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Authored by Jonathan Turley,

American journalist H.L. Mencken once observed, “Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them.” Despite an unending respect for Mencken, this is an occasion in which I found him mistaken, after I violated the Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not testify for Republicans.”

Worse yet, I am a recidivist sinner, after testifying as a constitutional expert in both the Clinton and Trump impeachment hearings. Like all mortal sins, the violation of the Eleventh Commandment comes with not just eternal but immediate damnation. What is most striking about this commandment is that it does not matter if your testimony is made in good faith. For example, under the Ninth Commandment, you are only guilty if you give false evidence against your neighbor. Under the Eleventh Commandment, it does not matter if your testimony is true or false. A law-fearing academic must not give any testimony for Republicans.

In my recent testimony before the House Judiciary Committee regarding President Trump’s impeachment, I opposed the position of my fellow witnesses that the definition of actual crimes is immaterial to their use as the basis for impeachment – and I specifically opposed impeachment articles based on bribery, extortion, campaign finance violations or obstruction of justice. The committee ultimately rejected those articles and adopted the only two articles I felt could be legitimately advanced: abuse of power, obstruction of Congress. Chairman Jerrold Nadler even ended the hearing by quoting my position on abuse of power. Our only disagreement was that I opposed impeachment on this record as incomplete and insufficient for submission to the Senate.

None of that matters under the Eleventh Commandment, however. It is the act of testifying for Republicans that is a sin against the legal academy. Indeed, what followed was a series of false stories attacking not my testimony but me, personally. The falsity of these stories is a warning to any academic who considers straying from the Democratic path.

Turley flipped his testimony from the Clinton impeachment. 

One of the most bizarre false stories was that I testified differently on my views of impeachment during the Clinton and Trump impeachments. Given the 21-year gap, it might not be strange for views to change. However, my views in the two cases were the same.

In both hearings, I said a president could be impeached for noncriminal conduct, including abuse of public office. Yet stories on CNN and other outlets objected that, in the Clinton case, I warned Congress, “If you decide that certain acts do not rise to impeachable offenses, you will expand the space for executive conduct.” Somehow this was portrayed as a “flip-flop” since I was arguing against impeachment in the Trump hearings on this record. It doesn’t matter that the Judiciary Committee did precisely what I suggested in dropping the four criminal theories for the articles or going forward with the two I said would be legitimate. I was not arguing against impeaching on the two articles adopted — only that a completed record was absent.

More importantly, the statement in the Clinton case referred to perjury. Democrats argued back then that a president could commit perjury on some subjects, such as sexual relations, and not face impeachment; they argued that an impeachment crime must be tied to the office, not to personal interests. That was ridiculous and would allow a president to kill a lover but not face impeachment. Indeed, the Democratic position would allow a presidential Harvey Weinstein to abuse countless interns and then pressure them to lie to an independent counsel.

Turley thought Justice Sotomayor wasn’t smart enough. 

Perhaps the most vile false story can be traced to a tweet sent out by a University of Baltimore law professor asking, “Does anybody else remember @JonathanTurley appearing on MSNBC to explain that Sonia Sotomayor didn’t have the intellect to serve on the Supreme Court?” I certainly didn’t remember that — because I never said anything like that. No matter: Soon, from MSNBC to liberal websites, the story was all the rage, with titles such as “Jonathan Turley thought Sonia Sotomayor wasn’t smart enough to be on the Supreme Court.”

When then-Judge Sotomayor was nominated, I was asked as a legal commentator to review her opinions and give my view of what that body of work suggested about her potential on the Supreme Court. The issue at the time was whether President Obama was appointing an intellectual counterweight to conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. I noted that her opinions were narrow and offered few insights into her potential as an intellectual force on the court. My comments were directed to her opinions, not her intellect. And I was not alone in this conclusion: Adam Liptak in The New York Times noted that her opinions were “narrow” and “reveal no larger vision, seldom appeal to history and consistently avoid quotable language.”

In the interview cited by the Baltimore professor, I gave my view of 30 of Sotomayor’s opinions, which did not contain anything particularly deep or profound in judging her possible impact on the court. However, I immediately stated that this is not unique and that other justices have had similarly short, unremarkable appellate opinions yet proved to be profound on the Supreme Court. I expressly compared Sotomayor to Justice John Paul Stevens, whom I have long praised; I also said that Sotomayor could prove to be a truly great justice but that her opinions did not offer any glimpse into how she might emerge in such a role.

In my analysis of Justice Sotomayor’s nomination, I returned to these points and specifically objected to those who said her narrow decisions were evidence of a lack of intellectual depth. I wrote, “This is demonstrably absurd. These opinions are little different from those of [Justices] Alito, Souter, or the limited writings of [Justice] Thomas. Clearly, Sotomayor is quite intelligent. This record is little different from records of Republican nominees who enthralled these same critics.” And I repeatedly stressed that she could prove to be a great nominee in finding voice and depth in her opinions on the court.

