December 20, 2016

Hamilton argued for 'consumption-based' system

ALAN KEYES — Imposts, excises, and, in general, all duties upon articles of consumption, may be compared to a fluid, which will, in time, find its level with the means of paying them. The amount contributed by each citizen will in a degree be at his own option, and can be relegated by an attention to his resources. The rich may be extravagant, the poor can be frugal; and private oppression may always be avoided by a judicious selection of objects proper for such impositions....... (more)

December 19, 2016

WASHINGTON EXAMINER — Members of the Electoral College cast the final votes in the 2016 presidential election on Monday, affirming Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Despite reports of GOP electors receiving harassing phone calls and emails for weeks leading up to Monday's vote, nearly all of the 538 men and women who were chosen by state parties to participate in the constitutional rite abided by the people's vote in their state.... (more)

December 19, 2016

WASHINGTON TIMES — President Obama is dishing out a much rockier transfer of power to Donald Trump than he received from his predecessor eight years ago, from accusing the president-elect of being aided by Russian hackers to first lady Michelle Obama's complaint that the nation has lost hope. Despite pledging a "smooth and efficient" transition on the day after Mr. Trump's victory, Mr. Obama has presided over an increasingly acrimonious war of words between the White House and the president-elect's team.... (more)

December 19, 2016

CLIFF KINCAID — There is an easy way to determine who is a faithful Democratic Party hack in the media and who on the left maintains at least some independence from the party line. Long-time Democrat Bill Moyers thinks it's an open-and-shut case that Russia's Vladimir Putin intervened in the election to help Trump and that our democracy is in peril. The Intercept thinks the evidence is weak, and that the CIA may have some other reason for "squaring off directly against Trump." What could that possibly be?... (more)

December 19, 2016

THE HILL — Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is accusing CIA Director John Brennan of leaking Russian hacking information to the press and is calling for an investigation into "the hit job" that King says Brennan is conducting against President-elect Donald Trump.... (more)

December 18, 2016

MIRROR — Russia's ambassador to Turkey has been assassinated by an off-duty police officer in front of terrified witnesses allegedly in retaliation for the crisis in Aleppo. The gunman - smartly dressed in a black suit and tie - reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" and said in Turkish "We die in Aleppo, you die here" after shooting Ambassador Andrei Karlov in the back.... (more)

December 18, 2016

WORLDNETDAILY — While the Council on American-Islamic Relations likes to bill itself as a Muslim "civil-rights organization," it downplays its direct ties to the terrorist group Hamas, its lineage to the Muslim Brotherhood and its extremist history that includes dozens of its executives, board members' and staffers' indictments, convictions and prison sentences for terror-related crimes.... (more)

December 18, 2016

PAUL BREMMER — Plenty of Americans are wary of violent Islamic jihad -- the bloody physical struggle of Muslims against the enemies of Islam. But there also exists another, much craftier form of jihad: civilization jihad. Veteran journalist and WND news editor Leo Hohmann, during a recent appearance on "The Larry Elder Show," said civilization jihad is a strategy initially devised by the Muslim Brotherhood.... (more)

December 18, 2016

WASHINGTON EXAMINER — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched the Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and a security delegation to meet secretly with President-elect Trump, according to a report. Trump has been criticized for failing to take enough briefings from U.S. intelligence officials. The Israelis briefed Trump on issues like the Iranian nuclear deal, the war in Syria, terrorism, and the conflict with the Palestinians.... (more)

December 18, 2016

BILL FEDERER — Washington lost the battle of Brandywine on Sept. 11, 1777, and was forced to retreat toward Philadelphia. British General Burgoyne's troops marched down from Canada through New York, but were amazingly forced to surrender to the Americans at the battle of Saratoga, Oct. 7, 1777. British General Howe struck back in a fury, driving the patriots out of Philadelphia. In a panic, the Continental Congress evacuated Philadelphia, even taking the Liberty Bell with them so the British could not melt it into musket balls.... (more)

December 18, 2016

THE HILL — Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday that the fallout from her tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton was "painful" for her. "I do regret sitting down and having a conversation with him, because it did give people concern. And as I said, my greatest concern has always been making sure that people understand that the Department of Justice works in a way that is independent and looks at everybody equally," Lynch said on CNN's "State of the Union."... (more)

