North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho raises his crutches as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 30, 2018.
The Trump Administration has announced additional sanctions against North Korea after the U.S. determined the regime in Pyongyang used chemical weapons to assassinate Kim Jong Nam at the Kuala Lumpur airport.
“On February 22, 2018, the United States determined under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) that the Government of North Korea used the chemical warfare agent VX to assassinate Kim Jong Nam, in the Kuala Lumpur airport,”State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement.
“These sanctions are in addition to existing U.S. comprehensive sanctions against targeting unlawful North Korean activities,” she added. “The sanctions took effect upon publication of this determination in the Federal Register on March 5, 2018.”
Kim was the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and older paternal half-brother of Kim Jong Un, the current dictator of the rogue leftwing communist regime. On 13 February 2017, Kim died after he was attacked by two women with VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.
He traveling from Macau under a pseudonym.
“The United States strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons to conduct an assassination,” Ms. Nauert added. “This public display of contempt for universal norms against chemical weapons use further demonstrates the reckless nature of North Korea and underscores that we cannot afford to tolerate a North Korean WMD program of any kind.”
Last month, the Trump Administration via U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin unveiled the toughest sanctions against the tyrannical communist regime to date. The severe sanctions target 27 entities, 28 vessels, and 1 individual for evading existing sanctions.
The White House said in late February that the “maximum pressure campaign must continue” against North Korea will continue until Pyongyang agrees to denuclearization.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, right, hold a joint press conference February 18, 2015 in Austin, Texas.
While there is no doubt that Democrats contributed greatly to the record turnout in the Texas primaries on Tuesday, their numbers fell way short of mounting serious statewide challenges against Republican candidates.
With the competitive primaries lopsided in favor of Democrats, their candidates still did not come particularly close to the numbers necessary to consider any of these races competitive or the state purple.
In the race for U.S. Senate, Beto O’Rourke earned 641,052 votes, or 61.8% of the total 1,036,942 Democratic votes. Senator Ted Cruz took 1,315,455, or 85.3% of the total 1,541,264 Republican votes.
In the gubernatorial contests, Democrats Lupe Valdez and Andrew White will advance to a runoff on May 22 to decide who will ultimately face Republican Governor Greg Abbott. The incumbent earned 1,390,220 votes, or 90.4% of the outsized Republican vote.
In other words, even if the eventual Democratic nominees for the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections succeed in consolidating their party support, the rather far-fetched scenario needed for victory is still not likely. Republican voters, who still came out in significant numbers on Election Day for their non-competitive Texas primaries, would need to stay home come the general election.
However, the roughly 1.5 million Republican voters who turned out for the Texas primaries exceeds the previous record of 1.4 million in 2010. That was the high-energy primary in which Mr. Cruz first earned the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
Further, independents would need to overwhelmingly back the Democratic candidates. We just don’t see that happening at this point. Governor Abbott, despite the millions of dollars spent by billionaire socialist and former Nazi sympathizer George Soros, is still very popular statewide.
White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 28, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)
In a victory for the average voter who supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn will resign. The resignation comes as President Trump plans to return to the message of economic nationalism that fueled by greatest political upset in modern U.S. political history.
In a statement released by the White House, Mr. Cohn said it had been “an honor to serve my country.”
“It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform,” Mr. Cohn said in a statement. “I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future.”
While Mr.Cohn represented the free-trading Goldman Sachs wing of the West Wing, President Trump praised his service during the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Its passage represented the first overhaul to the U.S. tax code in more than 31 years.
“Gary has been my chief economic adviser and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again,” President Trump said in a statement to The New York Times. “He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.”
Mr. Cohen’s resignation also comes after President Trump announced his intentions to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum in an effort to protect U.S. producers and workers.
The former New York businessman-turned-President of the United States ran for the highest office in the land vowing to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Shortly after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order making good on the latter and moving to renegotiate NAFTA on a bilateral basis.
He is expected to make a formal announcement this week that his administration will impose a 25% tariff on imported steel and 10% tariff on imported aluminum. President Trump said on Monday that he will reconsider proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum if and when a “new and fair NAFTA agreement is signed.”