Some articles objected that, in an “unprompted” comment, I raised Sotomayor’s gender and race. I did so to praise the selection of the first Latina to the court, a nomination that I said was “rightfully” a point of pride. Moreover, the vast majority of news stories also referenced that historic aspect of her nomination. However, that was separate from the analysis of her opinions and the question of her intellectual legacy. What also was omitted is that, before Sotomayor’s nomination, I wrote a column on intellectual leaders on the courts and pushed for the nomination of Diane Wood of the 7th Circuit, a liberal powerhouse.

None of that matters, however, because heresy demands condemnation — whether or not it is based in reality. After all, this is all meant to get people not to seriously consider the flaws in the impeachment, including the proposed articles that ultimately were dropped. So, for any academic tempted to testify for Republicans in an impeachment proceeding, I can only caution that Romans 12:19 may say that “vengeance is mine … sayeth the Lord” – but judgment will be more immediate for anyone who strays from the chosen professorial path.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law for George Washington University and served as the last lead counsel during a Senate impeachment trial. He testified as a witness expert in the House Judiciary Committee hearing during the impeachment inquiry of President Trump.

China’s agriculture ministry said Monday that it had approved two new genetically modified crops for import from the U.S., reported Reuters. 

The announcement comes ahead of a potential Phase 1 trade deal signing between Beijing and Washington next month. The U.S. has long demanded that China imports more genetically modified crops. 

According to Reuters, the new crops approved for import were Corteva AgriScience’s DAS-81419-2 soybean and 55-1 papaya, developed by the USDA and Hawaii University.

“This further expands channels for imports of U.S. agricultural products, and helps pave the way for buying more U.S. soybeans,” said Li Qiang, chief analyst with Shanghai J.C. Intelligence Co. Ltd.

Reuters also said China renewed import licenses for ten other genetically modified crops, including BASF developed T25 corn, A5547-127 soybean, T45 canola, Oxy-235 canola, and Ms8Rf3 canola.

Bayer-owned Monsanto Far East Ltd’s MON89788 soybean, 15985 cotton, and H7-1 beet were also reapproved for import, along with DuPont subsidiary Pioneer’s 305423 soybean and 305423×GTS40-3-2 soybean.

With the signing of the Phase 1 trade deal expected next month, China’s Customs Administration reported last week that inbound agriculture shipments from the U.S. more than doubled to 2.6 million tons, the highest since March 2018, and up from about 1.1 million tons in October.

While China is unlikely to order less soybean from either Brazil or Argentina any time soon as the two nations have emerged as the two key supply chain alternatives to the U.S., the continued push to reopen the U.S. market to Chinese importers comes as China food inflation is soaring. 

 

Authored by Kurt Schlichter, op-ed via Townhall.com,

If you thought you can’t top the stupidity we experienced in 2019, brace yourself for 2020 because it’s going to be a pronoun-fueled weather cult pinko freakshow. But it won’t be all amusing antics – the left hates us and its ugly mask is coming off, revealing the even uglier fascist visage lurking beneath. If you listen to them, and if you aren’t an insufferable goo goo wimp who refuses to hear them, you will know that they intend to silence you, even imprison you, and deprive you of the ability to participate in your own governance. So, if you want to live as a free man or woman – if they have their way, they’ll destroy you for recognizing that unalterable binary – best be ready. 

Be motivated to engage in the cultural melee. 

Vote. 

And buy guns and ammo. As my favorite literary creation famously says, no one has ever regretted being too well armed.

With that in mind, here are my predictions for 2020:

10. Trump Will Be Impeached…Yawn: Poor, flailing Nancy Pelosi will eventually transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate, thereby actually impeaching the President. Now, whether Pelosi’s current antics constitute “impeachment” or not is irrelevant, except denying it due to her gamesmanship is fun because it owns the libs. No one cares, and to the limited extent we normal people do, this alleged impeachment is a badge of honor for the President. Her fringe-driven delay tactics make the Dems look dumber, and eventually she will send it to the Senate where Cocaine Mitch will kill it. Sure, some of the useless GOP caucus will make noises about how this clusterfark must be taken seriously because principles and honor and stuff. Saps. They just better take seriously that we in the base will electorally eviscerate them if they vote to convict. Maybe Mitt the Gimp will vote for it because he’s weak and stupid. Maybe Senator Iglookowski (RINO-AK) will too. But in the end, Trump will triumph and yet again humiliate his opponents.

9. The Economy Will Stay Strong, Disappointing Democrats: The party of the workin’ man is already in mourning because the Trump economy has finally brought some prosperity back to the workin’ man instead of concentrating wealth among the globalist liberal gentry that Obama served. The media will cheerlead for a recession; the Democrats will try to ignore the new Roaring 20s, but America’s success will remain a nightmare for liberals during 2020.

8. Virginia Will Declare War on Its Citizens: The liberals recently elected as moderates in the Old Dominion will reveal their true colors as they attempt to crush dissent wherever voters were stupid enough to elect them. The Virginia left will not back down – it will attempt to criminalize vast numbers of citizens and bend them to its will using violence and legal terrorism if need be. This will provoke a counterreaction that will make it clear to moderates that electing liberals means voting for conflict, not just center-left business as usual like with old school Democrats. Look for it to get ugly. They think they can break our will, and they will learn they can’t. This will energize conservatives across the country.

