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One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Friday, February 24, 2017
Why Trump’s Call to Investigate Vote Fraud Is Valid
by Joanne Young: President Donald Trump recently called for an investigation into vote fraud. His press secretary Sean Spicer added: “This isn’t just about the 2016 election. This is about the integrity of our voting system.”
And there is a problem: Liberal activists have all too often rejected and fought against bipartisan efforts to fix these critical problems.
Trump detailed some of the problems in our voting system: “You have people that are registered who are dead, who are illegals, who are in two states. You have people registered in two states. … They vote twice.”
In 2014, President Barack Obama’s bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration called for voter list maintenance to improve the voter registration rolls. Yet liberals have regularly fought against efforts to clean up voter rolls.
The irony was that at the same time Obama’s lawyer, Bob Bauer, was leading the bipartisan commission, his own firm was suing the state of Virginia, calling the efforts to clean up voter rolls racist and purging.
It goes further. Obama nominated Myrna Perez to be on the Election Assistance Commission. Perez was an adamant opponent of voter list maintenance, declaring such efforts “purging.”
This is why it’s tough to even talk about vote fraud. Any efforts, even those with bipartisan support, are bitterly opposed by liberal activists.
Aside from the incendiary rhetoric, there are real challenges to maintaining clean voter registration rolls that liberals and conservatives need to work together to overcome.
Underfunded and understaffed state election offices do not have the resources to review voter registration records and remove dead people and other ineligible voters. States do not share information to identify double registrations and potential double voting.
Lists of noncitizens excused from jury duty are not shared with secretaries of state to be removed from voter registration rolls. Significant advances are being made in this area through the use of technology, but much remains to be done. Bipartisan cooperation, not political bickering, is needed.
There may be no better example than the requirement for a photo ID. Voter ID is overwhelmingly supported by the public. A 2016 Gallup poll last August found that 80 percent of Americans, including 63 percent of Democrats, support the requirement that a person show a photo ID at the polls before voting.
A primary recommendation of the 2005 bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform (the “Carter-Baker Commission”) was to require voter ID. This commission was led by Jimmy Carter, former president and noted liberal, and James Baker, secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush.
Yet, liberals oppose any efforts to enact commonsense voter ID laws, opposing them in legislatures and in the courts. Voter ID laws, which protect the integrity of the vote and thus our democracy for all citizens, are called racist and mechanisms of voter suppression.
Liberals often make ludicrous, unsubstantiated claims about voter ID, such as claiming hundreds of thousands of voters would be disenfranchised by voter ID—claims that even sympathetic liberals and courts question as based on faulty statistics and methods.
Liberal activists unfortunately show by their actions they do not want to fix our electoral system despite strong public, bipartisan support for things like voter list maintenance and photo ID requirements.
Instead of accepting and supporting reforms that have public support, liberals open the door to more fraud by championing changes to the process like mandatory voter registration, all mail-in voting, same-day registration, no-excuse absentee voting, and not requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration.
These changes have not been shown to improve voter participation, engagement, or turnout, but instead strain local election resources and present more opportunities for ineligible people to register and cast fraudulent ballots.
Take the example of New Hampshire.
Democrat New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner supports a 30-day residency requirement to stop fraudulent, as he calls it, “drive-by voting,” in which people from out of state come to New Hampshire for a short period to vote on Election Day.
New Hampshire has same-day registration and no period of residency required before a person may register and vote. Yet a commonsense residency requirement has been passed for the past two years by the New Hampshire Legislature, which liberals in the Legislature opposed and then-Gov. Maggie Hassan vetoed each time.
Even Hillary Clinton recognized the problem, alleging that out-of-state voters led to her losing the 2016 New Hampshire presidential primary to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Gardner pledged to investigate.
One can only wonder how out-of-state voters affected the close 2016 presidential and senatorial election in New Hampshire, where Hassan defeated Sen. Kelly Ayotte by approximately 700 votes.
Significantly, data from the state election results published regarding the 2012 and 2014 general elections by the New Hampshire secretary of state demonstrate the margin of victory for the winning candidate in the races for governor, Senate, and president was less than the number of votes cast on Election Day by same-day registrants.
A few votes from out-of-state voters can literally change the winner of a race.
This begs the question: What are liberals trying to hide? Why not support Trump’s call for an investigation into vote fraud? Is it because they are concerned what would happen if they helped pass laws to protect the integrity of our elections?
It’s time to stop playing politics with election administration and start working together to fix our electoral system, which in turn protects our democracy and our republic.
---------------- Joanne W. Young is the managing partner at Kirstein & Young PLLC and a board member of the Republican National Lawyers Association. She contributed this artical to The Daily Signal. Tags:Trump’s Call, to Investigate, Vote Fraud, Joanne W. Young, The Daily SignalTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-AR): President Ronald Reagan delivered one of the best lines on how an effective government should operate during his first inaugural address. Standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, he told the American people the way to fix Washington was to make government “work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride our back.”
Regulations that protect consumers, borrowers and the environment improve the quality of life for all Americans. They ensure we have safe food to eat, access to credit at fair rates and clean air to breathe.
When agencies overregulate, the rights of law-abiding Americans are ignored and our economic growth comes to a grinding halt. Overbearing, excessive regulations take farmers away from tending to their crops, slow the lines at manufacturing plants and sap resources that could otherwise be put toward hiring more Americans. Someone who normally would be doing work that creates revenue is taken off task for a considerable amount of time to fill out burdensome paperwork.
Overregulation became the norm during President Obama’s administration. Under his direction, agencies issued regulations at such a rapid pace that the New York Times dubbed him the “Regulator-in-Chief.”
Congress has been moving quickly to deliver on its promise to reverse ill-advised and economically damaging Obama-era regulations by using the powers granted to the Senate and the House of Representatives through the Congressional Review Act. This law allows Congress to overturn any new regulation, within sixty days of its submission, with a joint resolution of disapproval.
So far, the Senate has passed resolutions of disapproval to eliminate misguided regulations that:
threatened thousands of American coal workers’ jobs;
placed unreasonable compliance burdens on our energy sector; and
potentially deprived seniors and disabled Americans of their Second Amendment rights without due process.
Confirming Cabinet members is another important step that the Senate will play in this process. The new administration shares this view of overregulation and is putting forth nominees who will work to support our efforts to address it.
