Time for this week’s Current Events Write-Up.
The New American: “Unmasking Antifa Act Proposed in U.S. House; Left Responds Accordingly,” by Raven Clabough
The New American is the magazine of the conservative John
Birch Society. It is interesting to see where the JBS lands on the
issues and political personalities of the day, for it often transcends
the typical right-left paradigm. Here, the author does not care for the
Antifa, but the author fears that a Republican-proposed bill against
the Antifa could, if passed, be an undesirable federal suppression of
civil liberties. The article closes by encouraging people to support
their local police. Then there is a reader’s comment that not only
supports the anti-Antifa bill, but also wants to bring back the House
Committee on Un-American Activities!
“7 Truths About Immigration,” by Robert Reich
Robert Reich has posted this sort of post before, but I am linking to
it here because it attempts to respond to anti-immigration
talking-points, while linking to articles. These are things to keep in
mind. At the same time, one cannot casually dismiss the concerns people
have that contribute to anti-illegal immigration sentiments (i.e.,
gangs, depressed wages, etc.).
Cato Institute: “A Moderate Two-Point Plan for Reducing ICE’s Power,” by Alex Nowrasteh
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think-tank. While it sides with
the right on such issues as taxes and regulations, it sides with the
left in opposing federal abuse of illegal immigrants. This article
proposes a way to enable the federal government to deport the really
serious criminals while avoiding harassment of the otherwise law-abiding
illegal immigrants. Yet, the article does not address the other
concerns that contribute to anti-illegal immigrant sentiments: depressed
wages, illegal immigrants using social services, etc.
Izgad: “The Trump Challenge for Libertarians: Are We Willing to Man Up and Admit That the Republican Strategy Was a Mistake?”
Izgad is a libertarian, but here he is critical of libertarians who
side with President Trump. I was thinking some about this a few days
ago. Libertarians overlap with the left and the right on issues. Like
the right, they support less government intervention in the economic
sphere, and, like the left, they support freedom in the social/cultural
sphere. But which do they prioritize, and why?
The Economist: “America’s electoral system gives the Republicans advantages over Democrats”
Looks like I reached my article limit by reading this article!
Essentially, it says that the current electoral system privileges
Republicans. A lot of people move to the urban areas, but there are
more sparsely-populated rural areas, which are abundantly represented.
The urban areas are liberal, whereas the rural areas are conservative.
This article mentions solutions that some have proposed or even enacted
in response to gerrymandering and the Electoral College.
Townhall: “How Trump Can Lower Drug Prices,” by Stephen Moore
Moore argues that pharmaceutical prices are high because other
countries evade the patents, produce more of the drugs, and have price
controls. The pharmaceutical companies lose money that they can use for
research and development, and they try to make up for that by
increasing the prices. Moore states: “Fortunately, the one person in
Washington who is onto this price-control scam is Donald J. Trump. He
recently pledged to fight to reverse these violations of American
intellectual property in upcoming trade negotiations.”
Reason: “There Is No Such Thing as a Free Pharma Lunch (Anymore),” by Adam Barsouk
It used to be that pharmaceutical reps would treat doctors to lunch
while educating them about their pharmaceutical products. The
government has cracked down on that, in an attempt to encourage doctors
to prescribe cheaper generics. But Barsouk believes that there are
downsides to what the government is doing here: greater ignorance about
medication. I can sympathize with the government’s goal, but I wonder
if there is a way to address Barsouk’s concern.
The Nation: “The Worst Way to Pay for Family Leave,” by Michelle Chen
Michelle Chen critiques a family leave proposal by Senator Marco
Rubio, which is supported by Ivanka Trump. According to Chen, it pays
for family leave by taking money from Social Security. The solution,
for Chen, is to have a payroll tax to pay for it. She says that some
states have adopted state-based policies, with success. So many people
in the U.S., however, cannot take a paid sick day. I am not a policy
expert, but a concern that I have is this: there are many people who pay
the payroll tax, then they get a huge tax-refund on account of say, the
Earned Income Tax Credit, or other credits. I can sympathize with
having credits, since they make the lives of low-middle income people
easier, as they already struggle to make ends meet. But can we have a
robust government family leave policy for everyone, if as many people as
possible are not contributing to the federal government?
The Nation: “In the Age of Disaster Capitalism, Is ‘Survival Socialism’ the Solution?”, by Laura Flanders
This article examines local measures in Great Britain to assist and
uplift economically-marginalized areas, with their positives and
negatives.
Barack Obama says that the left should listen to and engage those with whom they disagree, rather than shouting them down. Amen!
The talk of this week has been the Helsinki summit. There are so
many articles out there. I’ll give you a taste of what I have been
reading and hearing. Pat Buchanan and David Stockman (Reagan’s first OMB director) applaud the summit as bringing peace, much to the consternation of the warstate. Megan G. Oprea,
on the other hand, essentially says that we should watch Trump’s
actions, not his words: he has stood up to Russia in so many practical
ways. In this Federalist podcast,
Ben Domenech makes an interesting observation. Trump has asserted more
than once that, sure, Russia has done bad things, but so has the U.S.
Domenech sees no moral equivalence between the two, but he notes that
Rand Paul, who is from the school of the right that bemoans
interventionist U.S. foreign policy as evil, has been one of Trump’s
most robust defenders when it comes to the Helsinki summit. Rush Limbaugh
castigates the left for bemoaning Trump’s distrust of U.S.
intelligence, when the m.o. of the left for decades has been to denounce
U.S. intelligence! Cal Thomas chronicles Presidents’ caution about U.S. intelligence. Michael Dougherty cautions
Russia about interfering in U.S. elections by referring to the
less-than-desirable results of when the U.S. meddled (or so many think)
in a prominent Russian election. And an article in The People’s World (the heir to the American Communist Daily Worker)
criticizes the summit, both Trump and Putin as oppressors of workers,
and Republicans who oppose a proposal to safeguard American elections.
And, ending on a lighter note, Saved by the Bell actor Mario Lopez talks about his Christian faith.