7. Replacing Justice Ginsburg: She’s had a good run but the opponent conservatives tend to most respect for being tough is playing a losing game against statistics. It is not to wish ill upon her to say that time is not on her side; in 2020, it is very, very likely Donald Trump will be replacing her. Count on the Murder Turtle not to buy into an interpretation of the Garland Rule that ties his hands – it’s confirmation time. The Democrats will go even nuttier than usual, but too bad. Just get ready for future Justice Amy Coney Barrett to have to explain that, yes, she likes beer, and no, she didn’t run a rape gang in elementary school.

6. Trans Fascism Backlash: Normal people are getting tired of being told they have to lie and say there are 631 sexes, and they are tired of militant jerks wanting boys hanging out in their girls’ locker room, and they are getting sick of boys winning girls’ sports championships. J.K. Rowling, who is otherwise a leftist doofus, recently survived social media cancelation for telling the truth that sex is real. The rest of us will be roused to action – people were trying to be polite, but now it’s all too stupid and obnoxious to tolerate. There is a big difference between being kind and not adding to the pain of people with real issues, and with being forced by drag bullies and their allies to publicly affirm what everyone knows is false. Look for more and more people, prominent and not prominent, to be told that they must agree that men can get pregnant and that women can have penises, and to answer, “No.”

5. Pardon This: We will see the President pardon the victims of Deep State vendettas designed to overturn the election of 2016. General Mike Flynn, Roger Stone, and Paul Manafort will all be cleared, probably right after the election. Which is good, because we will need the cells for…

4. Durham’s Indictments: The investigation into the soft coup is going to turn up wrongdoing that the entrenched leftist bureaucracy can’t shove under the rug anymore. John Durham telegraphed his righteous retribution when he publicly rejected IG Horowitz’s pathetic shrug over the Deep State’s shenanigans. We’re going to see some folks finally held to account. Not all of them – not Felonia Milhous von Pantsuit, not that Looming Doofus Comey, but others. It’s an important first step in defeating the cancer on our government that is having these Democrat partisans in positions of power in the bureaucracy.

3. Foreign Policy Success: With the National Security Council under the properly low-key and sober guidance of Robert O’Brien (I know him – great guy and perfect for this job), America will continue to rebuild its strength, wind down open-ended military commitments, force allies to do their part, and avoid unnecessary conflicts. Iran will continue to destabilize, but we will not go to war – we will neuter the mullahs economically and let the Persian people deal with their oppressors. China has some strengths but many weaknesses – we will exploit those and build a trade relationship based on reciprocity instead of American submission. NATO countries will reluctantly fork over their dues, and our relationship with the UK will become even more special now that it is free of the EU’s yoke. Foreigners finally understand – America will use every element of its power to defend American interests, so behave. Also, we will get the Space Force going (long overdue) and move toward a 355-ship Navy (very long overdue). Finally, look for a promotion for America’s most effective diplomat (and future GOP presidential contender) Richard Grenell.

2. Democrats Will Lose the House: They took the House back promising to be pragmatic do-gooders who would work across party lines to do the people’s business blah blah blah blah blah. It was all garbage. The ones that weren’t actively defiling hotel room furniture via naked hair brushing grossness with underlings were obediently obeying Pelosi’s commands. “Impeach? Yes, ma’am, right away, ma’am.” And what were they doing that was useful to their voters? Nothing – America’s biggest problem is not that Democrats have too little control.

1. Trump Will Get Reelected: There are a number of reasons, many recited above. But the most important is that God looks out for the United States. Oh, and the Dems will nominate Biden, who will choose Sitting Bolshevik as his VP (He’s gotta choose a girl and Willie Brown’s Ex is out for dissing him and he can’t choose Amy Tantrum Gal Klobuchar because he needs to nail down the Dem’s commie wing). A fake Indian and a fake competent leader – great combo. Once nominated, Gropey J will continue to commit gaffes, only his slobbering media buddies won’t be able to keep hiding them. Plus, there’s the Lil’ Crackpipe factor. Hoover Biden, the nominee’s Snortunate Son, will have another crack issue, or another paternity suit, or maybe both – which the garbage media will tell us is none of our business and is not important. But it is. In the end, Trump will improve on his 2016 Electoral College numbers and win the popular vote too, at which point the liberals will turn against the entire concept of voting.

*  *  *

I also predict that my newest novel Collapse will continue to be an Amazon bestseller, and that there will be another action-packed, hilarious novel coming next year once I finish my traditional non-fiction book for Regnery that is also due out in 2020. Go ahead and use that gift card you got at Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa to get the other entries in the series, People’s Republic, Indian Country and Wildfire. Remember, every time you read one of my books, the Never Trump weenies who called them “appalling” sob and rend their sissy bow ties.

Fox News dominated the basic cable news industry in 2019, according to a new report, which specifies the network has hit record high viewership. 

Nielsen Media Research said Fox News averaged 2.5 million viewers during primetime in 2019, far outpacing any other news network. The network’s viewership hit a 23-year high this year, blowing out its competitors, CNN and MSNBC, by a long shot. 

Fox News even beat out ESPN with its 1.78 million viewers during primetime. It seems the American people under a Trump administration are more concerned about politics and the economy than sports. MSNBC trailed ESPN for the third spot at 1.75 viewers during primetime. This is the fourth consecutive year Fox News has blown out its competitors. 

