The Patriot Post Digest 7-25-2018

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The Patriot Post Digest 7-25-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Jul. 25, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/57329-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“No nation was ever ruined by trade, even seemingly the most disadvantageous.” —Benjamin Franklin and George Whaley (1774)

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Trump’s farmer bailout wasn’t because he was surprised by tariff impact.
Huge savings for Americans from the GOP tax cuts.
The Ninth Circuit saves the Second Amendment — again.
A Republican carbon tax? One GOPer thinks it’s a good idea.
Voters view Democrats as “out of step.”
Florida’s latest case involving the “stand your ground” law.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists, and Short Cuts.

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Trump Seeks to Mitigate Impact of Tariffs1

Thomas Gallatin

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he would be giving American farmers $12 billion to offset the cost of tariffs. The Leftmedia pounced, framing the announcement as Trump responding to a problem that just dawned on him. Wrong. This was part of a larger and longer strategy.

Most people have been counseled from a young age to accept the fact that life isn’t fair. But for Trump, this reality seems only to have propelled him into action rather than merely stewing in hopeless resignation. One of the biggest problems Trump is working to address is the long-running trade imbalance the U.S. has experienced with various nations, but specifically with China and the European Union. From the very beginning of his campaign, Trump railed against the raw deal the U.S. was getting with many of its biggest trade partners. For one thing, he pointed to increasing trade deficits that he argued hurt American workers in the manufacturing sector.

Trump’s focus on imbalanced trade deals may have been the primary factor for Rust Belt voters to swing these longtime Democrat strongholds into Trump’s column. He promised to bring jobs back and to make these Rust Belt manufacturing states great again.

The president’s agenda of deregulation and tax cuts has certainly jump-started the process. The economy is clearly speeding into action after eight years of stagnation. But for Trump, the problem is more than just over regulation and high taxes; he sees unfair trade deals as a major economic problem for the country — a problem he feels compelled to address. And for Trump, this is a problem worth going to war over — a trade war, that is.

Here is where many conservatives and Republicans part ways with Trump. He’s practicing economics like a Democrat, using the power of the state to pick winners and losers. He’s not acting like a free-market advocate but a protectionist who’s more than willing to intervene in the economy to suit his own agenda. And indeed much of that criticism is legitimate.

However, the question remains: Is the issue of growing trade imbalances a significant enough problem that it demands addressing? In other words, is doing something better than doing nothing? This is where the legitimate criticisms over Trump’s actions start to get fuzzy. How does one go about addressing and solving the real problem of American workers losing out to foreign trade deals that are intentionally stacked against them?

On Tuesday, prior to today’s scheduled meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, Trump stated, “I have an idea for them both. Both the U.S. and the EU drop all Tariffs, Barriers and Subsidies! That would finally be called Free Market and Fair Trade! Hope they do it, we are ready — but they won’t!” He was right to call them out.

Why won’t EU leaders agree to actual free trade? Because European nations, to varying degrees, are socialist states where the government provides increasing amounts of welfare for the citizenry. Much of the EU’s economy is fundamentally tied up by income redistribution, and heavy regulations are designed to create an environment where residents are dependent upon the state for their livelihoods.

Similarly, the Chinese economy uses some capitalist principles but is still ultimately controlled by the communist government. That government has long engaged in currency manipulation, intellectual property theft, and other nefarious economic practices in order to tilt the trade landscape in its own favor. Trump’s tariffs are designed to combat these abuses of the American worker and American business. Unfortunately, the consequence — which was not a surprise to Trump — is the inevitable retaliation by China and the EU, which are loathe to give up abusive practices. The Chinese are politically targeting American goods that most hit Trump’s base in an effort to weaken Trump. And one of the biggest Chinese targets is American agriculture.

Which brings us back to that $12 billion. To mitigate some of the consequences of this battle over trade, Trump announced $12 billion in government aid to American farmers. In so doing, Trump has invited the criticism not just of the Leftmedia but of many conservatives, who rightly view it as welfare and a band-aid for a self-inflicted wound. Yet he is also signaling to both China and the EU that he is serious about getting a level playing field. As Rabobank analyst Michael Every noted, “Trump is making clear with the subsidy that he isn’t going to back off. Rather, he’s settling in for a slug-fest economic war of attrition until he gets the deal he wants.”

