Aug. 5, 2019
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Massacres in El Paso, Dayton underscore that political violence right or left is never the answer
After a bloody weekend that saw 29 killed in mass shootings in El Paso,
Texas and Dayton, Ohio, the nation must once again face and confront the
scourge of political violence and terrorism that is becoming increasingly
prevalent in our society on the extreme ends of the political spectrum, right
and left. An anti-immigrant manifesto that has been linked to the shooter in El
Paso who supported President Donald Trump and praised the Christchurch mosque
shooting in New Zealand and the racist manifesto the shooter left behind there.
The Dayton shooter on the other hand was a self-proclaimed leftist and Satanist
who supported Sen. Elizabeth Warren who had previously spoke against mass
shootings such as Parkland, and who on the anniversary of violence in
Charlottlesville, Va. wrote, “Kill every fascist” and called the ICE firebomber
in Tacoma, Wash. a “martyr.” The violence and the varied motivations for it
demonstrate that violence is never the answer, and whether it comes from the right
or left, we must stand united against it as a nation — before it is too late.
Video: Trump slaps another $30 billion tariff on China atop the $62.5 billion while Chinese economy reels
After slapping China with a 25 percent tariff on $250 billion of goods
shipped to the U.S. in May, President Donald Trump is increasing the pressure
with another 10 percent tariff on the remaining $300 billion of goods.
Cut off federal funding to the Soros-funded Tides Network
The George Soros-funded Tides Network has received federal grants and
contracts totaling at least $16.8 million since 2005, most of which came in
2016 and 2017 via USAID and the Department of Health and Human Services. The
San Francisco-based Tides exists to advance a radical agenda on such issues as
abortion, immigration, health care, guns, global warming, and Israel, among others.
Tides certainly has the right to pursue its destructive agenda, but it has no
right to taxpayer money; and Congress should bar the wealthy organization, and
its affiliates, from receiving any additional federal funds.
Economy keeps on chugging along as jobs created since Jan. 2017 rises to 5.16 million
Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning: “283,000 more
Americans were employed in July than in June with the number not in the labor
force shrinking by 183,000. Over the
past twelve months, the number of employed as jumped by more than 1.3 million
about 200,000 more than the civilian labor force increased. Since Jan. 2017,
the Trump economy has produced 5.16 million jobs in the household survey. Americans
continue to see job opportunity growth that is positively impacting people
across the socio-economic spectrum with average hourly earnings continuing to
rise. July’s Labor Department report shows that our nation’s economy continues
to grow and move forward with the only thing holding it back being a shortage
of workers. That will be the economy’s
challenge over the next few years, as baby boomers continue to retire out of
the workforce, identifying, encouraging and skilling those who are currently
out of the workforce to meet our nation’s future economic needs.”
Bloomberg: Sweden’s biggest cities face power shortage
after fuel-tax hike
“Sweden’s introduction on Thursday of a tax aimed at phasing out the
nation’s last remaining coal and gas plants to curb global warming comes with
an unintended consequence for some of its biggest cities. Hiking threefold a
levy on fossil fuels used at local power plants will make such facilities
unprofitable and utilities from Stockholm Exergi AB to EON SE have said they
will halt or cut power production. The move means that grids in the capital and
Malmo won’t be able to hook up new facilities including homes, transport links
and factories. While Sweden doesn’t have a shortage of power, there’s not
enough cables to ship it to the biggest cities.”
Massacres in El Paso, Dayton underscore that political violence right or left is never the answer
By Robert Romano
After a bloody weekend that saw 29 killed in mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, the nation must once again face and confront the scourge of political violence and terrorism that is becoming increasingly prevalent in our society on the extreme ends of the political spectrum, right and left.
An anti-immigrant manifesto that has been linked to the shooter in El Paso who supported President Donald Trump praised the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand in March and the racist manifesto the shooter left behind there. The El Paso manifesto speaks against mass immigration and corporations, Democrats and Republicans that support it, supports automation of jobs to replace low-skilled immigrants and laments low fertility of whites, urban sprawl, destruction of the environment (it even speaks favorably of “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss), a lack of recycling and in favor of universal health care and universal basic income. Similar themes recur in both manifestos, a mish-mash of political, economic and racial ideas from the right and left that tragically ended in violence.
