Month: January 2017

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Quick Analysis

Returning Tanks Reassure Europeans

As the Obama Administration concluded its tenure, major reversals were required to undo the extraordinary foreign and defense policy errors that were committed over the past eight years in Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific and within the Western hemisphere.

Without warning to the general public, the White House withdrew all American tanks from Europe in 2014. It was an unprecedented move.  American armor had been in place in Europe since the end of World War 2. Russia, no longer faced with a credible deterrent, increased its level of belligerency to exceptional levels. Now, American armor is hastily being returned. Russian sources are using the return to incorrectly allege that tensions are being ramped up by NATO.

A cold war era storage facility was opened in the Netherlands in December to accommodate the return. According to former Defense Secretary Ash Carter,    U.S. tanks will be used on a  “rotational” basis. The first rotational brigade will come from Colorado.

“It will have an initial exercise in Poland. After that, the brigade will send company-sized units to Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic states,” Carter had previously told reporters. “Companies will then remain in the Baltics until the NATO battalions arrive.” In June, the brigade will conduct exercise Saber Strike in Poland and throughout the Baltic states, and in July, it will move to Bulgaria and Romania for exercises Swift Response and Saber Guardian, during which one tank company will transit the Black Sea to Georgia to participate in exercise Noble Partner, he said.The secretary said he appreciate the countries that will host the brigade. Carter said the United States will also lead a battalion in Poland as part of NATO’s new enhanced forward presence.

The 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team has already arrived in Poland, a move described by U.S. Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti as “a significant moment in European deterrence and defense.”

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This effort is part of the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) to maintain persistent, rotational presence of air, land, and sea forces in Central and Eastern Europe.  The ERI, originally proposed in Warsaw on June 3, 2014, was made necessary both by Moscow’s attack on the Ukraine and on the growing perception that the Obama administration was not dedicated to U.S. defense commitments.  Significant doubts were raised by a decreasing defense budget, the failure to respond in any significant way to the Kremlin’s takeover of Crimea, and the failure of the Obama Administration to come to the aid of the Philippines following China’s incursion into Manila’s offshore Exclusive Economic Zone.

The Department of Defense describes the ERI as an effort “reassure our NATO allies and bolster the security and capacity of our partners. The United States, along with its NATO allies, will continue to take actions that increase the capability, readiness, and responsiveness of NATO forces to address any threat or destabilizing action…DoD would also seek to help shore up the defenses of NATO members, as well as other non-NATO partners in the region, that feel most threatened by Russia’s actions against Ukraine. The DoD would continue pursuing several lines of effort to accomplish the purposes of this initiative, including: (1) continued increased U.S. military presence in Europe; (2) additional bilateral and multilateral exercises and training with allies and partners; (3) improved infrastructure to allow for greater responsiveness; (4) enhanced prepositioning of U.S. equipment in Europe; and (5) intensified efforts to build partner capacity for newer NATO members and other partners.

According to the Department of Defense “Russian malign influence and aggression against NATO and its allies is a key factor in Europe’s instability and drastic changes in its strategic environment. Following Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea and its activities in Ukraine…the potential for Russia to ‘further advance its military adventurism into NATO countries has demanded a strong response…As we continue to see a malign influence and a Russia acting to upset international norms, we have transitioned beyond purely assurance to serving as a strong deterrent against Russian aggression…because of the changed atmosphere, Eucom [the U.S. European Command] is planning and executing a stronger deterrent to Russian aggression.”

According to the Associated Press and military.com  “Poles waved and held up American flags as U.S. troops in tanks and other vehicles crossed into southwestern Poland from Germany and headed toward the town of Zagan, where they will be based.”

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Quick Analysis

Obama’s Legacy

As President Obama’s term ends, what are the results of his eight years in the White House?

  1. Chinese, Russian, Iranian aggression increased
  • In response to President Obama’s policies of reducing American military spending, and pulling back on military deployments overseas (he unilaterally withdrew all U.S. tanks from Europe, a move he was later to force to partially rescind due to the Kremlin’s aggression) China, Russia, Iran, and terrorists became more militant and active. In the largest military effort on European soil since the end of World War 2, Moscow invaded the Ukraine.  There was no significant American response. Now Russia has adopted a more threatening posture towards other European nations.
  • Similarly, when China invaded the Philippine economic zone, the White House didn’t even lodge a diplomatic protest.

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China now regularly engages in lawless activities.

  • After eliminating sanctions on Iran in return for its limited and unverifiable promise not to develop nuclear weapons for the next few years, Tehran has become far more belligerent at sea and in its development of missile technology.
  • Following the President’s premature withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, ISIS was able to grow to enormous size.

