TheFrontPageCover
~ Featuring ~
MAGA: Quality of Life and Optimism
Soaring to New Heights
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Thursday Top Headline Summary
by Media Editors: The ball officially gets rolling today on the bipartisan budget agreement reached earlier this week. “Lawmakers filed a broad border security spending bill early Thursday that is expected to clear Congress by the end of the day,” the Washington Examiner reports. Expectations are that President Donald Trump will sign off on the legislation while continuing to independently pursue additional funding for the border barrier.
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According to Yahoo News, “Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe says that after President Trump fired his boss, FBI Director scumbag-James Comey, there were discussions within the Department of Justice about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.” However, “In a statement released by the Justice Department, Rosenstein said McCabe’s account of a discussion of invoking the 25th amendment was ‘inaccurate and factually incorrect.’” This story needs to play out, but there’s certainly some evidence that the DOJ was gearing up to obstruct Trump.
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According to Politico, “A federal judge ruled in favor of dirty cop-Robert Mueller on Wednesday that Paul Manafort intentionally violated the terms of his guilty plea by lying to federal prosecutors and a grand jury, clearing the way for the special counsel to push for a harsher sentence.” All told, Manafort, whose sentencing will occur on March 13, could face a decade behind bars.
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A potentially significant move transpired courtesy of the Senate Rules Committee, which yesterday “approved a change to the rules to shorten the debate time for judicial nominees,” Townhall reveals. “Currently, up to 30 hours of debate time is allowed before a nominee is approved for service. But if the new rule … is approved in the Senate floor, it will reduce the maximum time to just two hours.” This could provide major inroads towards splintering the Democrats’ obstruction tactics.
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“William ‘Brock’ Long, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the past two years, announced his resignation and retirement on Wednesday after an investigation into his misuse of government resources. … Long’s misuse of government resources became the subject of a federal investigation, after which he reimbursed the government for his personal use of government vehicles to travel from Washington, D.C. to his North Carolina home. The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general found that Long’s exploitation of official resources cost taxpayers $94,000 in staff salary, $55,000 in travel expenses, and $2,000 in vehicle maintenance.” (National Review)
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According to The Washington Post, “The House Judiciary Committee passed a measure Wednesday that would require background checks for all gun sales and most gun transfers within the United States, the most significant gun-control legislation to advance this far in Congress in years. … The committee also voted 23 to 15 to advance a bill that would close a loophole in the current background-check law that allows a gun purchase if a check is not completed in three days.” For the record, new background checks still wouldn’t have prevented recent mass shootings.
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On a related note, Red Flag laws, The Washington Free Beacon explains, “are intended to allow certain people to petition a court in order to have firearms temporarily taken from somebody they believe to be a threat to themselves or others.” In 2018, these laws resulted in 1,700 court orders — but that’s probably a lowball estimate due to deficient data. “The National Rifle Association … supports the laws but only if they meet certain due process requirements.”
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Sadly, the Left won’t allow them to move on with their lives: “The Diocese of Covington’s investigation of an incident involving local high school students in Washington, D.C., that went viral has found that the students did not ‘instigate the incident.’ On Wednesday, Bishop Rev. Roger Foys said his hopes had been realized in that the Covington Catholic students were exonerated and that they ‘can move forward with their lives.’” (USA Today)
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About that “peak oil” narrative… The Houston Chronicle reveals, “Crude oil production in Texas has beaten a previous record set in the 1970s, a new report from the Texas Independent Producers Royalty Owners Association stated. Texas oil wells produced more than 1.54 billion barrels of crude in 2018, beating the previous record of 1.28 billion barrels set in 1973… Natural gas production also grew, reaching 8.8 trillion cubic feet in 2018.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott observes, “As the national leader in oil and natural gas production, Texas is paving the way for America’s energy independence.”