Mr.Cohn was constantly in opposition to the platform of economic nationalism that resulted in the cracking of the Blue Wall in November of 2016. President Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry Pennsylvania and Michigan since 1988 and the first to carry Wisconsin since 1984.
White House chief of staff General John F. Kelly said he would “miss having him as a partner in the White House, but he departs having made a real impact in the lives of the American people.”
Donald J. Trump, left, with campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, right. (Photo: Reuters)
The White House is pushing back against the findings of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) claiming Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act while serving as counselor to the president. The OSC sent a report to President Donald Trump on Tuesday recommending disciplinary action against Ms. Conway.
The report cites two appearances — one on Fox News and another on CNN — in which in her “official capacity” she allegedly promoted Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama, and discouraged voting for Democrat Doug Jones.
“In passing this law, Congress intended to promote public confidence in the Executive branch by ensuring the federal government is working for all Americans without regard to their political views,” the USC wrote in the report. “Ms. Conway’s statements during the Fox & Friends and New Day interviews impermissibly mixed official government business with political views about candidates in the Alabama special election for U.S. Senate.”
It is unclear what disciplinary action Ms. Conway may face if any. The law allows for wide latitude regarding disciplinary action. The most severe punishment would be her removal, but it also allows for just a simple pay deduction.
Regardless, the White House took no time defending the counselor to the president, who also happens to be the first woman in the history of U.S. politics to manage a successful presidential campaign.
“Kellyanne Conway did not advocate for or against the election of any particular candidate,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley. “She simply expressed the president’s obvious position that he have people in the House and Senate who support his agenda.”
“Kellyanne’s statements actually show her intention and desire to comply with the Hatch Act, as she twice declined to respond to the specific invitation to encourage Alabamans to vote for the Republican.”
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while participating in the swearing-in ceremony for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2018. (Photo: Reuters)
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar on Monday delivered a speech to the Federation of American Hospitals where he addressed the Trump Administration’s transformation of the healthcare system to a value-based rather than volume-based system.
“Upon taking office at HHS, I identified using the value-based transformation of our entire healthcare system as one of the top four priorities for our department,” Mr. Azar said in his remarks.”The others are combating the opioid crisis; bringing down the high price of prescription drugs; and addressing the cost and availability of insurance, especially in the individual market.”
While Secretary Azar admits “it has been a frustrating process,” given many providers and special interest haven’t been warm on the idea of reducing costs and increasing transparency, the Trump Administration is already able to point to progress.
UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, announced a new program that will expand discounts for prescription drugs to over 7 million plan participants. Mr. Azar said in a statement that it “is a prime example of the type of movement toward transparency and lower drug prices for millions of patients that the Trump Administration is championing.”
Starting on January 1, 2019, the company will lower out-of-pocket costs by directly providing consumers with savings from pharmacy manufacturer rebates at the time of purchase. Discounts will be applied to medication costs at the point of sale.
Last year, President Trump signed an Executive Order to Promote Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States. It was the beginning of the Trump Administration moving the nation towards a system in which patients have control of their data and can take it with them from one doctor to another or to other healthcare providers.
“Value-based transformation in particular is not a new passion for me,” Secretary Azar added. “It became a top priority for Secretary Mike Leavitt when I was working for him as deputy secretary of HHS, and it was taken seriously by President Obama’s administration as well.
The executive order has directly resulted in the MyHealthEData initiative led by the White House Office of American Innovation with participation from HHS, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The initiative is designed to empower patients by giving every American control of their medical data and help break down the barriers that prevent patients from having electronic access and true control of their own health records. Patients will be able to choose the provider that best meets their needs and then give that provider secure access to their data, leading to greater competition and reducing costs.
“There is no turning back to an unsustainable system that pays for procedures rather than value,” Secretary Azar said. “In fact, the only option is to charge forward — for HHS to take bolder action, and for providers and payers to join with us. This administration and this President are not interested in incremental steps. We are unafraid of disrupting existing arrangements simply because they’re backed by powerful special interests.”
“Change is possible, change is necessary, and change is coming.”
This Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, file photo, shows a portion of the UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s campus in Minnetonka, Minnesota. (Photo: AP)
UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, announced a new program that will expand discounts for prescription drugs to over 7 million plan participants. It will apply to over 7 million people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare fully insured commercial group benefit plans, who fill prescriptions through retail pharmacies or home delivery.
Starting on January 1, 2019, and on plan renewal thereafter, the company will lower out-of-pocket costs by directly providing consumers with savings from pharmacy manufacturer rebates at the time of purchase. In other words, discounts will be applied to their medication cost at the point of sale. Rebates are not currently distributed to individual consumers.
“UnitedHealthcare is uniquely positioned to deliver new value and clarity to health care, and pharmacy benefits in particular,” said Dan Schumacher, president and chief operating officer, UnitedHealthcare. “Our differentiated pharmacy model, powered by OptumRx, is delivering solutions that lead to better health outcomes and make prescription drugs more affordable.”
The Trump Administration praised the new program and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement that it “is a prime example of the type of movement toward transparency and lower drug prices for millions of patients that the Trump Administration is championing.”
“Empowering patients and providers with the information and control to put them in the driver’s seat is a key part of our strategy at the Department of Health and Human Services to bring down the price of drugs and make healthcare more affordable,” Mr. Azar said. “We are already seeing clear momentum toward the type of innovation in the private-sector that will be an important part of the value-based transformation that is coming to America’s healthcare system.”
Secretary Azar on Monday delivered a speech to the Federation of American Hospitals where he addressed the Trump Administration’s transformation of the healthcare system to a value-based rather than volume-based system. The White House wants pricing transparency for patients instead of a shrouded system that benefits special interests.
He said “the only option is to charge forward — for HHS to take bolder action, and for providers and payers to join with us.”
UnitedHealth Group said the move is part of a broader effort to simplify pharmacy benefits, reduce costs in a manner that directly impacts customers and improve their ovreall health care experience.
The company also recently launched PreCheck MyScript tool enables doctors to see how much their patients would have to pay for a medication if they went to their preferred pharmacy at that very moment to pick it up. The new system gives doctors the ability to provide patients lower-cost alternatives to higher-cost medications.
“People use their pharmacy benefit more frequently than any other type of benefit, which means pharmacy provides the greatest opportunity for us to understand and meet their needs,” Mr. Schumacher added. “We believe our efforts to enhance value for our customers will not only benefit our members, but the health care system as a whole.”
A 787 Dreamliner being built for Air India is pictured at South Carolina Boeing final assembly building in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo: Reuters)
Factory orders, as measured by new orders for manufactured goods, fell 1.4% to $497.7 billion in January. The $6.9 billion decline follows 5 consecutive monthly gains, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.
This followed a 1.8% December increase.
Shipments, which have been up for 13 of the last 14 months, continued to increase by $2.8 billion, or 0.6% to $498.8 billion following a 0.7% December increase. Unfilled orders, down following four consecutive monthly increases, decreased $2.9 billion or 0.3% to $1,141.2 billion following a 0.6% December increase.
The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.54, down from 6.58 in December. Inventories, up 14 of the last 15 months, increased $2.1 billion or 0.3% to $672.4 billion following a 0.7% December increase.
The inventories-to shipments ratio was 1.35, unchanged from December.
New Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in January, down following two consecutive monthly increases, decreased $9.0 billion or 3.6% to $240.0 billion, up from the previously published 3.7% decrease. This followed a 2.7% December increase. Transportation equipment, also down following two consecutive monthly increases, led the decrease, $8.6 billion or 10.0 percent to $77.9 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $2.1 billion or 0.8 percent to $251.7 billion.
Shipments
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in January, up eight of the last nine months, increased $0.7 billion or 0.3% to $247.1 billion, up from the previously published 0.2 percent increase. This followed a 0.5% December increase. Transportation equipment, up two of the last three months, led the increase, $0.6 billion or 0.7% to $81.5 billion. Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods, up nine of the last ten months, increased $2.1 billion or 0.8% to $251.7 billion. This followed a 0.9% December increase. Petroleum and coal products, up seven consecutive months, led the increase, $1.8 billion or 3.5% to $52.5 billion.
