Merry Christmas
The Front Page Cover
The Events of the Week -- Featuring:
ADL Retracts Ellison DNC Endorsement
by The Investigative Project on Terrorism
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Plugging the Swamp Drain at Treasury?
Michael Swartz: For more than 16 months, Donald Trump ran a populist campaign based on supporting Main Street instead of Wall Street. But a sign hat the rhetoric isn't going to meet reality was Trump's appointment of Steven Mnuchin, a onetime partner of the much-maligned Goldman Sachs, as his finance chairman. Once elected, it was no surprise that Trump tapped Mnuchin for his treasury secretary. He's made many smart cabinet moves to shore up various constituencies, and with this one, he's thrown Wall Street a bone.
Remember, this was the candidate who accused fellow Republican Ted Cruz on Twitter: "Goldman Sachs owns him, he will do anything they demand. Not much of a reformer!" Add to this the facts that Mnuchin is second-generation Goldman Sachs, worked for a time for a firm controlled by radical leftist financier George Soros, and has donated millions of dollars to Democrats over the years, and it seems a curious choice. Then again, Donald Trump admitted he wasn't running as a conservative, so this shouldn't be completely unexpected.
Nor is the Goldman Sachs-to-Washington connection stopping with Mnuchin. High on Trump's short list for a high-level position is Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn. We also shouldn't forget that the much-reviled Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon spent time there in the 1980s. It's a series of selections that's turning heads, and bringing some to ask: How much Goldman Sachs is too much?
And while Trump's pick for Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, isn't a Goldman Sachs alumnus, he's associated with Rothschild, another Wall Street firm. But Ross, until recently a longtime Democrat donor as well, made his billions buying and selling distressed businesses in the coal and steel industries, among others.
Assuming all of Trump's selections are confirmed, the finance portion of his cabinet will look more like Wall Street than Main Street. Obviously they will be experts in the financial field, but the question is whether they will be using the same playbook Trump used to win election. This holds especially true for Trump's tax plan, which Mnuchin said would be the "largest tax change since Reagan" while warning that the changes would not address the extremely progressive nature of the tax code. "Any reductions we have in upper-income taxes will be offset by less deductions, so that there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class," said Mnuchin. While it sounds like those in the top 1% of households are greedy because they make 17.2% of the income, they pay more than their fair share according to the Tax Policy Center — 28.7% of all federal taxes. In any case, it's a sure bet Democrats will be restoring their mantra of "no tax cuts for the rich" no matter what Mnuchin does.
And if nothing else, the incoming treasury secretary is already on the Democrats' bad side: As an investor in several blockbuster films (as part of a financial entity called RatPAC-Dune Entertainment), he was a backer of the film "American Sniper." Some colleges banned the film from campus because a few Muslim students were offended.
Donald Trump won election by cutting against the political grain. That doesn't mean he's always going to cut against that grain. And his election doesn't mean the swamp will be drained overnight. The question about his money men is whether they'll help drain it. ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/digests/46244
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Remember, this was the candidate who accused fellow Republican Ted Cruz on Twitter: "Goldman Sachs owns him, he will do anything they demand. Not much of a reformer!" Add to this the facts that Mnuchin is second-generation Goldman Sachs, worked for a time for a firm controlled by radical leftist financier George Soros, and has donated millions of dollars to Democrats over the years, and it seems a curious choice. Then again, Donald Trump admitted he wasn't running as a conservative, so this shouldn't be completely unexpected.
Nor is the Goldman Sachs-to-Washington connection stopping with Mnuchin. High on Trump's short list for a high-level position is Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn. We also shouldn't forget that the much-reviled Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon spent time there in the 1980s. It's a series of selections that's turning heads, and bringing some to ask: How much Goldman Sachs is too much?
And while Trump's pick for Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, isn't a Goldman Sachs alumnus, he's associated with Rothschild, another Wall Street firm. But Ross, until recently a longtime Democrat donor as well, made his billions buying and selling distressed businesses in the coal and steel industries, among others.