Nielsen said CNN came in 22nd place, recorded just 972,000 viewers during primetime. 

The gap in viewership between Fox News and CNN on a nightly basis is nearly 1.5 million viewers daily during primetime.

Fox News’ “Hannity” was the most popular news show with 3.3 million viewers during primetime. The second was “Tucker Carlson Tonight” with 3.1 million, and MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” was third with 2.78 million. 

To sum up, CNN is suffering a credibility crisis as viewership is in a mass exodus, fleeing the fake news network to more conservative networks, such as Fox News. There appears to be no plan of action by CNN or liberal media to fix the hemorrhaging of viewership, indicating the trend will persist through 2020. 

 

Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog,

I have to wonder who Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is actually loyal to. Because, the U.S. strike of Kata’ib Hizbullah forces near the Al Qaim border crossing with Syria in Iraq is a dangerous escalation there.

And it’s completely at odds with Trump’s goals of wanting us out of the Middle East. The Al Qaim border crossing is a particular red line for Israel and their allies in the U.S. State and Defense Departments.

It represents the normalization of commerce between Syria, Iraq and Iran over time. This is the so-called Shia Crescent which is the stuff of nightmares for Benjamin Netanyahu.

And the U.S. has been hopping mad for months since now caretaker Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdel Mahdi opened the border because it undermines U.S. presence in Syria.

The entire point of U.S. occupation of the Al-Tanf border crossing into Jordan and the oil fields in Deir Ezzor province is about starving the Syrian government of any reliable energy and revenue.

When Al Qaim/Al Bukamai was opened it was only a matter of time before a major skirmish would occur over it. Israel staged a series of air attacks previously using U.S. assets and air bases to launch them back in September.

Now, we have the convenient excuse for attacking these forces which are part of the Popular Mobiliztion Units, PMU, which Pompeo despises by ‘retaliating’ for a rocket attack on the K1 base near Kirkuk where one U.S. mercenary was killed and a handful of others injured.

The response from the U.S. Air Force was completely out of line with the initial attack and occurred without any attempt by Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to justify it.

They just invoked the phrase, “Iran-backed forces” and then bombed troops over 200 miles away where they wanted to strike anyway.

And what’s important is what both Elijah Magnier and Moon of Alabama pointed out immediately, the U.S. struck member of Shia militias who were made official part of the Iraqi defense forces.

In other words the U.S. just attacked and killed dozens of Iraqi military personnel.

32 killed and 45 wounded the count of #US violent aggression on #Iraq security forces brigades 45 and 46 last night on a military position established to counter-attack and raid #ISIS remnant at al-Qaem, the borders between Iraq and Syria.https://t.co/pmBZ3fJu9e

— Elijah J. Magnier (@ejmalrai) December 30, 2019

And the U.S. can get away with this because the Iraqi government is in a total state of flux, thanks to a President, Barham Salih, refusing to honor the constitution, obstructing the selection of a new Prime Minister.

His actions remind me of Italy’s Sergio Mattarella who inserts himself into the process of government formation there to suit his EU partners-in-crime.

In Iraq the U.S. has been officially silent on the government turmoil there but the circumstances are pretty clear that the chaos works as a cover for what was an egregious violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

Remember, the U.S. forces there are at the invitation of the Iraqi government and with Salih keeping the Shia political forces from uniting to choose a Prime Minister, the likelihood of that invitation being rescinded now is remote.

Color me not shocked that this attack on PMU forces occurred. Pompeo has been itching for an excuse to attack them for months. He tried his version of diplomacy with Prime Minister Mahdi to rescind their official status and was unsuccessful.

Mahdi was livid after Israel’s air attack and made noises about rescinding the U.S. invitation. No shock then that protests against his government spun up quickly after that.

So at some point this attack was going to happen. Netanyahu in serious political trouble facing a third election in a year, unable to form a government.

Pompeo coming to his rescue to keep the dream of warring with Iran should be obvious to all.

The question is whether President Trump is engaged with this policy at all or did Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper go off on their own, pull this trigger and then inform Trump and get him to accept this post hoc?

Everywhere Pompeo goes one week winds up in flames the next anymore. When he visits a trouble spot which Israel and the neoconservatives he represents want destabilized, a miracle occurs the next week.

Before this it was Lebanon and Iraq. This week it’s Ukraine. There is the threat of peace breaking out there with Russia and Ukraine agreeing to terms on both a gas and oil transit contract into Europe which Pompeo is dead set against.

Will we see some attack on Ukrainian forces which break the peace and can be blamed on Russia?

Trump has to know that escalation from here ends with U.S. forces coming home in body bags as PMU forces themselves, go off the reservation during this power vacuum in Baghdad and attack U.S. troops directly.

But I think this is exactly what Bibi and Pompeo want. This attack was a clear provocation to escalate and give Israel and the neocons all the ammunition they need to force Trump into the wider conflict with Iran they’ve been angry about not getting for six months now.

They failed with the Global Hawk incident back in June. That operation got John Bolton fired as National Security Director. Now we have a clearly disproportionate strike designed to inflame passions of Iran-backed Shia forces.

And it looks like it worked.