Unfilled Orders
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in January, down following four consecutive monthly increases, decreased $2.9 billion or 0.3% to $1,141.2 billion, unchanged from the previously published decrease. This followed a 0.6 percent December increase. Transportation equipment, down three of the last four months, drove the decrease, $3.6 billion or 0.5% to $771.9 billion.
Inventories
Inventories of manufactured durable goods in January, up eighteen of the last nineteen months, increased $1.3 billion or 0.3% to $408.8 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. This followed a 0.5% December increase. Transportation equipment, up two consecutive months, led the increase, $0.7 billion or 0.6% to $131.9 billion.
Inventories of manufactured nondurable goods, up eight consecutive months, increased $0.7 billion or 0.3% to $263.6 billion. This followed a 0.9% December increase. Petroleum and coal products, up seven consecutive months, drove the increase, $0.7 billion or 1.7% to $42.4 billion. By stage of fabrication, January materials and supplies increased 0.4 percent in durable goods and decreased 0.1% in nondurable goods.
Work in process increased 0.5% in durable goods and was virtually unchanged in nondurable goods. Finished goods were virtually unchanged in durable goods and increased 0.7 percent in nondurable goods.
President Donald Trump speaks to Dave Burritt of U.S. Steel Corporation during a meeting with steel and aluminum executives in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Thursday, March 1, 2018, in Washington. (Photo: AP)
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will reconsider proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum if a “new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed.” The president unofficially announced the tariffs last week as he met at the White House with chief executive officers from major U.S. producers, including Nucor President and CEO John Ferriola and U.S. Steel CEO Dave Burritt.
“We are on the losing side of almost all trade deals. Our friends and enemies have taken advantage of the U.S. for many years,” President Trump tweeted. “Our Steel and Aluminum industries are dead. Sorry, it’s time for a change! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
We are on the losing side of almost all trade deals. Our friends and enemies have taken advantage of the U.S. for many years. Our Steel and Aluminum industries are dead. Sorry, it’s time for a change! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
The former New York businessman turned President of the United States ran vowing to renegotiate North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Shortly after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order making good on the latter and moving to renegotiate NAFTA on a bilateral basis.
The measures taken together fulfill a major promise made on the campaign trail and is widely supported by industry workers in Rust Belt states. Until 2016, no Republican had carried Wisconsin, Michigan and/or Pennsylvania since the 1980s.
We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must..
We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed,” he also tweeted. “Also, Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying.”
…treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying.
President Trump is expected to make a formal announcement this week, which will impose a 25% tariff on imported steel and 10% tariff on imported aluminum.
“We believe very strongly that it’s time for decisive and meaningful action to stem the flow of illegally traded imports into this country,” said Mr. Ferriola, who heads the largest steel production company in the U.S. “And we are counting on the administration to fulfill the promises that were made and to give us that level playing field to compete.”
It’s been several weeks since the awful tragedy in Parkland, FL, where 17 students were killed by an evil loser. Since I written several times about the utter impracticality of gun control, and since a growing number of honest liberals (see here and here) also acknowledge that such laws are ill-advised, I didn’t think another column would be necessary.
However, the controversy isn’t going away. Left-wing groups are using some of the students as props in a campaign to push restrictions on private gun ownership.
So I decided to take part in a four-person debate on the issue for France 24. Needless to say, I was the only pro-Second Amendment person on the show (it was 4-1 against me if you include the moderator). You can watch the entire 45 minutes by clicking here, but you can get a good idea of the one-sided nature by simply watching this excerpt from the introduction.
Here’s the first question I fielded, which gave me a chance to knock our unprincipled President.
But more importantly, I noted that gun control doesn’t succeed because ordinary Americans are very diligent about protecting their constitutional rights.
This next segment gave me an opportunity to make several points.
The silliness of banning “scary looking” rifles when there are hundreds of millions of other weapons that work the same way.
Democrats have rallied behind truly radical legislation targeting all semi-automatic weapons (knowing that non-gun people don’t know what that term means, I used “non-revolver” as a synonym, but I admit that probably isn’t any better).
Gun bans are especially absurd in a world with 3D printers.
Censorship would probably be effective in reducing mass shooters, but I don’t want to repeal the First Amendment.
