Biblical and Constitutional Politics
Eventful Three Months in Politics
With President Trump in the Midst of Most of It
(Mid-February to Mid-May 2018)
Part Two
This article is continued
from:
Eventful Three Months in Politics: (Mid-February to
Mid-May 2018) Part One.
Iranian Nuclear Deal
On May 8, 2018, President Trump pulled the USA out of the unconstitutional Iranian Nuclear Deal. It was unconstitutional for the same reason the Paris Climate Accord was unconstitutional, it was a treaty that was never approved by the Senate.
The US Constitution states that al treaties must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. But neither of the Obama-era treaties were ever so ratified. Obama instead played word games, called them an Accord and a Deal, respectively, to evade the Constitution’s clear mandate on treaties. But they were in fact treaties. The Republican-controlled Congress should have challenged them in court, but they were too spineless to do so.
Consequently, it took a Republican President with a spine to rescind these unconstitutional treaties. Now, maybe we can negotiate a true treaty with Senate ratification that will prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, which Obama’s deal would not have done.
President Trump said Tuesday that he is pulling the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal, the most consequential foreign policy decision of his presidency so far, and will reinstate a punishing array of U.S. economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the landmark 2015 accord….
“We’re out of the deal. We’re out of the deal,” John Bolton, Trump’s national security advisor and a longtime opponent of the accord, said emphatically after the president’s address. He said the “only sure way” to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons is to abandon the deal and craft a new pact that also restricts Tehran’s support for terrorism, its ballistic missile program and its role fostering turmoil in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel “fully supports” Trump’s decision. “Israel has opposed the nuclear deal from the start because we said that rather than blocking Iran’s path to a bomb, the deal actually paved Iran’s path to an entire arsenal of nuclear bombs, and this within a few years’ time,” he said. “The deal didn't push war further away, it actually brought it closer” (Los Angeles Times).
.
The Economy
While all of these world events have been going on, the American economy is continuing to hum along, thanks to Trump’s policies and the Republican tax plan. The unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in April 2018, the lowest since 2000.
The last time the unemployment rate was at 3.9% was during a four-month period at the end of 2000. Before that, one needs to go back to January 1970, when the labor market was vastly different than it is today. It is a level that makes it harder to argue, even if the argument has some merit, that there is hidden slack in the job market and things aren’t nearly as tight as they seem….
There may be other headline effects of a 3.9% unemployment rate. It brings home to workers how much tighter the job market has gotten and may help spur them to demand higher pay. And, for businesses, it underscores how much tougher the competition for workers is getting. Wage growth, while firming, is still moderate, but that might not be the case for much longer (Wall street Journal; Why).
The reason for this is the law of supply and demand. When workers are plentiful, but jobs are scarce (a high unemployment rate), wages go down. When jobs are plentiful, but workers are scarce (a low unemployment rate), wages go up. It’s that simple. And with rising wages and full employment, that leads to economic growth and increased income to the government.
That was verified when April 2018 saw the largest budget surplus ever. “The U.S. took in $510 billion in receipts in April and spent $296 billion, leaving the Treasury with a record monthly surplus of $214 billion. The prior record, set in April 2001, was about $190 billion” (Market Watch).
Yes, a budget surplus, not a deficit as the naysayers predicted when President Trump signed the Republican tax plan into law. The reason for that is again, with more people working and making more money, they pay more taxes. Even with a lower tax rate, that leads to more income coming into the federal government. More to the point, it is because of the lower tax rate that all of these benefits are occurring.
I predicted such would be the case in my article Democrat and Media Lies About the Republican Tax Plan. In it, I stated, “revenues to the federal govern will increase, not decrease, and if anything, this tax law will decrease the national deficit and debt.” But, as with all of President Trump’s accomplishments, the mainstream media is mostly ignoring this great economic news.
Federal Judge Berates Mueller over Manafort Case
Paul Manafort and his attorneys are claiming Mueller is overreaching his authority and the charge he was given when he was appointed Special Counselor by indicting Manafort for an alleged bank fraud that occurred way back in 2005. That was long before Trump even thought of running for President. As such, it has no bearing whatsoever on what Mueller is supposed to be investigating. On May 4, 2018, during litigation of this case, federal judge T.S. Ellis berated Mueller for just these reasons.
During a hearing for Manafort on Friday in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis accused prosecutor Michael Dreeben and Mueller of going after Manafort in order to “tighten the screws” on Trump.
“You don’t really care about Mr. Manafort’s bank fraud,” Ellis told Dreeben. “What you really care about is what information Mr. Manafort could give you that would reflect on Mr. Trump or lead to his prosecution or impeachment.”
Ellis also said that he thought that what Manafort was being accused of was beyond the scope of Mueller’s legal authority.
“I don’t see what relationship this indictment has with anything the special counsel is authorized to investigate,” the judge said (Blaze).
Moreover, by his continuing this investigation despite no evidence of any crime on Trump’s part, Mueller is becoming a threat to national security.
