Oct. 14, 2019
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Celebrate the China phase one trade deal when the ink is put to paper, but it proves Trump’s tariffs worked to bring Beijing to the table
President Ronald Reagan often repeated the
admonition to “trust but verify” when it came to nuclear deals with the
Soviets. President Donald Trump’s Phase One trade deal with China needs to be
approached with the same skepticism. First off, Trump’s deal with China
nominally it proves he was right all along to use the pressure and tariffs to
force Beijing to the table to deal with intellectual property theft and
currency manipulation, which are critical elements to engaging in any level of
fair and reciprocal trade with the communist regime in China. As the President
himself noted repeatedly as he talked about the deal on Friday, the parameters
and specifics have been agreed upon, but they are not in writing yet. Given
that Trump is pretty determined to get a great trade deal for America and
Chinese currency manipulation has to be a lead item of any sustainable deal, it
is likely that there will be significant wrangling over these relative value of
money concerns. All in all, the U.S.-China phase one trade deal is a step in
the right direction as long as they get the paperwork right. In the meantime,
we need to keep the pressure on. What do you think?
Cartoon: Meet the Family
President Trump’s
opponents know his daughter, husband and children are Jewish, right?
Ellen is right, everything has become far too political, and her statement against hateful partisanship is a victory for America and the civil society
America is
tearing itself apart — over everything. Politics. Cultural issues. Economics.
Foreign policy. Social justice. But we also don’t have to. This was on display
when a light-hearted moment appeared on the American people’s television
screens on Oct. 6 when the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Green Bay Packers. Ellen
DeGeneres and former President George W. Bush were pictured sitting together,
laughing and enjoying the game. God forbid. DeGeneres faced some backlash on
social media, but the full fury would not come — with celebrities denouncing
DeGeneres for consorting with a “war criminal” — until she defended in a
monologue on her television program not only her friendship with the former
president, but our civil society as a whole. She said, “Here’s the thing: I’m
friends with George Bush. I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the
same beliefs that I have. We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten
that that’s okay that we’re all different… But just because I don’t agree with
someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them.
When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people who think the
same way that you do. I mean, be kind to everyone. Doesn’t matter.” Good on
Ellen.
ALG urges passage of U.S. Rep. Gosar’s Higher Education Transparency Act of 2019 Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning: “In recent years, China has been spreading dirty money around the world trying to buy support — or at least silence opposition. As the saying goes, the best disinfectant is sunlight; and that’s why Congress should pass Rep. Gosar’s Higher Education Transparency Act without delay. The bill would require colleges and universities to make public the agreements that they have with foreign sources who provide language or cultural education to their students. College students, parents, and taxpayers deserve no less.”
Matt Taibbi: We're in a permanent coup
“I
don’t believe most Americans have thought through what a successful campaign to
oust Donald Trump would look like. Most casual news consumers can only think of
it in terms of Mike Pence becoming president. The real problem would be the
precedent of a de facto intelligence community veto over elections, using the
lunatic spookworld brand of politics that has dominated the last three years of
anti-Trump agitation.”
Celebrate the China phase one trade deal when the ink is put to paper, but it proves the tariffs worked to bring Beijing to the table
By Rick Manning
President Ronald Reagan often repeated the admonition to “trust but verify” when it came to nuclear deals with the Soviets. President Donald Trump’s Phase One trade deal with China needs to be approached with the same skepticism.
First off, Trump’s deal with China nominally it proves he was right all along to use the pressure and tariffs to force Beijing to the table to deal with intellectual property theft and currency manipulation, which are critical elements to engaging in any level of fair and reciprocal trade with the communist regime in China.
As the President himself noted repeatedly as he talked about the deal on Friday, the parameters and specifics have been agreed upon, but they are not in writing yet. As the devil is always in the details and the details don’t really get fleshed out until the agreement is written, it is too early to take anything for granted in this precursor deal to what the President hopes will be a much bigger one to follow.
However, even with this healthy skepticism about the Chinese government’s willingness to actually follow through on any deal that helps President Trump, there are some good reasons to believe that the Chinese need this more than America does.
First and foremost, the deal is an agricultural deal. As most know, the Chinese cut purchases of American soybeans and corn amongst other foodstuffs in retaliation for tariffs being placed on their goods.
While we don’t know the breakdown of the estimated $40 to $50 billion of Chinese agricultural purchases under the deal, which are supposed to begin occurring immediately. To put this into context, in 2018, the Chinese imported $13.2 billion in agricultural products and in 2017, that number was around $20 billion, so by any measure this food stuff purchase would double traditional food exports to China from 2018, an enormous increase.
The reality behind this promised purchase is sad, but it also makes it reasonable to expect that it will occur. The Chinese are estimated to be on the cusp of a food shortage due to the lethal and currently uncurable African Swine Fever which is expected to force the culling of 300 million hogs out of a national stock of 600 million in the Middle Kingdom. America by contrast has fewer than 75 million hogs in our farms domestically. China is going to need American farmers to help them meet what could be a catastrophic food crisis, and this deal represents that reality.
On a couple of other fronts, the deal can be looked at as being relatively unlikely that the Chinese will live up to what has been verbalized about it. One key area is forced transfer of intellectual property in order for companies to access their markets. While the Chinese can give lip service to this critical component to not allowing a company’s core capacities to being stolen by their Chinese hosts through coercion, this is one area that will be very difficult to enforce, as it requires a company to complain, and if there is one thing the NBA has taught us, it is that foreign companies are not allowed to complain and still maintain a competitive chance in that economy.
As a result, the concept of forced intellectual property transfers will be pushed underground so even the best language in the final draft will likely be very difficult to enforce.
Likewise, the Chinese have promised more transparency related to their on-going currency manipulation policies that make the dollar stronger, which ensure that American made goods are always more expensive than their competitors.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin synopsized what still needs to be put in writing as follows,” “We have an agreement around transparency into the foreign exchange markets and free markets. So we are very pleased with that.”
Obviously, there are many, many questions revolving around what Mnuchin was talking about, and no one will really know what, if any, effect this language will have on future competitiveness for U.S. made goods around the world. Given that Trump is pretty determined to get a great trade deal for America and Chinese currency manipulation has to be a lead item of any sustainable deal, it is likely that there will be significant wrangling over these relative value of money concerns.
All in all, the U.S.-China phase one trade deal is a step in the right direction as long as they get the paperwork right. Keep the tariff pressure on, Mr. President to ensure China does sign the paperwork and keep their deal — and trust but verify.
Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.
Cartoon: Meet the Family
By A.F. Branco
Click here for a higher level resolution version.
Ellen is right, everything has become far too political, and her statement against hateful partisanship is a victory for America and the civil society
By Robert Romano
America is tearing itself apart — over everything. Politics. Cultural issues. Economics. Foreign policy. Social justice.
Everything is put through that prism, and for some, the issues we are confronting today are simply irreconcilable, and define every single aspect of our existence, including who we are allowed to keep company with—even friends and family members. We are all in camps.
Drip by drip, moment by moment, these differences are breaking our bonds. As friends, family, and if we can’t find a way to stop it, as a country. We can lose everything. Don’t think we can’t.
But we also don’t have to. This was on display when a light-hearted moment appeared on the American people’s television screens on Oct. 6 when the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Green Bay Packers. Ellen DeGeneres and former President George W. Bush were pictured sitting together, laughing and enjoying the game.
God forbid. DeGeneres faced some backlash on social media, but the full fury would not come — with celebrities denouncing DeGeneres for consorting with a “war criminal” — until she defended in a monologue on her television program not only her friendship with the former president, but our civil society as a whole.
Here’s what she said: “During the game they showed a shot of George and me laughing together and so people were upset. They thought, why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president?... But a lot of people were mad and they do what people do when they’re mad: They tweet.”
DeGeneres found one tweet she did like, though, from a user who wrote: “Ellen and George Bush together makes me have faith in America again.” Her audience cheered loudly and DeGeneres clapped and exclaimed, “Exactly.”
She added, “Here’s the thing: I’m friends with George Bush. I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s okay that we’re all different.”
DeGeneres concluded, “I wish people wouldn’t wear fur, I don’t like it, but I’m friends with people who wear fur… But just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them. When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people who think the same way that you do. I mean, be kind to everyone. Doesn’t matter.” Her audience loved it and gave her an ovation, and so do I.