Our system of government grants the executive branch the ability to make regulations. In doing so, we entrust agency officials with the responsibility of making sensible rules that do not encroach on our freedoms. When regulations go too far, Congress has a responsibility to protect the rights of the American people. We’ve taken the first steps of many to roll back regulations and I look forward to working with my colleagues and the White House moving forward. Tags:Arkansas, U.S. Senator, John Boozman, Rolling Back RegulationsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Promises Kept - Last year, Donald Trump had a "scheduling conflict" and did not attend CPAC. Insiders say the campaign was concerned about the reception he would get. There were threats of protests and mass walkouts.
The media said skipping the event would kill his chances in the GOP primary. CPAC blasted Trump, saying that it was "very disappointed," adding that his snub "sends a clear message to conservatives."
The Trump campaign was more gracious. In a statement, the campaign said, "Mr. Trump . . . looks forward to returning to [CPAC] next year, hopefully as President of the United States."
Promise kept. This morning, President Donald Trump addressed CPAC, and he received a tremendously warm welcome.
The president delivered a powerful, unapologetic, pro-America speech in which he defined his agenda, as well as the future of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. He needs to give this speech as often as he can. As much as Hollywood and the media mock Donald Trump, he is connecting with Middle America, just like Ronald Reagan did.
Below are some excerpts of the president's CPAC address. "Our victory was a victory . . . for conservative values. For everyone who believes it is time to stand up for America, for the American worker and to stand up for the American flag. . . There is such love in this country for everything we stand for. You saw that on Election Day and you're going to see it more and more. . .
"The core conviction of our movement is that we are nation that puts its own citizens first. For too long we have traded away our jobs to other countries. We have defend other nations' borders while leaving ours wide open. . . We've spent trillions of dollars overseas while allowing our own infrastructure to fall into disrepair and decay. . . The era of empty talk is over. Now is the time for action. . .
"One by one, we're checking off the promises we made to the American people. We will reduce your taxes, cut regulations, support our police, defend our flag. We will rebuild our military. We will take care of our great veterans. We will cut wasteful spending. We will promote our values. We will rebuild our inner cities. We will bring back our jobs and our dreams. . .
"Global cooperation, dealing with other countries, getting along with other countries is good. But there is no such thing as a global anthem, a global currency or a global flag. This is the United States of America that I am representing. I am not representing the globe. I am representing your country. . .
"No matter our background, income or geography, we are all citizens of this blessed land. No matter our color, [we bleed] the same red blood of great patriots. We all salute with pride the same American flag. We all are equal in the eyes of Almighty God. . . As long as we have faith in each other and trust in God then there is no goal beyond our reach. There is no dream too large, no task too great.
"We are Americans and the future belongs to us! America is coming back. . . God bless you and God bless the United States of America."You can the full speech below:
Pence Urges Prayer & Action - Vice President Mike Pence spoke at CPAC last night. He gave a rousing speech, outlining the Trump Administration's effort to defend the sanctity of life, repeal and replace Obamacare, stand with Israel and grow our economy. Pence told the conservative crowd that "this is our time." But he also urged conservatives to guard against complacency. He urged them to action, saying:
"We must all of us rise to the challenge before us, tomorrow and every day thereafter. The other side is not sitting idle, and their allies in the media are more than willing to amplify their defense of the failed status quo every single day. . .
"We've got to mobilize. We've got to march forward, as if it's the most important time in the history of our movement, because it is. . .
"So make your voices heard in town halls, with your family and your friends, on the Internet and social media, and all those places where commonsense conservative messages are most desperately needed, because this is our time.
"From this day forward, to make America great again, President Trump and I need every ounce of your energy and enthusiasm, your conviction, your courage, your passion. And we need one more thing, if you're inclined. We need your prayers."
The Chiefs Speak - White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon took the stage together at CPAC yesterday, and downplayed the media hype about power struggles and disagreements.
While Priebus comes from the party establishment and Bannon from the conservative movement, both emphasized the complimentary nature of their relationship, not competing interests. Priebus said, "I've got to tell you, if the party and the conservative movement are together -- similar to Steve and I -- it can't be stopped."
What really stood out to me in their remarks was an exchange about the media. Priebus expressed his hope that the news coverage of President Trump would get better, perhaps when the media's liberal fever breaks with the passage of time. Bannon, I believe, was more realistic. Here's how he put it:
"It's not only not going to get better. It's going to get worse every day. . . Here's why it's going to get worse: Because [Trump is] going to continue to press his agenda. . . If you think [the left is] going to give you your country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken.
"Every day -- every day -- it is going to be a fight. And that is what I'm proudest about Donald Trump. All the opportunities he had to waiver; all the people who have come to him and said, 'Oh, you've got to moderate.' Every day in the Oval Office, he tells Reince and I, 'I committed this to the American people; I promised this when I ran; and I'm going to deliver on this.'"
---------------- Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families Tags:Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, Promises Kept, Pence Urges Prayer & Action, Chiefs Speak, CUFI SummitTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Daniel Greenfield: Will the last person still alive in Chicago turn out the light?
This isn't 7 people murdered over the weekend. We're used to that kind of thing from Chicago. This is 7 people murdered in one weekday. In a city obsessed with gun control, but that fails at gang control.Homicides are now outpacing last year in Chicago after the city experienced its deadliest day so far this year, according to data kept by the Tribune.
Seven people were shot to death on Wednesday, five of them killed over two hours, including a woman who was eight months pregnant and had already picked out a name for her baby.
That's the most homicides since Christmas Day last year, when eight people were killed in the city.
Homicides had been lagging behind last year, which had been the deadliest in two decades. But by Wednesday evening, the city had recorded its 99th homicide two days earlier than it did last year, according to Tribune data.Chicago currently leads the nation in lethal daily killings by those oppressed folks who escaped the school to prison mass incarceration pipeline... and in insane taxes.While homicides had been down most of this year, the number of people shot has been higher almost from the beginning. As of Wednesday evening, at least 495 people had been shot in Chicago, nearly 60 more than this time last year, according to Tribune data.That's almost 500 people shot in less than two months. Those are Syria numbers.
Democrats have run Chicago and numerous other major cities into the ground. And their only solution is to double down on the same disastrous pro-crime, municipal union giveaways and higher tax policies.
