Aug. 13, 2020
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Joe Biden goes all in on defund the police with Kamala Harris VP pick
Former Vice President Joe
Biden has selected U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate and
presumptive Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in the 2020 election as
the Biden campaign goes all in on the defund the police issue. In June Sen.
Harris supported cutting $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department
budget and taking the police force below 10,000 for the first time in more than
a decade. “I applaud Eric Garcetti for
doing what he's done,” Harris told ABC’s Good Morning America host George
Stephanopoulos in June, adding, “Right now, what we’re seeing in America is
many cities spend over one-third of their entire city budget on policing but
meanwhile we’ve been defunding public schools for years in America.” The pick
of Harris comes as Biden for his part has attempted to thread the needle on the
issue, telling CBS News in an interview: “No, I don’t support defunding the
police. I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not
they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness and … are able
to demonstrate they can protect the community.” Meaning, if police departments
did not meet up with Biden’s criteria, he would indeed deny funds. In June, an
ABC News/Ipsos poll found 64 percent of Americans reject the idea of defunding
the police, including 91 percent of Republicans, 45 percent of Democrats, 43
percent of blacks, 58 percent of Hispanics and 74 percent of whites. In short,
Harris is a sop to the BLM-Antifa wing of the party, a signal by Biden to the
rioters that says “I’m with you”, but at the cost of moderate Democrats in
suburban areas who oppose defunding the police.
Video: Joe Biden's Greatest Hits! Available for Pony Express Delivery!
A collection of sayings from
the ever-quotable Joe Biden.
California public pension fund investing $3.1 billion in Communist China a cautionary tale for other states
California often serves
as a cautionary tale for other states with its misguided policy choices
informing other governors of what not to do. Most recently, California is under
scrutiny for directing billions of dollars in its state retirement pension
funds into companies connected to Chinese military expansion. Last fall,
California pensions held $3.1 billion worth of shares in 172 different Chinese
companies. Their holdings include Chinese military contractors such as China
Shipbuilding Industry Corp. and companies currently sanctioned by the Commerce
Department for building surveillance and internment camps in Xinjiang, such as
Hikvision. Adding to the dangerous national security implications of the
California state pension investments, is the fact that it’s most recent chief
investment officer, Ben Meng, a U.S. citizen who grew up in China, once was
connected to a Chinese Communist Party recruitment effort called the Thousand
Talents Program. The FBI has said Beijing uses this program for nontraditional
espionage.
Video: 10 million jobs in 3 months, recovering prices point to strong 3rd quarter that will be biggest ever
With 10 million jobs
created in three months and counting, plus rapidly recovering consumer and
producer prices, the third quarter GDP is likely to be the biggest quarter for
economic growth in U.S. history.
Intellectual property rights affirmed by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Qualcomm case
Americans for Limited
Government President Rick Manning: “Intellectual property includes the ability
to negotiate licensing deals for others to utilize and benefit their customers
while ensuring that the person or company which invented the technology receive
a contractually agreed upon compensation for their genius. There is no
requirement that an inventor must license their product for use by a competitor
or cannot engage in exclusive licensing agreements. Believe it or not, a Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals three judge panel got this basic principle right in
vacating a radical decision by a California Bay area federal circuit judge
which effectively destroyed the licensing business model. This is not just a
great victory for Qualcomm, the victim of the Obama Federal Trade Commission
driven lawsuit, but for all inventors as it effectively affirms that inventors
have the right to control their own inventions.”
Joe Biden goes all in on defund the police with Kamala Harris VP pick
By Robert Romano
Former Vice President Joe Biden has selected U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate and presumptive Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in the 2020 election as the Biden campaign goes all in on the defund the police issue.
In June Sen. Harris supported cutting $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) budget and taking the police force below 10,000 for the first time in more than a decade.
“I applaud Eric Garcetti for doing what he's done,” Harris told ABC’s Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos in June, adding, “Right now, what we’re seeing in America is many cities spend over one-third of their entire city budget on policing but meanwhile we’ve been defunding public schools for years in America.”
Harris explained, “We've got to re-examine what we're doing with American taxpayer dollars and ask the question: are we getting the right return on our investment? Are we actually creating healthy and safe communities? That's a legitimate conversation and it requires a really critical evaluation.”
The pick of Harris comes as Biden for his part has attempted to thread the needle on the issue by saying he doesn’t want to defund the police, he wants to condition federal funding on whether police are “honorable.”
Biden told CBS News in an interview: “No, I don’t support defunding the police. I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness and … are able to demonstrate they can protect the community.”
Meaning, if police departments did not meet up with Biden’s criteria, he would indeed deny funds.
But it comes at a time when Democrats and the country are deeply divided on the defund the police issue, both in polls among voters and among the party establishment.
In June, an ABC News/Ipsos poll found 64 percent of Americans reject the idea of defunding the police, including 91 percent of Republicans, 45 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of blacks, 58 percent of Hispanics and 74 percent of whites.
Those numbers swelled in a July Pew poll that found 73 percent say police funding should either remain the same or increase, including 42 percent who say police spending should remain the same and 31 percent say it should be increased.
Only 25 percent of Americans supported cutting spending for local police departments in the Pew poll, with just 12 percent saying it should be decreased a lot and another 14 percent saying it should be reduced a little.
By picking Harris, who supported cutting LAPD funding by $150 million, Biden is running a national political program with as little as 25 percent public support.
Biden could have used the VP selection to distance himself from this issue, which is inextricably linked to the ongoing riots in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Instead he chose to use the VP pick to sharpen his stance on it, and to ensure that the election will be about race and police by shoring up Biden’s anti-police bonafides.
