R.I.P. John Dingell

The county lost a loyal public service this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with him family Although I didn’t always agree with him politics, I always enjoys our conversations, needling and his insights. He lived life to his fullest and left a lasting legacy.

A Call for Bipartisanship and Compromise: President Trump laid it out. He boldly presented his vision which was inspirational and practical. He call on the Democrats to work with him, not just “resist”. He challenged to work together to take advantage of the opportunities ahead.

Will the Democrats take up the challenge or just continue to play politics as usual and resist. The Presidents closing remarks were awesome. He hit every patriotic, American, hopeful and aspirational chord inviting everyone to participate in the American dream…legally!

Now we watch the looney left and Democrats respond???

Super Bowl Ad: The best ad…maybe ever. At a time when so many politically correct wimps back away from anything patriotic, it’s nice to find some proud to be American!

Visit video

CNN is Disgusting: By now most of America has witnessed the unfathomable political bias of CNN. The country witnessed an outpouring of outrage as Virginia’s Democratic Governor Ralph Northam supported abortion right up until birth with callous disregard for the sanctity of life and then attempted to shrug off his blatant racism of his pictured in his medical school (not high school) yearbook as either colored as a black man or the KKK.

Embarrassing and outrageous as these depictions are of any person, let alone the Governor of a state, the leading purveyor of fake news CNN ran the story but labelled Democratic Governor Ralph Northam as a Republican…for all the ignorant, biased and clueless folks who still watch CNN to buy into their traditional hypocritical narrative that Republicans are racists.

The mainstream media is so much more interested in a teenager with a MAGA hat than a Democrat depicting racism, be it the Clintons (lest we forget) or Northam. And don’t hold your breath for the Reverend Al or Jesse to organize a raging mob to converge on Richmond anytime soon.

CNN is disgusting and further diminished the credibility of the mainstream media.

Liberal, Democratic, Progressive hypocrisy…period.

Billionaire Alert: There are about 550 U.S. billionaires who together are worth $2.5 Trillion. If we confiscated 100{fb8df23bcbe63834ab470b15c329878706f1e0585fb094e72a20fd012a2164a1} of their wealth for the good of the masses, we would raise enough revenues to run the federal government for less than 8 months. Let’s not ignore the devastating impact that would have on job creation, industry, society and private charity.

Perhaps our problem isn’t how much billionaires have but how much politicians spend?!?

Just some fun facts for Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Voting & Photo ID: We should push for states to pass laws and/or run initiative campaigns to require that ONLY U.S. citizens can register to vote for any elections and require Photo I.D. for voting nationwide!

This is a state issue that affects our country as a whole. An easy fix to most of the voter fraud taking place across the country.

Thank You Governor Rick Snyder: I just wanted to personally say thanks to outgoing Michigan’s Governor Rick Snyder for his service. Although I didn’t always agree with his politics and wished he had been more political/partisan, this self-described “nerd” entered public service for all the right reasons. A self-made, successful businessman, Governor Snyder worked tirelessly to serve the people of Michigan.

I’ve had the honor to observe public servants and politicians for over 35 years and few exhibit the qualities and character Rick Snyder has. Thank you for your service and I wish you and your family all the best.

-Saul Anuzis

R.I.P. Political giant John Dingell dies at 92

Michigan Democrat John Dingell, the longest-serving member ever of Congress who helped write most of the nation’s major environmental and energy laws, died Thursday, his wife said. He was 92.

The Dearborn statesman was a champion of the auto industry and was credited with increasing access to health care, among other accomplishments. Dingell helped write most of America’s major environmental and energy laws.

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With pitch for unity, Trump urges Republicans and Democrats to ‘choose greatness’

President Trump in his State of the Union address Tuesday night issued a call for unity and an end to the political divisiveness that has ensnared…

“We meet tonight at a moment of unlimited potential. As we begin a new Congress, I stand here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans,” the president said in his speech. “Millions of our fellow citizens are watching us now gathered in this great chamber hoping that we will govern not as two parties but as one nation. The agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican agenda or a Democrat agenda; it’s the agenda of the American people.”

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Trump is already winning 2020

A new Democratic Congress, a lost shutdown battle, a criminal investigation closing in on his inner circle — by all accounts, many would think that President Donald Trump is on a clear path to defeat in the next presidential election. But if you look at the massive organization his campaign is building online, it’s Trump who’s already winning 2020.

As someone who has run Democratic communications and media programs that focus on reaching and mobilizing voters online, what Trump has been able to build for his reelection campaign terrifies me. It has also made me a firm believer that unless Democrats recognize our own strategic shortcomings and tactical disadvantages, we may never win back the White House or build long-term progressive power.

We currently live in a time of political, social and technological disruption. The last time Democrats had a broad bench of candidates running for president, Twitter didn’t exist and the iPhone was one year old. Since then, the explosion of social media and mobile apps have transformed how we live our lives and how political elections are won or lost. Donald Trump’s campaign has taken advantage of these changes to build a highly strategic reelection campaign that any potential 2020 candidate should pay attention to:

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End the foot-dragging on Trump’s nominees

A president should have the team around him of his choosing to help run the government. But as President Donald Trump pointed out in his State of the Union address Tuesday, halfway through his term he has not been able to fill a vast number of key presidential appointments.

