https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uEPM22xqvl0&feature=youtu.be
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America's economic stagnation is not of recent vintage. It has been building for decades. Trump's election is the result of an accumulation of citizen frustrations and discomforts due to fear, a sinking middle class, penetration of our borders, engagement in winless wars, unending deficits; welfare policies that are insane, self defeating and destructive, intrusive government, attacks on basic American traditions and institutions among a host of other legitimate discontents. The '60's was the beginning of a cancerous growth that has weakened us and left us confused, mis-directed and distrustful.
The party most associated with these failures lost the presidency as a result of the electoral vote but not the popular one. Having placed their blind faith in America's first black president they have not been able to bring themselves to recognize they have been widely rejected. Their rejection has been building and their anointed Obama, statistically speaking, has been a disaster. Democrats have shrunken in virtually every public office category throughout the nation.
They ascribe their loss and Obama's rejection as racially biased and refuse to get real notwithstanding the fact he was re-elected.
The tectonic plates of national politics are shifting and their settlement remains an emerging story. Will America's decline, as a stabilizing global force, continue or will/can America resume it global leadership role?
For sure, our leveraged financial structure should restrict our range and ability to engage as in the past. Does this mean our adversaries will have the playing field all to themselves? Can we meet the various challenges without another military confrontation? Will China curb the excessive ambitions of N. Korea's dangerous leader? Will Russia be allowed to continue pressing forward in their desire to supplant us in The Middle East? How do we restrict Iran from becoming a nuclear power? Is it reasonable to even think radical Islamism can be defeated and, if so, at what cost?
What happens domestically in America is the key to our global reach. As long as America remains politically divided any attempt to return to our former role as leader of The West will be strained at best if not impossible. Is this good or bad?
What concerns me most is that the seeds of our own self-destruction have been planted and are beginning to bloom. They have been fertilized by the systemic dry rot we have allowed to take over public education, the embrace of the siren song of dependency, eight years of Obama's tantalizing efforts, under the guise of radical transformation, to bring about social discord through class warfare, legislative actions occurring outside constitutional parameters and foreign policy pronouncements and actions that have given ammunition to radicals.
Trump's methods of campaigning helped seed the negative responses and personal rejections he now endures as Democrats do everything they can to block all avenues of potential success. If Trump and the Republicans can rectify many of the wrong headed policies that have choked America's sustained and historical progress Democrat obstinate behaviour will fade.
Another worrisome problem is that too many social issues have been allowed to take hold and gain a degree of unwarranted legitimacy. Socialism is not preferable to Capitalism. Yes, Capitalism has its faults because no economic system is perfect. Wealth is not bad per se but uneven distribution is not healthy. Widening and inattention to legitimate grievances becomes rich soil in which to spread discord, plant the seeds of rancor and elevate feelings of being disadvantaged.
Obama proved to be masterful in executing Alinsky's play book all the while professing he was doing so to improve the lot of the underdog. By any meaningful metric Obama failed to improve the lot of the underdog. I submit he is not finished in his journey of sending more torpedoes into our Republic's hull.
Granted, nothing I have written is new for those who read my missives. The cumulative effect and responses to our challenges continue to direct America's path. I believe we have only a few years to redress them before re-direction is completely beyond our grasp. The bad mouth syndrome attaches in subtle ways and its grip becomes impenetrable.
The market's optimism will be justified if The Republican Congress implements Trump's agenda as outlined in his recent address to Congress and America. Time will tell.
https://www.demandprotest.com/
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Kudo's still coming in regarding Trump's speech. (See 1 below)
Meanwhile, Senator Al Franken, who is in the Senate only because his opponent chose not to further pursue a fraudulent campaign tally, challenges the integrity and veracity of Trump's Attorney General. Angry, bitter Democrats continue their pursuit of disparaging Trump's Cabinet members.
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Netanyahu, Trump and The Golan. (See 2 below.)
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ErickErickson: Have Democrats and media lost their minds? (See 3 below.)
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Dick
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1)Trump's speech and our infantile left
Tuesday's address to a joint session of Congress was without a doubt the best speech President Donald Trump has ever given, perhaps the best speech to a joint session of Congress since the great Ronald Reagan. But who could watch it and not be embarrassed by our infantile, bitter Left?
It was uplifting, optimistic, full of unifying words, and obvious to everyone. The pathetic exception was the Democrats in Congress. And those were the ones who did not boycott the event.
Like spoiled children, who had not gotten their way, they refused to applaud at the most obvious good-for-the-country lines. In fact, they were like a clique of mean girls in middle school who have decided to target one of their own.
