Keyword: stevechapman
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Click here to read the full articleUnearthed documents from one of the leading Chinese Communist Party propaganda groups reveal the names of “mainstream” U.S. journalists taking junkets from the group in exchange for favorable coverage, The National Pulse can exclusively reveal. The trips often came just before opinion editorials and news reports excusing Chinese Communist Party crimes, or opposing trade showdowns with the nation.The National Pulse can now exclusively reveal Western journalists – including those praised by President Biden and married to potential members of his White House – who are listed as having accepted trips from the Chinese Communist...
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The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gives Republicans the chance to do the right thing. For a president up for reelection in just six weeks, the right thing to do would be to hold off. It’s widely assumed that the president will soon announce a nominee and urge quick Senate action. But if Trump and his advisers are focused on his reelection, the shrewd choice would be to do the opposite. What would he gain from this option? First, he would avoid a ferocious battle in the Senate that would most likely jeopardize several incumbent Republicans. Second,...
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American supporters of gun control are aflame with admiration for New Zealand, whose government needed only six days after a mass shooting to enact a strict new gun law. “See. It’s not that hard,” tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “This is what leadership looks like,” marveled Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. It was notable that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pushed through a ban on so-called assault weapons with so little opposition. Also notable were the claims about what it will achieve. “Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned in this country,” she said. The result...
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Democrats are gloating over the sentencing of former Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) last week. He was ordered to serve 10 years in prison for the vague charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Whenever prosecutors want to get someone who hasn’t actually committed a crime, they use those vague but scary sounding charges. He was also ordered to pay $1,014,718.51 in restitution, to be divided between him and two other co-defendants.What did Stockman actually do to warrant this? He facilitated four donations from two donors totaling $915,000 to two nonprofits he was associated with. One of the nonprofits...
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When Huey Long was running for office in Louisiana, he told crowds that as a boy on Sunday mornings, he would hitch the family horse to a buggy to take his Catholic grandparents to Mass and then ferry his Baptist grandparents to church. When a surprised friend said, "I didn't know you had any Catholic grandparents," Long replied: "Don't be a damn fool. We didn't even have a horse." Long was governor and a U.S. senator in the 1920s and '30s, an innocent age when politicians carefully rationed their lies, dispensing them for specific purposes and striving to keep them...
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Donald Trump and those around him have made a long series of mistakes stemming from his campaign's contacts with Russians and subsequent inquiries into the matter, which raise the real possibility of his impeachment. But none of those compares to his biggest blunder: choosing Mike Pence as his running mate. Pence is in a delicate position, which may be why he is seldom seen or heard from these days. On the one hand, his job as vice president obligates him to be a loyal member of the administration. On the other, he needs to maintain good relations with congressional Republicans,...
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Donald Trump has many worrisome, regrettable and even deplorable traits. But after studying him for the past two years, I have concluded he has an overlooked quality that cancels out many of his bad ones. Say what you will, the man is lazy. This is a discovery that should gladden people of all parties, philosophies, races, sexes and religions. His detractors can be glad that he will never muster the drive or discipline to actually bring many of his worst ideas to fruition. His admirers can rest easy knowing he will not work himself to death. The comic strip "Dilbert"...
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Donald Trump spent more than a year rousing crowds with a simple promise: "I'll build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall." As the campaign wore on, it got so he could ask "Who's gonna pay for the wall?" and the audience would roar, "Mexico!" It was fun while it lasted. But now, in the cold light of day, some facts are coming into focus: It may not exactly be a wall. It won't be paid for by Mexico. And it may not get built. Donald Trump spent more than...
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Steve Chapman is a writer for the Chicago Tribune. He has often written about gun legislation. He stands out at the Tribune as a voice that recognizes reality more often then most. His writing and viewpoints have been a reasonable voice crying in the wilderness of Chicago. Unfortunately, he lives in the fantasy bubble of current Progressivism. It is evident in his recent column excoriating the NRA. He buys into the leftist propaganda without introspection or examination of facts. It is an opinion column, but opinions should have a basis in reality. From chicagotribune.com: As a gun owner, recreational...
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Republicans enter the fall campaign in moods ranging from grim foreboding to howling despair. They fear that Donald Trump will not only lose but lose so big he will take hordes of other candidates down with him, costing the GOP control of the U.S. Senate and even the House. This election could be the party's worst debacle since 1964. Republicans don't seem to have prepared for an even bigger catastrophe that could occur Nov. 8: a Trump victory. In that case, they wouldn't be stuck with him for the next two months. They would be stuck with him for the...
