Important headlines for February 9th
Bottom Line: These are stories you don't want to miss and my hot takes on them...
The ACLU's Regrettable Turn to Partisan Politics Joe Lieberman, RealClearPolitics
Excerpt: Historically, the ACLU has been single-minded in its determination to protect free speech—no matter how abhorrent the underlying words might be. They defended American flag burners and others on the left as consistently as they represented the Nazis and others on the right. In other words, the organization was without an ideological bias. No political agenda could interfere with its overriding commitment to the Constitution—particularly the First Amendment. The ACLU endured harsh criticism for this but never buckled. Until now. The ACLU’s leaders recently announced their intention to spend $25 million to support issue-based electioneering during the 2018 campaign cycle. Why? The organization’s fundraising has grown exponentially in the wake of President Trump’s election and many of the group’s donors are demanding that the ACLU use its expanded coffers to bring the fight against the administration’s agenda, not just in the courts but in the political process as well. The ACLU has chosen to become a direct actor in partisan elections, morphing what was once a nonpartisan organization into what looks like another advocacy group on the left.
Hot Take: That's a long excerpt except that it can't be stated any better. Joe Lieberman nailed it. Freedom isn't and shouldn't be partisan. Yet here we are. Now many of us who lean right can point to numerous moments over the years in which we'd call the ACLU's cases into question along partisan concerns - just as those who lean left like Lieberman would probably justify those cases. The most egregious example of political expediency I've witnessed by the ACLU occurred last August in Charlottesville, Virginia.
When the President of the United States mentioned multiple times that not all of the people marching in Charlottesville were bad people he was destroyed in the mainstream, dishonest, media. Assertions that he evidently was an anti-Semite were running rampant - despite the obvious examples to the contrary - most notably that Ivanka, her husband Jared (a top adviser to the President) and their children are Jewish. But that's not the height of the salacious behavior. Who were the "good people" on hand with the Neo-Nazi's in Charlottesville? The ACLU. There they were marching for free speech after extensive efforts had taken place to attempt to prevent the rally from occurring.
Most people to this day still don't know that critical fact of that debacle. And with the President standing up for them and taking extreme heat in the process - where were they? Silent. Ironic and sad. And the reason why? Yep, donors weren't happy with the ACLU supporting that free speech in the first place. The ACLU has literally sold out its soul.
Go Figure: Revenues Climb 5.2% in First Month of GOP Tax Cuts Investor's Biz Daily
Excerpt: The Congressional Budget Office says that federal revenues in January added up to $362 billion. That's an increase of $18 billion— or 5.2% from the year before. As a result, the government ran a surplus of $51 billion that month, which is equal to the previous January.
Hot Take: Here are a few important facts. That I shared a few months ago during the tax reform debate. The JFK tax cuts went into effect in 1964. Average tax rates were cut by 20%. Here's what happened to the federal budget:
The federal revenue in 1963 was $107 billion, in 1964 $113 billion, in 1965 $117 billion, in 1966 $131 billion in 1967: $149 billion
Revenue to the government grew by 39% in the five years after the JFK tax cuts
The Reagan tax cuts went into effect in 1981 and averaged a 25% reduction in rates - here's the five-year outlook on revenue:
FY 1981 - $599 billion, FY 1982 - $618 billion, FY 1983 - $601 billion, FY 1984 - $666 billion, FY 1985 - $734 billion
Revenue to the government grew by 23% in the five years after the Reagan cuts
You might call those inconvenient truths to those on the left and their buddies in the media who'd rather have more of the money you earn, than you.
Why FISA-Gate Is Scarier Than Watergate Victor Davis Hanson, Investor's Business Daily
Until Monday...