The entirety of Iraq’s leadership seems to be of the same mind, and even rejected the US plan to strike when they were tipped off immediately before it happened, per NBC:

In a statement, [former PM] Abdul-Mahdi said Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had called him about a half-hour before the U.S. strikes Sunday to tell him of U.S. intentions to hit the bases of the militia suspected of being behind Friday’s rocket attack. Abdul-Mahdi said he asked Esper to call off the U.S. plan.

One byproduct of the major US strikes on Sunday is sure to be that more and more of the Iraqi population will view the Americans, and not the Iranians, as the foreign occupiers.

This dramatic escalation by Washington is only likely to push more popular support toward the Shia PMF, and strengthen the movement in parliament to have US forces legally expelled, especially with the demise of the ISIS threat. 

Any strike by the PMU here on U.S. forces will be music to Pompeo’s and Netanyhahu’s ears. And it will put Trump in a real bind with his base during an election year and an impeachment process Speaker Nancy Pelosi is purposefully dragging out to build a stronger case.

What stronger case could there be at this point if Trump were to not declare war or fire back on our troops getting attacked in Iraq or Syria? He’s derelict as Commander-in-Chief. It’s part of their stupid Ukraine narrative that Trump withheld aid weakens our national security.

I speculated in the past that Trump was getting ready to fire Pompeo.

As Secretary of State Pompeo has been nothing short of a disaster, undermining President Trump’s strong instincts to get the U.S. out of the Middle East and solve the myriad of open geopolitical wounds around the world.

Unlike his former-partner-in-neoconservatism, John Bolton, Pompeo is more adept at playing at being loyal to Trump while always seeming to move U.S. diplomacy in a more belligerent direction in the wake of any of Trump’s ‘impulses’ to act on his conscience and/or instincts.

It doesn’t matter if we’re talking Iran (Pompeo’s demands of Iran are off-the-charts insane), Lebanon (outright blackmail of the Lebanese government) or North Korea (making demands in negotiations which overstep Trump’s promises to Kim Jong-un) Pompeo is always there doing his thinly-veiled Israeli loyalty dance with the subtlety of a freight-train but somehow always framing it as making it Trump’s policy.

This move by Pompeo looks like a classic pre-emptive move to bind Trump down force him into a war which will be unpopular back home. The only one who wins with this attack is Israel.

U.S. troops are now less safe, effective forces fighting ISIS have been neutered and the Iraqi government is in shambles. Good job Mike.

Mike wants his golden parachute back to the Senate where he can continue doing god’s work for the Israelis, one more voice in a U.S. Senate seemingly without a limit on its thirst for power and the blood of the world.

This won’t end well and Trump better get his Flying Monkeys under control quick or he won’t be President much longer. Because when the body bags start, he’ll be the one who gets blamed.

*  *  *

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Following a big, surprise jump in November, China’s official PMIs were expected to fall back a little in December (but remain – handily – above 50 and the ‘expansion/contraction’ divide), helped by an improvement in industrial production and hopes after the ‘phase one’ trade deal was (allegedly) completed.

A mixed bag though with manufacturing PMI flat at 50.2 (better than the expected 50.1) and non-manufacturing PMI lower at 53.5 (from 54.4) and below expectations of 54.2.

Source: Bloomberg

New manufacturing orders picked up (the last time the reading was above 50 was May 2018), but the improvement in manufacturing was concentrated in large- and medium-sized enterprises with small enterprises plunging deeper into contraction (at 47.2).

New non-manufacturing orders slowed as prices (selling and buying fell), pushing employment further into contraction (48.3).

The slide in Services dragged the composite PMI for China overall lower (but still well above the rest of the major world economies)…

Source: Bloomberg

We wonder how long this re-excitement of hope about Chinese economic growth will last given the massive amount of stimulus has produced a very meager credit impulse…

Source: Bloomberg

“The potential de-escalation of China-U.S. trade tension, improved global manufacturing demand, inventory restocking driven by lessening demand headwinds, and accelerated infrastructure investment growth in China may continue to support a moderate cyclical recovery,” China International Capital Corp. economist Eva Yiwrote in a note.

“Gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter may pick up on a sequential basis compared with the third quarter.”

The government is also reportedly rolling out a range of policies to support the economy in 2020.

Authored by James Fite via LibertyNation.com,

The Trump Derangement Syndrome fevers ran high last week, as the media chattered on about their new favorite boogeyman. He’s a madman. He’s a gangster. He’s the most dangerous man on the planet. He’s Trump the Terrible – and we must get rid of him at any cost lest he win another term in the White House.

Donald The Delusional

Donald Trump is clearly insane – as in, 25th Amendment, let’s get him out of office insane. Or that’s the professional opinion of the completely ethical and uninterested in politics Dr. Bandy X. Lee. Back in January of 2018, Dr. Lee generously examined President Trump – without actually meeting with him – and declared him dangerously nuts. There is one problem with her diagnosis, however. As Liberty Nation’s Mark Angelides explained at the time:

“The American Psychiatric Association (APA) actually bans psychiatrists from making a diagnosis without a direct examination. Not only is this rule in place because the APA believes without a face to face examination, all information is worthless, but they also see it as highly unethical.”

