11-15-17 Great Guests for Your Show

1. Michael Stumo: No Trade Deals in Trump Asia Trip? 

2. Stephen Thayer: The Left Continues Misleading Arguments in Support of Their “Police Target Blacks” Theme

3. Kerry Lutz: The Trump Charm Offensive

4. Daniel Greenfield: Sessions Replaces the Left with the Rule of Law

5. Seth Cropsey: U.S. Navy’s New Show of Force

6. Jeff Ferry: The Missing Trillion Dollars in the Republican Tax Reform Plan

No Trade Deals in Trump Asia Trip? 

By Michael Stumo

The chattering class was expressing worry and apprehension about the administration’s trade policy once again last week. Why, they asked, is Trump not negotiating trade deals with China during his recent trip through Asia? The answer is that any negotiations would have been a fruitless waste of time and a distraction. Instead, the U.S. should act unilaterally to fix its trade problems just as China acted unilaterally on its road to economic dominance. It is important to understand that trade agreements have very little correlation with increased prosperity. China rose through a strategic economic nationalism plan which included a mix of currency undervaluation, massive subsidies, intellectual property theft and a series of 5-year economic plans. Japan and South Korea grew from poor countries to relative prosperity through their own version of strategic economic plans implemented unilaterally. The U.S. government needs a similar plan to resign from its status as the “importer of last resort” for the rest of the world’s overproduction. [more...]

The Left Continues Misleading Arguments in Support of Their “Police Target Blacks” Theme

By Stephen Thayer

We have commented before on the political left’s continued efforts to characterize law enforcement as racist. In the face of FBI reports and statistics to the contrary, they continue to present arguments to support their debunked and dubious theories. One of their misleading tactics is to focus on the disproportionate impact of the U.S. criminal justice system on African Americans. It’s proof, they suggest, of systemic racism in law enforcement. The claim is lazy, pointing out that blacks, while only 13 percent of the population, represent far higher proportions of incarcerated subjects. And the fact that black subjects are stopped by police at disproportionate rates is, to the left, simply more proof of the corruption and racism. Liberals continue misleading arguments in support of their “police target blacks” theme. They refer to the false Ferguson mantra of “Hands up, don’t shoot” when Michael Brown was killed by Officer Wilson and to other shootings by police. The truth is more whites are killed by police than are blacks. [more...]

The Trump Charm Offensive

By Kerry Lutz

For the “Never Trumpers,” it’s hard to admit, but there is a charming side to our commander in chief. His recent overseas Asian trip was proof that it not only exists, but it’s very effective. He seems to have taken Asia by storm. Remember, it was not long ago that the Chinese refused to roll out the stairs, let alone the red carpet, forcing Obama to do a humiliating exit from the belly of Air Force One. And now, just a few short years later, Trump is exiting from the stairs to a red carpet reception. And his Chinese nicknames, “Donald the Strong,” “Grand Commander Uncle Trump“ are good indicators of his popularity. I don’t remember the Chinese referring to “Barrack the Invincible.” [more...]

Sessions Replaces the Left with the Rule of Law

By Daniel Greenfield

The rule of law didn’t exist under Obama. But now it’s coming back. Attorney General Sessions began his remarks before the House Judiciary Committee by declaring that the rule of law "forms the foundation for our liberty, our safety, and our prosperity. In this rule of law, we are blessed beyond all nations." And he summarized what he had been doing in less than a year to restore the rule of law to America. [more...]

U.S. Navy’s New Show of Force

By Seth Cropsey 

The three U.S. Navy carrier strike groups’ presence is useful in reminding North Korea that the U.S. can still project punishing power across the Pacific in a relatively short period of time.  I do not agree that this is the Navy’s worst nightmare.  The nightmare would turn real if another crisis emerged simultaneously at some other place that required large carrier-borne fighters/bombers, for example in the East Mediterranean and/or the Persian Gulf.  Otherwise, the three carrier strike groups in the West Pacific are a reminder of exactly why the U.S. needs to remain the world’s dominant seapower.  It would be better if these carriers airwings had been trained for integrated, rather than sequential, operations.  And this should serve as a reminder that integrated carrier operations are one possible alternative than keeping a single carrier on patrol in each of the world’s hotspots. Read: Seablindness: How Political Neglect is Choking American Seapower and What to Do About It, by Fmr. Deputy Undersecretary of the U.S. Navy Seth Cropsey.

The Missing Trillion Dollars in the Republican Tax Reform Plan

By Jeff Ferry

The Republican tax reform plan is suffering from a shortage of funds. Yet Paul Ryan and his colleagues are trying to give the American people a substantial tax cut as their signature achievement of 2017. However, they are constrained by Congressional rules that limit increases in the federal budget deficit to just $1.4 trillion over 10 years. As a result, the plan is peppered with small-bore cutbacks to tax deductions and other maneuvers that make the plan seem small-minded and miserly. Thankfully, there is one potentially large tax reform that could bring in a whopping $1 trillion, and empower the Ways and Means Committee to be truly generous with the American middle class. [more...]