 Nuclear proliferation spreading

Using similar logic and tactics that failed to rein in North Korea’s nuclear program, the results of the fatally flawed Iran nuclear agreement have resulted in a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. In Asia, America’s decreased position has made regional nations seriously consider the acquisition of nuclear weapons.

  1. Relations with allies deteriorated

Washington’s relations with the United Kingdom were intentionally downgraded almost immediately after Mr. Obama took office. Antimissile agreements with Poland were pulled back.  American support for Israel was reversed. The White House encouraged the ouster of a pro-western regime in Egypt in favor of Islamic extremists. The Anti-Islamic extremist government in Libya was overthrown with American assistance, for reasons that remain unclear. The Philippines were abandoned to their fate with the Chinese Navy.

  1. Loss of US nuclear supremacy

The New START Treaty gave Moscow, for the first time in history, a lead in nuclear weapons.  Mr. Obama failed to support urgently needed modernization of America’s nuclear deterrent.

  1. US armed forces demoralized and diminished

In addition to reducing the budget for the U.S. military, the outgoing president initiated personnel moves, including the forced retirement of key personnel both in command and enlisted positions, diminishing and demoralizing the armed forces.

  1. Afghanistan about to be lost

In a rejection of common-sense military strategy, Mr. Obama announced a withdrawal date from Afghanistan.  Rejecting long-standing U.S. policy, he opened up negotiations with the Taliban terrorists, who stand poised to retake control.

  1. Middle East descent into chaos

The President’s premature withdrawal of American forces from Iraq created a vacuum that allowed ISIS and other terrorists groups to gain power. The resulting chaos has allowed both Iran and Russia to become the major power brokers in the region.

  1. Integrity of key branches of government seriously compromised

Both the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service became involved in partisan political squabbles, essentially serving as enforcers for leftist causes. Significant control of the Environmental Protection Agency was given to nonelected, non-appointed partisans.

  1. Race relations at lowest point in half a century

Mr. Obama, as America’s first black president, had a unique opportunity to bring the nation together.  Instead, he fanned the flames of racial tension.

  1. Middle class devastated

The Pew Research Center  reveals that “The American middle class is losing ground in metropolitan areas across the country, affecting communities from Boston to Seattle and from Dallas to Milwaukee. From 2000 to 2014 the share of adults living in middle-income households fell in 203 of the 229 U.S. metropolitan areas examined in a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data. The decrease in the middle-class share was often substantial, measuring 6 percentage points or more in 53 metropolitan areas, compared with a 4-point drop nationally. The shrinking of the middle class at the national level, to the point where it may no longer be the economic majority in the U.S., was documented in an earlier analysis by the Pew Research Center. The changes at the metropolitan level, the subject of this in-depth look at the American middle class, demonstrate that the national trend is the result of widespread declines in localities all around the country.” The reason for the recent decline of the U.S. middle class and the general weakness in the U.S. economy is not the result of a cyclical downturn in business, or the bursting of a bubble.  It is not a reflection of the 2007—2009 recession.  It is the specific result of federal tax and spending practices which ignore the needs of the private sector, and redirects federal dollars away from essential needs such as economic growth, defense and infrastructure and towards entitlements (but NOT Social Security of Medicare.)

  1. Decent paying jobs slashed

The president’s policies served to discourage the private sector from hiring or retaining full time employees.  The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which excluded employees working under 30 hours a week from employer coverage was a major factor.

  1. Health care system damaged

The financial structure of Obamacare never was realistic, a fact that even its architect, Jonathon Gruber, subsequently admitted. Now the nation must undo the damage done.

  1. Vast increase in national debt with nothing to show for it

The national debt has nearly doubled since the President took office. There is, unfortunately, almost nothing to show for all that spending.  America’s infrastructure needs remain unaddressed, the military is underfunded, poverty rates haven’t dropped, the middle class is struggling, and more businesses are closing than opening.

  1. Constitution damaged

Mr. Obama famously announced that he “Couldn’t wait for Congress to act,” even though he was legally required to work with them.  He violated provisions of the Constitution mandating Senate approval of key international moves, using the technique of labelling international deals as “agreements” instead of “treaties.”

  1. Contagious diseases reintroduced through lax border control

The President clearly remained disinterested in limiting illegal immigration.  One result of Lax controls on the border was the re-introduction of contagious diseases that had long ago been eradicated in the U.S. A Breitbart report  noted: “A February 2015 report of the Southern Medical Association cautioned that, since none of the 700,000 illegal entries have been screened for infectious diseases, “Illegal immigration may expose Americans to diseases that have been virtually eradicated but are highly contagious, as in the case of TB.” The association concluded that despite the efforts of the CDC, “There’s a growing health concern over illegal immigrants bringing infectious diseases into the United States.”