Will Trump’s determination to balance the trade field pay off in the end? The answer to that question may determine his political future come 2020, if not sooner.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57324-trump-seeks-to-mitigate-impact-of-tariffs

IN BRIEF
Huge Savings for Americans From GOP Tax Cut2

The Heritage Foundation just released its analysis3 on the probable impact the Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have on Americans’ take-home pay. The analysis found that all 435 congressional districts will see benefits from the tax cuts. The report notes,“ Over the next 10 years, because of a larger economy driven by tax cuts and the tax cuts themselves, the typical American household will benefit from more than $26,000 more in take-home pay, or $44,697 for a family of four.”

The analysts also write, “We find that the average household and the average married couple with two kids in every congressional district in every state benefit from the tax cut, both in 2018 and over the next 10 years. Nationally, average households will save $1,400, and married couples with two children will save $2,918 in 2018.”

This is indeed excellent news that President Donald Trump and Republicans need to be touting non-stop. And they need to remind voters that not a single Democrat voted for these tax cuts. To recap, ObamaCare, which not a single Republican voted for, has been steadily costing Americans more and more of their hard-earned income, while Republican tax reform, which not a single Democrat voted for, is proving to save Americans across the country thousands of dollars. That’s something to remember come November.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57299-huge-savings-for-americans-from-gop-tax-cut

The Ninth Saves the Second — Again4
Nate Jackson

For the second time5 in a week, the leftist Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California sided with gun rights. A three-judge panel of the court ruled Tuesday that the Second Amendment guarantees citizens the right to keep and bear arms outside the home, striking down Hawaii’s “may issue” gun-permit regime, which effectively limits gun possession to inside the home.

Hawaii resident George Young sued when he was twice denied a permit required to carry openly in public. In fact, according to6 The Washington Free Beacon, “Hawaii did not issue a single gun-carry permit to any civilians in 2017. The same was true in 2016.”

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The Patriot Post Digest 7-25-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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“We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence,” Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote in Young v. Hawaii. “But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.” The court should have avoided the politically motivated term “gun violence,” and the “for worse” caveat is largely because gang members selling drugs don’t abide by any laws and commit the lion’s share of crime using guns. But yes, the Second Amendment is indeed clear. The ruling went further: “While many respectable scholars and activists might find virtue in a firearms-carry regime that restricts the right to a privileged few, ‘the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table.’”

Ironically, this is the same court that in 2016 ruled7 in Peruta v. City of San Diego that “there is no Second Amendment right for members of the general public to carry concealed firearms in public.”

The difference hinges on concealed vs. open carry. We in our humble shop tend to think open carry isn’t ideal in part because it’s unnecessarily provocative, but that isn’t to say citizens don’t have the right to do so. Now the question is whether the full Ninth Circuit will overturn this ruling en banc, as it did in the aforementioned Peruta decision, and, if so, whether the Supreme Court — with a clearer five-vote conservative majority — will then take up the case. The Supremes, much to the dismay of Justice Clarence Thomas8, have not taken a Second Amendment case of any kind since 2010, despite numerous conflicting rulings on various elements in lower courts. In fact, the High Court specifically declined to take up9 Peruta. Perhaps the addition of Brett Kavanaugh10 will change that pattern.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57320-the-ninth-saves-the-second-again