Assuming all of Trump's selections are confirmed, the finance portion of his cabinet will look more like Wall Street than Main Street. Obviously they will be experts in the financial field, but the question is whether they will be using the same playbook Trump used to win election. This holds especially true for Trump's tax plan, which Mnuchin said would be the "largest tax change since Reagan" while warning that the changes would not address the extremely progressive nature of the tax code. "Any reductions we have in upper-income taxes will be offset by less deductions, so that there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class," said Mnuchin. While it sounds like those in the top 1% of households are greedy because they make 17.2% of the income, they pay more than their fair share according to the Tax Policy Center — 28.7% of all federal taxes. In any case, it's a sure bet Democrats will be restoring their mantra of "no tax cuts for the rich" no matter what Mnuchin does.
And if nothing else, the incoming treasury secretary is already on the Democrats' bad side: As an investor in several blockbuster films (as part of a financial entity called RatPAC-Dune Entertainment), he was a backer of the film "American Sniper." Some colleges banned the film from campus because a few Muslim students were offended.
Donald Trump won election by cutting against the political grain. That doesn't mean he's always going to cut against that grain. And his election doesn't mean the swamp will be drained overnight. The question about his money men is whether they'll help drain it. ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/digests/46244
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SHORT CUTS
Insight: "Everybody is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage." —Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
For the record: "Candidates must shape policies that appeal to a broad range of people, not just coastal liberals or southern conservatives. Just how badly did liar-Hillary Clinton fail in that regard? In a nation of 3,142 counties, parishes, and boroughs, liar-Hillary Clinton won less than five hundred of them. The left's interpretation of that loss is to attack Trump voters as bigots, racists and homophobes. But increasingly we are seeing true bigotry on the left. They are, on a near daily basis, affirming so many people's votes for Donald Trump. —Erick Erickson
A bridge too far: "BuzzFeed can't argue that the same-sex-marriage issue is ethically settled, because it isn't for a sizable population of our country and our world. It is no longer okay — indeed, it never was — to write cutesy articles shaming religious people as homophobic for simply being one of the many millions of Americans in 2016 who attend a religious congregation that does not support same-sex marriage. That is not a good move for activism or journalism." —homosexual Brandon Ambrosino in The Washington Post
Wishful thinking: "I thought I'd just come by and tell you how exhilarated I am by the strong vote that I have from my colleagues as we go forward. ... This is so much bigger than politics. It's about the character of America, the responsibility to the people, our obligation to our founders, our gratitude to our men and women in uniform and our respect for the aspirations of America's children and our families." —Nancy Pulosi
Braying Jackass: "I know that the president-elect has indicated that he deserves credit for ... [the Carrier] announcement, and I guess what I would observe is that if he is successful in doing that 804 more times, then he will meet the record of manufacturing jobs that were created in the United States while President liar-nObama was in office. There were 805,000 manufacturing jobs that weren't just protected or saved, but actually created while President liar-nObama was in office." —Josh Earnest
And last... "The death of Fidel Castro reminds us that the respectable press, the 'two-sources' press, the press that enforces standards and performs reality checks and practices 'shoe leather' journalism and all that, has been peddling 'fake news' about Cuba and Castro for 60 years." —Mona Charen ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/digests/46244
.
Insight: "Everybody is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage." —Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
For the record: "Candidates must shape policies that appeal to a broad range of people, not just coastal liberals or southern conservatives. Just how badly did liar-Hillary Clinton fail in that regard? In a nation of 3,142 counties, parishes, and boroughs, liar-Hillary Clinton won less than five hundred of them. The left's interpretation of that loss is to attack Trump voters as bigots, racists and homophobes. But increasingly we are seeing true bigotry on the left. They are, on a near daily basis, affirming so many people's votes for Donald Trump. —Erick Erickson
A bridge too far: "BuzzFeed can't argue that the same-sex-marriage issue is ethically settled, because it isn't for a sizable population of our country and our world. It is no longer okay — indeed, it never was — to write cutesy articles shaming religious people as homophobic for simply being one of the many millions of Americans in 2016 who attend a religious congregation that does not support same-sex marriage. That is not a good move for activism or journalism." —homosexual Brandon Ambrosino in The Washington Post