  1. Black poverty at epidemic levels

A Townhall and Gateway Pundit analysis reveals: What about poverty? In 2009, when Obama took office, the black poverty rate was 25.8 percent. As of 2014, according to Pew Research Center, the black poverty rate was 27.2 percent. What about income? CNNMoney says, “Minority households’ median income fell 9 percent between 2010 and 2013, compared to a drop of only 1 percent for whites.” The Financial Times wrote last October: “Since 2009, median non-white household income has dropped by almost a 10th to $33,000 a year, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s survey of consumer finances. As a whole, median incomes fell by 5 percent. But by the more telling measure of net wealth — assets minus liabilities — the numbers offer a more troubling story.” What about net worth and the black-white “wealth gap”? The Financial Times said: “The median non-white family today has a net worth of just $18,100 — almost a fifth lower than it was when Mr. Obama took office.

  1. Internet oversight passed to nations that believe in censorship

For reasons that have yet to be made public, President Obama transferred control of a key portion of the internet out of American hands and into those of an international body comprised of many members who believe in censorship. He did so in clear defiance of Congress, which had prohibited the use of any funds being spent for the purpose.

  1. law enforcement discredited

In unprecedented fashion, President Obama has consistently criticized police officers every time a potentially racially-tinged event occurred. He has done so even before all the facts are clear. In a FOX interview, Milwaukee Sheriff David A. Clark Jr., who is black, stated: “war had been declared on the American police officer led by some high profile people, one of them coming out of the White House, and one coming out of the United States Department of Justice…”

  1. Nation more divided than at any time since the civil war

In July, the Washington Post noted “The sense that America is more divided than it used to be is backed by hard data. There’s been a sharp spike in the contempt that partisans express for their opponents, according to Pew Research Center polling. More than 4 in 10 Democrats and Republicans say the other party’s policies are so misguided that they pose a threat to the nation.” During his time in office, the President engaged in the rough and tumble “Chicago Way” politics, using government facilities for partisan purposes and ignoring the considerations and ideas of those he disagreed with.

  1. Manned space program in hibernation

President Obama prematurely ended the Space Shuttle program, then eliminated what had been scheduled to replace it as America’s manned space effort. He changed NASA’s budgetary focus from human exploration to endeavors mean.t to bolster his climate change beliefs.

 

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Quick Analysis

American colleges: High Costs, Low Results Part 2

While University bureaucrats feast on taxpayer funds, they provide increasingly deficient education, in several key ways. The full-time college professor, with the time and facility to provide excellent quality for students, is increasingly being replaced by part-timers.

One example comes from Susan McNamara, writing in the Boston Globe  “Nearly 15,000 contingent and adjunct faculty teach in greater Boston. Many work at multiple schools, trying to make enough to support themselves and their families on low pay with no benefits. All have advanced degrees, and many live at or below the poverty level. We are now a majority of all college and university faculty, both regionally and nationally. Adjuncts are not temporary employees. Most of us do not work part-time hours. Yet, we are denied full-time pay and benefits, and have no job security. Many only survive by creating a heavy, piecemeal schedule across multiple schools. Adjuncts often have insufficient time to prepare to teach a course because they have little advance notice they are teaching at all. Without an office, we may have difficulty meeting with a student to discuss anything confidential, such as grades, or to provide additional instructional assistance.”

With dollars being diverted away from academic needs, the result is an educational experience that fails to produce graduates ready to take on the world.

Scott Jaschik, writing in Inside Higher Ed reports on a survey of employers performed by  The Association of American Colleges and Universities which found that “When it comes to the types of skills and knowledge that employers feel are most important to workplace success, large majorities of employers do NOT feel that recent college graduates are well prepared. This is particularly the case for applying knowledge and skills in real-world settings, critical thinking skills, and written and oral communication skills — areas in which fewer than three in 10 employers think that recent college graduates are well prepared. Yet even in the areas of ethical decision-making and working with others in teams, many employers do not give graduates high marks…”

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Fox News  has reported that “On an October evening in 2013, Hillary Clinton addressed a crowd of more than 6,000 at the University at Buffalo — a public college in upstate New York — speaking in a low-key, folksy manner about economic growth in the state’s second largest city. The 30-minute speech earned Clinton $275,000 — a hefty chunk of the $2 million in total she has received for delivering university speeches since leaving her post as secretary of state in February 2013. On Monday, Clinton, now the Democratic presidential frontrunner, unveiled a $350 billion bailout plan for college graduates faced with crushing student debt dubbed ‘the new college compact’ — a proposal her critics cast as blatantly hypocritical and disingenuous. The fee paid by the University at Buffalo could have covered a year of tuition for 42 students at the public institution — an irony her detractors, including rival GOP presidential candidates, were quick to point out.”