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Amazon is among the world’s elite corporations. It has hovered around $1 trillion in market value for some time now, yet it won’t be sending any income tax to Uncle Sam. The Week reports, “Amazon, which doubled its profits and made more than $11 billion in 2018, won’t pay any federal income taxes for the second year in a row, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported on Wednesday. The company will not be required to pay the standard 21 percent income tax rate on its 2018 profits, and is claiming a tax rebate of $129 million, which ITEP describes as a ‘a tax rate of negative 1 percent.’” Some might say billionaire socialist Jeff Bezos isn’t paying his “fair share.”
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Reports are surfacing that Amazon may renege on its headquarters arrangement in New York City. And according to Fox Business, commerce-friendly Tennessee — whose capital city of Nashville was a finalist — continues to be “very interested” in landing the new headquarters. Fox reports, “‘The question is whether it’s worth it if the politicians in New York don’t want the project, especially with how people in Virginia and Nashville have been so welcoming,’ said one person familiar with the company’s plans.” It’s almost like Amazon should have picked somewhere else in the first place.
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With friends like these… “The Department of Justice announced early Wednesday that it had indicted Monica Elfriede Witt, also known as Fatemah Zahra, a former active duty U.S. Air Force Intelligence Specialist and Special Agent, for attempting to pass classified American information to Iran. … Witt had access to ‘classified information, including details of ongoing counterintelligence operations, true names of sources, and the identities of U.S. agents involved in the recruitment of those sources,’ according to the indictment.” (The Washington Free Beacon)
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Policy: “Unfortunately, one year after the tragic loss of 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many lawmakers and advocacy groups still insist on offering ineffective measures to prevent school shootings based on a misguided diagnosis of the problem,” writes The Daily Signal’s Amy Swearer. Read how here.
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Policy: The Mercatus Center’s Donald J. Boudreaux offers “6 Key Takeaways Every Student Should Receive from Econ 101.”
~The Patriot Post
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House Republicans Left In Dark Over
Government Funding Deal Details
by Kerry Picket
{dailycaller.com} ~ Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby announced Monday night that congressional negotiators reached an agreement to fund the border wall... thereby avoiding another government shutdown on Friday, but House Republican leadership had not seen details of the agreement when Shelby made his pronouncement. Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Graves, a member of the bipartisan Conference Committee who has been negotiating the deal since the government re-opened nearly three weeks ago, tweeted Tuesday morning, “I haven’t signed off on the reported ‘deal,’ nor have I seen it. Based on the reports, I have concerns. Lots of questions, too.” When The Daily Caller asked House Minority Whip Steve Scalise about Graves comment he replied, “He hasn’t he hasn’t seen the details I haven’t seen the details. I don’t think Leader McCarthy has seen the details.” He added, “Clearly, the details matter and I’m waiting to see those and I want to speak to the president later today as we’ll see where he is once he sees all the details.”...Media Won’t Admit Walls Work—
Study Shows Otherwise
by Elizabeth Harrington.
Trump Confronts evil-Cuomo
On Late-Term Abortion
by Saagar Enjeti
{dailycaller.com} ~ President Donald Trump raised his concerns about the Democratic embrace of late-term abortion legislation during a Tuesday evening Oval Office meeting... the White House said in a readout. “The president raised his concerns to Governor evil-Cuomo about Democrats’ support of late-term abortions,” deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a Tuesday evening statement. The two leaders also discussed “the positive impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the American economy, and the president listened to the governor’s concerns regarding SALT. The president reiterated the negative impact that high taxes in states like New York have on hardworking families and job creators.”Deere continued, “The president discussed economic growth opportunities for the state of New York, including helping lower energy prices throughout the entire Northeast by allowing low-cost, American energy to thrive with fracking and pipeline systems. The two also discussed the need to update America’s outdated infrastructure system.” Trump has blasted late-term abortion proponents in New York state and Virginia in recent days, raising the issue in his State of the Union address: “To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb.”...The Democrats Have an Anti-Semite Problem
by David Rutz
{freebeacon.com} ~ Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) found herself on Monday apologizing, sort of, for the second time in three weeks over anti-Semitic comments when she tweeted politicians who support Israel are paid to do so... After Omar said AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, paid off politicians like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) to support Israel, she was forced to apologize by some of her colleagues, including Speaker Nancy Pulosi (D., Calif.). Omar said "I unequivocally apologize" before immediately equivocating and saying AIPAC played a "problematic role in our politics." Among those defending her original tweets were former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke and Women's March co-founder Tamika Mallory, who is known for coziness with radical anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. In a cringe-worthy segment last month on "The View," Mallory refused to condemn Farrakhan's horrific remarks about Jews, such as calling them termites, but instead said "it's not my language" and that she didn't agree with some of his statements. She has previously called him the "GOAT," or Greatest of All Time, although she said that was due to his work in the black community...With no prove of honesty how can anyone voted for Omar. https://freebeacon.com/politics/the-democrats-have-an-anti-semitic-problem/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=8e626f05f5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_02_12_11_39_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-8e626f05f5-45611665.
