Fox News, by Alex Schemmel Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/12/2025 10:18:15 AM After finding $382 million in fraudulent unemployment payments since 2020, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) identified California, New York and Massachusetts as the primary culprits. The three Democrat-led states accounted for $305 million in improper claim payments, DOGE said Thursday.
The group added that California also accounted for 68% of the benefits that were dispensed under former President Joe Biden to parolees identified by federal authorities as being on the government's terrorist watchlist, or who had criminal records. California, New York and Massachusetts all have a Democratic trifecta — meaning Democrats control the state House, Senate and the governor's office.
Real Clear Politics, by Victor Davis Hanson Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/12/2025 2:51:26 AM 1. President Donald Trump's so-called "trade war."
Many call the American effort to obtain either tariff parity or a reduction in the roughly $1 trillion trade deficit and 50 years of consecutive trade deficits a "trade war." But then what do they call the policies of the past half-century by Europe, Asia, China, and others to ensure asymmetrical tariffs, pseudo-health and security trade restrictions, and large surpluses?
A trade peace? Trade fairness?
2. Do nations prefer surpluses or deficits? Why do most nations prefer trade surpluses and protective tariffs?
Are Europe, Asia, China, and others stupid? Are they suicidal in continuing their trade surpluses and protective or asymmetrical tariffs?
Washington Free Beacon, by Andrew Stiles Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/9/2025 9:14:08 AM Many have suspected that Dr. Jill Biden played a key role in saving the country by facilitating Donald Trump's long-awaited return to the White House. Many have assumed the former first lady (and acting president of the United States) was possessed of an insatiable lust for power, which drove her to insist that her enfeebled octogenarian husband, Joe Biden, run for reelection. The ill-advised decision nearly destroyed the Democratic Party when Biden's cognitive impairment became impossible to ignore. It forced the party to rally around Kamala Harris, the most incompetent presidential candidate since Hillary Clinton, all but ensuring that Trump would win a second term
New York Post, by Mark Penn Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/8/2025 4:41:59 PM It’s time for Wall Street to get a grip.
The Trump tariff policies are a calculated gamble that the threat of tariffs can fundamentally remake the global economy and retilt it in the direction of the United States — and away from China and other beggar-thy-neighbor countries.
But whether they work or not, Wall Street elites have convinced themselves that these tariffs are worse than the pandemic that stopped the entire economy, or the 2009 economic crisis that put 10 million people out of work. And so far, nothing has happened. It’s all speculation about what could happen.
Issues & Insights, by Editorial Board Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/7/2025 12:06:00 PM We were bemused at the Orwellian doublespeak of the weekend protests, which were waged under the banner of “hands off.”
Hands off? What the protesters really want is for the government to keep its hands on – on our throats choking out our freedoms and in our pockets stealing our money.
Naturally, the protesters describe themselves as “defending democracy” and the current situation a “crisis.” What else is new?
But this particular effort – reported by most of the press to be “massive,” encompassing, said CNN, “scores of people” (20s of people?) – was more mindless than usual.
American Greatness, by Victor Davis Hanson Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/7/2025 10:46:15 AM Two strange phenomena now characterize the political landscape. One, opposition to the Trump administration’s initiatives has reached a near-unprecedented fever pitch. The frenzy is manifested in strange ways. At the bottom end, there is an epidemic of street terrorism, including the keying of Teslas, bullying their owners, firebombing dealerships, or vandalizing charging stations. All that is mostly the logical but dirty reification of those in the media and the Democrats who brand Elon Musk as a foreign-born counterfeit citizen and a disloyal un-American foreigner, thus deserving to be “taken down,” in the words of Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
The Hill, by Jonathan Turley Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/6/2025 11:53:37 AM “We should replace our piece of crap Constitution.”
Those words from author Elie Mystal, a regular commentator on MSNBC, are hardly surprising from someone who previously called the Constitution “trash” and urged not just the abolition of the U.S. Senate but also of “all voter registration laws.” But Mystal’s radical rhetoric is becoming mainstream on the left, as shown by his best-selling books and popular media appearances.
There is a counter-constitutional movement building in law schools and across the country. And although Mystal has not advocated violence, some on the left are turning to political violence and criminal acts. It is part of the “righteous rage” that many of them
Real Clear Policy, by Richard Porter Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/6/2025 11:48:48 AM After being criticized for saying in an October speech to the Chicago Economic Club that “‘tariff’ is the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” Donald Trump puckishly acknowledged his critics had a point about his priorities. “Let’s put God number one. Let’s put religion number two. Love, I don’t know, we gotta put that number three, I guess, right? And then it’s tariff, because tariffs will make us rich as hell!”
Not everyone shares President Trump’s faith in tariffs, notably the stock markets. The aggregate value of U.S. securities traded on U.S. exchanges is some $6 trillion lower after “Liberation Day,” as the administration’s calculation of the amount
Issues & Insights, by Editorial Board Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/5/2025 11:34:11 AM We have no doubt that Leavitt’s prediction will come true. Whether it’s remembered for being a success or as Smoot-Hawley 2.0 remains to be seen.
“It is going to work,” Leavitt said. “And the president has a brilliant team of advisers who have been studying these issues for decades.”
That’s a bit of an odd boast, given that the economists who have been studying tariffs and trade policy for decades had long ago decided that tariffs are a sledgehammer approach that rarely work as intended, that they are a wildly expensive way to create jobs, don’t spur economic growth, protect uncompetitive U.S. firms, and are an ineffective diplomatic tool.
Townhall, by Kevin McCullough Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/4/2025 3:33:08 PM On April 2nd, President Donald J. Trump did something no other modern president has had the spine to do. He declared “Liberation Day” and slapped sweeping tariffs on the very nations that have been gutting the American economy for decades. A 10 percent universal tariff across all imports. Targeted, punitive tariffs up to 34 percent on bad actors like China. And guess what? We should be furious—not at Trump—but at the spineless presidents before him who let things get this bad in the first place. Let’s be clear: these tariffs didn’t start a trade war. They responded to one.
Tipp Insights, by Editorial Board Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/4/2025 10:15:15 AM Markets worldwide, and in the United States, took a tumble on Thursday, the first full day of trading following President Trump's tariff announcement. However, beneath the generally negative coverage in the media, there were numerous bright spots.
GM said it had decided to hire more temporary employees at its Ft. Wayne, Indiana, plant to expand production. The Rose Lawn gathering included several auto workers who cheered Trump in anticipation of better conditions for the auto industry in the coming months.
Washington Examiner, by Byron York Original Article Posted by Moritz55 — 4/4/2025 10:08:48 AM During much of the last administration, and especially in its final year, the president of the United States suffered serious cognitive impairment. It wasn’t a secret — 81-year-old Joe Biden frequently had senior moments during public events. What was striking about the situation was that Biden’s staff, fellow Democrats, and allies in the media insisted that he was in good shape and sharp mentally when he obviously wasn’t.
The situation exploded on June 27, 2024, when Biden met rival Donald Trump for their first and, as it turned out, only debate. You know the story. Biden was so out of it that Democrats scrambled