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The Front Page Cover
~ Featuring ~
GOP Needn't Despair About Alabama
by David Limbaugh
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Omarosa Has a 'Story to Tell'
by Mark Alexander: Omarosa Manigault Newman abruptly left her job in the Office of Public Liaison at the White House Wednesday, and it’s created quite a stir. That’s in part because no one seems to know if Chief of Staff John Kelly fired her over the way she’d distract President Donald Trump or if she quit over things that displeased her. “I resigned,” she insisted Thursday. “There were a lot of things that I observed during the last year that I was very unhappy with, that I was very uncomfortable with.”
by Mark Alexander: Omarosa Manigault Newman abruptly left her job in the Office of Public Liaison at the White House Wednesday, and it’s created quite a stir. That’s in part because no one seems to know if Chief of Staff John Kelly fired her over the way she’d distract President Donald Trump or if she quit over things that displeased her. “I resigned,” she insisted Thursday. “There were a lot of things that I observed during the last year that I was very unhappy with, that I was very uncomfortable with.” She continued, “I’m not going to expand on it because I still have to go back and work with these individuals, but when I have a chance to tell my story … [it’s] quite a story to tell. As the only African-American woman in this White House as a senior staff and assistant to the president, I have seen things that made me uncomfortable, that have upset me, that have affected me deeply and emotionally, that have affected my community and my people. And when I can tell my story, it is a profound story that I know the world will want to hear.”
There you have it. She’s pretty clearly setting up this “story to tell” for a book she wants to market. What a load of crap, and frankly, given all her focus on being the most senior black female, it sounds like her gripe is racial. If she is that kind of person — who views her primary qualification as being black — then whatever her skill set might be, it’s too bad she was ever hired. I suspect Trump was trying to be loyal to her and find something for her to do after working with her on “The Apprentice,” but “you’re fired” may have been exactly the right thing to tell her.
~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/articles/52970
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Trump Must Order Deep State Sessions
To Release All Docs Sought By Congress
by rickwells.us
{rickwells.us} ~ In the fast paced world of revelations of DOJ and FBI corruption... Lou Dobbs and Charlie Hurt of the Washington Times discuss new revelations that there was more than just that one modification to Comey’s liar-Clinton exoneration speech made by Peter Strzok. Dobbs says, “Now we find out that there were two references to gross negligence, that there were other edits beyond that.” Hurt observes that if the Strzok actions were a typical case being investigated and prosecuted it would be a “lead pipe” lock conviction. He points out that there is the intent, the action and the result and that there is no question that there was conspiracy to rig the election. He says Trump was right once again... https://rickwells.us/dobbs-trump-sessions-release-docs/.
Decision Time on Iran
by Matthew Continetti
{freebeacon.co} ~ Very soon, President Trump will have to decide whether America should remain a bystander to Iranian expansionism... or take steps to confront this menace to international security and sponsor of global terrorism. In October, when the president failed to certify Iranian compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aka the Iran nuclear deal, he began a process that is almost certain to force him to make controversial decisions in the coming months. The Congress has had 60 days to propose measures that would punish Iran for its misbehavior and strengthen the JCPOA. It has not done so. The issue will therefore wind up once again in the Oval Office in January, when President Trump will choose between maintaining an agreement with a noncompliant signatory and re-imposing sanctions on Iran... http://freebeacon.com/national-security/decision-time-iran/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=2f608d70df-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-2f608d70df-45611665.
Democrats lamenting Trump
policies now see Dodd-Frank’s problems
by Paul H. Kupiec
{aei.org} ~ Supporters of the Dodd-Frank Act are crying “foul” over the appointment of a Trump administration official... as acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and more generally the administration’s plans to alter rules stemming from the 2010 financial reform law. But others see the irony in their protests. President liar-nObama was not going to be in the White House forever. And a change in administration brings management change at executive and independent regulatory agencies. If laws are well-crafted, the change should not portend wholesale changes in financial regulatory policy. But when the law at issue is Dodd-Frank — management changes can bring sweeping revisions to the regulatory environment. Only now, as the new administration takes root, are Democrats recognizing and understanding the flaws in the law they passed and have so staunchly defended. For years, Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have identified serious legal problems in the drafting of Dodd-Frank... http://www.aei.org/publication/democrats-lamenting-trump-policies-now-see-dodd-franks-problems/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTURnd056QmxaV013WkRVMCIsInQiOiJFODJIbkdZQzRLYWV0b0ExWTJ1M0REajF4djM2Wko4Ryt1aTNLSzFuRGlJMHFvWmhHY3JGemhTTWNkSXNtXC9xQm1ERlQ5V1QwM1VcL1ZnUXZCeUNaNDl0enVOUDgyTnpYaEVQTlwvUmo5eWViUngyYkpoUDhiQ3hkUzlGMDNBcTM1RSJ9.
Always believe the women – really?
by JOAN SWIRSKY
{renewamerica.com} ~ It's become de rigeur for public figures and media personalities to repeat the tired mantra: Always believe the women... This refers, of course, to any accusation of sexual harassment, no matter how far in the past it took place and even if it was interpreted at the time as innocent flirting. Leftists seized on the harassment lawsuits that took place at the Fox News Network last year when Andrea Tantaros, Gretchen Carlson, and other broadcasters walked away with multimillion-dollar settlements after accusing the late chairman, Roger Ailes, and the host with through-the-roof ratings, Bill O'Reilly, of sexual harassment. Seeing that their Russian-collusion fairy tale was going in the wrong direction – indeed pointing every day to massive collusion between Democrats and Russia – the by-now hysterical anti-Trumpers figured that the sexual-harassment gig was a sure-fire way to bring down their nemesis and rake in some big bucks at the same time... http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/swirsky/171212.