Wishful thinking: "I thought I'd just come by and tell you how exhilarated I am by the strong vote that I have from my colleagues as we go forward. ... This is so much bigger than politics. It's about the character of America, the responsibility to the people, our obligation to our founders, our gratitude to our men and women in uniform and our respect for the aspirations of America's children and our families." —Nancy Pulosi
Braying Jackass: "I know that the president-elect has indicated that he deserves credit for ... [the Carrier] announcement, and I guess what I would observe is that if he is successful in doing that 804 more times, then he will meet the record of manufacturing jobs that were created in the United States while President liar-nObama was in office. There were 805,000 manufacturing jobs that weren't just protected or saved, but actually created while President liar-nObama was in office." —Josh Earnest
And last... "The death of Fidel Castro reminds us that the respectable press, the 'two-sources' press, the press that enforces standards and performs reality checks and practices 'shoe leather' journalism and all that, has been peddling 'fake news' about Cuba and Castro for 60 years." —Mona Charen ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/digests/46244
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Iran Threatens to Walk Away From Nuke Deal,
Retaliate Against U.S. for New Sanctions
by Adam Kredo
{freebeacon.com} ~ Iran is threatening to walk away from the nuclear deal with the United States and pursue forms of retaliation, including a national boycott of American goods, as a result of Congress’s overwhelming vote on Thursday... to level new sanctions against Iran for another 10 years, according to multiple comments by senior Iranian officials. Following the Senate’s 99-0 vote to renew economic sanctions on Tehran, senior Iranian officials said the United States is in violation of last summer’s nuclear deal and that Iran is prepared to retaliate, which could include abandoning the agreement. The comments come as the liar-nObama administration scrambles to preserve the deal in its final months in office, ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has been assembling a cabinet filled with fierce opponents of the accord...This agreement was never voted upon by Congress. Why are they treating as such. http://freebeacon.com/national-security/iran-threatens-walk-away-nuke-deal-promises-retaliation-u-s-new-sanctions/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=791f5920e5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-791f5920e5-45611665
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Republicans Praise Trump; China Launches Complaint
by Sandy Fitzgerald
{newsmax.com} ~ Republican lawmakers are praising President-elect Donald Trump for talking to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen by telephone, but on Saturday, mainland China launched a complaint about the phone call... amidst concerns that the call could jeopardize United States relations with Beijing. "America has always been a champion of democratic values and individual freedoms, and I applaud the President-elect for making a strong statement in support of those values around the world," Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Arizona, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, told The Hill in a statement about Friday's phone call. "I commend President-elect Trump for reaching out to the democratically-elected President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen."... http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/GOP-Praise-Trump-China/2016/12/03/id/761973/?AID=7236
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liar-nObama DHS Smuggling Massive Hordes
Of Unknown OTM Illegals Into US?
by Rick Wells
{rickwells.us} ~ If this report is accurate in its location there are, at a minimum, some serious questions that need to be answered. If it is true, what appears to be and is reported to be by the author of the video... non-English and non-Spanish speaking foreigners, are lined up outside an immigration facility on the Mexico-US border. They also appear to be being processed in some manner and then enter the US. If we accept, for vigilance’s sake, the idea that this is occurring, the troubling next question is why and there is no easy, non-nefarious answer for that. Has Hussein liar-nObama moved forward to the next step in his lawless fundamental transformation of America with the blatant smuggling of illegal aliens of unknown origin into the United States? Sure, he’s been importing various sub-categories of illegal aliens from neighboring countries for years now. He’s relied upon a contorted legal distortion that DHS uses as their excuse for violating federal law and committing treason. This would follow the progressive model from that lawlessness to a greater offense...
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Judge Jeanine Reveals Ugly Truth
About Democrat Leadership
{conservativetribune.com} ~ Judge Jeanine Pirro offered some hard truth to a Democrat Party still reeling from presidential nominee liar-Hillary Clinton’s devastating loss in November... Appearing “Fox & Friends,” Pirro said that by refusing to accept the election results and learn from them, Democrats were risking their future. “We’ve got a Democratic Party that cannot come to grips with what has happened,” she said. “We had a terrific candidate and they had a candidate who should have been indicted 86 times.”... http://conservativetribune.com/judge-jeanine-democrat-party/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_campaign=CTDailyEmail&utm_content=2016-12-03
.Look who's really generating phony stories!