A Bloomberg  analysis determined that the annual cost to the taxpayers for the Clinton proposal could be as high as $520 billion over ten years.

The support comes not only from national figures such as Hillary Clinton, but from state politicians as well.  New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo recently unveiled a proposal to provide free tuition to state schools for students whose parents earn less than $125,000.

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Stacy Washington & Dr. Cohen on Vernuccio/Novak

Stracy Washington and Dr. Bonner Cohen from the National Center for Public Policy Research will appear on How would be your life like without having family? Erectile dysfunction over the last a few tadalafil online decades after surgery. Cancer Society of Finland pointed out, there will publish a report about relationship of working sildenafil india wholesale and cancer that is published, the effect of article will speed up approval of pay-outs. So it is as safe as all the branded medicine. tadalafil 20mg for sale It is considered the cialis generico mastercard best herbal treatment for sexual asthenia that results in ED or impotence in men. this week’s Vernuccio/Novak Report.  Topics will include attempts to delegitimize the Trump Administration, and EPA abuses.

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America’s Universities: High Costs for Low Results

If a key industry dramatically increased its prices far higher and faster than the cost of inflation, while delivering a product that was manifestly declining in quality while company officials openly expressed contempt for those paying for its services, there is little doubt that politicians and pundits would rapidly and loudly call for investigations and the imposition of regulations.

That is precisely what is occurring in America’s colleges, where tuition rates have been hiked by 74% since 1995.

However, they are escaping the scrutiny they truly deserve.

As the New York Analysis of Policy and Government has noted, “Stunning tuition cost hikes have outpaced price increases in just about every other area. U.S. News reported in 2013 that

“According to data from the Labor Department, the price index for college tuition grew by nearly 80 percent between August 2003 and August 2013. That is nearly twice as fast as growth in costs in medical care, another area widely recognized for fast-rising prices. It’s also more than twice as fast as the overall consumer price index during that same period.” During that time period, college tuition increased 79.5%, while the Consumer Price index increased only 26.7%, medical care, 43.1%, food and beverages, 31.2%, and housing 22.8%. The money hasn’t gone into improving the educational experience of students, and it hasn’t gone into the salaries of professors. A Washington Monthly review  found that ‘as colleges and universities have had more money to spend, they have not chosen to spend it on expanding their instructional resources—that is, on paying faculty. They have chosen, instead, to enhance their administrative and staff resources. A comprehensive study published by the Delta Cost Project in 2010 reported that between 1998 and 2008, America’s private colleges increased spending on instruction by 22 percent while increasing spending on administration and staff support by 36 percent. Parents who wonder why college tuition is so high and why it increases so much each year may be less than pleased to learn that their sons and daughters will have an opportunity to interact with more administrators and staffers… Over the past four decades…the number of full-time professors or ‘full-time equivalents’—that is, slots filled by two or more part-time faculty members whose combined hours equal those of a full-timer—increased slightly more than 50 percent. That percentage is comparable to the growth in student enrollments during the same time period. But the number of administrators and administrative staffers employed by those schools increased by an astonishing 85 percent and 240 percent, respectively.”
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Individuals are free to decide whether it is appropriate to overpay for declining quality, but taxpayers are not. State colleges are clearly supported by taxpayer funds, but so are for-profit universities.

Open Secrets notes: “For-profit institutions derive much of their funding from the federal government, in the form of financial aid grants and subsidized student loans.”

The Fiscal Times found that “Between 2000 and 2010…The portion [of students] receiving federal aid skyrocketed from 31.6 percent to 47.8 percent, and the average award nearly doubled. In addition, the percentage taking out student loans climbed from 40.1 percent to 50.1 percent, and the average borrowing rose 76 percent. The ramp-up in loans to students has not only driven up costs but has undermined the value of a college degree. Some 30 percent of people ages 25 to 29 are college graduates today, up from 12 percent in the 1970s…Richard Vedder, economics professor at Ohio University, has written that we have one million retail sales clerks and 115,000 janitors with college diplomas. At the same time, one fifth of the country’s managers say they can’t find skilled workers to fill job openings.”

