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« on: April 04, 2018, 05:04:19 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 4-4-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Apr. 4, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/55143-mid-day-digest
IN TODAY’S EDITION
Round two on tariffs with China is still part of a larger gambit.
Leftist knives are out for EPA Chief Scott Pruitt because he’s so effective.
Trump takes on Bezos and Amazon.
Fake statistics keep showing up when it comes to guns.
Criminal Dem IT staff avoided background checks.
Two big confirmation battles loom for Pompeo and Haspel.
Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.
THE FOUNDATION
“Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand: neither seeking nor granting exclusive favours or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing with powers so disposed; in order to give trade a stable course.” —George Washington (1796)
IN BRIEF
China Tariffs: More Moves and Counter Moves1
By Thomas Gallatin
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, specifically targeting electronics, aerospace and machinery products. These new 25% import tariffs are designed to penalize China for its policies that force American companies to surrender their proprietary technology to the Chinese government. In calling for these tariffs, Trump noted again that China has long engaged in unfair trade tactics with the U.S., including stealing American trade secrets and technologies via cyber theft.
As Trump foresaw, Beijing was quick to hit back, announcing that it will level $50 billion in tariffs against U.S. goods, specifically agricultural products, such as soybeans and beef, as well as the auto industry. The Wall Street Journal notes2 that China focused on “goods that were chosen to hit U.S. states that supported President Donald Trump.” News of the tariffs sparked fears of an escalating trade war, which sent stocks plummeting again. However, it’s important to note that none of these tariffs have been enacted, and there is likely a lot of wheeling and dealing that will occur before any are imposed.
Trump responded to fears of a trade war, tweeting, “We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S. Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!”
One interesting factor here is the clear motivational differences behind the tariff threats between Trump and Beijing. Trump is right about the unfair trade imbalance and Chinese theft of U.S. company intellectual technologies, and his intent is to rectify the situation. Beijing on the other hand is seeking to keep the gig going and has reacted with tariffs specifically designed to hurt Trump politically. China isn’t interested in fair trade; rather the totalitarian government is aiming to weaken Trump politically so that he is forced to capitulate to its abusive trade practices.
It is the twisted “advantage” a totalitarian government has over that of a representative democracy. The Chinese governing elites are free to force their will on their populace with little political blowback. In a representative democracy, however, the president is ultimately beholden to the will of the people, and therefore Trump’s options are limited. That said, while politically speaking Beijing may have an advantage, China is still behind the eight ball on this issue economically — it has much more at stake than does the U.S. Jianguang Shen, an economist at Mizuho Securities, notes, “Beijing is facing a difficult time now as it has resorted to its core weapons, such as soybeans and cars. If the disputes escalate, what else can Beijing use?” In other words, in the geopolitical chess match, Beijing is countering with a big move in the hopes of creating enough political blowback in the U.S. to force Trump to back off his tariff threats. Will it work?
Leftist Knives Are Out for Scott Pruitt3
By Nate Jackson
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is under fire of late for alleged ethical missteps. One incident was during his transition to the job, when he paid $50 a night for a room in a DC condo, only paying for the nights he stayed there. Democrat and media critics (but we repeat ourselves) allege that the arrangement amounted to, in the words of Democrat Representatives Ted Lieu of California and Don Beyer of Virginia, “an impermissible gift under federal regulations” because he paid “far below market value.” Even two Republicans, Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both of Florida, want Pruitt to step down. Never mind that the career ethics official at the EPA cleared the arrangement.
Another “scandal” surrounds Pruitt’s travel and beefed up security. He flies first class rather than coach and considered the use of a private plane, and he spends a lot of money on security. Why? Because ecofascist psychos have leveled death threats4 against him, along with other lesser physical threats. Never mind that Barack Obama’s EPA chiefs, Lisa Jackson (a.k.a. “Richard Windsor”) and Gina McCarthy, spent more on travel, violated transparency and broke laws.
Long story short, leftists hate Pruitt almost as much as President Donald Trump because he’s been very effective in threatening the Left’s Church of Climate Change Dogma. Mollie Hemingway notes5, “When he was attorney general of Oklahoma, he sued the EPA more than a dozen times to get the powerful regulatory agency to stay within its legal authority.” Since taking office at the EPA, a rundown of Pruitt’s accomplishments is impressive. He stewarded the agency through the withdrawal6 from the Paris climate accord, rolled back Barack Obama’s clean water7 and clean power8 regulations, cut costs by $1 billion9, pushed through transparency reforms10 on how the EPA uses science, and, just this week, scrapped Obama’s vehicle-emissions rules11.
No wonder ecofascists hate him. Make no mistake: Environmentalism of the type followed by statists is a religion, and Pruitt is worse than at odds with its teachings; he’s directly challenging its tenets and undoing its sacraments. That’s why we’re seeing a coordinated effort to discredit and oust him. Fortunately, Trump called Pruitt Tuesday to tell him to “keep fighting” and that “we have your back.” The Swamp needs draining and that’s why Pruitt must stay.
Top Headlines12
Fifty years after MLK’s death, U.S. civil rights leaders lament Trump’s rise — because Democrat urban poverty plantations13 have worked out so well (Reuters14)
Iranian woman of the Baha'i faith, angry over demonetization of militant vegan/animal rights vlogs, attacks YouTube headquarters, wounds three and kills herself (Heavy15)
Trump: “We’re going to be guarding our border with the military” (CNS News16)
Organizers of U.S.-bound immigrant caravan accuse Trump of “bullying,” “threats of mass violence” (Fox News17)
Gun sales soar, set new record in March amid push for more gun control (The Washington Free Beacon18.)
Deerfield, Illinois, bans some semiautomatic weapons; owners face steep fines (CBS Chicago19)
Does gun control reduce murder? Let’s run the numbers across the world (The Federalist20)
Attorney Alex van der Zwaan, first person sentenced in Mueller probe, gets 30 days in prison (NBC News21)
Mueller told Trump’s attorneys the president remains under investigation but is not currently a criminal target (Chicago Tribune22)
Middle-Earth announces heavy tariffs on Narnian imports (The Babylon Bee23)
Policy: The real source of teachers’ struggles (National Review24)
Policy: Why leaving Syria early would be a disaster (National Review25)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report26.
FEATURED ANALYSIS
Trump vs. Bezos Is a Clash of the Titans27
By Louis DeBroux
Donald Trump versus Jeff Bezos. The world’s most powerful man versus the world’s richest man. A battle royale.
To his enemies and critics, President Donald Trump is an infuriating enigma. Far from destroying Trump, their attacks seem to make him stronger. Even more disconcerting and baffling for those used to Republicans rolling over and playing dead, Trump fights back, and hard. He embodies the Malone character from “The Untouchables,” who told Prohibition Agent Elliot Ness how to take down the mobster Al Capone: “They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.”
The renewed dust-up28 between President Trump and billionaire Jeff Bezos is the latest example of Trump’s willingness to fight back ruthlessly when attacked.
Bezos became the world’s richest man — worth more than $115 billion — by leading Amazon’s revolution of retail marketing. E-commerce is still in relative infancy, but Bezos and Amazon control nearly half of the e-commerce market.
With his rapidly growing wealth, Bezos bought The Washington Post, one of the top players in the news media market. And this is where the friction between Trump and Bezos took root. The Post has given up any pretense of objective journalism regarding Trump. Instead, Bezos has used his newspaper to attack Trump relentlessly and often falsely. |