-------------- Daniel Greenfield is Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and a New York writer focusing on radical Islam. David Horowitz is a Contributing Author of the ARRA News Service Tags:Daniel Greenfield, FrontPage Mag, 7 People, Murdered In ChicagoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
CO LAWYERS: ‘Judge Gorsuch Has A Well-Earned Reputation As An Excellent Jurist’
Judge Neil Gorsuch
We All Agree That Judge Gorsuch Is Exceptionally Well-Qualified To Join The Supreme Court’
“Norm Brownstein and Steve Farber, two giants in Colorado’s legal and political world, joined with dozens of attorneys from the state this week in signing a letter to U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner urging them to support the confirmation of conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.”(“Prominent Colorado Attorneys Call For Neil Gorsuch To Be Confirmed,” The Denver Post, 2/1/17)
COLORADO LEGAL COMMUNITY:‘He Is Fair, Decent, And Honest, Both As A Judge And A Person’
200+ COLORADO LAWYERS: “As members of the Colorado legal community, we are proud to support the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to be our next Supreme Court Justice. We hold a diverse set of political views as Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Many of us have been critical of actions taken by President Trump. Nonetheless, we all agree that Judge Gorsuch is exceptionally well-qualified to join the Supreme Court. He deserves an up or down vote.” (CO Lawyers, Letters To Sens. Michael Bennet & Cory Gardner, 2/23/17)
“We know Judge Gorsuch to be a person of utmost character. He is fair, decent, and honest, both as a judge and a person. His record shows that he believes strongly in the independence of the judiciary. Judge Gorsuch has a well-earned reputation as an excellent jurist. He voted with the majority in 98% of the cases he heard on the Tenth Circuit, a great portion of which were joined by judges appointed by Democratic Presidents.” (CO Lawyers, Letters To Sens. Michael Bennet & Cory Gardner, 2/23/17)
PARTNERS & FORMER PARTNERS, INCLUDING LEADERS OF THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY: Judge Gorusch Is ‘Superbly Qualified,’ ‘An Outstanding Jurist,’ With ‘A Very Distinguished Background’
39 Partners And Former Partners Of Gorusch’s Former Law Firm, Including Two Leaders Of The Liberal American Constitution Society: “We are present and former partners in the law firm of Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, PLLC. We are Democrats, independents, and Republicans. Many of us have served in government, some during Republican and some during Democratic administrations; some of us have served in both. We have clerked for Supreme Court justices and appellate and district court judges appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents. We represent a broad spectrum of views on politics, judicial philosophy, and many other subjects as well. But we all agree on one thing: our former colleague, Neil M. Gorsuch – our associate – and then partner for more than a decade – is superbly qualified for confirmation to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a man of character, decency, and accomplishment who merits this appointment.”(Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, P.L.L.C. partners and former partners, Letter to Sens. Grassley and Feinstein, 2/02/2017;“Leadership,” American Constitution Society Website, Accessed 2/07/2017)
“Neil’s equal regard for everyone extended to his work as a litigator. He zealously represented all of his clients – plaintiffs and defendants, individuals and corporations, nonprofits and small businesses, paying clients and pro bono clients – without regard to ideology. For Neil, each client deserved the best arguments that could be mustered, consistent with the facts and the law. . . Neil is not only a good and humble man, he is also an outstanding jurist. We are fully confident that he will decide cases on principled grounds; that he will work tirelessly to get each case right, on its particular merits; that he will be thoughtful about the views of his colleagues, and will deliberate respectfully and productively to reach consensus where that is possible; and that he will demonstrate the integrity and ability that we all saw in our years as his colleagues.” (Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, P.L.L.C. partners and former partners, Letter to Sens. Grassley and Feinstein, 2/02/2017; “Leadership,” American Constitution Society Website, Accessed 2/07/2017)
“Neil is not only a good and humble man, he is also an outstanding jurist. We are fully confident that he will decide cases on principled grounds; that he will work tirelessly to get each case right, on its particular merits; that he will be thoughtful about the views of his colleagues, and will deliberate respectfully and productively to reach consensus where that is possible; and that he will demonstrate the integrity and ability that we all saw in our years as his colleagues.” (Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, P.L.L.C. partners and former partners, Letter to Sens. Grassley and Feinstein, 2/02/2017; “Leadership,” American Constitution Society Website, Accessed 2/07/2017)
LIBERAL LAW PROFESSORS:‘A Brilliant Mind,’ ‘A Kind, Sensitive And Caring Human Being,’
‘[H]e Follows The Law As Best As He Can Wherever It Might Lead’
YALE LAW PROFESSOR E. DONALD ELLIOTT: “I have known him personally for more than a decade, since he was an attorney in the Justice Department. He is a brilliant mind, but more important he is a kind, sensitive and caring human being. Judge Gorsuch tries very hard to get the law right... [H]e follows the law as best as he can wherever it might lead.Judge Gorsuch has demonstrated in his rulings that he believes the judiciary has a sworn duty to protect individual liberties, even when they lack broad public support. . . More important is putting on the court someone like Neil Gorsuch—a good person with solid values—to decide, as the law requires, future controversies that we have yet to dream.”(E. Donald Elliott, Op-Ed, “For Moderate Democrats, Judge Gorsuch Is as Good as It Gets,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/06/2017)
ELLIOTT: “The sensible route for moderate Democrats is clear: They should cross the aisle and join Republicans to cut off a filibuster, allowing an up-or-down vote by a simple majority on Judge Gorsuch. . . This is an opportunity to break the cycle by coming together for the good of the country. The partisan wars started in 1987 with Judge Robert Bork; the time to end them is 2017 with Judge Gorsuch.”(E. Donald Elliott, Op-Ed, “For Moderate Democrats, Judge Gorsuch Is as Good as It Gets,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/06/2017)
“[Constitutional scholar and longtime Harvard Law professor Alan] Dershowitz said Gorsuch is ‘among the best people on that list of 21’ potential nominees Trump had rolled out during the campaign, adding, ‘He’ll be hard to oppose on the merits.’ … Dershowitz said, adding Gorsuch has a reputation as a ‘very easy guy to get along with.’” (“Dershowitz: Gorsuch ‘Smart Appointment,’ ‘Hard to Oppose,’” Newsmax, 1/31/2017)
NEAL KATYAL, former Solicitor General under President Obama: “I was an acting solicitor general for President Barack Obama; Judge Gorsuch has strong conservative bona fides and was appointed to the 10th Circuit by President George W. Bush. But I have seen him up close and in action, both in court and on the Federal Appellate Rules Committee (where both of us serve); he brings a sense of fairness and decency to the job, and a temperament that suits the nation’s highest court... I have no doubt that if confirmed, Judge Gorsuch would help to restore confidence in the rule of law. His years on the bench reveal a commitment to judicial independence — a record that should give the American people confidence that he will not compromise principle to favor the president who appointed him.”(Neal Katyal, Op-Ed, “Why Liberals Should Back Neil Gorsuch,” The New York Times, 1/31/2017)
LAURENCE TRIBE, Legal Mentor To President Obama: “…Gorsuch is a brilliant, terrific guy who would do the Court's work with distinction.”(Twitter, @Tribelaw, 2/1/17)
JONATHAN TURLEY, Liberal Law Professor At George Washington Law School: “Gorsuch is an intellectual leader. He fits the bill for those people that view Scalia[‘s death] as the loss of an intellectual icon. Gorsuch has that depth of analysis that you see in his opinions. He has a true sense of his jurisprudence, so he’ll come to the court with a very strong record, a very powerful writer and a very considerable intellect.”(Fox News’ “The First 100 Days,” 1/31/17) Tags:CO LAWYERS, Judge Gorsuch, Well-Earned Reputation, Excellent JuristTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
. . . Trump rescinds Obama’s nation wide transgender bathroom guidelines. Many feel this will help to protects children from possible predators. If it saves but one child.