by Joseph Farah
Matt Vizer of the Boston Globe
{wnd.com} ~ This was the headline in a Politico story Friday: “Trump inherits liar-nObama boom.” Written by Ben White, the publication’s chief economic reporter, not I must point out, Barack liar-nObama’s chief speech writer... the fake news story was apparently designed to persuade Americans that we are living in what he characterizes as “a fairly robust economy with the lowest jobless rate in nearly a decade, record home and stock prices and a healthy growth rate.” For this reason, White states: “Trump instead will take office with an economy at near full employment and wages and spending rising. The economy is in such strong shape that the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates again later this month to try and cool things off.”... http://www.wnd.com/2016/12/look-whos-really-generating-phony-stories/
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ADL Retracts Ellison DNC Endorsement
by The Investigative Project on Terrorism
{jewishworldreview.com} ~ U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison's 2010 comments about Israeli political influence, first reported Tuesday by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, are "deeply disturbing and disqualifying" to his bid to become head of the Democratic National Committee, the Anti-Defamation League announced in a statement Thursday afternoon.
In remarks given at a private fundraiser, Ellison, D-Minn. implied Israel enjoyed disproportionate and inappropriate control over U.S. foreign policy. The IPT obtained a recording of those comments:
"The United States foreign policy in the Middle East is governed by what is good or bad through a country of 7 million people. A region of 350 million all turns on a country of 7 million. Does that make sense? Is that logic? Right? When the Americans who trace their roots back to those 350 million get involved, everything changes. Can I say that again?"
Thursday's statement, ADL chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt said Ellison's comments expose a belief that American policy is driven not by the country's best interests, but by "religiously or national origin-based special interests ... Additionally, whether intentional or not, his words raise the specter of age-old stereotypes about Jewish control of our government, a poisonous myth that may persist in parts of the world where intolerance thrives, but that has no place in open societies like the U.S."
Greenblatt defended Ellison last week against criticism of his past association with the Nation of Islam and his close relationships with Islamist groups like the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), both of which were created by members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Ellison "long ago ... disassociated himself from the Nation of Islam and apologized for its anti-Semitism," Greenblatt wrote. And, "we have seen no concrete evidence of any link between Ellison and the Brotherhood."
"He has been outspoken about anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in his role as a congressman. Local Jewish leadership in his district speaks highly of him," Greenblatt wrote.
But the 2010 comments exposed by the IPT changed all that. Bipartisan support for Israel, "our most important ally in the region, a democracy whose emphasis on equality and commitment to the rule of law stands in stark contrast to the anarchy and authoritarian regimes that prevail in much of the Middle East" is vital, Thursday's statement said. The next head of the Democratic Party should "have fidelity to these timeless ideals at all times."
The DNC is expected to choose its next leader in early 2017.
In remarks given at a private fundraiser, Ellison, D-Minn. implied Israel enjoyed disproportionate and inappropriate control over U.S. foreign policy. The IPT obtained a recording of those comments:
"The United States foreign policy in the Middle East is governed by what is good or bad through a country of 7 million people. A region of 350 million all turns on a country of 7 million. Does that make sense? Is that logic? Right? When the Americans who trace their roots back to those 350 million get involved, everything changes. Can I say that again?"
Thursday's statement, ADL chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt said Ellison's comments expose a belief that American policy is driven not by the country's best interests, but by "religiously or national origin-based special interests ... Additionally, whether intentional or not, his words raise the specter of age-old stereotypes about Jewish control of our government, a poisonous myth that may persist in parts of the world where intolerance thrives, but that has no place in open societies like the U.S."
Greenblatt defended Ellison last week against criticism of his past association with the Nation of Islam and his close relationships with Islamist groups like the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), both of which were created by members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Ellison "long ago ... disassociated himself from the Nation of Islam and apologized for its anti-Semitism," Greenblatt wrote. And, "we have seen no concrete evidence of any link between Ellison and the Brotherhood."
"He has been outspoken about anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in his role as a congressman. Local Jewish leadership in his district speaks highly of him," Greenblatt wrote.
But the 2010 comments exposed by the IPT changed all that. Bipartisan support for Israel, "our most important ally in the region, a democracy whose emphasis on equality and commitment to the rule of law stands in stark contrast to the anarchy and authoritarian regimes that prevail in much of the Middle East" is vital, Thursday's statement said. The next head of the Democratic Party should "have fidelity to these timeless ideals at all times."
The DNC is expected to choose its next leader in early 2017.
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