The Rand Corporation questions the effect of tuition subsidies. “…almost 30 years ago, then-Secretary of Education William Bennett warned that tuition subsidies may also encourage institutions to raise tuition, since the government would foot the bill. Research on what came to be known as the ‘Bennett Hypothesis’ increasingly suggests the secretary was correct.”

The Report Concludes Tomorrow

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ISIS Threat In the West, Part 2

The New York Analysis of Policy and Government concludes its review of  key reports on ISIS’ growing ability to strike within the West.

A CNN study found that “Since declaring its caliphate in June 2014, the self-proclaimed Islamic State has conducted or inspired more than 140 terrorist attacks in 29 countries other than Iraq and Syria, where its carnage has taken a much deadlier toll. Those attacks have killed at least 2,043 people and injured thousands more.”

The Threat Knowledge Group provides  this data:

ISIS has already recruited supporters in the United States with the intent of executing domestic attacks here in America. Key evidence includes the following:

  • 82 individuals in the United States affiliating with ISIS have been interdicted by law enforcementsince March 2014 (including 7 unnamed minors and 4 killed in the course of attacks).  (For a full list of those individuals see chart below)
  • More than 250 individuals from the United States have joined or attempted to join ISISin Syria and Iraq according to the Final Report of the Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel published by the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee in September 2015.
  • The FBI currently has nearly 1,000 ongoing ISIS probes in the United States, according to a recent report by Judicial Watch.
  • ISIS is recruiting within the U.S. at about three-times the rate of Al Qaeda.
  • Ali Shukri Amin, a 17 year-old Islamic State (IS) supporter from Manassas, Virginia, recently sentenced to 11 years in prison for conspiring to provide support to ISIS, had nearly 4,000 Twitter followers, under the alias, ‘Amreeki Witness.’
  • Ahmad Musa Jibril, an Arab-American Islamist preacher living in Dearborn, Michigan, had 38,000 Twitter followersbefore his site went silent. A report by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) found that 60% of surveyed foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria followed Jibril on Twitter.

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What the numbers demonstrate is that ISIS has a significant base of support in the United States, including both those who have already traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight as jihadis, as well as terror suspects who have been interdicted for attempting to travel there, providing support to ISIS in other tangible ways, or attempting attacks.

Most importantly, nearly one third of the domestic ISIS cases in the past 18 months involved people who planned to carry out attacks against Americans on U.S. soil. In other words, one third of those interdicted calculated that the best way to serve the new Islamic State and its Caliph, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, is to wage jihad here on the soil of the infidel.

It is also essential to note the number of followers of ISIS propagandists Ali Shukri Amin and Ahmad Musa Jibril, which shows that domestic support for ISIS may reach well into the thousands. With Syrian refugees starting to arrive in the United States, these numbers may further increase.

Shannon Green, writing for The Center for Strategic and International Studies , outlines the ongoing challenge:

“Fifteen years after September 11, terrorism has spread, gained favor among a new generation, and now casts an ever-larger shadow over the globe…  in an era of social media, domestic radicalization, and lone wolf attacks, it is clear that military, intelligence, and law enforcement strategies alone are insufficient to eradicate the threat. Combating terrorism is both a “battle of arms and a battle of ideas—a fight against the terrorists and their murderous ideology,” as the 2006 National Security Strategy put it.

“We have undoubtedly failed when it comes to the battle of ideas. Both the Bush and Obama administrations made some attempts to confront extremist ideologies and narratives, but prevention has never received sustained attention and focus, nor has it had the desired effect. One only has to look at the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and its unprecedented use of digital platforms to recruit fighters and inspire terrorist attacks all over the world. Instead of continuing to pursue complex 9/11-style attacks, these terrorists have adapted, transitioning to plots that can be executed by small groups or individuals, against soft targets, using less sophisticated and easy-to-acquire weapons. Such attacks do not require extensive training, planning, or coordination, making them harder to spot, but no less lethal. These groups have been better at adapting to our efforts than we have been at adapting to theirs. digital platforms serve as a powerful amplifier and accelerant, allowing terrorist groups to target a much broader audience…Wannabee terrorists can consume propaganda, get inspired, and learn how to execute an attack—without ever leaving their homes. The widespread use of social media has also made violent extremists’ plans more difficult to identify and disrupt. Security agencies now have the added challenge of isolating genuine threats from a sea of noise…

“Terrorism today is therefore more atomized, pervasive, and challenging to counter than it was at the turn of the century. Going forward, terrorists will likely seek to evade improved law enforcement and intelligence capabilities and border controls by calling on national citizens or green card holders—without a criminal record or known terrorist ties—to conduct attacks. As such, “homegrown extremism” presents a growing challenge in the United States and elsewhere. Violent extremist groups are also diversifying their recruitment pool, reaching out to women and older and younger generations who are not yet as closely watched by security agencies. Terrorists have already started recruiting children in their pre-teens—a trend that is likely to accelerate—and women are increasingly found in high-profile roles as supporters, mobilizers, and members of terrorist groups.”

