like spending seven hours a week at the DMV. Between child-welfare workers and family court, foster parents report that they are treated like glorified babysitters. And frankly, most people treat their babysitters better.

    Lopez: You begin your report: “The number of kids in foster care has risen nationwide for five consecutive years to almost 443,000 in 2017. These kids need responsible adults — sometimes temporarily, sometimes permanently — to care for them.” What does a responsible adult look like, and are they being driven away?”

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  5. Unlike Kristol and Congressmen from both parties, I am really ambivalent about this.
    “The wall” doesn’t bother or excite me one way or the other. Like many of you, I have also heard stories of the waste in military construction. My favorite came from a friend who was ordered to spend over $100,000 in Air Force dollars to plant a palm tree on a small base for the wedding of the base commander’s daughter.

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  6. We still don’t know how Trump’s trade wars will end and if Trump’s tariffs will be immediately rescinded by a Democrat successor if Trump is defeated.

    The most predictable change if the Dems take the Presidency (and maybe the Senate) in 2020 is that there will be defense cuts. The Dems have never liked defense spending and the last 2 1/2 years have shown our friends in Europe and Asia that the US is not an intelligent or reliable ally. After 2020, foreign bases will close and the US military will shrink. This will likely happen even if Trump wins in 2020 as Pelosi will still control the purse strings.

    For all the talk about free college, free healthcare and Green New Deals, the post-2020 US government will be constrained by our entitlement commitments. The government will have to concentrate on keeping Social Security and Medicare afloat. All other types of spending will necessarily be diminished as a share of the budget.

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  7. My youngest daughter does foster care. She says the hoops they have to jump through in order to licensed is ridiculous. They get calls weekly wanting them to take in more children. The three they have are all they can handle currently.

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  8. I see the never-Trump, open borders pearl clutchers at the Bulwark are at it again.

    Never tired of losing and playing semantics as usual.

    The fence they’re whining about looks just like a wall.

    ————-

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  9. And the military has plenty of money for the schools too, despite the lies from Kristol.

    https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/09/04/pentagon-approves-military-construction-cash-border-wall.html

    “Pentagon Approves Military Construction Cash for Border Wall”

    “Defense Secretary Mark Esper approved the use of $3.6 billion in funding from military construction projects to build 175 miles of President Donald Trump’s wall along the Mexican border.

    Pentagon officials would not say which 127 projects will be affected, but said details will be available Wednesday after members of Congress are notified. They said half the money will come from military projects in the U.S., and the rest will come from projects in other countries.”

    —–

    “The Pentagon reviewed the list of military projects and said none that provided housing or critical infrastructure for troops would be affected, in the wake of recent scandals over poor living quarters for service members in several parts of the country. Defense officials also said they would focus on projects set to begin in 2020 and beyond, with the hope that the money could eventually be restored by Congress.”

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  10. And here’s a helpful tool which illustrates nicely that Kristol is a drama queen and a hack.

    Let’s look at the actual numbers, shall we?

    Although there are some real schools, it’s minimal.

    Like one middle school in Kentucky, 1 in NC, a child development center in Maryland, 2 elementary schools in Germany, 1 elementary and high school in Japan, and 1 ele/mid/high school in the UK.

    That’s it. Everything else is military projects.

    You may now resume your normal drama queen act.

    https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757463817/these-are-the-11-border-projects-getting-funds-intended-for-military-constructio

    ——————-

    Hacks. And you’re not even good at that.

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  11. And this is why that fence is needed.

    Another cop shot by an illegal who never should have been here. But thanks to open border hacks like Kristol and those in Cali govt……

    And why isn’t Kristol crying about all the resources wasted on the police response to this invader?

    Because he can’t use it to bash Trump.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-sheriff-illegal-immigrant-shoots-deputy

    “A California sheriff is calling for immigration reform in his state after he says sanctuary city policies freed a violent illegal immigrant who went on to shoot a police officer and lead cops on a wild, high-speed chase.

    Guadalupe Lopez-Herrara, 51, was taken into custody Thursday, a day after the Merced County’s Sheriff’s Office says Lopez-Herrara shot a deputy attempting to arrest him for allegedly violating a restraining order, FOX26 reported.

    “This person is not a legal citizen within the United States,” Merced Sheriff Vernon Warnke said at a press conference Thursday. “We had him in our custody in January of this year. And because of the folks in Sacramento limiting our ability to cooperate with ICE, we could not turn him over.”

    The deputy, a sergeant with the sheriff’s office, sustained non-life threatening injuries after police say Lopez-Herrara, described as a known violent criminal, shot him in the leg and vest Wednesday.

    A shootout subsequently broke out between Lopez-Herrara and deputies — but Lopez-Herrara managed to hide behind shrubbery and open fire, pinning down cops long enough to allow his escape.

    Several law enforcement agencies launched a manhunt but were unable to locate him until the following morning. A high-speed pursuit ensued after Lopez-Herrara was spotted in a stolen truck on Highway 46, FOX26 reported.”

    ———————-

    Why I bet without this illegal here using up thousands in costs to taxpayers would have covered construction at one of those schools. Build a wall and the savings we’ll get from not having to do this law enforcement activity will more than make up the difference in the Pentagon budget.

    But then who would cut Kristol’s lawn?….

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  12. “But we should be happy to pay taxes, if its for a worthwhile end”…”it could even be a patriotic duty”

    So this worth while end is a healthy well educated populace? Nope, its a border wall.

    Further down, it seems seven schools would not be opened but apparently thats not a big deal. Its only seven or at least 3500 kids.

    So pay your taxes to build a wall but not for universal health care and public education. misplaced priorities.

