College Tuition Loans Based on Ability to Re-Pay: What if all of a sudden, student loans were given to those who were getting degrees that prepared you for jobs that could pay back those loans? If you want to go to college for “the experience†don’t depend on the government or others to pay your way. If you want a job, career or vocation then it’s worth getting a loan.
A bank gives you a loan to buy a house (asset), car or a business… but it would be pretty tough to get a big loan to throw a party, travel Europe’s great libraries for fun or volunteer on a campaign for fun. Let the market work.
There are loans available for vacations, fun consumer items and to throw party on your credit card, but normally limited to your ability to repay that loan by other means… not by government guarantee.
I bet someone a lot smarter than me could come up with a way to make it work.
2019 Economic Report of the President: A report from Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers on the U.S. economy. If people were voting their pocket-book, Trump wins big!
State Legislative Suggestion for Electoral Reform: I believe that states, whether by state legislative action or initiative, should adopt the “American Electoral Reform Plan†as state constitutional amendments. It’s simple, straight forward, makes sense and would get broad bipartisan support in my opinion. The plan should have 3 provisions in one initiative:
• ONLY certified U.S. citizens can vote in ANY local, state or federal elections
• Appropriate and valid state ID must be used for voting to prove citizenship (free ID’s provided for those who can’t afford it)
• Death Certificates are automatically filed with the local elections official and dead people are removed from voter registration roles at the time of filing those death certificates
These reforms would be easy to implement, relatively inexpensive and MORE importantly, the right thing to do in order to protect our democratic republican form of government. Just simple, common sense!
60 Plus Weekly Newsreel: A great, short, and easy to listen summary of the week’s news in a short video for those who just don’t want to read it all 🙂 Please enjoy and share with friends.
Proud Grandfather “Dedukasâ€: This week my son Matas and his wife Vaiva gave birth to our first grandchild, a beautiful, healthy and happy girl on March 19th named Sigita. Dedukas is one of the Lithuanian names for grandfather and Sigita is a beautiful and traditional Lithuanian name. Happiness is!!!
-Saul Anuzis
How Trump is on Track for a 2020 Landslide
President Donald Trump has a low approval rating. He is engaging in bitter Twitter wars and facing metastasizing investigations.
But if the election were held today, he’d likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses.
Credit a strong U.S. economy featuring low unemployment, rising wages and low gas prices — along with the historic advantage held by incumbent presidents.
While Trump appears to be in a much stronger position than his approval rating and conventional Beltway wisdom might suggest, he also could wind up in trouble if the economy slows markedly between now and next fall, as many analysts predict it will.
Every Time Democrats Talk, I Want To Vote For Trump Twice
It’s a damn shame I have to wait another 20 months to vote for President Trump. I wish I could do it now. Twice. Or better yet, in as many jurisdictions as I can. Preferably in every swing district and every swing state.
Yeah, yeah, I know — sadly, I can’t. It’s been a hell of a ride these past couple of years, and I sure hope it doesn’t end next November.
I am a middle-of-the-road Republican who voted for Trump with the utmost reluctance in 2016. He sure wasn’t perfect. He was no Cicero, either––though he can give a decent speech when the chips are down. He had a few extra skeletons rattling in his closet, especially compared to colorless non-entities like Jeb. So yeah, I was queasy about voting for an ex-registered-Democrat-from-New-York-and-possible-liberal-now-turned-Republican.
Was I worried? Hell, yeah! Was I depressed? You bet. But, really, what options were there? Hillary? Jill Stein? Seriously? Trump wasn’t my first choice or my second choice or my third choice, but by the time November 2016 rolled around, Trump was the only choice on the menu. So I swallowed hard, took a leap of faith, and pulled the lever for the Donald.
5 Paths to Victory: How Trump Can Beat the Democrat in 2020
It’s only March 2019, but the 2020 presidential race is already heating up. As more and more Democrats enter the race, the committee to re-elect the president is hard at work. Democrats who think Donald Trump is vulnerable are in for a rude awakening.
Here are five paths to victory for the president.
Poll: Half of Americans say Trump is Victim of a ‘Witch Hunt’ as Trust in Mueller Erodes
Amid signs that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference may be near its conclusion, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds that trust in Mueller has eroded and half of Americans agree with President Donald Trump’s contention that he has been the victim of a “witch hunt.”