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ISIS Threat Grows in West

While ISIS has been losing territory in the Middle East, its ability to attack western nations, including the United States, has been escalating. The New York Analysis of Policy & Government has reviewed key examinations of the growing threat:

A study from George Washington University’s Program on Extremism notes that

“ISIS-related mobilization in the United States has been unprecedented. As of the fall of 2015, U.S. authorities speak of some 250 Americans who have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria/Iraq to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and 900 active investigations against ISIS sympathizers in all 50 states…Social media plays a crucial role in the radicalization and, at times, mobilization of U.S.-based ISIS sympathizers. The Program on Extremism has identified some 300 American and/or U.S.-based ISIS sympathizers active on social media, spreading propaganda, and interacting with like-minded individuals… ISIS-related radicalization is by no means limited to social media. While instances of purely web-driven, individual radicalization are numerous, in several cases U.S.-based individuals initially cultivated and later strengthened their interest in ISIS’s narrative through face-to-face relationships. In most cases online and offline dynamics complement one another. The spectrum of U.S.-based sympathizers’ actual involvement with ISIS varies significantly, ranging from those who are merely inspired by its message to those few who reached mid-level leadership positions within the group.”

Jean-Charles Brisard and Kevin Jackson at The Combatting Terrorism Center at the West Pont Military Academy  recently found that

“…by late 2013, the Islamic State had already started building the machinery to launch external attacks, as assessed, for instance, by Dutch intelligence. A returned French jihadi, Mourad Fares, recounted that a prominent figure involved in building up the group’s external attacks capability was Abu Usama al-Madani, a senior Saudi leader running the Islamic State’s foreign fighters affairs. As such, al-Madani handled the recruitment for a secret training program to dispatch volunteers back home for operational purposes.The account of Nils Donath, a German extremist who at one point joined the Islamic State’s security-intelligence apparatus (amniyat), further indicated that the organization envisioned striking the “far enemy” on its own soil, before declaring a caliphate. Donath told interrogators after his return to Germany that
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“Besides sharpening its anti-Western rhetoric and issuing operational advice to its sympathizers through its media outlets, the group also mobilized its core members for a campaign of attacks in Europe. In the spring of 2015, for instance, foreign recruits attended a Friday sermon in Raqqa delivered by Mohamed Mahmoud, a notorious German militant figure, during which he advocated attacks against Germany and portrayed jihad in Europe as a duty. Several accounts from Islamic State militants detained on their return by European security services indicated the Islamic State was intensifying its external attack planning, with onetime French recruit Reda Hame describing their efforts in and around Raqqa in June 2015 as a “real factory.”According to these accounts, willing candidates could sign up for external operations,

“In planning attacks, the Islamic State’s external operations wing underwent a vetting and approval process, based on its enlisted volunteers’ files, to identify suitable recruits for its terrorist plots. For instance, close attention was paid as to whether a candidate had a media profile or was wanted at home, even though numerous operatives eventually selected were already known by their home country’s security services. It appears that the amniyat (security service) led these efforts, with some of its operatives entrusted with facilitating and planning attacks overseas.”

Harleen Gambhir at The Institute for the Study of War  reports that

“ISIS is executing a sophisticated global strategy that involves simultaneous efforts in Iraq and Syria, the Middle East and North Africa, and the wider world. Homegrown terrorism is increasing in the U.S. and Europe…The anti-ISIS coalition is currently focused on ISIS only within Iraq and Syria. Therefore the U.S. is vulnerable to strategic surprise resulting from ISIS’s external activity. ISIS has the potential to pressure and divert allies that are critical to the U.S.-led coalition’s efforts, while continuing its own expansion program. Simulating the effects of ISIS’s endeavor in advance revealed insights that will assist in the creation of a coherent counter-ISIS strategy, rather than a piecemeal strategy formulated as crises occur…ISIS likely will expand regionally and project force globally in the medium term. Few countries are willing or able to counter ISIS as a global phenomenon…The U.S. must define the global counter-ISIS mission, and then determine the nested objectives for ISIS and each of its affiliates in support of that mission…ISIS’s global campaign likely will increase policymakers’ tolerance of frequent, high-level, and widespread violent events, creating opportunities for the United States’ adversaries.