Mueller’s threat to national security is accomplished, as Judge Ellis alluded to, by lying to the courts, misleading the public, and interfering with the execution of the president’s duties. He is doing far more to damage our national security than the Russians did in their unsuccessful effort to interfere in 2016 (American Spectator).
It is long over due for this investigation to be ended or shut down, so that the President can focus on his duties. But again, despite this ongoing and ill-contrived distraction, Trump plows on, doing good for the USA and the world. But you wouldn’t know this, given the biases reporting of the mainstream media.
Trump’s Indiana Rally
On May 10, 2018, President Trump held another campaign-style rally, this time in Indiana. It was well-attended and generated much enthusiasm from the large crowd. But you wouldn’t have known about it if you were watching CNN or MSNBC, as they did not carry the rally, nor did they even mention it. Their talking heads instead were rambling on with some criticism or another about Trump.
I say that, as I watched the rally, on Fox News Channel, while my dad watched it on C-Span. But those were the only two networks that carried it. I flipped channels for a minute to see if anyone else was covering it, but none were.
This is not the first time I have noticed this phenomenon. In fact, every time Trump holds a rally, Fox covers it, but CNN and MSNBC ignore it. I can only guess that CNN and MSNBC choose not to let Trump speak for himself, as that would contradict their claims about him, as Trump always outlines his many successes during his rallies. And they most definitely do not want to show the great support he has and the enthusiasm he generates, as that would contradict their attempt to paint him as a bumbling President that no one likes.
Israel Retaliates After Iranian Rocket Attack
On May 9, 2018, Iran fired 20 rockets into Israel. Israel retaliate with a barrage of attacks on Iranian military facilities in Syria.
Arch-enemies Iran and Israel edged closer to all-out war on Thursday after Israel’s military said its positions in the Golan Heights were fired at with a barrage of Iranian rockets, prompting it to respond with extensive strikes targeting Tehran’s forces across Syria (Guardian).
This is a serious issue, as an all-out war in the Middle East would have ramifications for the whole world. But the facts are that Iran fired first, and Israel has a right to defend itself. It also shows that Iran cannot be trusted, which is why Trump pulled the USA out of the Iranian Nuclear Deal.
Of course, the mainstream media is trying to spin this attack as being Trump’s fault, that it happened due to that withdrawal. But it was nothing of the sort. It was a result of the longstanding hatred the Iranian leadership has for Israel.
US Embassy to Open in Jerusalem
Last year, President Trump announced he would move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, while recognizing Jerusalem as the rightful capital of Israel. The timetable was for the embassy to be moved within a couple of years. But as often happened with his building projects as a real estate mogul, and by not waiting for a new building to be built, he has beat his own deadline, and the embassy is moving on Monday, May 14, 2018.
On May 14, 1948, as the Jews of Palestine declared the establishment of a Jewish state, called Israel, U.S. President Harry Truman granted immediate recognition on behalf of the United States, becoming the first head of state to do so.
On May 14, 2018, 70 years later, President Donald Trump will move U.S. Embassy operations to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, where it has been since 1966…
While the United States plans eventually to build an entirely new embassy building in Jerusalem, Monday’s largely symbolic move will send the ambassador’s office and about 50 staff members, including consular officers, to a separate, already existing U.S. facility in Jerusalem that has handled passport renewals for Americans and visa applications for local residents. (ABC).
This is great news for all supporters of Israel. It is also something every President since Bill Clinton promised to do, but only President Trump has kept that promise.
Moreover, in 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act. It states:
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Each sovereign nation, under international law and
custom, may designate its own capital.
(2) Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital
of the State of Israel….
(a) STATEMENT OF THE POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—
(1) Jerusalem should remain an undivided city in which
the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected;
(2) Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the
State of Israel; and
(3) the United States Embassy in Israel should be established
in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999 (Congress.gov).
As such, by law, it is the USA’s position that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and the US Embassy should be in Jerusalem. But President Clinton ignored this law, did not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and allowed the US embassy to remain ion Tel Aviv. President Bush did the same, as did Obama.
However, as is often the case, President Trump believes in obeying the law and the Constitution, the latter of which declares that it is the job of the Executive Branch to execute laws passed by Congress. As such, once again, this moving of the US embassy is a case of President Trump obeying a law and the Constitution, which his predecessors ignored.
Trump’s Plan to Lower Drug Prices
On Friday, May 11, 2018, President Trump unveiled his plan to lower prescription drug prices. It is a five-pronged plan, mainly geared toward encouraging more competition between drug companies, which is to say, using free market forces rather than government regulation. In fact, one of the prongs is reduced regulation on companies developing new drugs. There is also an encouragement to doctors and pharmacists to prescribe more generic drugs.
Lowering prescription drugs is important as, 39% of Americans currently take them (Fox News. Special). As such, it is good the President is taking steps in this regard. However, he is missing the most important point that would also affect the free market, reducing the number of Americans who need to take prescription drugs.