The Dayton shooter on the other hand who was shot dead by police a self-proclaimed leftist and Satanist on his Twitter page who supported Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) who had previously spoke against mass shootings such as Parkland, and who on the anniversary of violence in Charlottlesville, Va. wrote, “Kill every fascist.” He had shared posts about “concentration camps” on the border and wrote, “Cut the fences down. Slice ICE tires. Throw bolt cutters over the fences.” He called the he Antifa firebomber who targeted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Tacoma, Wash. a "martyr."
The violence and the varied motivations for it demonstrate that violence is never the answer, and whether it comes from the right or left, we must stand united against it as a nation — before it is too late. We have a civil society and can safely debate the pros and cons of issues like immigration or declining fertility generally regardless of race without ever resorting to violence and murdering our perceived political opponents.
Now, some would hope to politicize these tragedies but they are wrong. We’re not going to stop having discussions about immigration or preserving the environment in light of it. Should we ban “The Lorax,” too? It’s silly.
In this column over these past years, I and my colleagues at Americans for Limited Government have repeatedly spoken out and denounced acts of political violence, right or left, regardless of their motives, and against rhetoric that actively promotes such violence, as all being antithetical to our civil society.
We have condemned radical and racist violence in Charlottesville, Va. that led to a murder, by the gunman that shot up the Republican Congressional baseball practice in 2017 who was shot dead on the scene, by the Utah man who sent ricin in the mail to President Donald Trump, military and intelligence officials, by the nut that sent pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and media organizations, by the anti-Semitic shooter who murdered 11 at the Pittsburgh synagogue and the left-wing firebomber in Tacoma, Wash. who was shot dead by police.
We have blasted dehumanizing rhetoric that falsely singles out Republicans or Trump supporters as Nazis, media that portrayed the assassination and decapitation of President Trump and rhetoric by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) that wrongly compared the U.S. Border Patrol, ICE and federal law enforcement detaining illegal immigrants to Nazis running concentration camps that murdered millions in World War II.
I do think that as thought leaders we need to carefully consider our rhetoric and speak in unison whenever these attacks happen. So, for example, if you compare ICE and the Border Patrol to the Gestapo and compare apprehending illegal aliens to the Holocaust, and then a few weeks later somebody is blowing up and ICE facility or engaged in a mass shooting utilizing the same rhetoric, you should denounce it. Ocasio-Cortez never did. On Aug. 4, her Twitter page was full of justified denunciation of the attack’s motivations in El Paso as white supremacist, but not in Dayton by another Antifa attacker who shared her “concentration camps” comparison.
But aren’t white supremacy and violent revolutionary leftist ideology that views all of its political opponents as fascists and Nazis both wrong and worthy of condemnation?
Similarly, Democratic candidates for President today have yet to denounce the Dayton shooter's pro-Antifa, radical leftism. It's not that hard.
Allow me to be clear. I do not think Ocasio-Cortez condones political violence from the left or supports it — although she ought to clarify her position — but one of the barriers to stopping political violence today is a failure by leaders on both sides of the aisle to lock arms and deplore violence and radical ideology when it comes from their own side of the political spectrum.
When a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) shot up the Congressional baseball practice, Sanders immediately denounced it. Similarly, upon the attack in El Paso, President Trump declared, “I know that I stand with everyone in this Country to condemn today’s hateful act. There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people.” That’s what real leaders do.
It is up to every one of us to preserve the civil society, our deliberative system of government. If you believe in America, do not call advocate violence against your political opponents.
We must stand united against political violence and political radicalism, regardless of its source. Extremists would like nothing more than for everyone to align into their “camps.” These factions will be the end of us.
Freedom from political violence is the only thing that keeps us from the dysfunctions and disorders that brought an end to the Roman Republic and every other great society that once existed.