And as for not being politically motivated, at the time of her so-called diagnosis, Dr. Lee was promoting a book titled – of all things – The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.

Thankfully, her plan to have the president declared unfit and removed from office based on her clearly biased opinion failed and she faded out of the public eye. But just as the Herpes virus lurks beneath the surface only to pop up from time to time with surprise outbreaks, Dr. Lee has not and will not leave us be. She erupted back into the spotlight in June of 2019, leading a group of other anti-Trump mental health professionals at Capitol Hill as they tried to spread awareness of the Delusional Don.

Dr. Bandy Lee

It seems as true now as it was back in June when LN wrote, “if you thought you had heard the last of Dr. Bandy X. Lee, you’re as crazy as anyone who thinks her plan could actually work. That’s right, she’s back.” And back she is. This time, the good doctor is calling on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to demand Trump receive an evaluation.

Leave it to Salon to dig up the doctor for her opinion on Trump’s mental health. Their title says it all: “Pelosi ‘has the right’ to submit Trump to an ‘involuntary evaluation’: Yale psychiatrist Bandy Lee.” Never mind impeachment – Speaker Pelosi, it seems, is falling behind in her duty to protect the nation from this dangerous madman.

“As a coworker, she has the right to have him submit to an involuntary evaluation, but she has not,” Lee told Salon. “Anyone can call 911 to report someone who seems dangerous, and family members are the most typical ones to do so. But so can coworkers, and even passersby on the street. The law dictates who can determine right to treatment, or civil commitment, and in all 50 U.S. states this includes a psychiatrist.”

Dr. Lee goes on to say that a mental health hold seems inevitable, but her opinion here is once again suspect. “I am beginning to believe that a mental health hold, which we have tried to avoid, will become inevitable,” Lee said. Avoid? She has actively campaigned to have him declared unfit to lead and removed from office! It makes you wonder which of the two, Donald Trump or Bandy Lee, has a mental health issue. She’s bound to fail and fade away as she always does, but when will she pop back up and what will her scheme be then? All we can really say with any certainty is that she will be back, eventually.

Trump The Thug

“Donald Trump will not be bound by any rule, even after he has been caught.” So reads the conclusion of a Saturday article in The Atlantic, titled “A Gangster in the White House.” So what has Teflon Don – admittedly, a rather gangster sounding nickname – done this time? He retweeted a follower’s post revealing the name of the person believed to be the whistleblower behind the Ukraine call reveal.

Tweeter in Chief Donald Trump

That’s right – the president shared a tweet revealing a name that has been circulating in the media for weeks. By late October, a bevy of articles offering “everything you need to know about Eric Ciaramella the whistleblower” had flooded the media. But Trump’s a gangster because he retweeted a story using the name.

“Trump is organizing from the White House a conspiracy to revenge himself on the person who first alerted the country that Trump was extorting Ukraine to help his reelection,” the author wrote before declaring the act “more lawbreaking to punish the revelation of past lawbreaking.”

But there are a few problems with this argument even if we pretend Trump’s call was criminal. First, there is some debate as to who is forbidden from outing a whistleblower. Even if Trump isn’t allowed to reveal the name, his retweeting of a news story two months after the man was first exposed by the media as the most likely candidate is hardly leaking top-secret information.

And then there’s the question of the whistleblower’s protected status. Of course, the government that has had the whistle blown on it never wants to admit it – just ask Edward Snowden, who would still face prosecution for leaking should he return to the U.S.

This so-called whistleblower, on the other hand, certainly seems to have some powerful friends protecting him. Did he discover some wrongdoing and blow the whistle, or was he sent to Adam Schiff by a deep state that wants Trump gone? He wouldn’t have a chance if it weren’t for a last-minute rule change removing the requirement that a whistleblower’s complaint be based on first-hand knowledge. LN’s Tim Donner hit the nail on the head when he said, “Common sense can lead you to only one conclusion when rules that would have disallowed the explosive complaint were changed just in time to allow it.”

Democrats In Denial

Despite trying to brand President Trump as a mafia-style criminal, a madman, and the most dangerous world leader today, the left has failed to erode his support. But still, they hurl their attacks. Surely, if they just keep fighting on, they can do enough damage to cost him the 2020 election. The left, of course, is simply in denial. Filmmaker and rabid anti-Trumper Michael Moore declared that if the next presidential election were held right now, Trump would win re-election – and he was probably right. But even he suffers from the delusion that Trump is nigh-universally hated. He explained that 70% of the 2020 electorate will be women and racial minorities, all of whom are on the side of the Democrats. Never mind the large number of conservative women who voted for Trump in 2016, and never mind the many blacks and Hispanics who have walked away from the Democratic Party since the last election, who now enjoy the lowest unemployment rates in the nation’s history. To the Democrats in denial, they don’t exist.

Tesla stock fell as much as 5% in trading on Monday, suffering its biggest drop in nearly a month after Cowen released a note suggesting that the company could miss its delivery target for the year. 

The note suggested that Tesla could deliver 356,000 vehicles for the year, which is slightly below the company’s target of 360,000 to 400,000, according to Bloomberg. 

Cowen’s note said: “Excluding the Netherlands and China, we expect Model 3 deliveries to be down compared to the prior quarter and year-ago period.”