Support for the House of Representatives to seriously consider impeaching the president has dropped since last October by 10 percentage points, to 28 percent.
Despite that, the survey shows a nation that remains skeptical of Trump’s honesty and deeply divided by his leadership. A 52 percent majority say they have little or no trust in the president’s denials that his 2016 campaign colluded with Moscow in the election that put him in the Oval Office.
That number does reflect an improvement from previous polls. One year ago, 57 percent had little or no trust in his denials; in December, 59 percent did.
The Trump Economy Keeps Roaring Ahead
A new poll released by CNN shows that more than 70 percent of Americans believe the economy is in “good shape,†the highest number to say so in over 18 years. That’s good news for businesses and workers who are enjoying a time of record economic growth and prosperity.
This strong confidence shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since coming into office, President Trump has been working overtime to deliver results for the average American. And thanks to his “America first†policy agenda, the U.S. economy is roaring ahead.
Too often, politicians and policy experts in the Acela corridor forget that the economy is not just some obscure entity. Jobs and unemployment numbers aren’t merely statistics; they represent real people. Wage increases aren’t just data points but real money in people’s pockets.
Mueller Report Sent to Attorney General, Signaling his Russia Investigation has Ended
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III submitted a long-awaited report to Attorney General William P. Barr on Friday, marking the end of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump.
The submission of Mueller’s report ends his closely watched inquiry — a case that has engulfed the Trump administration since its inception, leading to criminal charges against 34 people, including six former Trump associates and advisers.
A senior Justice Department official said the special counsel has not recommended any further indictments — a revelation that buoyed Trump’s supporters, even as other Trump-related investigations continue in other parts of the Justice Department. It is also unclear whether a Mueller report that does not result in additional charges could still hurt the president politically.
Russia’s Next Land Grab Won’t Be in an Ex-Soviet State. It Will Be in Europe.
Not many observers would consider the world’s coldest shipping lane a geopolitical hotspot. But that may be about to change. Last week, reports emerged that a new Kremlin policy will require all international naval ships to give Russia 45 days’ notice before entering the Northern Sea Route, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via the Arctic waters north of Siberia.
Every vessel on the route, where Russia has invested heavily in sophisticated military infrastructure, will also be required to have a Russian maritime pilot on board. Ships found in violation of these restrictions may be forcibly halted, detained, or—in unspecified “extreme†circumstances—“eliminated.â€
The Kremlin’s latest threat has gone largely unnoticed, perhaps because it’s no surprise. Russian officials justify the new naval restrictions with a familiar explanation, claiming that “the more active naval operations in the Arctic of various foreign countries†require such a response.
The U.S. Must Increase Diplomatic Pressure to Change the United Nations Scale of Assessments
Vast differences between the amounts that different United Nations member states are charged for the expenses of the U.N.—with some countries paying less than $36,000 per year, while a handful of others pay half a billion dollars or more—have undermined the incentive of many governments to fulfill their oversight role and take budgetary restraint seriously. In 2018, the U.S. proposed numerous changes to distribute the costs of the U.N. more equitably. Yet, the General Assembly adopted the scale of assessments for 2019 to 2021 without any methodological changes. This Backgrounder details the impact of the new scale and suggests steps for the U.S. to avoid a similar outcome for the next scale of assessments, which will be adopted in 2021.
Key Takeaways
• As a global body of nearly 200 member states, the cost of maintaining U.N. operations should be assessed more equitably.
• In 2019 the U.S. is shouldering more than $2.5 billion of the U.N. budget. Half of member states pay less than $1 million, and some as little as $36,000.
• Excessive reliance on one country undermines incentives for budget discipline and oversight, and encourages indifference to U.N. budget increases.
New Chairman Vows NY Conservative Party Will Be Greater Force
For more than four decades, the New York Conservative Party has had an impact on its “big sister†Republican Party that few third parties have.
So sought-after is the endorsement of the Conservatives and their “Row C†ballot line — in one of five states permitting votes to be counted for one candidate backed by multiple parties — that, with one exception, every Republican nominee for governor since 1974 has simultaneously carried the Conservative line.
“It’s the ‘Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval’ for conservative Republican nominees,†just-elected NYCP State Chairman Gerrard “Jerry” Kassar told Newsmax in a recent interview. Underscoring his point, Kassar noted that the last New York Republican to win a U.S. House seat without Conservative blessing was Sherwood D. Boehlert, who held the Utica-area seat from 1982-2008. (Boehlert moved increasingly leftward throughout his tenure in the House and last year helped Democrats unseat conservative GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney).