Tags:Unmanned, AF Branco, Editorial Cartoon, Donald Trump, recinds, nation wide, transgender bathrooms, protect children predators To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Patrick Buchanan: As the culture war is about irreconcilable beliefs about God and man, right and wrong, good and evil, and is at root a religious war, it will be with us so long as men are free to act on their beliefs.
Yet, given the divisions among us, deeper and wider than ever, it is an open question as to how, and how long, we will endure as one people.
After World War II, our judicial dictatorship began a purge of public manifestations of the “Christian nation” that Harry Truman said we were.
In 2009, Barack Obama retorted, “We do not consider ourselves to be a Christian nation.” Secularism had been enthroned as our established religion, with only the most feeble of protests.
One can only imagine how Iranians or Afghans would deal with unelected judges moving to de-Islamicize their nations. Heads would roll, literally.
Which bring us to the first culture war skirmish of the Trump era.
Taking sides with Attorney General Jeff Sessions against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the president rescinded the Obama directive that gave transgender students the right to use the bathroom of their choice in public schools. President Donald Trump sent the issue back to the states and locales to decide.
While treated by the media and left as the civil rights cause of our era, the “bathroom debate” calls to mind Marx’s observation, “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”
Can anyone seriously contend that whether a 14-year-old boy, who thinks he is a girl, gets to use the girls’ bathroom is a civil rights issue comparable to whether African-Americans get the right to vote?
Remarkably, there was vigorous dissent, from DeVos, to returning this issue to where it belongs, with state and local officials.
After yielding on the bathroom question, she put out a statement declaring that every school in America has a “moral obligation” to protect children from bullying, and directed her Office of Civil Rights to investigate all claims of bullying or harassment “against those who are most vulnerable in our schools.”
Now, bullying is bad behavior, and it may be horrible behavior.
But when did a Republican Party that believes in states rights decide this was a responsibility of a bureaucracy Ronald Reagan promised but failed to shut down? When did the GOP become nanny-staters?
Bullying is something every kid in public, parochial or private school has witnessed by graduation. While unfortunate, it is part of growing up.
But what kind of society, what kind of people have we become when we start to rely on federal bureaucrats to stop big kids from harassing and beating up smaller or weaker kids?
While the bathroom debate is a skirmish in the culture war, Trump’s solution — send the issue back to the states and the people there to work it out — may point the way to a truce — assuming Americans still want a truce.
For Trump’s solution is rooted in the principle of subsidiarity, first advanced in the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII — that social problems are best resolved by the smallest unit of society with the ability to resolve them.
In brief, bullying is a problem for parents, teachers, principals to deal with, and local cops and the school district if it becomes widespread.
This idea is consistent with the Republican idea of federalism — that the national government should undertake those duties — securing the borders, fighting the nation’s wars, creating a continental road and rail system — that states alone cannot do.
Indeed, the nationalization of decision-making, the imposition of one-size-fits-all solutions to social problems, the court orders emanating from the ideology of judges — to which there is no appeal — that is behind the culture wars that may yet bring an end to this experiment in democratic rule.
Those factors are also among the primary causes of the fever of secessionism that is spreading all across Europe, and is now visible here.
Consider California. Democrats hold every state office, both Senate seats, two-thirds of both houses of the state legislature, 3 in 4 of the congressional seats. Hillary Clinton beat Trump 2-to-1 in California, with her margin in excess of 4 million votes.
Suddenly, California knows exactly how Marine Le Pen feels.
And as she wants to “Let France Be France,” and leave the EU, as Brits did with Brexit, a movement is afoot in California to secede from the United States and form a separate nation.
California seceding sounds like a cause that could bring San Francisco Democrats into a grand alliance with Breitbart.
A new federalism — a devolution of power and resources away from Washington and back to states, cities, towns and citizens, to let them resolve their problems their own way and according to their own principles — may be the price of retention of the American Union.
Let California be California; let red state America be red state America.
-------------------- Patrick Buchanan is currently a conservative columnist, political analyst, chairman of The American Cause foundation and an editor of The American Conservative. He has been a senior advisor to three Presidents, a two-time candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, and was the presidential nominee of the Reform Party in 2000. He blogs at the Patrick J. Buchanan. Tags:Patrick Buchanan, conservative, commentary, Secession, Cultural War, CaliforniaTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Three years ago, an initiative sought to split the mega-state up. Had that measure succeeded, the U.S. Congress would have decided whether to permit the Golden State to become six separate states — with ten more U.S. Senators.
Now, a group called “Yes California” is petitioning for a 2018 ballot measure on leaving these United States altogether: Secession. “California could do more good as an independent country than it is able to do as just a U.S. state,” says its website.
Supporters argued in a recent Washington Post feature that California “subsidizes other states at a loss.” Indeed, it’s one of 14 states that get less money back from the federal government than paid in taxes.
And there’s Trump. Opposition to the president is palpable. California provided Hillary Clinton with a 4.3 million popular vote margin over Republican Donald Trump, 1.5 million more than her national margin.
“It’s understandable why the election of an evil white supremacist swindler as president,” wroteZócalo Public Square’s Joe Mathews in the Fresno Bee, “has given the idea of California independence such currency.” Nonetheless, he opposes #CalExit as divisive and “not very Californian.”
Nationally, for partisan reasons, Republicans may cheer it, while Democrats shudder.
Me? I’m for self-determination.
But, remember: Northern Californians have been agitating to secede from the state since 1941. Those desires are picking up steam — especially with trepidation over whether the Oroville dam will hold. Folks feel unrepresented in the state capitol.*
And they are. Already 21 of the 23 northernmost counties have made declarations to form the State of Jefferson.