They knew what they were hearing was monumental and good for the nation. But consumed in schoolyard jealousy, they got angry, not glad. In doing so, they showed no intention of working "with" President Trump. They are still scrambling for, and planning to sabotage him any way they can.
They proved one thing: They do not have America's best interests at heart.
Is there any member of Congress more horrid than Nancy Pelosi? Her "we're all wearing white and purple to protest Trump" nonsense means ... what? She rolled her eyes, snickered to her seatmates like an ill-mannered child, and, of course, refused to stand and applaud, no matter how positive Trump's words. The Democrats would not applaud or stand when he spoke of government ignorance of the criminal decimation of Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit. They would not applaud when he spoke of protecting American citizens by securing our borders. They would not applaud when he spoke about the companies who have promised to invest billions in U.S. manufacturing which will provide thousands of new jobs, or when he spoke about de-regulating business to unleash the economy. They do not want the economy unleashed; it would expose the dismal failure of the eight-year Obama administration.
The Democrats also refused to approve of his call to enforce our immigration laws. These leftists favor illegal immigrants over American citizens which is why they institute sanctuary cities. They do not distinguish between the criminals among them and those who commit no crimes. To the left, they are all the same. Yet to normal Americans, they are not.
Nor do our elected Democrats aim to protect and defend the citizens of the United States. They oppose the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism" despite the graphic, barbaric actions of ISIS. They do not approve of "extreme vetting" to keep potential terrorists out of America. They would not even applaud Trump's stated allegiance to and alliance with Israel! Who are these people? By two-thirds of the way through the speech, it began to seem as though they were enemies of America. Schumer stared into his lap. Steny Hoyer was stone faced. None of them could applaud Scalia or his proposed replacement, Neil Gorsuch.
Perhaps the deplorable behavior of the Democrats throughout the speech was shame. There are 94 million people out of work, 43 million living in poverty and 43 million on food stamps. This is Obama's legacy. He transformed American into something it was never meant to be. Iran is building its nukes. Cuba is still a communist nightmare. The Middle East is a seventh circle of hell. They should be embarrassed by these facts. Poverty has increased. Crime has increased. Maybe that is why they stare at their laps and do not clap. They all know Obamacare is collapsing but cannot cheer Trump's plan to repeal and replace it with something that is affordable and actually provides health care.
The Democrats booed Trump's new agency, VOICE, Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement. God forbid the public should be informed about the tragedies inflicted on innocent Americans by criminal illegals.
And we all know the Left hates the military, so of course they sat on their hands as Trump spoke of increasing defense spending. Rebuilding our military after Obama's evisceration of it is anathema to the Democrats in Congress. They seem to loathe any and all methods of self-defense, be it national or individual. Such has been the state of the nation for the last eight years.
For those who initially thought Trump to be comic relief, those who were stunned by his candidacy and his victory, this speech must be a systemic shock; the man is presidential after all. Let us hope they admit it and readjust their antipathy to something nearing acceptance. Democrats, let the man do his job and get behind him. And one more thing, Democrats, grow up! You're all too old to behave as you did tonight.
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2) Comment: Trump, the Golan Heights and regional progress
Author: Matthew R.J. Brodsky
Netanyahu’s request for the US to recognize Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights represents a bold move that would help accomplish several American objectives in the Middle East.
The biggest news to come out of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington is not what’s grabbing most headlines. Rather, it’s his decision to ask the US to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. It comes at a time when US President Donald Trump is seeking to reinvigorate US relations with its Middle East allies and entertaining new strategies to solve a myriad of challenges facing the United States. In that context, Netanyahu’s idea should prompt more than a casual review from Washington.
Israel captured two-thirds of the Golan territory from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981, to the international community’s consternation. The strategic highlands represented less than one percent of Syrian land area, yet under their control it served as a forward operating position from where Syrian artillery regularly shelled northern Israel and the Palestinian Fatah organization launched regular cross-border raids.
What the Trump administration decides to do about Syria necessitates an even more important decision, about Russia. Seeing clearly where Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interest intersect with or diverge from America’s will serve as a keystone in crafting a coherent, wider Middle East strategy that fulfills Trump’s twin objectives of destroying Islamic State (ISIS) and pushing back against Iran. At the same time, Washington’s definition of Moscow’s regional role will have direct implications for Israel’s security posture and intelligence sharing.
There are several reasons why recognizing the annexation of the Golan Heights would benefit both the US and Israel. Whether the previous Syrian-Israeli peace attempts were conducted under Hafez Assad during the 1990s and 2000, or overseen by his son Bashar in 2008 and 2010, the results were the same: the Syrian leaders demanded more than either Egypt or Jordan received in their agreements, while offering significantly less in return. In essence, they were asking Israel to pay a premium for several additional decades of Syrian belligerence.
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