Rising levels of gun ownership are correlated with lower levels of crime.
By the way, none of the other guests ever tried to refute any of my points. Check the full video if you doubt me.
I also was asked about private companies restricting gun sales.
And you’ll notice I took another shot at our unprincipled president. Our Constitution is not a pick-and-choose document.
So what’s the practical impact of all this?
Gun-control proposals generally fall into two categories. Some politicians go after the “military-style” weapons, which is empty posturing that will no (positive) impact on crime. I wrote about this issue in the past, and you can click here and here for added info on the failed 1994 ban.
Or they go for sweeping gun bans and confiscation. Which, if ever enacted, would lead to widespread civil disobedience.
So we know that’s not the answer.
But what is the right approach? As I noted in the interview, there probably is no complete solution.
That being said, let’s dig into the issue of whether teachers and other school personnel should be allowed to carry concealed weapons are a last line of defense of nutjobs.
Teachers could soon be carrying concealed guns inside schools in Pike County under a proposal that was preliminarily approved Monday evening by the Pike County School Board. The unanimous decision…was prompted by multiple school shootings in recent weeks… Schools Superintendent Reed Adkins said he hopes the board will give final approval within two to three weeks, and to have armed staff in schools by fall, if not sooner. …State Sen. John Schickel, R- Union, has introduced Senate Resolution 172 that would urge boards of education to allow teachers and other school personnel to carry firearms for their own protection. …Multiple mothers of Pike County students urged quick action Monday to provide schools with some type of security, saying their children have been scared to attend school.
One of the first school districts in the state of Colorado to implement such a policy was in eastern El Paso County… A decision made in hopes of preventing another school shooting here at home and more than a year later, most people are grateful this was put into place. “Our school’s pretty much a model for school safety,” Terry Siewiyumptewa, a parent said. …”Our staff members, it could be 100 percent, are armed and are here to protect and keep our students safe,” Dr. Grant Schmidt, Superintendent for Hanover School District 28 said. Now, teachers, administrators, custodians and even bus drivers can all volunteer to conceal carry in school… “We need safe schools and our school is providing us what we’ve asked for,” Siewiyumptewa said. …”The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun,” she said. …Students we spoke with say it has added an extra level of comfort. …Dr. Schmidt says he’s been getting calls from other school districts across the country all year, wanting to know how they put this into place, asking for guidance, research and other documents to use as a model.
…at Argyle High School, the..teachers are packing handguns. A sign outside campus warns: “Please be aware that the staff at Argyle [Independent School District] are armed and may use whatever force is necessary to protect our students.” …In about two dozen states, including California, schools can allow staff to carry guns on campus, although some require concealed-carry licenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. …Officials at Argyle and other districts say the policies deter shooters and provide peace of mind, and that other schools should follow their lead. Scores of Texas school districts allow teachers to carry arms. …”It’s essential to keep us safe,” said Lizzie Dagg, 18, Argyle senior class president, who spent part of lunch Thursday signing a banner expressing sympathy to Parkland students. …history teacher Sharon Romero…said. “I feel safer coming to work than a lot of other teachers in this country do.” …Argyle High Principal James Hill, who has three children in the school system, was skeptical about the policy when he was hired in 2015, but said, “Now I’m a believer.” …he said of school shootings. “… I want to give our kids a fighting chance.”
Here are two maps from the article, showing who is allowed to have guns in a school. Here’s the map for the general public.
And here’s the map for government employees.
Amazingly, there is an outpost of common sense in California.
One California school district has voted to allow staff members to carry guns on campus. The district says the policy was put in place to ensure the safety of students in case there is an active shooter situation. …Kingsburg High School District, near Fresno, is just the second district in the state to allow concealed weapons at school buildings.
Even the New York Timeshas noticed this growing trend.
For all the outcry, though, hundreds of school districts across the country, most of them small and rural, already have. Officials…do not see the weaponry scattered through their schools as a political statement, but as a practical response to a potent threat. …At least 10 states allow staff members to possess or have access to a firearm on school grounds, according to an analysis by the Education Commission of the States. And local districts have varied their approach to arming educators — in Ohio, guns are kept in safes; in Texas, they can be worn in holsters or kept in safes within immediate reach. …In Texas, some public school systems have been quietly arming teachers and administrators for more than a decade.