Let Californians decide . . . county by county.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
* Note that Trump won by a landslide in the counties that would comprise Jefferson, our would-be 51st state.
------------------ Paul Jacobs is author of Common Sense which provides daily commentary about the issues impacting America and about the citizens who are doing something about them. He is also President of the Liberty Initiative Fund (LIFe) as well as Citizens in Charge Foundation. Jacobs is a contributing author on the ARRA News Service. Tags:Paul Jacob, Common Sense, Adios, California?To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Kerby Anderson, Contributing Author: Last week, I received my Yale News email announcing that Calhoun College was going to change its name to honor Grace Murray Hopper. I had two questions. Why did it take so long? And, who is Grace Hopper?
Now, you may not really care about the renaming of a college at Yale University, but stick with me for a moment. The college is named for John C. Calhoun, who served a as secretary of war, secretary of state, and a vice president under two presidents. But he was also a pro-slavery fanatic. When I was at Georgetown graduate school, one of my professors required that we read some of the writings by John Calhoun. I was shocked.
So it is a bit amazing that it took until 2017 for the administration, faculty, and students to remove his name. But the university faces a problem. Many of the other colleges are named for people who owned slaves. They would be Timothy Dwight, Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Silliman, John Davenport, and Ezra Stiles. Once you start down this road, there may be no stopping it.
One of the arguments for removing Calhoun’s name was that “he has no strong association with our campus.” Huh? Calhoun graduated valedictorian from Yale College in 1804. Grace Hopper never graduated from Yale College, but only has graduate degrees from Yale University.
This is hardly just an issue for Yale University. Last year, Princeton University removed a painting of President Woodrow Wilson. Georgetown University renamed two buildings named for presidents who had a part in selling slaves. University of North Carolina changed the name of Saunders Hall because it was named for a Ku Klux Klan organizer. Washington and Lee University removed a Confederate flag from its chapel, even though General Robert E. Lee served as the university’s president and is buried beneath the chapel.
I suspect we are just seeing the beginning of the renaming of lots of buildings on college campuses.
----------- Kerby Anderson is a radio talk show host heard on numerous stations via the Point of View Network endorsed by Dr. Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News Service Tags:Kerby Anderson, Viewpoints, Point of View, Yale University, renaming collegeTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Obama Midnight Regs Rescissions Are Time-Sensitive . . .
. . . Take Precedent Over Tax Cuts, Repealing Obamacare — For Now
Editorial Cartoon by William Warren
by Robert Romano: Matt Drudge, founder of the media giant Drudge Report that publishes headlines from throughout the mainstream media, has made headlines of its own lately, chastising the Republican Congress for not yet acting to pass tax cuts and repeal Obamacare — two key issues Republicans including President Donald Trump campaigned on in 2016.
Congress for its part has initiated the budget reconciliation process, which continues at the committee level, but to date still has not revealed the text of the health care law repeal.
Critics have charged that Republicans have been out of power for years, and surely have had the time they need to draft legislation on health care and taxes. Indeed, it would be unbelievable if the GOP were simply starting from scratch.
In the least, Congress should be able to repeal all the parts of Obamacare that were repealed last year in H.R. 3762 — which passed both houses of Congress but was vetoed by President Barack Obama. That bill got rid of Medicaid expansion, premium subsidies, cost-sharing subsidies, the individual and employer mandates, reinsurance, risk corridors and risk-adjustment, and the many taxes and spending from the health care law.
If it was good enough for Obama to veto, it should be good enough for Trump to sign.
That said, there is still time, there is an important reason why tax cuts and the health care repeal have not yet come to the floor. And that is the Congressional Review Act (CRA), law that gives Congress the power to repeal recent regulations on a semi-expedited basis without any 60-vote supermajorities in the Senate required.
These CRA regulatory rescissions have time windows of 60 legislative days. Meaning, Congress has a limited time to do away with as many harmful midnight regulations as possible and ensure they or nothing substantially similar can ever again be issued without Congressional approval.
After that, the regulations are set in stone and can only be overturned through the normal lawmaking process — with 60 vote majorities needed in the Senate — or under the Administrative Procedures Act, a process that can take a couple of years.
H.J. Res. 38 repeals a regulation adversely impacting on surface coal mining operations.
H.J. Res. 41 gets rid of a rule requiring “resource extraction issuers to disclose payments made to governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals.”
These have already been signed. Another, H.J. Res. 40, which does away with an Obama regulation that barred those deemed mentally incapable, without any due process, of purchasing a firearm, has not yet been signed.
That’s already more repeals of regulations under the CRA than has ever been accomplished in U.S. history. Prior to that, just one had been overturned in 2001: a Labor Department regulation on ergonomics.
So, if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wished it, he could limit debate on the pending CRA rescissions to less than an hour apiece, and conduct the votes in a sprint instead of a protracted marathon.
There is no reason Congress should not try to repeal as many regulations under CRA as possible.
And that would be a very good reason for tax cuts and the Obamacare repeal to have been postponed until later this year. They could be eating the legislative calendar, but that will necessarily mean less CRA rescissions. But that reason will only be valid if the Senate gets its act together and at a minimum takes up the same regulatory rescissions that the House has.
Drudge for his part has criticized Congress for not yet voting on tax cuts or repealing Obamacare, and those will remain valid concerns until they are done and done right. But let’s get past the 60-legislative day CRA window before we start to worry.
---------------- Robert Romano is the Senior Editor of Americans for Limited Government. His article was first shared on the ALG's NetRight Daily blog. Tags:Robert Romano, Americans For Limited Government, Obama Midnight Regs, Rescissions, Time-Sensitive To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Kelsey Harkness: Vice President Mike Pence attempted to assure conservative activists Thursday night that Obamacare is on its way out.
“Let me assure you,” Pence said at the annual Conservative Action Political Conference, or CPAC, “America’s Obamacare nightmare is about to end.”
As plans to repeal and replace Obamacare remain in limbo, Pence made the issue centerfold in his keynote address at CPAC, the largest annual gathering of conservatives. Pence promised to repeal Obamacare, “eliminating its mandates, its taxes, and its intrusion into your business and into your lives,” saying Obamacare would be “replaced with something that actually works.”
“Despite the best efforts of liberal activists in town halls around the country,” Pence added, “the American people know better. Obamacare has failed and Obamacare must go.”
“This failed law is crippling the American economy and crushing the American people.”