EU Parliament Calls On
Tehran to End Ballistic Missile Program
by Benjamin Weinthal
{defenddemocracy.org} ~ The European Parliament, representing 28 member states, on Wednesday urged Tehran not to engage in nuclear missile-related activity... that violates Security Council Resolution 2231. The EU statement on Wednesday stressed “the security risk posed by Iran’s ballistic missile program and underlines the need for full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), which calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.” Daniel Schwammenthal, director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, said that “though we would have preferred an even stronger condemnation, identifying Iran’s ballistic missile program as a ‘security risk’ marks a significant step by the European Parliament... http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/benjamin-weinthal-eu-parliament-calls-on-tehran-to-end-ballistic-missile-program/
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GOP Needn't Despair About Alabama
{townhall.com} ~ Republicans should not be disheartened by Roy Moore's loss in Alabama, because the election had little to do with Doug Jones -- and probably even less with Donald Trump or the Republican agenda.
Don't get me wrong. It's quite troubling that the GOP's thin Senate majority just became anorexic, but this election by itself is not a predictor of a Democratic rout in 2018. Republicans could sustain substantial losses, to be sure, but the Alabama election doesn't make that foreseeable.
Roy Moore was a uniquely problematic candidate with more baggage than many Republicans believed they could excuse. Though it is remarkable that a Republican candidate lost in crimson-red Alabama, it is also noteworthy that even with his problems, he came close to winning.
The vast majority of Alabama Republicans did not want to sit home or to vote for Jones, because they understand the magnitude of the stakes before us. Yet enough of them did. Apparently, the fact that he would have doubtlessly voted as a conservative at a time when every single Republican vote is critical wasn't enough to overcome the sexual allegations and other concerns about Moore for these voters.
Also, America's political situation is particularly fluid, and there are too many variables and important events yet to play out for us to reliably forecast the 2018 election results. One savvy politician told me this week that he could see Republicans losing the majority in both houses in 2018 -- but he also wouldn't be surprised if they were to actually gain seats if the economy remains strong and Trump's agenda continues apace.
Democrats have more Senate seats to defend in 2018 (26) than Republicans (eight), 10 of which are in states Trump carried in 2016 -- five by double digits. Even CNN concedes that the electoral map "still clearly favors Republicans." But like other liberals, they are counting on Trump's supposed unpopularity and soaring passion in the Democratic base to offset any GOP advantages.
Moreover, prudent analysis has to factor in the adage that people vote with their pocketbooks -- even young people, the demographic reputed to be least enamored with President Trump. A Bank of America/USA Today Better Money Habits survey conducted before the 2016 election showed that 65 percent of voters ages 18 to 26 would base their votes more on economic policies than on social issues.
Economic indicators are decidedly positive now, and notwithstanding Barack liar-nObama's delusional post-presidential assertion that he deserves the credit for it, it's hard to dispute that Trump deserves the lion's share of credit.
The economy is humming well above 3 percent -- a threshold the liar-nObama malaise architects had already written off as no longer attainable. Unemployment is way down, and the stock market is surging significantly above impressive liar-nObama-era levels.
This is real growth, as opposed to the fake growth liar-nObama defeatists were touting when the economy was stagnating at 1 percent. And it can be traced to Trump's actions and the attitude he carried into office, just as liar-nObama's stagnation can be traced to his business-hostile bearing.
Trump is bullish on America, the free market and American business. Entrepreneurs have responded accordingly, as have consumers. Look at Christmas season sales already this year. Trump has also been aggressive in rolling back stifling bureaucratic regulations across the board, and no one should underestimate the impact of his decision to back out of the Paris climate accord -- or his support of the coal and natural gas industries.
Trump also tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to substantially revise, if not wholly repeal, liar-nObamacare, and he is determined to try again. He and congressional Republicans have done a better job so far with the tax reform bill. Though it is imperfect and not the bill I would craft if I were king, it would meaningfully improve the existing law and is very close to being passed.
If it passes, I believe we'll see even more growth and far more revenues than the experts -- the same ones who predicted that our days of 3 percent growth were over -- are forecasting.
Yes, things could go south, especially if Trump and Congress are unable to move the tax bill and other major items of legislation before the 2018 elections, but I'm feeling upbeat.
My main concern is chaos within the Republican Party. The angst toward Trump among many Republicans is palpable, and unfortunately, a disproportionate number of these opponents are influential in the media.
I understand the naysayers' disapproval of Trump's style and various other complaints. But I don't understand why they won't acknowledge the positive developments that are occurring during his presidency -- even if they have too much pride to give him credit for them. I get and sometimes share their distaste for his tweets, but it's baffling that they won't concede that on policy, at least, he has been far different from -- and almost entirely better than -- what they gloomily warned he would be.
He's not governing like a so-called populist nationalist, and he certainly hasn't advocated liberal policies as many feared. No matter what you think of Trump personally, he is advancing a largely conservative agenda.
Unlike some of Trump's perpetual critics, I don't worry that Trump is going to usher in an era of alt-right dystopia or that the country is going to descend into Bannonism -- whatever that means. The critics shouldn't fear that Trump will forever taint the conservative movement or that America will descend into darkness.
America was descending into darkness under liar-nObama's eight years, and that process would have accelerated into warp speed had liar-Hillary Clinton been elected. So could we please lighten up and support the president when he's advancing salutary policies, which is often, and go into 2018 with a spirit of warranted optimism?
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