Nearly 40 percent of top Senate-confirmable positions are still vacant. As of late last month, the actual number was 271 vacancies of 704 nominations.

The empty posts include 70 of 170 in the State Department, 14 of 60 in the Defense Department, and 17 of 29 in the Justice Department.

And one-quarter of Trump’s 15-member cabinet is serving in temporary capacity, awaiting confirmation.

Obviously, having so many essential offices left empty for so long makes it much harder for the president to get things done, and contributes to the perception of an administration in chaos.

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Worker wage gains just broke 3{fb8df23bcbe63834ab470b15c329878706f1e0585fb094e72a20fd012a2164a1} for the first time in more than 10 years

• Wages and salaries for American workers rose 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the government’s Employment Cost Index.
• That’s the biggest gain since the third quarter of 2008, just as the worst of the financial crisis hit.
• Fed officials watch the index closely for signs of wage inflation pressures.

Wages and salaries for American workers rose more than 3 percent over the past year, the first time that threshold has been broken in more than 10 years, according to a Labor Department report Thursday.

The employment cost index, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases quarterly, showed a 3.1 percent gain in the wages and salaries component in the fourth quarter of 2018. That’s up from 2.9 percent in the third quarter and tied for the biggest gain since the third quarter of 2008, just as worst of the financial crisis hit.

Overall, the employment cost index, which also includes benefits costs, rose 2.9 percent for the quarter, which also tied the highest level since the third quarter of 2008.

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Trump Delivers For Workers … After Years Of Empty Obama Promises

Labor Market: The latest expectation-shattering jobs report isn’t a fluke. It’s another sign that President Trump’s economic policies are improving the lives of middle class families.

The 304,000 gain in jobs reported by the Labor Department was nearly twice the consensus estimate. And it comes after December’s expectation-busting gains.

There’s more. The jobs picture is so strong right now that it’s pulling people in who’ve been sitting on the sidelines.

Another Gem In The Jobs Report

In fact, for the first time in more than 20 years, the number of people who are out of the labor force — those without jobs and not looking — shrank by 647,000 over the past 12 months. So many people are returning to the labor force that the official unemployment rate is going up, even as the job market booms.

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When Will Politicians Admit Social Security Is on a Collision Course with Math?

In the iconic scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ben Stein plays a teacher who repeats the name “Bueller” three times during roll call in hopes of finding the truant student. Today, voters might as well be Ben Stein: “Social Security,” “Social Security,” “Social Security.”

It is not here. The topic is completely invisible in the 2018 midterm elections, lost somewhere below the trending line of more serious or immediate considerations such as the confirmation hearings of the Supreme Court nominee. As serious as that process might be, it will not determine the livelihood of millions of people. If one nominee goes, another will appear.

Social Security, on the other hand, provides a lifeline to a large segment of our senior population, so the question about its stability should draw a lot of attention. Specifically, the Social Security Administration believes that about half of those turning 71 today will outlive the system’s ability to pay its bills in full. That fact should draw the attention of seniors everywhere.

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CNN Chyron Incorrectly Labels Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam as a Republican

As CNN was reporting on Governor Ralph Northam‘s (D) apology for his yearbook photo showing him in either blackface or a KKK outfit, the chyron labeled him as a Republican.

The chyron was shortly changed to (D).

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The Biggest Threat To Press Freedom Is The Media Itself

While the outrage over the Covington high school kids in MAGA hats may have blown over online, the story is far from over. On February 1, an attorney retained by the family of Nicholas Sandmann, the 16-year-old who allegedly “smirked” at the Native American activist banging a drum in his face, released a video that succinctly explained the broader context of what happened. Suffice to say, the video is a damning indictment of how many media outlets and personalities led a social media-fueled outrage mob and wrongly rushed to smear Sandmann and his fellow students.

On Monday, Sandmann’s legal team told the Cincinnati Enquirer that more than 50 letters had been sent to various organizations and people that are likely to precede defamation and libel lawsuits. A host of elite media outlets received some of these letters, including The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, The Atlantic, TMZ, National Public Radio, The Guardian, and Conde Nast. A number of prominent reporters also received letters individually, such as Maggie Haberman, Chuck Todd, Savannah Guthrie, Erin Burnett, David Brooks, and Andrea Mitchell, among others.

Media organizations and reporters have traditionally been given extremely wide latitude by courts in the name of protecting free speech, so at first glance it may seem absurd to sue America’s biggest media organizations en masse for defamation and libel. But for those who have been paying attention, for decades now, courts have been trying to balance privacy concerns with rapidly evolving technology that allows for dissemination of information at a rate that far outpaces editorial judgment. Far from endorsing a maximalist vision of what journalists are allowed to get away with, relevant court decisions have trended toward winnowing the definition of what journalists are allowed to print.