Top Headlines11

Trump says U.S., EU must cut all tariffs ahead of key talks (Bloomberg12)
House Republicans ready new tax-cut package, aim to advance it ahead of midterms (News Times13)
Dems offer watered-down Trump economic agenda after “listening” to America (Investor’s Business Daily14)
Finally: House unanimously passes response to Kelo (Hot Air15)
Over half of the federal government’s spending data is wrong (The Washington Free Beacon16)
HHS report: 22 of 103 alien children not reunited with “parents” because of criminal history (CNS News17)
Justice Department reportedly tells attorneys “illegal alien” is correct term, not “undocumented” (The Washington Times18)
22% of U.S. population does not speak English at home (Washington Examiner19)
Trump’s EPA outpaces Obama in cleaning up hazardous waste sites (The Daily Signal20)
Humor: Ocasio-Cortez criticized for not clearly labeling political platform as satire (The Babylon Bee21)
Policy: Five reasons giving aid money to farmers hurt by tariffs is a bad idea (The Daily Signal22)
Policy: The Curbelo carbon tax as wealth redistribution (National Review23)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report24.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57326-wednesday-top-headlines

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

A Republican Carbon Tax?28 — Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) introduced legislation and conservatives are rallying against it.
Voters View Democrats as ‘Out of Step’29 — If we were Democrats, we’d be really worried about this trend.
‘Stand Your Ground’ Case in Florida: Self-Defense, or Murder?30 — Despite the Leftmedia narrative, one questionable incident doesn’t undermine the law itself.
Video: Ocasio-Cortez Is the Flaky Future of the Democrat Party31 — A supercut of all the really crazy and wrong things the Millennial socialist has already said.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Marc A. Thiessen: “For decades, while the Soviet Union sowed tyranny across the globe, sent millions to rot in the Gulag, and threatened America with nuclear annihilation, Democrats were for detente and peaceful coexistence. Even as Putin continued Russia’s pattern authoritarian aggression, undermining democracy at home and invading his neighbors, they advocated a ‘reset’ of relations. It was only when Russia invaded John Podesta’s privacy that Democrats were finally — finally! — outraged. But before Republicans gloat over the Democrats’ hypocrisy, they need to be careful and not to mirror the Democrats’ Russia transformation by becoming Kremlin apologists. The fact that Democrats are suddenly channeling their inner Reagan is no excuse for those on the right to start channeling their inner Kennedy. Conservatives don’t have to take the Democrats’ belated Russia outrage seriously. But they do need to take Russia seriously. As for Democrats, let’s hope their newfound antipathy for Russia is not just a convenient way to get President Trump. Russia is a threat not just because it interfered in the 2016 election. Russia is a threat because it assassinates Putin’s critics with chemical weapons, shoots down civilian airliners, arms the Taliban, supports Iran, violates its treaty obligations, targets NATO allies with nuclear missiles and annexes the territory of its neighbors. That threat will still be there when Trump is gone. The question is: Will the Democrats still be Russia hawks then?”

SHORT CUTS

Coming around? “While I do not agree with torching the flag as a form of protest, I understand the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to this form of free expression. However, physical violence, or even the perceived threat of violence, is not an acceptable way to protest injustice today and can never be tolerated.” —Maxine Waters, seemingly backpedaling from her harassment rhetoric32 of last month

Alpha Jackass: “This administration is on a crusade against people who they do not consider original Americans. … What they’ve done at the border is an example of it. … They are on a jihad to deport as many people as they can who they believe are not in the United States legally.” —New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Braying Jackass: “I’m here to call on folks to understand that in a moral moment there is no neutral. In a moral moment there is [sic] no bystanders. You are either complicit in the evil, you are either contributing to the wrong, or you are fighting against it.” —Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) on opposing Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh33

Big plans: “So when we flip the House and flip the Senate, I think the first thing we should do is deal with the children who have been separated from their families at the border. I think we should get rid of ICE.” —Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

The lady doth protest too much: “I am a capitalist. Come on! I believe in markets.” —Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Yep — definitely a capitalist: “I really want to see [tax cuts] rolled back. … The values of the Republican Party that passed those tax cuts are to give $1.5 trillion away to the richest Americans and the biggest corporations, and let everybody else pick up the crumbs.” —Elizabeth Warren

Non Compos Mentis: “Why does anyone in this city need to have a gun at all?” —Toronto Mayor John Tory

And last… “So secret recordings of Trump are ok with the left, but secret recordings inside Planned Parenthood exposing lawbreaking activity are taboo? Okaaaaay.” —Liz Wheeler

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57321-wednesday-short-cuts

Join our editors and staff in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher