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Trump, Ramos Play Reality TV Parts Well
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| Univision anchor Jorge Ramos confronts Donald Trump |
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Either Lois Lerner's Dog Can Email, or She's More Corrupt
What is it with government officials and email? Lois Lerner, the now-retired IRS official who spearheaded the political targeting of conservative organizations before the 2012 election, was among the first whose email was sought in the wave of corruption among Obama administration officials. This week, the IRS finally disclosed that Lerner was using a private email address to conduct government business. According to IRS attorney Geoffrey Klimas, "In the process of preparing this status report and for the August 24, 2015, release of Lerner communications, the undersigned attorneys learned that, in addition to emails to or from an email account denominated 'Lois G. Lerner' or 'Lois Home,' some emails responsive to Judicial Watch's request may have been sent to or received from a personal email account denominated 'Toby Miles.'" The name "Toby Miles" appears to be a combination of her husband's surname and the name of her dog. And she joins at least former EPA Chief Lisa Jackson in having a private email under an alias derived from a dog. When her emails went "missing," we joked that her dog ate her homework. We were wrong. Her dog was doing her homework.Comment | Share
In Washington, DC, Welfare Is Already on Par With Europe
Normally when it comes to welfare in American the $1 trillion question is when exactly we will devolve into European-level dependency. When it comes to our nation's capital, however, it seems we're already there — and then some. In fact, if you live in DC, Denmark is the only country that offers greater benefits on the taxpayer dole, according to a new Cato Institute study. Michael D. Tanner and Charles Hughes write, "In D.C., a mother with two children under the age of five who participates in six major welfare programs — Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps), housing assistance, home energy assistance, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and free commodities — would receive a benefits package worth $34,963 per year. Using a similar measure, Cato found that benefits in Europe ranged from $38,588 per year in Denmark to just $1,112 in Romania. In fact, the District's welfare system can be more generous than every country included except Denmark. The benefits package is higher than in well known welfare states as France ($17,324), Germany ($23,257) and even Sweden ($22,111)." Keep in mind the study excludes Medicaid expenses that would add another $8,140. Tanner and Hughes are also careful to note, "People in these programs are not lazy, but they are also not stupid. Like everyone else, they respond to incentives. If welfare pays better than work, people on welfare will be less likely to work." Perhaps a good place to begin reform is on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers' paychecks should be rescinded until they actually get any work done.Comment | Share
FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
How Two Candidates Are Handling the Trump Effect
By Lewis Morris
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Trump’s presence thus far has muted the inevitability of establishment star Jeb Bush — a good thing, in our estimation, despite the insistence of some Trump supporters that our criticism of The Donald automatically means we favor the heir to the Bush Dynasty. Unfortunately, it has also flummoxed liberal dragon slayer Scott Walker, and all but neutralized Bobby Jindal and Rick Perry. Interestingly, however, it’s raised the stock of Ted Cruz, the first person to enter the race and — other than Trump — the one most considered to be a thorn in the side of the Republican Party, the Democrats, the Senate, and, well, anyone with a side to stick a thorn in.
That said, just what Trump has done to make all this happen is not the point here. The man has had more than his fair share of ink spilled in the campaign thus far. Our focus is how two candidates in particular, Cruz and Perry, came to find their fortunes reversed, one for the better, and one decidedly not.
Some are now considering Cruz to be a realistic frontrunner for the Republican nomination. This is a pretty good place to be for a man who, when he announced his candidacy in March, was tagged as the Tea Party candidate (a label of shame according to the Leftmedia) who has caused nothing but heartache for his fellow Senate Republicans.
The Leftmedia caricature is unfair and shallow. Sure, Cruz's tactics have gotten him in trouble over the ObamaCare fight and budget issues. But Senate Republicans need a swift kick in the pants. Furthermore, intellectually, Cruz is no slouch. Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz once called Cruz “off-the-charts brilliant” for the time he spent at Harvard Law. Coming from a liberal like Dershowitz, that’s no small compliment.
Cruz’s short time in the Senate is another key criticism among opponents, despite the fact that he has held a number of public offices and rose to national prominence in the 2012 Senate race when he throttled both his establishment primary opponent and the Democrat general election challenger.
For all of the criticism of Barack Obama's inexperience, it wasn't his two years in the Senate before launching his presidential bid that was the problem; it was his ideology. Cruz is on the right path on that count.
Cruz’s stock has risen in recent weeks in large part because he is now well positioned to embrace Trump’s supporters when The Donald’s candidacy implodes. In a race that went from “Bush vs. Not-Bush” to “Trump vs. Not-Trump,” Cruz may be the strongest Not-Trump around. There are many conservative voters supporting Trump who may switch support to Cruz if the reality TV star were out of the picture. Which is why Cruz is playing it smart by not openly criticizing Trump like his fellow candidates. Besides, he doesn't have to prove his anti-establishment bona fides.