Liz Cheney Stumps Green New Dealers
With One Question: Did You Fly Here?
by Molly Prince
{dailycaller.com} ~ Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney grilled environmental experts on their travel methods at a House hearing on climate change while discussing the Green New Deal’s call to phase out air travel... “My constituents are obviously very concerned about this notion that we are somehow going to transition over the course of 10 years here to an economy that is entirely run on green energy,” Cheney said during a Natural Resources subcommittee hearing. “Certainly, they have concerns about the fossil fuel aspect of that.” “I have to say, one of the issues that people are particularly concerned about is the extent to which we are no longer going to have air travel, apparently,” Cheney continued, referencing the Frequently Asked Question section of Democratic New York Rep. commie-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed Green New Deal. The Green New Deal calls to “totally overhaul transportation by massively expanding electric vehicle manufacturing, build charging stations everywhere, build out high-speed rail at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary,” according to commie-Ocasio-Cortez’s website... https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/12/liz-cheney-green-new-deal-question/?utm_medium=email.
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MAGA: Quality of Life and Optimism Soaring
to New Heights
by Jordan Candler: In his State of the Union Address last week, President Donald trump heralded the “thriving” U.S. economy, which he called “the envy of the world.” Some have called the president’s characterization of the economy hyperbole, but there’s a plethora of evidence proving he’s right: The economy is changing Americans’ quality of life and stimulating confidence.The IBD/TIPP Quality of Life Index is one metric that backs the president. The index has been tabulated for 17 years now, and it “asks the public whether they think their quality of life will be better, worse or the same over the next six months,” as explained by Investor’s Business Daily. The full-span average is 56.2. By that measure, Barack scumbag/liar-nObama’s 53.7 rating was subpar. But the index balloons to 59.3 halfway through Trump’s first term. The most interesting variable is independents. According to IBD, “Their quality of life averaged 52 under scumbag/liar-nObama. It’s averaging 58.8 under Trump.”
This segues nicely into Gallup polling regarding Americans’ confidence. Gallup reports that “Americans’ optimism about their personal finances has climbed to levels not seen in more than 16 years, with 69% now saying they expect to be financially better off ‘at this time next year.’” This percentage is bested only by the 71% registered in March 1998. Moreover, “Fifty percent say they are better off today than they were a year ago.”
Clearly, the Trump economy isn’t limp like it was under scumbag/liar-nObama. And that’s due to a combination of heavy deregulation, impressive job creation, and tax reform. Amazingly, Democrats are trying to spin all of these — but especially tax reform — as detrimental. Presidential candidate lowlife-Kamala Harris even asserted, “The average tax refund is down about $170 compared to last year. Let’s call the President’s tax cut what it is: a middle-class tax hike to line the pockets of already wealthy corporations and the 1%.”
Fortunately, most Americans are rejecting this snake oil because they understand more take-home pay as a result of less tax withholding means a lesser refund come tax filing. And their quality of life and optimism are the better for it. ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/articles/61117?mailing_id=4075&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.4075&utm_campaign=snapshot&utm_content=body
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