Previously the Conservative Chairman of Brooklyn, Kassar was resoundingly elected last month to succeed retiring Chairman Mike Long. In its 57-year life, the Conservative Party made history in 1970 with James Buckley as the last U.S. Senator not to be elected on a major party line, with the late William Carney elected in 1978 as the first registered Conservative in the House, and Serph Maltese as the first registered Conservative in the state Senate.
But rather than dwelling on past triumphs, Kassar is focused on the future.
When a New Energy Revolution makes the Russians Nervous
Upon arrival in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, the first thing you notice is the boomtown feel. Construction cranes reach high into the sky. New building is underway as far as the eye can see. The vibe is energetic, youthful, optimistic. It resembles Texas at the turn of the 20th century, albeit with iPhones, Starbucks and Uber. And instead of American wildcatters, international oil executives roam Baku. In this new Gusher Age, they know that Azerbaijan is one of the next big frontiers.
I recently accompanied my radio colleague John Batchelor on a fact-finding mission to this rapidly transitioning country to see firsthand how the energy boom is affecting the region’s geopolitics. What is striking for an American visitor — who at home is used to hearing non-stop humming about the evils of fossil fuels — is the fervent, unapologetic embrace of them.
All of the talk in Azerbaijan is about energy — oil, natural gas, pipelines, international agreements. Oil and gas account for a whopping 41 percent of the Azerbaijani GDP and 90 percent of its exports. There is no discussion of a “green new deal.†There are no Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezes on the scene, issuing alarmist warnings about climate change and demanding an end to cars and airplanes. To the contrary, after decades under the jackboot of Soviet oppression, capitalism has firmly taken root, driven largely by oil and gas and ushering in a transformative economy.
A Recession Is Coming, And Maybe a Bear Market, Too
I first suggested the U.S. economy was headed toward a recession more than a year ago, and now others are forecasting the same. I give a business downturn starting this year a two-thirds probability.
The recessionary indicators are numerous. Tighter monetary policy by the Federal Reserve that the central bank now worries it may have overdone. The near-inversion in the Treasury yield curve. The swoon in stocks at the end of last year. Weaker housing activity. Soft consumer spending. The tiny 20,000 increase in February payrolls, compared to the 223,000 monthly average gain last year. Then there are the effects of the deteriorating European economies and decelerating growth in China as well as President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with that country.
There is, of course, a small chance of a soft landing such as in the mid-1990s. At that time, the Fed ended its interest-rate hiking cycle and cut the federal funds rate with no ensuing recession. By my count, the other 12 times the central bank restricted credit in the post-World War II era, a recession resulted.
Trump Didn’t Call Neo-Nazis ‘Fine People.’ Here’s Proof.
News anchors and pundits have repeated lies about Donald Trump and race so often that some of these narratives seem true, even to Americans who embrace the fruits of the president’s policies. The most pernicious and pervasive of these lies is the “Charlottesville Hoax,†the fake-news fabrication that he described the neo-Nazis who rallied in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017 as “fine people.â€
Just last week I exposed this falsehood, yet again, when CNN contributor Keith Boykin falsely stated, “When violent people were marching with tiki torches in Charlottesville, the president said they were ‘very fine people.’†When I objected and detailed that Trump’s “fine people on both sides†observation clearly related to those on both sides of the Confederate monument debate, and specifically excluded the violent supremacists, anchor Erin Burnett interjected, “He [Trump] didn’t say it was on the monument debate at all. No, they didn’t even try to use that defense. It’s a good one, but no one’s even tried to use it, so you just used it now.â€
Russian Authorities Seal Stalin-Era NKVD Archives
Russia’s intelligence service has refused to declassify the names of members of Stalin’s notorious three-judge panels that issued death sentences without trials, Russian media reported this week.
As many as 700,000 people were executed in Stalin’s “Great Terror†of 1937-38, according to conservative estimates. The Memorial human rights NGO keeps a database of some 3 million victims of Soviet repression.
At least two Moscow courts have sided with the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) refusal to grant gulag historian Sergei Prudovsky access to files containing the names of so-called NKVD Troika judges, Kommersant reported on Thursday. The NKVD was the predecessor of the Soviet KGB.