So, let’s work on it together as one country, one nation. We can have civil disagreements and declare with one voice that we reject violence to advance political objectives. We unite on this question, or civil society fails. Let us all denounce this national sickness before it consumes us all.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
Video: Trump slaps another $30 billion tariff on China atop the $62.5 billion while Chinese economy reels
Click here to view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBQx5Bd2IQA
Cut off federal funding to the Soros-funded Tides Network
By Richard McCarty
The George Soros-funded Tides Network has received federal grants and contracts totaling at least $16.8 million since 2005, most of which came in 2016 and 2017 via USAID and the Department of Health and Human Services. The San Francisco-based Tides exists to advance a radical agenda on such issues as abortion, immigration, health care, guns, global warming, and Israel, among others. Tides certainly has the right to pursue its destructive agenda, but it has no right to taxpayer money; and Congress should bar the wealthy organization, and its affiliates, from receiving any additional federal funds.
The Tides empire was founded in 1976 by Drummond Pike, who has served on the boards of a number of left-wing organizations. Over the years, the empire has grown, and now the Tides Network consists of the Tides Foundation, the Tides Center, Tides Inc., the Tides Two Rivers Fund, and Tides Advocacy. In 2017, Tides had revenues of over $470 million; it has nearly $400 million in assets under management.
There are several ways that Tides advances the left’s agenda. It collects money from liberal donors and gives that money to left-wing extremists making it difficult to trace the source of the funds. If a donor wants to give money to a cause for which a group does not exist, Tides will set up such an organization. It also rents office space to liberal organizations.
One of the most valuable services that Tides provides is “fiscal sponsorship” for new left-leaning organizations. Sponsorship requires a fee of 9 percent or 15 percent of annual revenues depending upon the source; the fee may be adjusted after the first year of activity. In exchange for these fees, organizations can use the Tides Center’s 501(c)(3) tax status and gain access to the Center’s accounting, human resources, and legal services. Over the years, Tides claims to have sponsored over 1,400 “social ventures.” Once a sponsored organization matures sufficiently, it can become an independent organization. Tides has spun off a number of these organizations, including People for the American Way and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Tides amassed its huge fortune by accepting money from virtually any source. In fact, Tides has accepted money from a Russian-supported organization, the Sea Change Foundation. In addition to the Russians, Tides has been funded by, among others, Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, the David Rockefeller Fund, the Google Foundation, the ChevronTexaco Foundation, the Verizon Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, the Levi Strauss Foundation, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, the Barbra Streisand Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Turner Foundation, the Heinz Family Foundation, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
With this money, Tides funds an extreme agenda. It has given money to the ACORN Institute , the Center for American Progress (CAP), the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the anti-Trump group Indivisible, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Greenpeace, Planned Parenthood, Media Matters, Code Pink, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the Ruckus Society, the Rainforest Action Network, and many others.
Here are a few quick facts about some of the less-well-known grantees:
- Code Pink opposes the U.S. military and Israel while supporting repressive regimes.
- MALDEF supports open borders.
- The Ruckus Society trains violent protesters. One of the Ruckus Society’s co-founders has been arrested over 50 times.
- The Rainforest Action Network was a spinoff of the ecoterrorist group Earth First!.
Not content with just causing problems in America, Tides has waded into Canada too. There, it funded a campaign to halt the development of the oil sands in the province of Alberta. However, the new conservative premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney, has made it clear that he is tired of the shenanigans funded by Tides and will be fighting back.
On the subject of Tides, Americans for Limited Government’s President Rick Manning had the following to say, “The Tides Network is all about laundering money as their name suggests. Perhaps conservatives should found the Dawn Foundation so they can have clean money — and clean ducks.”
Tides has received millions of dollars in federal funds while advancing a radical leftist agenda. Congress should prohibit Tides from receiving any more funds to prevent the organization from further undermining our society with our tax dollars. Finally, conservative ought to get to work on building something similar to the Tides Center to start and grow conservative organizations.