Analyst Jeffrey Osborne’s estimate “highlights the demand saturation we are seeing across most mature markets as we shift from pent-up demand to steady flow demand.”

Cowen also raised its fourth quarter delivery estimate to 101,000 from 95,000 to reflect better expectations for the Netherlands and China. Osborne sees the company missing expectations for Model S/X and posting in-line numbers for Model 3. 

At the same time, Wedbush’s Dan Ives released a note that predicted “Tesla will find success in China with Giga 3 and potentially hit the key 100,000 delivery number quicker than the U.S./Europe trajectory and be a demand tailwind.”

But the market seemed to agree with Cowen on Monday at least, as Tesla stock was clipped 3.7% on the day, closing at $414.60. 

Starting to catch down to bonds’ reality?

Osborne believes there are many issues facing the company, including  “pricing and mix issues that we believe will affect margins and profitability in the fourth quarter”. He’s also skeptical about long-term demand in China, where we have noted an electric vehicle supply glut is likely in the midst of taking place. 

Cowen notes that the best selling EV in China this year “has sold less than 2,000 vehicles per week and the top 5 models (all local brands) combined for less than 6,000 vehicles per week.” These models cost about 25% to 75% less than what the China made Model 3 will cost. 

“While Tesla has built a very dedicated fan base that has been willing to excuse poor build quality, customer service, and service infrastructure, we continue to be skeptical around broader adoption,” Osborne concluded, slapping a price target of $210 on the stock.

Will Osborne be the trend setter for analysts now that Tesla stock has hit the stratosphere, or will the company continue to elude reality? As the year wraps up, it won’t be long before we know whether or not their prognostication holds water. Tick tock, Elon. 

Authored by Laurence Vance via The Future of Freedom Foundation,

The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 required a health warning to be placed on packs of cigarettes sold in the United States. The original warning, which appeared on cigarette packs from January 1, 1966, through October 31, 1970, was

Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous To Your Health

There are more dangerous things that Americans should be on the lookout for.

Just before Christmas, Donald Trump signed two bills into law to fund all the departments and agencies of the federal government and avert a government shutdown. According to the White House, the bills are:

H.R. 1158, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020,” which provides full-year funding through September 30, 2020, for projects and activities of certain agencies of the Federal Government; and

H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020,” which provides full-year funding through September 30, 2020, for projects and activities of the remaining agencies of the Federal Government.

The bills do some other things as well.

They expand paid family leave. Said President Trump, “I am proud to report after that, after decades of empty promises and inaction, the legislation I have signed into law provides 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees. This ensures parents are not forced to choose between their jobs and spending precious time with their children.”

They give U.S. military personnel and most federal workers a 3.1 percent pay raise. Said President Trump, to federal workers, “This pay raise reflects the excellent work of our federal workforce.” And to service members, “Your selfless service, noble sacrifice, and unfailing allegiance to duty and country is what keeps America safe, strong, proud, and free.”

They repeal three taxes in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare): the so-called “Cadillac tax” on generous employer health plans, taxes on health insurance companies, and taxes on medical-device makers.

They reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

And they raise the federal age for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old. Specifically, in the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020,” under Division N, “Health and Human Services Extenders,” in Title I, “Health and Human Service Extenders,” Subtitle F, “Miscellaneous Provisions,” Sec. 603, “Minimum age of sale of tobacco products,” it states,

    (a) In General. — Section 906(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.     387f(d)) is amended —

(1) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by striking “18 years’” and inserting “21 years”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(5) Minimum age of sale. — It shall be unlawful for any retailer to sell a tobacco             product to any person younger than 21 years of age.”

This is something that has been in the works all year.

Back in May, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a bill, the “Tobacco-Free Youth Act” (S.1541), to raise the federal minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21. “We’re in the middle of a national health epidemic,” said McConnell in a speech on the Senate floor. Kaine said in a statement, “Today, we are coming together to side with young people’s health. With this bipartisan legislation, Senator McConnell and I are working to address one of the most significant public-health issues facing our nation today.” American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown said she supports the bill, saying in a statement, “We commend Majority Leader McConnell and Senator Kaine for prioritizing the health of teens and young adults with a bill to raise the national sales age for tobacco products to 21. We urge strong bipartisan support for this bill as written, and we call on lawmakers to reject any effort to add language that would weaken its impact or benefit tobacco companies.”

At the same time, but in the House, Rep. Donna E. Shalala (D-Fla.), sometime secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under Bill Clinton, and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), current Energy and Commerce Chairman, introduced a similar bill, the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019 (H.R.2339). “We’re trying to protect children,” said Shalala in an interview with CQ Magazine.

With the passage of the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020,” those bills are now irrelevant.

Anyone with half a brain in the United States knows that smoking cigarettes is dangerous, destructive, and deadly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

• Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

• Smoking causes more deaths each year than the following causes combined: HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, firearm-related incidents.

• More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking as have died in all the wars fought by the United States.

• Cigarette smoking increases the risk for death from all causes in men and women.

But none of that means that the federal government should raise the federal age for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21.