Adding fuel to the fire, Pence referred to the “promises liberals made about Obamacare” as “fake news.”
“Remember they told us the cost of insurance would go down. They told us if you liked your doctor, you could keep [him]. They told us if you liked your health plan, you could keep it.”
“Now we all know the truth. Today Americans are paying $3,000 more a year on average for their health insurance. Last year, premiums skyrocketed by a stunning 25 percent. Millions have lost their plans and lost their doctors. Higher costs. Fewer choices. Worse care. That’s Obamacare.”
He also said the Affordable Care Act was a “job killer.”
Discussing replacing Obamacare, Pence was dismissive of “all the fearmongering from the left,” and said there would be “an orderly transition to a better health care system that finally puts the American people first.”
He detailed what he and President Donald Trump would do to ensure all Americans had “access to quality and affordable health care insurance, which is why we’re designing a better law that lowers the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government.”
Pence continued: We’re going to let Americans purchase health insurance across state lines, the way you buy your life insurance, the way you buy your car insurance.
We’re going to make sure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to health insurance and the security they need, and we’re going to give states the freedom and flexibility to take care of the least fortunate in the best way that will work in their state and in their community.Vice President Mike Pence attempted to assure conservative activists Thursday night that Obamacare is on its way out.
“Let me assure you,” Pence said at the annual Conservative Action Political Conference, or CPAC, “America’s Obamacare nightmare is about to end.”
As plans to repeal and replace Obamacare remain in limbo, Pence made the issue centerfold in his keynote address at CPAC, the largest annual gathering of conservatives. Pence promised to repeal Obamacare, “eliminating its mandates, its taxes, and its intrusion into your business and into your lives,” saying Obamacare would be “replaced with something that actually works.”
“Despite the best efforts of liberal activists in town halls around the country,” Pence added, “the American people know better. Obamacare has failed and Obamacare must go.”
“This failed law is crippling the American economy and crushing the American people.”
Adding fuel to the fire, Pence referred to the “promises liberals made about Obamacare” as “fake news.”
“Remember they told us the cost of insurance would go down. They told us if you liked your doctor, you could keep [him]. They told us if you liked your health plan, you could keep it.”
“Now we all know the truth. Today Americans are paying $3,000 more a year on average for their health insurance. Last year, premiums skyrocketed by a stunning 25 percent. Millions have lost their plans and lost their doctors. Higher costs. Fewer choices. Worse care. That’s Obamacare.”
He also said the Affordable Care Act was a “job killer.”
Discussing replacing Obamacare, Pence was dismissive of “all the fearmongering from the left,” and said there would be “an orderly transition to a better health care system that finally puts the American people first.”
He detailed what he and President Donald Trump would do to ensure all Americans had “access to quality and affordable health care insurance, which is why we’re designing a better law that lowers the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government.”
Pence continued:
We’re going to let Americans purchase health insurance across state lines, the way you buy your life insurance, the way you buy your car insurance.
We’re going to make sure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to health insurance and the security they need, and we’re going to give states the freedom and flexibility to take care of the least fortunate in the best way that will work in their state and in their community.
It was Pence’s ninth time addressing CPAC, but his first time doing so as vice president. CPAC, the largest annual national gathering of conservative activists, runs from Wednesday to Saturday at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington.
Pence spoke about Trump’s “historic” victory, noting he won 30 of 50 states, and saying that “the media, the elites, the insiders, everybody else who profits off preserving the status quo,” had “dismissed our president every step of the way.”
“In dismissing him, they also dismissed millions of the hardworking forgotten men and women who make this country great,” Pence said. “And worse yet, they’re still trying to dismiss him. They’re still trying to dismiss all of us.”
“What they should have learned on Election Day is this is not a government of the elites, by the media, or for the establishment. What Nov. 8 showed, even if they didn’t listen, is that this is still government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
But he also cautioned the “fight didn’t end” on Election Day, saying “the harder work, the most important work, now lies ahead.”
In addition to repealing and replacing Obamacare, Pence highlighted several additional top agenda items under the Trump administration. These included rescinding “unconstitutional executive orders signed by Barack Obama,” rolling back “job-killing regulations,” strengthening the military, and reducing taxes.
He said under Trump, “no state will ever be forced to adopt the Common Core [standards],” and highlighted the administration’s approach to Israel, “our most cherished ally.”
“Israel’s fight is our fight. Her cause is our cause. Her values are our values.”
The vice president also highlighted the top figures in the Trump administration. Mentioning Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and housing secretary pick Ben Carson, Pence said, “This is the A-team.”
“President Trump has assembled the strongest conservative Cabinet in my lifetime, bar none,” Pence said.
Pence told conservatives they have a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to accomplish this agenda. “My friends, this is our time. This is the chance we worked so long to see.”
In order to accomplish all this, Pence said, “We got to mobilize. We got to march forward as if it’s the most important time in the history of our movement, because it is.”
He called on young conservatives to “use social media to fight back.”
And pray.
“More than anything,” Pence concluded, “Trump and I need your prayers.”
CPAC, the largest annual national gathering of conservative activists, runs from Wednesday to Saturday at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington.
----------------- ARRA News Service Editor: Below isVice President Pence Full Speech (Introduction by Chris Cox of the NRA) - CPAC 2017 by Right Side Broadcasting:
---------------- Kelsey Harkness(@kelseyjharkness) is a news producer at The Daily Signal Tags:Kelsey Harkness, The Daily Signal, Vice President Mike Pence, Trump Administration, Republican Congress, Vows to End, Obamacare Nightmare, video, Right Side Broadcasting To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus Tout Trump’s Commitment to Keeping Promises
Steve Bannon & Reince Priebus
by Fred Lucas: Two men forming something of a White House odd couple—Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus—touted President Donald Trump’s commitment to keeping his campaign promises in a joint appearance Thursday before conservative activists.
Priebus, the White House chief of staff, and Bannon, assistant to the president and chief strategist, were a star attraction at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the largest gathering of conservatives in the country.
“Every day in the Oval Office, he tells Reince and I: ‘I’ve committed to do this for the American people, I promised this is what I’m going to do and I’m going to fulfill my promise,’” Bannon told the CPAC audience, adding:We want you to have our back. But more importantly, hold us accountable for achieving what we promised.The two Trump aides addressed the conference in a question-and-answer format with Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which sponsors CPAC.
Bannon and Priebus represent different factions of the conservative movement.
Bannon, former executive at Breitbart News, has become a leading anti-establishment voice; Priebus was chairman of the establishment-leaning Republican National Committee before taking the White House job.