The Report Concludes Tomorrow

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Quick Analysis

Obamacare’s Demise, and its Replacement Part 2

In addition to the ideological goal of nationalizing one-sixth of the American economy, Obamacare’s Progressive advocates support for the legislation was a reflection of their political alliance with lobbying interests from pharmaceutical corporations, the Trial Lawyers Association, and insurance companies, all of which had vested interests in opposing more viable reforms which would have truly and effectively reduced the cost of healthcare.

President-elect Trump, who made opposition to Obamacare a key part of his campaign, has proposed an alternative approach  to the failed concept:

“the House and Senate must:

  1. “Completely repeal Obamacare. Our elected representatives must eliminate the individual mandate. No person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to.
  2. “Modify existing law that inhibits the sale of health insurance across state lines. As long as the plan purchased complies with state requirements, any vendor ought to be able to offer insurance in any state. By allowing full competition in this market, insurance costs will go down and consumer satisfaction will go up.
  3. “Allow individuals to fully deduct health insurance premium payments from their tax returns under the current tax system. Businesses are allowed to take these deductions so why wouldn’t Congress allow individuals the same exemptions? As we allow the free market to provide insurance coverage opportunities to companies and individuals, we must also make sure that no one slips through the cracks simply because they cannot afford insurance. We must review basic options for Medicaid and work with states to ensure that those who want healthcare coverage can have it.

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  4. “Allow individuals to use Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Contributions into HSAs should be tax-free and should be allowed to accumulate. These accounts would become part of the estate of the individual and could be passed on to heirs without fear of any death penalty. These plans should be particularly attractive to young people who are healthy and can afford high-deductible insurance plans. These funds can be used by any member of a family without penalty. The flexibility and security provided by HSAs will be of great benefit to all who participate.
  5. “Require price transparency from all healthcare providers, especially doctors and healthcare organizations like clinics and hospitals. Individuals should be able to shop to find the best prices for procedures, exams or any other medical-related procedure.
  6. “Block-grant Medicaid to the states. Nearly every state already offers benefits beyond what is required in the current Medicaid structure. The state governments know their people best and can manage the administration of Medicaid far better without federal overhead. States will have the incentives to seek out and eliminate fraud, waste and abuse to preserve our precious resources.
  7. “Remove barriers to entry into free markets for drug providers that offer safe, reliable and cheaper products. Congress will need the courage to step away from the special interests and do what is right for America. Though the pharmaceutical industry is in the private sector, drug companies provide a public service. Allowing consumers access to imported, safe and dependable drugs from overseas will bring more options to consumers.

“The reforms outlined above will lower healthcare costs for all Americans. They are simply a place to start. There are other reforms that might be considered if they serve to lower costs, remove uncertainty and provide financial security for all Americans. And we must also take actions in other policy areas to lower healthcare costs and burdens. Enforcing immigration laws, eliminating fraud and waste and energizing our economy will relieve the economic pressures felt by every American. It is the moral responsibility of a nation’s government to do what is best for the people and what is in the interest of securing the future of the nation. Providing healthcare to illegal immigrants costs us some $11 billion annually. If we were to simply enforce the current immigration laws and restrict the unbridled granting of visas to this country, we could relieve healthcare cost pressures on state and local governments.”

An American Action Forum (AAF)  study proposes tort reform as an additional means to lower health care costs.  “ AAF found multiple state medical liability reforms reduced total healthcare premiums by 2.6 percent,  Employer healthcare costs also declined by 3.5 percent, [and]  If these results were replicated on a national level, the nation’s insured could save more than $15 billion in premiums…Tort reform has taken several forms and gained prominence in the 1990s as a way to curb high jury awards. For example, legislators can cap damages, reform how damages are paid, and amend joint and several liability (allowing the plaintiff to collect money from anyone found liable, regardless of their degree of liability).”

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Dr. George, Dan Perkins on Vernuccio/Novak

Dr. Elaina George will discuss Obamacare, and author Dan Perkins Still for many men the concept of generic medications can be bought over-the-counter without consulting a doctor to get the medicine that could finally put an end to his miseries? There were some reasons why other men could not afford to buy the costly blue pills, some pharmaceutical firms came with the idea of launching some cost-effective yet powerful medications to deal with. viagra österreich Sildenafil citrate http://www.midwayfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/July-10-2018.doc cialis price comprised in this medication widens this artery to let the blood force into penile areas. It happens when one wants to get purchase generic levitra but his ego says you can get erect without this drug. cialis from canadian pharmacy see content You can avail it typically in either of two forms. will review Middle East affairs on this week’s Vernuccio/Novak Report.