Richard McCarty is the Director of Research at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
Economy keeps on chugging along as jobs created since Jan. 2017 rises to 5.16 million
Aug. 2, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the latest jobs numbers:
“283,000 more Americans were employed in July than in June with the number not in the labor force shrinking by 183,000. Over the past twelve months, the number of employed as jumped by more than 1.3 million about 200,000 more than the civilian labor force increased. Since Jan. 2017, the Trump economy has produced 5.16 million jobs in the household survey.
“Americans continue to see job opportunity growth that is positively impacting people across the socio-economic spectrum with average hourly earnings continuing to rise. July’s Labor Department report shows that our nation’s economy continues to grow and move forward with the only thing holding it back being a shortage of workers. That will be the economy’s challenge over the next few years, as baby boomers continue to retire out of the workforce, identifying, encouraging and skilling those who are currently out of the workforce to meet our nation’s future economic needs.”
To view online: https://getliberty.org/2019/08/economy-keeps-on-chugging-along-as-jobs-created-since-jan-2017-rises-to-5-16-million/
ALG Editor’s Note: In the following featured report from Bloomberg’s Jesper Starn, Sweden is facing large power shortages after its fuel-tax hike:
Sweden’s biggest cities face power shortage after fuel-tax hike
By Jesper Starn
Sweden’s introduction on Thursday of a tax aimed at phasing out the nation’s last remaining coal and gas plants to curb global warming comes with an unintended consequence for some of its biggest cities.
Hiking threefold a levy on fossil fuels used at local power plants will make such facilities unprofitable and utilities from Stockholm Exergi AB to EON SE have said they will halt or cut power production.
The move means that grids in the capital and Malmo won’t be able to hook up new facilities including homes, transport links and factories. While Sweden doesn’t have a shortage of power, there’s not enough cables to ship it to the biggest cities.
“We don’t have a problem with generating enough power in Sweden, we have a problem with getting it to where its needed,” Magnus Hall, chief executive officer of state-owned utility Vattenfall AB, said in an interview. “This law was added with short notice and I am not sure a proper analysis of it was made.”
The tax was introduced in January in a budget deal between the Center Party, Liberals, Social Democrats and the Greens after record long 18 weeks of negotiations. As only one of 73 points hashed out between the political fractions to reach a compromise, time for thorough analysis was probably slim.
The tax, aimed at spurring the shift to renewable energy, comes on top of carbon-emission pollution rights that tripled last year and have gained another 18% this year to their highest level since 2006.
Power output from Stockholm Exergi’s Vartaverket, EON’s Heleneholmverket and Goteborg Energi AB’s Ryaverket will stop or be heavily cut as soon as the law is introduced, although operators said they will still be used for district heating.
Sweden gets most of its electricity from hydro, nuclear and wind power and exported 11% of the output last year. About 10% is still generated in combined heat and power plants that mostly uses biofuels, but some older facilities still burns coal or gas.
Because of the urbanization, demand for electricity in many Swedish cities is starting to outgrow capacity and some have already been forced to refuse new connections to avoid black outs.
“Combined heat and power plants must carry their own cost to the environment, even if they have an important role to play for the supply of energy,” Anders Ygeman, minister for energy and digitalization, said in an emailed statement. “The tax will contribute to the ongoing away shift from fossil fuels.”
Ygeman said it is still too early to say what impact the new tax will have, but there are already examples of its impact. Some new daycare centers have to wait for months to be connected to the grid in Stockholm. A bread factory in Malmo was denied a license to expand because it would consume too much power.
Ulf Kristersson, the moderate party opposition leader, said the capacity crisis fazing Swedish cities is enough reason to renegotiate a current five-party energy agreement to slow down the phaseout of nuclear and local plants burning fossil fuels. Without a solution, both Moderate and Christian Democrats are threatening to abandon the pact agreed in 2016.
“We need a new agreement that solves the situation we have now,” Ulf kristersson said in an interview at the end of June. “I think when we approach autumn that issue needs to come to some kind of conclusion.”