This part of the story is very powerful.
Sidney City Schools was shaken by the slaughter of 20 first graders and six staff members at Sandy Hook in 2012. In the following days, Sheriff Lenhart presented Mr. Scheu with an equation: Every 17 seconds after the first shots are fired and the first 911 call is made, somebody gets hurt or dies. “Even in the best-case scenario, we could get here in four to five minutes,” Sheriff Lenhart said. “You do the math.” …Sheriff Lenhart…led what he calls a “layered” approach to school security and a “conservative” approach to arming teachers in the 3,400-student school district. The district spent about $70,000 on safes, bulletproof vests, cameras, guns, radios and ammunition…negligible costs for a school district with a $36 million budget… there’s a secret group of 40 educators — teachers, principals, custodians, secretaries — called a “first responder team” that can retrieve firearms in under a minute.
Bureaucrats weren’t happy about this development, but guess who is pleased?
The measures here met some opposition at first, from the town’s teachers union and police chief, who were concerned about gun safety. …Nicki New, the parent of three students in Sidney City Schools, said she felt safer dropping off her children knowing there were staff members equipped to respond to a parent’s worst nightmare.
Does that guarantee safety? Nope. Is it possible a teacher might shoot an innocent person in the stress and chaos of an active-shooter situation? Yup. There are no sure-fire, cost-free solutions to this horrible problem. It’s all about the policies that will improve the odds of good outcomes and reduce the likelihood of bad outcomes.
But here’s my bottom line. If my kids were still young and some miserable excuse for a human being came into one of their schools and started shooting, there’s no question that I would want some of the teachers to be armed.
Moreover, ask yourself whether a nut-job shooter is more likely or less likely to target a school with armed teachers. Like other mass shooters, they almost universally wreak their havoc in so-called gun-free zones.
Why? Because they know that simply means there are no good people with guns who can fight back.
I’ll close with one final observation. Teacher unions are controlled by leftist ideologues and claim that it’s a bad idea to allow armed teachers. They’re wrong, but the really preposterous part of their argument is that teachers shouldn’t be forced to carry guns.
But nobody is suggesting that. Instead, it’s an option for teachers who are prefer fighting to cowering in a corner waiting to be shot.
And lots of teachers don’t like the latter option, as indicated by this story in the Washington Examiner.
A sheriff in Ohio has already started the process of training school personnel on how to carry a concealed weapon, and predicted on Friday that hundreds would soon be trained and ready. …”While our gov still debates what 2 do we will have trained over 100 school personnel by Saturday,” he added. …Sheriff Jones said his offer to train teachers has been met with an overwhelming response. On Tuesday, he said he cut off requests at 300.
Makes me proud of America’s teachers. Their union stinks, but three cheers for the rank and file.
I sometimes feel guilty when I mock communism. Should I really be joking about an ideology that directly or indirectly caused 100 million deaths? Are laughs appropriate when there is ongoing torture, abuse, and starvation in communist hellholes such as North Korea and Cuba?
Seems on the same level as cracking jokes about the holocaust.
But I think there’s a difference. Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist Workers Party is gone and every single educated and civilized person agrees we never want something similar to reemerge.
By contrast, there are still modern-day Marxists. They’re in the Antifa movement. There are Marxist professors with tenure on college campuses. I certainly don’t think it’s a dominant ideology on the left, but there are far too many Marxists and Marxist apologists.
Indeed, this is why I think there’s a big difference between liberal socialism and Marxist socialism.
Anyhow, I’ll continue to share anti-communism humor for the simple reason that we still need to discourage this evil ideology from gaining more adherents. And since people don’t like to be mocked and ridiculed, it’s good to use humor to make Marxism toxic.
We have three items today, starting with some very clever Twitter satire.
The millions of people who starved to death under Mao’s reign in China and during the oppression of the Ukraine certainly wouldn’t laugh at this joke, but I found it amusing.
Next, we have one of Fidel’s chief butchers. Vapid college kids may put Che Guevara on a t-shirt, but the rest of us should put his image in urinals.
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