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Quick Analysis

Obamacare’s Demise, and its Replacement

In a 51-48 vote, The Senate yesterday took an important step to replace Obamacare. The measure was a nonbinding budget bill that establishes the path for a repeal of the failing Affordable Care Act within the next few months.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)  stated “Too many have been personally hurt by this law. Too many feel they’re worse off than they were before Obamacare…Too many Americans say their Obamacare plans are too expensive to actually use. Too many say their Obamacare premiums have gone up and up though their options have diminished.”

While, as the 51-48 vote indicates, repeal is largely the work of the Republican majority, the reality is that Obamacare was collapsing under its own weight in what some pundits have termed a “death spiral.” Skyrocketing premiums, diminished choices, physicians opting to not take Obamacare-covered patients, a sharp decline in enrollments, and vanishing co-ops have been key indicators that its demise was inevitable.  Public support for the 2010 Affordable Care Act legislation, which was passed without the public being informed of the details (former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) famously told the public that they would have to pass the bill to see what was in it) had dropped precipitously. Subsequent to its enactment, the laws’ architect, Jonathon Gruber attributed its passage to the “stupidity” of the American people.

Young people have been forced to buy policies which included costs for services they didn’t need. Seniors have been denied necessary treatments because of expense factors. Those with irregular incomes face constant changes in coverage. Physicians are drowning in inadequate reimbursement and bureaucracy. Obamacare in general charges excessive rates and imposes deductibles that make the concept of coverage more illusion than reality.

Many of the legislation’s own advocates had seen it as only an interim step towards the implementation of completely nationalized health care under a single payer plan. But that could not be sold to an American public that was well aware that the concept has failed wherever it has been tried.  Indeed, many in the United Kingdom, whose National Health Service was, quietly, the admired model of Obamacare advocates, have sought methods to extricate themselves from their failing system.

Those advocates who have claimed that Obamacare has had some success are fudging facts. As the National Center for Policy Analysis, quoting a Heritage study  noted in 2014: “while health insurance coverage — whether in the private market or in Medicaid — grew by 8.5 million individuals in 2014, the vast majority (71 percent) of that gain was due to increases in Medicaid. According to the authors, “[T]he inescapable conclusion is that, at least when it comes to covering the uninsured, Obamacare so far is mainly a simple expansion of Medicaid.”

The need to address Obamacare has been summarized by the Heritage Foundation,  which outlined how the legislation detrimentally affects Americans:
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“Seniors: The law cuts an estimated $716 billion from Medicare over ten years. However, these “savings” are not set aside to preserve Medicare’s future, instead they are used to fund new spending created by the law. Nearly one-third of all seniors rely on Medicare Advantage, the private health care option in Medicare. Despite the program’s growing enrollment and beneficiary satisfaction, Obamacare makes deep cuts to the program that jeopardize its viability in coming years. In addition to payment cuts, Obamacare imposes new taxes on drug companies and medical device makers, and new regulations that will make health care more costly for seniors.

“Doctors: The United States is facing a severe physician shortage. By 2020, the nation will need an additional 91,500 doctors to meet medical demand. Obamacare exacerbates this problem by further increasing physicians’ workload and worsening their attitudes regarding the health care system. A 2012 survey found that Obamacare is motivating doctors to change their retirement timeline, with 43 percent of respondents stating that they are considering retiring within the next five years as a result of the law.

“Business & The Economy: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Obamacare subsidies will discourage Americans from working, and cause 2.5 million employees to drop out of the labor force.Obamacare’s employer mandate will raise the minimum cost of hiring a full-time worker to $10.30/hour in 2015. Congress has already raised the minimum wage from an employer’s point of view, but the money goes to the government instead of the employees.

“States: Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion worsens the already heavy burdens facing states. By 2021, approximately 78 million people are projected to be enrolled in Medicaid—requiring billions of dollars from state budgets and taxpayers. In the individual market, Obamacare’s exchanges have on average decreased insurer competition by an estimated 29 percent nationwide. Furthermore, over half of the counties in the U.S. have only one or two insurers to choose from in their Obamacare exchange.

“Families: Obamacare adds nearly $2 trillion in new health care spending according to the Congressional Budget Office. Over the next 10 years, Obamacare will levy about$771 billion in new taxes and fees. Obamacare imposes significant financial penalties on the decision to get or remain married – over $10,000 per year for certain couples.

“Uninsured: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that “between 6 and 7 million fewer people will have employment-based coverage each year from 2016 through 2024 than would be the case in the absence of [the new health law].”In 2024, after ten years of full implementation, 31 million people are projected to remain uninsured.”

The Report Concludes on Monday