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Covington teen Nick Sandmann is wise beyond his years

What I wouldn’t give for a majority of American adults to know what Nick Sandmann has learned.

The Left wants no compromise, no competition of thought, no civility, no possibility for introspection, no benefit of the doubt, no leniency, no moderation, no tolerance. Leftists wish no goodwill, no mercy, no meekness, no levity, no charity, no tenderness.

Their “truth” is based on false assumptions and lies that eat out their souls. They want us to suffer for disbelieving their lies. They want us to bow to their false assumptions and cry out for their forgiveness. They want us on our knees begging.

Nathan Phillips is a seasoned activist for the Left. He knew what he was doing. He used the Alinsky tactic of singling out Nick Sandmann, freezing him, making his existence out to be a personal threat, and creating a narrative to polarize the boy. It worked, and so many people, many of whom probably pride themselves among their families and friends as caring and even-handed, destroyed that boy publicly because Phillips handed them the picture of a monster instead of the innocent youth Sandmann really was.

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Republican Senators Look to End Death Tax

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and John Thune, R-S.D., reintroduced legislation this week to send the death tax to its grave.

“Death should not be a taxable event, and I am proud to join with my colleagues to ensure working men and women, including America’s farmers, ranchers, and small business owners, are able to flourish,” Cruz said in a statement.

The death tax, also known as the estate tax, is a 40 percent tax on assets left behind after death of above $5.45 million. Thune pointed out how the proposed Death Tax Repeal Act of 2019 would help safeguard the legacy of American business owners, especially in the agricultural community.

“Family-owned farms and ranches bear the brunt of this tax, which threatens families’ agricultural legacies and makes it difficult and costly to pass these businesses down to future generations,” said Thune.

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Sweden’s first new conscripts prepare to repel Russian invaders

Part of the reason Sweden’s parliament voted to bring back the draft in 2017 lies just 250 miles southeast across the Baltic sea: the heavily militarised Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, from where Russian planes make incursions into Swedish airspace, with the most recent taking place only days before the exercise.

“When the wall came down, everybody thought we had entered an era of eternal peace. Not many people think that any more,” Col. Stennabb smiles.

“We’ve seen that Russia is prepared to use military means to accomplish political objectives, not just in Crimea but in Syria. We’ve seen a more aggressive behaviour by Russia in the Baltic. And there’s the rearmament that Russia is engaged in.”

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CBS Rejects Patriotic Pro-Flag Super Bowl Ad

A clothing apparel company owned by a veteran said their patriotic, pro-flag Super Bowl television advertisement was rejected by CBS Sports, the network with exclusive rights to host the Super Bowl.

The brand, Nine Line Apparel, which describes itself as a lifestyle company aiming to “reinvigorate the sense of patriotism and national pride,” believe that their commercial was blocked due to its content. CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tyler Merritt, the company’s CEO, told the Washington Examiner that CBS claimed their executives did not believe the clothing brand could pay for the hefty price tag behind their 45-second advertisement.

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Border residents fear retaliation from cartels if they report crimes

Border residents in New Mexico say they are hesitant to report suspicious immigration activity to local and federal law enforcement because they fear the Mexican cartels moving drugs or people into the U.S. will retaliate against them.

Seven residents who live 30 to 50 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border told the Washington Examiner that picking up the phone to call for help if they have been burglarized or found someone sleeping in their barn can lead to nasty consequences.

Billy Darnell, a cattle rancher in Hidalgo County who has lived in the region more than 70 years, said he calls in every incident but has paid the price for informing Border Patrol and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department.

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Apple Gives Deep State Access To Roger Stone’s iCloud Account, After Refusing To Violate Privacy of San Bernardino Terrorists

Three years after Apple refused to give the federal government access to the devices used by the San Bernadino terrorists who killed and injured dozens in a mass shooting event, the company has given the office of the Special Counsel complete access to Trump advisor Roger Stone’s iCloud account, reports Apple Insider.

According to the Washington Post, Apple objected to giving the federal government backdoor access to the shooters iPhones, claiming it would “set a dangerous precedent.”

“From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.”

Fast forward to present, and we see that Apple no longer seems to have the same privacy concerns it once did in 2015. Without any fight, they simply turned over Roger Stone’s iCloud passwords and God knows what else, because Orange Man Bad. The fact that Apple views a political persecution less of a hill to die on than protecting the rights of terrorists who killed and maimed dozens of Americans is quite telling.

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America’s Most Libertarian State Is…?

I wrote a couple of days ago about America’s best and worst cities for pro-market policy, and I noted that there are several rankings of economic liberty for states and nations.

But what if you want to know the place with the most overall freedom? In other words, what is the most libertarian place to live based on both economic liberty and personal liberty?

If you don’t mind a bit of travel, the answer is New Zealand.

For those who prefer to stay in the United States, Will Ruger and Jason Sorens periodically crunch numbers to calculate Freedom in the 50 States.

Their previous edition had New Hampshire in first place, so let’s take a look at the newest version:

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