To be fair, though, finding a national Democratic political figure somehow not wrapped up in this issue is extraordinarily difficult. The party is under incredible pressure at the moment.
In short, Harris is a sop to the BLM-Antifa wing of the party, a signal by Biden to the rioters and protesters that says “I’m with you”, but at the cost of moderate Democrats in suburban areas who oppose defunding the police. At Biden’s age of 77, he needed somebody that would project confidence to lead the nation.
Instead, Biden and Harris seem to want to meet the protest movement halfway, seeking out a weak middle position that strips police of resources at the very time of heightened violent crime and civil unrest.
And, by selecting a California radical senator, it is questionable if Biden picks up any votes among Independents or Republicans, which he surely needs if he is to have any hope of pulling out swing states. Is Biden trying to lose the suburbs?
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: http://dailytorch.com/2020/08/joe-biden-goes-all-in-on-defund-the-police-with-kamala-harris-vp-pick/
Video: Joe Biden's Greatest Hits! Available for Pony Express Delivery!
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_8aDqBzvvk
California public pension fund investing $3.1 billion in Communist China a cautionary tale for other states
By Catherine Mortensen
California often serves as a cautionary tale for other states with its misguided policy choices informing other governors of what not to do. Most recently, California is under scrutiny for directing billions of dollars in its state retirement pension funds into companies connected to Chinese military expansion.
Last fall, California pensions held $3.1 billion worth of shares in 172 different Chinese companies. Their holdings include Chinese military contractors such as China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. and companies currently sanctioned by the Commerce Department for building surveillance and internment camps in Xinjiang, such as Hikvision.
“It’s outrageous that taxpayers in my home state of California are unwittingly funding the Chinese Communist Party activities aimed directly at the heart of America,” said Rick Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government.
Manning has taken a leadership role in a national coalition that is shining light on this security risk and calling on governors to divest their state pension funds of all Chinese companies. The coalition includes retired military leaders who warn that that pension fund abuses are not limited to California. U.S. mutual funds and pension funds, including private, state and local government pensions, have invested about $251 billion in Chinese and Hong Kong equities and bonds.
“Chinese military buildup represents a clear and present danger to our national security,” added Manning. “We must put an immediate stop to funding this build up with the hard-earned money of American taxpayers.”
Earlier this year, a diverse set of groups and individuals succeeded in getting the federal government to immediately halt all steps associated with investing Thrift Savings Plan assets in Chinese companies. The federal Thrift Savings Plan is a retirement savings and investment plan for federal employees and members of the uniformed services.
According to Sec. of Labor Eugene Scalia whose agency determines what are suitable investments for private pension funds and 401(k)s, said in a May 11 letter to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board announcing the change, “The millions of federal employees, retirees, and service-members participating in the [TSP] Plan should not be placed in the untenable position of choosing between forgoing any investment in international equities, or placing billions of dollars in retirement savings in risky companies that pose a threat to U.S. national security.”
The obvious question that Manning posed to Secretary Scalia in a recent letter is, “if these assets are too risky for inclusion in the federal TSP, why would they be allowed to be included in private 401(k) investments where the same argument directly applies?” Manning continued, “The answer is that they are not, and under [federal law] it’s the Labor Department’s job to protect private sector retirement-specific investments or pensions from choices that are unsuitably risky.”
Adding to the dangerous national security implications of the California state pension investments, is the fact that it’s most recent chief investment officer, Ben Meng, a U.S. citizen who grew up in China, once was connected to a Chinese Communist Party recruitment effort called the Thousand Talents Program. The FBI has said Beijing uses this program for nontraditional espionage. The Senate Permanent Select Committee on Investigations revealed in a recent report several instances of the program being used for criminal abuses of U.S. institutions of all kinds. Meng was forced to resign earlier this month after allegations of ethics violations related to the pension fund investments.
“Every governor should look to this California train wreck and divest their state pension funds of all Chinese companies,” urged Manning, concluding, “Not only do these investments pose a national security threat, many Chinese companies are up to their necks in producing goods using child- and slave-labor. By allowing investments into these companies, states are effectively making individual 401(k) owners or pensioners parties to and profiteers from the exploitation of the victims of such cruel abuse.”
Catherine Mortensen is the Vice President of Communications at Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: http://dailytorch.com/2020/08/california-public-pension-fund-investing-3-1-billion-in-communist-china-a-cautionary-tale-for-other-states/
Video: 10 million jobs in 3 months, recovering prices point to strong 3rd quarter that will be biggest ever
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt_PiN6cHI4
Intellectual property rights affirmed by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Qualcomm case
Aug. 12, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praises a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision affirming Qualcomm’s intellectual property rights:
“Intellectual property includes the ability to negotiate licensing deals for others to utilize and benefit their customers while ensuring that the person or company which invented the technology receive a contractually agreed upon compensation for their genius. There is no requirement that an inventor must license their product for use by a competitor or cannot engage in exclusive licensing agreements.
“Believe it or not, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals three judge panel got this basic principle right in vacating a radical decision by a California Bay area federal circuit judge which effectively destroyed the licensing business model.
“This is not just a great victory for Qualcomm, the victim of the Obama Federal Trade Commission driven lawsuit, but for all inventors as it effectively affirms that inventors have the right to control their own inventions.
“Intellectual property is the foundation of America’s free enterprise system, and the attempts by the Federal Trade Commission in partnership with their star witness – Chinese Communist Party controlled - Huawei – to destroy and collectivize the product of individual minds was an affront to the core values of our great country. When even the notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals gets this right, it is a day to celebrate that freedom still rings.”
To view online: https://getliberty.org/2020/08/intellectual-property-rights-affirmed-by-ninth-circuit-court-of-appeals-in-qualcomm-case/