“Donald Trump, President Trump, brought together the party and the conservative movement,” Priebus said of the Republican primary season featuring 16 candidates, adding:I’ve got to tell you, if the party and the conservative movement are together, they can’t be stopped. He was the one person; I watched 16 people kill each other. It was Donald Trump who was able to bring this party, this movement, together.The two top White House officials were a warmup for Vice President Mike Pence, who was scheduled to speak later Thursday. On Friday, Trump is scheduled to be the first president since Ronald Reagan to deliver remarks at the annual gathering of conservatives.
Both men referred to the news media as the “opposition party.”
Characteristically, Priebus criticized the media for presenting an inaccurate narrative.
Bannon, by contrast, said: “They are a corporatist, globalist media that are violently opposed to the economic nationalist agenda of Donald Trump.”
----------------- ARRA News Service Editor: Below is Steve Bannon & Reince Priebus' Full Converstaion- CPAC 2017 by Right Side Broadcasting:
---------------- Fred Lucas (@FredLucasWH) is the White House correspondent for The Daily Signal. Tags: Fred Lucas, The Daily Signal, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, CPAC 2017, Tout Trump’s Commitment, Keeping Promises, video, Right Side BroadcastingTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Tom Knighton: Some students at the University of Michigan aren't happy. They apparently feel that the civil rights movement was horribly misguided and that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a soul who mistakenly believed that people of all colors should stand united.
At least, that's what it sounds like after hearing about what some students at that school are demanding:A student activist group at the University of Michigan is demanding campus officials provide them with “a permanent designated space on central campus for Black students and students of color to organize and do social justice work.”The demand is one of several lodged by “Students4Justice,” who this month ratcheted up campusdemonstrations to pressure administrators to cave, complaining in a newly launched petition that President Mark Schlissel has snubbed their demands.
The clamor for a segregated space for students of color to organize social justice efforts comes even as the public university builds a $10 million center for black students in the center of campus.
In their demands, students explain why the new black student center is not enough, “because we want a space solely dedicated to community organizing and social justice work specifically for people of color.”
“We want documentation of past, current, and future student activism and this should be a permanent space that is staffed, and has resources for students to organize and share resources,” the demand letter states.See that, white social justice warriors? You're considered second-class citizens by your black allies at the University of Michigan. They don't want you in their spaces because of nothing more than the color of your skin.
When people rose up and protested because of segregation, it wasn't because the "colored only" spaces weren't properly staffed, but because free men and women shouldn't be barred from going to places open to the public because of a superficial trait. They believed that all people should be free to sit anywhere on the bus, or use whatever water fountain is convenient, or sit at whatever lunch counter they want.
They didn't campaign for separate spaces. They wanted free access to all spaces for all people.
At the University of Michigan, these students are stomping on that work. They're trying to undo all that effort and sacrifice, and for what? So they can stick it to the white man?
Segregation was supposed to be dead and buried, but it's being resurrected by the same ethnic group that was so devastated by it the first time around. Apparently, they think that this time, with them in control, it'll be better. They'd better be right, because if systemic segregation returns at their behest, they won't like the outcome this time any better than the last.
Let's just hope they see the error of their ways as they finally start to grow up.
------------------- Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, a blogger and PJ Media contributor. Tags:Michigan, Students, Demand, 'Black-Only' SpaceTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Return To Normal, Anti-Semitism In America, Divided & Unhinged
Gary Bauer
by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Return To Normal - Last year, school districts all across America received an unbelievable letter from the federal government. The Obama Education Department, citing federal Title IX prohibitions against sex discrimination in public education programs, threatened to withhold funding unless every school changed its policies to allow boys who claim to be girls to use girls' bathrooms and locker rooms.
Needless to say, many parents, students and teachers were stunned by this bizarre demand, and rightly so. Title IX was created to stop discrimination against women and young girls.
It is hard to come up with a more distorted, ideologically-driven scenario than using a law meant to protect little girls to force them to share bathrooms with boys. According to one study, fewer than 1% of school children claim to be transgender. But the radicals in the Obama Administration were forcing their agenda on the other 99% of students.
Regrettably, a number of school districts caved to the pressure. When angry parents showed up to protest, local officials either shrugged, saying they couldn't afford to lose the federal dollars, or they accused concerned mothers and fathers of bigotry. Thankfully, more than a dozen states sued and the radical order was blocked by a federal judge.
Yesterday, the Trump Administration withdrew the Obama bathroom mandate. The Trump Administration simply returned us to normal, telling schools that there is no federal bathroom policy and it is up to local districts to handle the issue as they see fit.
Until six months ago, it was unimaginable that anyone would think that having boys in the girls' room was reasonable or acceptable. The only people who supported Obama were Hollywood elites.
But today, when President Trump says it's up to parents and local schools to decide who uses what bathrooms, Democrats, who are all in on this radical agenda, denounce him as an extremist.
The left, which claims to be all about tolerance, needs to find some tolerance for the values of the vast majority of Americans. I won't hold my breath waiting.
Anti-Semitism In America - Last weekend, nearly 200 Jewish graves in the Chesed Shel Emeth Society Cemetery in University Park, Missouri, were desecrated. Sadly, the desecration of Jewish graves has a long and disturbing history. When anti-Semites attack the graves of dead Jews, it's usually not long before anti-Semites start attacking Jews who are alive.
Vice President Mike Pence flew to Missouri yesterday and visited Chesed Shel Emeth Society Cemetery. Along with Governor Eric Greitens, Pence rolled up his sleeves and helped to clean up the cemetery. The vice president told workers:"There is no place in America for hatred or acts of prejudice or violence or anti-Semitism. I must tell you, the people of Missouri are inspiring the nation by your love and care for this place, for the Jewish community in Missouri, and I want to thank you for that inspiration, for showing the world what America's really all about. On behalf of the President of the United States, let me just say thank you to all of you for coming out and showing the heart of this state and the heart of this nation in this place. You just make us all proud. God bless you all."Steven Goldman of the Anne Frank Center responded to Pence's actions, saying, "Today, Vice President Pence proved to be the ultimate mensch by visiting, and even cleaning, the desecrated Jewish graves in St. Louis."
Goldman, who had been critical of President Trump, added, "This administration finally showed America the kind of response our nation was waiting for all along -- a response filled with proactive heart."
Divided & Unhinged - Just a few months ago, the media couldn't stop talking about how divided the Republican Party was. "Demography was destiny," Democrats said. The "rising electorate" of young liberal Millennials and the "browning of America" meant that they just couldn't lose in 2016.