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  13. Meanwhile millions of government money is wasted for the president to spend time at his own resorts. When he spends time at Mar A Lago, you’re paying the resort to keep the secret service and other staff there. Its as if a small town mayor held council meetings at his restaurant and the town paid for all the meals.

    And in Ireland this week Pence droce across the island to slend the night at a Trump resort. Of course the US govt paid for all the expenses.

    The corruption is so blantant. Stop spending at the Trump resorts and spend on the wall. You might even have money leftover for health and education on an army base.

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  14. There are already schools in all those places I listed above. They just won’t be getting new schools or upgrades until 2020. Don’t like it? Get the leftists in Congress to do their job and fund border security, then it won’t have to come from elsewhere.

    And Obama set the golfing precedent, 330+ times during his presidency, so deal with it. Maybe you’ll have a point when he ties Obama’s record.

    So pipe down Canadian. Clean up your own country first ya’ hoser.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-bahamas-vacation-rcmp-1.4286033

    “Trudeau’s Bahamas vacation cost over $215K — far more than initially disclosed
    Social Sharing

    RCMP refuses to say how it spent $153,504, cites security concerns”

    —————

    https://www.thepostmillennial.com/trudeau-flights-from-florida-to-ottawa-will-cost-taxpayers-over-100000/

    “Yesterday, Justin Trudeau took to flying back from his vacation in Florida to take a photo with MP Bill Morneau. After his flight, Trudeau decided to return to Florida to continue his vacation.

    With a flight to Florida from Ottawa taking about three hours each way, and with the cost to operate the Prime Minister’s jet in the $14,000 per hour range, the total cost that will be carried by the taxpayer totals over $100,000.

    “Former prime minister Stephen Harper in the past paid economy fare prices for personal travel with his family. Harper issued an edict in 2011, saying he expected all senior officials to reimburse taxpayers for the cost of personal flights on government aircraft, after documents suggested former Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk had spent more than $1 million flying on the air force’s Challenger jets since 2008, including a flight to St. Maarten.” Trudeau will be doing the same thing, though the costs of these flights in particular add up quickly.

    This also comes in direct contrast to Trudeau’s message on climate change, as the flights surely not carbon friendly.”

    ————-

    Hypocrisy is big in Canada, no?

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  15. Note I stuck to vacations and not business trips, and there’s plenty more too. He’s no different than any other world leader in the last 2 decades, Trump and Obama included. Not saying it’s right, or not wasteful sometimes, but they all do it, and you know it.

    But Orange Man Bad, right?

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  16. And yeah, the wall is necessary.

    Reason #287,913

    https://www.wbal.com/article/408535/2/ice-6-of-7-arrested-in-towson-slaying-had-detainers?fbclid=IwAR0RUHYAXODqgY5VAUA-def92wrJBHNo3yOlgW8FAcw-y98RCk3cDkHfDDs

    “ICE: 6 Of 7 Arrested In Towson Slaying Are MS-13 Members”

    “Six of the seven people charged Tuesday in an July killing are members of MS-13, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say.

    Of the six, five are Salvadoran and one is Mexican. All of them are in the country illegally, ICE spokeswoman Kate Pote said in an email. All six are identified in ICE gang databases as members of MS-13. After their arrests, ICE placed detainers on them.”

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  18. Obama went to.a golf course 306 times over 8 years. After less than 3 years Trump has visited a golf course 214 times, roughly 2x as much. Now he actually golfed 92 days but still out pacing Obama. I agree people need time off which is why I didnt understand why Republicans were so critical of Obama golfing. There’s hypocrisy; whining about Obama playing then 3 years later shrugging shoulders when Trump plays even more.

    https://trumpgolfcount.com/

    Golfing isnt the problem. He can play every day for all I care, and let the adults govern. Its where he golfs. Everytime he goes to a Trump golf club or resort., the government spends money there. Pence went over 200 miles out of his way to spend the night at a Trump resort. All on the govt dime. The corruption and confluct of interest is blatant. This is banana republic level corruption. Foreign dignitaries have noticed and spend nights at the DC Trump Hotel just to curry favour. Americans should be embarrassed by the obvious third world style corruption.

    I’m not sure how Trudeau’s behaviour should affect my view of American politics. The Liberals and Conservatives are simiilar parties, both screw the working class except the Liberals offer platitudes and a pretty face while the Conservatives offer guilt and blame. Trudeau and the Lberals are hypocrites and I have never voted for them.

    But lets face it, the 250K Trudeau wasted is minor league compared to the millions Trump not only wasted but spent at his own resorts. And to think Jimmy Carter sold his peanut farm to avoid any possibility of conflict of interest.

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  19. I know math is hard, but 215k plus 100k is 315k, not 250k.

    And as I noted, I just grabbed the first two, there were many more instances of Trudeau doing the same thing, so I saw no need to dig further. It’s well documented what these guys spend.
    And of course your guy wastes an awful lot vacationing out of the country, Florida, the Bahamas..

    At least Trump keeps his money at home.

    Also, the presidents in recent memory, Bush Sr. to Kennebunkport, GWD to Crawford, Obama to Martha’s Vineyards and Hawaii as examples, are the presidents going where they’ve always gone. Trump is doing the same. When he vacations, it’s always been to one of his resorts to golf. Why should that change for him, but not any of the others?

    Your outrage is big time selective, isn’t it?

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  20. The difference is simple. Trump is making millions going to his own resorts. Other presidents did not make any personal gain through their vacations. Not selective, just criticizing the only case of corruption through vacation.

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  22. “Trump is making millions going to his own resorts”

    I trust you have some numbers to back this perhaps a link with the dollars and cents and where they were spent?……. If it really is millions, it shouldn’t be hard to demonstrate.

    I need more than just your opinion, or what you read on some lefty site to convince me.

    As for foreigner dignitaries staying at his resorts, they already were, and have been for decades.

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