Consider the following:

First of all, the Constitution. Nowhere does the Constitution authorize the federal government to set a minimum age for anyone to purchase tobacco products. And not only that, neither does the Constitution authorize the federal government to have anything to do with smoking tobacco or anything else. Tobacco was a plentiful commodity at the time the Constitution was written. If the Framers wanted to mention tobacco in the Constitution, they certainly could have done so.

Second, unnecessary legislation. Sixteen states, the District of Columbia, and more than 500 localities have already raised their minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21. These states are: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia. The minimum age increases to 21 next year in Pennsylvania and Washington, and in Utah in 2021. Some other states have a legal age between 18 and 21. The new federal tobacco legislation is an assault on federalism and the Tenth Amendment.

Third, the proper role of government. Is it the proper role of government to keep the peace and punish those who violate the personal or property rights of others, or is it the proper role of government to be a nanny state that micromanages the behavior of its citizens? The federal government not only shouldn’t have a minimum age of 21 to purchase tobacco products, it shouldn’t even have a minimum age of 18.

Fourth, consistency. There are many dangerous activities that Americans engage in every day. And sometimes they lead to serious injury or death. Here are ten of them:

• Skydiving

• Bungee jumping

• Operating a chainsaw

• Climbing a ladder

• Riding a motorcycle

• Working as a roofer, fisherman, logger, or miner

• Taking prescription drugs

• Driving a car

• Taking a bath

• Crossing the street

If the government is going to have a minimum age for tobacco purchases to “protect children,” then why not a minimum age to engage in those other dangerous activities to protect even more children? And why not a maximum age to protect the elderly?

Fifth, second-class citizens. At the age of 18, Americans have the legal right to marry, enter into contracts, adopt children, vote in elections, and join the military and possibly die for their country. Yet, with this new tobacco legislation, the federal government is instituting a second class of citizens who can do all of those things but not buy a pack of cigarettes.

And sixth, the nature of government. Government has always been the greatest violator of personal freedom and property rights. As former Foundation for Economic Education president Richard Ebeling put it, “There has been no greater threat to life, liberty, and property throughout the ages than government. Even the most violent and brutal private individuals have been able to inflict only a mere fraction of the harm and destruction that have been caused by the use of power by political authorities.”

Regardless of how dangerous, destructive, or deadly the use of tobacco might be, the government hazard to the individual liberty and personal freedom of Americans is infinitely more dangerous, destructive, and deadly.

During a Monday interview with BBC radio’s “Today” program, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said that she wouldn’t have met with President Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, even if she had the opportunity.

She wouldn’t meet with him, Thunberg said, because she doubts that he would take her seriously: if Trump won’t acknowledge the work of the world’s leading climate scientists, then what hope would Thunberg have?

“Honestly, I don’t think I would have said anything [to Donald Trump] because obviously he’s not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?” Thunberg said. “So I probably wouldn’t have said anything, I wouldn’t have wasted my time”.

Back in September, a video of Thunberg giving Trump the “death stare” – as left-leaning outlets like the Guardian, Buzzfeed and Huffington Post described it – during her visit to the UN General Assembly went viral, earning the 16-year-old climate activist more plaudits from her peers and supporters.

Donald Trump earned the enmity of climate activists when he decided to pull the US out of the 2015 Paris Climate Accord back in 2017. So far, Trump has directed his administration to relax or rescind dozens of Obama-era environmental rules. And if he wins another term (an outcome that is looking more likely by the day), it’s almost guaranteed that he will continue to gut the EPA while relaxing restrictions on the American energy industry – coal in particular.

Since Thunberg’s rise to fame earlier this year, Trump has repeatedly criticized the teenager, once joking that she should “work on her anger management problem.”

And he’s not the only world leader to criticize young Greta. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro once called her “a brat” and complained that she receives too much attention from the media.

Australian Prime Minister Morrison  told Thunberg that he was “not here to impress people overseas” after she accused his administration of not doing enough to protect the environment.

During Monday’s interview, Thunberg accused Bolsonaro, Morrison and her other critics of being “terrified of young people” and their insistence that their countries do more to protect the environment.

“Those attacks are just funny because they obviously don’t mean anything,” Thunberg said during the interview. “I guess of course it means something – they are terrified of young people bringing change which they don’t want – but that is just proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat”.

Her father, who also chimed in during the interview, praised his daughter for handling the criticism “incredibly well” consider his daughter’s autism.

Thunberg rejoined the activists camping outside Sweden’s Parliament in December after four months of traveling overseas, starting with her trip to New York for the UN General Assembly back in September.

“I hope I won’t have to sit outside the Swedish parliament for long. I hope I don’t have to be a climate activist any more,” she said on Monday, adding she was looking forward to returning to school in August.

“I just want to be just as everyone else. I want to educate myself and be just like a normal teenager.”

Unfortunately for Thunberg, the young activist will likely find that there’s no going back. But fortunately, she has a good sense of humor, as Reuters pointed out. 

“Quite frankly, I don’t know how she does it, but she laughs most of the time. She finds it hilarious,” said Thunberg’s father,  Svante Thunberg, who also participated in the interview. 

Don’t take criticism from strangers on the Internet so seriously: now that’s a lesson that could benefit thousands, if not millions, of Americans.