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Donald Trump says the problem in the United States is that "we don't win anymore." Trade is his favorite example, based on our longstanding trade deficit. But in one big area, America is a big global winner, year after year. That little-known fact exposes the basic, fatal error in Trump's lament. What he overlooks is that this country is one of the most inviting places for people abroad to invest their money. Since 2001, foreign direct investment in the United States has more than doubled. Last year, foreigners bought $11 trillion worth of stocks. They also wanted other assets --...
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Toward the end of his rally here, Donald Trump took some questions from the audience, including an emotional one that revealed something good about him. He then proceeded with an answer that exposed the fundamental defect of his presidential campaign. The question came from Melissa Young, who noted that in 2005, she won the Miss Wisconsin USA pageant -- which was then a Trump property. She explained that she has an incurable, terminal illness and wanted to remind him of a note he had sent her when she was hospitalized. Handwritten in gold ink, over an autographed photo, it read,...
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When it comes to votes, the state of New York is a gold mine. In the 2012 presidential election, more than 11 million New Yorkers were registered. By itself, New York accounted for half of Barack Obama's margin of victory in the popular vote over Mitt Romney. You might think Republicans who want to win the White House this year would be trying to improve that performance by appealing to residents of the Empire State. But Ted Cruz is doing the opposite: He sneered that Donald Trump would be bad for America because he "embodies New York values." If Cruz...
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You have to feel sorry for Ted Cruz. Donald Trump has hogged so much airtime with his cynical demagoguery that the senator from Texas has had a hard time capturing the attention of Republican voters. That is surprising, because when it comes to cynical demagoguery, this is the first time Cruz has ever lost out to anyone. His patented formula is a mix of repellent ingredients: misrepresentation of facts, baseless smears, exaggerated sincerity and pretended solidarity with the average person. If Cruz tells you it's raining, you can leave your umbrella at home. Most candidates need a full-length speech or...
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If there is anything presidential candidates agree on this year, it's that our government and politics are not functioning to fulfill the desires of the American people. Donald Trump proclaims that "our system is broken." The phrase could be used by almost anyone in the race. "Government in Washington is dysfunctional," says Mike Huckabee. Bernie Sanders believes "the American political system has been totally corrupted." Joe Biden sounded like a candidate the other day when he lamented the "dysfunction in Washington." The premise is that most Americans want one thing and our leaders in Washington keep giving them something entirely...
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Debating Chris Christie is a formidable task because he's quick-witted, sharp-tongued and slightly intimidating. Those qualities helped him get the best of Rand Paul in the first Republican presidential debate. But Christie's best weapon is one that may catch up with him: He never lets the truth get in his way. Earlier this year, Paul led a successful effort to end the National Security Agency's mass collection of Americans' telephone records. During the debate, Christie was asked whether he stands by his assertion that Paul should be blamed if the United States suffers another terrorist attack. He does, of course:...
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Jeb Bush began a talk the other day by addressing the issue of his brother George, noted architect of the Iraq war, and he did not shrink from the challenge. "I can't deny the fact that I love my family," announced Jeb. So if you suspected that the Bush Thanksgivings in Kennebunkport resemble "August: Osage County" -- with lots of screaming, sobbing and clawing -- you probably feel pretty silly right now. On a more pertinent question -- whether the war was a wise idea -- the answer is not so clear. The former governor of Florida first said that,...
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By signing a religious freedom bill that provoked a hail of criticism, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence did a brilliant job of diverting attention from something deserving of commendation. That same day, he took a wise step to contain an outbreak of HIV infections in southern Scott County. Since December, more than 80 new cases have been identified in the county. That's up from five in a normal year and the worst epidemic the state has ever seen. Pence was advised by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that stopping the epidemic would require opening a needle exchange --...
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In his use of American power and influence abroad, Barack Obama's critics say he has been reluctant, gun-shy and prone to saying one thing and doing another. They're right. They're only wrong in thinking it's a bad thing. Egypt has undergone a military coup that critics complain we either failed to prevent or failed to promote. Syria's civil war is going on with the rebels losing ground and getting little help from Washington. The administration has floated a "zero option" in Afghanistan, which would mean pulling out all U.S. troops by the end of 2014. Obama is getting slammed for...
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In the New Testament story, a man has two sons. One of them demands his inheritance, runs off and squanders it all having a wild time, and ends up penniless. At that point, he slinks home in disgrace, assuming he will have to beg forgiveness. But his father is so thrilled to have him back that he kills a fatted calf and throws a party to celebrate the prodigal son's return. Not a bad deal, huh? Unless you're the other son, who worked hard for his father and avoided loose women but never got the big fiesta. He felt cheated,...
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