December 18, 2016

NEW YORK TIMES — Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, was found guilty on Monday of criminal charges linked to the misuse of public funds during her time as France's finance minister, a case that has clouded her I.M.F. leadership at a time of growing uncertainty for the group.... (more)

December 18, 2016

THOMAS SOWELL — Nothing so epitomizes the politically correct gullibility of our times as the magic word "diversity." The wonders of diversity are proclaimed from the media, extolled in the academy, and confirmed in the august chambers of the Supreme Court of the United States. But have you ever seen one speck of hard evidence to support the lofty claims?... (more)

December 18, 2016

ANDREW C. MCCARTHY — It's the "dumbest" deal he's ever seen. On the hustings, that was Donald Trump's constant refrain about President Obama's Iran nuclear deal -- the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). And given that he pegs NAFTA as the "worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere, but certainly ever signed in this country," that must make the JCPOA pretty, pretty dumb.... (more)

December 17, 2016

BYRON YORK — On Thursday afternoon, CNN's Jake Tapper asked Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, "Have you seen any direct evidence that the Russians were trying to tip the election to Donald Trump? Or what do you think the motive was based on any briefing you have attended?"... (more)

December 17, 2016

WASHINGTON EXAMINER — President Obama cast doubt on the continued need for the Electoral College on Friday, seizing on a popular Democratic argument that has emerged since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by millions of ballots but lost the Electoral College handily.... (more)

December 17, 2016

THE HILL — Donald Trump's former White House rival Rick Santorum says he has doubts over the president-elect's pick to lead the State Department. Santorum, a former GOP senator from Pennsylvania, told WABC Radio late Thursday that he's concerned about Rex Tillerson being nominated to be secretary of State because of the direction Exxon Mobil Corp. went on climate change during Tillerson's time as CEO.... (more)

December 17, 2016

NEW YORK TIMES — For the first time, women make up a majority of law students, holding just over 50 percent of the seats at accredited law schools in the United States. The number of men and women enrolled in juris doctorate programs has been nearly equal for a number of years, but this is the first time women have moved past the 50 percent mark, according to data released Thursday by the American Bar Association.... (more)

December 16, 2016

CLIFF KINCAID — It's amazing how CNN's talking heads can devote so much time to the "scandal" of Donald J. Trump's sons participating in interviews of cabinet picks, but can't connect the dots between the bloody tragedy in Aleppo and President Barack Obama's pro-terrorist policy in the Middle East.... (more)

December 16, 2016

NEWSMAX — President-elect Donald Trump is considering Richard Haass, who heads the Council on Foreign Relations, as deputy secretary of state, according to news reports. Haass, 65, worked in both Bush administrations, Politico reports. He also has served as director of policy planning at the State Department and as a senior director on the National Security Council.... (more)

December 15, 2016

CLIFF KINCAID — Isn't it strange how the left suddenly finds the CIA to be a worthwhile organization now that it has been turned into a weapon against Trump? We need congressional investigations into the politicization of the CIA under John Brennan, whose claim to fame has been bringing sexual "diversity" to the agency. Perhaps he should have been doing his job, which is to defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.... (more)

December 15, 2016

NEWSMAX — In telephone conversations with Donald Trump, FBI Director James Comey assured the president-elect there was no credible evidence that Russia influenced the outcome of the recent U.S. presidential election by hacking the Democratic National Committee and the emails of John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.... (more)

December 15, 2016

ANDREW C. MCCARTHY — The hypocrisy oozing from the peddling of this week's narrative about Russian "meddling" in the U.S. presidential election is thick even by the sorry standards of modern American politics.... (more)

December 15, 2016

WASHINGTON TIMES — A WikiLeaks figure is claiming that he received leaked Clinton campaign emails from a "disgusted" Democratic whistleblower, while the White House continued to blame Russian hackers Wednesday for meddling in the presidential election and asserted that Donald Trump was "obviously aware" of Moscow's efforts on his behalf.... (more)

December 15, 2016

BYRON YORK — The Electoral College meets one week from today in what will be the final step in Donald Trump's improbable rise to the presidency. But it will also be the last chance for #NeverTrump dead-enders to keep Trump out of the White House. And now, the anti-Trump effort has been given new fuel by allegations of Russian attempts to interfere with the presidential election.... (more)