Hillary was measuring the drapes in the Oval Office, and the pundits told us over and over that the conservative movement was cracking up. 2017, they said, would be a year of sorrow, introspection and rebuilding for the GOP -- if it survived at all.
What a difference a day makes! That would be Election Day, November 8th.
When Donald Trump proved the conventional wisdom and talking heads wrong, it was the Democrat Party, not the GOP, that suddenly faced an existential crisis. That crisis took center stage last night as eight Democrats competing for the chairmanship of their party debated on CNN.
Even that liberal network couldn't paper over the left's deep fissures. Consider this headline: "Democratic Divisions On Display At DNC Debate."
Incredibly, a major topic at the debate was impeaching President Donald Trump, who has only been in office for 34 days. Rep. Keith Ellison, the front-runner to become DNC chairman, staked out the most extreme position. Last night, Ellison declared:"I think that Donald Trump has already done a number of things which legitimately raise the question of impeachment. . . It's about the integrity of the presidency. So yeah, I think we need to begin investigations . . . to protect our Constitution and the presidency of the United States."Democrats are becoming seriously unhinged, and their vehemence is turning off voters.
Earlier this week I told you about a poll which found that only 27 percent of voters want Democrats "to resist Trump's every move." Even a majority of self-identified Democrats (52%) say they should work with Trump whenever possible.
A new poll finds that the left's violent protests and over-the-top reactions to everything and anything Trump does are backfiring. For example:
70% of voters disapprove of George Soros funding left-wing protests against President Trump and the violent demonstrations against conservative speakers on college campuses. Even 51% of liberals disapprove.
62% of voters, including 44% of Democrats and 55% of Hispancis, disapprove of protests "to stop the deportation of illegal aliens who have been convicted of serious crimes."
Rather than following the radical left off a cliff, Democrats should slam on the brakes and think twice about the course they are on. As two moderate think tank experts noted in a recent Washington Post op-ed, Democrats have been out-of-touch with voters for some time:"Since the halcyon days of 2009, Democrats have lost one-fifth of their Senate seats, one-quarter of their House seats, nearly half of their governors and more than half of the state legislative bodies they once controlled. The Trump win was the final, not the first, indignity."---------------- Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families Tags:Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, Return To Normal, Anti-Semitism, America, Divided, UnhingedTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Reversal of School Bathroom/Shower Mandate is a Victory for Parents & Children
ARRA News Service: YThe Family Research Council applauded a joint letter issued yesterday by the Department of Education and Department of Justice withdrawing the Obama administration's edict to force schools to allow biological males to use girls' showers, locker rooms, and restrooms, and vice versa.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:"The Trump administration's reversal of this mandate on schools is a victory for parents, children, and privacy.
"The Obama administration resorted to this coercive policy because they knew parents and schools could never be persuaded to force boys and girls to shower together, stay together on school trips, and use the same locker rooms and bathrooms. As it turned out, the persistence of parents was far stronger than the government's power of coercion. Parents refused to allow their child's innocence to be sacrificed on the altar of government imposed political correctness.
"Today's announcement fulfills President Trump's campaign promise to get the federal government out of the business of dictating school shower and bathroom policies. The federal government has absolutely no right to strip parents and local schools of their rights to provide a safe learning environment for children.
"What we were taught in kindergarten, boys use the boys room and girls use the girls room, was made old fashioned by liberal bureaucrats. Thanks to the Trump administration, parents and schools will remain free to protect the privacy and well-being of every student," concluded Perkins.Last summer, Family Research Council Action released the results of a commissioned survey conducted by WPA Opinion Research showing that two-thirds (66%) of Americans disapprove of "government forcing schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations to open the showers, changing facilities, locker rooms, and bathrooms designated for women and girls, to biological males and vice versa." Only 28 percent approved -- with just 15 percent strongly approving. Tags:Family Research Council, applauded, joint letter, Department of Education, Department of Justice, withdrawing the Obama administration, bathroom policyTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Natalia Castro: The House of Representatives is putting veterans back to work across the country. The House has nearly unanimously passed legislation to assist veterans in returning to work through the Brave Act and the Hire Vets Act, both assisting veterans who returned from war to a struggling economy and disastrous social climate.
First, the Hire Vets Act introduces a medallion program which rewards employers that “recruit, employ, and retain veterans; and provide community and charitable services supporting the veteran community.”
Similarly, the Brave Act authorizes “the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in awarding a contract for the procurement of goods or services, to give preference to offerors based on the percentage of the offeror’s full-time employees who are veterans.”
The Brave Act passed unanimously in House and the Hire Vets Act passed with only one no vote, clearly veterans are the place where Democrats and Republicans can come together and now it is needed more than ever.
While veteran employment has been up in recent years, veterans still have an exceedingly difficult time finding jobs. Returning home from wars in the Middle East to a nation experiencing a dramatically slow economic recovery has caused more than half of all veterans to leave the labor force.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found in March 2016 that veterans with no disabilities only reach 51.2 percent labor force participation, leaving nearly half of all returning veterans to live without work. This strikes in at 11 percent below the national labor force participation rate, leaving those who fought for our country less likely to reenter society as productive members of our workforce than every day Americans.
Our veterans have been forced to enter the Obama economy. Despite claims that the recession ended in 2009, annual growth the past decade has been the weakest ever on record and has consistently underwhelmed or worried economists. Obama was simply unable to get Americans back to work, and thus, our veterans have been pushed out of the system.
Finally, the Brave Act and the Hire Vets Act provide an avenue for veterans to reenter the labor force and employers are incentivized to hire these American heroes.
While the bipartisan support has been heralded as a victory for the House, they are not done fighting for veterans’ well being. Reform to the veterans’ primary health care system, the Department of Veterans Affairs itself is also necessary but much less likely to get such bipartisan praise.
The Charleston Post and Courier explained that at the nomination for VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin, “Senators at his nomination hearing expressed confidence that he can do the job, and welcomed his statement that he will seek ‘major reform’ at the troubled department with the help of new legislation from Congress.”
But while Senate Republicans might be willing to rally behind VA Reform, Democrats have consistently ignored the need for better health care for our veterans.
A lack of decent care for veterans only means more of the people who fought for our country being left outside an already struggling economy. Republicans in the House have begun remedying the problem, now the Senate must rally behind the same effort.
--------------- Natalia Castro is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government. Tags:U.S. House, Champions Jobs, For Vets, Natalia Castro, Americans for Limited GovernmentTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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