I say that as I am someone who used to take several different drugs for both physical and physiological aliments. But by being meticulous about my diet and exercise plan and trusting in the LORD for the many struggles in my life, I was able to get off of all prescription drugs and have not taken any for several years now.
I relate my steps in regard to diet in my book Creationist Diet: Second Edition, and I discuss trusting the LORD and His sovereignty for dealing with struggles in life in my book The LORD Has It Under Control. If more people would avail themselves of such information and take it to heart, the need for prescription drugs would plummet, and the law of supply and demand would cause drug prices to fall.
Stormy Daniels
I saved this one for last, as it is an ongoing issue, namely because attention-hungry porn star Stormy Daniels and her equally attention-hungry lawyer Michael Avenatti are keeping it in the news as much as possible. Avenatti in fact is appearing so much on MSNBC, he looks like he is well on his way to becoming a new talking head on that network.
I address the many sins of Stormy Daniels and the sinfulness of her alleged affair with Donald Trump in Volume Two of my God’s Sex Plan books. Here, I will say that Stormy is a known liar, given that she has both denied and affirmed the affair, while her life of a porn star is anything but reputable. Yet somehow, she has become the new darling of the media and the new mascot for the Democratic Party.
As for the legality of the $130,000 payment to Stormy, I’ll let the attorneys battle that one out. But I will say, even if it proves to be a campaign finance violation, such is normally just a minor violation, necessitating a slap on the wrist in the form of a fine. It is not a major crime. But given the hatred for President Trump in the media and among Democrats, they will try to turn it into a “high crime” and an impeachable offense, which it is far from.
The 2018 Mid-Terms about Impeachment
Having mentioned impeachment, let me close this two-part article by saying that the upcoming mid-term election is vital, as it will be a referendum on President Trump. If Democrats get control of the US House, they will impeach the President. Of that, there is little doubt, given that the would-be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has promised such. And if Democrats gain control of the Senate, Trump will be convicted and removed from office.
If such were to happen, it could cause a virtual if not actual Civil War, given the numerous Americans who support the President, with that number growing every day given his many accomplishments, as outlined in this and many of my previous articles. Consequently, if you want to avoid such a disastrous divide in our country, you need to vote Republican or at least not Democrat in the fall election. Otherwise, we will be in a Constitutional Crisis come November.
Bibliography:
ABC. Opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem: What to know.
American Spectator, The. Loose Canons: Time to Shut Mueller Down.
Atlantic, The. The Slow, Awkward Death of the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Blaze, The. Federal judge in Manafort case says Mueller’s goal is ‘prosecution or impeachment’ of Trump.
Chicago Tribune. Editorial: The price Assad should pay for gassing his people.
CNBC. GOP-led House Intel Committee ends its probe, says 'no evidence' of Trump-Russia collusion.
CNN. Ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is fired -- and fires back.
CNN. Three Americans held in North Korea released ‘in good health’.
Congress.gov. Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.
DoD (U.S. Department of Defense). U.S., Allies Strike Syrian Targets in Response to Regime’s Chemical Attacks.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Korean War Timeline.
Fortune. Students Demand Stricter Gun Laws at March for Our Lives Rallies.
Fox News Channel. Fox and Friends. March 13, 2018.
Fox News Channel. Special Report with Bret Baier. May 11, 2018.
Guardian, The. Israel retaliates after Iran 'fires 20 rockets' at army in occupied Golan Heights.
Hill, The. Trump claims vindication after release of Comey memos.
Independent. The Korean War will be formally declared over after 65 years.
Los Angeles Times. Trump pulls U.S. out of Iran nuclear deal and announces sweeping new economic sanctions.
Market Watch. U.S. records largest-ever monthly budget surplus in April as individual tax receipts boom.
NBC. Trump says he will hold summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12.
New York Times. 13 Russians Indicted as Mueller Reveals Effort to Aid Trump Campaign.
New York Times. The Questions Mueller Wants to Ask Trump About Obstruction, and What They Mean.
Slate. What Good Is an Indictment for Online Election Meddling?
Wall Street Journal. Missed Warnings in the Florida School Shooting.
Wall Street Journal. Why a 3.9% Unemployment Rate Matters.
Washington Post. Here’s what Congress is stuffing into its $1.3 trillion spending bill.
Washington Post. Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations.
Washington Post. Trump signs $1.3 trillion spending bill despite veto threat on Twitter.
Eventful Three Months in Politics: With President Trump in the Midst of Most of It (Mid-February to Mid-May 2018) - Part Two. Copyright © 2018 By Gary F. Zeolla.
The First Impeachment of Donald J. Trump
This three-volume set covers the impeachment of Donald J. Trump that occurred over the fall of 2019 to the winter of 2020. It was yet one more attempt to oust the President from office by Democrats, who never accepted he won in 2016. A complaint about a phone call between President Trump and Ukraine President Zelensky led to an impeachment inquiry to begin in early September 2019. Along the way, the corruption of Joe Biden that Trump wanted investigated and which led to the impeachment inquiry is discussed.
The above article was posted on this website May 13, 2018.
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