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It’s all about how we have chosen to plunder

The Wall Street Journal editorial board has delivered its share of idiocies over the past few years, but its response to the capture of Nicolas Maduro has set a new standard. Calling the military intervention “justified” because Venezuela had allied with “Russia, China, Cuba, and Iran,” the board then declared triumphantly that “Mr. Trump is pursuing the Bush freedom agenda, at least in the Western Hemisphere. Are we all neocons now?” Also living in a dream world is Sen. John Fetterman, who told Fox News, “We all wanted this man gone, and now he is gone. I think we ...

Scandals offer a reason for us to rethink government welfare system

As for the estimated $8 billion in government (taxpayer) money stolen by crooks in Minnesota, people demand answers to many questions. But the 800-pound elephant/question goes unasked: Why is government in the business of welfare in the first place? Where in the Constitution does it permit the federal government to extract money from taxpayers for charity? Years ago, I worked full time one summer as a “loaned executive” for the United Way of Cleveland. My job was to meet with CEOs of companies, tell them the story of the United Way and hopefully arrange for me to make a ...

How Donald Trump Finally Buried Iraq Syndrome

Something crucial happened with President Donald Trump’s recent actions in Venezuela. In fact, taken together with his earlier moves abroad, they mark the substantive death of what might be called the “Iraq syndrome” -- a paralyzing mindset that has distorted American foreign policy for more than two decades. The Iraq syndrome emerged after the failure of the Iraq War and the long, costly occupation that followed. In the American mind, it became shorthand for a broader fear: that any U.S. use of force overseas would inevitably spiral into a quagmire. But this was not the first ...

Invasion Of Venezuela A Body Blow To Constitution

The United States invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro, the domestically recognized Venezuelan president, violated the U.S. Constitution and international law. The Constitution makes clear that only Congress can authorize a foreign invasion. In the pre-World War II era, Congress declared war on countries that attacked the U.S. or were allied with those that did, and those declarations expired upon the surrender by legal authorities in the targeted countries. In the post-9/11 era, Congress has chosen to authorize the use of military force, without providing for a ...

Helping U.S. Break Free From Government Dependency

Americans are the most generous people on Earth. Yet in Ohio and across the nation, wellintended government programs often trap our fellow citizens in poverty instead of providing a path to upward mobility. Current federal assistance laws create what’s known as a “benefits cliff.” This occurs when someone receiving public assistance loses a significant amount of support — or all of it —due to just a small increase in income. This system creates a perverse incentive to say no to a raise, promotion or extra hours, because saying yes could trigger a loss of benefits that can ...

Venezuela Depends On The Meaning Of Word ‘Run’

There have been two parts to the political world’s reaction to the American operation that deposed and captured Nicolas Maduro. The first part was to marvel at what Brit Hume called the “extraordinary level of skill, technology and daring” on the part of American forces and leadership. Hume noted that the U.S. performance, when considered alongside the flawless attack on Iran’s nuclear program, sent to the world “precisely the opposite signal from that sent by the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.” The second reaction emerged after President Donald Trump’s press ...