It can be said that Cruz has grown in popularity by virtue of circumstance, even though it is to his credit that he has recognized that and played it well.
Rick Perry, on the other hand, is fading despite running a solid campaign on a good record.
Perry’s troubles began when he was relegated to the happy hour debate, a sad place to be for a candidate who was tracking in the top tier before the Comb-Over King came to town. Then Perry had to stop paying staffers because his campaign ran out of money. Poll numbers drive fundraising, and fundraising drives poll numbers. Neither was going anywhere but down.
On Monday, Sam Clovis, Perry's Iowa campaign manager, announced his departure because, after all, the man’s got a family to feed. To add insult to injury, Clovis has signed on with none other than Donald Trump, the very man Perry has so harshly criticized.
Admittedly, Perry’s 2012 campaign was not an auspicious introduction to the national political scene, but, since then, he has put together a strong staff and honed his presentation and his platform. And his 14-year record as governor of Texas should by all rights make him perhaps the most attractive candidate out there. His state added 1.5 million jobs between 2007 and 2013 while the rest of the country lost 400,000. He has a proud military record, and he has dealt with the immigration problem and border security firsthand.
Perry still has super PAC support that can help resurrect his campaign, but it’s worth wondering how he could fall so far as to be on campaign-life support before the second debate even takes place. This is yet another reminder of the raw unpredictability of politics and another reason why we need to keep paying close attention to this race. Trump isn't going away any time soon, but neither is he likely to win the nomination — much less the general election. But his effect on the field will be tremendous.
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MORE ORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE
- ANALYSIS: Despite the Darkness of Evil, There Is Still Hope
- Sex Sells the Menendez Corruption Case
- Hillary Even Wrote Classified Emails
- Police Lives Matter
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
- Mona Charen: Manliness: An Unsung Trait of The Train Heroes
- Michelle Malkin: What Is Obama's Top Population-Control Freak Hiding?
- Star Parker: Black Lives Don't Matter: No Lives Matter When Life Is Not Sacred
TOP HEADLINES
- Inquiry Weighs Whether ISIS Analysis Was Distorted
- Team Obama Wins Mercy for a Sponsor of Terrorism
- White House Fence-Jumper Killed After Court Attack
OPINION IN BRIEF
Mona Charen: "There is all the difference in the world between using violence aggressively and using it defensively. As Bill Buckley used to say: One man pushes an old lady into the path of a truck. Another man pushes her out of the path of the truck. Are we to say there’s no difference between them because they both push old ladies around? ... So-called 'traditional masculinity' is a major target of feminists on college campuses and elsewhere. That, they teach, is what creates the 'rape culture.' The Obama administration has joined in (naturally). A government website urges that colleges 'promote an understanding of the ways in which traditional masculinity contributes to sexual assault and other forms of men’s violence against women.' In Aurora, Colo., in 2012, when a crazed gunman opened fire on a crowded movie theater, no fewer than three young men covered their girlfriends with their own bodies and lost their lives in the process. That, and not the loutish behavior of some frat boys, is true 'traditional masculinity' — or better, manliness. Men have been defamed and devalued in our society for decades. Their high spirits are punished in schools. Their natural protectiveness has been scorned as sexism. The passengers on that French train are surely grateful that some manliness remains indomitable."Comment | Share
SHORT CUTS
Insight: "When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears nor all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper which should have been gold, are a token of honor — your claim upon the energy of the men who produce." —Ayn Rand (1905-1982)Doubling down: "I'm not going to apologize for making those comments... Maybe he doesn't say things that are objectionable, but what he does concerns me more than what he might say. Scott Walker should apologize to the African-American community for his policies." —Rep. Gwen Moore, who refuses to walk back her remark accusing Walker of "tightening the noose, literally, around African-Americans"
Alpha Jackass: "It’s hard for me to express how much I love Harry Reid, but it’s easier to do it in a room of people who love Harry Reid. Harry and I drove over here together and we were doing a little reminiscing, and then figuring out how we’re going to deal with the crazies in terms of managing some problems." —Barack Obama at a fundraiser in Nevada (Deputy Press Secretary Eric Shultz later said, "[Obama] may have been a little flip in his language, but we have seen Republicans do wildly irresponsible things in the past.")
Non Compos Mentis: "There are certain religious aspects that are extremely difficult to address because [using fetal tissue for research is] a very emotional issue. One has to respect people’s faith and opinions even if one may not share them. But they could slow down scientific progress. There is so much human suffering that could be solved by research.” —Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Ulrich von Andrian on the controversy over Planned Parenthood's harvesting aborted babies
And last... "A poll shows that if a dead body was found in the trunk of Hillary's car, 7% of Democrats would then consider her 'somewhat untrustworthy.'" —Twitter satirist @weknowwhatsbest
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Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm's way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.
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