In a time where actor Mark Hamill, who depicted Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, mean-spiritedly attacks Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner for posting a fun family photo with their kid dressed up as a Star Wars character, later walking it back by “agreeing” that the kid was awesome (wasn’t that the point of the picture in the first place, Mark?), DeGeneres’ take is refreshing.
My parents and my entire immediate family are Democrats. I am not. But a family we remain. We love each other unconditionally. Family first, not politics.
And country first, not party.
At the end of the day, America is still a country — and we all have to fight for it before we lose the civil society forever. Republicans, Democrats, independents. Everyone. Thank you, Ellen, for helping all Americans to see that.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
ALG urges passage of U.S. Rep. Gosar’s Higher Education Transparency Act of 2019
Oct. 10, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the Higher Education Transparency Act of 2019 (H.R. 2244), which is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.):
“In recent years, China has been spreading dirty money around the world trying to buy support — or at least silence opposition. As the saying goes, the best disinfectant is sunlight; and that’s why Congress should pass Rep. Gosar’s Higher Education Transparency Act without delay. The bill would require colleges and universities to make public the agreements that they have with foreign sources who provide language or cultural education to their students. College students, parents, and taxpayers deserve no less.”
To view online: https://getliberty.org/2019/10/alg-urges-passage-of-u-s-rep-gosars-higher-education-transparency-act-of-2019/
ALG Editor’s Note: In the following featured column from Matt Taibbi, the author warns that the intelligence agencies’ war on President Donald Trump could end very badly:
Matt Taibbi: We're in a permanent coup
By Matt Taibbi
I’ve lived through a few coups. They’re insane, random, and terrifying, like watching sports, except your political future depends on the score.
The kickoff begins when a key official decides to buck the executive. From that moment, government becomes a high-speed head-counting exercise. Who’s got the power plant, the airport, the police in the capital? How many department chiefs are answering their phones? Who’s writing tonight’s newscast?
When the KGB in 1991 tried to reassume control of the crumbling Soviet Union by placing Mikhail Gorbachev under arrest and attempting to seize Moscow, logistics ruled. Boris Yeltsin’s crew drove to the Russian White House in ordinary cars, beating KGB coup plotters who were trying to reach the seat of Russian government in armored vehicles. A key moment came when one of Yeltsin’s men, Alexander Rutskoi – who two years later would himself lead a coup against Yeltsin – prevailed upon a Major in a tank unit to defy KGB orders and turn on the “criminals.”
We have long been spared this madness in America. Our head-counting ceremony was Election Day. We did it once every four years.
That’s all over, in the Trump era.
On Thursday, news broke that two businessmen said to have “peddled supposedly explosive information about corruption involving Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden” were arrested at Dulles airport on “campaign finance violations.” The two figures are alleged to be bagmen bearing “dirt” on Democrats, solicited by Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman will be asked to give depositions to impeachment investigators. They’re reportedly going to refuse. Their lawyer John Dowd also says they will “refuse to appear before House Committees investigating President Donald Trump.” Fruman and Parnas meanwhile claim they had real derogatory information about Biden and other politicians, but “the U.S. government had shown little interest in receiving it through official channels.”
For Americans not familiar with the language of the Third World, that’s two contrasting denials of political legitimacy.
The men who are the proxies for Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani in this story are asserting that “official channels” have been corrupted. The forces backing impeachment, meanwhile, are telling us those same defendants are obstructing a lawful impeachment inquiry.
This latest incident, set against the impeachment mania and the reportedly “expanding” Russiagate investigation of U.S. Attorney John Durham, accelerates our timeline to chaos. We are speeding toward a situation when someone in one of these camps refuses to obey a major decree, arrest order, or court decision, at which point Americans will get to experience the joys of their political futures being decided by phone calls to generals and police chiefs.
My discomfort in the last few years, first with Russiagate and now with Ukrainegate and impeachment, stems from the belief that the people pushing hardest for Trump’s early removal are more dangerous than Trump. Many Americans don’t see this because they’re not used to waking up in a country where you’re not sure who the president will be by nightfall. They don’t understand that this predicament is worse than having a bad president.
The Trump presidency is the first to reveal a full-blown schism between the intelligence community and the White House. Senior figures in the CIA, NSA, FBI and other agencies made an open break from their would-be boss before Trump’s inauguration, commencing a public war of leaks that has not stopped.
